Travels in the Atlas and southern MoroccoA narrative of exploration . unusual com-motion. The streets, usually deserted at this hour,were thronged with men and women alike, who, intheir soft white clinging draperies, gave the place theaspect of a city of ghosts. But they were ghosts hav-ing a good time of it. Never had I seen a Moorishtown more animated. At every corner we were metby bands of men and boys parading the streets, headedby musicians, who skirled out the most plaintive ofwild music from clarionet-like pipes, accompanied bythe clamour of drums and tambourines and loud sing-ing. Some
Travels in the Atlas and southern MoroccoA narrative of exploration . unusual com-motion. The streets, usually deserted at this hour,were thronged with men and women alike, who, intheir soft white clinging draperies, gave the place theaspect of a city of ghosts. But they were ghosts hav-ing a good time of it. Never had I seen a Moorishtown more animated. At every corner we were metby bands of men and boys parading the streets, headedby musicians, who skirled out the most plaintive ofwild music from clarionet-like pipes, accompanied bythe clamour of drums and tambourines and loud sing-ing. Some of these bands moved slowly, bringing intheir train groups of women and the more sedate ofthe Moors, while the music wailed out melancholy ear-piercing notes ; others, again, the real followers of SidiHamadsha, ran about like madmen, pumping up a 74 MOROCCO. spiritual intoxication—their movements tbe wild anticsof devils, their music that of Hades. Here and therethey stopped to dance, stamping round with heavy,ungainly movement, jerking their heads up and down,. WOMAN, OUT-UOUK COSTUME. as if desirous of softening their brains inside. Attimes, with hands held up in mid-air and faces turnedheavenward, the moon disclosed their wild glistening MOGADOR. 75 eyes, tlifir foain-circled inuiitlis, and the savage excite-ment wliifli marked their every lineament as theyscreamed out invocations to Allah, our Lord ]Moham-med, and Sidi Haniadsha. In the vicinity of such fanatics we drew our jc/absround our faces and shrank as much out of sight aspossible, knowing that we should have but a sorrytime of it if it was discovered that Christians weremixing in their pious orgies. Next day there was an air of excitement and unrestin the town. There was less business being done, andyet mbre people were moving about. An unusual pro-portion of country-people had gathered. As the afternoon wore on, the Jews, ^vho are favouritegame for the religious fanatics, either retired into theMellah, where the
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Keywords: ., bookauthorthomsonjoseph18581895, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880
