________________
NOVEMBER, 1921]
hands have been cut off at the wrist. Though expert thieves, Marsh Arabs are simple people, and are very frequently swindled by the more astute townspeople when they visit the markets to buy clothes and other necessities. We remember, too, having seen a certain Jew milk contractor, who sold his milk to the Amara Military Dairy by the imperial pound, purchasing the milk from a tribe of Marsh Arabs. The Jew bought the milk by the pound, but the pound measure in this case was of four pounds capacity. Like the Beduin, Marsh Arabs are lazy, or at least, prefer the contemplative occupation of watching their buffalo graze to more arduous manual labour. They seem quite happy lounging on the edge of the water with their animals, and swimming from feeding ground to feeding ground with the same readiness as the water buffalo themselves. The stroke employed in swimming is a rather splashy double-overarm. We have not observed any other stroke used. It is seldom that the Marsh Arabs are seen by those whose work does not lead them to their neighbourhood, for they prefer their impregnable marshes to the towns and villages, and only come to the latter when forced to do so by the necessity of purchasing their stores, or in order to dispose of their reeds or clarified butter. Occasionally, the traveller down the Tigris may see them at those places where the great marshes come in close to the river, or they may be observed piloting their great, unwieldly rafts down to Basra, but they are generally hidden from sight in the depths of the reeds. Whatever the faults of the Marsh Arabs may be, they are not unpleasant people to have dealings with. They are cheerful, enjoy a joke, even a very simple one, and are as hospitable as their poverty allows them.
Even were the Marsh Arabs not prevented by poverty from wearing elaborate clothing. their semi-aquatic habit would render this inconvenient. The men wear a woollen cloak (Ar. Bishta, pl. Bishit) of a caramel colour, this being the colour of the wool of the commonest sheep of the surrounding dry land, and each cloak of the roughest kind costs from five to ten rupees. A string surrounds the abdomen, and under this is tucked one corner of the cloak, which is worn chiefly supported on the shoulders. The small boys wear only the string, which, though scarcely fulfilling the function of clothes, yet serves a useful purpose in preventing them from eating too much, because it tends to cut an unduly distended abdomen. Only one substantial meal a day is eaten, and since this is consumed with extreme celerity, because each individual eats from a common dish, such a device is an excellent precaution. against excessive engorgement. An elder of the tribe may wear a coloured or a white handkerchief (Ar. Ishma'gh) on his head, tied on by a corner of itself or by any piece of rag, but others wear no head covering, and if they find the sun too hot, they pull up over their heads a corner of their cloaks. The dress of the women differs little in kind from, though it is inferior in quality to, that of the rice-cultivating Arabs. It consists of a cotton shirt or night-gown (Ar. Thôb, pl. Thidb) reaching to the ankles and made out of Manchester piece-goods, and a woollen cloak similar to that of the 'men. On their heads they wear a black cotton head-handkerchief (Ar. Shal, pl. Shailan), kept in place by a wisp of black cotton stuff. The Shal is so worn that it covers not only the head but also the neck and throat. The face is exposed. The very small girls wear no clothes, but at about the age of five they begin to wear the Thôb, or, at least, have it handy to be assumed when required. The Thôb of the little girls is generally a rich magenta in colour, but that of the women is most frequently black, dark blue or cinnamon, sometimes with an incon spicuous pattern. Though the climate is extremely hot in the 'Iraq during the long summer, the short winter is nearly as cold as that of England; yet the clothing of the Marsh Arabs
THE MARSH ARABS OF LOWER MESOPOTAMIA.
295
