A frasilah is a historical
weight unit that was used in the 19th century on the island of
Zanzibar and in
eastern Africa. A frasilah is equivalent to about {{convert, 35, lb. This weight unit was used mainly by the Arabs involved in the
ivory trade
The ivory trade is the commercial, often illegal trade in the ivory tusks of the hippopotamus, walrus, narwhal, mammoth, and most commonly, African and Asian elephants.
Ivory has been traded for hundreds of years by people in Africa and Asia, ...
to weigh the mass of elephant tusks and other goods used in the trade, such as beads, cloth and brass wire. In 1871, a frasilah of ivory could be purchased inland for 20 US$ (around 500 US$ in 2011) in goods and sold in Zanzibar for about 60 US$ (around 1 500 US$ in 2011).
Sources
* How I Found Livingstone: Travels, Adventures and Discoveries in Central Africa: Including an Account of Four Months' Residence with Dr. Livingstone by Sir Henry Morton Stanle
* The Journal of the Royal Geographical Society, Volume 29 By Royal Geographical Societ
* The Lake Regions of Central Africa: A Picture of Exploration By Sir Richard Francis Burto
Units of mass