by Ms Mary Annchit Maglahus

IN AFRICA
THE ARAB WORLD
THE ARABIAN
EMPIRE IN
NORTH AFRICA
THE ARABIAN EMPIRE IN NORTH AFRICA

Northern Africa, being close to Europe, was affected

early on by waves of migration from Italy, France,
Greece, Spain, and other southern European coun
tries, as well as inhabitants of Southwest Asia. The
Ar abs formed an Arabian empire in North Africa
where and the Se they established the Muslim
religion.
THE ARABIAN EMPIRE IN NORTH AFRICA

The Arabians predominate in Morocco, Algeria, Spanish-

Sahara, and Tunisia. The sultan of Morocco, or any
sultan, has the importance of a pope because he is the
highest religious leader in the Arab community. He is
usually a direct descendant of the prophet Mohammed.
Since one-third of all Arabs in the world live in North
Africa, the sultan has considerable influence and is
generally very wealthy.
THE ARABIAN EMPIRE IN NORTH AFRICA

Arabs are extremely religious. Islam means "submission" of

"resignation to the will of God." The are very strict in observing
five practices:

1. They recite a prayer: “There is no god but Al allah and Mohammed is

his prophet."

2. They pray five times a day, turning their faces toward Mecca. These
prayers may be said any where, even in the street or in a bazaar.
THE ARABIAN EMPIRE IN NORTH AFRICA

3. They give alms to the poor in the amount of ten percent of

their income.

4. They keep the holy month of Ramadan duringwhich no food or

water may be taken betweendawn and sunset.

5. They make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least oncein a lifetime.

Any Moslem who has done this adds the title hadji to his/her
name and wears a distinctive turban.
A MOORISH BANQUET

Guests at a Moorish meal sit on cushions laid on the floor or

on low divans. They are given a large white napkin that they
lay on their knees. This is used to clean the lips but never to
clean the fingers. The left hand is used to hold bread only.
The left hand is not to touch any other food. According to a
Moslem belief, the left is unclean. There are no knives, forks,
spoons, or plates or other implements for eating on the table,
The tablecloth is put on the floor to catch crumbs.
A MOORISH BANQUET

Each person gets food with his right hand from a common dish
because there is no individual service. Arabians use only the
thumb and the first two fingers to hold food; the fingers are
not supposed to touch the lips when putting food into the
mouth. No matter how greasy the fingers become, they cannot be
wiped on the napkin or be licked. Bones and uneatable portions
are thrown on the floor.
A MOORISH BANQUET

The meal begins with a servant bringing a copper kettle or

pitcher with a thin spout. The servant pours water into a bowl
over the hands of each guest; at the end of the meal, the same
procedure is followed. Next comes mint tea, thick and heavy,
which is offered to each guest. Then follow plate after plate
of the different courses, which are brought in on very large
trays or casseroles. The guests reach over to the common dish
placed on the table.
A MOORISH BANQUET

It is very significant that the women of the household are

never present at a banquet. If anything is left from the dish,
it is passed to the women and the children who are waiting for
it. When the women and children finish eating, the leftovers
are passed on to the male servants, then the female servants,
and lastly to the slaves and hangers-on.
A MOORISH BANQUET

The menu generally consists of the following:

The first course, a pale green soup consisting of almonds and
fish. This is a concession to Europeans who cannot begin a meal
without soup. Arabians do not, as a rule, take soup. The second
course a whole roast lamb served intact and called mechour. The
guests tear off pieces of this with their hands. The third
course another roast lamb served with another sauce that
differentiates it from the first.
A MOORISH BANQUET

The fourth course, a pastilla, that takes no less than forty-

eight hours to prepare. This is a pie, three feet in diameter.
Inside it is a miscellany of shrimps, sweetbreads, tripe,
olives, liver, clams, and fried eggs. It is extremely delicious
but very difficult to eat with bare hands. After this, there
must be four more courses in succession. The last main course
is called a couscous. This is considered the rice meal. It
comes at the end of the meal. It is served last so that heavy
eaters, those who are not yet satisfied, can fill up.
A MOORISH BANQUET

Rice forms the basis of this dish. The rice is cooked dry and
hard and formed into small hollow mounds. Each mound is filled
with an assortment of vegetables, mutton and even grapes, and
nuts. There is a certain technique observed in eating this
dish. The guest picks it up expertly, forms it into a ball in
the hollow of his palm, and pops it into his mouth by throwing
it up slightly in the air and catching it with his open mouth.
MOORISH MARRIAGE CUSTOMS

A Moorish wedding begins with a procession. First, the musicians

playing shrill pipes and beating small drums like tambourines. Then
come the bearded of the bride's family, some of them limping and
supported by canes, These are followed by a woman dressed in red-and-
white striped cloth, bearing aloft large green and yellow candles,
Next come more musicians followed by a group of eight men carrying a
paper box on long poles. The box is heavy because it contains the
bride, who is carried to the home of her fiance, where the marriage
will take place.
MOORISH MARRIAGE CUSTOMS

The bride and groom have never seen each other. When the bride
arrives at the house, there is nobody except a female Negro
servant who lifts her out of the box because her feet must not
touch the ground. The groom himself is not at home; she waits
until he arrives. She may have to wait for a long time, the
ceremony cannot begin without him. When he comes in, the two
eat together alone while the members of the family wait
outside, shrieking and sounding out loud music.
MOORISH MARRIAGE CUSTOMS

This is the bride's one and only meal with her husband, because
afterward she will eat only with the women. For the rest of her
life, she is her husband's slave; she almost never goes out of
the house; she will not be allowed to go out more than once or
twice all her lifetime. She will not go to see members of her
family even if they live in the same town. Once a year, with
her husband's consent, her mother might visit her. To the
Moslem Moors, there is no courtship before marriage.
MOORISH MARRIAGE CUSTOMS

All is arranged by the fathers. Usually the father of the groom

looks around to size up available young ladies from thirteen to
fifteen years old. Then, after having made a choice, he goes to
the girl's father and arranges all matters pertaining to the
wedding. The arrangement is mainly financial. The groom's
father pays the girl's father whatever sum is agreed.
MOORISH MARRIAGE CUSTOMS

The engagement must last for months. During this period, the
girl is deliberately fattened up because to the Moroccans,
plumpness is fashionable. The Moorish ideal of beauty in women
is plumpness, a very small nose, a tiny mouth, and eyes as big
as possible. A Moslem can have only a maximum of four legal
wives, and he must treat them equally and their children
equally, too. However, he can have as many slave concubines as
he can afford.