"LESS THAN THE DUST"
BEDOUIN WOMEN. There, is a people still dwelling on the face of this earth wiiose women folk have not changed the stylo of their dress for centuries (says tho New York "Tribune"). These women folk arc considered "less than the dust," whoso hands net-form the hard labours of life, and who have never even 'dreamed of rebell.ng against their fate! These people are Bedouins of that portion of the Sahara which makes a barbaric; fringe upon the edge of civilisation in North Africa. ' . A romantic enough figure is the little "flower of the desert" in her blue robe, with her pretty baro arms and beautiful face. She is'probably not moro than twelve years old, but the roses of tho desert bloom early, and she is tho favourite wife of a Bedouin many years her senior. ' As lons as she retains her youthful charm she is passionately and jealously regarded by her lord and master. She is sheltered from tho eyes of other men, nut not from toil and weariness. Tho Bedouin woman is nover set upon a pedestal bv hor lord, nor even allowed to walk beside him on an eatial footing, for that would be contrary to the teachings and commands of Mohammed, who maintained that woman was an inferior creature.
When the tall, sturdy Bedouin, wraplied in his white burnous, mounts his horse or his camel and sets forth into the sandv wastes of the desert, his little wife trudges beside him, barefoot through the sand. Ho may .stoop to caress and nnt iiis horee during tho journey but would never dream of offering an arm to his helumale. All the "helping" is her nart of the bargain. When night comes on and the company decides to camp, it is tho women who nitch the tens of black camel's hair, which t'nev have made with their own hands: the women who unsaddle the horses and camels; the women who milk tho sheen and cook tho supper; the won.cn who humbly serve the men their evening meal, of which they themselves are not allowed to partake until the lords of creation have eaten their fill.
These Bedouin tribes _of North Africa are perhaps as impervious to the in(luenco of modem civilisation as any peoDie in the world, The great wars and battles between the Europeans and the natives rf Africa have taken place on tho frontiers of their desert- Hut they have alwavs been able to retire into that sea of sand, whither unaccustomed feet could not follow them, and to return later on ;>s strong as ever. Since the French took control of North Africa these wild tribes have been, supposedly, under military discipline guardianship, but thev have maintained their own tribal organisations and almost complete independence as far as their actual lives am concerned.
Thcv follow the traditions of Islam, and their dwellings, their furnishings (which are lew and far between) and their clothing date back to the days, of Iho Bible. Simplicity is really the keynote of the one gnrnien which tho Bedouin woman wears, complicated though its many loops and folds may apocar to the inexperienced eye. A single nicco of coarse woollen cloth, about twice as lafuo as an ordinary _ counterpane, is wound .around tho body and fastened ivith a iirimitive sort of safety-pin in so clever ,i miinner -that it looks like a 'European skirt. The cloth is bound around the waist with a cord and loosened above, to form a sort of pocket, in which tho lady carries provisions and other necessities. Neck,, arms, and legs go bare, but her head, with its closely-braided jot black hair, is decently covered with a striped silk handkerchief of some gay, light colour. Trinkets, of course, are indispensable, and generally consist of silver earrings, bracelets, and imgs. As a rule the woman's adornment is complete by tho tattooing of a little square on each check and a cross between the eyebrows. Tho costume of the Bedouin man is more elaborate, consistiim of a coarse linen shirt, wide trousers reaching to tlie knees, and a waistcoat, sometimes embroidered in gay colours and decked with silver buttons. Over all this is thrown the inevitable white burnous, while, the head is covered with a small fez and then wound in a white turban. Some wealthy Bedouins even wear short stockings niici light, slippers of leather or felt, exchanged during a journey for top boots of red or yellow leather. They move all the time and the women do tli» moving. When a girl is. to be married her father sells her to a suitor of his own choosing. This generally happens when she is from thirteen to fifteen years of age. By the time she is twenty her beauty lias fnded; her husband beats her, gives her little food, and compels her to act as servant to the new youii" wife he has bought. She has never even heard of a woman having any other kind of existence, and the ono feeling that dominates her is abject fear of and utter dependence upon her lord and master.
Just beyond the border of _ the Bedouins' domain, in that part of North Africa which lias long been under the influence of European civilisation, a change is taking place in the lives of Moslem women. It is being brought about bv tho men. those young Arabs nnd Berbers who went to France _ lo light in the great war. Their horizon has been broadened. They have been freed from the influence of Mohani-' nu'danvsm and have had 'i ts«t« of Hie, life of 'Western peoples. Thsy have come home hungry for of the sort in their own land. To them voiuan has taken on i row charm, a new dignity and worth. These young men want 'women for thtir companions, not tot their slaves, tnd so they are seeking educated, modern wives. These are few at present, but with a yit-w to meeting this progressive tendency halfway the Methodist Centenary is planning to establish in connection with its home for girls'in Algiers a special department where girls of marriageable age will be educated and given a practical training in various branches of domestic science, home nursing, personal hygiene, and fashions.
Mew Year Time in China. "China takes a month off to celebrate the New Year properly. Children cat freely of "brilliant" calces to sharpen the'r wits so they may more quickly learn the twonty thousand letters ol their alphabet. Bills are paid, houses cleaned and decorated, arid every one drc-wc-s in his best clothes, carrying the choicest fan, umbrella,, and nntem. Offering's oT rice, vegetables, and paper monevVo burned w'th incense to gods of luck and prosperity. Street parades with paper images, men with gon.es gmnet abend to announce their approach, fircwork'i and odd maskers add to the street excitement. "Sin-hi, S-'n-ht, 'is the sanitation on all sides as friends meet on their round of New Years calls to honourable friendf." In .Tnp*n letters of greeting, written on ree pap*r, circulate freelv. Little girls play battledore and shuttlecock, boys fly wonderful new kites, while grown-ups go calling. Mirror cakes and special sweets are served w:lh tea. At each pi to post a'little pine tree is placed, a fringe of seaweed and paper flutters from the eaves of tlie houses, and above tlie doors a lobster, a persimmon, bit of charcoal, an orange, hit of seaweed, and Kino na.k leaves are fastened for luck. Pigs of rice pied hurli at the. door typify prosperity to the owner.
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Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 76, 23 December 1919, Page 4
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1,258"LESS THAN THE DUST" Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 76, 23 December 1919, Page 4
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