Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 22, 1911.djvu/181

 The Great Feast in Morocco. 153

at the msdlla, the two sheep sacrificed by him and the hteb are carried on the backs of two galloping mules to their respective residences, every effort being made that the sheep shall not die on the way.

In certain Berber and Arab tribes, — the Ait Sadden, Ait Yusi, Ait Nder, Mnasara, Dukkala, etc.,^^ — the people read their fortune in the sacrificial blood. Thus, among the Ulad Bu-'Aziz, when the cut has been made and the blood is gushing out, a plate, which has previously been carefully cleaned, is held underneath the wound, and when filled with blood is immediately covered so as to retain its prognostic qualities. The fortune-reading takes place shortly after, when the blood is getting clotted. If it divides itself in the centre of the plate, either the owner of the sheep or some member of his family living in his tent will die before long ; if it divides itself at the side of the plate, some other relative of his will die ; if there are more divisions than one, theirnumber indicates the number of persons who will die. These divisions are called Id-kbar, (" the graves "). If there is in the blood a long crooked furrow, the owner of the sheep will travel ; such a furrow is called t-treg, (" the road "). Holes in the blood are named l-mers, which means a collection of subterranean granaries ; they indicate that the owner of the sheep will have much corn, and the more holes in the blood the more corn he will have. If there is any straw in the blood, he will become the possessor of domestic animals, and the more straws there are the more animals he will have ; the straw is called z-ziada, ("the abundance"). If there is any water in the blood, the inhabitants of the tent will have to weep ; such water is termed d-dmo'o, (" the tears "). Among the Ait Yusi, on the other hand, the water is regarded as an indication of much rain.

The Braber of the Ait Sadden, Ait Yusi, and Ait Nder,

" M. Doutte, (Merrdkech, 1905, p. 369), mentions the pievalence of this kind of divination among the Arabs of the Rahamna.