The house is now crowded full, the men being all in one room with
Shaheen, and the women in the other room, and the court with the bride
Handumeh. One of Shaheen's brothers comes around with a kumkum, and
sprinkles orange flower water in all our faces, and Khalil asks us if we
wish the ceremony to take place now? We tell him that he must ask the
bride and groom. So Abu Shaheen comes into the court with the old priest
Eklemandus, as Shaheen's family belong to the Greek Catholic sect.
Handumeh is really a Protestant, and Shaheen has nothing to do with the
priests, but the "old folks" had their way about it. A white curtain
hangs across the court, and the bride stands on one side, with her
bridesmaid, and all the women and girls, and on the other side is the
priest with Shaheen, and all of the men and boys. Then candles were
distributed, and lighted, and the old priest adjusted his robes and
began to read the marriage service. An assistant stood by his side
looking over his shoulder, and responding Amen in a loud and long drawn
voice. At length the priest called out to him, "A little shorter there
on those Amens. We don't want long Amens at a wedding!" This set the
whole crowd laughing, and on he went reading passages of Scripture,
prayers and advice to the bride and bridegroom in the most hasty and
trifling manner, intoning it through his nose, so that no one could
understand what he was saying. While he was reading from the gospel
about the marriage at Cana of Galilee, a small boy, holding a lighted
candle, came very near burning off the old man's beard, and he called
out to him, "Put out your candle! You have tormented my life out of me
with that candle." This raised another laugh, and on he read. Then he
took two rings, and drawing aside the curtain, placed one on the bride's
head, and the other on the bridegroom's head, pronouncing them man and
wife, and then gave them each a sip of wine and the ceremony was
concluded, all the men kissing Shaheen, and the women Handumeh.
Refreshments were then served to the guests from the village, and a
dinner to those from other villages. In the evening there assembled a
great company in Shaheen's house, and the hour was given up to story
telling. Saleh, whose brother married Shaheen's sister, will begin with
the _Story of the Goats and the Ghoul_.
Once there was a Nanny Goat, strong and powerful, with long and strong
horns, and once upon a time she brought forth twin kids, fair and
beautiful. One was named _Sunaisil_, and the other Rabab. Now the Nanny
Goat went out every morning to the pasture, leaving her twin kids in the
cave. She shut the door carefully, and they locked it on the inside
through fear of the Ghoul, for her neighbor in the next house was a
Ghoul who swallowed little children alive. Then at evening when she came
home, she would stand outside the door, and sing to her twin kids this
little song:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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