Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 18, 1907.djvu/99

 The Powers of Evil in Jerusalem. 7 1

II.

I conclude with a few notes upon Jewish folk-lore, additional to those in my last paper, and the result of later observation and enquiry.

The Jews allege that the jinn are the offspring of Adam and Lilith, or of Sammael and Eve, or of the sons of God and the daughters of men, as the case may be. They are responsible for most of the events of life, good or evil* Every man has 10,000 at his right hand, and 1000 at his left, specially dangerous at night, so that, as in the Outer Hebrides, persons meeting after dark should not salute each other by name, not however only for the usual reason that they should not acquaint the powers with names by which they might afterwards hear themselves called, but also because every person has a kind of infernal double, so that one might unawares salute a devil. The Jewish women in Jerusalem carefully cover their hair, not with a mere veil, as do the Moslems, but with a handkerchief, chalebi, firmly pinned around the coiffure so as to avert the Schedim who sit on the hair of women whose heads are uncovered (.-'cf i Cor. xi. 10). A special devil named Kardaikoos is responsible for headache, and another named Asiman for epilepsy.

The Jews resort, with more or less secrecy, to divination, although such a practice excludes then from the highest heavens. In order to know if an undertaking will succeed, the women select a hen — the Jews are the great poultry rearers of Jerusalem — and if she gets fat, the work will prosper; if not, it is better to abstain. When the Astro- logers of Pharaoh complained that Joseph, a mere slave, was put over them, the king replied, " I see the colours of rulership in him." There are many beliefs in regard to colour. If you are going on a journey it is well to sit for a while in a dark room and watch what colours you will see. If they are clear and bright it is safe to