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of Edinburgh, Session 1884 - 85 . 
(I think this idea must have been derived from the Arabs.) Twins 
are supposed to be very lucky, especially girls ; they are believed 
to bring good fortune to the whole village. 
Crimes . — Wilful homicide is considered a great crime. The 
murderer is followed by the friends of the deceased, then tried by 
the chief, and the invariable sentence is death; neither he nor his 
friends can by any possible means evade the immediate execution 
of the sentence. There is no definite executioner, and, with the 
exception of the puggee (who may never shed blood), any bystander 
may be called upon to carry out the rigour of the law. Should the 
person whom the chief orders to undertake the office of executioner 
refuse to do so, even if a relation or friend of the criminal, he is 
compelled to pay a fine of two cows. The usual method of execution 
is as follows : — The murderer’s hands are tied behind his back, he is 
made to kneel down, and is then struck on the back of the neck 
with a heavy knobbed stick. Another less common plan is to call 
on a party of men to pick him up and drop him head foremost on 
the ground, and to repeat this until his skull is completely smashed. 
This method is called “ breaking the water melon,” as that fruit is 
broken by being thrown upon the ground. If an aggravated murder 
lias been committed, or the murderer has killed more than one man, 
or has tried to escape from or fight with his pursuers, he is slowly 
beaten to death. The criminal’s friends are obliged to bury him at 
once, at a considerable distance from the village and cemetery ; no 
prayers may be said at his grave, nor may the grave be marked in 
any way. If a man kills another accidentally he is tried by the 
chief, and has to give a full account of the circumstances which 
ended so disastrously. If he has no witnesses to confirm his story, 
he is required to take an oath on the Koran , or on one of the 
ancient religious books of the Fors ; he is then kept for a week in 
prison, and if none of his relations die in the meantime, he is 
declared innocent and set at liberty. He is then expected to call 
together the friends and relations of the deceased man, and to 
express his sorrow for what has happened, after which he is treated 
in a friendly way by them, but on no account will they eat out of 
the same dish with him. Suicide is unknown in Darfur. 
If a man wounds another in hunting or in the games no notice is 
taken of it : if on other occasions, a fine must be paid. If two men 
