Page:Africa by Élisée Reclus, Volume 2.djvu/387

 and bushy eyebrows. Besides many Negroes, still virtually slaves, some four hundred Jews dwell amongst them, but cannot hold any land in the oasis, Naturally of a peaceful disposition, the Mzabites have allied themselves with some Arab clans, who pitch their tents near the settlements, and who in former times served as mercenaries. Amongst these Arabs are some descendants of the old occupiers of the land, a few even still possessing gardens and houses in the oasis.

Before the annexation, each Mzab village formed a small independent republic, administered by an assembly which was chosen from the heads of families with a stake in the community. On important occasions a general assembly, formed by delegates from the different urban bodies, consulted for the common interests

of the confederacy. Quarrels often broke out amongst the various factions, and, as at Ghadames, the combatants fought with the heavy iron or wooden keys of their doors, always worn at the girdle. The head of the family is absolute master, the children being incapable of holding any property without his sanction. The women, who nearly always marry in their native place, are not permitted to emigrate; but they are well protected from insult, any one accosting them in public being banished for the offence. They are chiefly occupied with weaving, entirely a house industry, while the men do all the field and garden work.

According to the census of 1882, the whole group of oases comprise about 193,000 palms, with a population of over thirty thousand. Nearly all are owners