206 FROM NORTH POLE TO EQUATOR. 



and other such things decorate the walls. Each vessel is daintily 

 wrought and cleanly kept; the order and cleanliness of the whole 

 hut impress one the more that both are so uncommon. 



In such a hut the Hassanie dreams away the day. Dressed in 

 her best, her hair and skin oiled with perfumed ointment, a long, 

 lightly-woven, and therefore translucent piece of cloth enveloping 

 the upper part of her body, a piece of stuff hanging petticoat-like 

 from the waist, her feet adorned with daintily- worked sandals, neck 

 and bosom hung with chains and amulets, arms with bracelets of 

 amber, her nose possibly decorated with a silver, or even a gold ring, 

 she sits hidden in the shade and rejoices in her beauty. Her little 

 hand is busy with a piece of plaiting, some house utensil or article 

 of dress, or perhaps it holds only her tooth-brush, a root teased out 

 at both ends, and admirably adapted to its purpose. All the work 

 of the house is done by her slave, all the labour of looking after the 

 little flock by her obliging husband. The carefully thought-out 

 and remarkable marriage-relations customary in the tribe, and ad- 

 hered to in defiance of all the decrees and interference of the ruler 

 of the land, guarantee her unheard-of rights. She is mistress in the 

 most unlimited sense of the word, mistress also of her husband, at 

 least as long as her charms remain; only when she is old and 

 withered does she also learn the transitoriness of all earthly pleasure. 

 Till then, she does what seems good in her eyes, her freedom bounded 

 only by the limits which she has herself laid down. As long as the 

 crowns of the trees do not afford complete shade around her hut 

 she does not go out of doors, but offers every passer-by, particularly 

 any stranger who calls upon her, a hearty welcome, and with or 

 without her husband's aid, does the honours of the tribe with almost 

 boundless hospitality. Yet it is only when the evening sets in that 

 her real life begins. Even before the sun has set, there is a stir and 

 bustle in the settlement. One friend visits her neighbour, others 

 join them; drum and zither entice the rest, and soon slender, lithe, 

 supple figures arrange themselves for a merry dance. Delicate 

 hands dip the drinking-cups into the big-bellied urn, filled with 

 Merieza or dhurra beer, that the hearts of the men also may be 

 glad. Old and young are assembled, and they celebrate the evening 



