38 RECOLLECTIONS OF FORTY YEARS. 



made possible by breaking the thigh-bones after 

 death. A lance is thrust into the ground to indicate 

 the tomb of a man, while on the tomb of a woman is 

 placed the vessel which she has used for bruising the 

 doura seed. 



" i Every evening the people meet to dance and sing. 

 The singing is not so monotonous as that of the Arabs ; 

 the tunes are lively and varied, and the singers have 

 as a rule pleasant voices and keep time. 



" * Although the law is that of the strongest, the 

 manners are for the most part very gentle. Theft and 

 murder are rare, except in time of war, between family 

 and family, or between tribe and tribe. Eobbery is 

 punished by the person who has been robbed, murder 

 by the family of the victim. The leader of each tribe, 

 the chief man of the family, is the one who is richest 

 that is to say, who has the most wives and 

 stock. Polygamy is universal ; prostitution does not 

 exist. 



" i The people consult soothsayers to obtain rain or 

 heat ; but the calling is not always a lucrative one, 

 and if the predictions do not come true the soothsayer 

 is sometimes put to death by having his stomach 

 opened. It will be easily believed that the sooth- 

 sayer does not always await the return of his cus- 

 tomers when his predictions have not been realised, 

 and that he loses no time in disappearing when he is 

 likely to be called to account in so shocking a fashion. 

 The only public trade is that of blacksmith. 



