96 
LAW OF INHERITANCE. 
tent but her nearest relations, and covering her face when 
she goes out. The husband, on the other hand, does not 
wear mourning for his wife, and may marry again the next 
day. 
The law of inheritance is as follows : when a man 
dies his wife receives one fourth of his goods ; the mother 
of the deceased has a tenth of the three other fourths, and 
the father a fourth of the remainder ; the children's share, 
which is thus reduced to one half, is so divided, that each 
boy shall have twice as much as each girl. When the 
husband inherits, he takes half the property of his wife, and 
the other half is divided among the grand-parents, and the 
grand-children, in the same proportions. At the death of 
husband and wife without offspring, the property goes back 
in the ascending line ; for collateral branches never inherit. 
At the death of husband or wife, the uncle of the 
deceased becomes guardian to the children, until they are 
eighteen, which is the age of majority ; the oxen which they 
are to inherit are confided to the grandfather until that time. 
Children who are still at the breast are sent to the zenagues, 
till they are two years old, and then return to their uncle. 
The Moors never grieve for any body's death, and would 
think it very improper to shed tears over the deceased, being 
persuaded that his soul has ascended straightway to heaven ! 
They shave the whole body with the exception of the beard, 
and wrap it in a white shroud, after having washed it with 
care ; it is then left exposed in the tent for four days, during 
which time the marabouts assemble round it and sing verses 
of the Koran. 
If the relations of the deceased are rich, they kill an 
ox to regale the singers ; if they are poor they only give a 
little sangleh every evening. On the fifth day, they dig a 
grave about two feet and a half deep, and the body is laid 
in it on one side, with the face towards Mecca. Briars are 
placed upon the grave to protect it from wild beasts. If 
