SOMALI-LAND 



SOMERS 



567 



and nerve for battling with the demons of drought 

 and darkness. In the later Vedic literature Soma 

 appears completely identified with the moon ; this 

 luminary in its varying phases being considered as 

 the vessel containing the celestial supply of Soma 

 juice on which the gods subsist, ana which con- 

 sequently requires periodical replenishment. Whilst 

 this notion was formerly regarded as merely a 

 secondary development of Indian mythology, 

 recent research suggests that the identity of Soma 

 with the moon may after all hold good for the 

 whole of the Vedic times, if not also for the Indo- 

 Persian period. The conception of a heavenly 

 receptacle of the Soma juice forms, however, only 

 one part of the Vedic Soma myth, which, indeed, 

 pictures the god in all the various forms which 

 the earthly Soma undergoes, from the time when 

 the golden-stalked plant is brought down from 

 its mountain-home till the final consummation 

 of the Soma cup, as the ' supreme offering. ' For 

 his regeneration Soma descends periodically to the 

 earth, either in the shape of the heavenly plant 

 carried off by an eagle (probably the lightning) 

 from his jealous demon keepers, or in the form of 

 the fiery germ received by the cows or waters of 

 heaven, and carried down by them to the earth, 

 there to be taken up and matured by the plants 

 springing up luxuriantly after the rains. The 

 question as to what particular plant may claim to 

 be regarded as the true Soma or ' moon-plant ' is 

 surrounded with difficulties ; probably, however, 

 the stems of several varieties of Asclepiads, akin 

 to the common milk-weed, such as Asclepias acida, 

 Sarcostemma brevistigma or viminale, and Periploca 

 <i/i/tylla, all of them containing a rich, milky juice, 

 were used for this purpose. The Brahmans of the 

 Deccan, as well as the Parsees or fire-worshippers of 

 Kerman and Yezd in Persia, and those in Bombay, 

 make use to this day of different species of this 

 cenus. The Soma sacrifice, as practised in the 

 later Vedic times, is surrounded by a complicated 

 ceremonial of great solemnity. Sixteen priests 

 officiate at its performance. A feigned purchase 

 of Soma plants for a cow, at the conclusion of 

 which the low-caste vendor is beaten off the sacri- 

 ficial ground with sticks, is apparently a symbol- 

 ical representation of the acquisition of the Soma 

 by the gods from the demons. The bundle of 

 Soma plants is henceforth treated as the veritable 

 King Soma : he is driven in a car in state to the 

 sacrificial hall, where he is placed upon a throne- 

 seat, a guest-meal being then provided for him, 

 and a solemn covenant concluded between him and 

 the sacrificer. The Soma juice is subsequently 

 obtained by means of two pressings ; and the 

 libations are made at three different services, the 

 morning, mid-day, and evening service. The ninth 

 book of the Rigueda-sanhitA consists of over a 

 hundred hymns composed for the special purpose 

 of being recited in honour of Soma pavamdna 

 ie. of the Soma juice, whilst fermenting and 

 'clarifying.' Animal offerings form a necessary 

 part of the Soma sacrifice. 



For further details, see Eggeling, Translation of the 

 Satapatha. Brdhmana, vols. ii and iii. (in the Clarendon 

 Frew aeries of Sacred Books of the East). On the 

 divine personality of Soma, cf. J. Muir, Original Sans- 

 krit Textt, voL v. 



Somali-land, an eastern projection of Africa, 

 washed by the Gulf of Aden on the north and 

 by the Indian Ocean on the south-east ; the 

 western boundary may be defined by a line drawn 

 south from Zeyfa, on the Gulf of Aden, through 

 Harar to the River Jub or Juba. Besides this river 

 the only considerable stream is the Webi-Shebeyli, 

 which, however, does not reach the Indian Ocean, 

 its waters being lost in the sands near the southern 

 extremity of the region. The country is apparently 



an undulating plateau, in very many parts parched 

 and barren ; though in the rainy seasons ( two of two 

 or three months' duration each ) numerous swamps 

 are formed. Game and wild animals elephant, 

 hippopotamus, lion, leopard, crocodile, antelopes, 

 water-buck, monkeys, ostriches, vultures, mara- 

 bout storks, &c. are generally plentiful. The 

 vegetation is on the whole arid, though in suitable 

 localities there grow luxuriant grasses, mimosas, 

 acacias, gum-bearing trees, palms, sycamores, 

 cactus, aloe, and others. The inhabitants, the 

 Somal, numbering probably half a million, are for 

 the most part a pastoral people, who lead the life 

 described as characteristic of the Old Testament 

 patriarchs. They have herds of camels, sheep, and 

 oxen, and keep horses and goats. Fond of liberty 

 and warlike, they are ruled by a number of petty 

 chiefs, and are jealous of strangers entering their 

 territory (on which account it is almost wholly 

 unknown ) ; nevertheless, they are said to be a 

 light-hearted, merry, affectionate race, though 

 quick-tempered, and in their wrath savage and 

 cruel. They are Mohammedans in religion. Ethni- 

 cally they belong to the Hamitic stock, and are 

 closely akin to the Galla and the Abyssinians ; 

 but they are not a pure race, for there is a strong 

 blending of Semitic (Arab) blood in them, and 

 easily discernible traces of Negro as well. What 

 trade there is in the natural products ( myrrh and 

 frankincense, hides, ostrich-feathers, coffee, salt, 

 &c. ) finds an outlet through the ports on the coast, 

 principally through Berbera and Zeyla on the shore 

 of the Gulf of Aden. 



The Somali coast protectorate of Britain extends 

 from Ras ( Cape ) Jibuti, on the west of Zeyla, to 

 Ras Hafun, south of Cape Guardafui, and includes 

 the towns of Zeyla, Berbera, Bulhar, and Karam. 

 The cattle, sheep, hides, ostrich-feathers, gums, 

 &c. exported reach an annual value of 600,000. 

 Annexed by Egypt in 1875, this territory has been 

 under British protection since 1884 ; delimited by 

 arrangements with Italy (1894) and Abyssinia 

 (1897), the protectorate has 68,000 sq. m. area. 

 TheFrench call Obock (q.v.), &c., C6te desSomalis. 



SeeF. L. James, The Unknown Horn of Africa (1888); 

 Wolverton, Five Months' Sport in Somali-land ( 1894 ) ; 

 Swayne, Seventeen Trips through Somaliland (1895); 

 Donaldson Smith, Through Unknown African Countries 

 ( 1897 ) ; E. N. Buxton, Short Stalks ( 1898 ) ; F. B. Pearse, 

 Rambles in Lion-Land ( 1898 ) ; and for the ( non-Bantu ) 

 Somali language, the grammar and English-Somali dic- 

 tionary of the Franciscans Larajasse and Sampont ( 1898 ). 



Sombrerete, a town of Mexico, 105 miles 

 NW. of Zacatecas, famous for rich silver-mines. 

 Pop. 5200. 



Sombrero .( Span, sombra, 'shade'), a broad- 

 brimmed felt hat common in parts of America. 

 For Sombrerite, see APATITE. 



Somers,SiK GEORGE (1554-1611), an English 

 navigator, born at Lyme Regis, whose shipwreck 

 on the Bermudas (q.v.) led to their colonisation 

 from Virginia by him in 1611. 



Soincrs. JOHN, LORD, Whig statesman, was 

 born at Worcester, an attorney's son, on 4th 

 March 1652, and in 1667 entered Trinity College, 

 Oxford, in 1669 the Middle Temple, being called 

 to the bar in 1676. Associated with the 'Country 

 party,' he was one of the counsel for the Seven 

 Bishops (1688), and from the Revolution onwards 

 took a prominent part in politics, being returned 

 for Worcester to the Convention parliament, and 

 successively made Solicitor-general, Attorney-gen- 

 eral, and Lord Keeper of the Great Seal, until in 

 1697 he became Lord Chancellor, and was raised 

 to the peerage as Baron Somers of Evesliam. He 

 was William s most trusted minister, and as such 

 was the object of frequent attacks, one of which in 



