"Even though we knew it had no powers of prediction, we believed the messages that the bouqala gave us," said the elder woman, as her daughter Hind listened attentively. "We were young dreamers, and when a bouqala told us we were going to meet a handsome man, we wanted to believe it."

For her part, Hind keeps a booklet in which she has written down all the poems that her grandmother knows.

"I think this heritage shouldn't be lost," said Hind. "It has survived for all these years because women have jealously guarded it. That's what I'm trying to do now by noting down all the poems."

"I've even recorded several cassettes," she added. "I keep these audio tapes and listen to them constantly. This is my favorite one:

The almond tree blossoms in the spring,

The Moon discovers its light,

Cheeks blush with modesty

Before the lover who gives himself away."