302 Professor Bayleij Balfour [April 20, 



over the shoulder, usually with a knife stuck in the waist, and they 

 invariably carry a stick. The women have the ordinary Arab blue 

 skirt, in most cases kilted at the knees and continued round the waist 

 by a girdle. In some cases, however, they improvise a petticoat of 

 the coarse blankets they themselves weave, and wear on the upper 

 part of the body a loose tunic with short sleeves. They go unveiled. 

 The women wear the hair done up in two plaits which hang down 

 their back, but in front the hair is cut to form a short fringe on the 

 forehead. Their ornaments are few. The men often wear an armlet 

 of silver. The women have necklets of amber, glass beads, dragon's- 

 blood tears, or in some cases rupees, and have also the ordinary Arab 

 silver armlet and ear-rings. 



The occupation of these people is chiefly pastoral. Their herds 

 and flocks are extensive. From the milk they make quantities of ghi 

 by a simple process of churning — merely continuous jerking of the 

 skin mussocks — and they sell it to the Arabs of the coast, or exchange 

 it for rice, dates, or other necessaries. They collect also dragon's- 

 blood and aloes, but the latter only in great amount when pasturage 

 fails them. The women spin a coarse thread from the sheep's wool, 

 which they weave into blankets. 



Old voyagers speak of horses being used, but there are none now. 

 The cattle are small and have no hump. Immense herds are found 

 at the eastern end of the island. The sheep are all fleeced, but there 

 are none of the Berbera kind. Of goats there are some in a wild 

 condition. The camels are much smaller than those at Aden and 

 elsewhere in Arabia, and are able to climb like goats ; many are kept 

 for milking. Asses roam wild in herds all over the island. 



Of plants cultivated on the island the most important is the date- 

 palm. Every stream on the island is lined by groves of them, and 

 the fruit is used, both ripe and unripe. Melons are grown, as also 

 small onions. Little cereal culture is indulged in. Here and there, 

 on the hills beside a stream, a small enclosure of " bombe " (jowari) 

 may be seen, but the inhabitants are too lazy to cultivate to any 

 extent, the watering requiring too much labour. Only in one spot 

 was there observed an attempt at irrigation. 



These hill people live very miserably. Milk forms a large 

 portion of their diet. Bombe is used when grown, Eice is obtained 

 from the coast Arabs. Date is a staple of food. On great occasions 

 a sheep or a kid is killed. 



The furnishing of their dwellings is very meagre. Blankets are 

 their couches. Goat-skin mussocks are used for water and milk. 

 They have also earthenware pots, moulded by the hand out of the 

 clays and lime of adjacent rocks. 



Their language is peculiar. Captain Hunter says of it : "I could 

 trace no affinity to any of the languages of the neighbouring coasts. 

 It sounds a little like Kis Swahili, but not so soft. It is not Mahri, 

 for the Sultan said it in no way resembled it. The sound is not so 

 guttural as Arabic, and seems to require less effort in enunciation." 



