384 



THE ARAB. 



feis trim or entirely remove the moustaches. The 

 palms are reddened with henna, which is either 

 brought from El Hejaz or gathered in the planta- 

 tions. The only ring is a plain cornelian seal, 

 and the sole other ornament is a talisman (Hirz 

 in Kisawahili Hirizi). The eyes are blackened 

 with Kohl or antimony of El Sham — here not 

 Syria, but the region about Meccah — and the 

 mouth, crimsoned by betel, looks as if a tooth had 

 just been knocked out. 



None but women and slaves leave the house 

 unarmed. The lowest Arab sticks an old dagger 

 in his belt, handles a rusty spear, or shoulders a 

 cheap firelock. Gulf men are generally known by 

 their round targes (Tursi) made of carved and span- 

 gled rhinoceros or addax hide, toys with high cen- 

 tral umbo, and at the utmost a foot in diameter ; 

 others have fish-skin shields, and the Baloch affect 

 the Cutch 6 Dhal,' or buckler. The sword is of 

 three forms, of which the Sayf Earanji (Erankish 

 sword, in Kisawahili Upanga) has long been the 

 favourite. It is a straight, broad, two-edged, 

 guardless, double-handed weapon, about 4 ft 3 in. 

 long, sheathed in a scabbard of red morocco : the 

 thin and well-worn blade vibrates in the grip, and 

 by the side of its razor-like keenness our weapons 

 resemble iron bars. The price varies from $10 to 



