First Footsteps in East AfricaBurton, Richard Francis, Sir
History
First Footsteps in East Africa
Burton, Richard Francis, Sir
Harar -- Description and travel; Harari language; Horn of Africa -- Description and travel
Harar has not only its own tongue, unintelligible to any save the
citizens; even its little population of about 8000 souls is a distinct
race. The Somal say of the city that it is a Paradise inhabited by asses:
certainly the exterior of the people is highly unprepossessing. Amongst
the men, I did not see a handsome face: their features are coarse and
debauched; many of them squint, others have lost an eye by small-pox, and
they are disfigured by scrofula and other diseases: the bad expression of
their countenances justifies the proverb, "Hard as the heart of Harar."
Generally the complexion is a yellowish brown, the beard short, stubby and
untractable as the hair, and the hands and wrists, feet and ankles, are
large and ill-made. The stature is moderate-sized, some of the elders show
the "pudding sides" and the pulpy stomachs of Banyans, whilst others are
lank and bony as Arabs or Jews. Their voices are loud and rude. They dress
is a mixture of Arab and Abyssinian. They shave the head, and clip the
mustachios and imperial close, like the Shafei of Yemen. Many are
bareheaded, some wear a cap, generally the embroidered Indian work, or the
common cotton Takiyah of Egypt: a few affect white turbans of the fine
Harar work, loosely twisted over the ears. The body-garment is the Tobe,
worn flowing as in the Somali country or girt with the dagger-strap round
the waist: the richer classes bind under it a Futah or loin-cloth, and the
dignitaries have wide Arab drawers of white calico. Coarse leathern
sandals, a rosary and a tooth-stick rendered perpetually necessary by the
habit of chewing tobacco, complete the costume: and arms being forbidden
in the streets, the citizens carry wands five or six feet long.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account