Zanzibar; city, island, and coast. Vol. 1 (of 2)Burton, Richard Francis, Sir
History
Zanzibar; city, island, and coast. Vol. 1 (of 2)
Burton, Richard Francis, Sir
Africa, East -- Description and travel; Ethnology -- Tanzania -- Zanzibar; Zanzibar -- Description and travel
Finally, Zanzibar has been identified by palæogeographers with the
Ptolemean Μενουθιὰς or Μενουθεσίας (iv. 9), and with the Μενουθιὰς of
the Periplus (Geog. Græci Minores of R. Muller, Paris, 1855), in some
copies of which Menouthesías also occurs. Its rivals, however, for this
honour are Pemba, Mafiyah (the Monfia of our maps) and Bukini, the
northern and north-western parts of Malagash or Madagascar.[31] Ptolemy,
it may be observed, places the two important sites, Menouthias and
Prasum (or Prassum) in a separate chapter (iv. 9), whereas his principal
list of stations is in Book iv. chapter 7. He lays down the site of
Menouthias in S. lat. 12°, and nearly opposite the Lunar Mountain, and
the Lakes whence the Nile arises (S. lat. 12° 30′). The mouth of the
Rhapta river and Rhapta, the metropolis of Barbaria, are in S. lat. 7°,
the Rhapta promontory is in S. lat. 8° 20′ 5″, and the Prasum promontory
in S. lat. 15°. By applying the correction as before, we have for
Menouthias S. lat. 6° (the capital of Zanzibar being in S. lat. 6° 9′
6″); for the Lakes, 6° 30′, which would nearly bisect Tanganyika; for
Rhapta river and city, S. lat. 1° (or more exactly, S. lat. 1° 10′); the
mouth of the Jub river being in S. lat. 0° 14′ 30″; the Rhapta
promontory in S. lat. 2° 30′, corresponding with the coast about Patta;
and finally, for Prasum S. lat. 9° 10′—Cape Delgado being in S. lat. 10°
41′ 12″.
The account given of Menouthias in the Periplus (written between A.D.
64, Vincent, and A.D. 210, Letronne[32]) is that of an eyewitness:
‘After two nychthemeral days (each of 100 miles) towards the west [here
the text is evidently corrupt] comes Menouthias, altogether insulated,
distant from the land about 300 stadia (30 geographical miles), low and
tree-clad. In it are many kinds of birds and mountain tortoises (land
turtle?). It has no other wild beasts but crocodiles (iguanas), and
these do not injure man. There are in it sewn boats and monoxyles
(canoes), which they use for salt-pans [here the text is defective] and
for catching turtle. In this island they trap them after a peculiar
fashion with baskets (the modern wigo) instead of nets, letting them
down at the mouth of stony inlets’ (chap. i. 15).
The next chapter informs us: ‘From which (island) after two runs (each
50 miles)[33] lies the last emporium of the continent of Azania, called
Tà Rhaptà, thus named from the before-mentioned sewn-together vessels.
In it are much ivory and tortoise-shell. The men, who in this country
are of the largest size, live scattered (in the mountains?), and each
tribe in its own place is subject to tyrants’ (‘tyranneaulx’ or petty
chiefs).
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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