The Denver Jewish news., 1919-01-16
WOMEN OF TIE EAST
BY MARY SINGER.

| you have to keep ii covered. Places
| like Rectors and Shanley's would be
failures in Daghestan. They don't
| bic with men. You have to eat the
Scrappings in your own little corner.
| You don't even have the consolation
| of Il newspaper. The only commit
tee on informa ton meets ut the well
where the fair daughters of the Da-
ghestan Jews meet for the ostcnsiblc
purpose of drawing water, but i'll all
honesty to find out the news of the
day. 81
There's one thing though you could
enjoy in Daghestuu-a good cry.
Every now and then the women gath
er oil some large, flat roof, seat them
selves in Il circle, and have wild
weeping orgie for the dead and de
parted. They tear their hair. bite
their nails, rock back and forth in
agouy. and wall loudly.
There couldn't be such IL person as
grass widow" i'll India. When n
woman marries, she is labelled She
must wear gold chain with n
peculiar coin in the center as an in
dicatiOn that she is already the prop
erty of someone else. who more than
often is not of her own choosing. The
choice of bridegroom is left solely to
the father. As soon as Il girl reaches
the ripe age of fourteen or fifteen her
father looks about for Il prescntablc
son-in-aw. When he finds one. he
makes all arrangements with the
young mans father, and on II bright
Tuesday-the ceremony is generally
held on Tuesdays-a marriage takes
place.
With the exception that two days
before that auspicious moment when
the couple meets ut the synagogue
where the bride kisses ten times that
portion Of the Bible containing the
Dccalogue. the young people who are
to live. together all their lives do not
even know or see each other.
Those of our modern girls who
>llelltl 81 VI lH'ii "''
money in the Turkish baths. trying to
retain slim and girlish figure, when
their tendency is decidedly toward
avoirdupois, should go to Tuiis. There
plumpncss A bride of less than zoe
pounds is most undesirable. while
every pound above that weight adds
charm and prestige.
And yet, these Tunisian damscls
have other charms. Their eyes are
large. black. and luminous: their hail
heavy and bluc-black: their faces
pleasantly round. and their feature
and expressions exceptionally viva
ciouS The divided skirt, or panta-
loon arrangement of costume, prob
ably had its origin among them, foi
skirts in the American sense of the
word are unknown.
Nor are they without rccrcati"ns
Every Friday afternoon. regardless OF
wind or rain. athletic examples ol
womanhood carry smal! carthrn jai
continuing II white wash Of slaiied
lime t. tho cemetery. There, with the
aid of Il brush they cleanse the tomb
stones of their departed relatives
l'bc dead are truly among them.
No groom could present his bride
with III imitation ring in Ceyion
Every gift that he brings his lady-loVs
il pluccd in an iron vessel where il is
kept until the goldsmith reports upon
its value and weight Nor. having
Judged that the presents are all bon"
tide could the groom hasten his be
trothed to the rabbi and be married.
Seven days must lrc consumed FOR the
marriage ceremony. during which rit-
uulS arc held continually and the poor
couple taken back and forth from the
synagogue to the house.
And III Bagtlad. that city of dreams
and romanccs. the ceremony takes
Just as long. with the added custom.
that on the night before the wedding
tho bride and all her friends must dy"
their paImS and solcs with hcnna--
the very same hcnua which our au-
burn and firryhcadcd beauties now
employ Oh lhcir curly lccks.
Wednesday is the day when all mar
riagcs arc performed in :hc Caucasus
Herr is nn instance where the hrldc
does not have to worry where her
bridal robe is to come from. IL is the
special and holy duty of the groom TO
provide this notable garment. And n
noisy occasion he makes of it! Should
his friends and parents dislike the
Clothes liz, bride hHs bought with his
money. they storm and argue until
the poor brides father. anxious to