THE ARAB WOMAN,

Otago Witness, Issue 1900, 3 July 1890, Page 35

THE ARAB WOMAN,

The Arab woman, save in rare and pleasant exceptions, is hardly what the poets and painterß have shown us. If she be graceful or beautiful it is extremely difficult to discover it ; and sbe possesses neither of these attractions after she is 25, for she is a " wife " at from 12 to 14 years of age, whatever that station or condition means among the Arabs. All there is about this being to become ecstatic over is that subtle prompting of the poetic fancy whioh ever, to the male mind peculiarly, blooms like the rode in any soil of apparent coyishness and mystery in the gentler sex. The Arab woman is simply a vacuous, Insensate,' voiceless, and dreamless human animal, sheeted like the dead in the streets, and dead to the world when within the four windowless walls where the majestic being who owns her keeps her penned. The dress of the Arab woman is all concealing upon , the street and the reverae in her home. The outer garment is the haik, white, usually of wool, sometimes of silk, often of cotton. It is frequently 20ft in length and nearly 2yds wide. Beneath this are precisely four articles of apparel, a gauze chemise, an unstiffened corset or bodice, frequently massively embroidered and bejewelled, pan'aloons reaching to the feet and comprising countless yards of material, and the tantalising adjur tied tightly around the face and falling about 12in below. Most women not satisfied with this retirement, or perhaps more strictly speaking, moat women whose husbands are not satisfied with this obscuration, further hide the face by bringing the haik down over one side of the forehead, so that but one eye, a dark eyebrow, and a tiny patch of the forehead are visible. Their feet are usually encased in brown or yellow slippers; danglets and banglets of indescribable jewellery tinkle and chime from wrists, anklets, and concealed portions of the figure; and, in this swathing of ghostly haik, with humped bodies and mincing steps, those who are allowed upon the street at all wriggle, glide, and scurry along, like a bevy of escaped wraiths from among the silent graves upon the heights. But this privilege of wandering about like a lot of sheeted spooks is by no means a universal one. The young and fair see the sunlight only through the open courts of their dwellings, or from the white terraces for a brief hour toward sunset. Only the aged and safe are ever permitted to visit the mosques, with the exception that on Fridays, in company with servants or elders, little excursions are allowed to the suburban marabouts, or sacred temples, and the khoubas at the cemeteries as at Belcour, where they were allowed the cheering diversion of filling with water the little cups pasting at the heads of tombs; for the birds drink from these and fly to heaven with 'greetings from the souls at rest beneath. Indoors the dress of these, women is ethereal enongfc for the most fervid artist's fancy. They never see in their homes any male but their husbands and their children. The climate, like that of Cuba in winter, and excessively hot from May until October, has also much to do with this. There are really but two garments for everyday home wear. One is a gauze ohenoise, through which the olive-hued form is dearly revealed. The other is the wide, ample trousers, terminating just below the knees, and almost as fleecy and gauzy in effect. The lowlier women are bare-legged, bare-footed, and bare-headed at home. Wives of the wealthier Arabs will don pink, yellow, or blue gauze Bilk hose, and dainty yellow babouches or slippers. Their hair will be coiled in a simple Grecian knot, and fastened with some huge jewelled ornament, and perhaps a tiny skull cap, richly embroidered, will rest coquetfcishlj on one side of the head. But all are bedecked with jewellery. The poorer are fond of burnished copper bands about the arms, wrists, and anklets, or brilliant quarfz and glass cubes and crystals, strung on pack thread, encircle their necks. The rich are ablaze with jeweis, principally pearls, emeralds, and sapphires badly tfet, but always genuine and of great value. There is a" legend in Algiers that the hidden riches of the wealthier Arabs, principally comprising jewels, exceeds the sum total in value of all coin, plato, and jewels otherwise possessed by all nationalities in the " white city."