Williston graphic. (Williston, Williams County, N.D.) 1895-1919, 1901-09-19
MA1DENs OF MOROCCO.
I.terestingsy Features Of sTheis Be
siS trothal and wedding Cereme-
nies ana Their Home Lives.

L !
nies ana Their Home Lives.
Young girls have been said to o.
more in harmony with nature ID
Morocco than anywhere else in the
world. The country abounds in
color. There are miles of delicate
white broom, pale blue convolvulus,
purple thistles and bright peoples
bathed in sunshine and perfume, and
the Moorish girls are like bright
hued flowers in the midst of this
natural display. They have stately
carriage and grace of movement, the
effect of which is heightened by the
soft folds Of their muslin dresses. In
the open country, where they may be
seen with unveiled faces, they work
and chatter with the utmost light
Iheartedness.
Unfortunately the period, Of girl
hood is short-lived. The maria eable
age is IL years, and a father seldom
keeps his daughter after she has
reached IS. The age of the bride-
groom does not matter, and child
of IL frequently receives a1husband
Of GO. With the betrothal the care
less life of beauty is ended. When a
girl becomes engaged it is her par.
|ents' duty to fatten her, and she is
put into training for this
Every morning, says the London
Daily Telegraph, she takes the soft
part of her wheaton bread and rolls
It into long, round pieces about twice
the length Of her little finger and of
the girth of her thumb. After each
full meal she eats three or four Of
these, gradually increasing the dose.
At first she is allowed to wash them
down with milk or green tea. Later
on liquids are forbidden. Most girls
manage in time to put away so $50
OF these aids to obesity: every day.
By the time the wedding day comes
around brides have wholly lost their
slimness, and after a few years re-
semble huge sacks of down.
Weddings always take place in the
evening, and the long procession is
an indispensable part of the cere-
mony. The. woman is neatly enveloped
in gauze and muslin, and packed into
trim little red box, just as if she
were an automatic doll or the newest
thing in hats, $50 that she can no
more be seen than a diamond
wrapped up in wadding and shut in
basket. The box is fastened on
the back of a mule or a horse, and
when these, details are satisfactorily
settled the procession starts. Al her
kith and kin, as well as the relations
in state or solemnly march on foot
to the sounds of weird music, which
would madden European. The in
.struments are ear-spitting. But the
eloo-loo-loo and lee-lee-lee shrieked
out with shrill voices by the women
to wish the couple good luck are ter
rible. And If the family have a prop
er sense of what they owe themselves
they are not satisfied even with this,
but invest in gunpowder and keep
firing all the way to the bridegroom's
house. -
= l. AcIc dIc HO
at the nuptials Of the Moors. When
the motley crowd reaches the house
of love they make ready for vocifer-
Gus amusement and "high tea" at the
expense of the happy bridegroom. If
no. awkward hitch occurs, the mar
rage is duly registered, and the wom-
an is his lawful spouse until death
or divorce sewers them. Then the fes-
tivities move apace, lasting half the
night, and are begun every day afresh
for about a week. u,
1t is difficult matter for an out
slider to visit harem. The wife may
freely receive her women friends, and
while these are present her husband
may not enter the apartment. A red
slipper at the. threshold is a sign for
him to keep away. % ~
y A. Moorish woman who has become
q Christian is reported as summing
up the. disadvantages Of her former
condition and the improvement
brought by her change of religion in
this wise: Here we are not our hus-
bands better halves, nor any half at
all-merely fractions who are neg
lected. Whereas, when a Christian,
I can have husband all to myself,
and many friends as WELL"