First Footsteps in East Africa; Or, an Exploration of Harar

by Richard Francis Burton

La expedición de Richard Francis Burton a Harar, ciudad de Etiopía a la que ningún europeo había tenido acceso, marca un hito fundamental en el conocimiento del interior de África, al abrir una vía de penetración que en pocos años había de llevar al descubrimiento de los Grandes Lagos, las fuentes del Nilo, y las complejas y fascinantes culturas de los pueblos que habitaban en el corazón del continente africano.
Burton, explorador audaz e imaginativo, orientalista de vastos conocimientos y escritor de primer orden, logra que su libro pueda leerse al mismo tiempo como el apasionante relato de una peligrosa aventura, rica en peripecias, y como obra de riquísimo contenido en observaciones, tan amenas como científicamente pertinentes, sobre las distintas culturas con las que entra en contacto.
Después de un largo tiempo de haber sido subestimado, Burton es hoy considerado uno de los pioneros del modo de observar y reflexionar que constituye la actual antropología social.
Esta nueva edición conserva la introducción y las notas de Alberto Cardín que facilitan la máxima comprensión del contenido histórico y antropológico del libro.

Genres: Travel, Africa, History, Nonfiction, Adventure, Biography, Somalia

544 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1856

About the author

Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton KCMG FRGS was a British geographer, explorer, translator, writer, soldier, orientalist, cartographer, ethnologist, spy, linguist, poet, fencer and diplomat. He was known for his travels and explorations within Asia, Africa and the Americas as well as his extraordinary knowledge of languages and cultures. According to one count, he spoke 29 European, Asian, and African languages.

Burton's best-known achievements include travelling in disguise to Mecca, an unexpurgated translation of One Thousand and One Nights (also commonly called The Arabian Nights in English after Andrew Lang's adaptation), bringing the Kama Sutra to publication in English, and journeying with John Hanning Speke as the first Europeans led by Africa's greatest explorer guide, Sidi Mubarak Bombay, utilizing route information by Indian and Omani merchants who traded in the region, to visit the Great Lakes of Africa in search of the source of the Nile. Burton extensively criticized colonial policies (to the detriment of his career) in his works and letters. He was a prolific and erudite author and wrote numerous books and scholarly articles about subjects including human behaviour, travel, falconry, fencing, sexual practices, and ethnography. A unique feature of his books is the copious footnotes and appendices containing remarkable observations and unexpurgated information.

He was a captain in the army of the East India Company serving in India (and later, briefly, in the Crimean War). Following this he was engaged by the Royal Geographical Society to explore the east coast of Africa and led an expedition guided by the locals and was the first European to see Lake Tanganyika. In later life he served as British consul in Fernando Po, Santos, Damascus and, finally, Trieste. He was a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and was awarded a knighthood (KCMG) in 1886.

Reviews

[Monty Milne · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was interesting to learn that, according to Burton, the Somalis like whistling, in contrast with the Arabs, who hold it to be “the chit chat of the djinns.” That was curious, as his is throwaway remark on the contrast between Somali and Arab treatment of snakes:

“To kill a serpent is considered by the Bedouins to be almost as meritorious as slaying an infidel”

And this is amusing in a very Burtonish way:

“As we aproached...the villagers inquired Hibernically if we were the party that had been put to death by the Amir of Harar.”

However, a lot of this is quite tedious, with many boring and exhaustive sections detailing the preparations future explorers should take. And although Burton often seems quite congenial, and takes a keen interest in everything, he has some fairly disagreeable characteristics. For me his worst one is his pointless massacre of “fishing hawks and sea birds” shot out of the sky at one halt. He admits -

“I had acquired throughout the land the evil reputation of killing everything from a bird to an elephant”. Quite so. He seems almost amused by this, but it seems to me that the “savages” show a moral superiority over our author by deprecating the killing of (often inedible) creatures just for the sake of killing.

[A · Rating 4 out of 5]

8.25/10.

An excellent adventure by a proud Englishman during the height of the British Empire. It is very interesting to read of the Somalis’ reaction to the whiteness of Burton, for many of their tribes were extremely isolated and had not seen someone lighter than milk chocolate.

[Molly · Rating 2 out of 5]

An interesting journey whose telling is burdened with a hefty cargo of the easy confidence of unchallenged racism and imperialism.

[AbrahamQ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting journal.

[Amerynth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chock full of ethnographical information about the Muslims of Somalia, Richard Burton's "First Footsteps in Africa" is a great look at a white man's first forays into that area of the continent. As an adventure novel, the book is kind of dry -- Burton essentially travels to an area, is held there by its leaders and observes the people before he is finally allowed to move on. I found the volumes to be okay-- but I'm sort of surprised they are ranked so highly on the "Greatest Adventure Books of All Time..." because there were plenty of other books that were just a lot more interesting.

[Clivemichael · Rating 3 out of 5]

A detailed if not at times dry (pardon the pun) description of the author's travels into the interior of what was then unknown country. His understated observations and sober reflections provide an occasionally thrilling (if not foolhardy) insight into the mind of a dedicated explorer in the colonial age. That he succeeded is a testament to his knowledge of Arabic, his patience and a familiarity with the temperaments and moral attitudes of the people along with the ability to conceal his actual identity.

[Peter]

Victorian-era nonfiction by the first European to return from Harar, a city in modern-day Etheopia. A slow read due to the language of the time, but still quite interesting. His reaction to the natives, varying from reverent to derisive, is telling.

[Marsha]

--

[Dan Piette]

Somalia and Harrar

[Darinda · Rating 2 out of 5]

An account of the author's travels in Eastern Africa. A slow read.

[Zechy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book. Took my about 6 months to finish, Glad I did though.

[Cherie · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF – very slow, the footnotes drove me nuts. But some interesting observations, and many would no longer be true today.