An old grey head reposes on thy arm.
Oh Thithen! Thithen! with the motley-coloured girdle,
Oh sweet apple! grafted upon a root.
Beauty to marvel at have the Aïth Ouagóuenoun,
Their skin is sleek, their eyes are dark.
Oh winged bird! rest thou near to her upon the figtree,
When Yamina goes forth, kiss me her little cheek.
Even amidst the pomp and splendour of imperial Rome, marriage festivals must have presented some curious resemblances to such primitive customs as I have described, doubtless owing to unrecorded common causes in the remote past.
The bride was brought home in procession, accompanied by the singing of a song and playing on the flute; she was carried over the threshold, and in the evening there was a marriage feast. This habit of carrying the bride was accounted for in various ways.
‘Concerning the bride they do not allow her to step over the threshold of the house, but people sent forward carry her over, perhaps because they in old time seized upon women and compelled them in this manner.’[5]