Page:The Folk-Lore Journal Volume 5 1887.djvu/294

286 animal, and their movements are directed by one of their number who stands facing them, with his back to the wall. They begin very quietly at first; they stand closely side by side, and rise up and down with a toe and heel action; at the same time they draw in and expel their breath in a peculiar manner, giving vent to the most singular cries; these sounds presently become much louder, the pace also becomes much more rapid; and at length they sway their bodies so far forward that at each beat of a drum their long unkempt hair almost touches the ground. When the final signal is given for them to desist, some of the most energetic of the party (which numbers perhaps twenty) seem quite unable to stop themselves; a couple of their companions seize them by the waistband to try and restrain them, but in vain; they escape, and at length fall down on the ground, still continuing to make the same extraordinary noises. One of their friends then bends over them, whispers something in their ear, and they rise, seemingly quite composed, but looking physically much exhausted; put on an over-garment, go out, and rolling themselves up in this, lie on a bench in the court-yard of the building. All the performers are not equally energetic. When we witnessed this scene, the youngest of the party (a boy, apparently about twelve years of age, and who, from the colour of his turban, evidently claimed to be a descendant of their Prophet Mahomet), when the rest were most violent in their noises and gestures, simulated these in a manner to give himself the least possible amount of exertion; his lips moved in time, but no sound proceeded from them; the movements of his body also, though the same were slow and languid compared to theirs.

The Mahomedan inhabitants of the city of Algiers are frequently termed Moors, to distinguish them from the Berbers and the Arabs proper, who form the rest of the native population of Algeria. Both these latter are doubtless purer races than the so-called Moors, in whom is believed to be a considerable admixture of Turkish blood; the last rulers of Algeria before the French conquered it were of Turkish descent; they had held the country from the time of the Emperor Charles V. The dress of the Moors is also essentially different to that of the Berber or the Arab proper; the former wear a turban, or occasionally a fez, an embroidered jacket of some bright coloured cloth,