Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1912-12-20
BEDouln CHEF AS HOST

~ DCuOutH Sh1Cl 10 SSdScIucu Ut
least as highly for his prowess as a
social entertainer as for his valor in
tire Of war. The sheik must be a
fine warrior and a successful host.
Hospitality toward strangers who
come to his door is part and parcel of
the Bedonin's code of honor, and it
would be next 20 impossible to find,
from the Valley of Zered to Damas-
Gus, man who would refuse the
shelter of his tent of hair to tired
traveller. - E
Desert encampments, be they OF the
Shammer, Ibn Shailan, Rawallah al
Anazeh, or other tribe, are arranged
according to an almost identical. plan.
The tents form an inclosed rectangle,
and the guest tent of the Sheik is
erected In central position. At its
door spear is placed point upward
in the ground. In some districts the
tents are made of camel hair and
their manufacture is carried On by a
distinct tribe or community of gypsy
tentmakers, who also deal in camel
hair and goat hair for repairing pur.
roses. Six or eight poles uphold the
structure, the ends and one side be-
ing pegged to the ground, and the
whole of the other side being left
quite open. This Is the house OF
hair" OF the Arab .sheis, wherein all
ere welcome and no guest is more
favored than another.
81 The tent is DIVIDED into two APART
ErEnts, one OF. which is occupied by
the sheik's vive5, bit travellers VINO
sit in the other apartment may quite
essily converse with the unseen beau
ties of the chiefs establishment, and
such social intercourse is not prohib
tied as rule 1t would be an act oil
gross disleourtasy for a traveller to ig
mere the presence OF a great tent and
to erect tent of his own in the neign
Eofhood. Furthermore, it would br
asking for trouble" While the sheill
would protect, at whatever cost, the
guest who had Sought his door, he
would not think twice about plumber
sug the foolish stranger who had pass
ed it by. ~
Quite large villages are formed Gy
the encampments of some of the in
portant desert tribes, and these are
regularly visited by commercial trav
elers from Damascus. TO they toast
regular bazaar or market street OIL
tent shops. In one particular, at least
the lot of such a traveller is happie,
than that of his European confrere-
he is boarded and lodged free of cos
in the guest chamber.
II such village there would be a
sc parate guest chamber, distinct from
the residence Of the sheik, and this
would be a resort for gossfpers
throughout the day. Games are play
ed in. these guest chambers, in which
cf course, the visitor may join; and
enc of them has recently found It's
way to Europe, apparently via Amert
ca. and is now fairly popular in Lon
cen, though in modified form. 1t is
known by the title of go ban," al
though this is not it's Bedouin nam. 9
anc in Europe it is played upon draft
board. In the desert it is played with
stones upon the floor, which is chalked
into squares. A detailed description
is unnecessary. but the game consists
il maneuvering to get nine stones in
three straight rows lin the Western
game, to get five men in one straight
row. 49,. .....
Coffee is placed before every visitor
to the Bedouin tent. Essentially, the
taste for this preparation is an &C
ocired one. Mark Twain's long cher
ished vision of the delights of coffee
drinking in the luxurious East was
shattered at the moment that he rails
ed the cup to his lips, but it would be
an insult to the hospitality of the
skeik to display such distaste as this
when partaking of the beverage in a
Iiedouin tent. On the advent of visit
OF green coffee berries are roasted in
a kind of ladle over the fire, and when
when done, crushed in a mortar and
served in tiny cups. which fortunately
for the Western guest, hold little more
than ligueur glass. The preparation
has the consistency and appearance OF
n.ur and the coffee gounds. irritates
the throat of one unused to the luxury
IN highly unpleasant manner. But
= is an established form of welcome
and must be acknowledged by smack
Ing the lips as if with enjoyment.
~,