Page:Algeria from Within.pdf/142

ALGERIA FROM WITHIN

good or evil luck, and amulets with the feet of lizards, the feathers of the hoopoe, the tooth of a jackal, can be seen attached round the necks of babies. The Koran is always placed in the cradle of the newly born, and there are people who keep pages of the Holy Book to hire out to those who can not afford to buy one. It would take far too long to go into all the details. of these superstitions which are held in reverence all over North Africa, and, though at first sight they may seem to be much the same as those told in more civilized countries, they are not really believed elsewhere to the same extent as in North Africa. I will give an example of a case of witchcraft which occurred only the other day in a family which I knew intimately, a family educated and acquainted with the way of the modern world. A man tiring of his wife and wishing to marry some one else who refused to share the home, divorced his first wife, who was devoted to him. She made no protest, but, with the aid of certain learned talebs, set about weaving spells about her ex-husband. The night of his wedding the taleb said to the woman: "Prepare a great feast for all your friends, with music and dancing, and at midnight your husband will return to you.' 99 She complied with his instructions, and at the midnight hour there was a banging on the door, and the husband in a dazed state appeared, imploring his wife's forgiveness. She at first refused to see him, and it was not until ho had returned a third time that she allowed him in. I made an investigation of the case, and I talked to those involved, who all corroborated the story. The husband told me that, just as he was about to see his new bride, he felt himself impelled toward his first

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