The light fell through the
common door-way and two holes, which were made in the upper part of
the front wall. A place was set apart for me in one of these
compartments, where I could pass the day.
My attention was first directed to the nature of the relationships
between the several members of the family. At first this was very
difficult, as it was only towards the very young children that any
kind of attachment or love was shown. They appeared to be a common
property. At last, however, I succeeded in ascertaining that three
related families lived in the house - the patriarch, a married son,
and a married daughter.
The patriarch was a handsome, powerful old man, sixty years of age,
and the father of my guide, which I had learnt before, as he was one
of our travelling party; he was a terrible scold, and wrangled about
every trifle; the son seldom contradicted him, and gave way to all
that his father wished. The caravan animals belonged, in common, to
both, and were driven by themselves, and by a grandson fifteen years
old, and some servants. When we had reached the house, the old man
did not attend to the animals much, but took his ease and gave his
orders. It was easy to see that he was the head of the family.
The first impression of the Arab character is that it is cold and
reserved; I never saw either husband and wife, or father and
daughter, exchange a friendly word; they said nothing more than was
positively necessary. They show far more feeling towards children.
They allow them to shout and make as much noise as they like, no one
vexes or contradicts them, and every misconduct is overlooked. But
as soon as a child is grown up, it becomes his duty to put up with
the infirmities of his parents, which he does with respect and
patience.
To my great astonishment, I heard the children call their mothers
mama or nana, their fathers baba, and their grandmothers ete or eti.
The women lie lazily about during the whole day, and only in the
evening exert themselves to make bread. I thought their dress
particularly awkward and inconvenient. The sleeves of their shirts
were so wide that they stuck out half a yard from the arms; the
sleeves of the kaftan were still larger. Whenever they do any work,
they are obliged to wind them round their arms, or tie them in a
knot behind. Of course they are always coming undone, and causing
delay and stoppage of their work. In addition to this, the good
folks are not much addicted to cleanliness, and make use of their
sleeves for blowing their noses on, as well as for wiping their
spoons and plates. Their head coverings are not less inconvenient:
they use first a large cloth, twice folded; over this two others are
wound, and a fourth is thrown over the whole.
Unfortunately, we stayed here two days. I had a great deal to
undergo the first day: all the women of the place flocked round me
to stare at the stranger. They first commenced examining my
clothes, then wanted to take the turban off my head, and were at
last so troublesome, that it was only by force that I could get any
rest. I seized one of them sharply by the arm, and turned her out
of the door so quickly, that she was overcome before she knew what I
was going to do. I signified to the others that I would serve them
the same. Perhaps they thought me stronger than I was, for they
retired immediately.
I then drew a circle round my place and forbade them to cross it, an
injunction they scrupulously attended to.
I had now only to deal with the wife of my guide. She laid siege to
me the whole day, coming as near to me as possible, and teasing me
to give her some of my things. I gave her a few trifles, for I had
not much with me, and she then wanted everything. Fortunately her
husband came out of the house just then; I called him and complained
of his wife, and at the same time threatened to leave his house, and
seek shelter somewhere else, well knowing that the Arabs consider
this a great disgrace. He immediately ordered her harshly out, and
I at last had peace. I always succeeded in carrying out my own
will. I found that energy and boldness have a weight with all
people, whether Arabs, Persians, Bedouins, or others.
Towards evening I saw, to my great delight, a cauldron of mutton set
on the fire. For eight days I had eaten nothing but bread,
cucumber, and some dates; and, therefore, had a great desire for a
hot and more nutritious meal. But my appetite was greatly
diminished when I saw their style of cookery. The old woman (my
guide's mother) threw several handsful of small grain, and a large
quantity of onions, into a pan full of water to soften. In about
half an hour she put her dirty hands into the water, and mixed the
whole together, now and then taking a mouthful, and, after chewing
it, spitting it back again into the pan. She then took a dirty rag,
and strained off the juice, which she poured over the flesh in the
pot.
I had firmly made up my mind not to touch this food; but when it was
ready it gave out such an agreeable odour, and my hunger was so
great, that I broke my resolution, and remembered how many times I
had eaten of food the preparation of which was not a whit cleaner.
What was so bad in the present instance was that I had seen the
whole process.
