Some Of Them
Wear A Cloth Of Painted Calico, Or Some Other Kind, Over Their
Shoulders, After The Fashion Of An Irish Mantle Or Plaid; While Others
Have Shirts And Surplices, Or Wide Gowns, Of White Calico, And A Few
Have Linen Breeches Like The Guzerats.
Some of their women are tolerably
fair and handsome, like our sun-burnt country girls in England; and they
Are all dressed in long wide smocks down to the ground, made of red,
blue, or black calico, having a cloth over their heads, with which they
usually hide their faces, being very dainty to let themselves be seen,
yet are scarcely honest. Though the men be very poor, and have, hardly
enough to serve their needs, yet their women, of whom some men have
four, five, or six, are much laden with silver ornaments, and some with
gold. I have seen one, not of the best, who had in each ear at least a
dozen great silver rings, almost like curtain rings, with as many of a
smaller kind; two carkanets or chains of silver about her neck, and
one of gold bosses; ten or twelve silver manillias or bracelets on
each arm, each as thick as a little-finger, but hollow; almost every
finger covered with rings, and the small of her legs covered with silver
rings like horse-fetters. In all these ornaments they jingle like
morrice-dancers on the slightest motion. They are, however, seldom seen,
being kept very close by their jealous husbands. They delight in beads
of amber, crystal, and coral; but, having little wherewith to buy them,
they either beg them, or deal for them privately. The children, except
those of the better sort, usually, go entirely naked till of some age.
They are married at ten or twelve years old.
They call themselves mussulmen, that is, true believers in the faith
of Mahomet; and they alledge this reason for themselves, that all the
world are of their religion, and only a handful of ours. They eat their
meat on mats spread on the ground, using their hands in a very
unmannerly fashion, having neither spoons, knives, nor forks. Their
usual drink is water, yet do they drink wine in private when they can
get it; and they make at the proper season some wine of dates which is
strong and pleasant.
So much for the Arab conquerors of Socotora. They call the native
inhabitants, whom they have conquered, cafrs, or misbelievers, or
heretics, if you will, who are subjected to slavery, except some who
live in the mountains in a kind of savage liberty like wild beasts;
those who live under subjection to the Arabs not being allowed to carry
weapons of any kind. These are well-shaped, but much darker than the
Arabs, wearing nothing on their heads but their long hair, which seems
to be never cut, and staring all round as if frightened. They have a
coarse cloth of goats hair woven by themselves about their middles, and
slight sandals on their feet.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 223 of 424
Words from 116099 to 116607
of 221842
