A VARIETY OF COSTUMES 



usual white "tobe," a few had departed far from the 

 conventional dress worn by the Somali on trek. I 

 noticed that some had draped themselves with two 

 "half-lengths" of coloured cloth, as striking as any 

 Scotch tartan, while one young " blood " wore above 

 his white loin-cloth a lady's brown jacket, made in 

 the days when "leg of mutton" sleeves were fashion- 

 able ! How he had ever got hold of it, and how he 

 had managed to keep it in such excellent condition, 

 in spite of the bush through which he had travelled, 

 will always remain a mystery. As is the custom in 

 the interior of Jubaland, all wore their hair long, 

 well oiled and fluffed out, and in it many carried 

 combs, shaped like a long wooden skewer. The 

 habit of bleaching^ the hair is not reofarded with much 

 favour by these tribes of the Ogaden, though it is 

 very general in northern Somaliland : nor will they 

 shave their heads, as many of the Herti do on the 

 coast, or the more civilised Somali in Nairobi or 

 Kismayu. They were all fully armed, however, with 

 spear, shield and knife : some carried in addition the 

 curious hatchet (gudimo) of native manufacture, and 

 the forked and hooked stick, both of which are used 

 for making or pulling apart the zariba. 



When they had finished their "buni," but while I 

 was still talking to them, one of the syces, who was 

 on guard while the camels fed, came running in and 

 reported that he had been accosted by four armed 

 Somali, who asked who I was, how many rifles I 

 had, and how many askaris. On hearing his 

 answer they left him and disappeared in the bush. 

 Thinking their behaviour very suspicious, he had 

 told the other syce to drive in the camels, and had 

 run on ahead himself to report. Before he had 



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