In Tunis the most common amulets are little leathern bags in which are sewn written charms, bits of incense, white caraway seeds, also shells of snails, and "Fatima's hand"; the latter being often hung round the neck of cows or donkeys to keep them from disease. One also sees the tails of fish over house doors and the skull and horns of cattle.

It would not be an exaggeration to say of Moslems in Egypt, Persia and Morocco what is stated by Nassau of pagans in West Africa; the only difference between the pagan talisman and the Moslem one is that the pagan connects his magic with the gods of the bush; the Moslem connects his with Allah and the Koran:

"For every human passion or desire of every part of our nature, for our thousand necessities or wishes, a fetish can be made, its operation being directed to the attainment of one specified wish, and limited in power only by the possible existence of some more powerful antagonizing spirit. This amulet hung on the plantation fence or from the branches of plants in the garden is either to prevent theft or to sicken the thief; hung over the doorway of the house, to bar the entrance of evil; hung from the bow of the canoe, to insure a successful voyage; worn on the arm in hunting, to ensure an accurate aim; worn on any part of the person, to give success in loving, hating, planting, fishing, buying and so forth, through the whole range of daily work and interests.” 8

9

According to Tradition, Mohammed sanctioned the use of spells and magic so long as the names were only the names of God or of good angels. It is, therefore, lawful to use charms and amulets of this character. The system of incantation used is called Al Da'wa; this science is used to establish friendship, to cure sickness, to accomplish desire, to obtain

8" Fetishism in West Africa."

• Mishkat, 21:1.

victory in battle. It is an occult science and is divided into four heads: 10

(1) The qualifications necessary for him who practices it: When any one enters upon the study of the sciences, he must begin by paying the utmost attention to cleanliness. No dog or cat or any stranger is allowed to enter his dwelling place, and he must purify his house by burning wood aloes, pastiles, and other sweet-scented perfumes. He must take the utmost care that his body is in no way defiled, and he must bathe and perform the legal ablutions constantly. A most important preparation for the exercise of the art is a forty-days' fast (chilla), when he must sleep on a mat spread on the ground, sleep as little as possible, and not enter into general conversation.

Exorcists not infrequently repair to some cave or retired spot in order to undergo complete abstinence. The diet of the exorcist must depend upon the kind of asma, or names of God he intends to recite. If they are the asma ul-jalaliyah, or "terrible attributes" of the Almighty, then he must refrain from the use of meat, fish, eggs, honey, and musk. If they are the asma ul-jamaliyah, or "amiable attributes," he must abstain from butter, curds, vinegar, salt and ambergris. If he intends to recite both attributes, he must then abstain from such things as garlic, onions, and assafoetida.

(2) The use of the tables required by the performer: This contains an arrangement of the alphabet of which we give an example on the next page.

To use the table one takes the initial letters of say Ahmad (A) and Daniel (D) and copies out in double column the result. The future is then read by discerning the agreement or discord of the planets, the elements, the perfumes, etc. In addition to this the perfumes mentioned are burnt during the incantation. This science is almost universally practiced in 10 See Hughes' Dictionary of Islam, art. “Da'wa.”

Moslem lands and there are hundreds of books on the subject. The most celebrated is that called "Shems al Ma'arif al Kubra" of Ahmed ibn Ali Al Buni, who died 622 A. H. Among the subjects treated in this book of magical practices are the following: to drive away demons, to strengthen memory, to increase property, to gain love, to cure inflammation, to hear the speech of Jinn, to increase crops. He gives us the names on the seal of Solomon, the names on the rod of Moses, the names which Jesus used to perform his miracles, etc., etc., etc. There is not a Moslem village from Tangier to Teheran where this encyclopedia of magic can not be found in daily use by some Sheikh.

Among the most common amulets in use in India are magic and the latter drunk; or they are worn upon the person; or them are based upon the well-known magic square of AlGhazali.