86 H. S. Jarrett — Customs among the Bedouins of the Hauran. [No. 2, 



Among the rights of the guest is that he shall leave his host's roof 

 as he entered it and if, as sometimes happens, his horse is stolen from 

 his host's house or should die, the host must provide another for him. 

 In fine, the respect and reverence paid to a stranger among the Arabs are 

 very great, which is a proof of their generous spirit, their magnanimity 

 and sense of honour. 



Mourning. 



The customs observed on occasions of death. When a trihes-man 

 dies all the men of his clan assemble and those who possess horses mount 

 them and engage in a tournament as if they were on the field of battle. 

 In about half an hour's time, the horsemen dismount and tie up 

 their horses and approaching the dead man, lay him out on a bed and 

 place his weapons by his side. The women then advauce attired in 

 their best garments, with swords in their hands and begin to dance, 

 brandishing their swords and singing for the space of about six hours, 

 after which they follow to the interment. When the burial is over, the 

 men and women return to the tent of the deceased and animals are 

 killed and food prepared at the expense of the relatives of the deceased. 

 The dishes are handed round to all present and after the repast, the 

 men return to their houses and the women to the house of the deceased, 

 where they remain during a period of from seven to forty days, the 

 length of their stay depending on the position of the deceased. If he be 

 among the chiefs of the tribe, the mourning and lamentations continue 

 throughout forty days, but if he be of humble station, the period does 

 not exceed seven days. During the whole of this time the relatives of 

 the deceased must furnish the food and drink, coffee and tobacco, three 

 times a day to all the women present. 



On the expiry of this period, it is imperative on the relatives of 

 the deceased to present each woman with some wearing apparel, that 

 is, a garment such as a vest or petticoat of cloth, or head-dress or 

 vesture ' of silk, or a l^ed boot. 



Should the deceased happen to be one of the chiefs or of the 

 richer class of the tribe, the expenses incurred by his people for food, 

 drink, coffee and tobacco, sometimes exceed one hundred and fifty liras. 

 Among their customs also is the following : — When news of a death 

 reaches the neighbouring Arab families, each family repairs to the 

 tent of the deceased to offer their condolences and take with them 

 sheep and goats for slaughter which they term kaydah? 



1 The word is t^z. which I do not find in any dictionary, and is not noticed 

 by Dozy in his " Diet, des noma des Vetements chez les Arabes." 



2 I transliterate with diffidence : the vowel-points are not given and the word 



