THEIR DRESS. 173 



outlive Lohitu, the present possessor of the honours, 

 succeed to the dignity, as the same rule of descent 

 was observed among them as at Tajourah, the title 

 of Sheik, or superior, being alternately possessed by 

 the heads of two sub-divisions of the tribe. 



This dowager lady of Abucarl, was a fat and 

 rather handsomely made woman, about forty years 

 of age, at which period the Dankalli women gene- 

 rally look very haggard. She wore the usual dress, 

 a skin petticoat, with a short fringe made of 

 thongs attached to the lower edge, and fastened 

 round her waist by a piece of common palm-leaf 

 rope. Upon her neck she bore a very large neck- 

 lace of small spiral shells, of a dark blue colour, 

 with a continuous white line winding around, and 

 interspersed with these, were large red beads of 

 some coloured resinous composition, manufactured 

 on the shores of the Red Sea, and brought from 

 thence by merchants travelling into the interior. 

 Hanging before her ears, were large triangularly 

 formed appendages four or five inches long, the 

 base depending below being, at least, three inches. 

 These were made of thick brass wire, and from 

 them were suspended, several large pieces of 

 pewter. At first, I considered them to be the very 

 extreme of barbarous ear-rings, but on looking more 

 closely, I found they were not attached to the ear 

 at all, but suspended from the top of the head, and 

 secured from falling forwards, by narrow fillets of 

 greasy rag tied behind. A square piece of blue 



