waran

Updated: August 25, 2026

There is a blue-black earth in the wadys, arising from the wood, a species of crumbling coal. This evening we had a famous embroglio between our chaouch and the marabout. The latter had caught a waran, or large species of lizard, and skinned it to dispose of the skin. The chaouch impudently swore he had been eating the flesh of the reptile a direful accusation.

James Richardson - Narrative of a Mission to Central Africa Performed in the Years 1850-51, Volume 1: Under the Orders and at the Expense of Her Majesty's Government