VILLAGE LIFE IN THE HOLY LAND 



269 



tation of being handsome. Their faces 

 are a full oval, their complexion fairer 

 than the ordinary fellaheen, often hav- 

 ing very red cheeks, and attractive in the 

 setting of their striking headgear. Their 

 Nazareth sisters have gained a little less 

 renown. Both are Christians and sup- 

 posed to have a considerable strain of 

 Crusader blood in their veins. 



The: attire: of the men 



The clothing worn by the men is very 

 varied, and so we will consider only 

 the most typical. There is a long shirt 

 made of white cotton cloth, also called a 

 tobe, and in form much like the women's. 

 Over this is a sort of gabardine made of 

 striped goods, the waist being girt about 

 with a leather, wool, or silk girdle. The 

 colors are quite bright, red and yellow or 

 black and yellow being favorites. 



The headgear costs him, like the wo- 

 man's with its silver attached, more than 

 all the rest of his outfit. A low dome- 

 like fez, with a blue silk tassel, is wound 

 round with a turban (see page 313). 



This turban indicates where he comes 

 from or his class. In the district north 

 of Jerusalem the turban consists of a 

 large square of white linen, with a col- 

 ored border woven in ; around Hebron it 

 is of silk, golden yellow and red. 



A plain white one denotes a man of 

 letters ; a plain red, that he is a dervish or 

 holy man, and a plain green again, that 

 he claims to be a direct descendant of 

 Mohammed. Inside this fez is a heavy 

 felt cap, and often between them one or 

 two old fezzes are found, while next to 

 the head there is still another cap of 

 white cotton cloth. The object of these 

 many layers is to make the headgear 

 heavy, which is commonly believed to 

 prevent headache. 



Similarly the women with their heavily 

 weighted caps do not remove them night 

 or day. Between the layers of the turban 

 the man stows away his snuff-box, jack- 

 knife, often a large pack needle, some- 

 times money and valuable papers if he 

 has any. They have a witty saying to 

 the effect that if one lacks a place of 

 safekeeping let him make his head his 

 custodian. 



Little boys are dressed like the men, 

 with the exception that they have no tur- 



ban until about 12 years old, and when 

 his father gives a boy his first he feels 

 just as proud and important as any 

 American boy over his first long pants. 



The men shave their heads clean, leav- 

 ing only a central topknot of long hair, 

 and to shave the beard, once it has been 

 allowed to grow, is considered a great 

 disgrace. To swear by one's own beard, 

 or the beard of the one with whom the 

 controversy is being waged, is the usual 

 thing, as well as bringing in that of the 

 Prophet to add weight. 



The trick of shaving off half the beard 

 of an opponent as a sign of contempt is 

 practiced even today among the peasants 

 exactly as it was in the days of King 

 David when he sent his servants to 

 Hanun, king of Ammon.* 



AN OVERCOAT, CARRY-ALL, AND BED- 

 CLOTHES COMBINED 



The top garment or overcoat of the 

 fellah is of coarse, woolen cloth woven 

 in broad stripes of black and white or 

 dark blue and white. In some districts 

 the men do the spinning themselves in 

 their spare time (see page 313), take the 

 yarn to the village weaver to be converted 

 into cloth, and then the women sew them. 



This coat is as simple in form as it is 

 possible to be. It is nearly square and 

 in length extends a little below the knees, 

 is open down the front, and has an open- 

 ing in each upper corner to pass the arms 

 through. The best of them are made of 

 only one piece of cloth, the width of 

 which is the length of the coat, so that 

 the only seams required are along the 

 shoulders. 



Such a garment undoubtedly was the 

 "coat" over which at the crucifixion the 

 Roman soldiers "cast lots" rather than 

 "rend it," for it "was without seam wo- 

 ven from the top throughout." f 



It serves as a kind of carry-all, the 

 wearer carrying various things in it ; on 

 rainy days it is pulled up over the head 

 and sheds the rain fairly well, and at 

 night it is the covering in which he sleeps. 



It is strange how fond both men and 

 women are of keeping their heads well 

 wrapped up in cold and wet weather, 

 both when walking and sleeping, while 



* 2 Samuel 10 : 4-5. 

 t John 19 : 23-24. 



