Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1880-08-22
Arabian Folk Lore.

The following scrap, touching certain
points of the folk lore of the children OF
the desert, Is taken, from the fifth
of series of letters by Professor Robert
son Smith of Aberdeen We had very
pleasant bivouac in Wady
Gi'rana, under the bright moonlight. We
drank innumerable cups OF coffee and en-
joyed long that around the fire. Al
Mas as usual, was full of superstltions,
and showed me Bedouin methods of di
vination. One Of these is used to decide
whether or not tribe shall ride out on a
toray A circle is drawn out in the sand
with an arbitrary number of rays, which
must not be counted, diverging from its
circumference. The first and second rays
are then joined by cross stroke, so are
the third and fourth, and so ON. If there
is an odd number OF rays, one, of course
remains unconnected, and is held to SYM
bolize an open ROAD for war.
If all the rays are closed, the tribe re-
fuses to ride out. A more complicated
test of probability of success in anything
q man has set his heart on is to measure
out three spans lengths on the land.
The space between must then be divided
off into finger breaths, which is done by
successive applications of the third and
fourth fingers, pressing the back of the
fingers down upon the sand. The row Of
scores thus obtained is roughly bisected
by the eye, and each half is counted of
in threes from the middle point. The re-
mainders give the measure of ones good
luck, the best result being three at one
end and two at the other. I remember to
have heard from resident in Bagdad
that similar mode of divination is prac-
ticed there by counting off by 6ves an
arbitrary chosen number of beads in a
rosary. This is called striking a choice
(dharab kheera.)
The Beduoins also take augur1es from
birds. A single raven in ones path is a
very bad token, but two are extremely
lucky. They say, Atadhare9u Fa-san-
sein-"Two green (that is. black ones
"a fair omen. The Bedouins have other
superstitions about animals. The super
stitlon as to the flesh of the .ock bad
ger which Palmer noted in the Peninsu-
la of Sinai is unknown here; but there is
d SlulldI 1OC6 dOV0t tnO WAlOn
frequent Mt. Kara. These, it is said,
were once men who came to visit the
prophet. He set before them milk and
water, directing them to drink the former
and perform their additions with the
latter. The perverse visitors drank the
water and washed with the milk, and
were transformed to monkeys for their
disobedience. As they were once men,
their flesh is no. eaten.
This legend is closely akin to what one
reads in the history of early Arabia alb
out the Nasnas and the Wabar, in the
great sandy desert. Both these words
are monkey names, quite current in the
present day, though not recognized by
the lexicons Except in this monkey
story, find no trace OF the superstitious
rejection of the flesh of any animal.
But some kinds of flesh have magical
virtue attached to thom. A man who
suffers in any member of his body seeks
a cure by eating the corresponding part
of hyena. A similar vntue is attached
to the flesh of the gemsbok (Wudheyhy),
a rare species of antelope found far in the
interior. When eaten. it draws an obst1-
nate bullet from wound.