| Show A BEDOUIN BEDDING ACCOUNT OF A MARRIAGE amont A WANDERING PEOPLE how the Bedo ulna celebrate an ment how the bride was dressed wedded without halinar seen her future lord A simple feast A bedouin wedding which I 1 lately had the occasion to witness took place in kamleh ramleh a seaside resort near alexandria where many houses have a bedouin who pitches his tent near his masters house and lives there with hia family and cattle if he has any the bridegroom was the eon of a friends previous to the engagement the father had obtained three days leave on the plea of his going down to alexandria for the choice of a daugh ter in law on the evening of the third day several shots fired successively announced to the native Be donins the gha firs return and the happy result of his mission the wedding was fixed for that day week groups of bedouins Bedou ins hastened to answer to the invitation and after some talking and shouting the men soon formed a ring and began clapping hands the body keeping time to the movements of the hands by going upward and downward now and then one of the fellows wailed forth a bedouin song while the others chorused the women sat chatting before the tent and occasionally filled the air with the shrill sound of the zira leet no refreshment was entered and their sole ec was the moon whose silvery light gave a weird aspect to the whole scene after an hours amusement the guests retired the next evening the firing brought forth all the company of the preceding night this time tho great attraction was two dancing women very picturesquely dressed and their faces covered with a soft black muslin they entered the ring formed by the men each of them holding a long staff an adjunct to the various movements of their figures they went round and round shaking their hips and leaning at different intervals on their staffs while the clapping of hands redoubled in whichever part of the ring the women approached I 1 observed a young enthusiast take a handful of sand from where one of the women had trodden and kiss it repeatedly peat edly I 1 noticed that the bridegroom was absent and asking for the cause was informed that he was too bashful to appear two hours later the company dispersed to begin afresh at intervals daring the short engagement THE WEDDING at last the eventful morning dawned anew tent had been pitched for the young couple while in that of the old ones several cauldrons caul drons full of rice and water were boiling when the rice was done some oil was poured over it and then very largo wooden bowls were brought forward to receive the contents of the cauldrons caul drons this formed the whole menu of the wedding breakfast and was attended to by the bridegrooms bride grooms mother aided by some other matrona matrons mat rons the and the young people had gone to fetch the bride they had taken with them one of the gha firs camels which they had gaily decorated with red and blue cloth and erected a canopy on its back to receive the bride A large procession was formed headed by horsemen and other bedouins Bedou ins armed with guns which they fired frequently tho bride completely hidden from sight by the curtains of the canopy and followed by the women brought up tho rear they went all over kamleh ramleh stopping before every friends tent to dance fire and sing at about 4 in the afternoon the merry party arrived at tho bridegrooms bride grooms place the latter had remained at home the father who was holding the camels bridle handed it over to his wife who led the animal seven times around the bridal tent each time accompanied by shots which are the chief feature in a a bedouin wedding finally the camel stopped before the entrance of the tent and tho brido was carried in by her mother in law THE BRIDE I 1 was curious to see her face and as I 1 was asked to go in I 1 gladly accepted the tent had two compartments and was quite devoid of furniture except somo rugs and straw hattings mat tings on one of which the bride sat surrounded by other women she was a girl of fourteen with regular features beautiful black eyes and tattooed chin a most prevalent fashion among bedouin women she wore a long dark red silk chemise caught up at the waist ath a deep sash on her head she wore a dark alno veil tied with a red silk handkerchief beneath which very fine plaits of jet black hair came down in two bandeaux over her temples after exchanging a few complimentary words with her I 1 withdrew glad to escape the stifling atmosphere of the tent A sheik had been called to perform the marriage contract which took place between the parents of both parties the new couple were not present at the ceremony the handed over to his sons father in law 50 on condition that if later on the young wife should ask to be divorced the money was to come back to its first owner and if on the contrary the husband claimed a separation the sum would remain with his father in law during that time the guests had sat over their frugal meal of which they partook in groups of four or five persons around each wooden bowl their fingers spared them the use of forks and spoons while they were still occupied with their repast the bridegroom stole to the nuptial tent where ho saw bis wife for the first time half an hour afterward the noisy party broke up and quiet ce igne london queen |
