328 Note on the Mijjertheyn Somalees. £No. 149. 



man is wounded by an arrow, the part injured is cut out with a dagger, 

 and fire applied to the wound as soon as possible ; and yet when an 

 antelope is killed with one of these arrows, they content themselves 

 with merely cutting away that part of the flesh to which the arrow 

 adheres, and which on the specimen that Captain Powell and I saw, 

 had a deep purple appearance. Marriage with the men takes place 

 at about eighteen or twenty, and with the women at fourteen to sixteen. 

 A young man of property wishing to marry, and not finding a wife 

 to suit him in his neighbourhood, sends a trusty messenger to another 

 tribe, who selects a fitting maiden, and demands her in marriage in the 

 name of his master. If the terms are accepted, the young lady is sent 

 to her future husband's encampment, under the escort of the messen- 

 ger, and on her arrival there, is treated with all respect by the family, 

 and her friends and relations are invited to celebrate the marriage 

 feast, which generally lasts seven days. The sum paid to the father of 

 the bride, frequently amounts to 150 dollars, given partly in money, 

 and partly in kind. The bride is required to provide mats for the 

 hut and bed, with a few wicker bowls gaily ornamented with white 

 couries for milk. Her wedding finery, consisting of a few beads, is 

 contributed by her friends. In the absence of the cazee, any person who 

 can read the koran, officiates ; and frequently to spare the modesty of 

 the bride, her brother or some near male relation acts for her during 

 the ceremony, as wakeel or proxy. 



In the event of the husband dying, his brother is expected to marry 

 the widow, and by many the obligation is considered so imperative, 

 that one of their own wives is divorced to make room for the new 

 comer, and yet strange to say, marriage between cousins is strictly for- 

 bidden amongst these people. Divorces are common, and not considered 

 disgraceful. The triple oath sworn in the presence of two witnesses is 

 sufficient, and at the expiration of three months the woman is at liberty 

 to marry again. On the birth of a child, the mother is compelled to 

 seclude herself for a period of seven days, after which she resumes her 

 ordinary daily employment. Circumcision takes place at seven years, 

 and they affirm, that it was practised before the Hejira, which is most 

 improbable. The duties of the women consist in watching their flocks 

 of sheep and goats, fetching wood and water and doing all the drudgery. 

 The she-camels are under the care of the men entirely, whose only 



