Gadara

“ This place, called also Gezer, or Gadara, (to be distinguished from Gadara in the Peræa mentioned in the New Test.) is several times spoken of by Josephus in connection with Joppa. Ant. xiii. 9. Reland, 778, 801. Strabo mentions it in connection with Ascalon and Ashdod, xvi. p. 759. It was the western boundary of the portion of Ephraim. The root of the word (גדר) denoting an enclosed place, gave rise to several names of towns; among others the Phœnician Γάδειρα, Cadiz.
Page 44.—The five cities of the Philistines. ”

“ Euseb. Onomast. in [Greek text] . The distance of the ruins at Omkeis from the Hieromax and the hot baths seems to have been Burckhardt's objection to their being the remains of Gadara; but this distance is justified by St. Jerom, by Eusebius, and by a writer of the 5th century. According to the two former authors the hot baths were not at Gadara, but at a place near it called Aitham, or Aimath, or Emmatha; and the latter correctly states the distance at five miles. ”

“ The Vulgate, Arabic, and others that follow the Vulgate read Gergesa in all the Evangelists, and there can be no doubt that this is the correct reading, for the simple reason that the miracles could not have taken place in the country of the Gadarenes, a district which lies south of the Yarmuk, and at a long distance from the lake, the principal town, Gadara, the modern Um Keis, about the identification of which there can be no doubt, being at least eight miles from it. ”

“ It is impossible to ignore the existence of Kushite races in the east as well as the south. We have not only the authority of the earliest Greek writings, but Biblical records also are in support of the fact, and modern interest only centres in the question what has become of them. Bellew suggests that it was after the various Kush or Kach, or Kaj tribes that certain districts in Baluchistan are called Kach Gandava or Kach (Kaj) Makran, and that the chief of these tribes were the Gadara, after whom the country was called Gadrosia. ”

“ The Gara, in whose country we were now, are a wild pastoral tribe of the mountains, travelling over them hither and thither in search of food for their flocks. They are troglodytes of a genuine kind and know no home save their ancestral caves, with which this limestone range abounds; they only live in rude reed huts like ant hills, when they come down to the plain of Dhofar in the rainy season for pasturage. There is a curious story connected with the Gara tribe, which probably makes them unique in Arabia, and that is, that a few years ago they owned a white sheikh. ”

“ Sabakh, Mabel!' The women of the Gara tribe are timid creatures, small, and not altogether ill-looking; in fact the Garas are, as a tribe, undersized and of small limbs, but exceedingly active and lithe. The women do not possess the wealth in savage jewellery which we found to be [259] the case in the Hadhramout the previous year, nor do they paint themselves so grotesquely with turmeric and other dyes, but indulge only in a few patches of black, sticky stuff like cobbler's wax on their faces, and a touch of antimony round their eyes and joining their eyebrows ”

“ Garudâ.—Garut′man (whence Garudâ) , means the winged one. In the epic mythology of India Garudâ was son of Kashjapa and Vinatâ, daughter of Daxa, king of the Suparn′a (“beautiful winged ones”) , divine [365] birds, whose habitation was in the lower heavens. They were the standing foes of the serpent-gods, on whose flesh they fed. In the Vêda it is spoken of as a bird with beautiful golden wings. A Gaudharba of high degree, bearing shining weapons, was placed over the higher heaven. ”

“ This country consists of seven oases, five in close proximity and two isolated. The town of Ghardaia (in the local documents Taghardeit) is situated on a mosque-crowned hill in the middle of the Wadi Mzab, 1755 ft. above the sea. Ghardaia, which is divided by walls into three quarters, is built of limestone and the houses are in terraces one above the other. The central quarter is the home of the ruling tribe, the Beni-Mzab. The eastern quarter belongs to the Jews, of whom there are about 300 families; the western is occupied by the Medabia, Arabs from the Jebel Amur. ”

“ The Gadarias of the Central Provinces worship a goddess called Dishai Devi, who is represented by a stone platform just outside the sheep-pen. She has thus probably developed from the deified sheep or goat, which itself was formerly worshipped. On the eighth day of the fasts in Chait and Kunwār the Gadarias offer the goddess a virgin she-goat. They wash the goat’s feet in water and rub turmeric on its feet and head. It is given rice to eat and brought before the goddess, and water is poured over its body ”

“ Garuda.
Never since my birth has so wonderful a thing been seen by me in my feasts on the lords of the Nágas! Not only is this hero unterrified, but he even appears almost delighted. There is no lassitude seen in him, though most of his blood is drunk up. His face, through its heroic endurance, even when he is suffering the pangs from the tearing of his flesh, seems serene as in ecstacy. Every limb, which is not actually destroyed, bristles with rapture. ”

“ There the son finds something white lying under a mimosa tree. On inquiry he learnt that it is a heap of serpents’ bones left there by Garuda, who comes daily to feed on serpents. On hearing this, the king goes towards a temple, but is arrested by the cry of a woman, who says: “My son to-day will be eaten by Garuda.” She and her people were, in fact, serpents in human shape. The king was moved to pity, and as in the famous legend of Buddha and the tigress, he offered to expose himself to Garuda in the room of her son. ”

“ None of us suffer so much from the cold as poor Gahra. His ebon skin has turned ashen gray, he shivers continually, can hardly speak, and sits on his mule with difficulty.
The country we are in is uninhabited and the trail we are following known only to a few Indians. I am the first white man, says Gondocori, by whom it has been trodden.
We pass the night in a ruined building of cyclopean dimensions, erected no doubt in the time of the Incas, either for the accommodation of travellers by whom the road was then frequented or for purposes of defence. ”

“ In early classical times Garama, now known as Jerma, some sixty miles to the north of Murzuk, was the capital of the Garamantian kingdom. When Jerma was destroyed by the Arabs in the seventh century, Zuila, probably the Cillala of the Romans, became the capital of the Eastern Fezzan, maintaining its supremacy even after conquest by the Beni Khattab in the tenth century. When in the fourteenth century the Fezzan was overrun by the people of Kanem the capital again moved, this time to Traghen.
Air is the next stage on the road to the Sudan after crossing the desert to the south of Ghat. ”

“ Śankhachúda.
O mother, away with your fear, this is not the enemy of the Nágas. See the difference between this holy one, whose appearance indicates a beauteous nature, and Garuda, with his fierce beak smeared with clots of blood, which have dropped whilst he was piercing the brains of the mighty Nágas.
Old Woman.
In truth, through fear of thy death, I regard this whole world as Garuda.
Jímútaváhana.
O mother, what need of saying it again and again? Will not I accomplish his deliverance?
Old Woman (clasping her hands on her head) .
My son, live long! ”

“ The Garamantes are so called from Garama, which is the capital of their Kingdom, and the castle of which standeth between Inenense and Ethiopia, where is a fountain which cooleth with the heat of the day, and groweth hot with the cold of the night. Ethiopia is over against Egypt and Africa, on the southern part thereof; from the east it stretcheth over against the west even to the Ethiopian Sea. ”

“ The Gafats, inhabiting a small district adjoining to the Galla, have also distinct languages, so have the Galla themselves, of whom we have often spoken; they are a large nation.
From Dingleber all along the lake, below the mountains bounding Guesgué and Kuara, is called Dembea. This low province on the south of Gondar, and Woggora the small high province on the east, are all sown with wheat, and are the granaries of Abyssinia. ”

“ Thou art to be pitied, since thou hast been saved at the expense of another, who gave up his life for thine. Woe! Woe! How thou hast been deceived! How thou hast been deceived! This being the state of things, I will not live to be made a laughing-stock, but will at once endeavour to follow him. (Walking about, and looking intently on the ground.) I proceed, full of desire to see Garuda, tracking carefully this line of blood, which, through its purple hue, is hard to be traced on this rock, which is variegated with minerals, and rendered obscure by the thick trees. ”

“ Gadaba.— The Gadabas are a tribe of agriculturists, coolies, and hunters in the Vizagapatam district. Hunting is said to be gradually decreasing, as many of the forests are now preserved, and shooting without a license is forbidden. Men sometimes occupy themselves in felling trees, catching birds and hares, and tracking and beating game for sportsmen. The Gadabas are also employed as bearers in the hills, and carry palanquins. ”

“ Gabra.The wells of Gabra in the Wadi Mogaddam, nearly 60 miles north-west of Omdurman, are an important Arab centre, there being many wells and a good deal of cultivation in the neighbourhood. The Arabs are principally Kababish, but Geriat and Hassania also come here. Gabra is under the Governor of Khartoum, but the boundaries of Dongola, Berber, and Kordofan Provinces are all within a few miles of it. ”

“ So he made an agreement with Garuda. He said: "O king [145] of birds, I will send one serpent every day to the shore of the southern sea for you to eat. But you are never to enter the underworld again. What advantage would it be to you if all the serpents were slain at once?" And Garuda agreed, with an eye to his own advantage. ”

“ The Daharias usually have a guru or spiritual preceptor, but husband and wife must not have the same one, as in that case they would be in the anomalous position of brother and sister, a guru’s disciples being looked upon as his children. The Daharias were formerly warriors in the service of the Ratanpur kings, and many families still possess an old sword which they worship on the day of Dasahra. Their names usually end in Singh or Lāl. They are now engaged in cultivation, and many of them are proprietors of villages, and tenants. ”

“ Stretching thirty miles in length by about twelve or fifteen in breadth, the mountains of Garra Gorphoo, covered throughout with one sheet of rich cultivation, form the water-shed between the Nile and the Háwash. The various rivulets that on either side wind down towards the parent streams, intersect it into hundreds of verdant valleys, on the swelling slopes of which the white-roofed houses of secluded Galla hamlets peep forth among dark green groves of juniper and acacia, that add beauty to the fair prospect. ”

“ He sent us a message to the effect that, as long as the river was low, he and his people were afraid of the Toucouleurs; “but wait,” he added, “till it rises, for then the Kurteyes are the kings of the Niger; no one can get at us, and we shall be able to shake hands with you.”
The most devoted and zealous of all our friends, however, was Galadio, and there was a perpetual going and coming between his village and our camp. ”

“ In the azure of the sky, Garuda circles, calling for his deity as his eye is cast earthwards in search of a meal. Happily there is no battlefield with stricken horse and bullock to bring him down and tempt him to forget his sorrows in the terrible feast. ”

“ The Galla are a very numerous race of shepherds living to the south and west of Abyssinia, and also in parts of the interior of that country. As their land is high, and the rains screen it for a considerable time from the sun, the general complexion of these people is brown; though some who inhabit the valley of the lower country are perfectly black, with long hair of the same colour. They are divided into tribes, for every seven of which a king or chief is elected. ”

“ After receiving the Wadi Zabara, Wadi Ghadir continues its course south-east past Gebel Ghadir, from the slopes of which numerous small feeders enter the main channel. Almost due south of Gebel Ghadir, in the southern one of two branches into which the wadi splits as it passes round a low island-like mass of hills, is Bir Ghadir, a well sunk in the alluvium of the wadi floor. When I visited it early in 1906 this well was filled by downwash, and the Arabs of the district deferred digging it out until the rock basins were empty; it is an important water source and is said to yield good supplies. ”

“ Those savages only ridiculed my compassion, and asked me if I was gratified in seeing the people of Bondoo thus punished. My reply in the negative only excited their laughter, and drew a remark from Garran, “That people so sensible to the sufferings of their enemies could not be good warriors.” Alas! what an error, and what consequent scenes of distress and misery!!
We left Maghem-Yaghere at six on the morning of the 10th, passed a small village called Gakoro, close to the river, at half after six, and arrived at the ruins of N-gany-n-gorē at noon. ”