366 



SOCIAL STATE OF THE ARABS. 



vorced) : when once pronounced it cannot be revoked ; 

 but it does not prevent the man from again marrying 

 the same person, though she may in the interval 

 have had several other husbands. Many instances 

 occur of conjugal fidelity; and a Bedouin has been 

 known in a fit of distraction to commit suicide on see- 

 ing his wife give her hand to a second bridegroom. 



The law also allows females a kind of divorce. 

 If ill used, or not happy, they may fly for refuge to 

 their father's tent, and their husbands have no 

 right to reclaim them. The extreme jealousy of 

 the Arabs leads them to speak but seldom or indi- 

 rectly on this subject ; and instead of saying " my 

 wife" or " my daughters/' they say " my house" 

 and "those at home." In domestic quarrels the 

 loquacity of the spouse very often triumphs over 

 the just cause of her partner ; and rather than see 

 himself overpowered by so contemptible an instru- 

 ment, and exposed to ridicule in the presence of his 

 neighbours, he pronounces in a moment of irritation 

 the fatal " Ent taleka !" which is always applauded 

 by the spectators. These broils are the most frequent 

 cause of divorces, which are perhaps to be ascribed 

 rather to the unruly temper of these wild sons of the 

 desert, than to any want of conjugal feeling. 



Children are brought up in the most hardy man- 

 ner ; the name is given immediately on their birth, 

 and at the age of six or seven the boys undergo the 

 ceremony of circumcision. This is always celebrated 

 with feasting and rejoicing ; and it is generally ar- 

 ranged by those who have families in a camp that 

 the operation shall take place on the same day. On 

 these occasions the boys are dressed in the richest 

 stuffs, set upon fine horses highly adorned, and are 

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