Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 25, 1914.djvu/352

 320 On the Origin of the Egyptian '' ZarT

drums beat faster than ever. In the midst of his dancing^ Farag rushed to the flag and shook it, the music ceased abruptly.

Kaltuma v.'as now helped to rise and she retired, the mat being removed after her. As Farag danced again a couple of canes and an ornamented fly whisk were brought forward, as i^'gurma had ordered them in a previous zdr. Then Farag approached the shelter and said to the women, " Sit down, I am Abu Shoq (the porcupine) and I am going to throw my spears." He clasped his hands in front and jerked his shoulders, then twirled wildly round and round until the music stopped again. When the drums sounded again a third woman came forward and fell on her knees, showing the usual signs of possession. The spirit of Nunga, the son of N'gurma, possessed her and he wanted to dance,, but could not do so for his mother was dancing in the person of Farag. Farag therefore came forward, helped the woman to rise, and gave permission to Nunga to dance. Some one passed a cup of water to Farag ; he took a mouthful and spat it out as a blessing to all assembled, then another mouthful and spat it into the cup again and gave it to the woman to drink. More wild dancing by Farag and Madigu followed, and then the drums ceased. A few minutes after- wards the two men returned to the dancing ground, no longer drinkers of blood, dressed in feathers and possessed by the spirits of their ancestors, but trim and business-like Sudanese soldiers.

In this zdr we see A-Zande customs on the first stage of their transit from Central Africa to the Harems of Egypt. In some ways the conditions were peculiar, the whole com- pany of soldiers being A-Zande the ceremony was purer in form than might be expected if these people had been admitted directly into Egyptian households, as would have happened had they been slaves. But the word zdr had already been adopted for the ceremony, and doubtless other changes had taken place in the ritual ; indeed, some of the