Page:Africa by Élisée Reclus, Volume 2.djvu/450

 poor or members of a weak tribe, they are merely stripped and sent on their way naked but uninjured; if, on the contrary, they belong to any powerful tribe whose vengeance might be feared, they are killed right out to prevent the news of the attack from spreading, the duty of vendetta being sacred amongst the Marocco Berbers.

The Imazighen are no better instructed in the dogmas and practices of the faith they profess than are their Algerian kindred. The coast Arabs have even

preserved some of the observances of the hated Rumi. The women bear the sign of the cross tattooed on their person, and in difficult labour invoke the aid of the Virgin Mary. A few Latin words survive in the language, and the Roman calendar is still in use concurrently with the Arab. The marabuts who recite verses from the Koran are mostly of Arab descent; but their influence varies with the tribes, being jealously watched in some places, in others venerated as saints and implicitly obeyed. Some of their convents are regarded as sanctuaries, in