Sudan Archive

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And some of the elders perfume themselves with *al-jallad*, which is the skin of musk-producing animals among them. Then, the scent of *al-rayha* is mentioned, which is *al-dayuq*, a type of grain from the land of Mir in *al-'Asra*. Women use it and mix it with their perfumes. It is their custom to apply kohl. They do not put kohl in their eyes, but rather on the lower and upper eyelids, near the sockets, where it adheres by means of fat. And they apply kohl in the evening, and so on. You see young men and young women all applying kohl in the same way. It is their custom that the lover takes something from his beloved's jewelry, which is known, and wears it as a source of pride and a reminder of her name. If he is afflicted by them, he says, "I fear for so-and-so," and he says the same thing. Most of them have no jealousy over their women. It may happen that a man enters a house and finds a woman with another man, in private, and he does not get angry if he does not find her being violated. But if he enters and finds his daughter or sister with a stranger, it does not distress him; rather, he announces it, thinking that it will be a reason for her marriage. And their consideration is that if a girl is deflowered, they make a place for her to spend the night, and whoever loves her comes to her and spends the night with her. From this, love occurs with most of their daughters, and there is no shame for them. And that illegitimate child is attributed to his maternal uncle. And so are the daughters. As for the daughter who is like this, the tribe

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