ABSTRACT
The Afar inhabit the vast area which stretches from the Jibuti-Diredawa railway in the south to the Buri peninsula in the north, and from the shores of the Red Se~ to the eastem fianks of the Abyssinian plateau. To the south they are bounded by the Esa Somali and the Htu and Enia Galla, to the west by the Wallo, Yaju and Raya Galla, and to the north-west by the Saho. Continuous hostility marks the relations of the Afar with these surrounding peoples. The eastem sea-board lies in southem Eritrea and French Somaliland, and the remainder and largest zone occupied by the Afar in Ethiopia. The country is arid and sterile in the extreme, consisting of stone and sand desert interspersed with salt lakes and lava streams. There is virtually only one relatively fertile district, the Sultanate of Aussa on the Awash River. Here some cultivation is possible; for the rest, nomadic pastoralism is the only possible response to this barren habitat, although somewhat more favourable conditions obtain on the Mabra mountains, the Horma highlands, and Mount Biru, at an altitude of 6,000 ft., where more stable settlements are found.1 Livestock consists of goats, sheep, and camels where the terrain is suitable, and in certain milder environments some cattle are found. Salt deposits provide an essential article of trade.
