L`Ansart

   This term refers to June 24, or Midsummer Day. On this day, fires are made, and men, women, and children leap over them, believing that by doing so they will cleanse themselves of evil (lbas) that may be clinging to them. People also fumigate themselves and their houses, livestock, fields, and threshing floors with the smoke of various herbs, incenses, and leaves of trees to protect them from the evil eye and to keep them in good condition. This day is also believed to be ideal for the practice of magic and witchcraft, as certain magic forces are supposed to be active in certain species of vegetation. It is said that the imam of the mosque, as the keeper of the calendar, refrains from naming the day of l'ansart for fear of its being used by witches to do harm to others.