Page 400 - Travels in Arabia (Vol 2)_Neat

XVIII.*! 1! KHIiERA. 373

sharp end fixed in the ground. All being
thus arranged, an individual, usually the
oldest of the party, rises to address the as­
sembly ; the most profound silence and at­
tention is observed until he concludes, when
a low murmur of applause alone indicates

that his counsel is approved of. The orator
then sits down, and another rises, until all
have spoken who are desirous of doing so.
In this sedate and cpiiet manner are their re­
solutions formed; the council usually break­
ing up at the expiration of one or two hours’
debate. In the plain beyond the town, it was
by no means unusual to observe five or six
of these assemblies deliberating at the same
period, but a few yards removed from each
other. When hostilities had been determined
on, the Sumalis were observed during the
calm moonlight nights, and generally on the
one preceding their departure, to collect in
parties of two or three hundred, for the pur­
pose of chanting their war song, which they
did to a wild and plaintive air. The words

were first sung by a single individual, and
then repeated in chorus by all present. It
would have been impossible for the nicest