438 



THE LIVING RACES OF MANKIND 



Photo bij .Mr. \Y. R 



A RUMANIAN BRIDE. 



of costume. A frock-coat buttoned up to the 

 throat, trousers, and fez form their usual attire, 

 the fez alone representing an Oriental element. 

 The peasant still wears his prodigious turban, 

 and seldom exchanges it for the fez. As a rule, 

 he is worse clothed than the Christian peasant. 



As among the Greeks, many curious customs 

 are observed on the birth of a child. They are 

 mostly directed to averting the ill effects of the 

 hazar the evil eye. Charms, amulets, prayers, 

 and incantations are all employed for this pur- 

 pose. If cloves, thrown into a brasier, should 

 burst, the evil eye has evidently exerted its 

 influence; and to avert the threatened danger 

 some hair from the head of the mother and 

 child must be cut and burned, and the mother 

 and child fumigated with the smoke thus pro- 

 duced. The slightest indisposition in children 

 is put down to the evil eye. 



Early marriages are the rule among the 

 Turks. Men marry in their eighteenth year, 

 and girls at twelve or thirteen. Polygamy is 

 almost unknown among those of the poorer class, 



branch of the widespread Turki people, who 

 undoubtedly formed originally one of the 

 main divisions of the Mougolo-Tartar family. 

 But by frequent admixture with Caucasian 

 races the European Turks have lost nearly all 

 their Mongolic characteristics, and may be 

 classed in the sub-division of the Caucasian 

 type which is distinguished by dark complexion 

 and dark hair. They are of full build, with 

 stately carriage and grave and dignified manner. 

 The peasants especially are well built, strong, 

 and possess great capacity for endurance. 



In temperament the Turkish peasant is 

 quiet, submissive, and generally ignorant and 

 improvident. His mode of life is simple, and 

 he is sober in his habits, his coffee and 

 chibouque being almost his only enjoyments. 

 His house, though clean, is badly built and 

 comfortless. The peasant women, some of 

 whom have regular European features, do nearly 

 all the household and much of the farm work. 



The Turks of the upper class have almost 

 entirely adopted the ordinary European style 



Photo by Mr. W. Jiau] 



A RUMANIAN DAIRY-MAID. 



