Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 21, 1910.djvu/325

 Marriage Customs of the Bedu and Fellahin. 287

goes on from three to six nights, called laydlil-fdrah, ("Joy evenings"). No business maybe introduced during these first days. Then comes a period known as rddwetel-ab, (" the satisfying of the father "). The two fathers or their representatives meet, apart from the guests, and give accounts mutually of what has been received. An account written down at the time ran thus, —

Thou hast received three mejiddt from Hassan es Silwani at Beit Jala.

Also the wages of a ploughman for five days, — 5 mejiddt.

Also two rottles of meat (about 12 lbs.).

Also a sheepskin ; a sack of straw ; two pairs of horse- shoes.

Come, think ye this insufficient .? Name a worthy sum of us, and render yourself what is meet, yet not all which you intend to give.

At this stage things are expected to go smoothly and with mutual compliment, but a night or two later there is plain speaking. The whole business often begins again, and outsiders are called in to adjudicate. Finally peace is restored, and festivities continue.

But a third stage is yet to come, called " the satisfying of the relatives." These tend to multiply in number and in their claims. It may even happen, as at a wedding at which my husband was present, that, when the bride is ready to start, some small brother or sister may shut the door of the house till he or she gets the 'abbai, or shoes, or veil desired, — or the bride herself may decline to start till assured that she has received all her rights. It is during this period that the bride and her companion, or the bridegroom with his friends, repair to the town for the wedding outfit, which is an occasion of great rejoicing and merriment.^^ The procession is joined by many friends on

"The wedding dress of a Fellaha bride is somewhat costly, but, unless she buys European materials, will last almost a lifetime. In some villages, and especially in Bethlehem and Ramallah, the gown and veil are beautifully