Page:Africa by Élisée Reclus, Volume 1.djvu/303

 THE 13EJAS. 287 scarring of the body. Their warriors have not yet completely ceased wearing coats of mail, while some of the tribes still use primitive weapons, amongst others a plain or spiked stick. The bulk of the liejas wear their hair very thick as a protection against the sun. On a level with the eyes they draw a circle round the head, above which the hair rises straight up like a huge mop, distinct tufts fonning a crest at each side and at the back, which serve as a protection to the ears and the nape of the neck. A scratcher, usually a porcupine quill, is stuck through this black headdress, which is often saturated with butter. Most of the Bejas are said in their youth to possess considerable intelligence, while their development is greatly arrested after puberty. They are said to be bounded in their ideas, obstinate, boastful, rude, disrespectful to their parents, and careless of the welfare or safety of their guests. They give themselves up exclu- sively to cattle-breeding, and migrate from pasturage to pasturage, although one of their tsajs^, or encampments, may be considered as the official residence. Custom forbids that anything in this place should be touched ; marauders may seize the flocks, but they respect the tents. The Hadcndoas possess an excellent breed of camels, which enables them suddenly to appear at great distances from their usual camping-grounds, and escape with their booty before the warriors have had time to assemble so as to overtake them. The numerous Beja tribes also consider it a point of honour to breed war-horses, although in many places they are fain to be content with small wiry animals of Abyssinian extraction; the larger and stronger Dongola steeds suffer greatly from the climate, and the chiefs are compelled to be constantly renewing their studs. Some of the Beja peoples are agriculturists, but they use very rudimentary instruments, a stick burnt to a point serving as a plough. Here and there certain industries have also survived, inherited from the lilemmyes, such as weaving, iron-smelting and forging, and making filigree work. The straight two-edged sword, the favourite weapon of the Bejas, is generally of German manufacture, but they also forge excellent weapons, swords and daggers; the scabbards are of wood, covered with leather, aad amongst the rich embellished with elephants' ears. The shields they use are made of rhinoceros hide, or the skins of other large animals. Commerce is actively carried on amongst all the tribes, and in this respect the Bejas contrast singularly with their neighbours the Bazen or Kunama. The customs of the Bejas, especially those which relate to marriage and the social position of women, are still very different from those of the Arabs ; the contrast is complete between the precepts of the Koran and the traditional prac- tices of divers origin. In certain respects the women are treated with unspeak- able cruelty. Parents are obliged to make their daughters undergo dreadful surgical oijerations, without which they must renounce all hoi)es of obtaining a husband. But after marriage the wife is in no way under the control of the husband. She can return to her mother's tent whenever she pleases, and after the birth of a child she has the right to repudiate her husband, who must make her a present in order to be accepted again. If he insults or spt^aks rudely to her he is driven from the tent, and can only obtain re-admittance by presenting her with