ETHNOLOGY OF THE PRESENT DAY. 201 



in intellect. The Fehlahin wear long, coarse cotton shirts, held together 

 by a leather belt of a hand's-breadth, and over them is worn a kind of 

 cloak of goat's or camel's hair ; in winter, however, a sheepskin coat. A 

 piece of striped cloth, with fringe, covers the head. {PL 13, Jig. 1/, head- 

 dress of a Fehla.) The neck and feet are left bare. Rich Sheikhs some- 

 times, upon occasions of ceremony, wear a silk cloak, or a cloth coat, over 

 the shirt. The women dress like the Bedouins. The Fehlahin live, in part, 

 in the numerous large and fine ruins of the times of the ancient Greeks 

 and Romans ; in part in hovels of earth, or in mountain caves. The house- 

 hold furniture is of a very simple character. Wealth is computed accord- 

 ing to the number of their yoke of cattle, or the number of acres held ; 

 and by the same rules their taxes, which are high, are adjusted. Besides 

 the payment of these taxes, they are obliged to provide for all soldiers 

 marching through their districts, which is the more burdensome as they 

 are all horsemen. Extraordinary imposts and rapacious inroads of the 

 hordes of Bedouins, reduce these people to the greatest misery. The 

 attacks of robbers, or scarcity of water, frequently compel them to abandon 

 entire villages. Towards strangers, the poor Fehlahin are very polite and 

 hospitable, and never demand anything for the lodging afforded. The 

 Sheikh of each village is, moreover, bound to keep a free tavern, in which 

 every guest can claim food and one night's rest. Wheaten groats and 

 sour milk are the principal fare of the Fehlahin. 



In the large towns, slaves, mostly negroes, are found in all families whose 

 circumstances allow it. Slavery here, as in almost all Mohammedan 

 countries, is, however, not of a rigorous character. 



Arabia has never been a state, not even in the times of the mightiest 

 Caliphs. At present, the country may contain, perhaps, several hundred 

 independent tribes, or small states, if this term can properly be applied to 

 them. The island-like situation of the country has always restrained 

 foreign conquerors ; the power of the Persians among them was very 

 trifling, and even the strength of the Romans was wrecked in the deserts 

 of Arabia. Each tribe has its chief, usually called Sherif. Chiefs of less 

 importance are called Shechs (Sheikhs) or Emirs. 



Mecca is the centre of the Arabian as of the Mohammedan world ; it is 

 a place of conflux, not only for all the tribes, but for many foreign people 

 ako ; hence the population is greatly mixed. All males born in Mecca 

 and Dshidda are tattooed on the face, by the parents, as early as the 

 fortieth day after the birth of the child, three long incisions being made on 

 both its cheeks and on the right temple. The Bedouins do not observe 

 this custom, but the men of Mecca are proud of the distinction, which 

 excludes other inhabitants of the Hedjaz, in foreign countries, from the 

 claim to the honor of being natives of the holy city. In very few instances, 

 girls are also tattooed. The complexion of the people of Mecca is a dull, 

 yellowish brown, clearer or darker accordintr to the origin of the mother, 

 w\\o very often is an Abyssinian slave. Their physiognomy resembles 

 very much that of the Bedouins, and this is chiefly the case with the 

 Sherifs, or members of the oldest and noblest families, who claim direct 



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