Page:Blackwood's Magazine volume 137.djvu/249

1885.] they finally betake themselves to the flat roof, and finding it in the highest degree available for dancing purposes, they form their terpsichorean circles on its smooth surface. I wondered, as I gazed on these groups of lively performers, whether the roof of a Roman Catholic chapel had ever been put to such a use before.

The dances, which are somewhat monotonous, and always in the highest degree proper, consist of circles of dancers, either male or female, who clasp each other by their girdles, moving round in measured step. In the centre of the girls' circle, one or two of their number wave handkerchiefs or scarves above their heads, and keep time to the music, which consists of chanting, hand-clapping, and sometimes pipes; while the men in the centre of the men's circle flourish swords. Throughout the day's entertainment, the two sexes keep carefully apart, which, considering the exceptional beauty of the Druse girls of Dahlieh, must be rather trying to the young men of that village.

The costume of the women, who in this part of the country make no attempt to conceal their generally pretty faces, is eminently becoming, arid consists of a loose outer garment or sort of cloak, of a rich colour, linen or woollen, open all down the front so as to display the whole underdress, with light sleeves, cut above the elbow – the whole trimmed either with wide bands of reddish satin, or with a rich cross-stitch embroidery of silk. Tho unsightliness of the bagging trousers of dark blue is lost under the long semi-transparent chemise, which falls over them so as nearly to cover them as a white tunic, generally striped with thicker white, and tastefully embroidered with silk round the neck. The white sleeves of the chemise, widely pointed, and which flow about the forearm after escaping from the short cloak sleeve, form a simple but very graceful feature of this costume, whether they float freely or are twisted for convenience in work about the elbow. Scarves of various bright colours are wound about the waist, and the cloak is usually caught together below the bosom, giving that double girdle often presented in ancient classical costume. The simple long white cloth, with the centre of one edge drawn low upon the forehead, its two ends hanging down the back almost to the heels, bound fast by a wide fillet of brilliant colour tied round the head, completes very attractively, with its ancient Egyptian appearance, this simple but highly characteristic dress, which is enhanced by necklaces and bangles, according to the rank and position of the wearer.

I had the best opportunity of observing all these particulars on the occasion of my trip to the Neby Schaib, in company with the pilgrimage of Dahlieh Druses to that venerated shrine. Here were gathered the sheikhs and the most important representatives of some twelve or fourteen villages, each sheikh arriving like some feudal chief of old, surrounded by his clansmen singing and firing, and by women screaming. I remained encamped there three days, during which the festival lasted, and gained an insight into Druse religious observances and national manners which is not often enjoyed by an outsider. The shrine was most picturesquely situated in a narrow rocky gorge, and consisted of a lofty dome-shaped building, the upper chamber of which is about 70 feet long by 40 wide, and contains the tomb of the prophet, enclosed in a wooden