ABSTRACT
WE shall return to the bridegroom at Fez, whom we left in dar is/lin when we accompanied the bride to dar I-tors.
On their arrival at dar is/lin the ngagef, sent there by the bridegroon1's mother, remove his clothes and put on him the new ones which they have brought with then1; being black women they have no shame in doing so. On this ,occasion, however, the white farajtya, which is otherwise worn over the coloured qaffan,l is on1itted, and he has no belt (l;lizam) put round him. With his ksa pulled over his face he walks to his house surrounded by the ngagef and followed by his male friends. When they arrive at the door the ngoagef make a quivering noise as a signal to the women inside to go upstairs. On entering the house his friends remain in its centre while he himself and the ngagef proceed into the nuptial chan1ber, where he mounts"one of the lower steps of a ladder leaning against the pile of
mattresses opposite the entrance. A nggfiJa with a wax candle in her hand stands on either side of him, while the other ngagef stop near the door. One of the latter holds in her hand an empty bowl, another a bowl with milk, and a third a bowl containing dates. The nlen come one by one and put into the empty vessel sonle money, which is taken by the ng3gef; the second nggfiJa gives the donor some milk to drink, and the third one hands to him a date to eat. While this is going on the ng8gef sing :
and the women upstairs make a quivering nOise. When all the men present have thus given their tribute and been rewarded with some milk and a date, they go back to dar is/lin and the women come down again. The bridegroom gets off the ladder and enters the da!Jsusa accompanied by a nggafa, who takes off his I;ay?k and removes the bride's ornaments, putting the latter in a box standing in the dab'fusa. After she has locked the box and given the key to the bride, she goes away and closes the door, leaving the bride and bridegroom alone. The other ngagef have already left the room.
