The procession moved on, and the bridegroom appeared on a horse, with a red saddle and a pad behind; in his hand was a nosegay, and over his head an umbrella. He smoked a cigarette, and a small boy in green was mounted behind him. The women of his family followed, and pairs of male guests danced a sort of Mazurka step beside him. But amid all this ceremonial rejoicing there was no real gaiety, no one had a smile on his face, but all was conducted with oppressive decorum.
On the second occasion—that of the Moslem Zeffeh—the women were preceded by a band of tambourines and kettle-drums, the latter fastened on a boy’s back, and beaten by a man who occasionally hit the drum-bearer instead of the drum. The bride wore a pink veil above the Izâr, and a black face-veil, and she was supported by two women, also veiled. The bridegroom was followed by a man carrying a rush-bottomed chair, on which he sat during the dancing. There were two sword-dancers on this occasion, who went through the usual tame performance, which is more effectively executed by the Bedawîn, as will be seen in the next chapter. I was told that the words of the chorus were “Ya ’Aini! Ya ’Aini?”—“O my eye!” a term of endearment.
The ordinary village Zeffeh resembles those above described, but the dresses are not often so gay as those at Nazareth.
Of the native children there is little to be said; they receive, as a rule, no education, and are neither disciplined nor cared for, the affection of the parents being apparently in most cases small. They learn to curse almost as soon as to speak; and I have seen a boy of six or seven throwing stones at his father with the most vile language. They have none of the gaiety of children; but are as solemn as their elders. To animals they are cruel, and to one another mischievous and tyrannical. As the boys grow older, they are sent out to keep sheep, goats, or cows, and they acquire a wonderfully accurate knowledge of the country round the villages; thus the goat-herds are the great authorities as to the names of ruins or springs.
I have only once seen children in Palestine playing at any game; this was near Samaria, and the sport appeared to be a sort of hockey; but as a rule they seem to do nothing but mischief.
The shepherd-boys, however, have a kind of game called Mankalah, which Lane has already described as played in Egypt, and the holes which they make in the rocks for this purpose are often found on the hillsides, and might considerably puzzle archæologists.
