MISCELLANEOUS SUBJECTS 495 



this bush, known to the Somalis by the name " Bo'o," 

 is prepared in the following manner. The long green 

 branches are incised in a circular manner around their 

 thicker ends and the thin green bark peeled off in long 

 strips. The bast is then stripped from the remainder 

 and put inside until required. The process of cleaning, 

 which is done entirely by the old women, is a long one 

 as small quantities are chewed at a time, the fibre being 

 kept in the mouth until quite clean and the juice spat 

 out from time to time. The fibre when sufficiently 

 clean is then stretched out to dry and later twisted by 

 hand into thin string, which is used at the coast for 

 fishing lines and other purposes. 



(4) Acacias. The bast fibre obtained from the 

 " Galol " (Acacia sp. allied to A. latronum, Willd.) is 

 prepared in a manner similar to the above, only it is 

 customary for the women when chewing the " Galol " 

 to swallow their saliva. This fibre is of a reddish colour 

 and is also used for making string. 



Bast fibres which are very commonly used among the 

 Somalis are also prepared from two other acacias, 

 namely the " Gurha " (Acacia Seyal, Del.) and the 

 " Khansa " (Acacia nubica, Benth.). The former is 

 the better of the two and from it a very strong light 

 rope is prepared by the women. It can as a rule be 

 very easily distinguished from the Galol rope after it 

 has been in use a few days as the former soon takes 

 on a dark reddish colour. 



Tanning materials. (i) Watta leaves. The " Watta " 

 (Osyris abyssinica, Hochst.) is a common bush on the 

 Golis Range and is frequently used by the Midgans for 

 tanning purposes. As the leather it produces is of a 

 more or less pinkish-fawn colour, the native tanners 

 often mix Marra seedpods with it to give the leather 

 a dark reddish colour. Only .the leaves and the tender 

 tips of the branches are used and when these are care- 

 fully collected the total matter absorbed by hide powder 

 may be from 23 to 26 per cent. 



(2) Marra bark and seedpods. The "Marra" (Acacia 

 arabica var. ?) is a very common tree throughout 

 Somaliland and is more commonly used for tanning 



