CAMEL WITH CANOPY.
The palanquin is decorated and enveloped in many coloured draperies. Within it is placed the bride, completely veiled, the hangings are drawn around it, so that she can neither see nor be seen, and the joyous procession starts homewards towards Hadeij, Mansur leading. The bride’s mother, sister, and father follow afoot, the negress with them—all walking immediately behind the palanquin. Before it go the negro musicians playing.
A message was brought me that the bridal procession was to be seen coming down the mountain. We hastened out and joined the stream of people hurrying to a great open space, where the “fantasia” was to be held. Thither rushed also a flock of females, enveloped in yellow and red draperies. These were the young and half-grown girls. They kept close together, and grouped themselves under the shade of a palm tree. The old Khalifa sat on his mule, a clubbed stick in his hand. He, Belkassim, Amor, and some of the men, directed the crowd to stand in long rows on either side of the open space.
My place, on a chair under a palm tree, was pointed out to me. Beside me were Ali and Hamed; and the Khalifa rode up now and again and halted near me, when we would smile at each other; while he inquired whether I was satisfied, if I was comfortably seated, and expressed his gratification at my presence on this festal day.
Behind me rose a rampart of earth, banked up about the palm trees; it was tightly packed with rows of men; and above this white crowd the palms towered into the air. Farther off the crowns of other palms and olives were visible, scattered here and there over the valley of which the horizon is bounded by blue mountains. Clinging to the tops of the neighbouring palm trees I saw boys, who had climbed there for a better view.
Behind the men stood groups of women; amongst the former were the negro musicians, and beside these were men in silken apparel and carrying muskets, in readiness to perform the gun dance (or powder-play).
Far to the left, on an open space between two roads, were gathered a number of horsemen, clothed in flowing garments and with their silver-inlaid guns held pointing upwards, prepared to spring forward at a given moment and pass us at flying speed.
To the right, the ground rose in a gentle incline to the caves in the bank.
It was hot at the midday hour, and the sun burnt scorchingly in the valley, but the attention of all was strained watching for the long-expected procession, so no one noticed the heat.
The flutes, clarionets, and drums began to play. The boys started running across the open space, followed and driven back by Belkassim and his assistants, and roundly abused even by the Khalifa himself; for the space had to be kept clear for the horses to gallop over.