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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



After a heated chase some returned to 

 inquire further particulars of her. 



Unable to get a reply, for she still 

 stood screaming, "The genii have taken 

 my boy !" they lowered the cradle from 

 her head and found the child still sound 

 asleep. 



The others soon returned to say they 

 had overtaken the supposed enemy, only 

 to find that it was her domestic cat, which 

 had jumped from its hiding place near 

 the baby. 



HE HAD THREE DAUGHTERS BUT NO 

 CHILDREN 



Essa met us at the gate one evening 

 and his face showed that something out 

 of the ordinary had occurred. After the 

 usual salutations he said, "I come to you 

 for the reward of good news." 



"And what is it?" 



"My family gave birth to a baby." 



"Imbarak" (May it be a blessing!) ; 

 to which came his reply, "Imbarak feek" 

 (A blessing by your presence!). 



"What is it, Essa ?" He hung his head 

 and replied, "Be it far from you, a girl." 



"How many children does this make?" 

 he was asked. Essa looked embarrassed, 

 and said, "I have no children ; this is my 

 third girl. When I went into the village 

 this morning both women and men said 

 to me, 'Imbarak, Essa ! May it be 

 granted that she die !' but I replied, 'May 

 Allah not listen to you! 1 for I have be- 

 come like you foreigners and I am satis- 

 fied, although I had taken upon me cer- 

 tain vows in case it was a boy." 



THE COSTUMES OE THE WOMEN 



The costumes of the women differ suf- 

 ficiently in each district to enable one to 

 distinguish readily where the wearer 

 comes from. From the variations of the 

 headgear one can tell whether a woman 

 be single or married ; but, although dif- 

 fering from one another in the details, 

 the costumes have much in common. 



The dress, called a tobe, is like a long 

 loose shirt, the sleeves narrow at the 

 shoulders and widening out something 

 like the Japanese pattern. The front and 

 back are made each of one width of cloth, 

 with a gore on each side to widen the 



skirt. A girdle either of white linen or 

 bright striped silk is wound around the 

 waist and the tobe is pulled up a little to 

 produce a full bosom. 



This tobe, when for common use, is of 

 dark-blue cloth, the bosom is covered 

 with cross-stitch embroidery and perhaps 

 a little on the sleeves and skirt. 



In the districts north of Jerusalem the 

 tobe for the bride or for gala occasions 

 is made of heavy white linen almost cov- 

 ered with embroidery, the prevailing col- 

 ors being dark green and red with a little 

 orange mixed in (see page 307). Around 

 Samaria the tobe is made of white cotton 

 cloth in which are woven bright strips of 

 red, yellow, and green. 



The shoes are crude affairs, the tops 

 being of bright red or sometimes yellow 

 sheepskin, with soles of raw cow, camel, 

 or buffalo hide. 



WEARING HER DOWRY ON HER HEAD 



The headgear is of two parts : first, 

 what we shall for convenience sake call 

 a cap, and over it a veil. The Bethlehem 

 women wear a high cap, in shape some- 

 thing like a man's fez, called shatweh; 

 on the front of which are sewn rows of 

 gold and silver coins. 



A woman never parts with the coins 

 from her headgear except in dire circum- 

 stances, and for her to admit that she has 

 lost one of these is considered a great 

 shame, for an evil meaning is put upon 

 it. This throws a strong light upon the 

 parable of the woman who lost one of 

 her ten pieces of silver.* 



The woman in the Gospel had not lost 

 a piece of money merely valuable as a 

 medium of exchange, but a part of her 

 ornament and dowry, and had thus 

 brought a reflection upon her character. 

 So it was vital for her to recover it. 



No wonder, then, she is pictured as 

 lighting a candle, sweeping the house, and 

 seeking diligently until she finds it, and 

 then calling her friends and neighbors to 

 rejoice with her. 



THE CAPACIOUS, USEFUL VEIL 



The veil is a large affair, some 6 feet 

 long and 4 feet wide, and placed over the 



* Luke 15 : 8, 9. 



