The country we now know as Djibouti is located on the Horn of Africa on the eastern coast of the continent. The country was a French colony between 1884 until 1946 and then an overseas territory until 1977. At that time, it was known as French Somaliland, but should not be confused with present day Somalia which is a country to the south. The area is the homeland of two nomadic groups: the Afars and the Issas.
France first obtained the port city of Obock in 1862 through a treaty with the Afar Sultans. However, they did not occupy the area until 1884. Later, the French established the port of Djibouti which offered advantages over Obock. France established Cote fracais des Somalis (French Somaliland) as a protectorate officially in 1894, moving all of the official offices of the colony to the new city of Djibouti.
In 1940, Italy took the area and then the British overthrew them in 1942. It became a French overseas territory in 1946. In 1967, the country became the French Territory of the Afars and the Issas, and then gained independence in 1977.
Read more about the history of the country here.
The Stamps
Scott Numbers: FR SO 80 through FR SO 84
The first stamps in the area were from Obock between 1892 to 1894. For several more years, overprint/surcharge Obock stamps printed with “Djibouti” were in use. Stamps with the name Cote francais des Somalis were only issued beginning in 1902.
In 1915, a new three motif series of thirty nine stamps was in use. One of the motifs features a drummer in a two-color design. The drummer design appears on five separate stamps, of four different denominations. The five centime design is in both a lime green/blue stamp and a red/orange version.
For more information about the stamps of French Somaliland read this blog.
The Drum
In the Horn of Africa, most drums are played with the hands. The instrument portrayed on the postage stamp is played with sticks and the grip is unusual with the stick held between the third and fourth finger rather than between the thumb and pointer finger. Also, the instrument is worn by a standing figure rather than placed on the ground. The drum shown is called a Marfa and came from Yemen, across the Gulf of Aden from Djibouti. It was also used by Ethiopian Siddis and others in the Horn of Africa. The Marfa is a kettledrum, with a hemispherical body and a single skin head.
Watch an extraordinary Yemini marfa player below:
