Seven Pillars of Wisdom · Chapter
XLVII explained
Lawrence and his Arab force travel through the Sirhan valley, enduring a plague of snakes and the overwhelming hospitality of the Abu Tayi tribe.
What happens
Lawrence and his Arab force travel through the Sirhan valley, enduring a plague of snakes and the overwhelming hospitality of the Abu Tayi tribe. They feast repeatedly on mutton, suffer from the landscape's desolation, and eventually reach Ageila where Auda abu Tayi returns with Nuri Shaalan's support, and volunteers swear allegiance to Feisal.
Themes in this chapter
Suffering and Endurance
The chapter highlights the physical and psychological suffering from snake infestations, dysentery, and the monotony of feasting, endured by Lawrence and his companions.
Culture and Otherness
Lawrence observes and participates in Arab tribal customs, including the ritual of feasting, the treatment of snake bites, and the chaotic yet instinctive order of the march.
Characters to notice
- T.E. Lawrence
Narrator and observer of the tribal march, suffering from snake terror and participating in feasts.
- Sherif Nasir
Leads the camp in feasting, shares Lawrence's burden of hospitality, and punishes Farraj and Daud.
- Auda abu Tayi
Returns from Nuri Shaalan with support, hosts the party, and uses a camel-stick to scratch his itch.
- Farraj
One of Lawrence's mischievous servants, plays pranks with snakes and is punished.
- Daud
The other impish servant, joins Farraj in snake games and receives punishment.
Key passages
“All day the grey-green expanse of stones and bushes quivered like a mirage with the movement of men on foot; and horsemen; men on camels; camels bearing the hunched black loads which were the goat-hair tent-cloths; camels swaying curiously, like butterflies, under the winged and fringed howdahs of the women; camels tusked like mammoths or tailed like birds with the cocked or dragging tent-poles of silvery poplar.”
The landscape shimmered with the constant motion of people and animals—men walking, riding horses and camels, the latter carrying tent cloths, women's howdahs, and tent poles that made them look like mammoths or birds.
Lawrence vividly describes the chaotic yet picturesque Arab tribal march.
“In ordinary times, so the Arabs said, snakes were little worse here than elsewhere by water in the desert: but this year the valley seemed creeping with horned vipers and puff-adders, cobras and black snakes.”
The Arabs claimed snakes were normally no more common here than at other desert water sources, but this year the valley was infested with many venomous species.
Lawrence notes the unusual severity of the snake plague in Sirhan.