The Brattleboro reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1907-1912, 1911-11-24
A MoHAMMEDAN THANKSGIVING
Picturesque Scenes at the Great Arab
Festival

FESTIVAL.
In the beautiful fortified city of Con.
stantine in Angeria. | first saw the oh.
servance of that interesting day of
Thanksgiving of Mussulmans, known as
Shem-em Naseem Cor Naseiml, which
means literally 'tsmelling the air II
is a dav of thanks, and open-air reioic-
ing, not over the harvest, but that the
winter is gone.
This begins with the vernal equinox.
1t has been suggested that it originated
in the Jewish Passover. Though It was
at first q Coptic festival il is now OBJ
served by all Mussulmans. 1t was the
PRINCIPAL festival among the ancient
Persians. and in it royalty took a great
part. 1t lasted six days; and was called
by the Persians NOwroz, the new year
| BY the Arabs Norooz. The Pefsians be.
| lieve that an ancient king ordered that
1.-THE Persian era should begin from that
dav.
In Constantine it was indeed a day of
rejoicing for the winter had been most
bitter. Constantine is at the end of the
camel route from the Sahara, and hun;
dreds of camels had persisted of the colo
on the way. There We're many Arabs IN
Constantine o years old who had until
then never seen snow; and when two feet
of snow fell, they and their horses ana
dOnkevs were paraiyzed by II; ana the
loss of life was great.
But this dav of thanksgiving was as
sunny and radiant as only an African
dav can be. and the entire town Hooked
to the m 'sallah or praying field. rms is
provided outside every large town for
occasions when the people meet together.
| 1t is next the cemetery. which Is equally
"A place of resort for the people. It was
told that wherever the Sultan of Mo-
rocco Glanced to be he always went to
the m 'sallah on this day. ~
Every conveyance is long engaged IN
advance for this day, and one would tind
much difficulty in hiring any carriage
were it not that no Arab coachman
could resist taking two slit, or foreign
ladies, at double fare, of course, lnsteadd
of an entire Arab family, or a group OF
Arab women and children.
The roads leading to the m 'sallah
we're thronged with people. The men,
Arabs, Kabyles and Moors, were in their
flowing dress-one of the most beautlful
in the world, though the swinging Walk
oiyes a curiously feminine sway to the
| fulI draperv. All are ehattering, and the
| Arabic language is peculiarly chatterlng
| in sound. And the chanting of the Koran
aIternates with their talk. The men
often walk hand in hand, just as you see
them depicted on the Egyptian monu-
ments, and when they meet friends the,y
- fell on their neck and kissed them,
as in Biblical days. Many wear MOWERS
| behind the ear. The women ana NIUE
girls are in the gayest OF garments, olten
Of brocaded silk of light blue, orange
color or vivid pink. The girls dresses
are as long as their mothers. .,
In his hand the father of the family
often carries a bird cage containing
net bird, which will be hung on low
! tree-branch to sing and enjoy the day OF
| than ksoiving. The Arabs are exceeding
| iv fond of birds and hang the cages thick
[rith hlun beads TO keep off the evil eye
| from their pets. This bird is often q
orpenfnrh. a BEAUTIFUL starting flushed
| with red or a bird known as the = poe
tor, =" said to have been introduced by
the English and somberly clad III bIacS
land white like a Respectable heuigai
man. Another small, dark bro IS calle9
1.-THE Father of Friends, and belleVed
/ to bring luck. .e., t;r
/ side with lovely view. Indeed CON
/ sfantine has the most noble site of any
| citv in the world The grass is covered
! tbick with happy families: some nave
/ fittIa fires of charcoal, and there are
cooil-sbops with seething cauldrons.
There are slow and feeble "merry-go-
rounds - and other games of mild recre-
/ ation. Games of chances are forbidden
Nv the Mussulmans religion. Above az
/ there is feasting, that is by eatln g-put
no drinking of strong drinks. lntoXlcat'
4 mo linuors are also forbidden by re-
lfoion. Hence there seem to be no 9o-
/ lice. no guards of any kind to keep order
and none are needed. ~.
This feast of course includes n, H4utI To- /
the flesh food of the Orient; we nad
seen CHASTITY preparations in the narrow,
reeking city streets of unfort,lInate
sheen. This Is not the Sheep feasI,
which comes two months later, when the
voung men and boys play an unpleasant ai
Game of " Follow my leader, with tne
leader dressed in the CORY sheePskln
with the head on. 49,, oors
Of course there is ample &C, CONSCIOUS,
which is cooked on the field. This IS one
If the nutritious, wholesome FOODS maze
Of hard wheat. which is the basis OF
macaroni and vermicelli and the 80 DIT
fnrent forms l know in italian lie, as
veil as in so many of our "health
/ foods. (" The grain is often ground III
hand-mills by women. >, MI,
Moors call this flour smeeedh. lnere
i Good deal of art in making cous-
cons. The woman sits on the, MOOR VIII
t6a +iour.basket on the right, hand, a jar
Of Mater on the left and wooden tray
obor+ three feet in diameter IN front OF