I 
SOMALI ETHNOLOGY 
15 
in a dense mass, crying “Mot!” (Hail to thee). The men are 
generally dressed in the red Ichaili tobes, and the saddlery is 
covered with red tassels. Among the Esa tribe the dihdltig is 
represented by a dance on foot, with shield and spear. In 
this dance the warriors go through the performance of pretend- 
ing to kill a man, crowding in a semicircle round him, and 
stabbing him again and again, all the while yelling “ Kek-kek- 
TceTc ! Kek-kek-kek ! ” as they gasp for breath. I have the 
authority of Major Abud, formerly Assistant Resident at Berbera, 
for stating that the dibdltig is usually performed only on the 
election of a sultan or in honour of an English traveller, whom 
the people recognise as a representative of the paramount 
authority. It may be performed in honour of Europeans 
other than English who visit the country, but only when they 
do so under the aegis of the British Government. Among 
Somalis themselves it is the open recognition of the authority 
of a sultan, and notifies the acceptance of his rule by the sub- 
tribes or jilibs performing it. It may therefore be looked upon 
as a species of coronation ceremony. The word mot is the 
royal salute. The late Assistant Resident at Berbera had a 
case brought before him in which a part of the Eidegalla tribe 
had thrown off allegiance to Sultan Deria, and wdien his 
intervention was successful, one of the terms proposed by the 
delinquents themselves was that they would dibdltig before him 
as a recognition of their return to his control. 
The influence of the Mussulman teaching is apparent in 
many of the customs of the country. The SomMis are as a 
rule clean and decent in their dress, and such a thing as a 
drunken SomMi in Somaliland is practically unknown. I have 
seen a man dangerously ill with snake-bite, and believed to be 
dying, refusing brandy when offered to him as a medicine, 
saying that he would rather die than take it. 
In speaking of SomMis I do not, of course, attempt to 
describe the Aden hack -carriage driver or boatman. These 
products of civilisation are not found in the interior of Somali- 
land ; they are, to my mind, the only true Somdli savages. The 
Aden SomMi as a boy diving for silver coins in the harbour is 
a delightful little fellow, but when he grows up he becomes 
odious. As a cabman or boatman he sees too much of the 
weaknesses of Europeans, and as a result of the familiarity 
loses his respect for them. To cite an instance of the familiarity 
which breeds contempt, Aden Somalis have been known to call 
