1859.] Notes on Kafristan. 349 



are mostly of silver, and rarely of gold ; whilst the ornaments of the 

 poorer classes are generally of brass and copper. The men wear rings 

 in the ears and on the fingers only. 



Those females whose fathers or husbands may have slain one or 

 more Musalmans, have the peculiar privilege of ornamenting their 

 caps and locks with kauri shells.* Young virgins, instead of the 

 scull-cap, fasten a narrow fillet of red cloth round their heads, which 

 they adorn with shells, if entitled to the privilege. 



The manners and customs of the different tribes are alike : they 

 celebrate their joys and their griefs, their marriages and their 

 funerals, after one and the same fashion. 



When a guest enters a house, whatever eatables and wines are at 

 hand, are immediately set before him. When he has finished his 

 repast, the people of the house eat, but not before. If the visitor 

 should be a Muhammadan, or of any other religion than their own, 

 they bring him a goat or a sheep that he may slaughter it himself 

 according to the custom of his own faith ; and after he has selected 

 a portion for his food, which he is also permitted to cook himself, the 

 family take the remainder for their own use. 



After a guest has once crossed the threshold, the master of the 

 house alone waits on him ; the brother of the host, or the other 

 members of his family being prevented from supplying the stranger 

 with anything, even water to drink, without his sanction, so much 

 do they respect the rights of hospitality. In the same manner, no 

 person of the village where the guest may be staying, is allowed to 

 entertain him without the consent of the host. If this be done, 

 quarrels arise, in which lives have been frequently lost.f With the 



* Cyprsea moneta. 



f Burckhardt remarks, " Among the Arabs of Sinai there is a custom 

 which, I believe, is common to several other tribes on the southern limits of 

 Syria, that if a stranger be seen from afar coming towards the camp, he is the 

 guest for that night of the first person who descries him, and who, whether 

 a grown man or a child, exclaims, " There comes my guest." Such a person lias 

 a right to entertain the guest that night. Serious quarrels happen on these 

 occasions ; and the Arabs often have recourse to their great oath. — " By the 

 divorce (from my wife) I swear that I shall entertain the guest ;" upon which all 

 opposition ceases. I have myself been frequently the object of such disputes, in 

 which the Bedouin women took a Yory active part, assembling in the females' 



2 Z 



