3-021-182 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Interior of an Abyssinian house, 1868. Engraving of a sketch by C. M'Dowall, assistant surgeon, of the 3rd Light Cavalry of the Bombay Army at the camp of Senafe. 'The owner...was a...municipal authority at Senafe, wearing, as a badge of...office, a black sheep's wool comforter, with hanging tails, fastened round his neck. In the front room...was this person, who entertained Mr. M'Dowall very hospitably...His Abyssinian host gave Mr. M'Dowall plenty of black bread and sour whey, the best fare which the place could afford, in addition to a piece of raw meat, which Mr. M'Dowall was invited to eat without any culinary preparation, but which he declined. The master of the house is seen holding open the door, through which a girl is entering, with a skin of water. His brother and his wife are upon the raised floor, another woman is cooking at the fireplace, and a naked child plays at its mother's feet. These people have Indo-Caucasian features, with a dark complexion; the hair, which is naturally frizzly, is worn in a couronne or chignon...[Of interest] are the jar of whey, at the foot of one of the roof-posts; the piece of raw meat suspended from a nail above; and the niches...over the fireplace, which are used for storing provisions'. From "Illustrated London News", 1868.