Kibby & Henna on her toes (1874)

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SYRIAN HOME-LIFE
compiled by Rev. Isaac Riley
from the materials furnished by Rev. Henry Harris Jessup
New york: Dodd & Mead
1874

   This beats my 1875 Isabel Burton "kibbeh" by one year.  No "hummus" here.

Pg. 12:  This is the _medhwad_, or manger, such as the infant Jesus was laid in.

Pg. 31:  Besides the red, black, and yellow shoes or slippers, the people often wear _kob-kobs_.  They are wooden clgs, made of a flat piece about the shape and size of the sole of a shoe, though an inch thick...

Pg. 34:  Bedawin mothers sing:
"Come, little Bedawy, sit on my lap;
Pretty pearls shine in your little white cap;
Rings are in your ears,
Rings are in your nose,
Rings upon your fingers,
And _henna_ on your toes."
(HENNA on your toes?  Hells bells!--ed.)

Pg. 39:  ...be a rich merchant or a _kadi_...

Pg. 63:  ...placed on a divan, with a large tray of _malebbes_, or sweetmeats and confectionery...

Pg. 77:  ..._dibbs_ (molasses)...

Pg. 91:  Children are told that the _Bawhaw_ or the _Ghoul_ or the Bah'oo_ is coming to eat them up...

Pg. 102:  _Kibby_ is the Arab plum-pudding and mince-pie and roast-beef, all in one.  It is made by pounding meat in a mortar with wheat, until both are mixed into a soft pulp, and then dressed with nuts and onions and butter, and baked or roasted in cakes over the fire.
   The pottage, or _mejeddara_, is made of _oddis_.  It is like thick pea-soup, but with a peculiar flavor.

Pg. 103:  The Arabs use no knives or forks at their meals, nor have they plates for each person; but each one doubles a piece of the _markuk_ bread into a kind of three-cornered spoon, and with it, or with a wooden spoon, or his fingers, dips from the dish which he may happen to prefer.

Pg. 107:  The prickly pear, or _subire_, is a delicious fruit...

Pg. 111:  Among the Arab dainties, one of the most familiar is a dish that is made for the relatives when a boy is born; it is called _mughly_.  It is made of pounded rice, flavored with rich spices and sugar, and put into litle bowls, and almonds and other nuts sprinkled over the top.  One of these little bowls is sent to each of the friends.

Pg. 112:  ...the _kahwajees_ or coffee-men...

Pg. 122:  The Arabs call chickens "_zahr el fool_," or bean-blossoms...

Pg. 209:  Arabs call death in war the "red death."  A natural and quiet death, with forgiveness of sins, they call "white death."  "Black death" is a violent and dreadful death, as by strangling.
(OED has only a different, 1901 "white death"--ed.)

Pg. 249:  ...his _kollusy_, or monk's cap...