MARRIAGE CUSTOMS 145 



women dress her in fine silk clothes, with many gold 

 ornaments, and a rich silk barracan, all provided by 

 the bridegroom. As a matter of fact, only two or three 

 of the rich gold bracelets and so on are given, the 

 rest being hired by the bridegroom for the occasion. 



The bride is then left seated in the room, covered 

 with a great piece of silk or cloth, all over her head 

 and hiding her entirely from view. By this time her 

 women and girl friends have all arrived, and are feast- 

 ing and rejoicing in one of the rooms. Now the 

 bridegroom, who in the meantime has been to prayer 

 in the mosque, comes to his house, accompanied by all 

 his friends, singing and making merry. They all go 

 into a separate room to feast, leaving the happy man 

 to enter alone into the room where his shrouded wife 

 awaits him. Each places a piece of sugar between 

 the lips of the other, as a symbol of the sweetness of 

 the married life which lies before them, and the bride- 

 groom offers his bride a gift of jewellery or gold 

 coins. The guests remain till late in the night, very 

 often till the next morning. Endless feasting and 

 music entertain them, for the Arabs have an extra- 

 ordinary capacity for enjoying both for hours and hours 

 at a time. 



For seven days afterwards the bride, richly dressed, 

 receives innumerable visits from her friends. Really, 

 this is the time of her life, and she makes the most of 

 it. On the seventh day she offers them all yet once; 

 again a great feast. After another forty days they 

 come once more to eat at her house ; then the wedding 

 festivities are really at an end. 



All these customs are in vogue also among the 

 Bedouin Arabs, but they have one or two in addition 



10 



