a sword, or club, or handkerchief in his hand, begins in a melancholy voice singing five or six notes, as follows:
and tells them what they shall presently say after him. They sing away hours and hours the same notes, but different words. Every third note is accompanied by clapping of the hands. Half the men say or sing whilst bowing and inclining to the right, then the other half sing whilst inclining to their side, the leader following very cleverly, and by his own movements showing them how far they are to bow and bend. After having repeated the same lines five or six times, he goes on to another, now hardly bowing, now almost reaching the ground. When he does this, he produces guttural tones on the letter خ such as are used to make a camel kneel down. The women have a merrier tone and livelier dance. One o; two dance in the middle of a circle, the whole of the dancers whirling round, now jumping with both feet at once and clapping hands, now whirling round and joining each other's hands. One singer in the middle says a line, and the others repeat—
| Oh! here is the butcher, between enemies fierce fight! |
اهو يا هذا اللحام يا بن الـداء كون حام | |
| A hu ya hatha il laham ya bene il ‘ada kone’ham | ||
| Your enemies are killed, the news went to Damascus |
عدواتك دبحوا وراح الخبر للام | |
| ‘Aduatak dabahn warah il khabar il Shâm! | ||
| Oh! king son of kings, be the victory yours and the turning of the stars. |
يا ملك يا ابن الملك يبلاك بالنصرة ودورات الفلك | |
| Ya malek, ya ibn il malek, yeblak bilnesra, wadorat il fallak | ||
| Let us go to the house of the enemy and break it down |
وانروح لدار العدو ونهدها | |
| Wa narúh lidar il ‘adu wanalitiha | ||
| And carry its stones to the land of Karak! |
وانناقل احجارها على بلاد الكرك | |
| Wa innakel áhjarha alla belad il Karak | ||
| That one (the enemy) would have governed us, without him we perished! |
ها هداك ملكنا لولا كان هلكنا | |
| Ha hathak malakna, lowla kân helikna | ||
| Without the appearance of your horses the enemy had taken us! |
لو لا خيلك طالين كان العدا اخذنا | |
| Low la khelak tal-leen kan il ‘ada akhadna |
This singing and dancing, with occasional firing of guns and drinking of coffee, goes on every evening till the wedding day. The people then assemble
