Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 16, 1905.djvu/55

 Midsummer Cttstoms in Morocco. 43

It might be supposed that the word l-dnsdra itself could perhaps give us the key to the origin of the Moorish mid- summer customs. But it practically tells us nothing. In its origin it is neither Berber nor Arabic. It is derived from the Hebrew 'asara, which means an assembly of people for the celebration of a religious feast.^ In the times of Josephus it denoted Pentecost, and it has the same meaning in the Talmud.^ To this day the Arabic form el-'ansarah is used by the Copts for Whitsunday.^ Considering that the real meaning of the word is feast in general, it is not surprising that it was adopted by the Arabs and Berbers as a name for the midsummer festival. Every student of the language of the Berbers knows how ready they have been to make use of foreign words. The importation of Arabic expressions in the various Berber dialects is truly immense ; even the original numerals have been almost entirely replaced by the Arabic ones. Hence the midsummer festival may very well be a genuine Berber custom, although its name is derived from the Arabic form of a Hebrew word.

Nor do we learn anything as regards the origin of the 'dnsdra custom from the account which the Moors them- selves give of it. They say that in the time of King Nemrud (Nimrod) there was in the East a Christian woman by name 'Ansara, who was opposed to Sidna Abrahim (Abraham) on account of his religion; Sidna Abrahim was of course a Muhammedan, the ancestor of all the Muhammedans. 'Ansara had an excellent sight, she could see a distance of seven days' journey ; and she used to watch Sidna Abrahim and inform his enemies of his whereabouts. She also used to strew thorns on the road where he was walking. All this made Sidna Abrahim's

1 Dozy and Engelmann, Glossaire des mots espagnoh et portugais dt'rivJs de Tarabe, 1869, p. 136. -Ibid., p. 136. ^Lane, Manners and Ctisto?ns of the Modern Egyptians, 1871, ii. 287.