Identifier: desertgatewaybis00leed (find matches)
Title: The Desert gateway, Biskra and thereabouts
Year: 1910 (1910s)
Authors: Leeder, S. H
Subjects: Islam Biskra -- Description and travel Algeria -- Social life and customs
Publisher: London, New York (etc.) : Cassell and company, ltd.
Contributing Library: University of California Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: MSN

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instrument does not succeedaltogether in detaching us from our strange surround-ings, for in front of each machine is hung a whitecloth on which a large outspread hand in red flannelis sewn, obviously as a charm from evil. This, Taib told us, was the hand of Fatima, withwhich bare statement we had to be content, for wesoon discovered that wonderful reticence about nativecustoms and beliefs which keeps the secrets of Arablife sealed to all but the most patient of Europeans,who must stay long enough in this country to winthe regard and confidence of the natives before theywill return any other answer to ones eager question-ing than the gentle I do not know. Fatima, weknew, was the much-loved daughter of Mohammet,who declared her to be one of the four perfect women ;but we had yet to learn why the hand of Fatima waseverywhere regarded as a charm, used in every con-ceivable w^ay, from its impress on the door of thehumblest house to the jewelled charm worn roundthe neck of the rich bride.
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RESPECT FOR THE BLIND 9 To one corner of the market square we wereattracted by sounds of music, and there we found agroup of live poor men, four of whom were blind,chanting, in the weird minor key which the Arabslove, passages from the Koran, the flutes and thedrums (played with the fingers) answering each versewith a sort of refrain. Surrounding the players was acrowd of men, who looked like shepherds from thedesert, with many of the small boys of Biskra, allsitting on the ground, of course, as the musicians alsowere. Many of these boys were already known tous, and they smiled up at us in a friendly way whenwe dropped a small contribution into the drum ofone of the blind men. Amongst the Arabs, of course, the art of chant-ing and recitation has always been highly esteemed,and it was most interesting to see the rapt faces ofthis little audience. We had arrived just as therecitation was ending, and as the chapter from theKoran was finished one of the blind men began aprayer. Instantly

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