Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 22, 1911.djvu/170

 142 The Popttlar Ritual of

the sheep with szuak, and its eyes or, at Demnat, its right eye, with k/iol. In various parts of Morocco it is considered proper that the sacrificial animal should fast on the day of 'Arafa, or at least on the following morning, till some food is put into its mouth immediately before it is killed. The food most commonly given to it on this occasion, whether it has been fasting or not, is corn or flour and salt, which, as has been said before, is in some cases taken from the alms bestowed on the children on the previous day. At the same time some water may be poured into its mouth. Among the Ulad Bu-'Aziz the sacrificer, when he performs this ceremony, says, — ^Allefnak u sarrdbnak f^ d-dunya, tta ^dll^fna u sdrrdbiia fi l-dhra I (" We gave you food and drink in this world, may you give us food and drink in the next ! "). The Sluh of Aglu give to the animal a mixture of barley, salt, and henna^ saying, — Ya rabbi ssdJiha u Ihena! (" O God, health and quietness!"), and this is done three times consecutively. The At Ubahti, a Berber tribe living near the Algerian frontier, put into the animal's mouth barley, salt, and a piece of charcoal, and the Ait Waryagal some yeast only. The main object of the corn, flour, yeast, and hinna is no doubt to purify or sanctify the victim, and that of the salt and charcoal to drive away evil spirits. But it appears from the words which are said on this occasion that the food given to the animal is also supposed directly to benefit the people ; and an old man from the Hiaina told me that it takes away the bds, or evil, from the house. In the Garbiya, where I was once a witness of the sacrifice, a mixture of flour, salt, and water was not only pushed into the mouth of the sheep, but the remainder of the mixture was poured over and rubbed into its body. In Andjra, while Xhefki is performing the sacri- fice, a scribe carries a pot with burning white benzoin (Jdwi mekkdwt) three times round the place where he is standing with the sheep ; and, as soon as the fkt has cut the throat of the animal, he puts some salt into the gaping wound,