The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1911-02-14

sue mas Deen married to some one
else. To get around this. an angry
husband. r~elenting and longing for
the dear departed, arranges to marry
her to a friend, a derVish, or to some
half-crazy man, who for a sum will
go through the ceremony of a we'd
ding and then Immediately divorce
the woman who can then be married
again to her old husband. In the
case referred to the man had a quar-
rel with his wife, and angrilv mutter-
ed the words of divorce. Immediately
she had gone he ~repented, and there
upon brought about her marriage
with an alleged friend, upon the un-
derstanding that a divorce was to fol-
low the CEREMONY. The friend. how
ever refused to utter the words of
divorce, saying, 4 like the woman
and will keep her myself and SO it
IS at this writing.
Sucn divorces are always on the
part OF the husband. AS for the wo-
men, they have more difficulty in
getting rid of the marriage tie, al
though they can do SO, provided the
husband does not perform his duty
TO them or give them an equal amount
Of attention with the other wives OF
the family. According to Mohammed
every man had the right to our wives,
but the Koran provides that he must
spend an equal time with each Of
them, and in some places he is re-
CURED to give Zach a separate estab-
llShment.
Marriage i'll the Holy Land.
During my travels in the Holy land
| have picked up some interesting
stories OF marriage and divorce.
Every sect has it's own customs. The
Jews can divorce easily, and after
that they car marry again. The ortho-
dOx Greeks can only marriage three
times, and some of the Christians are
not allowed a divorce without cause.
In all Of the Jewish weddings the
girl brings a doWry, the amount OF
the dot being mentioned III the con-
tract of marriage. This contract is
always signed in the presence of the
rabbi, and the wedding ceremony
takes place under d tent in the court
Of the synagogue. Before marriage
the bride is shave from her head to
her feet, n after that her head is
always kept covered. At the cere-
lnony n after it they have music,
with drums. csmbals and harps, and
many of the old-fashioned customs Of
Bible times are preserved. The Jews
marry young. and a girl is an old
maid at twenty.
The peasant MOhammedans.
The Mohammedans of the villages
usually take wives when they are en-
tering their teens, and marriage at
twelve years are not me
man is usually older, and It is custom
AIRY for matured men to marry young
girls and to add them to their harems
as the first wives grow Older. In
such cases the groom AVS money to
the fathe Of the bride. This is the
| reverse of tive Jewish marriages,
where the money goes to the groom.
The price for a Mohammedan wife
-, =, ~ ~, :, "a anrSi >, 40 tho flHa nci2t con-
dition Of the contracting parties. The
contracts are made by the elder peO-
| pie OF the family. If there is a IA
| Their he decides upon the marriage.
If the father is dead the eldest
| brother may act, or in some eases the
! mother.
The customs as to the right OF the
| family to dictate the marriage are
rigid. The other day u peasant llv-
| inc near Jerusalem had a sister VINO
ran away with her over and mar
ried him. This was after the family
had objected to any union of q two.
The peasant took q revolver and went
after the bridal couple. He met his
brother-in-law in Jerusalem and shot
him dead on the street. When ar
rested he justified the crime and he
is now imprisoned awaiting trial. am
told he will get off with a slight pun
ishment. as he has acted within his
rights according to the Koran.
Bride of the Cities.
Among the city Mohammedans the
bridegroom makes Il present OF a
! dOUry sufficient to enable his bride to
purchase her rousseau ana household
furniture. He may give her six or
eight hundre dollars, and the greater
part Of this will go to her nearest
male relative, being paid before the
wedding takes place. On the other
hand. he and that relative may buy
the outfit together. items or
the various things and their cost. OF
ten the whole dowry is not paid, 20
or 80 per cent. being left until after
| the wedding. This is not demanded,
except in ease of divorce, and 1t IS
| considered a premium that will insure
good treatment on the part OF the
| husband.
The bride seldom sees the groom