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Most Moslems agree in assigning this origin to the Dayrah, and the Fatihah in honor of the holy man, is still repeated by the pious mariner. Easterns do not "box the compass" after our fashion: with them each point has its own name, generally derived from some prominent star on the horizon. Of these I subjoin a list as in use amongst the Somal, hoping that it may be useful to Oriental students.
The 6th of Safar in 1864 corresponds with our 28th October. It would be wonderful if Orientals omitted to romance about the origin of such an invention as the Dayrah or compass. Shaykh Majid is said to have been a Syrian saint, to whom Allah gave the power of looking upon earth, as though it were a ball in his hand.
Finally, the Dayrah Jahi is when the magnetic needle points due north. "Foyst" and "buss," are the names applied by old travellers to the half-decked vessels of these seas. Holcus Sorghum, the common grain of Africa and Arabia: the Somali call it Hirad; the people of Yemen, Taam. The Somal being a people of less nervous temperament than the Arabs and Indians, do not fear the moonlight.
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