HABITS AND CUSTOMS. 67 mandinent, a crime which is considered very heinous according to the Mahommedan laws ; the girls, on the other hand, are far more moral. In some parts of Kordofan, the men consider it a great honour if their wives have several admirers, but the difference exists, in this countrj that the ladies court the men.

The dress of both men and women is very simple, for only the Dongolavi, the wealthiest of all the tribes, wear long shirts with wide sleeves, and a tackeeyeh,* or small white cap, with a white shawl on their heads, like the turban of the Turks ; red caps are but rarely seen, nor is the tackeeyeh white longer than one day, for it soon becomes, Avith dirt and grease, as black as the owner.

All the other tribes are nearly naked ; they bind simply a cotton cloth round their loins, throwing one end of it over one shoulder ; they wear no covering to their heads, but let their hair grow as long as they please, or braid it in from ten to sixteen plaits, which, however, never reach their backs. Every man carries a double-edged dagger in a sheath on his left arm, and a few charms sewn up in red leather, which the fakeers write and sell to them. On journeys, they wear long double-edged swords, in leathern sheaths, suspended by a short strap from the left shoulder ; the hilts of these sabres have no guards, and are merely covered with leather. The sheikhs, however, bear • Takie.