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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



that she has five children and two girls, 

 or as many as the case may be. 



Not to have a boy is a great hardship 

 to the family and is especially felt by the 

 mother, for failure to have a son may 

 become the cause of her divorce or her 

 husband's excuse for marrying again. 

 This feeling is hard to understand, since 

 they look upon a girl as a profitable pos- 

 session, for a would-be husband must pay 

 a comparatively handsome price for her. 

 The boy, on the other hand, is a greater 

 expense, and his wife and wedding are 

 costly affairs. The only explanation is 

 that their great aim in life is to perpetu- 

 ate the name of the father. 



To be polite the fellah, in speaking of 

 a pig, dog, donkey, or anything out of 

 good taste, invariably says, b'eed 'annak, 

 meaning, "Be it far from you !" So, also, 

 when a girl or woman is spoken of, they 

 often say, "Be it far from you!" 



Although women are thus looked upon 

 as something inferior, still when they 

 have become well advanced in years and 

 are perhaps the grandmothers of large 

 families, or have signalized themselves 

 by some special attainment, they are fre- 

 quently the object of the respect and 

 reverence of the younger women and of 

 the men as well ( see page 265 ) . 



The woman may never call her hus- 

 band by his first name, but "O father of 

 Ahmed," or whatever the eldest son's 

 name may be, which indeed is the name 

 by which he is generally known. 



In naming the first son it is customary 

 to give him the name of his grandfather 

 on the father's side ; therefore, even be- 

 fore a youth is married he will often be 

 addressed as the father of Ali, or Mo- 

 hammed, or Suleiman, as the case may 

 be. The first daughter is usually named 

 for the grandmother, again on the 

 father's side. 



The wife likewise takes the name of 

 her first-born son. The husband, speak- 

 ing of her, especially to men, will never 

 say "my wife" or mention her first name, 

 but will say either "the mother of Ah- 

 med," or "my family," "the relative in 

 my house," "the forbidden," or "the 

 daughter of my uncle." 



The reason for this is that a man mar- 

 ries his first cousin in preference to any 



one else, and in fact she cannot marry 

 another if he wants her. Gauged by our 

 conception of the subject, the women are 

 rigorously ruled by the men ; still the men 

 feel that in these days the women are 

 becoming too independent, as what fol- 

 lows will illustrate. 



ESSa's LAMENTATION 



Only yesterday Essa, who tends the 

 vineyard of a friend near the village of 

 Sharafat, lying between Jerusalem and 

 Bethlehem, was heard thus complaining 

 to another : 



"Oh! my master, when I was young I 

 used to rule 'my family' with a hard 

 heart, for her ways did not please my 

 mother, and I used to beat her much. 

 My father, may God have mercy upon 

 him,* often said to me: 'My son, these 

 are the days of women, and if you so 

 treat your wife you will not be able to 

 live with any woman. Their ways are 

 perverse, but you cannot change them. 

 The days of men are passed.' 



"In former days, my master, a woman 

 would not dare to go to her father's 

 house or that of a neighbor for a visit 

 without first getting her husband's con- 

 sent, and much less would she think of 

 addressing her husband before people. 

 If he happened to be in the village guest- 

 chamber with the men and she desired 

 to call him, she would say to some man 

 sitting by, 'Tell him to come,' and some- 

 times, to amuse ourselves, the man would 

 inquire, 'Who ?' ; to which she would re- 

 peatedly answer only, 'he,' for modesty 

 would prevent her mentioning his name 

 or saying 'my husband' ; but now my wo- 

 man calls me 'Essa' in the midst of the 

 village and I hold my peace. 



"Women formerly, when passing men 

 on the road, would cover their faces with 

 their hands and keep their eyes on the 

 ground ; but now when we meet them 

 they are not shy, so we men keep our 

 eyes on the ground until they have passed. 



"A common saying among the women 

 used to be, 'O Preserver, protect me 

 from my husband's displeasure!' Now 



* This expression is always used when speak- 

 ing- of a deceased relative or friend, while 

 when mentioning an enemy or evil person they 

 say, "May God not have mercy upon him!" 



