2 20 Bedouin Tribes of the Euphrates, [rii. xxvi. 



sheyklis of tribes for political motives, or even for 

 motives of advantage. Two slieykhs will thus 

 swear brotherhood as the preliminary to a peace ; 

 and, on the other hand, most Bedouin sheykhs 

 have brothers among the sheykhs of the desert 

 towns, who are often of pure Arab blood, and who 

 recomise the rules of Desert honour. In this latter 



o 



case the oath is of great service to both parties, to 

 the Bedouin in the town and to the townsman in 

 the Desert. 



The oath binds those who have taken it in every 

 respect as brothers, except in the matter of marriage, 

 for there is no prohibition of marriage between a 

 brother and his brother's sister. 



A belief, then, in God, certainly exists among 

 the Bedouins, though the only active form of it is a 

 submission to the Divine will. It stands in sins:ular 

 correspondence with the religion of the ancient 

 patriarchs. At the present day, no doubt, it is but 

 a vague reflection of the ancient faith, and depends 

 as much upon custom as every other belief or preju- 

 dice of the Bedouin mind. AVe w^ere pointed out in 

 the Shammar tents certain men, the Zediye, who, 

 the Arabs explained to us, were distinguished from 

 themselves for two reasons. The first was that they 

 prayed to the devil, and the second that they 

 wore their shirts cut square at the neck. Those who 

 told us this made no distinction m importance 

 between the two peculiarities. 



With the belief in God, relio;ion in the desert ends. 



