EX-KING OF AFGHANISTAN

And in the small, well-heated, and dimly-lit room, the
young Amanullah lies in a silk cloth, the words of
the Koran on the portion covering the breast, breathing
the scent of religious offerings burning in the corners.

The child has no religion. Every care has been taken
that the private lives of the attendants are impeccable,
It has even been assured that the wet-nurse is married to
a fighting man of unimpeachable bravery in the field.
But very soon after the birth, there comes the holy
figure of the Imam, sonorous of voice and impressive of
demeanour, with his traditional prayer extolling the
greatness of God in the child's hearing. From that
moment Amanullah, " Peace of God," is a Moslem.

In early youth there are further ceremonies. The
barber comes with his tools of office, not this time for his
" ordinary duties, but charged with the sacred mission of
making the child clean in the sight of God by shaving his
head. Embroidered handkerchiefs, scented water, and
a new razor are used, and the young Amanullah, we may
imagine, protests violently at the ceremony, even though
foB^e first time he is dressed in all the finery of an
Afghan child's gaudy coat and waistcoat.

The relatives are reminding each other yet again of the
precautions to be observed during early life* Never must
he be taken out at night, they whisper. Especially must
Jhe keep indoors on Thursday nights. The eyes of the
stars are dangerous, and even the nurse must not eat
cereals on a starry night. They must beware of the sun-
shine, not because of the fear of sunstroke on a head
already hardened to the fiercest rays, but because the
vultures may drop their eggs on his head — a sign of
terrible ill-omen.

The chief fear, of the lightning flashes, does not apply
to this child, for the witches say that they strike only the
first-born,

B 17