Page 80 - A Hand book of Arabia Vol 1 (iii) Ch 4,5

domestic APP lAT US AND MANUFACTURES 135

Domestic Apparatus and Manufactures

, . t round Ibha and Qunfudah, where the Turks have exer-
• civilizing influence amongst the better-class natives, the
'• ^habitants of Asir live under very primitive and simple conditions.

|'[1 tjie Tihainah their dwelling-places are rounded huts of straw
w ith pointed roofs, and are generally surrounded by a straw com-
Moimd. The floors are of pounded clay with a raised place for
a lire. Their beds resemble the angaribs of the Sudan, a lacing of
rope or thongs on a wooden framework supported by four wooden
I (Mrs.
% the ‘Aqabah and along the main ridge a man’s house is his
fortress, and is built to last. The big chiefs have huge rambling
structures massively built of stone and sometimes running up to
four or five storeys. The doors are solid, the windows square with
wooden shutters, and the roofs flat, supported by stout beams over
which*are laid branches of trees and then a surface of clay. Each
house has its own yard surrounded by a stone wall. The houses of
the Shahran and Qahtan tribes are of a similar type, save that*above
f
the first floor they are built of clay. Inside there is little furniture, ■
but the houses are kept scrupulously clean, and are never used as :
-
privies as is the case elsewhere in Arabia. For beds straw mats are
\
used, covered with a thick sheepskin-coat (farwah), or rug. In all big
I
houses a separate room is set aside for the kitchen. In eating, the
men kneel on their haunches round a big wooden platter and help ■
themselves with their fingers. Copper cooking utensils come from
Aden, copper coffee-pots from Mecca, while clay plates, water jars,
and cups are made locally.
Artificial light is only seen in the houses of the rich, where small
7
petroleum lamps are used. Clothes come almost entirely from :•}
Aden. The local manufactures are few and unimportant. Certain i
tribes make their own goat-hair tents and saddles; saddlebags i1
and leathern belts are usually home-made. The Rijal el-M‘a are I:
known for their straw-woven articles, such as matting, baskets,
and hats (toffush) which are largely worn by the women of Asir.
-lost of the swords and long curved knives (jendbih) are finished

by the local smiths. The Al Yazld section of the Beni Mujieid
are noted for their skill in this. Arms and ammunition, of course, t
come exclusively from abroad, but the Beni Shihrr are sai^^ P
duce an inferior kind of powder. The rifles are h"r
inferior kind of powder. The rifles are badly treated, the
fights being knocked off and the stocks pared down
111 snmo wax ivaavi uuv cvvvnt.» j^wavva »» aa» It) IS t'll.6 custom \
e tubes to cut a notch on the stock for each man killed.

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