Book Title: Indian Antiquary Vol 19
Author(s): John Faithfull Fleet, Richard Carnac Temple
Publisher: Swati Publications

Previous | Next

Page 231
________________ JULY, 1890.) THE ABORIGINES OF SOKOTRA. 213 part of the back of the head, where the whole is fastened. This manner of dressing their hair is more becoming to them than otherwise, the longer and loose portion being allowed to flow down their backs, or to remain between the shoulders in a large bunch, according to the nature of its curl. The band, or cord, with which it is tied, is made from their own hair, and not only serves them for the purpose mentioned, but also for any other use to which it may be applied, in case nothing better is at hand. "The women are much finer, fatter, and lighter-coloured than the Arab women of the coast, and their features are small and regular. They wear a loose frock, which is also made of blue cotton cloth, and is of the same size from the shoulders to the ground; it is open in front for about a foot, where it buttons tightly round the lower part of the neck, and the sleeves are short and large; behind it trails on the ground, but in front it does not descend much below the knee. In addition to this, they have another portion of the same coloured cloth, which they throw over the back of their head and shoulders in the manner of a dopatta; but this they seldom use, and never think of concealing their faces under it, as is the custom with the Arab women. Their hair is divided by a narrow line, braided on the scalp, which passes from the centre of the forehead to the middle of the back part of the head, and they collect the hair into two large tresses, one on each side, which, passing down behind the ears, hangs loogely over the breast. Few possess ornaments, not because they despise them, but because they have no money to purchase them. I have seen large pewter rings in the ears of some, though I am certain gold or silver ones would not have been refused for the same purpose. "Their language is the Beduin dialect of the South-east Coast of Arabia; being, like that spoken by the inhabitants of the island of Sokotra and by those also of the islands in the Bay of Kuria Muria, intensely guttural; and in some of their songs the modulation of the sounds is almost entirely confined to the throat. They do not understand the Arabic spoken in the towns, unless they have had much intercourse with the Arabs, who themselves, on this coast, appear to prefer conversing in the dialect of the Beduins. In their singing they display a great fondness for melody, and their guttural articulation, which is never very harsh, is rendered most agreeable in some of their plaintive airs, which accord much with the European taste. “That part of the tribe who have permanent places of abode in the mountains, live in natural caverns of the rock, which have been hereditarily transmitted to them through their forefathers, and have been selected near some rivulet, or fresh-water spring, for domestic purposes, and for the sake of their cattle. In these caverns, which are of gigantic dimensions, and in the form and proportion of an interior fourth of a hollow sphere, with a stalactite ceiling, they have ample room to pen their flocks and herds at night, or to afford them shelter during heavy falls of rain and wet weather ; for which purpose they are surrounded by a dense fence of interwoven brushwood. In the different recesses of the interior, the Beduin and his family live, and towards the outside, still sheltered by the overhanging vault, are the huts of the herdsmen and his dependents. ............. “They encourage blood feuds, and in an affray which ends in the death of one of the parties, the survivors, or one of his relatives, sooner or later, is murdered by the friends of the deceased, when the feud is at an end..... "Their mode of salutation consists in placing the tips of the three first fingers of the right hand on those of the persons they salute, and afterwards kissing them audibly; they do this to every member of the assembly, to strangers as well as acquaintances. It is the first passport and best introduction, and should never be neglected by any one who wishes to establish a friendship among them. “They profess themselves to be Muhammadans, undergo the operation of circumcision, and keep up the ceremony connected with it; but they pay very little attention to the other formalities of the Muhammadan religion. Their chief fear appears to be of ghosts and the devil, and this far exceeds their confidence in the protection of the Supreme Being."

Loading...

Page Navigation
1 ... 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360 361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 370 371 372 373 374 375 376 377 378 379 380 381 382 383 384 385 386 387 388 389 390 391 392 393 394 395 396 397 398 399 400 401 402 403 404 405 406 407 408 409 410 411 412 413 414 415 416 417 418 419 420 421 422 423 424 425 426 427 428 429 430 431 432 433 434 435 436 437 438 439 440 441 442 443 444 445 446 447 448 449 450 451 452 453 454 455 456 457 458 459 460 461 462 463 464 465 466 467 468 469 470 471 472 473 474 475 476 477 478 479 480 481 482 483 484 485 486 487 488 489 490 491 492 493 494 495 496 497 498 499 500 501 502 503 504 505 506 507 508 509 510