The Siwa do not keep camels, although they are used in the caravan trade. Native domestic animals include cattle, goats, donkeys, dogs, and a few sheep. Milk is an important element in their diet, as is the butter made from the milk. They are Muslims, and according to Islamic law inheritances are traced through the males. Wealth distinctions are very important to the Siwa.
Servants make up the lower class of society.
Marriage with first cousins is common. A tradition among the Siwa is that a bride, dressed in her finest clothes and with her hair plaited in forty braids, is led to the village pool on the eve of her wedding. There, an old woman bathes her and removes the silver disc of virginity, which hangs from her neck. On the way home, the bride is intercepted by her fianc 's family, who present her with many gifts. Among them are forty dresses, of which seven must be worn one on top of the other on the wedding day.