Page:Africa by Élisée Reclus, Volume 2.djvu/451

 THE ARABS— THE JEWS AND NEGROES. 860 which culprits find u safe refuge. Muiiy tribcH rcfuHo to recognise the ohiigation of inuking the pilgrimage to Mecca, although there are others, more zealuuM, who send yearly a numlwr of devotees to visit the tomb of the Prophet. With the religious pilgrims are also associated a constantly increasing number of emigrants, who seek employment as labourers or harvesters in Algeria and Tunis. The Arabs. The Arabs of the rural districts and the Moors of the towns, in whom the Berber, Arab, and Euroj^ean elements are diversely intermingled, are descended either from the conquering tribes from Arabia or from the MfX)rs expelled from Spain. Those living in the midst of the Shluhs and of the Haratins in the southern districts, take the general name of Arabs, as if they represented the jace in a pre-eminent sense. Amongst these marauding tribes of the southern oases are found the finest women in Marocco, remarkable alike for their perfectly regular features and fair complexion. Altogether, those who may be classed as Arabs number over a million. In the towns they are in a decided majorit}', and all now lead settled lives, except the nomads of the southern districts on the verge of the desert. Hence the contrast existing in Algeria between the Berber peasant and the Arab nomad prevails in Marocco to a very slight extent. The Arabs of Marocco are noted for their sociable disposition. In almost every village, and even in the camping-grounds, they assemble in the building or the tent used as a mosque, bringing each his contribution and feasting in common. The large number of " saints " is also a remarkable feature of the Marocco Semites. Whole tribes consist of Shorfa, or descendants of the Prophet, and in Marocco have originated nearly all the religious orders of Mauritania, notably the Aissawa and Derkawa confraternities. Next to Arabia, Marocco is regarded by true Mohammedans as the most illustrious of all lands. The reminiscences of its former power and culture impart to its inhabitants a special degree of prestige in the eyes of all the inhabitants of the oases between Alauritania and Kgj-pt. AMiile the eastern Mussulmans pray for the Caliph of Stambul, those of the west invoke the benedictions of Allah on the head of the Sultan of Marocco. The Jews and Negroes. Next to the Berbers and Arabs, the most numerous ethnical group are the Jews, descended for the most part from those expelled frt>m Spain. They call themselves Guerush Castilla, or " Exiles from Castille," and at solemn official weddings the Rabbins still use fornmlas concluding with the words : " All according to the usage of Castille." Those settled in the seaports north of the Wed Tensift still usually speak Sjmnish, while those of Fez and Meknes have adopted Arabic. According to mont authorities, the Marocco Jews number over one hundred thousand, although Kohlfs is of opinion that this figure is more