File:The old world - Palestine, Syria, and Asia Minor - travel, incident, description and history (1869) (14596373248).jpg

Identifier: oldworldpalestin00free (find matches)
Title: The old world : Palestine, Syria, and Asia Minor : travel, incident, description and history
Year: 1869 (1860s)
Authors: Freese, Jacob R., 1826-1885
Subjects: Personal Narratives Physicians
Publisher: Philadelphia : J.B. Lippincott & Co.
Contributing Library: Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine
Digitizing Sponsor: Open Knowledge Commons and Harvard Medical School

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eir young menusually marry at the age of sixteen or eighteen, and thegirls at thirteen or fourteen. Three days before that fixedfor the celebration of the marriage, the bridegroom, ac-companied by some young men of his own age, all wellarmed, proceeds formally to demand his bride at the handof her father, who awaits the party, armed cap-a-pie, onthe threshold of his door; and there gives his final sanc-tion to the conditions of the contract. The young manfixes the dowry (maakr) to be settled by him on his in-tended, and promises her family that he will render herhappy. The betrothed girl appears for a moment, butclosely veiled, and accompanied by some female rela-tions and by her mother, who guarantees the unblemishedhonor of her child. Upon this the young man pops thequestion to the fair one herself, who replies ueble tak (Iaccept you), presenting him, at the same time, with akhanjar (a broad and slightly curved dagger) sewed upin a red and white handkerchief, or kejieh, generally of
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Among the Druses. 241 wool, and wrought with her own hands. The khanjar isa token of the protection she expects from her husband ;but it is likewise the instrument destined to expiate herguilt if she has trifled with her maiden honor, or if sheever violate her marriage troth, or even fail in her dutyas an obedient and duteous wife. All parties then enter the house ; the bride afterwardproceeds slowly to the bath, where she spends the daywith her companions, whilst the men mount their horsesand amuse themselves with their favorite games, or re-main smoking and drinking coffee in the house of thebrides father : the same ceremony is twice repeated. Onthe wedding-night, the women conduct the bridegroomto the nuptial-chamber, where the bride awaits himcovered from head to foot with a red veil spangled withgold ; removing this, he presents her with the tantoor (asort of skull-cap) and places it on her head, where it isto remain for the rest of her life. The moment the hus-band snatches off

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