CHAPTER XIII 



FURTHER NOTES ON THE SOMALI 



A Somali village, or " rer," as it is called, is com- 

 posed of a number of huts shaped like a beehive 

 (gurgi), surrounded by a thorn fence, or " zariba." 

 The centre of the enclosed space is usually divided 

 into a number of divisions or pens, in which the 

 sheep and goats are kept during the night. The 

 huts, which are wretchedly poor and squalid in 

 appearance, are carried from place to place on the 

 backs of camels or bullocks, and are erected and 

 taken down by the women, while the zariba is 

 erected by the men. The gurgi are built by placing 

 six or more curved posts in the ground ; the tops 

 are tied tightly together, and supported by a heavy 

 central pole, and the framework is strengthened by 

 cross-pieces tied horizontally ; a small space is left 

 for the doorway, to the right of which a shallow 

 trench is made for the fire. This is the only means 

 of entrance and exit for the inhabitants ; it is the sole 

 method of ventilation, and of enabling the smoke to 

 escape. The shell of the hut being thus securely 

 erected, the whole is covered by a number of mats 

 skilfully woven out of grass and the fibre made from 

 the smooth outer bark of the " araru " tree, while some- 

 times the hide of a bullock is stretched over the top 

 and tightly lashed down, in order to make everything 

 completely rain- and storm-proof. 



The interior is generally divided into two apart- 



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