Rensselaer Union, Volume 8, Number 41, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 June 1876 — An Arab Dinner. [ARTICLE]

An Arab Dinner.

A traveler among the Bedouins describes m follows, in the July Galaxy, a banquet which he attended: “Band myself in response to an invitation to dinner from Mahmoud, repaired to the camp ot our neighbors, directing our steps to the principal teut, which was looped up in front. Part of the tent was closely .screened off for the women; the middle portion of the apartment into which we entered was supplied with Turkish carpets and cushions something the worse for wear. The Chief took os each by the .hand and ushered us to seats on the carpets with a couilosy not unworthy a Iceurtier of the time of Louis XIV. Besides the Chief were three other Bedouins, who, according to the hierarchy of thetribe, were assigned places on the carpets, while several others, of subordinate position. apparently, squatted on the ground off the carpets. Coffee was prepared, as a preliminary to the dinner, in our presence. Before we begpn to eat there was the hand-wash enjoined by the koran. The water was poured on our hands out of a jug outside of the tent, about half a pint being allotted to each. The process was brieL The Aratis swung their hands, flapped them on their garments, and it was done —and they were no cleaner than before. This clearly was not the hygienic operation which Mahomet intended it to be, but as may be inferred from this description, people here as elsewhere are prone to obey the letter of the law rather than its spirit. I observed subsequently that when they desired to cleanse themaelves more thoroughly they rubbed their hands with sand, ana ou rare occasions

with soap. Bemi-purifled, we returned to our places, in the lent, and the repast was served without a woman in sight. It consisted of a huge wooden bowl, about three feet in diameter, lined with thin batter cakes and overhanging the sides, the bowl being filled with boiled rice saturated with grease, probably butter made from goat's or camel’s milk; in the center of the rice was piled up a quantity of boiled mutton. The Chief setting the example, we fell to this mess, while the retainers and our dragoman, off the carpets, eyed us with envy and watered mouths. For a man accustomed to a knife and fork the eating presented difficulties, which, however, were partially overcome by closely observing the men who have never known any other aid in this way than what nature has given them. Yet they have an etiquette which governs them as tyrannically as our own. Only the right hand may be thrust into the bowl. He who eats with the left is illbred, and he who employs both is a glutton. We imitated our hosts as well as we could; thrust the right hand into the fice, made a ball of it the size of a hen's ■ egg, squeezed the superfluous water and grease out of It, and twitched it into the month by a dexterous movement of the thumb, alter the Bedouin manner, pronouncing occasionally the indispensable “ taib” in compliment to the Amphitryon. Another feature of Arab etiquette was to coniine oneself to the same place in taking from the bowl, each one making his own hole and remaining therein. In the beginning of lire,repast there is not much trouble iu observing the rule; but when the general level of the rice and mutton lowered it required care to remain on the pre-empted domain, and not invade that of the neighbor. The rule was hardly observed bv my neighbor on the Jett, wuo was a veracious eater, with an indifferently clean hand; he at length ate away the barrier, entered my territory, and pushed me to the right, where I fed On a narrow ledge until my appetite was satisfied; when this gave way, and the two holes merged into one, I stopped. To a man seated at one of Delmonico’s inviting tables the nourishment described may appear unsavory; but to a hungry one on ttie bauks of the Jordan it was different, and both B anti myself ate of the great platter with pleasure a few minutes after it was brought in, for in the beginning it was too hot for us, although not for our neighbors, who had a skilled way of dancing the rice about between their fingers to cool it, which we endeavored in vatn tt) acquire. They also dexterously stripped the meat from the boue, one finger going down and rising after another on Uieburniug mutton, as if playing a . lively air on tne violin. Our old preverb tells us that fingers ■were anterior to forks; and if we to-day i had been born a thousand years earlier, .it is probable that we would have had no ou the subject. To realize how deeply rooted this is we have only to thiuk of tue aversion inspired in polite society by him who eats with his anise. He may be intelligent, good andwealtliv, yet .this act will fix his social status beyond paradventure. And still it is sim.ply a question of introducing into the inouui three or tour prongs of silver instead of an inch or twoof a blade of steel. The fork people qyer that there is danger -in using the knife, while the knife people affirm that there is fully as much in using the tork. The cases where the knife man xnls nimself are probably rare, and this -argument is doubtless employed to give -reason to those who eat with a fork. From an aesthetic point ot view, it is certainly more pleasing to look at a man who uses the fork. From the same point, after divesting oneself cf conventional opinions, it is perhaps more pleasing to regard him who performs the office with his fingers— not fingers that are all thumbs, hut clean, clever and graceful fingers. On a subsequent occasion I had an opportunity of seeing this done by a Christianized Arab woman. Her hands were small and handsome, which indeed are characteristic signs in her race. Just be--fore the repast, her hands, already clean, were bathed in lemon-water and dried on -a soft, perfumed napkin. Each bit of -viand was conveyed to the mouth with a natural chirm which invested the liif with poetry. She ate heartily as well as gracefully. When through she washed her hand* with sweet-smelling soap,' the attendant pouring fresh water on them before they were dried. _ —. That I was permitted to enjoy this scene of finger-eating was owing to the fact of her being a Christian, as Arabs of Moslem faith yell before strangers, except those of Egypt, who veil to the eyes, and the fellahin throughout the Turkish do. mains, whose abject condition renders Ahem indifferent in this particular. It .-should be observed that the veiliagamong -Moslems of the town is more closely addieted to than those of the desert, where the faces of the women are occasionally A* the feast progressed—to return to our •dinner—the subordinates continued to re-igns*-as with the expression of a dog for a bone; and after we stopped dke chief, m his character of host, urged us to take more. He went so far as to make a bail with his own hand and to attempt, by gentle persuasion, to introduce It into my mouth, but meeting with resistance he twirled it into his own with -

the adroit movement which challenged the admiration of his guests each time they saw it. When we were satisfied, the great platter, still about half full, was handed over to the waiting group of attendants, who ate voraciously. Alter thev had finished a small portion of the fooa remained. It was taken away, and soon the sound of women’s voices muffled with food was heard through the thin partition. That is, the leavings of the man were given to the woman, and she accepted them without a murmur because she knew no other treatment. It is part of the Arabic nature to be polite to the man and neglectful to the woman. Fortunate, indeed, is she who is born in the midst of civilization. We did not fail to remind Mrs. B. and her daughter of the privileges they enjoyed; but they did not appear to see them with the same convictions as ourselves. We were furnished with soap and water after the remnants of food had disappeared. The Arabs went through tbe hand-ablution after ns, but rather as a matter of form. Then the coffee was prepared, and of such fragrance that the manner of doing it deserves notice. A ! tin pAn, something the shape of a soup plate, perforated like a nutmeg grater, containing a few green coffee berries, was held over & flameless wood fire by a long handle. As soon as the grains were roasted on one side they were singly turned over, and when done were mashed hot in a hollowed block with a wooden pestle, and immediately turned into a not of boiling water, which was allowed to simmer a few minutes, and then the coffee was served, of slimy thickness, and of excellent aroma. The six diners of the first guild could not however at once be served, owing to the want of cups, ot which there were only three, more or less cracked, and Mahmoud and the two guests first partook. In sipping it we more than ever realized the fact that to have fragrant coffee it must be made hot from the roasting, which housewives and cooks would do well to make a note of, as it is for their benefit that the process is described. It is plain our convives prided themselves ou their breeding. As they sipped the coffee they made a noise with their lips such as the horse makes in drinking, which is here the sign of the man accustomed to the usages of polite society; he who is in the habit of doing it noiselessly being regarded as a person wliose social education has been neglected. “Solaceof the soul,” said Mahmoud, making the sound through his lips," “he that"possesses thee, a pipe, ana a marc, is blest among men.” Next pipes were handsd around, the wants of the stomach being satisfied. Mahmoud slowly puffed his, and under the soothing narcotic, remarked, with unctuous conviction, “Life is sweet.”