Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1875-04-14
Arab Women.

The dress Of an Arab woman. Of the
lower class. is more simple than elegant
Il con>iS of \ habavl "A knI of linen
chcni~e wiki wide >leevrs-tiel round the
wAist with cord. Ike the habit If 4 cap
urh;n. In the street. all this i> covered by
a llt.k which does not. however. hide her
bare les. adorned with silver or copper
lnhlct~. Slr wears larrc earrings, viii. h
:.r.. almost hidden under the mass of hair
twisted tbblt them. while 4 protuSIon of
necklaces. amulci-. coral AMI = ass beads
fall over hrr tt,tooed neck and bosom
rhr>, things belong 10 thc wife personally.
,.inr >ct.l.l upon h-r hv :; III trriar
>.ipllltion in ease of abandonment or
divorce. Thus She puts them on Is often
A. possible. for tie display of such iinery
iS one Of the few pleasures which She en-
joy-. - the most is made of ii. Some
times She DIVES her hands. and ALWAYS her
nails. with the orange tint of henna, and IS
fnuI of til, scent called soIIh. She, like
her Moorish sisters. also attempts to i'm
porve upon nature bv blackcning the
ll-h,.S OF her large eyes with kohcul- The
l;i:tr worn in AlgierS and other large
towns wis unknown before the time OF
a!o!ammed. vino introduced it to serve
lis own personal ielloIsy thus the dis
trl>tful disposition OF one man has con-
drnncd all Mo>lem women to pass through
ife with 4 kcrchiet over the face. This
law of the Prophet is one of the IN my
which Ia, contribute to degrade WON n
in their social position. Whenever they
the wong II i,:t>t-ctn remove the Jlt
o4rie, which not only conceal, their charms
bat prevents them from breathing the air
of heaven freely. thy take it oil; thus We
often meet women unveiled in the coun
try. when 10 Arab i, near. If they see
one approaching they immc1ilteiy replace
HE Veil, hut they are not equally plrlcu
lar when they meet a Rouml. So that many
opportunities Of seeing their faces are Oh
tl.rcd. even in the neighborhood of Asier>
anl Oran. In the ktbylie, the ajar is
not worn; for the kabyle-who makes a
companion Of his wife and treats her rs
hi, equals not so suspicious as the Arab
Young Arab and Morrish women. We may
remark, cover their faces because they are
ordered to 10 50: the old find it conven-
icnl policy. for. like charity, it hides many
,!et,.:.s. Thus Oh women are in general
very strict in wearing the adlar them
selves. and are rs little indul gent 10 the
vo,lnr on.s. whr are caught without 1t as
the Jealous husband himself; the reason:
oainr envy in one case and mistrust In the
other some OF the sex allow one eye
only to be seem These, instead of the
usual :,lar draw their drtpsry-which
cover, tl.n from head to foot-over the
f..c. l.lvint u little hole for the solitary
Object TO peep through. We have often,
in oar ramblcs in the country about Algiers
met with women thus mutiled up; and still
more frequently in out-of-the-way places
further Off wAo on noticing our apparent
spcculation Oh the countenance which OF
f1rcd only one black eye to guide US in oul
conie:tures. suddenly let the curtain fall. a:
they lldghingly showed us face which
had no cause to fear being exposed; thl:
WA, done with Il merry look which seemed
to say, "IIow do You ike it does it please
wa = In the sumo way we have seen