ABSTRACT
At Fez, when the procession arrives at dār l-‛örs, the men and boys of the bride’s party at once go back to her parents’ house, from which they came, whilst those of the bridegroom’s party proceed to dār íslǟn, where he himself is passing the time with his male friends. Only the women of the procession enter dār l-‛örs, together with the bride, whom they accompany to the door of the nuptial chamber. Her own relatives then return to her old home, while the women of the bridegroom’s party go upstairs. The ngˆägef, on the other hand, conduct the bride into the nuptial chamber, but remain in its outer compartment when she retires into the däḫšûša. After a little while, however, they also enter the däḫšûša, and paint her eyes with antimony, her under-lip with walnut root, and her cheeks with ochre ; and on the cheeks they besides make black spots with a pigment called ḥárqoṣ (prepared from wood ashes, pitch, and spices), 1 and white spots with a preparation called biáḍ l-ûjäh mixed with water. They then dress her in her bridal costume and take her out into the open space in the middle of the house, where she is carried round on a small table in the same manner as she was the night before in her own home. The ceremonies of the tsa‛šêq are now repeated in the presence of the women of the bridegroom’s family or kin, his mother taking the same part as her mother on the former occasion ; but in the singing of the ngˆägef the words hǟ z-zīn m-messûs and hǟ hîya märhôna are now omitted, as the bride’s face has been painted with cosmetics and she no longer is “pawned.” After this performance is over the bride retires to the däḫšûša and remains there alone, while the mistress of the ngˆägef sits in waiting in the outer compartment, and the other ngˆägef are sent by the bridegroom’s mother to dār íslǟn with a bundle of new clothes for her son.
