ABSTRACT
The cult of the dead is coupled with the cult of ancestors. There is only a relative difference between these two types of reverence, in that the latter seeks for objects of religious veneration in the distant past, whereas the former is dedicated to the memory of more recent generations. A more developed ancestor cult has been proved only for the southern Arabs, and among inhabitants of the middle and northern part of the Arab area only scanty indications can be found. These accounts indicate the survival of cult habits. Apart from other signs of veneration, pagan pilgrims practised shaving the hair of the head. The same protest is contained in the endeavour of Muhammed's pious followers to avoid and reject anything similar to veneration of the dead, which was practised in paganism and had not in practice been overcome by Islam.
