Modaina

OF THE CUSTOMS THAT ARE PRACTICED FROM THE BETROTHAL UNTIL THE WEDDING IN THE TIGRE COUNTRIES.

Part 2

The father of the girl with his family and every one of his relatives that has received a zekran sends word to the family of the boy: "Come to me at such and such a constellation that ye take your zekran !';' After they have arrived, he makes a meal for them, and then, he and every one of his family that has received three cubits of cloth give a heifer or a bullock. And the father of the girl be- sides choosing himself [and giving some cattle] says to therri : "Enter [and choose] among the cattle yourselves!", and he gives them the choice of one cow; and this cow is called sis or by at. Thereupon when they have received their [part of] the nuptial gift, they return to their village.

Afterwards when the family of the boy have decided to marry their son, his father goes with some people to the family of the betrothed girl. And "when they have arrived, they greet each other, and the [others] make a meal for them and give [it] to them. But the father of the boy says, together with his company: "We have come asking for the wedding; and before ye have granted us the wedding, we shall not eat," and they refuse to eat. The family of the girl reply: "Our daughter is young; and we are not ready!" But if then they refuse food and water, the others say to them, [naming] the time which suits them: "Then we shall give [her] unto you ; have your constellation computed !"
Now the guests eat their meal and afterwards return to their village. And all of them get ready for the appointed time. The mother of the girl receives the eight thalers of the nuptial gift and adding of her own money she endows her daughter: she buys furniture of leather, of wood, of hemp, of bast and of palm-fibre, beads and other trinkets. Those who are married may be young or old; there is no definite time according to their age. They marry their children when they are' nine or ten years old, and more generally when they are older than that; this is according to the wish of the parents. After this when the constellation is near they decide again and if nothing unforeseen happens to one of them that hinders [him], they confirm their word according to what has been agreed to before. And after the wedding has been determined, those who marry and those who give in marriage, each one in his precinct, .begin the wedding : dance a week before the constellation. And during the dance the father and the male relatives of his generation, and the grandfather and his male generation and [the betrothed] them- selves are praised.
The girl and the boy drink both bitter . drinks of laxative effect and do not eat very much : they rest and beautify their bodies. After this when only two days are left before the constellation they both undergo the ceremony of samid. ') The boy enters the night before the morning on which he celebrates the samld, into the house of a first wife and passes the night in the house. The next; morning the . woman rises before the birds begin to warble and puts the clothes on him in which he celebrates and slides a bracelet on his right wrist, and around his neck a string of white and black beads and a silver necklace or a string of white beads. And the boy dresses in a new robe and breeches with lace- trimming or a white skirt with red stripes; he puts shoes on his feet and dresses in a waistcoat of silk or of spun thread. And from now until his fourty days are over he carries a sword and a whip and puts a ring with a stone and a simple ring on his hand; furthermore, from this time on, he paints his eyes every day with antimony and rubs c eltam 2 ) or henna*} on his finger[-nails]. And from this time until his fourty days are over, his best friend ') stays with him and they have their meals together. And his other friends come and they go together down to a river, and the bridegroom bathes. More- over, they unbraid his hair-dress for him, and he is combed ; or if he has no braided hair he is combed [only]. In this way he goes down to the river and bathes until the day of [his] wedding, and he is called a bridegroom.

On the other hand, the girl who is to be married passes that night in the house of a first wife also. And the first wife rises with the dawn before the birds begin to warble, and she dresses the girl who performs the samid in the cloth of the dowry which the people of her father-in-law have brought to her. And in the morning the girl puts on her trinkets : on her wrists she slides bracelets of silver, of beads, of leather and of hairat, 2 ) and over her elbows she puts bracelets of various beads and rings of a horny material. Further- more, she puts on her neck necklaces of beads and of agate (?), of various kinds. And on the fingers of her hands, except the two middle-fingers, she slides rings [of all kinds] :
simple silver rings with a stone, rings with ornamental kno-blets, thin rings of silver, rings made of cattle-hoofs, rings of stone. On the toes of her feet she places rings of iron, and over the ankles she places anklets of beads and of silver, if she has silver anklets. And in her nose she places rings of gold and of silver. If her ears have not been adorned yet with ear-rings, she receives ear-rings of silver or gold and puts on ear-drops. To the curls of her temples she ties silver chains and around her forehead she binds a frontlet.

On her ears she puts also thin silver plates. After this she goes around with her friends to the wives of the families of her father and of her mother and says to them: "Bless me and hand me a gift!" And they bless her [saying]: "May He give thee long life and much luck, fame and favor and good fortune ! May thy womb be open and [the animals at] thy door bring forth female young or: may thy womb bring forth male children and thy door female young . Through thy womb become a mother of many, ') be happy, be well known and often visited. May He preserve thee thy house and thy youth ! Be a mother of seven that have no scars nor are cauterized." Thereupon they bring out some of their trinkets and hand her the gift. After this she goes with her friends down to the river and bathes; also they unbraid her hair, and they dance beating the barrel-drum and praise the bride and [continue to] do thus until the day on which the nuptial procession arrives.

Now during the days of the samid the people of the boy, or the people of the girl, if they have a drum each one of them beats his drum before the birds sing. Moreover, the musicians play the flute at the door of every one of them, and all the women of the village give the shout of joy. And the father of the boy invites his family and whosoever is his relation, saying to them: "I am marrying my son; come
with us!" And in the same way the father of the girl invites his relatives. And near the village of the girl a man of the Zen tribe ') cuts wood and builds a nuptial hut And the people of the boy have long thin branches cut, further- more the wooden supports [for the beds], bark of trees and cross-pieces [that are placed on the supports] ; [this is] for the bridal hut of their son. And the groom says to every one of his friends: "Thou such-and-such, [my] friend art thou, thus go in the procession for me." "And the people of the girl prepare beverages [mead and beer] for the nuptial procession that comes to them; meals, however, are prepared for them by the whole village after a common council. But for people of the vow 2 ) they hold ready, instead of the mead and beer, honey-water or milk. And; in the same way the people of the boy make preparation for the nuptial procession that sets out and for the invited guests. Thereupon, if the people of the boy go in procession to afnother] tribe, the people of his village make an account in common, and make a proportional division for each procession; 3 ) and they precede with those that follow them and with their relatives. And the best friend of the groom rides with him on the same mule and holds a shield over his head. And their handmaids if they have such gird themselves and precede with them. If they have a drum, they proceed with it and march beating it. Furthermore, musicians march with them playing the flute or the violin or the trombone and the harp. And the people of the procession sing the hoyra.

The leader: i) wahay galo wego, wahay galo wego.
The chorus : yaho galo wego.

2] haymara lefo, haymara lefo. yaho haimara lefo.

3) wasomaye some, wasomaye some. yaho some.

4) ebelbdl geme, ebelbdla geme. ebelbdl geme.

5) hembobelle rado, hembobelle rado. hembobelle rado.

6) haygdmel aldmale, wahay gdmel a!dmale. yaho ho haigdmel c aldmale.

7) sebo waylega sebo. hdha^ waylega sebo.

8) hasausawa hasau sawarelle. hasausawa hasau sawarelle.

9) haffaye zabole, haffaye zabole. haffaye zabole, haffaye zabole.

10) ^agok ndbi. mahammdd.

The people do not understand the meaning of these songs. Several of the words seem to be corrupted Tigrina words and it is not impossible that most of the songs came from the Tigrina country, and while they were handed down without being understood were altered considerably. Only No. 10 is from the Arabic and is easily understood: "They have come to thee, o pro- phet" Chorus: "Mohammed." No. 9 may mean: "He who has a sharp [sword]," No. 5 : "Go down to Hembobelle," the latter being perhaps the name of some formerly renowned place or river.

And while the leader and the chorus sing this hoyra, they dance [alternately] in small parties. And in the evening before the 'lucky day' ') they come to the village from which they marry. And when the procession is seen, the girls come to meet them beating the barrel-drum. And all the people of the village come out of their houses and look on, and the women give the shout of joy, and if the people of the girl have a drum, they beat their drum; and the men of the procession dance. Thereupon the men of the village say to them: "Enter now!" And the procession cut through to the nuptial hut shouting their hoyra. And after faiey have marched three times around the hut they sit down. [Then] the bridegroom or his best man enters into the hut with his friends. And the people of the village come and greet the pro- cession. And when they have greeted each other, the people of the village bring them mats or carpets .and bedsteads that suffice for them. Furthermore they place for them wood-fires around the hut; and they give them tobacco and coffee and water.
Thereupon they bring beer for them, and they drink from it until they are satisfied. After this the men of the village take the weapons of the men of the procession and count them, and by this they know the number of [the men of] the procession. ') And after they have decided according to the number of the men, they cook polentas with butter and milk, and they divide the people into parties and give them their dinner. Of the polenta, however, the musician, the man who cuts the uvula, and the man of the Zen tribe receive each one portion. And when they have dined, the young men dance with the girls of the village, and they praise the father of the girl. But the older men of the pro- cession pass the night with the men of the village in the hut drinking mead. And the women of the village pass the night dancing in the house of the family that gives in marriage, and they praise the "fathers" 2 ) and the ancestors of the girl. And on the other hand, if they reproach [the men of] the procession [behind their back], they sing mocking songs about them. On the next day the people of the girl say to the people of the boy, i.e. the procession: "How much have ye given, in money and clothes?" And the people of the procession count whatever they have given and in what they have supported [the people of the girl] and what they have donated expecting a return. And what the people of the girl deny or do not acknowledge, about
this they call witnesses, and he in whose favor the witness is borne wins. And whatever they have given, the people of the girl return twofold or return to them by giving animals. ') After this the father of the girl [divides among] the "fathers" and the ancestors of the bridegroom and him also and the handmaids and the drum[mer] and the musician and the noble ones among the procession that came; saying "This is the gift for such and such," he gives to each one of them a heifer or a bullock or two thalers. And when the people of the girl have finished all their gifts, the father of the boy says to them: "May God requite you!" The mother of the bride cooks a meal and makes a good sauce of butter and sends it to the bridegroom.
The bridegroom eats a little of it with his company and returns it. And when they bring the rest back the boys take it away and eat it. This is called "the meal of the covenant." [Then] they wrap the clothes that have come as the nuptial gift from the family of her father-in-law in the leather skirt of the bride and make a boy, the son of a first wife, carry it, and he goes with it to and fro three times from the house of the mother of the girl as far as the tabernacle, without turning aside, looking straight forward, and the people make tff on it. The rug and the cloak which they have asked and taken at the time of the betrothal from the family of the bride- groom, is now worn for the first time by the bride, going away. The family of the bridegroom bring the he-goat or the bullock of the mendeg sacrifice. And this the friends of the groom take, and at the door of the mother of the bride, at the side of a hole that has been dug before, they kill it according to the religious rite of the marrying people; and then, they put [the head of the animal which has been cut off but not entirely severed from the body] down in the hole. But the windpipe they cut and throw to the women that are in the house. The Belen, however, throw the hoof . And this is called [the] mendeg[sacrifice]. Then the family of the girl eat the meat, but half of it they give to the friends of the groom. Moreover, the musician receives a fore-leg and the head . ')
Thereupon they gather all the bones of the mendeq and bury them in the hole where it was killed, in order that this may be [a symbol of] rest and happiness for their daughter. The mother of the girl makes the best friend of the groom count the things which she sends with her daughter. But of the leather things she gives the musician a sack or a bag. After this the women fill the palm-leaf bowl of the bride with water and put some asal*) and sprouting corn into it. Then they let the bride sit on the ground upon a bridle or upon a chair: 3 ) she undresses herself, and they pour the water on her. And this is called the " asal- water." And they put fragrant herbs on her head, and also her clothes they fumigate with incense, 'sandal-wood and sweet resin. After this they dress her in new [clothes], viz. shirt, drawers, and cloak.
Thereupon the families of the father and of the mother of the bride sit down at the door of the house in which the bride is. And one of the women takes the box of the bride, and having put butter into it she goes out and smears a little each on the center of the heads of the men. l )
After this the men enter one by one to the bride and greet her and bless her and give her trinkets, saying to her: "May thy face be of good luck for the family of thy father-in-law, and thy back for us ; rest and repose!" And the friends of the bridegroom come dancing, and after having entered the house they lift up the bride; and they take also all the things that her mother has given her. And they bring the bride into the tabernacle and put her down at the side of the groom. As soon as they have lifted her up, the women put a little polenta into a wooden bowl and go out behind the bride; this the boys take away and eat it. After this the people of the procession and the family of the girl sit down at the door of the tabernacle as before, facing each other. And the father of the groom, or the groom himself, rises and shakes hands with the male relatives of his bride, saying: "Bless me!" And they bless him.

Part 3