Aden in
1906
continued from page 1
The country of the Somali forms the
north-east horn of Africa, and abounds with elephant,
lion and antelope of several varieties, affording a
happy hunting ground for the Aden sportsman. The
inhabitants are distinct from other African races, their
feature being of a decidedly Caucasian type and free
from all negro traits. They are said to be descendants
of Arab settlers who intermarried with the galla
aborigines of that part of Africa, now known as
Somaliland. They are all Mahomedans and have a distinct
language of their own. The Arabs of Aden are generally
engaged as labourers, coaling coolies, firemen of
steamers, and in fact all arduous employments. Many are
shopkeepers and a few are large merchants and traders
owning fleets of native sailing craft and having branch
establishments in Egypt, Arabia and Africa. The Somalis
avoid laborious and responsible occupations, for which,
indeed, they are unfitted by physique and temperament.
They become boatmen, hack-carriage drivers and in fact
anything affording scope for their vagabond instincts.
They never, in Aden, rise above this class. However, it
is said, they make excellent soldiers in their own
country. The Somali levies when raised to cooperate
against the Mullah in Somaliland are reported to have
behaved splendidly under their British Officers, and the
Somali has long been known as a plucky and intrepid
sportsman after elephant and lion. It is likely that the
Aden representatives are degenerate specimens of their
race.
Other eastern races in Aden are
represented by a sprinkling of Turks, Persians,
Egyptians, Chinese, Seedees, Hindus and Parsees. The
Parsees are a most interesting community. They are the
descendants of Persians who fled from their country and
settled in Bombay at the time of the Mahomedan invasion
of Persia to escape the persecution to which those who
remained faithful to the religion of Zoroaster were
subjected. They are mostly employed in commerce; but
many have attained to eminence in the learned
professions. Two have represented English constituencies
in Parliament. The Aden Parsees followed the English
from Bombay to Aden, and the settlement owes much to
their industry and philanthropy, especially to that of
the Messrs Cowasjee Dinshaw and Bros., merchants and
shipowners. Two very interesting Parsee buildings may be
seen in the Crater where Aden town is situated; one the
Fire Temple in which the sacred fire perpetually burns,
and the other the Tower of Silence.
The natives of Hindustan residing in
Aden consist of Hindus, Mahomedans and Jews. The Hindus
are generally connected with the garrison, and with
their families come to Aden for a year or two. A Hindu
temple may be seen in the Crater. The upper class of
Brahmins is not represented here, it being impious for a
‘thrice-born’ to cross the ‘Kalapani’ or dark waters,
meaning the sea.
The Jews of Aden, numbering over 200,
are the descendants of immigrants from Arabia and India.
They are principally engaged in the ostrich feather
trade, a few keep good bric-a-brac shops at Steamer
Point and one or two are large merchants. The Jews board
vessels as hawkers and do a good trade with passengers.
They may be recognised by the lock of hair curling down
in front of each ear.
Arabic is the language of the
country, but Somali is spoken by the African from the
opposite coast, and Hindustani by natives of India as
well as all other natives, Arabs or Somalis, who come
into contact with the European. The Europeans consist
principally of the British troops and their families and
the crew of the station man-of-war. There are besides
many English, American, French, German, and Italian or
Greek business firms. There are two centres of
population; one at Steamer Point, called Tawahi,
containing 645 houses and 4,657 inhabitants; the other
in the Crater, Aden Town, five miles distant from
Steamer Point, with 2410 house and 17,524 inhabitants.
As Aden produces nothing, all the
food supplies have to be imported, and in considerable
quantities, to meet the demands, not only of the
population and garrison, but of the shipping, the port
being the only revictualling station in these waters.
The place is well situated with regard to sources of
supply, and in no Indian station is there such an
abundance and variety of excellent food.
Cunningham Market at Steamer Point
The meat and fowl supply comes from
Arabia and Africa; oxen from the former, sheep and goats
from the latter. The beef is not too good, but the
Somali sheep yields excellent mutton. They are pretty
animals, peculiarly marked, their head being black and
the body white. They possess enormous tails, fat, broad
and thick, which, in common with other fatty parts,
disappear under starvation and are for this reason
popularly supposed to be a provision of nature by which
a reserve of nourishment is provided for the animal to
draw upon during the frequent famines it experiences in
its native land. Flour, rice, grains, &c, are imported
from India and some superior flour from Trieste.
Vegetables, forage, and firewood come from the interior.
There are two large markets, one in the Crater and one,
the Cunningham, at Steamer Point, well stocked with
daily supplies of all sorts. All fruit is imported;
oranges and apples from Egypt, sweet limes from
Zanzibar, plantains and mangoes from Bombay in season.
Excellent milk, fresh butter and cream are obtainable
from the military grass farms.
Gharry from the Govt. Military Dairy. The dairy was
located near the end of the tunnel from Crater to the
Isthmus, behind the defence walls
The Aden servants are mostly Hindus
and Goanese; as it is very difficult to pick up good
ones locally they should be brought from India. They
demand higher wages in Aden; that for butlers, syces [grooms
or mounted attendants] and cooks being from
Rs20 to Rs25 per month, dhobies Rs16 to 18. The Arabs,
as we all know, make good coachmen, and sometimes a good
table servant is found among the Somalis who, however,
as a rule, are bad servants and expect the same wages as
men taken from India.
The bulk
of the population consists of Arabs and Somalis in about
equal' numbers, the males of each race predominating in
the proportion of about two to one female. The majority
have been born in the settlement; but many are
immigrants from Yemen in Arabia and from the opposite
coast of Africa known as Somaliland. Many of the Somalis
are only visitors. They are fond of coming to Aden, and
have every facility for doing so in the local steamers,
which bring over from 200 to 500 weekly. The members of
each race are easily distinguished by their physique,
dress and temperament, the Arab being short, muscular
and sturdy, with a light brown complexion and long black
hair.
The characteristic articles of his attire are a
short petticoat or kilt and a turban. He is calm and
reserved in his manner. The Somali on the other hand, is
tall, thin and black, and of a very boisterous,
excitable temperament. He has good features of a
European type, and is robed in a single white cotton
garment of ample material hanging in folds from the left
shoulder to the feet, the right shoulder and arm being
left bare to give freedom in the use of the spear
(forbidden to be carried in Aden, where it is replaced
by a long stick,) with which, in addition to a shield
and short sword, he is constantly armed in his own
country owing to perpetual tribal quarrels. He wears no
head covering, but his hair, which is short black and
curly, is often plastered over with a preparation of
clay (supposed to be for a sanitary purpose,) which
stains it a reddish-yellow colour, an effect, however,
that wears off in a few days after removal of the
preparation.
The Arab women of the higher classes are
strictly ‘purdah’, that is never appear in public, but
remain in their harems behind the screen (purdah.) Those
of the lower class and all Somali women appear to
possess full social liberty. They are to be seen
unveiled and mixing freely with the general population
in all public places. As in the case of the men, the
dress, complexion and physique of the women denote their
nationalities. The Arab female is enveloped from head to
foot in a single garment of some dark colour, the face
contrary to Mahomedan custom, being often exposed; while
the Somali woman, who is often a fine specimen of
feminine beauty in form and feature, affects more
elaborateness in her attire adorning herself with
jewellery when her means permit, and wearing a costume
of white cotton arranged in a peculiar but extremely
graceful and becoming manner. Young Somali girls wear no
head-dress; but after marriage it is the rule for the
hair to be confined in a sort of cap of dark blue
colour. |
