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Title: An account of the manners and customs of the modern Egyptians
Author: Lane, Edward William
Language: English
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CUSTOMS OF THE MODERN EGYPTIANS ***
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Transcriber’s Note:
This version of the text cannot represent certain typographical effects.
Italics are delimited with the ‘_’ character as _italic_. The footnotes
have been collected at the end of the chapter in which they are
referenced. Illustration captions have been moved to fall on paragraph
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There are a number of musical scores, in the text, which could not be
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represent the phrasing. Several of the songs are followed by the
complete lyrics as poetry.
Minor errors, attributable to the printer, have been corrected. Please
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------------------------------------------------------------------------
LANE’S MODERN EGYPTIANS
[Illustration:
THE DÓSEH. (Page 416.)
_Lane’s Modern Egyptians_] [_Frontispiece_
]
AN ACCOUNT OF THE
Manners and Customs of the
Modern Egyptians
Written in Egypt during the
Years 1833-1835
BY EDWARD WILLIAM LANE
Translator of _The Thousand and One Nights_
With Eighty Illustrations and Sixteen Full-Page
Engravings, and Biographical Notice of the Author
LONDON
WARD, LOCK AND CO. LIMITED
NEW YORK AND MELBOURNE
BIOGRAPHICAL INTRODUCTION.
[Illustration]
Fortunately in recent years many educated, observant, and enterprising
Englishmen have studied Mussulman life and character in many parts of
the world. The names of Sir Richard Burton and Edward Henry Palmer stand
as types of the later generation of these men; but in the early part of
this century no man can be named who has greater claims to recognition
and gratitude for his labours in this direction than Edward William
Lane. To him we owe an admirable translation of “The Thousand and One
Nights,” with notes, which form a complete encyclopædia of Arab manners
and customs; selections from the Koran, which introduce the English
reader to its most valuable portions; an invaluable Arabic-English
Lexicon; and lastly the present work, which has been described as “the
most remarkable description of a people ever written.”
Edward William Lane, third son of the Rev. Theophilus Lane, a Prebendary
of Hereford Cathedral, and of Sophia Gardiner, a niece of Gainsborough
the painter, was born at Hereford, on Sept. 17th, 1801, and largely
educated by his parents, especially his mother, to whom he owed much of
his intellectual and moral training. Having shown equal mastery of
classics and mathematics, he intended entering at Cambridge with a view
to taking holy orders, but abandoned this intention after a short visit
to Cambridge. Immediately afterwards he found himself able to solve all
the problems in the mathematical tripos of the year except one, the
solution to which came to him while asleep, and was at once written down
on waking in the middle of the night. Joining his elder brother Richard,
an able lithographer, in London, he made great progress in engraving and
other branches of art, which were afterwards of much value to him in
Egypt. Through overwork and want of exercise, he injured his
constitution, and nearly succumbed to an attack of fever. His subsequent
ill-health led him to contemplate a residence in the East, to which his
now rapidly progressing studies in Arabic had already attracted him. In
July, 1825, he left England in a brig bound for Alexandria. On Sept. 2nd
the vessel nearly foundered in a gale off Tunis; the master proved
incompetent, and begged Lane, who knew something of navigation, to take
the helm; and, lashed to the wheel, he succeeded in taking the brig
safely into Malta.
Arrived at Alexandria, he resolved to throw himself _con amore_ into
native life, to adopt native costume, speak Arabic continually, and
penetrate the inner life of the people. Several months were spent in
Cairo; at the Pyramids he lived in a tomb for a fortnight, with bones,
rags, and mummies for his companions; in 1826 he ascended the Nile to
the Second Cataract; everywhere recording his exact impressions, making
plans and careful drawings, and taking all trouble to secure accurate
knowledge. He returned to England in the autumn of 1828, with a complete
“Description of Egypt,” as it then was, and 101 excellent sepia
drawings, made with the camera lucida. But Egypt was not yet known or
appreciated in England, and publishers would not incur the expense of
publishing the work and reproducing the drawings, though they were
universally praised by all who saw them. Fortunately that part of the
work which gave an account of the modern inhabitants was shown to Lord
Brougham, who at once recommended its acceptance by the Society for the
Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. But in order to perfect the book, Lane
undertook to visit Egypt a second time, to stay two years, and still
more completely enter into the life of the Egyptians. The book, when
ready, was illustrated by admirable woodcuts drawn on the blocks by his
own hand; it was published in December, 1836, in two volumes. Its
success was immediate and great; other editions followed, the third,
much improved, being published by Charles Knight in 1842. It is from
this that the present edition is reprinted. Later editions have
contained various modifications, but nothing can add to the book as we
present it, as a perfect picture of what Lane saw in Egypt in 1833-5.
Even twenty-five years later, the people and their habits had in many
ways altered more than in several preceding centuries. We can never
reconstruct Egypt as Lane saw it, except by reading Lane’s description.
It has a permanent value as history, and thus no attempt has here been
made to modernise it, or to alter the references which he made to
“recent” or “present” times. It bears the stamp of a character
singularly open to the realisation of the genius of a different race
from his own, and as such it has few parallels in literature.
A fresh translation of the “Arabian Nights” was Lane’s next great work.
Instead of the misleading and imperfect translation still,
unfortunately, current, he made a version which reproduces the true
Oriental impression, informed with knowledge of and insight into the
people described. To it he added a vast number of notes, encyclopædic in
their range over Arab customs and institutions, and full of interest to
all classes of readers. It was published in monthly parts from 1838 to
1840. Next he arranged a valuable series of “Selections from the Koran,”
published in 1843. He now entered upon the work which for scholars
surpasses all his other efforts, though it is unknown to the general
reader. No Arabic-English Lexicon of any value existed: Lane devoted the
remainder of his life to filling the void. The language of the Koran was
rapidly becoming deteriorated in common speech, and it needed careful
study of manuscripts still existing, but watchfully secured from
unbelievers, to become truly at home in the classic language. The great
Arabic Lexicon, Taj-el-’Aroos, a combination of all preceding lexicons,
had to be transcribed throughout, by the aid of a learned Mohammedan, in
Cairo, for thirteen years, and then elaborately studied and translated
and modified by the aid of all possible authorities. It was Lord
Prudhoe’s (afterwards fourth Duke of Northumberland) munificence that
first enabled this to be done. In 1842 Lane left England again,
accompanied by his wife, a Greek lady whom he married in 1840, and by
his sister, Mrs. Poole (author of the “Englishwoman in Egypt”), and he
lived as a close student in Cairo till 1849, when he returned to
England. After that date he settled at Worthing, entirely devoted to his
great work, a worthy successor of Dr. Johnson in his strenuous devotion
to his great Dictionary, but in other respects his antithesis. Its
publication in eight volumes was not completed at his death, and the
last parts were superintended by his nephew, Mr. Stanley Lane-Poole, who
has written a brief life of his uncle, to which this introduction is
greatly indebted. Quiet, gentlemanly, courteous, genial, simple in
Christian faith and practice, while admitting the great critical light
which Semitic studies throw upon the Bible, earnest and pure-souled, “in
his presence a profane or impure speech was an impossibility; yet no one
was ever more gentle with that frailty for which the world has no pity.”
He died at Worthing, on August 10th, 1876. His name is imperishably
written among those of the giants of Arabic scholarship.
G. T. B.
PREFACE.
---
_Cairo, 1835_
During a former visit to this country, undertaken chiefly for the
purpose of studying the Arabic language in its most famous school, I
devoted much of my attention to the manners and customs of the Arab
inhabitants; and in an intercourse of two years and a half with this
people, soon found that all the information which I had previously been
able to obtain respecting them was insufficient to be of much use to the
student of Arabic literature, or to satisfy the curiosity of the general
reader. Hence I was induced to cover some quires of paper with notes on
the most remarkable of their usages, partly for my own benefit, and
partly in the hope that I might have it in my power to make some of my
countrymen better acquainted with the domiciliated classes of one of the
most interesting nations of the world, by drawing a detailed picture of
the inhabitants of the largest Arab city. The period of my first visit
to this country did not, however, suffice for the accomplishment of this
object, and for the prosecution of my other studies; and I relinquished
the idea of publishing the notes which I had made on the modern
inhabitants: but, five years after my return to England, those notes
were shown to some members of the Committee of the Society for the
Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, at whose suggestion, the Committee,
interested with the subjects of them, and with the novelty of some of
their contents engaged me to complete and print them. Encouraged by
their approbation, and relying upon their judgment, I immediately
determined to follow their advice, and, by the earliest opportunity,
again departed to Egypt. After another residence of more than a year in
the metropolis of this country, and half a year in Upper Egypt, I have
now accomplished, as well as I am able, the task proposed to me.[1]
It may be said, that the English reader already possesses an excellent
and ample description of Arab manners and customs, in Dr. Russell’s
account of the people of Aleppo. I will not forfeit my own claim to the
reputation of an honest writer, by attempting to detract from the just
merits of that valuable and interesting work; but must assert, that it
is, upon the whole, rather an account of _Turkish_ than of _Arab_
manners; and that neither the original Author, nor his brother, to whom
we are indebted for the enlarged and much-improved edition, was
sufficiently acquainted with the Arabic language to scrutinize some of
the most interesting subjects of inquiry which the plan of the work
required them to treat: nor would their well-known station in Aleppo, or
perhaps their national feelings, allow them to assume those disguises
which were necessary to enable them to become familiar with many of the
most remarkable religious ceremonies, opinions, and superstitions of the
people whom they have described. Deficiencies in their remarks on these
subjects are the only faults of any importance that I can discover in
their excellent and learned work.[2]
I have been differently circumstanced. Previously to my first visit to
this country, I acquired some knowledge of the language and literature
of the Arabs; and in a year after my first arrival here, I was able to
converse with the people among whom I was residing, with tolerable ease.
I have associated, almost exclusively, with Muslims, of various ranks in
society: I have lived as they live, conforming with their general
habits; and, in order to make them familiar and unreserved towards me on
every subject, have always avowed my agreement with them in opinion
whenever my conscience would allow me, and in most other cases,
refrained from the expression of my dissent, as well as from every
action which might give them disgust; abstaining from eating food
forbidden by their religion, and drinking wine, etc.; and even from
habits merely disagreeable to them; such as the use of knives and forks
at meals. Having made myself acquainted with all their common religious
ceremonies, I have been able to escape exciting, in strangers, any
suspicion of my being a person who had no right to intrude among them,
whenever it was necessary for me to witness any Muslim rite or festival.
While, from the dress which I have found most convenient to wear, I am
generally mistaken, in public, for a Turk. My acquaintances, of course,
know me to be an Englishman; but I constrain them to treat me as a
Muslim, by my freely acknowledging the hand of Providence in the
introduction and diffusion of the religion of El-Islám, and, when
interrogated, avowing my belief in the Messiah, in accordance with the
_words_ of the Kur-án, as the Word of God, infused into the womb of the
Virgin Mary, and a spirit proceeding from Him. Thus, I believe, I have
acquired their good opinion, and much of their confidence; though not to
such an extent as to prevent my having to contend with many
difficulties. The Muslims are very averse from giving information on
subjects connected with their religion or superstitions to persons whom
they suspect of differing from them in sentiments; but very ready to
talk on such subjects with those whom they think acquainted with them:
hence I have generally obtained some slight knowledge of matters
difficult for me thoroughly to learn from one of the most lax, and of
the least instructed, of my friends; so as to be able to draw into
conversation, upon the desired topics, persons of better information;
and by this mode I have invariably succeeded in overcoming their
scruples. I have had two professors of Arabic and of Muslim religion and
law as my regular, salaried tutors; and, by submitting to them questions
on any matters respecting which I was in doubt, have authenticated or
corrected, and added to, the information derived from conversation with
my other friends. Occasionally, also, I have applied to higher
authorities; having the happiness to number among my friends in this
city some persons of the highest attainments in Eastern learning.
Perhaps the reader may not be displeased if I here attempt to acquaint
him more particularly with one of my Muslim friends, the first of those
above alluded to; and to show, at the same time, the light in which he,
like others of his country, regards me in my present situation.—The
sheykh Ahmad (or seyyid Ahmad; for he is one of the numerous class of
“shereefs,” or descendants of the Prophet) is somewhat more than forty
years of age, by his own confession; but appears more near to fifty. He
is as remarkable in physiognomy as in character. His stature is under
the middle size: his beard reddish, and now becoming grey. For many
years he has been nearly blind: one of his eyes is almost entirely
closed; and both are ornamented, on particular occasions (at least on
the two grand annual festivals), with a border of the black pigment
called “kohl,” which is seldom used but by women. He boasts his descent
not only from the Prophet, but also from a very celebrated saint,
Esh-Shaaráwee;[3] and his complexion, which is very fair, supports his
assertion, that his ancestors, for several generations, lived in the
north-western parts of Africa. He obtains his subsistence from a slender
patrimony, and by exercising the trade of a bookseller. Partly to profit
in this occupation, and partly for the sake of society, or at least to
enjoy some tobacco and coffee, he is a visitor in my house almost every
evening.
For several years before he adopted the trade of a bookseller, which was
that of his father, he pursued no other occupation than that of
performing in the religious ceremonies called “zikrs;” which consist in
the repetition of the name and attributes, etc., of God, by a number of
persons, in chorus; and in such performances he is still often employed.
He was then a member of the order of the Saadeeyeh darweeshes, who are
particularly famous for devouring live serpents; and he is said to have
been one of the serpent-eaters: but he did not confine himself to food
so easily digested. One night, during a meeting of a party of darweeshes
of his order, at which their Sheykh was present, my friend became
affected with religious frenzy, seized a tall glass shade which
surrounded a candle placed on the floor, and ate a large portion of it.
The Sheykh and the other darweeshes, looking at him with astonishment,
upbraided him with having broken the institutes of his order; since the
eating of glass was not among the miracles which they were allowed to
perform; and they immediately expelled him. He then entered the order of
the Ahmedeeyeh; and as they, likewise, never ate glass, he determined
not to do so again. However, soon after, at a meeting of some brethren
of this order, when several Saadeeyeh also were present, he again was
seized with frenzy, and, jumping up to a chandelier, caught hold of one
of the small glass lamps attached to it, and devoured about half of it,
swallowing also the oil and water which it contained. He was conducted
before his Sheykh, to be tried for this offence; but, on his taking an
oath never to eat glass again, he was neither punished not expelled the
order. Notwithstanding this oath, he soon again gratified his propensity
to eat a glass lamp; and a brother-darweesh, who was present, attempted
to do the same; but a large fragment stuck between the tongue and palate
of this rash person; and my friend had great trouble to extract it. He
was again tried by his Sheykh; and, being reproached for having broken
his oath and vow of repentance, he coolly answered, “I repent again:
repentance is good: for He whose name be exalted hath said, in the
Excellent Book, ‘Verily, God loveth the repentant.’” The Sheykh, in
anger, exclaimed, “Dost thou dare to act in this manner, and then come
and cite the Kur-án before me?”—and with this reproof, he ordered that
he should be imprisoned ten days: after which, he made him again swear
to abstain from eating glass; and on this condition he was allowed to
remain a member of the Ahmedeeyeh. This second oath he professes not to
have broken.—The person whose office it was to prosecute him related to
me these facts; and my friend reluctantly confessed them to be true.
When I was first acquainted with the sheykh Ahmad, he had long been
content with one wife; but now he has indulged himself with a second,[4]
who continues to live in her parents’ house: yet he has taken care to
assure me, that he is not rich enough to refuse my yearly present of a
dress. On my visiting him for the second time during my present
residence in this place, his mother came to the door of the room in
which I was sitting with him, to complain to me of his conduct in taking
this new wife. Putting her hand within the door, to give greater effect
to her words by proper action (or perhaps to show how beautifully the
palm, and the tips of the fingers, glowed with the fresh red dye of the
“henna”), but concealing the rest of her person, she commenced a most
energetic appeal to my sympathy.—“O Efendee!” she exclaimed, “I throw
myself upon thy mercy! I kiss thy feet! I have no hope but in God and
thee!” “What words are these, my mistress?” said I: “what misfortune
hath befallen thee? and what can I do for thee? Tell me.” “This son of
mine,” she continued, “this my son Ahmad, is a worthless fellow: he has
a wife here, a good creature, with whom he has lived happily, with God’s
blessing, for sixteen years; and now he has neglected her and me, and
given himself up to a second wife, a young, impudent wench: he lavishes
his money upon this monkey, and others like her, and upon her father and
mother and uncles and brother and brother’s children, and I know not
whom besides, and abridges us, that is, myself and his first wife, of
the comforts of which we were before accustomed. By the Prophet! and by
thy dear head! I speak truth. I kiss thy feet, and beg thee to insist
upon his divorcing his new wife.”—The poor man looked a little foolish
while his mother was thus addressing me from behind the door; and as
soon as she was gone, promised to do what she desired. “But,” said he,
“it is a difficult case. I was in the habit of sleeping occasionally in
the house of the brother of the girl whom I have lately taken as my
wife: he is a clerk in the employ of ’Abbás Básha; and rather more than
a year ago, ’Abbás Básha sent for me, and said, ‘I hear that you are
often sleeping in the house of my clerk Mohammad. Why do you act so? Do
you not know that it is very improper, when there are women in the
house?’ I said, ‘I am going to marry his sister.’ ‘Then why have you not
married her already?’ asked the Básha. ‘She is only nine years of age.’
‘Is the marriage contract made?’ ‘No.’ ‘Why not?’ ‘I cannot afford, at
present, to give the dowry.’ ‘What is the dowry to be?’ ‘Ninety
piasters.’ ‘Here, then,’ said the Básha, ‘take the money, and let the
contract be concluded immediately.’ So you see I was obliged to marry
the girl; and I am afraid that the Básha will be angry if I divorce her:
but I will act in such a manner that her brother shall insist upon the
divorce; and then, please God, I shall live in peace again.”—This is a
good example of the comfort of having two wives.
A short time since, upon his offering me a copy of the Kur-án for sale,
he thought it necessary to make some excuse for his doing so. He
remarked that, by my conforming with many of the ceremonies of the
Muslims, I tacitly professed myself to be one of them; and that it was
incumbent upon him to regard me in the most favourable light, which he
was the more willing to do because he knew that I should incur the
displeasure of my King by making an open profession of the faith of
El-Islám, and therefore could not do it.[5] “You give me,” said he, “the
salutation of ‘Peace be on you!’ and it would be impious in me, being
directly forbidden by my religion, to pronounce you an unbeliever; for
God, whose name be exalted, hath said, ‘Say not unto him who greeteth
thee with peace, Thou art not a believer:’[6] therefore,” he added, “it
is no sin in me to put into your hands the noble Kur-án: but there are
some of your countrymen who will take it in unclean hands, and even sit
upon it! I beg God’s forgiveness for talking of such a thing: far be it
from you to do so; you, praise be to God, know and observe the command,
‘None shall touch it but they who are purified.’”[7]—He once sold a copy
of the Kur-án, on my application, to a countryman of mine, who, being
disturbed, just as the bargain was concluded, by some person entering
the room, hastily put the sacred book upon the seat, and under a part of
his dress, to conceal it. The bookseller was much scandalized by this
action; thinking that my friend was sitting upon the book, and that he
was doing so to show his contempt of it: he declares his belief that he
has been heavily punished by God for this unlawful sale.—There was only
one thing that I had much difficulty in persuading him to do during my
former visit to this country: which was, to go with me, at a particular
period, into the mosque of the Hasaneyn, the reputed burial-place of the
head of El-Hoseyn, and the most sacred of the mosques in the Egyptian
metropolis. On my passing with him before one of the entrances of this
building, one afternoon during the fast of Ramadán, when it was crowded
with Turks, and many of the principal people of the city were among the
congregation, I thought it a good opportunity to see it to the greatest
advantage, and asked my companion to go in with me. He positively
refused, in the fear of my being discovered to be an Englishman, which
might so rouse the fanatic anger of some of the Turks there as to expose
me to some act of violence. I therefore entered alone. He remained at
the door, following me with his eye only (or his only eye), and
wondering at my audacity; but as soon as he saw me acquit myself in the
usual manner, by walking round the bronze screen which surrounds the
monument over the spot where the head of the martyr is said to be
buried, and then putting myself into the regular postures of prayer, he
came in, and said his prayers by my side.
After relating these anecdotes, I should mention, that the characters of
my other acquaintances here are not marked by similar eccentricities. My
attentions to my visitors have been generally confined to the common
usages of Eastern hospitality; supplying them with pipes and coffee, and
welcoming them to a share of my dinner or supper. Many of their
communications I have written in Arabic, at their dictation, and since
translated and inserted in the following pages. What I have principally
aimed at, in this work, is correctness; and I do not scruple to assert,
that I am not conscious of having endeavoured to render interesting any
matter that I have related by the slightest sacrifice of truth.
P.S.—With regard to the engravings which accompany this work, I should
mention, that they are from drawings which I have made, not to embellish
the pages, but merely to explain the text.
ADVERTISEMENT
TO THE
THIRD EDITION.
---
Since the publication of the first edition of the present work, the
studies in which I have been engaged have enabled me to improve it by
various corrections and additions; and the success which it has obtained
(a success very far beyond my expectations) has excited me to use my
utmost endeavours to rectify its errors and supply its defects.
In reading the Kur-án, with an Arabic commentary, I have found that
Sale’s version, though deserving of high commendation for its general
accuracy, is incorrect in many important passages; and hence I have been
induced to revise with especial care my abstract of the principal Muslim
laws: for as Sale had excellent commentaries to consult, and I, when I
composed that abstract, had none, I placed great reliance on his
translation. My plan, in the execution of that portion of my work, was
to make use of Sale’s translation as the basis, and to add what appeared
necessary from the Sunneh and other sources, chiefly at the dictation of
a professor of law, who was my tutor: but I have found that my
foundation was in several points faulty.
I am indebted to a gentleman who possesses a thorough knowledge of the
spirit of Muslim institutions[8] for the suggestion of some improvements
in the same and other portions of this work; and observations made by
several intelligent critics have lessened the labour of revision and
emendation.
I have also profited, on this occasion, by a paper containing a number
of corrections and additions written in Egypt, which I had mislaid and
forgotten: but none of these are of much importance.
The mode in which Arabic words were transcribed in the previous editions
I thought better calculated than any other to enable an English reader,
unacquainted with the Arabic language, to pronounce those words with
tolerable accuracy; but it was liable to serious objections, and was
disagreeable, in some respects, to most Oriental scholars, and to
myself. I have therefore now employed, in its stead, as I did in my
translation of “The Thousand and One Nights,” a system congenial with
our language, and of the most simple kind; and to this system I adhere
in every case, for the sake of uniformity as well as _truth_.[9] It
requires little explanation: the general reader may be directed to
pronounce
“a” as in our word “beggar:”[10] “i” as in “bid:”
“á” as in “father:”[11] “o” as in “obey” (short):
“e” as in “bed:” “ó” as in “bone:”
“é” as in “there:” “oo” as in “boot:”
“ee” as in “bee:” “ow” as in “down:”
“ei” as our word “eye:” “u” as in “bull:”
“ey” as in “they:” “y” as in “you.”
An _apostrophe_, when immediately preceding or following a vowel, I
employ to denote the place of a letter which has no equivalent in our
alphabet: it has a guttural sound, like that which is heard in the
bleating of sheep.
The usual sign of a _diæresis_ I sometimes employ to show that a final
“e” is not mute, but pronounced as that letter, when unaccented, in the
beginning or middle of a word.
Having avoided as much as possible marking the _accentuation_ in Arabic
words, I must request the reader to bear in mind, not only that a single
vowel, when not marked with an accent, is always short; but that a
double vowel, or diphthong, at the end of a word, when not so marked, is
not accented (“Welee,” for instance, being pronounced “Wĕ′lee,” or
“Wel′ee,”): also, that the accents do not always denote the principal or
only emphasis (“Sháweesh” being pronounced “Sháwee′sh”); and that “dh,”
“gh,” “kh,” “sh,” and “th,” when not divided by a hyphen, represent,
each, a single Arabic letter.
As some readers may observe that many Arabic words are written
differently in this work and in my translation of “The Thousand and One
Nights,” it is necessary to add, that in the present case I write such
words agreeably with the general pronunciation of the educated classes
in Cairo. For the same reason I often use the same European character to
express two Arabic letters which in Egypt are pronounced alike.
E W L
_May, 1842._
CONTENTS.
---
PAGE
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF THE AUTHOR v
PREFACE ix
ADVERTISEMENT TO THE THIRD EDITION xviii
INTRODUCTION.
THE COUNTRY AND CLIMATE—METROPOLIS—HOUSES—POPULATION 1
CHAPTER
I. —PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS AND DRESS OF THE MUSLIM 21
EGYPTIANS
II. —INFANCY AND EARLY EDUCATION 42
III. —RELIGION AND LAWS 52
IV. —GOVERNMENT 98
V. —DOMESTIC LIFE (MEN OF THE HIGHER AND MIDDLE ORDERS) 120
VI. —DOMESTIC LIFE, _continued_ (WOMEN OF THE HIGHER AND 141
MIDDLE ORDERS)
VII. —DOMESTIC LIFE, _continued_ (THE LOWER ORDERS) 174
VIII. —COMMON USAGES OF SOCIETY 179
IX. —LANGUAGE, LITERATURE, AND SCIENCE 188
X. —SUPERSTITIONS (GENII, SAINTS, AND DARWEESHES) 202
XI. —SUPERSTITIONS, _continued_ (CHARMS AND AUGURATION) 226
XII. —MAGIC, ASTROLOGY, AND ALCHEMY 242
XIII. —CHARACTER 255
XIV. —INDUSTRY 285
XV. —USE OF TOBACCO, COFFEE, HEMP, OPIUM, ETC. 303
XVI. —THE BATH 307
XVII. —GAMES 315
XVIII. —MUSIC 323
XIX. —PUBLIC DANCERS 347
XX. —SERPENT-CHARMERS AND PERFORMERS OF LEGERDEMAIN 352
TRICKS, ETC.
XXI. —PUBLIC RECITATIONS OF ROMANCES 359
XXII. —PUBLIC RECITATIONS OF ROMANCES, _continued_ 367
XXIII. —PUBLIC RECITATIONS OF ROMANCES, _continued_ 380
XXIV. —PERIODICAL PUBLIC FESTIVALS, ETC. (THOSE OF THE FIRST 391
THREE MONTHS OF THE MUSLIM YEAR)
XXV. —PERIODICAL PUBLIC FESTIVALS, ETC., _continued_. 421
(THOSE OF THE FOURTH AND FOLLOWING MONTHS OF THE
MUSLIM YEAR)
XXVI. —PERIODICAL PUBLIC FESTIVALS, ETC., _continued_. 451
(THOSE OF THE SOLAR YEAR)
XXVII. —PRIVATE FESTIVITIES, ETC. 463
XXVIII. —DEATH AND FUNERAL RITES 473
SUPPLEMENT.
I. —THE COPTS 489
II. —THE JEWS OF EGYPT 512
III. —OF LATE INNOVATIONS IN EGYPT 515
APPENDIX A.
FEMALE ORNAMENTS 519
APPENDIX B.
EGYPTIAN MEASURES, WEIGHTS, AND MONEYS 532
APPENDIX C.
PRAYER OF MUSLIM SCHOOL-BOYS 536
LIST OF FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS.
The Doseh (see p. 416) _Frontispiece_.
Private Houses in Cairo Facing page 5
Court of a Private House in Cairo ” ” 9
A Käah ” ” 16
Men of the Middle and Higher Classes ” ” 25
A Lady in the Dress worn in private ” ” 33
A Woman of the Southern Province of Upper Egypt ” ” 42
(sketched at Thebes)
Parade previous to Circumcision ” ” 48
Bridal Procession (Part I.) ” ” 150
Bridal Procession (Part II.) ” ” 152
Shops in a Street in Cairo ” ” 289
Shop of a Turkish Merchant ” ” 293
The Shádoof ” ” 300
A Sha′er, with his accompanying Violist ” ” 359
Funeral Procession ” ” 477
Sketch of a Tomb with the Entrance uncovered ” ” 484
ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT.
PAGE
Door of a Private House 6
Specimens of Lattice-work 7
Fountain 9
Suffeh 10
Specimens of Panel-work 12
Ceiling of a Durká’ah 13
Ceiling of a projecting Window 13
Wooden Lock 15
Fellaheen 27
An Eye ornamented with Kohl 30
Muk-hul′ahs and Mirweds 30
Ancient Vessel and Probe for Kohl 31
An Eye and Eyebrow ornamented with Kohl, as represented in 31
ancient Paintings
Hands and Feet stained with Henna 32
A tattooed Girl 34
Specimens of Tattooing on the Chin 34
Tattooed Hands and Foot 34
A Lady adorned with the Kurs and Safa, etc. 36
Lady attired for Riding or Walking 38
Fellah Women 40
Ornamented black Veils 41
Postures of Prayer (Part I.) 64
Postures of Prayer (Part II.) 65
Interior of a Mosque 68
Pipes 123
Coffee-service 125
’A’z’kee and Mankals 127
Washing before or after a Meal 129
Tisht and Ibreek 130
Kursee and Seeneeyeh 131
A Party at Dinner or Supper 132
Water-bottles 135
Sherbet-cups 137
Lantern, etc., suspended on the occasion of a Wedding 149
Mesh′als 154
Kumkum and Mibkhar’ah 185
Magic Invocation and Charm 248
Magic Square and Mirror of Ink 249
Water-carriers 296
Hemalees 298
Plan of a Bath 309
Section of the Harárah 311
Foot-rasps 312
Mankal′ah 315
Seega 320
Kemengeh 327
Kánoon 328
Egyptian Musical Instruments, Pipe, Ornaments, etc. 330
Náy 331
Rabáb esh-Shá’er 332
Ságát 334
Tár 334
Darabukkeh 334
Earthen Darabukkeh 335
Zummárah 335
Mouth-piece of the Zummárah 335
Arghool 335
The Mahmal 404
Diamond Kurs 520
Gold Kurs 521
Kussah 522
’Enebeh 522
Kamarahs 523
Sákiyeh 523
’Ood es-Saleeb 523
Mishts 523
’Akeek 523
Belloor 523
Ear-rings 525
Necklaces 526
Bracelets 527
Bark 529
Másoorah 529
Habbeh 529
Shiftish′eh 529
Anklets 529
Hegábs 530
Nose-rings 531
THE MANNERS AND CUSTOMS
OF THE
MODERN EGYPTIANS.
[Illustration]
INTRODUCTION.
THE COUNTRY AND CLIMATE—METROPOLIS—HOUSES—POPULATION.
It is generally observed that many of the most remarkable peculiarities
in the manners, customs, and character of a nation are attributable to
the physical peculiarities of the country. Such causes, in an especial
manner, affect the moral and social slate of the modern Egyptians, and
therefore here require some preliminary notice; but it will not as yet
be necessary to explain their particular influences: these will be
evinced in many subsequent parts of the present work.
The Nile, in its course through the narrow and winding valley of Upper
Egypt, which is confined on each side by mountainous and sandy deserts,
as well as through the plain of Lower Egypt, is everywhere bordered,
excepting in a very few places, by cultivated fields of its own
formation. These cultivated tracts are not perfectly level, being
somewhat lower towards the deserts than in the neighbourhood of the
river. They are interspersed with palm groves and villages, and
intersected by numerous canals. The copious summer rains which prevail
in Abyssinia and the neighbouring countries begin to show their effects
in Egypt, by the rising of the Nile, about the period of the summer
solstice. By the autumnal equinox, the river attains its greatest
height, which is always sufficient to fill the canals by which the
fields are irrigated, and, generally, to inundate large portions of the
cultivable land: it then gradually falls until the period when it again
begins to rise. Being impregnated, particularly during its rise, with
rich soil washed down from the mountainous countries whence it flows, a
copious deposit is annually spread, either by the natural inundation or
by artificial irrigation, over the fields which border it; while its
bed, from the same cause, rises in an equal degree. The Egyptians depend
entirely upon their river for the fertilization of the soil, rain being
a very rare phenomenon in their country, excepting in the neighbourhood
of the Mediterranean; and as the seasons are perfectly regular, the
peasant may make his arrangements with the utmost precision respecting
the labour he will have to perform. Sometimes his labour is light; but
when it consists in raising water for irrigation it is excessively
severe.
The climate of Egypt, during the greater part of the year, is remarkably
salubrious. The exhalations from the soil after the period of the
inundation render the latter part of the autumn less healthy than the
summer and winter; and cause ophthalmia and dysentery, and some other
diseases, to be more prevalent then than at other seasons; and during a
period of somewhat more or less than fifty days (called
“el-khamáseen[12]”), commencing in April, and lasting throughout May,
hot southerly winds occasionally prevail for about three days together.
These winds, though they seldom cause the thermometer of Fahrenheit to
rise above 95° in Lower Egypt, or, in Upper Egypt, 105°,[13] are
dreadfully oppressive, even to the natives. When the plague visits
Egypt, it is generally in the spring; and this disease is most severe in
the period of the khamáseen. Egypt is also subject, particularly during
the spring and summer, to the hot wind called the “samoom,” which is
still more oppressive than the khamáseen winds, but of much shorter
duration, seldom lasting longer than a quarter of an hour or twenty
minutes. It generally proceeds from the south-east, or south-south-east,
and carries with it clouds of dust and sand. The general height of the
thermometer in the depth of winter in Lower Egypt, in the afternoon and
in the shade, is from 50° to 60°: in the hottest season it is from 90°
to 100°; and about ten degrees higher in the southern parts of Upper
Egypt. But though the summer heat is so great it is seldom very
oppressive, being generally accompanied by a refreshing northerly
breeze, and the air being extremely dry. There is, however, one great
source of discomfort arising from this dryness—namely, an excessive
quantity of dust; and there are other plagues which very much detract
from the comfort which the natives of Egypt, and visitors to their
country, otherwise derive from its genial climate. In spring, summer,
and autumn, flies are so abundant as to be extremely annoying during the
daytime, and musquitoes are troublesome at night (unless a curtain be
made use of to keep them away), and sometimes even in the day; and every
house that contains much wood-work (as most of the better houses do)
swarms with bugs during the warm weather. Lice are not always to be
avoided in any season, but they are easily got rid of; and in the cooler
weather fleas are excessively numerous.
The climate of Upper Egypt is more healthy, though hotter, than that of
Lower Egypt. The plague seldom ascends far above Cairo, the metropolis;
and is most common in the marshy parts of the country, near the
Mediterranean. During the last ten years, the country having been better
drained, and quarantine regulations adopted to prevent or guard against
the introduction of this disease from other countries, very few plague
cases have occurred, excepting in the parts above mentioned, and in
those parts the pestilence has not been severe.[14] Ophthalmia is also
more common in Lower Egypt than in the southern parts. It generally
arises from checked perspiration, but is aggravated by the dust and many
other causes. When remedies are promptly employed, this disease is
seldom alarming in its progress; but vast numbers of the natives of
Egypt, not knowing how to treat it, or obstinately resigning themselves
to fate, are deprived of the sight of one or both of their eyes.
205589771
When questioned respecting the salubrity of Egypt, I have often been
asked whether many aged persons are seen among the inhabitants: few,
certainly, attain a great age in this country; but how few do, in our
own land, without more than once suffering from an illness that would
prove fatal without medical aid, which is obtained by a very small
number in Egypt! The heat of the summer months is sufficiently
oppressive to occasion considerable lassitude, while, at the same time,
it excites the Egyptian to intemperance in sensual enjoyments; and the
exuberant fertility of the soil engenders indolence, little nourishment
sufficing for the natives, and the sufficiency being procurable without
much exertion.
The modern Egyptian metropolis, to the inhabitants of which most of the
contents of the following pages relate, is now called “Masr”;[15] more
properly, “Misr”; but was formerly named “El-Káhireh”; whence Europeans
have formed the name of _Cairo_. It is situated at the entrance of the
valley of Upper Egypt, midway between the Nile and the eastern mountain
range of Mukattam. Between it and the river there intervenes a tract of
land, for the most part cultivated, which, in the northern parts (where
the port of Boolák is situated), is more than a mile in width, and, at
the southern part, less than half a mile wide. The metropolis occupies a
space equal to about three square miles; and its population is about two
hundred and forty thousand. It is surrounded by a wall, the gates of
which are shut at night, and is commanded by a large citadel, situated
at an angle of the town, near a point of the mountain. The streets are
unpaved, and most of them are narrow and irregular: they might more
properly be called lanes.
By a stranger who merely passed through the streets, Cairo would be
regarded as a very close and crowded city; but that this is not the case
is evident to a person who overlooks the town from the top of a lofty
house, or from the menaret of a mosque. The great thoroughfare-streets
have generally a row of shops along each side. Above the shops are
apartments which do not communicate with them, and which are seldom
occupied by the persons who rent the shops. To the right and left of the
great thoroughfares are bye-streets and quarters. Most of the
bye-streets are thoroughfares, and have a large wooden gate at each end,
closed at night, and kept by a porter within, who opens to any persons
requiring to be admitted. The quarters mostly consist of several narrow
lanes, having but one general entrance, with a gate, which is also
closed at night; but several have a bye-street passing through them.
-------------------------------------------
[Illustration: PRIVATE HOUSES IN CAIRO.]
The street in this view is wider than usual. The projecting windows on
opposite sides of a street often nearly meet each other, almost entirely
excluding the sun, and thus producing an agreeable coolness in the
summer.
_Lane’s Modern Egyptians_] [_Page 5_
-------------------------------------------
Of the private houses of the metropolis it is particularly necessary
that I should give a description. The accompanying engraving will serve
to give a general notion of their exterior. The foundation-walls, to the
height of the first floor, are cased, externally, and often internally,
with the soft calcareous stone of the neighbouring mountain. The surface
of the stone, when newly cut, is of a light yellowish hue; but its
colour soon darkens. The alternate courses of the front are sometimes
coloured red and white,[16] particularly in large houses; as is the case
with most mosques. The superstructure, the front of which generally
projects about two feet, and is supported by corbels or piers, is of
brick, and often plastered. The bricks are burnt, and of a dull red
colour. The mortar is generally composed of mud in the proportion of
one-half, with a fourth part of lime, and the remaining part of the
ashes of straw and rubbish. Hence the unplastered walls of brick are of
a dirty colour, as if the bricks were unburnt. The roof is flat, and
covered with a coat of plaster.
The most usual architectural style of the entrance of a private house in
Cairo is shown by the sketch here inserted. The door is often ornamented
in the manner here represented: the compartment in which is the
inscription, and the other similarly-shaped compartments, are painted
red, bordered with white; the rest of the surface of the door is painted
green. The inscription, “He (_i.e._, God) is the excellent Creator, the
Everlasting” (the object of which will be explained when I treat of the
superstitions of the Egyptians), is seen on many doors; but is far from
being general. It is usually painted in black or white characters. Few
doors but those of large houses are painted. They generally have an iron
knocker and a wooden lock; and there is usually a mounting-stone by the
side.
[Illustration: DOOR OF A PRIVATE HOUSE.]
The ground floor apartments next the street have small wooden grated
windows, placed sufficiently high to render it impossible for a person
passing by in the street, even on horseback, to see through them. The
windows of the upper apartments generally project a foot and a half, or
more, and are mostly formed of turned wooden lattice-work, which is so
close that it shuts out much of the light and sun, and screens the
inmates of the house from the view of persons without, while at the same
time it admits the air. They are generally of unpainted wood; but some
few are partially painted red and green, and some are entirely painted.
A window of this kind is called a “róshan,” or, more commonly, a
“meshrebeeyeh,” which latter word has another application, that will be
mentioned below. Several windows of different descriptions are
represented in some of the illustrations of this work; and sketches of
the most common patterns of the lattice-work, on a larger scale, are
here inserted.[17] Sometimes a window of the kind above described has a
little meshrebeeyeh, which somewhat resembles a róshan in miniature,
projecting from the front, or from each side. In this, in order to be
exposed to a current of air, are placed porous earthen bottles, which
are used for cooling water by evaporation. Hence the name of
“meshrebeeyeh,” which signifies “a place for drink,” or “—for drinking.”
The projecting window has a flat one of lattice-work, or of grating of
wood, or of coloured glass, immediately above it. This upper window, if
of lattice-work, is often of a more fanciful construction than the
others, exhibiting a representation of a basin with a ewer above it, or
the figure of a lion, or the name of “Allah,” or the words “God is my
hope,” etc. Some projecting windows are wholly constructed of boards,
and a few have frames of glass in the sides. In the better houses, also,
the windows of lattice-work are now generally furnished with frames of
glass in the inside, which in the winter are wholly closed: for a
penetrating cold is felt in Egypt when the thermometer of Fahrenheit is
below 60°. The windows of inferior houses are mostly of a different
kind, being even with the exterior surface of the wall: the upper part
is of wooden lattice-work, or grating; and the lower closed by hanging
shutters; but many of these have a little meshrebeeyeh for the
water-bottles, projecting from the lower part.[18]
[Illustration:
SPECIMENS OF LATTICE WORK.
From the centre of one row of beads to that of the next (in these
specimens) is between an inch and a quarter and an inch and
three-quarters.
]
The houses in general are two or three storeys high; and almost every
house that is sufficiently large encloses an open, unpaved court, called
a “hósh,” which is entered by a passage that is constructed with one or
two turnings, for the purpose of preventing passengers in the street
from seeing into it. In this passage, just within the door, there is a
long stone seat, called “mastab′ah,” built against the back or side
wall, for the porter and other servants. In the court is a well of
slightly brackish water, which filters through the soil from the Nile;
and on its most shaded side are, commonly, two water-jars, which are
daily replenished with water of the Nile, brought from the river in
skins.[19] The principal apartments look into the court; and their
exterior walls (those which are of brick) are plastered and whitewashed.
There are several doors, which are entered from the court. One of these
is called “báb el-hareem” (the door of the hareem): it is the entrance
of the stairs which lead to the apartments appropriated exclusively to
the women and their master and his children.[20]
-------------------------------------------
[Illustration: COURT OF A PRIVATE HOUSE IN CAIRO]
_Lane’s Modern Egyptians_] [_Page 9_
-------------------------------------------
[Illustration: FOUNTAIN.]
In general, there is, on the ground floor, an apartment called a
“mandar′ah,” in which male visitors are received. This has a wide wooden
grated window, or two windows of this kind, next the court. A small part
of the floor, extending from the door to the opposite side of the room,
is six or seven inches lower than the rest: this part is called the
“durká’ah.”[21] In a handsome house, the durká’ah of the mandar′ah is
paved with white and black marble, and little pieces of fine red tile,
inlaid in complicated and tasteful patterns, and has in the centre a
fountain (called “faskeeyeh”), which plays into a small shallow pool,
lined with coloured marbles, etc., like the surrounding pavement. I give
a sketch of the fountain. The water which falls from the fountain is
drained off from the pool by a pipe. There is generally, fronting the
door, at the end of the durká’ah, a shelf of marble or of common stone,
about four feet high, called a “suffeh,” supported by two or more
arches, or by a single arch, under which are placed utensils in ordinary
use—such as perfuming vessels, and the basin and ewer which are used for
washing before and after meals, and for the ablution preparatory to
prayer: water-bottles, coffee cups, etc., are placed upon the suffeh. In
handsome houses, the arches of the suffeh are faced with marble and
tile, like the pool of the fountain represented in the sketch above, and
sometimes the wall over it, to the height of about four feet or more, is
also cased with similar materials: partly with large upright slabs, and
partly with small pieces, like the durká’ah. The raised part of the
floor of the room is called “leewán”[22] (a corruption of “el-eewán,”
which signifies “any raised place to sit upon,” and also “a palace”).
Every person slips off his shoes on the durká’ah before he steps upon
the leewán.[23] The latter is generally paved with common stone, and
covered with a mat in summer, and a carpet over the mat in winter; and
has a mattress and cushions placed against each of its three walls,
composing what is called a “deewán,” or divan. The mattress, which is
generally about three feet wide and three or four inches thick, is
placed either on the ground or on a raised frame; and the cushions,
which are usually of a length equal to the width of the mattress, and of
a height equal to half that measure, lean against the wall. Both
mattresses and cushions are stuffed with cotton, and are covered with
printed calico, cloth, or some more expensive stuff. The walls are
plastered and whitewashed. There are generally, in the walls, two or
three shallow cupboards, the doors of which are composed of very small
panels, on account of the heat and dryness of the climate, which cause
wood to warp and shrink as if it were placed in an oven; for which
reason the doors of the apartments also are constructed in the same
manner. We observe great variety and much ingenuity displayed in the
different modes in which these small panels are formed and disposed. A
few specimens are here introduced. The ceiling over the leewán is of
wood, with carved beams, generally about a foot apart, partially
painted, and sometimes gilt. But that part of the ceiling which is over
the durká’ah, in a handsome house, is usually more richly decorated;
here, instead of beams, numerous thin strips of wood are nailed upon the
planks, forming patterns curiously complicated, yet perfectly regular,
and having a highly ornamental effect. I give a sketch of the half of a
ceiling thus decorated, but not in the most complicated style. The
strips are painted yellow or gilt; and the spaces within, painted green,
red, and blue.[24] In the example which I have inserted, the colours are
as indicated in the sketch of a portion of the same on a larger scale,
excepting in the square in the centre of the ceiling, where the strips
are black, upon a yellow ground. From the centre of this square a
chandelier is often suspended. There are many patterns of a similar
kind; and the colours generally occupy similar places with regard to
each other; but in some houses these ceilings are not painted. The
ceiling of a projecting window is often ornamented in the same manner. A
sketch of one is here given. Good taste is evinced by only decorating in
this manner parts which are not always before the eyes; for to look long
at so many lines intersecting each other in various directions would be
painful.
[Illustration: SUFFEH.]
In some houses (as in that which is the subject of the engraving
opposite p. 9) there is another room, called a “mak’ad,” for the same
use as the mandar′ah, having an open front, with two or more arches and
a low railing; and also, on the ground floor, a square recess, called a
“takhtabósh,” with an open front, and generally a pillar to support the
wall above: its floor is a paved leewán; and there is a long wooden sofa
placed along one, or two, or each of its three walls. The court, during
the summer, is frequently sprinkled with water, which renders the
surrounding apartments agreeably cool—or at least those on the
ground-floor. All the rooms are furnished in the same manner as that
first described.
[Illustration:
SPECIMENS OF PANEL-WORK.
These are represented on a scale of one inch to twenty-four or thirty.
]
Among the upper apartments, or those of the Hareem, there is generally
one called a “ká’ah,” which is particularly lofty. It has two
leewáns—one on each hand of a person entering: one of these is generally
larger than the other, and is the more honourable part. A portion of the
roof of this saloon, the part which is over the durká’ah that divides
the two leewáns, is a little elevated above the rest; and has, in the
centre, a small lantern, called “memrak,” the sides of which are
composed of lattice-work, like the windows before described, and support
a cupola. The durká’ah is commonly without a fountain; but is often
paved in a similar manner to that of the mandar’ah, which the ká’ah also
resembles in having a handsome suffeh, and cupboards of curious
panel-work. There is, besides, in this and some other apartments, a
narrow shelf of wood, extending along two or each of the three walls
which bound the leewán, about seven feet or more from the floor, just
above the cupboards, but interrupted in some parts—at least in those
parts where the windows are placed; upon this are arranged several
vessels of china, not so much for general use as for ornament.[25] All
the apartments are lofty, generally fourteen feet or more in height; but
the ká’ah is the largest and most lofty room, and in a large house it is
a noble saloon.
[Illustration: CEILING OF A DURKÁ’AH.—About eight feet wide.]
[Illustration:
CEILING OF A PROJECTING WINDOW.
The dimensions of this are about eight feet by three.
]
In several of the upper rooms, in the houses of the wealthy, there are,
besides the windows of lattice-work, others, of coloured glass,
representing bunches of flowers, peacocks, and other gay and gaudy
objects, or merely fanciful patterns, which have a pleasing effect.
These coloured glass windows, which are termed “kamareeyehs,”[26] are
mostly from a foot and a half to two feet and a half in height, and from
one to two feet in width; and are generally placed along the upper part
of the projecting lattice-window, in a row; or above that kind of
window, disposed in a group, so as to form a large square; or elsewhere
in the upper parts of the walls, usually singly, or in pairs, side by
side. They are composed of small pieces of glass, of various colours,
set in rims of fine plaster, and enclosed in a frame of wood. On the
plastered walls of some apartments are rude paintings of the temple of
Mekkeh, or of the tomb of the Prophet, or of flowers and other objects,
executed by native Muslim artists, who have not the least notion of the
rules of perspective, and who consequently deface what they thus attempt
to decorate. Sometimes, also, the walls are ornamented with Arabic
inscriptions, of maxims, etc., which are more usually written on paper,
in an embellished style, and enclosed in glazed frames. No chambers are
furnished as bedrooms. The bed, in the daytime, is rolled up, and placed
on one side, or in an adjoining closet, called “khazneh,” which, in the
winter, is a sleeping-place: in summer, many people sleep upon the
house-top. A mat, or carpet, spread upon the raised part of the stone
floor, and a deewán, constitute the complete furniture of a room. For
meals, a round tray is brought in, and placed upon a low stool, and the
company sit round it on the ground. There is no fire-place:[27] the room
is warmed, when necessary, by burning charcoal in a chafing-dish. Many
houses have, at the top, a sloping shed of boards, called a
“malkaf,”[28] directed towards the north or north-west, to convey to a
“fes-hah,” or “fesahah” (an open apartment), below the cool breezes
which generally blow from those quarters.
[Illustration: WOODEN LOCK.]
Every door is furnished with a wooden lock, called a “dabbeh,” the
mechanism of which is shown by a sketch here inserted. No. 1 in this
sketch is a front view of the lock, with the bolt drawn back; Nos. 2, 3,
and 4, are back views of the separate parts, and the key. A number of
small iron pins (four, five, or more) drop into corresponding holes in
the sliding bolt as soon as the latter is pushed into the hole or staple
of the door-post. The key also has small pins, made to correspond with
the holes, into which they are introduced to open the lock: the former
pins being thus pushed up, the bolt may be drawn back. The wooden lock
of a street-door is commonly about fourteen inches long:[29] those of
the doors of apartments, cupboards, etc., are about seven, or eight, or
nine inches. The locks of the gates of quarters, public buildings, etc.,
are of the same kind, and mostly two feet, or even more, in length. It
is not difficult to pick this kind of lock.
In the plan of almost every house there is an utter want of regularity.
The apartments are generally of different heights—so that a person has
to ascend or descend one, two, or more steps, to pass from one chamber
to another adjoining it. The principal aim of the architect is to render
the house as private as possible; particularly that part of it which is
inhabited by the women; and not to make any window in such a situation
as to overlook the apartments of another house. Another object of the
architect, in building a house for a person of wealth or rank, is to
make a secret door (“báb sirr”[30]), from which the tenant may make his
escape in case of danger from an arrest, or an attempt at
assassination—or by which to give access and egress to a paramour; and
it is also common to make a hiding-place for treasure (called “makhba”)
in some part of the house. In the hareem of a large house there is
generally a bath, which is heated in the same manner as the public
baths.
Another style of building has lately been very generally adopted for
houses of the more wealthy. These do not differ much from those already
described, excepting in the windows, which are of glass, and placed
almost close together. Each window of the hareem has, outside, a sliding
frame of close wooden trellis-work, to cover the lower half. The
numerous glass windows are ill adapted to a hot climate.
-------------------------------------------
[Illustration: A KÄAH.]
_Lane’s Modern Egyptians_] [_Page 16_
-------------------------------------------
When shops occupy the lower part of the buildings in a street (as is
generally the case in the great thoroughfares of the metropolis, and in
some of the bye-streets), the superstructure is usually divided into
distinct lodgings, and is termed “raba.” These lodgings are separate
from each other, as well as from the shops below, and let to families
who cannot afford the rent of a whole house. Each lodging in a raba
comprises one or two sitting and sleeping-rooms, and generally a kitchen
and latrina. It seldom has a separate entrance from the street, one
entrance and one staircase usually admitting to a range of several
lodgings. The apartments are similar to those of the private houses
first described. They are never let ready-furnished; and it is very
seldom that a person who has not a wife or female slave is allowed to
reside in them, or in any private house: such a person (unless he have
parents or other near relations to dwell with) is usually obliged to
take up his abode in a “wekáleh,” which is a building chiefly designed
for the reception of merchants and their goods. Franks, however, are now
exempted from this restriction.
Very few large or handsome houses are to be seen in Egypt, excepting in
the metropolis and some other towns. The dwellings of the lower orders,
particularly those of the peasants, are of a very mean description: they
are mostly built of unbaked bricks, cemented together with mud. Some of
them are mere hovels. The greater number, however, comprise two or more
apartments; though few are two storeys high. In one of these apartments,
in the houses of the peasants in Lower Egypt, there is generally an oven
(“furn”), at the end farthest from the entrance, and occupying the whole
width of the chamber. It resembles a wide bench or seat, and is about
breast-high: it is constructed of brick and mud; the roof arched within,
and flat on the top. The inhabitants of the house, who seldom have any
night-covering during the winter, sleep upon the top of the oven, having
previously lighted a fire within it; or the husband and wife only enjoy
this luxury and the children sleep upon the floor. The chambers have
small apertures high up in the walls, for the admission of light and
air—sometimes furnished with a grating of wood. The roofs are formed of
palm-branches and palm-leaves, or of millet-stalks, etc., laid upon
rafters of the trunk of the palm, and covered with a plaster of mud and
chopped straw. The furniture consists of a mat or two to sleep upon, a
few earthen vessels, and a hand-mill to grind the corn. In many villages
large pigeon-houses of a square form, but with the walls slightly
inclining inwards (like many of the ancient Egyptian buildings), or of
the form of a sugar-loaf, are constructed upon the roots of the huts,
with crude brick, pottery, and mud.[31] Most of the villages of Egypt
are situated upon eminences of rubbish, which rise a few feet above the
reach of the inundation, and are surrounded by palm-trees, or have a few
of these trees in their vicinity. The rubbish which they occupy chiefly
consists of the materials of former huts, and seems to increase in about
the same degree as the level of the alluvial plains and the bed of the
river.
In a country where neither births nor deaths are registered it is next
to impossible to ascertain, with precision, the amount of the
population. A few years ago a calculation was made, founded on the
number of houses in Egypt, and the supposition that the inhabitants of
each house in the metropolis amount to eight persons, and in the
provinces to four. This computation approximates, I believe, very nearly
to the truth; but personal observation and inquiry incline me to think
that the houses of such towns as Alexandria, Boolák, and Masr
el-’Ateekah contain each, on the average, at least five persons: Rasheed
(or Rosetta) is half deserted; but as to the crowded town of Dimyát[32]
(or Damietta), we must reckon as many as six persons to each house, or
our estimate will fall far short of what is generally believed to be the
number of its inhabitants. The addition of one or two persons to each
house in the above-mentioned towns will, however, make little difference
in the computation of the whole population of Egypt, which was found, by
this mode of reckoning, to amount to rather more than 2,500,000; but it
is now much reduced. Of 2,500,000 souls, say 1,200,000 are males; and
one-third of this number (400,000) men fit for military service: from
this latter number the present Básha of Egypt has taken, at the least,
200,000 (that is, one-half of the most serviceable portion of the male
population) to form and recruit his armies of regular troops, and for
the service of his navy. The further loss caused by withdrawing so many
men from their wives, or preventing their marrying, during ten years,
must surely far exceed 300,000; consequently, the present population may
be calculated as less than two millions. The numbers of the several
classes of which the population is mainly composed are nearly as
follows:—
Muslim Egyptians (felláheen, or peasants, and 1,750,000
townspeople)
Christian Egyptians (Copts) 150,000
’Osmánlees, or Turks 10,000
Syrians 5,000
Greeks 5,000
Armenians 2,000
Jews 5,000
Of the remainder (namely, Arabians, Western Arabs, Nubians, Negro
slaves, Memlooks [or white male slaves], female white slaves, Franks,
etc.), amounting to about 70,000, the respective numbers are very
uncertain and variable. The Arabs of the neighbouring deserts ought not
to be included among the population of Egypt.[33]
Cairo, I have said, contains about 240,000 inhabitants.[34] We should be
greatly deceived if we judged of the population of this city from the
crowds that we meet in the principal thoroughfare-streets and markets;
in most of the bye-streets and quarters very few passengers are seen.
Nor should we judge from the extent of the city and suburbs; for there
are within the walls many vacant places, some of which, during the
season of the inundation, are lakes (as the Birket el-Ezbekeeyeh, Birket
el-Feel, etc.). The gardens, several burial-grounds, the courts of
houses, and the mosques, also occupy a considerable space. Of the
inhabitants of the metropolis, about 190,000 are Egyptian Muslims; about
10,000, Copts; 3,000 or 4,000, Jews; and the rest, strangers from
various countries.[35]
The population of Egypt in the times of the Pharaohs was probably about
six or seven millions.[36] The produce of the soil in the present age
would suffice, if none were exported, for the maintenance of a
population amounting to 4,000,000; and if all the soil which is capable
of cultivation were sown, the produce would be sufficient for the
maintenance of 8,000,000. But this would be the utmost number that Egypt
could maintain in years of plentiful inundation; I therefore compute the
ancient population, at the time when agriculture was in a very
flourishing state, to have amounted to what I first stated; and must
suppose it to have been scarcely more than half as numerous in the times
of the Ptolemies, and at later periods, when a great quantity of corn
was annually exported.[37] This calculation agrees with what Diodorus
Siculus says (in lib. i. cap. 31); namely, that Egypt contained, in the
times of the ancient kings, 7,000,000 inhabitants, and in his own time
not less than 3,000,000.
How different now is the state of Egypt from what it might be,
possessing a population of scarcely more than one quarter of the number
that it might be rendered capable of supporting! How great a change
might be effected in it by a truly enlightened government, by a prince
who (instead of impoverishing the peasantry by depriving them of their
lands, and by his monopolies of the most valuable productions of the
soil; by employing the best portion of the population to prosecute his
ambitious schemes of foreign conquest, and another large portion in the
vain attempt to rival European manufactures) would give his people a
greater interest in the cultivation of the fields, and make Egypt what
nature designed it to be—almost exclusively an agricultural country! Its
produce of cotton alone would more than suffice to procure all the
articles of foreign manufacture, and all the natural productions of
foreign countries, that the wants of its inhabitants demand.[38]
The desired change may now be easily effected, for since the above was
written the Básha has been placed in a new position, which will enable
him to acquire a greater and more honourable fame, by the cultivation of
the arts of peace, than his conquests, brilliant as they have been, have
hitherto procured for him. No one who is acquainted with the modern
history of Egypt, and more particularly with the state of the country
during the period that intervened between the French expedition and the
accession of Mohammad ’Alee to the office of viceroy, can doubt that he
possesses extraordinary talents for government; and let us hope that
those talents will be rightly employed: but, as he himself affirms, some
time will be required for effecting the necessary changes.
-----
Footnote 1:
It gives me great pleasure to find, that, while I have been attempting
to preserve memorials of the manners and customs of the most polished
modern Arab people, one of my learned friends (M. Fulgence Fresnel)
has been occupied, with eminent success, in rescuing from oblivion
many interesting notices of the history of the _early_ Arabs, and that
another (Mr. [now, Sir Gardner] Wilkinson) has been preparing to
impart to us an account of the private life, manners, etc., of the
Ancient Egyptians. [The very high and just commendation which the
works of these two authors (published since the above was written)
have obtained from eminent critics renders it needless for me to add
my humble testimony to their merits.]
Footnote 2:
Among the memoirs in “the great French work” on Egypt, is one entitled
“Essai sur les mœurs des habitans modernes de l’Egypte;” but its
author appears to me to have fallen into an error of considerable
magnitude, in applying to the Egyptians in general, observations which
were, in truth, for the most part descriptive of the manners and
customs of their naturalized rulers, the Memlooks. It is probable that
the Egyptians in some degree imitated, when they were able to do so,
the habits and customs of this class: I may however, venture to
affirm, that the essay here alluded to does not convey a true notion
of their _present_ moral and social state. Its author, moreover, shows
himself to have been often extremely careless both in his observations
and inquiries: this is particularly evident in his singular
misstatement of the correspondence of French and Mohammadan hours, and
in the first two pages (in the 8vo. edition) of the section on public
fêtes. He has given many just philosophical observations; but these
occupy too large a proportion of a memoir scarcely exceeding one-third
of the extent of the present work. To show that these remarks are not
made in an invidious spirit, I most willingly express my high
admiration of other parts of “the great work” (especially the
contributions of M. Jomard), relating to subjects which have alike
employed my mind and pen, and upon which I shall probably publish my
observations.—Burckhardt’s “Arabic Proverbs,” and their illustrations,
convey many notions of remarkable customs and traits of character of
the modern Egyptians; but are very far from composing a complete
exposition, or in every case, a true one; for national proverbs are
bad tests of the morality of a people.—There is one work, however,
which presents most admirable pictures of the manners and customs of
the Arabs, and particularly of those of the Egyptians: it is “The
Thousand and One Nights,” or Arabian Nights’ Entertainments: if the
English reader had possessed a close translation of it with sufficient
illustrative notes, I might almost have spared myself the labour of
the present undertaking.—[This remark, respecting “The Thousand and
One Nights,” was, I believe, the cause of my being employed, since the
publication of the first edition of the present work, to translate
those admirable tales, and to illustrate them by explanatory notes.]
Footnote 3:
Thus commonly pronounced, for Esh-Shaaránee.
Footnote 4:
He professes to have had more than thirty wives in the course of his
life; but, in saying so, I believe he greatly exaggerates.
Footnote 5:
It is a common belief among the Egyptians, that every European
traveller who visits their country is an emissary from his King; and
it is difficult to convince them that this is not the case: so strange
to them is the idea of a man’s incurring great trouble and expense for
the purpose of acquiring the knowledge of foreign countries and
nations.
Footnote 6:
Kur-án, chap, iv., ver. 96.
Footnote 7:
Kur-án, chap. lvi., ver 78.
Footnote 8:
David Urquhart, Esq., author of “The Spirit of the East,” etc.
Footnote 9:
Here I must mention, that I have written “Básha” instead of “Pásha” in
conformity with the pronunciation of the Egyptians.
Footnote 10:
Strictly speaking, it has a sound between that of “a” in “bad” and
that of “u” in “bud;” sometimes approximating more to the former, and
sometimes to the latter.
Footnote 11:
Its sound, however, often approximates to that of “a” in “ball.”
Footnote 12:
Respecting this term, see the first of the notes in Chapter xxvi.
Footnote 13:
This is the temperature in the shade. At Thebes, I have observed the
thermometer to rise above 110° during a khamáseen wind, in the shade.
Footnote 14:
This remark was written before the terrible plague of the present year
[1835], which was certainly introduced from Turkey, and extended
throughout the whole of Egypt, though its ravages were not great in
the southern parts. It has destroyed not less than eighty thousand
persons in Cairo: that is, one-third of the population; and far more,
I believe, than two hundred thousand in all Egypt. According to a
report made by the government, the victims of this plague in Cairo
were about _forty_ thousand; but I have been informed, on high
authority, that the government made it a rule to report only half the
number of deaths in this case.
Footnote 15:
This is the name by which the modern Egyptians call their country, as
well as its metropolis.
Footnote 16:
With red ochre and lime wash.
Footnote 17:
No. 1 is a view and section of a portion of the most simple kind. This
and the other four kinds are here represented on a scale of about
one-seventh of the real size. No. 6 shows the general proportions of
the side of a projecting window. The portion A is, in most instances,
of lattice-work similar to No. 1, and comprises about twelve rows of
beads in the width: the portion B is commonly either of the same kind,
or like No. 2 or No. 3; and the small lattice C, which is attached by
hinges, is generally similar to No. 4.
Footnote 18:
Commonly similar to No. 1, or No. 5.
Footnote 19:
Some large houses have two courts: the inner for the hareem; and in
the latter, or both of these, there is usually a little enclosure of
arched wood-work in which trees and flowers are raised.
Footnote 20:
In the accompanying view of the court of a house, the door of the
hareem is that which faces the spectator.
Footnote 21:
Apparently a corruption of the Persian “dargáh.”—The view of a ká’ah
opposite p. 14 will serve to illustrate the description of the
mandar’ah.
Footnote 22:
The “leewán” is not to be confounded with the “deewán,” which is
afterwards mentioned.
Footnote 23:
One of the chief reasons of the custom here mentioned is, to avoid
defiling a mat or carpet upon which prayer is usually made. This, as
many authors have observed, illustrates passages of the
Scriptures—Exodus iii. 5, and Joshua v. 15.
Footnote 24:
See Jeremiah xxii. 14.
Footnote 25:
In the larger houses, and some others, there is also, adjoining the
principal saloon, an elevated closet, designed as an orchestra, for
female singers. A description of this will be found in the chapter on
music.
Footnote 26:
This word is said to be derived from “kamar” (the moon). Baron
Hammer-Purgstall thinks (see the Vienna “Jahrbücher der Literatur,”
lxxxi. bd., pp. 71, 72) that it has its origin from Chumaruje [or, as
he is called by the Arabs in general, Khumáraweyh], the second prince
of the dynasty of the Benee-Tooloon, who governed in Egypt in the end
of the ninth century of the Christian era, and that it proves the art
of staining glass to have been in a flourishing state in Cairo at that
period.
Footnote 27:
Excepting in the kitchen, in which are several small receptacles for
fire, constructed on a kind of bench of brick. Hence, and for several
other reasons (among which may be mentioned the sober and early habits
of the people, the general absence of draperies in the apartments, and
the construction of the floors, which are of wood overlaid with
stone), the destruction of a house by fire seldom happens in Cairo;
but when such an accident does occur, an extensive conflagration is
the usual result; for a great quantity of wood, mostly deal, and of
course excessively dry, is employed in the construction of the houses.
Footnote 28:
See again the engraving opposite p. 9.
Footnote 29:
This is the measure of the sliding bolt.
Footnote 30:
This term is also applied sometimes to the door of the hareem.
Footnote 31:
The earthen pots used in the construction of these pigeon-houses are
of an oval form, with a wide mouth, which is placed outwards, and a
small hole at the other end. Each pair of pigeons occupies a separate
pot.
Footnote 32:
Vulgarly called “Dumyát.”
Footnote 33:
The Muslim Egyptians, Copts, Syrians, and Jews of Egypt, with few
exceptions, speak no language but the Arabic, which is also the
language generally used by the foreigners settled in this country. The
Nubians, among themselves, speak their own dialects.
Footnote 34:
The population of Cairo has increased to this amount, from about
200,000, within the last three or four years. Since the computation
here stated was made, the plague of this year [1835] has destroyed not
fewer than one-third of its inhabitants, as before mentioned; but this
deficiency will be rapidly supplied from the villages.
Footnote 35:
About one-third of the population of the metropolis consists of adult
males. Of this number (or 80,000) about 30,000 are merchants, petty
shopkeepers, and artisans; 20,000, domestic servants; 15,000, common
labourers, porters, etc.: the remainder chiefly consists of military
and civil servants of the government.
Footnote 36:
I place but little reliance on the accounts of ancient authors on
this subject.
Footnote 37:
It has been suggested to me that, if corn was exported, something of
equal value was imported; and that the exportation of corn, or
anything else, would give a stimulus to industry and to population:
but I do not know what could be imported that would fill up the
measure of the food necessary to sustain a population much greater
than that which would consume the corn retained.
Footnote 38:
During the present year [1835] more than 100,000 bales of cotton (each
bale weighing a hundred-weight and three-quarters) have been shipped
at Alexandria. The price paid for this quantity by the merchants
exceeded £700,000. The quantity exported last year was 34,000 bales,
which is considerably less than usual.—The policy above recommended is
strongly advocated by Ibráheem Básha.
CHAPTER I.
PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS AND DRESS OF THE MUSLIM EGYPTIANS.
Muslims of Arabian origin have for many centuries mainly composed the
population of Egypt: they have changed its language, laws, and general
manners; and its metropolis they have made the principal seat of Arabian
learning and arts. To the description of this people, and especially of
the middle and higher classes in the Egyptian capital, will be devoted
the chief portion of the present work. In every point of view, Masr (or
Cairo) must be regarded as the first Arab city of our age; and the
manners and customs of its inhabitants are particularly interesting, as
they are a combination of those which prevail most generally in the
towns of Arabia, Syria, and the whole of Northern Africa, and in a great
degree in Turkey. There is no other place in which we can obtain so
complete a knowledge of the most civilized classes of the Arabs.
From statements made in the introduction to this work, it appears that
Muslim Egyptians (or Arab-Egyptians) compose nearly four-fifths of the
population of the metropolis (which is computed to amount to about
240,000), and just seven-eighths of that of all Egypt.
The Muslim Egyptians are descended from various Arab tribes and families
which have settled in Egypt at different periods; mostly soon after the
conquest of this country by ’Amr, its first Arab governor; but by
intermarriages with the Copts and others who have become proselytes to
the faith of El-Islám, as well as by the change from a life of wandering
to that of citizens or of agriculturists, their personal characteristics
have, by degrees, become so much altered, that there is a strongly
marked difference between them and the natives of Arabia. Yet they are
to be regarded as not less genuine Arabs than the townspeople of Arabia
itself, among whom has long and very generally prevailed a custom of
keeping Abyssinian female slaves, either instead of marrying their own
countrywomen, or (as is commonly the case with the opulent) in addition
to their Arab wives; so that they bear almost as strong a resemblance to
the Abyssinians as to the Bedawees, or Arabs of the Desert. The term
“Arab,”[39] it should here be remarked, is now used wherever the Arabic
language is spoken, only to designate the Bedawees collectively. In
speaking of a tribe, or of a small number of those people, the word
“’Orbán” is also used; and a single individual is called “Bedawee.”[40]
In the metropolis and other towns of Egypt, the distinction of tribes is
almost wholly lost; but it is preserved among the peasants, who have
retained many Bedawee customs, of which I shall have to speak. The
native Muslim inhabitants of Cairo commonly call themselves
“El-Masreeyeen,” “Owlád-Masr” (or “Ahl-Masr”), and “Owlád-el-Beled,”
which signify people of Masr, children of Masr, and children of the
town; the singular forms of these appellations are “Masree,” “Ibn-Masr,”
and “Ibn-el-Beled.”[41] Of these three terms, the last is most common in
the town itself. The country people are called “El-Felláheen” (or the
Agriculturists), in the singular “Felláh.”[42] The Turks often apply
this term to the Egyptians in general in an abusive sense, as meaning
“the boors,” or “the clowns;” and improperly stigmatize them with the
appellation of “Ahl-Far’oon,”[43] or “the people of Pharaoh.”
In general, the Muslim Egyptians attain the height of about five feet
eight, or five feet nine inches. Most of the children under nine or ten
years of age have spare limbs and a distended abdomen; but, as they grow
up, their forms rapidly improve. In mature age most of them are
remarkably well proportioned. The men, muscular and robust; the women,
very beautifully formed, and plump; and neither sex is too fat. I have
never seen corpulent persons among them, excepting a few in the
metropolis and other towns, rendered so by a life of inactivity. In
Cairo, and throughout the northern provinces, those who have not been
much exposed to the sun, have a yellowish, but very clear complexion,
and soft skin; the rest are of a considerably darker and coarser
complexion. The people of Middle Egypt are of a more tawny colour, and
those of the more southern provinces are of a deep bronze or brown
complexion—darkest towards Nubia, where the climate is hottest. In
general, the countenance of the Muslim Egyptian (I here speak of the
_men_) is of a fine oval form; the forehead, of moderate size, seldom
high, but generally prominent; the eyes are deep-sunk, black, and
brilliant; the nose is straight, but rather thick; the mouth well
formed; the lips are rather full than otherwise; the teeth particularly
beautiful;[44] the beard is commonly black and curly, but scanty. I have
seen very few individuals of this race with grey eyes, or rather, few
persons supposed to be of this race; for I am inclined to think them the
offspring of Arab women by Turks or other foreigners. The Felláheen,
from constant exposure to the sun, have a habit of half shutting their
eyes; this is also characteristic of the Bedawees. Great numbers of the
Egyptians are blind in one or both eyes. They generally shave that part
of the cheek which is above the lower jaw, and likewise a small space
under the lower lip, leaving, however, the hairs which grow in the
middle under the mouth; or, instead of shaving these parts, they pluck
out the hair. They also shave a part of the beard under the chin. Very
few shave the rest of their beards,[45] and none their moustaches. The
former they suffer to grow to the length of about a hand’s breadth below
the chin (such, at least, is the general rule, and such was the custom
of the Prophet); and their moustaches they do not allow to become so
long as to incommode them in eating and drinking. The practice of dyeing
the beard is not common, for a grey beard is much respected. The
Egyptians shave all the rest of the hair, or leave only a small tuft
(called “shoosheh”) upon the crown of the head.[46] This last custom
(which is almost universal among them), I have been told, originated in
the fear that if the Muslim should fall into the hands of an infidel and
be slain, the latter might cut off the head of his victim, and finding
no hair by which to hold it, put his impure hand into the mouth in order
to carry it; for the beard might not be sufficiently long.[47] With the
like view of avoiding impurity, the Egyptians observe other customs
which need not here be described.[48] Many men of the lower orders, and
some others, make blue marks upon their arms, and sometimes upon the
hands and chest, as the women, in speaking of whom this operation will
be described.
-------------------------------------------
[Illustration: MEN OF THE MIDDLE AND HIGHER CLASSES.]
_Lane’s Modern Egyptians_] [_Page 25_
-------------------------------------------
The dress of the men of the middle and higher classes consists of the
following articles.[49] First, a pair of full drawers[50] of linen or
cotton, tied round the body by a running string or band,[51] the ends of
which are embroidered with coloured silks, though concealed by the outer
dress. The drawers descend a little below the knees, or to the ankles;
but many of the Arabs will not wear long drawers, because prohibited by
the Prophet. Next is worn a shirt, with very full sleeves, reaching to
the wrist; it is made of linen, of a loose, open texture, or of cotton
stuff, or of muslin or silk, or of a mixture of silk and cotton, in
stripes, but all white.[52] Over this, in winter, or in cool weather,
most persons wear a “sudeyree,” which is a short vest of cloth, or of
striped coloured silk and cotton, without sleeves. Over the shirt and
sudeyree, or the former alone, is worn a long vest of striped silk and
cotton[53] (called “kaftán,” or more commonly “kuftán”), descending to
the ankles, with long sleeves extending a few inches beyond the fingers’
ends, but divided from a point a little above the wrist, or about the
middle of the fore-arm; so that the hand is generally exposed, though it
may be concealed by the sleeve when necessary, for it is customary to
cover the hands in the presence of a person of high rank. Round this
vest is wound the girdle, which is a coloured shawl, or a long piece of
white figured muslin. The ordinary outer robe is a long cloth coat, of
any colour (called by the Turks “jubbeh,” but by the Egyptians
“gibbeh”), the sleeves of which reach not quite to the wrist.[54] Some
persons also wear a “beneesh,” or “benish,” which is a robe of cloth,
with long sleeves, like those of the kuftán, but more ample;[55] it is
properly a robe of ceremony, and should be worn over the other cloth
coat; but many persons wear it _instead_ of the gibbeh. Another robe,
called “farageeyeh,” nearly resembles the beneesh. It has very long
sleeves, but these are not slit, and it is chiefly worn by men of the
learned professions. In cold or cool weather, a kind of black woollen
cloak, called “’abáyeh,” is commonly worn. Sometimes this is drawn over
the head. In winter also many persons wrap a muslin or other shawl (such
as they use for a turban) about the head and shoulders. The head-dress
consists, first, of a small, close-fitting, cotton cap,[56] which is
often changed; next, a “tarboosh,” which is a red cloth cap, also
fitting closely to the head, with a tassel of dark blue silk at the
crown; lastly, a long piece of white muslin, generally figured, or a
Kashmeer shawl, which is wound round the tarboosh. Thus is formed the
turban. The Kashmeer shawl is seldom worn excepting in cool weather.
Some persons wear two or three tarbooshes, one over another. A “shereef”
(or descendant of the Prophet) wears a green turban, or is privileged to
do so; but no other person; and it is not common for any but a shereef
to wear a bright green dress. Stockings are not in use; but some few
persons, in cold weather, wear woollen or cotton socks. The shoes are of
thick red morocco, pointed and turning up at the toes. Some persons also
wear inner shoes of soft yellow morocco, and with soles of the same. The
outer shoes are taken off on stepping upon a carpet or mat; but not the
inner, for this reason—the former are often worn turned down at the
heel.
On the little finger of the right hand is worn a seal-ring,[57] which is
generally of silver, with a carnelion, or other stone, upon which is
engraved the wearer’s name: the name is usually accompanied by the words
“his servant” (signifying “the servant, or worshipper, of God”), and
often by other words expressive of the person’s trust in God, etc.[58]
The prophet disapproved of gold; therefore few Muslims wear gold rings;
but the women have various ornaments (rings, bracelets, etc.) of that
precious metal. The seal-ring is used for signing letters and other
writings, and its impression is considered more valid than the
sign-manual.[59] A little ink is dabbed upon it with one of the fingers,
and it is pressed upon the paper, the person who uses it having first
touched his tongue with another finger and moistened the place in the
paper which is to be stamped. Almost every person who can afford it has
a seal-ring, even though he be a servant. The regular scribes, literary
men, and many others, wear a silver, brass, or copper “dawáyeh,” which
is a case with receptacles for ink and pens, stuck in the girdle.[60]
Some have, in the place of this, or in addition to it, a case-knife or a
dagger.
The Egyptian generally takes his pipe with him wherever he goes (unless
it be to the mosque), or has a servant to carry it, though it is not a
common custom to smoke while riding or walking. The tobacco-purse he
crams into his bosom, the kuftán being large, and lapping over in front.
A handkerchief, embroidered with coloured silks and gold, and neatly
folded, is also placed in the bosom. Many persons of the middle orders,
who wish to avoid being thought rich, conceal such a dress as I have
described by a long black gown of cotton, similar to the gown worn by
most persons of the lower classes.
The costume of the men of the lower orders is very simple. These, if not
of the very poorest class, wear a pair of drawers, and a long and full
shirt or gown of blue linen or cotton, or of brown woollen stuff (the
former called “’eree,” and the latter “zaaboot”), open from the neck
nearly to the waist, and having wide sleeves.[61] Over this some wear a
white or red woollen girdle. Their turban is generally composed of a
white, red, or yellow woollen shawl, or of a piece of coarse cotton or
muslin wound round a tarboosh, under which is a white or brown felt cap;
but many are so poor as to have no other cap than the latter—no turban,
nor even drawers nor shoes, but only the blue or brown shirt, or merely
a few rags; while many, on the other hand, wear a sudeyree under the
blue shirt; and some, particularly servants in the houses of great men,
wear a white shirt, a sudeyree, and a kuftán or gibbeh, or both, and the
blue shirt over all. The full sleeves of this shirt are sometimes drawn
up by means of cords, which pass round each shoulder and cross behind,
where they are tied in a knot. This custom is adopted by servants
(particularly grooms) who have cords of crimson or dark-blue silk for
this purpose. In cold weather many persons of the lower classes wear an
’abáyeh, like that before described, but coarser, and sometimes (instead
of being black) having broad stripes, brown and white, or blue and
white, but the latter rarely. Another kind of cloak, more full than the
’abáyeh, of black or deep-blue woollen stuff, is also very commonly
worn; it is called “diffeeyeh.”[62] The shoes are of red or yellow
morocco, or of sheep-skin.
[Illustration: FELLAHEEN.]
Several different forms of turbans are represented in some of the
engravings which illustrate this work. The Muslims are distinguished by
the colours of their turbans from the Copts and the Jews, who (as well
as other subjects of the Turkish Sultán who are not Muslims) wear black,
blue, grey, or light-brown turbans, and generally dull-coloured dresses.
The distinction of sects, families, dynasties, etc., among the Muslim
Arabs, by the colour of the turban and other articles of dress, is of
very early origin. When the Imám Ibráheem Ibn-Mohammad, asserting his
pretensions to the dignity of Khaleefeh,[63] was put to death by the
Umawee Khaleefeh Marwán, many persons of the family of El-’Abbás assumed
black clothing in testimony of their sorrow for his fate; and hence the
black dress and turban (which latter is now characteristic, almost
solely, of Christian and Jewish tributaries to the Osmánlee, or Turkish,
Sultán) became the distinguishing costume of the Abbásee Khaleefehs, and
of their officers. When an officer under this dynasty was disgraced, he
was made to wear a white dress. White was adopted by the false prophet
El-Mukanna’, to distinguish his party from the ’Abbásees; and the
Fawátim of Egypt (or Khaleefehs of the race of Fátimeh), as rivals of
the ’Abbásees, wore a white costume. El-Melik El-Ashraf Shaabán, a
Sultán of Egypt (who reigned from the year of the Flight 764 to 778, or
A.D. 1362 to 1376), was the first who ordered the “shereefs” to
distinguish themselves by the green turban and dress. Some darweeshes of
the sect of the Rifá’ees, and a few, but very few, other Muslims, wear a
turban of black woollen stuff, or of a very deep olive-coloured (almost
black) muslin; but that of the Copts, Jews, etc., is generally of black
or blue muslin, or linen. There are not many different _forms_ of
turbans now worn in Egypt: that worn by most of the servants is very
formal. The kind common among the middle and higher classes of the
tradesmen and other citizens of the metropolis and large towns is also
very formal, but less so than that just before alluded to. The Turkish
turban worn in Egypt is of a more elegant mode. The Syrian is
distinguished by its width. The ’Ulama, and men of religion and letters
in general, used to wear, as some do still, one particularly wide and
formal, called a “mukleh.” The turban is much respected. In the houses
of the more wealthy classes, there is usually a chair on which it is
placed at night. This is often sent with the furniture of a bride, as it
is common for a lady to have one upon which to place her head-dress.
This kind of chair is never used for any other purpose. As an instance
of the respect paid to the turban, one of my friends mentioned to me
that an ’álim[64] being thrown off his donkey in a street of this city,
his mukleh fell off, and rolled along several yards, whereupon the
passengers ran after it, crying, “Lift up the crown of El-Islám!” while
the poor ’álim, whom no one came to assist, called out in anger, “Lift
up the _sheykh_[65] of El-Islám!”
[Illustration: AN EYE ORNAMENTED WITH KOHL.]
[Illustration:
MUK-HUL’AHS AND MIRWEDS.
These are represented on scales of one-third, and a quarter, of the
real size.
]
The general form and features of the _women_ must now be described. From
the age of about fourteen to that of eighteen or twenty, they are
generally models of beauty in body and limbs; and in countenance most of
them are pleasing, and many exceedingly lovely: but soon after they have
attained their perfect growth, they rapidly decline; the bosom early
loses all its beauty, acquiring, from the relaxing nature of the
climate, an excessive length and flatness in its forms, even while the
face retains its full charms; and though, in most other respects, time
does not commonly so soon nor so much deform them, at the age of forty
it renders many, who in earlier years possessed considerable
attractions, absolutely ugly. In the Egyptian females, the forms of
womanhood begin to develop themselves about the ninth or tenth year: at
the age of fifteen or sixteen they generally attain their highest degree
of perfection. With regard to their complexions, the same remarks apply
to them as to the men, with only this difference, that their faces,
being generally veiled when they go abroad, are not quite so much tanned
as those of the men. They are characterized, like the men, by a fine
oval countenance; though, in some instances, it is rather broad. The
eyes, with very few exceptions, are black, large, and of a long
almond-form, with long and beautiful lashes and an exquisitely soft,
bewitching expression: eyes more beautiful can hardly be conceived:
their charming effect is much heightened by the concealment of the other
features (however pleasing the latter may be), and is rendered still
more striking by a practice universal among the females of the higher
and middle classes, and very common among those of the lower orders,
which is that of blackening the edge of the eyelids, both above and
below the eye, with a black powder called “kohl.” This is a collyrium
commonly composed of the smoke-black which is produced by burning a kind
of “liban”—an aromatic resin—a species of frankincense, used, I am told,
in preference to the better kind of frankincense, as being cheaper, and
equally good for this purpose. Kohl is also prepared of the smoke-black
produced by burning the shells of almonds. These two kinds, though
believed to be beneficial to the eyes, are used merely for ornament; but
there are several kinds used for their real or supposed medical
properties; particularly the powder of several kinds of lead ore, to
which are often added sarcocolla, long pepper, sugar-candy, fine dust of
a Venetian sequin, and sometimes powdered pearls. Antimony, it is said,
was formerly used for painting the edges of the eyelids. The kohl is
applied with a small probe, of wood, ivory, or silver, tapering towards
the end, but blunt. This is moistened, sometimes with rose water, then
dipped in the powder, and drawn along the edges of the eyelids: it is
called “mirwed;” and the glass vessel in which the kohl is kept
“muk-hul’ah.” The custom of thus ornamenting the eyes prevailed among
both sexes in Egypt in very ancient times: this is shown by the
sculptures and paintings in the temples and tombs of this country; and
kohl vessels, with the probes, and even with remains of the black
powder, have often been found in the ancient tombs. I have two in my
possession. But in many cases the ancient mode of ornamenting with the
kohl was a little different from the modern, as shown by the subjoined
sketch: I have, however, seen this ancient mode practised in the present
day in the neighbourhood of Cairo, though I only remember to have
noticed it in two instances. The same custom existed among the ancient
Greek ladies, and among the Jewish women in early times.[66] The eyes of
the Egyptian women are generally the most beautiful of their features.
Countenances altogether handsome are far less common among this race
than handsome figures; but I have seen among them faces distinguished by
a style of beauty possessing such sweetness of expression, that they
have struck me as exhibiting the perfection of female loveliness, and
impressed me with the idea (perhaps not false) that their equals could
not be found in any other country. With such eyes as many of them have,
the face must be handsome, if its other features be but moderately well
formed.[67] The nose is generally straight; the lips are mostly rather
fuller than those of the men, but not in the least degree partaking of
the negro character. The hair is of that deep, glossy black, which best
suits all but fair complexions: in some instances it is rather coarse
and crisp, but never woolly.
[Illustration: ANCIENT VESSEL AND PROBE FOR KOHL.]
[Illustration: AN EYE AND EYEBROW ORNAMENTED WITH KOHL, AS REPRESENTED
IN ANCIENT PAINTINGS.]
[Illustration: HANDS AND FEET STAINED WITH HENNA.]
The females of the higher and middle classes, and many of the poorer
women, stain certain parts of their hands and feet (which are, with very
few exceptions, beautifully formed) with the leaves of the henna
tree,[68] which impart a yellowish red, or deep orange colour. Many thus
dye only the nails of the fingers and toes; others extend the dye as
high as the first joint of each finger and toe; some also make a stripe
along the next row of joints; and there are several other fanciful modes
of applying the henna; but the most common practice is to dye the tips
of the fingers and toes as high as the first joint, and the whole of the
inside of the hand and the sole of the foot;[69] adding, though not
always, the stripe above mentioned along the middle joints of the
fingers, and a similar stripe a little above the toes. The henna is
prepared for this use merely by being powdered and mixed with a little
water, so as to form a paste. Some of this paste being spread in the
palm of the hand, and on other parts of it which are to be dyed, and the
fingers being doubled, and their extremities inserted into the paste in
the palm, the whole hand is tightly bound with linen, and remains thus
during a whole night. In a similar manner it is applied to the feet. The
colour does not disappear until after many days: it is generally renewed
after about a fortnight or three weeks. This custom prevails not only in
Egypt, but in several other countries of the East, which are supplied
with henna from the banks of the Nile. To the nails the henna imparts a
more bright, clear, and permanent colour than to the skin. When this dye
alone is applied to the nails, or to a larger portion of the fingers and
toes, it may, with some reason, be regarded as an embellishment, for it
makes the general complexion of the hand and foot appear more delicate;
but many ladies stain their hands in a manner much less agreeable to our
taste: by applying, immediately after the removal of the paste of henna,
another paste, composed of quick-lime, common smoke-black, and
linseed-oil, they convert the tint of the henna to a black, or to a
blackish olive hue. Ladies in Egypt are often seen with their nails
stained with this colour, or with their fingers of the same dark hue
from the extremity to the first joint, red from the first to the second
joint, and of the former colour from the second to the third joint, with
the palm also stained in a similar manner, having a broad, dark stripe
across the middle, and the rest left red; the thumb dark from the
extremity to the first joint, and red from the first to the second
joint. Some, after a more simple fashion, blacken the ends of the
fingers and the whole of the inside of the hand.
-------------------------------------------
[Illustration: A LADY IN THE DRESS WORN IN PRIVATE.]
_Lane’s Modern Egyptians_] [_Page 33_
-------------------------------------------
Among the females of the lower orders, in the country-towns and villages
of Egypt, and among the same classes in the metropolis, but in a less
degree, prevails a custom somewhat similar to that above described: it
consists in making indelible marks of a blue or greenish hue upon the
face and other parts, or, at least, upon the front of the chin, and upon
the back of the right hand, and often also upon the left hand, the right
arm, or both arms, the feet, the middle of the bosom, and the forehead:
the most common of these marks made upon the chin and hands are here
represented. The operation is performed with several needles (generally
seven) tied together: with these the skin is pricked in the desired
pattern: some smoke-black (of wood or oil), mixed with milk from the
breast of a woman, is then rubbed in; and about a week after, before the
skin has healed, a paste of the pounded fresh leaves of white beet or
clover is applied, and gives a blue or greenish colour to the marks: or,
to produce the same effect in a more simple manner, some indigo is
rubbed into the punctures, instead of the smoke-black, etc. It is
generally performed at the age of about five or six years, and by
gipsy-women. The term applied to it is “dakk.” Most of the females of
the higher parts of Upper Egypt, who are of a very dark complexion,
tattoo their lips instead of the parts above-mentioned; thus converting
their natural colour to a dull, bluish hue, which, to the eye of a
stranger, is extremely displeasing.[70]
[Illustration: A TATTOOED GIRL.]
[Illustration: SPECIMENS OF TATTOOING ON THE CHIN.]
[Illustration: TATTOOED HANDS AND FOOT.]
Another characteristic of the Egyptian women that should be here
mentioned is their upright carriage and gait. This is most remarkable in
the female peasantry, owing, doubtless, in a great measure, to their
habit of bearing a heavy earthen water-vessel, and other burthens, upon
the head.
[Illustration:
A LADY ADORNED WITH THE KURS AND SAFA, ETC.
(The Hand is partially stained with Henna.)
]
The dress of the women of the middle and higher orders is handsome and
elegant. Their shirt is very full, like that of the men—but rather
shorter—reaching not quite to the knees: it is also, generally, of the
same kind of material as the men’s shirt, or of coloured crape—sometimes
black. A pair of very wide trousers (called “shintiyán”), of a coloured
striped stuff of silk and cotton, or of printed, or worked, or plain
white muslin, is tied round the hips, under the shirt, with a dikkeh:
its lower extremities are drawn up and tied just below the knee with
running strings; but it is sufficiently long to hang down to the feet,
or almost to the ground, when attached in this manner. Over the shirt
and shintiyán is worn a long vest (called “yelek”), of the same material
as the latter: it nearly resembles the kuftán of the men; but is more
tight to the body and arms: the sleeves also are longer; and it is made
to button down the front, from the bosom to a little below the girdle,
instead of lapping over: it is open, likewise, on each side, from the
height of the hip, downwards. In general the yelek is cut in such a
manner as to leave half of the bosom uncovered, except by the shirt; but
many ladies have it made more ample at that part: and, according to the
most approved fashion, it should be of a sufficient length to reach to
the ground, or should exceed that length by two of three inches, or
more. A short vest (called “anter′ee”), reaching only a little below the
waist, and exactly resembling a yelek of which the lower part has been
cut off, is sometimes worn instead of the latter. A square shawl, or an
embroidered kerchief, doubled diagonally, is put loosely round the waist
as a girdle; the two corners that are folded together hanging down
behind. Over the yelek is worn a gibbeh of cloth, or velvet, or silk,
usually embroidered with gold or with coloured silk: it differs in form
from the gibbeh of the men chiefly in being not so wide; particularly in
the fore part; and is of the same length as the yelek. Instead of this,
a jacket (called “saltah”), generally of cloth or velvet, and
embroidered in the same manner as the gibbeh, is often worn. The
head-dress consists of a tákeeyeh and tarboosh, with a square kerchief
(called “faroodeeyeh”) of printed or painted muslin, or one of crape,
wound tightly round, composing what is called a “rabtah.” Two or more
such kerchiefs were commonly used, a short time since, and are still
sometimes, to form the ladies’ turban, but always wound in a high, flat
shape, very different from that of the turban of the men. A kind of
crown, called “kurs,” and other ornaments, are attached to the ladies’
head-dress: descriptions and engravings of these and other ornaments of
the women of Egypt will be found in the Appendix to this work. A long
piece of white muslin embroidered at each end with coloured silks and
gold, or of coloured crape ornamented with gold thread, etc., and
spangles, rests upon the head, and hangs down behind, nearly or quite to
the ground: this is called “tarhah”—it is the head-veil: the face-veil I
shall presently describe. The hair, excepting over the forehead and
temples, is divided into numerous braids or plaits, generally from
eleven to twenty-five in number, but always of an _uneven_ number: these
hang down the back. To each braid of hair are usually added three black
silk cords, with little ornaments of gold, etc., attached to them. For a
description of these, which are called “safa,” I refer to the Appendix.
Over the forehead the hair is cut rather short; but two full locks hang
down on each side of the face: these are often curled in ringlets, and
sometimes plaited.[71] Few of the ladies of Egypt wear stockings or
socks, but many of them wear “mezz” (or inner shoes), of yellow or red
morocco, sometimes embroidered with gold: over these, whenever they step
off the matted or carpeted part of the floor, they put on “báboog” (or
slippers) of yellow morocco, with high, pointed toes; or use high wooden
clogs or pattens, generally from four to nine inches in height, and
usually ornamented with mother-of-pearl, or silver, etc. These are
always used in the bath by men and women; but not by many ladies at
home: some ladies wear them merely to keep their skirts from trailing on
the ground: others, to make themselves appear tall.—Such is the dress
which is worn by the Egyptian ladies in the house.
[Illustration: LADY ATTIRED FOR RIDING OR WALKING.]
The riding or walking attire is called “tezyeereh.” Whenever a lady
leaves the house, she wears, in addition to what has been above
described, first a large, loose gown (called “tób,” or “sebleh”), the
sleeves of which are nearly equal in width to the whole length of the
gown:[72] it is of silk; generally of a pink, or rose, or violet colour.
Next is put on the “burko’,” or face-veil, which is a long strip of
white muslin, concealing the whole of the face except the eyes, and
reaching nearly to the feet. It is suspended at the top by a narrow
band, which passes up the forehead, and which is sewed, as are also the
two upper corners of the veil, to a band that is tied round the head.
The lady then covers herself with a “habarah,” which, for a married
lady, is composed of two breadths of glossy, black silk, each ell-wide,
and three yards long: these are sewed together, at or near the selvages
(according to the height of the person); the seam running horizontally,
with respect to the manner in which it is worn: a piece of narrow black
riband is sewed inside the upper part, about six inches from the edge,
to tie round the head. This covering is always worn in the manner shown
by the accompanying sketch. The unmarried ladies wear a habarah of white
silk, or a shawl. Some females of the middle classes, who cannot afford
to purchase a habarah, wear instead of it an “eezár”; which is a piece
of white calico, of the same form and size as the former, and is worn in
the same manner. On the feet are worn short boots or socks (called
“khuff”), of yellow morocco, and over these the “báboog.”
This dress, though chiefly designed for females of the higher classes,
who are seldom seen in public on foot, is worn by many women who cannot
often afford so far to imitate their superiors as to hire an ass to
carry them. It is extremely inconvenient as a walking attire. Viewing it
as a disguise for whatever is attractive or graceful in the person and
adornments of the wearer, we should not find fault with it for being
itself deficient in grace: we must remark, however, that, in one
respect, it fails in accomplishing its main purpose; displaying the
eyes, which are almost always beautiful; making them to appear still
more so by concealing the other features, which are seldom of equal
beauty; and often causing the stranger to imagine a defective face
perfectly charming. The veil is of very remote antiquity;[73] but, from
the sculptures and paintings of the ancient Egyptians, it seems not to
have been worn by the females of that nation.
[Illustration: FELLAH WOMEN.]
The dress of a large proportion of those women of the lower orders who
are not of the poorest class consists of a pair of trousers or drawers
(similar in form to the shintiyán of the ladies, but generally of plain
white cotton or linen), a blue linen or cotton shirt (not quite so full
as that of the men), a burko’ of a kind of coarse black crape,[74] and a
dark blue tarhah of muslin or linen. Some wear over the shirt, or
instead of the latter, a linen tób, of the same form as that of the
ladies. The sleeves of this are often turned up over the head; either to
prevent their being incommodious, or to supply the place of a tarhah. In
addition to these articles of dress, many women who are not of the very
poor classes wear, as a covering, a kind of plaid, similar in form to
the habarah, composed of two pieces of cotton, woven in small chequers
of blue and white, or cross stripes, with a mixture of red at each end.
It is called “miláyeh:”[75] in general it is worn in the same manner as
the habarah; but sometimes like the tarhah.[76] The upper part of the
black burko’ is often ornamented with false pearls, small gold coins,
and other little flat ornaments of the same metal (called “bark”);
sometimes with a coral bead, and a gold coin beneath; also with small
coins of base silver; and more commonly with a pair of chain tassels, of
brass or silver (called “’oyoon”), attached to the corners. A square
black silk kerchief (called “’asbeh”), with a border of red and yellow,
is bound round the head, doubled diagonally, and tied with a single knot
behind; or, instead of this, the tarboosh and faroodeeyeh are worn,
though by very few women of the lower classes. The best kind of shoes
worn by the females of the lower orders are of red morocco, turned up,
but round at the toes. The burko’ and shoes are most common in Cairo,
and are also worn by many of the women throughout Lower Egypt; but in
Upper Egypt, the burko’ is very seldom seen, and shoes are scarcely less
uncommon. To supply the place of the former, when necessary, a portion
of the tarhah is drawn before the face, so as to conceal nearly all the
countenance excepting one eye. Many of the women of the lower orders,
even in the metropolis, never conceal their faces. Throughout the
greater part of Egypt the most common dress of the women merely consists
of the blue shirt, or tób, and tarhah. In the southern parts of Upper
Egypt, chiefly above Akhmeem, most of the women envelop themselves in a
large piece of dark brown woollen stuff (called a “hulaleeyeh”),
wrapping it round the body, and attaching the upper parts together over
each shoulder;[77] and a piece of the same they use as a tarhah. This
dull dress, though picturesque, is almost as disguising as the blue
tinge which, as I have before mentioned, the women in these parts of
Egypt impart to their lips. Most of the women of the lower orders wear a
variety of trumpery ornaments, such as ear-rings, necklaces, bracelets,
etc., and sometimes a nose-ring. Descriptions and engravings of some of
these ornaments will be given in the Appendix.
[Illustration: ORNAMENTED BLACK VEILS.]
Only one of these (that to the right) is represented in its whole
length.] The women of Egypt deem it more incumbent upon them to cover
the upper and back part of the head than the face; and more requisite to
conceal the face than most other parts of the person. I have often seen,
in this country, women but half covered with miserable rags; and several
times, females in the prime of womanhood, and others in more advanced
age, with nothing on the body but a narrow strip of rag bound round the
hips.
-----
Footnote 39:
This term was formerly used to designate the Arabian _townspeople_ and
_villagers_, while the Arabs who dwelt in the _Desert_ were called
“Aaráb,” or “Aarábees.” The Arabs dwelling in houses now term
themselves “Owlád-el-’Arab,” or Sons of the Arabs.
Footnote 40:
Feminine, “Bedaweeyeh.”
Footnote 41:
In the feminine, “Masreeyeh,” “Bint-Masr,” and “Bint-el-Beled.”
Footnote 42:
Feminine, “Felláhah.”
Footnote 43:
Thus commonly pronounced for “Fir’own.”
Footnote 44:
Tooth-ache is, however, a very common disorder in Egypt, as it was in
ancient times. This, at least, was probably the case, as Herodotus
(lib. ii., cap. 84) mentions dentists among the classes of Egyptian
physicians. It is, of course, most prevalent among the higher orders.
Footnote 45:
A few of the servants, and some others, shave their beards. The
respect which Orientals in general pay to the beard has often been
remarked. They swear by it, and say that a man disgraces it by an evil
action. The punishment recorded in 2 Samuel, ch. x., v. 4, has
frequently been practised in modern times, but not so often as the
shaving of the whole of the beard.
Footnote 46:
The Muslims hold it to be inconsistent with the honour that is due to
everything that has appertained to the human body to leave upon the
ground the shavings or clippings of hair, the parings of nails, etc.,
which, therefore, they generally bury in the earth.
Footnote 47:
Persons of literary and religious professions generally disapprove of
the shoosheh.
Footnote 48:
They are mentioned in the “Mishcát-ul-Masábih,” vol. ii., p. 359, and
are observed by both sexes.
Footnote 49:
The fashion of their dress remains almost the same during the lapse of
centuries.
Footnote 50:
In Arabic, “libás.”
Footnote 51:
Called “dikkeh,” or “tikkeh.”
Footnote 52:
The Prophet forbade men to wear silk clothing, but allowed women to do
so. The prohibition is, however, attended to by very few modern
Muslims, excepting the Wahhábees.
Footnote 53:
The stripes are seldom plain; they are generally figured or flowered.
Footnote 54:
See the foremost figure in the accompanying engraving.
Footnote 55:
See the figure to the left in the same engraving.
Footnote 56:
Called “tákeeyeh,” or “’arakeeyeh.”
Footnote 57:
“Khátim.”—It is _allowable_ to wear it on a finger of the _left_ hand.
Footnote 58:
See St. John’s Gospel iii. 33; and Exodus xxxix. 30.
Footnote 59:
Therefore, giving the ring to another person is the utmost mark of
confidence.—See Genesis xli. 42.
Footnote 60:
This is a very ancient custom.—See Ezekiel ix. 2, 3, 11. The dawáyeh
is represented in a cut in Chapter IX.
Footnote 61:
The zaaboot is mostly worn in the winter.
Footnote 62:
A kind of blue and white plaid (called “miláyeh”) is also worn by some
men, but more commonly by women, in the account of whose dress it will
be further described: the men throw it over the shoulders, or wrap it
about the body.
Footnote 63:
Commonly written by English authors “Caliph,” or “Khalif.”
Footnote 64:
This appellation (of which “’ulama” is the plural) signifies a man of
science or learning.
Footnote 65:
“Sheykh” here signifies _master_, or _doctor_.
Footnote 66:
See 2 Kings ix. 30 (where, in our common version, we find the words,
“painted her face” for “painted her eyes”), and Ezekiel xxiii. 40.
Footnote 67:
Scissors are often used to reduce the width of the eye-brows, and to
give them a more arched form.
Footnote 68:
_Lawsonia inermis_; also called “Egyptian privet.”
Footnote 69:
The application of this dye to the palms of the hands and the soles of
the feet is said to have an agreeable effect upon the skin;
particularly to prevent its being too tender and sensitive.
Footnote 70:
The depilatory most commonly used by the Egyptian women is a kind of
resin, called libán shámee, applied in a melted state: but this, they
pretend, is not always necessary: by applying the blood of a bat to
the skin of a newly-born female infant, on the parts where they wish
no hair to grow, they assert that they accomplish this desire. A
female upon whom this application has been made is termed
“muwatwatah”; from “watwát,” a bat. Some women pluck out the hair
after merely rubbing the part with the ashes of charcoal.
Footnote 71:
Egyptian women swear by the side-lock (as men do by the beard),
generally holding it when they utter the oath, “Wa-hayát maksoosee!”
Footnote 72:
This is similar in form to the tób of women of the lower orders.
Footnote 73:
See Genesis xxiv. 65; and Isaiah iii. 23. See also I Corinthians xi.
10, and a marginal note on that verse.
Footnote 74:
Some of those who are descended from the Prophet wear a green burko’.
Footnote 75:
For “muláäh.”
Footnote 76:
There is a superior kind of miláyeh, of silk, and of various colours;
but this is now seldom worn. The two pieces which compose the miláyeh
are sewed together, like those which compose the habarah.
Footnote 77:
The classical reader will recognise, in this picturesque garment, an
article of ancient Greek and Roman female attire.
CHAPTER II.
INFANCY AND EARLY EDUCATION.
In the rearing and general treatment of their children, the Muslims are
chiefly guided by the directions of their Prophet, and other religious
institutors. One of the first duties required to be performed on the
birth of a child is to pronounce the adán (or call to prayer) in the
infant’s right ear; and this should be done by a male. Some persons also
pronounce the ikámeh (which is nearly the same as the adán) in the left
ear. The object of each of these ceremonies is to preserve the infant
from the influence of the ginn, or genii. Another custom, observed with
the same view, is to say, “In the name of the Prophet and of his
cousin[78] ’Alee!”
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[Illustration: A WOMAN OF THE SOUTHERN PROVINCE OF UPPER EGYPT.
(Sketched at Thebes.)]
_Lane’s Modern Egyptians_] [_Page 42_
-------------------------------------------
It was a custom very common in Egypt, as in other Muslim countries, to
consult an astrologer previously to giving a name to a child, and to be
guided by his choice; but very few persons now conform with this old
usage: the father makes choice of a name for his son, and confers it
without any ceremony; a daughter is generally named by her mother. Boys
are often named after the Prophet (Mohammad, Ahmad, or Mustaf′a), or
some of the members of his family (’Alee, Hasan, Hoseyn, etc.), or his
eminent companions (’Omar, ’Osmán, ’Amr, etc.), or some of the prophets
and patriarchs of early times (as Ibráheem, Is-hák, Isma’eel, Yaakoob,
Moosa, Dáood, Suleymán, etc.), or receive a name signifying “Servant of
God,” “Servant of the Compassionate,” “Servant of the Powerful,” etc.
(’Abd-Allah, ’Abd-er-Rahmán, ’Abd-el-Kádir). Girls are mostly named
after the wives or the favourite daughter of the Arabian Prophet, or
after others of his family (as Khadeegeh, ’A’ïsheh, A′m’neh, Fát’meh,
Zeyneb), or are distinguished by a name implying that they are
“beloved,” “blessed,” “precious,” etc. (Mahboobeh, Mebrookeh, Nefeeseh,
etc.) or the name of a flower, or of some other pleasing object.[79]
As the proper name does not necessarily or generally descend from parent
to child, persons are usually distinguished by one or more surnames, of
the following kinds:—a surname of relationship; as “Aboo-’Alee”[80]
(Father of ’Alee), “Ibn-Ahmad” (Son of Ahmad), etc.:—a surname of
honour, or a nickname; as “Noor-ed-Deen” (The Light of the Religion),
“Et-Taweel” (The Tall), etc.:—an appellation relating to country,
birth-place, origin, family, sect, trade or occupation, etc.; as
“Er-Rasheedee” (of the town of Rasheed), “Es-Sabbágh” (The Dyer),
“Et-Tágir” (The Merchant). The second kind of surname, and that relating
to country, etc., are often inherited; thus becoming family-names. Each
kind of surname is now generally placed _after_ the proper name.
The dress of the children of the middle and higher orders is similar to
that of the parents, but generally slovenly. The children of the poor
are either clad in a shirt and a cotton skull-cap or a tarboosh, or (as
is mostly the case in the villages) are left quite naked until the age
of six or seven years or more, unless a bit of rag can be easily
obtained to serve them as a partial covering. Those little girls who
have only a piece of ragged stuff not large enough to cover both the
head and body generally prefer wearing it upon the head, and sometimes
have the coquetry to draw a part of it before the face, as a veil, while
the whole body is exposed. Little ladies, four or five years of age,
mostly wear the white face-veil, like their mothers. When a boy is two
or three years old, or often earlier, his head is shaven; a tuft of hair
only being left on the crown, and another over the forehead,[81] the
heads of female infants are seldom shaven. The young children, of both
sexes, are usually carried by their mothers and nurses, not in the arms,
but on the shoulder, seated astride:[82] and sometimes, for a short
distance, on the hip.
In the treatment of their children, the women of the wealthier classes
are remarkable for their excessive indulgence; and the poor, for the
little attention they bestow, beyond supplying the absolute wants of
nature. The mother is prohibited, by the Muslim law, from weaning her
child before the expiration of two years from the period of its birth,
unless with the consent of her husband, which, I am told, is generally
given after the first year or eighteen months. In the houses of the
wealthy, the child, whether boy or girl, remains almost constantly
confined in the hareem (or the woman’s apartments), or, at least, in the
house: sometimes the boy continues thus an effeminate prisoner until a
master, hired to instruct him daily, has taught him to read and write.
But it is important to observe, that an affectionate respect for parents
and elders inculcated in the hareem fits the boy for an abrupt
introduction into the world, as will presently be shown. When the ladies
go out to pay a visit, or to take an airing, mounted on asses, the
children generally go with them, each carried by a female slave or
servant, or seated between her knees upon the fore part of the saddle;
the female attendants, as well as the ladies, being usually borne by
asses, and it being the custom of all the women to sit astride. But it
is seldom that the children of the rich enjoy this slight diversion;
their health suffers from confinement and pampering, and they are often
rendered capricious, proud, and selfish. The women of the middle classes
are scarcely less indulgent mothers. The estimation in which the wife is
held by her husband, and even by her acquaintance, depends, in a great
degree, upon her fruitfulness, and upon the preservation of her
children; for by men and women, rich and poor, barrenness is still
considered, in the East, a curse and a reproach; and it is regarded as
disgraceful in a man to divorce, without some cogent reason, a wife who
has borne him a child, especially while her child is living. If,
therefore, a woman desire her husband’s love, or the respect of others,
her giving birth to a child is a source of great joy to herself and him,
and her own interest alone is a sufficient motive for maternal
tenderness. Very little expense is required, in Egypt, for the
maintenance of a numerous offspring.[83]
However much the children are caressed and fondled, in general they feel
and manifest a most profound and praiseworthy respect for their parents.
Disobedience to parents is considered by the Muslims as one of the
greatest of sins, and classed, in point of heinousness, with six other
sins, which are idolatry, murder, falsely accusing modest women of
adultery, wasting the property of orphans, taking usury, and desertion
in an expedition against infidels. An undutiful child is very seldom
heard of among the Egyptians or the Arabs in general. Among the middle
and higher classes, the child usually greets the father in the morning
by kissing his hand, and then stands before him in an humble attitude,
with the left hand covered by the right, to receive any order, or to
await his permission to depart; but after the respectful kiss, is often
taken on the lap; and nearly the same respect is shown towards the
mother. Other members of the family, according to age, relationship, and
station, are also similarly regarded by the young; and hence arise that
ease and propriety with which a child, emerging from the hareem,
conducts himself in every society, and that loyalty which is often
improperly regarded as the result of Eastern despotism.[84] Sons
scarcely ever sit, or eat, or smoke, in the presence of the father,
unless bidden to do so; and they often even wait upon him, and upon his
guests, at meals and on other occasions: they do not cease to act thus
when they have become men.—I once partook of breakfast with an Egyptian
merchant, before the door of his house, in the month of Ramadán (and
therefore a little after sunset); and though every person who passed by,
however poor, was invited to partake of the meal, we were waited upon by
two of my host’s sons; the elder about forty years of age. As they had
been fasting during the whole of the day, and had as yet only taken a
draught of water, I begged the father to allow them to sit down and eat
with us: he immediately told them that they might do so; but they
declined.—The mothers generally enjoy, in a greater degree than the
fathers, the affection of their children; though they do not receive
from them equal outward marks of respect. I have often known servants to
hoard their wages for their mothers, though seldom for their fathers.
With the exception of those of the wealthier classes, the young children
in Egypt, though objects of so much solicitude, are generally very
dirty, and shabbily clad. The stranger here is disgusted by the sight of
them, and at once condemns the modern Egyptians as a very filthy people,
without requiring any other reason for forming such an opinion of them;
but it is often the case that those children who are most petted and
beloved are the dirtiest, and worst clad. It is not uncommon to see, in
the city in which I am writing, a lady shuffling along in her ample tób
and habarah of new and rich and glistening silks, and one who scents the
whole street with the odour of musk or civet as she passes along, with
all that appears of her person scrupulously clean and delicate, her eyes
neatly bordered with kohl applied in the most careful manner, and the
tip of a finger or two showing the fresh dye of the henna, and by her
side a little boy or girl, her own child, with a face besmeared with
dirt, and with clothes appearing as though they had been worn for months
without being washed. Few things surprised me so much as sights of this
kind on my first arrival in this country. I naturally inquired the cause
of what struck me as so strange and inconsistent, and was informed that
the affectionate mothers thus neglected the appearance of their
children, and purposely left them unwashed, and clothed them so
shabbily, particularly when they had to take them out in public, _from
fear of the evil eye_, which is excessively dreaded, and especially in
the case of children, since they are generally esteemed the greatest of
blessings, and therefore most likely to be coveted. It is partly for the
same reason that many of them confine their boys so long in the hareem.
Some mothers even dress their young sons as girls, because the latter
are less obnoxious to envy.
The children of the poor have a yet more neglected appearance: besides
being very scantily clad, or quite naked, they are, in general,
excessively dirty: their eyes are frequently extremely filthy: it is
common to see half a dozen or more flies in each eye, unheeded and
unmolested. The parents consider it extremely injurious to wash, or even
touch, the eyes, when they discharge that acrid humour which attracts
the flies: they even affirm that the loss of sight would result from
frequently touching or washing them when thus affected; though washing
is really one of the best means of alleviating the complaint.
At the age of about five or six years, or sometimes later, the boy is
circumcised.[85] Previously to the performance of this rite in the
metropolis and other towns of Egypt, the parents of the youth, if not in
indigent circumstances, generally cause him to be paraded through
several streets in the neighbourhood of their dwelling. They mostly
avail themselves of the occurrence of a bridal procession, to lessen the
expenses of the parade: and, in this case, the boy and his attendants
lead the procession. He generally wears a red Kashmeer turban; but, in
other respects, is dressed as a girl, with a yelek and saltah, and with
a kurs, safa, and other female ornaments, to attract the eye, and so
divert it from his person.[86] These articles of dress are of the
richest description that can be procured: they are usually borrowed from
some lady, and much too large to fit the boy. A horse, handsomely
caparisoned, is also borrowed to convey him; and in his hand is placed a
folded embroidered handkerchief, which he constantly holds before his
mouth in his right hand, to hide part of his face, and thus protect
himself from the evil eye. He is preceded by a servant of the barber,
who is the operator, and by three or more musicians, whose instruments
are commonly a hautboy and drums. The foremost person in the procession
is generally the barber’s servant, bearing his “heml,” which is a case
of wood, of a semi-cylindrical form, with four short legs; its front
(the flat surface) covered with pieces of looking-glass and embossed
brass; and its back, with a curtain. This is merely the barber’s sign:
the servant carries it in the manner represented in the engraving here
inserted. The musicians follow next (or some of them precede the
“heml”), and then follows the boy; his horse led by a groom. Behind him
walk several of his female relations and friends. Two boys are often
paraded together, and sometimes borne by one horse. Of the bridal
processions, with which that above described is so often united, an
account will be found in the proper place. A description, also, of some
further customs observed on the occasion of a circumcision, and
particularly of a more genteel but less general mode of celebrating that
event, will be given in another chapter, relating to various private
festivities.[87]
The parents seldom devote much of their time or attention to the
intellectual education of their children; generally contenting
themselves with instilling into their young minds a few principles of
religion, and then submitting them, if they can afford to do so, to the
instruction of a schoolmaster. As early as possible, the child is taught
to say, “I testify that there is no deity but God; and I testify that
Mohammad is God’s Apostle.” He receives also lessons of religious pride,
and learns to hate the Christians, and all other sects but his own, as
thoroughly as does the Muslim in advanced age. Most of the children of
the higher and middle classes, and some of those of the lower orders,
are taught by the schoolmaster to read, and to recite and chant[88] the
whole or certain portions of the Kur-án by memory. They afterwards learn
the most common rules of arithmetic.
-------------------------------------------
[Illustration: PARADE PREVIOUS TO CIRCUMCISION.]
_Lane’s Modern Egyptians_] [_Page 48_
-------------------------------------------
Schools are very numerous, not only in the metropolis, but in every
large town; and there is one, at least, in every considerable village.
Almost every mosque, “sebeel” (or public fountain), and “hód” (or
drinking-place for cattle) in the metropolis has a “kuttáb” (or school)
attached to it, in which children are instructed for a very trifling
expense; the “sheykh” or “fikee”[89] (the master of the school)
receiving from the parent of each pupil half a piaster (about five
farthings of our money), or something more or less, every Thursday.[90]
The master of a school attached to a mosque or other public building in
Cairo also generally receives yearly a tarboosh, a piece of white muslin
for a turban, a piece of linen, and a pair of shoes; and each boy
receives, at the same time, a linen skull cap, four or five cubits[91]
of cotton cloth, and perhaps half a piece (ten or twelve cubits) of
linen, and a pair of shoes, and, in some cases, half a piaster or a
piaster. These presents are supplied by funds bequeathed to the school,
and are given in the month of Ramadán. The boys attend only during the
hours of instruction, and then return to their homes. The lessons are
generally written upon tablets of wood, painted white; and when one
lesson is learnt, the tablet is washed and another is written. They also
practise writing upon the same tablet. The schoolmaster and his pupils
sit upon the ground, and each boy has his tablet in his hands, or a copy
of the Kur-án, or of one of its thirty sections, on a little kind of
desk of palm-sticks. All who are learning to read, recite, or chant
their lessons aloud, at the same time rocking their heads or bodies
incessantly backwards and forwards; which practice is observed by almost
all persons in reciting the Kur-án; being thought to assist the memory.
The noise may be imagined.[92]
The boys first learn the letters of the alphabet; next, the vowel-points
and other orthographical marks; and then, the numerical value of each
letter of the alphabet.[93] Previously to this third stage of the
pupil’s progress, it is customary for the master to ornament the tablet
with black and red ink, and green paint, and to write upon it the
letters of the alphabet in the order of their respective numerical
values, and convey it to the father, who returns it with a piaster or
two placed upon it. The like is also done at several subsequent stages
of the boy’s progress, as when he begins to learn the Kur-án, and six or
seven times as he proceeds in learning the sacred book; each time the
next lesson being written on the tablet. When he has become acquainted
with the numerical values of the letters, the master writes for him some
simple words, as the names of men; then, the ninety-nine names or
epithets of God: next, the Fat’hah, or opening chapter of the Kur-án, is
written upon his tablet, and he reads it repeatedly until he has
perfectly committed it to memory. He then proceeds to learn the other
chapters of the Kur-án: after the first chapter he learns the last; then
the last but one; next the last but two, and so on, in inverted order,
ending with the second; as the chapters in general successively decrease
in length from the second to the last inclusively. It is seldom that the
master of a school teaches writing; and few boys learn to write unless
destined for some employment which absolutely requires that they should
do so; in which latter case they are generally taught the art of
writing, and likewise arithmetic, by a “kabbánee,” who is a person
employed to weigh goods in a market or bázár, with the steelyard. Those
who are to devote themselves to religion, or to any of the learned
professions, mostly pursue a regular course of study in the great mosque
El-Azhar.
The schoolmasters in Egypt are mostly persons of very little learning:
few of them are acquainted with any writings except the Kur-án, and
certain prayers, which, as well as the contents of the sacred volume,
they are hired to recite on particular occasions. I was lately told of a
man who could neither read nor write succeeding to the office of a
schoolmaster in my neighbourhood. Being able to recite the whole of the
Kur-án, he could hear the boys repeat their lessons: to write them, he
employed the “’areef” (or head boy and monitor in the school),
pretending that his eyes were weak. A few days after he had taken upon
himself this office, a poor woman brought a letter for him to read to
her from her son, who had gone on pilgrimage. The fikee pretended to
read it, but said nothing; and the woman, inferring from his silence
that the letter contained bad news, said to him, “Shall I shriek?” He
answered “Yes.” “Shall I tear my clothes?” she asked: he replied “Yes.”
So the poor woman returned to her house, and with her assembled friends
performed the lamentation and other ceremonies usual on the occasion of
a death. Not many days after this, her son arrived, and she asked him
what he could mean by causing a letter to be written stating that he was
dead? He explained the contents of the letter, and she went to the
schoolmaster and begged him to inform her why he had told her to shriek
and to tear her clothes, since the letter was to inform her that her son
was well, and he was now arrived at home. Not at all abashed, he said,
“God knows futurity! How could I know that your son would arrive in
safety? It was better that you should think him dead than be led to
expect to see him and perhaps be disappointed.” Some persons who were
sitting with him praised his wisdom, exclaiming, “Truly, our new fikee
is a man of unusual judgment!” and, for a little while, he found that he
had raised his reputation by this blunder.[94]
Some parents employ a sheykh or fikee to teach their boys at home. The
father usually teaches his son to perform the “wudoó,” and other
ablutions, and to say his prayers, and instructs him in other religious
and moral duties to the best of his ability. The Prophet directed his
followers to order their children to say their prayers when seven years
of age, and to beat them if they did not do so when ten years old; and
at the latter age to make them sleep in separate beds. In Egypt,
however, very few persons pray before they have attained to manhood.
The female children are very seldom taught to read or write; and not
many of them, even among the higher orders, learn to say their prayers.
Some of the rich engage a “sheykhah” (or learned woman) to visit the
hareem daily; to teach their daughters and female slaves to say their
prayers, and to recite a few chapters of the Kur-án; and sometimes to
instruct them in reading and writing; but these are very rare
accomplishments for females, even of the highest class in Egypt.[95]
There are many schools in which girls are taught plain needlework,
embroidery, etc. In families in easy circumstances a “m’allimeh,” or
female teacher of such kinds of work, is often engaged to attend the
girls at their own home.
-----
Footnote 78:
Literally, “the son of his paternal uncle.”
Footnote 79:
In Cairo, it is the fashion to change the first five female names here
mentioned, and the last, into Khaddoogeh, ’Eiyoosheh, Ammooneh,
Fattoomeh, Zennoobeh, and Neffooseh; and some other names are changed
to the same “measure” as these; which measure implies, in these cases,
a superior degree of dignity.
Footnote 80:
On an improper use of this kind of surname, see a note towards the
close of Chapter IV.
Footnote 81:
It is customary among the peasants throughout a great part of Egypt,
on the first occasion of shaving a child’s head, to slay a victim,
generally a goat, at the tomb of some saint in or near their village,
and to make a feast with the meat, of which their friends, and any
other persons who please, partake. This is most common in Upper Egypt,
and among the tribes not very long established on the banks of the
Nile. Their Pagan ancestors in Arabia observed this custom, and
usually gave, as alms to the poor, the weight of the hair in silver or
gold. The victim is called “’akeekah,” and is offered as a ransom for
the child from hell. The custom of shaving one part of a child’s head
and leaving another was forbidden by the Prophet.
Footnote 82:
See Isaiah xlix. 22.
Footnote 83:
It is mentioned by Diodorus Siculus (lib. i., cap. 20), that the
ancient Egyptians clothed and reared their children at a very trifling
expense.
Footnote 84:
“The structure of Eastern government is but the enlargement of the
paternal roof.” (Urquhart’s Spirit of the East, vol ii., p. 249.)
Footnote 85:
Among the peasants, not unfrequently at the age of twelve, thirteen,
or fourteen years.
Footnote 86:
For a description of the ornaments here mentioned see the Appendix:
the kurs and safa are also represented in a preceding engraving, page
36.
Footnote 87:
A custom mentioned by Strabo (p. 824), as prevailing among the
Egyptians in his time, is still universally practised in every part of
Egypt, both by the Muslims and Copts, excepting in Alexandria and
perhaps a few other places on the shore of the Mediterranean: it is
also common, if not equally prevalent, in Arabia. Reland, who
imperfectly describes this custom (De Religione Mohammedica, p. 75,
edit. 1717), remarks its being mentioned likewise by Galen.
Footnote 88:
See the Chapter on music.
Footnote 89:
This term is a corruption of “fakeeh,” which latter appellation is
generally given in Egypt only to a person deeply versed in religion
and law; a man who merely recites the Kur-án, etc., professionally, or
who teaches others to do so, being commonly called a “fikee.”
Footnote 90:
Friday, being the sabbath of the Muslims, is a holiday to the
school-boys and fikee.
Footnote 91:
The cubit employed in measuring Egyptian cloths is equal to twenty-two
inches and two-thirds.
Footnote 92:
The usual punishment is beating on the soles of the feet with a
palm-stick.
Footnote 93:
The Arabic letters are often used as numerals.
Footnote 94:
I have since found an anecdote almost exactly similar to the above in
the Cairo edition of the “Thousand and One Nights:” therefore either
my informant’s account is not strictly true, or the man alluded to by
him was, in the main, an imitator: the latter is not improbable, as I
have been credibly informed of several similar imitations, and of one
which I know to be a fact.
Footnote 95:
The young daughters of persons of the middle classes are sometimes
instructed with the boys in a public school; but they are usually
veiled, and hold no intercourse with the boys. I have often seen a
well-dressed girl reading the Kur-án in a boys’ school.
CHAPTER III.
RELIGION AND LAWS.
As the most important branch of their education, and the main foundation
of their manners and customs, the religion and laws of the people who
are the subject of these pages must be well understood—not only in their
general principles, but in many minor points—before we can proceed to
consider their social condition and habits in the state of manhood.
A difference of opinion among Muslims, respecting some points of
religion and law, has given rise to four sects, which consider each
other orthodox as to fundamental matters, and call themselves “Sunnees,”
or followers of the traditions; while they designate all other Muslims
by the term “Shiya’ees,” signifying, according to their acceptation,
“heretics.” The Sunnees alone are the class which we have to consider.
The four sects into which they are divided are the “Hanafees,”
“Sháfe’ees,” “Málikees,” and “Hambel′ees,”—so called from the names of
the respective doctors whose tenets they have adopted. The Turks are of
the first sect, which is the most reasonable. The inhabitants of Cairo,
a small proportion excepted (who are Hanafees), are either Sháfe’ees or
Málikees; and it is generally said that they are mostly of the former of
these sects, as are also the people of Arabia; those of the Sharkeeyeh,
on the east of the Delta, Sháfe’ees; those of the Gharbeeyeh, or Delta,
Sháfe’ees, with a few Málikees; those of the Boheyreh, on the west of
the Delta, Málikees. The inhabitants of the Sa’eed, or the valley of
Upper Egypt, are likewise, with few exceptions, Málikees; so also are
the Nubians, and the Western Arabs. To the fourth sect very few persons
in the present day belong. All these sects agree in deriving their code
of religion and law from four sources; namely, the Kur-án, the
traditions of the Prophet, the concordance of his early disciples, and
analogy.
The religion which Mohammad taught is generally called by the Arabs
“El-Islám.” “Eemán” and “Deen” are the particular terms applied,
respectively, to faith and practical religion.
The grand principles of the faith are expressed in two articles, the
first of which is this—
“_There is no deity but God._”
God, who created all things in heaven and in earth, who preserveth all
things, and decreeth all things, who is without beginning, and without
end, omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent, is _one_. His unity is
thus declared in a short chapter of the Kur-án[96]: “Say, He is God; one
[God]. God is the Eternal. He begetteth not, nor is He begotten; and
there is none equal unto Him.” He hath no partner, nor any offspring, in
the creed of the Muslim. Though Jesus Christ (whose name should not be
mentioned without adding, “on whom be peace”) is believed to have been
born of a pure virgin, by the miraculous operation of God,[97] without
any natural father, to be the Messiah, and “the Word of God, which He
transmitted unto Mary, and a Spirit [proceeding] from Him,”[98] yet he
is not called the Son of God; and no higher titles are given to him than
those of a Prophet and Apostle; he is even considered as of inferior
dignity to Mohammad, inasmuch as the Gospel is held to be superseded by
the Kurán. The Muslim believes that Seyyidna ’Eesa[99] (or “our Lord
Jesus”), after He had fulfilled the object of His mission, was taken up
unto God from the Jews, who sought to slay Him; and that another person,
on whom God had stamped the likeness of Christ, was crucified in His
stead.[100] He also believes that Christ is to come again upon the
earth, to establish the Muslim religion, and perfect peace and security,
after having killed Antichrist, and to be a sign of the approach of the
last day.
The other grand article of the faith, which cannot be believed without
the former, is this—
“_Mohammad is God’s Apostle._”
Mohammad is believed by his followers to have been the last and greatest
of Prophets and Apostles.[101] Six of these—namely, Adam, Noah, Abraham,
Moses, Jesus, and Mohammad—are believed each to have received a revealed
law, or system of religion and morality. That, however, which was
revealed to Adam was abrogated by the next; and each succeeding law, or
code of laws, abrogated the preceding, though all are believed to have
been the same in every essential point; therefore, those who professed
the Jewish religion from the time of Moses to that of Jesus were true
believers, and those who professed the Christian religion (uncorrupted,
as the Muslims say, by the tenet that Christ was the _son_ of God) until
the time of Mohammad are held, in like manner, to have been true
believers. But the copies of the Pentateuch, the Psalms of David (which
the Muslims also hold to be of divine origin), and the Gospels now
existing, are believed to have been so much altered as to contain very
little of the true word of God. The Kur-án is believed to have suffered
no alteration whatever.
It is further necessary that the Muslim should believe in the existence
of angels, and of good and evil genii; the evil genii being devils,
whose chief is Iblees:[102] also, in the immortality of the soul, the
general resurrection and judgment, in future rewards and punishments in
Paradise and Hell, in the balance in which good and evil works shall be
weighed, and in the bridge “Es-Sirát” (which extends over the midst of
Hell, finer than a hair, and sharper than the edge of a sword), over
which all must pass, and from which the wicked shall fall into Hell. He
believes, also, that they who have acknowledged the faith of El-Islám
and yet acted wickedly will not remain in Hell for ever; but that all of
other religions must: that there are, however, degrees of punishments,
as well as of rewards,—the former consisting in severe torture by
excessive heat and cold, and the latter, partly in the indulgence of the
appetites by most delicious meats and drinks, and in the pleasures
afforded by the company of the girls of Paradise, whose eyes will be
very large and entirely black,[103] and whose stature will be
proportioned to that of the men, which will be the height of a tall
palm-tree, or about sixty feet. Such, the Muslims generally believe, was
the height of our first parents. It is said that the souls of martyrs
reside, until the judgment, in the crops of green birds, which eat of
the fruits of Paradise and drink of its rivers.[104] Women are not to be
excluded from Paradise, according to the faith of El-Islám; though it
has been asserted, by many Christians, that the Muslims believe women to
have no souls. In several places in the Kur-án, Paradise is promised to
all true believers, whether males or females. It is the doctrine of the
Kur-án that no person will be admitted into Paradise by his own merits;
but that admission will be granted to the believers merely by the mercy
of God, on account of their faith; yet that the felicity of each person
will be proportioned to his good works. The very meanest in Paradise is
promised “eighty thousand servants” (beautiful youths, called
“weleeds”), “seventy-two wives of the girls of Paradise” (“hooreeyehs”),
“besides the wives he had in this world,” if he desire to have the
latter (and the good will doubtless desire the good), “and a tent
erected for him of pearls, jacinths, and emeralds, of a very large
extent;” “and will be waited on by three hundred attendants while he
eats, and served in dishes of gold, whereof three hundred shall be set
before him at once, each containing a different kind of food, the last
morsel of which will be as grateful as the first.” Wine also, “though
forbidden in this life, will yet be freely allowed to be drunk in the
next, and without danger, since the wine of Paradise will not
inebriate.”[105] We are further told, that all superfluities from the
bodies of the inhabitants of Paradise will be carried off by
perspiration, which will diffuse an odour like that of musk; and that
they will be clothed in the richest silks, chiefly of green. They are
also promised perpetual youth, and children as many as they may desire.
These pleasures, together with the songs of the angel Isráfeel, and many
other gratifications of the senses, will charm even the meanest
inhabitant of Paradise. But all these enjoyments will be lightly
esteemed by those more blessed persons who are to be admitted to the
highest of all honours—that spiritual pleasure of beholding, morning and
evening, the face of God.[106]—The Muslim must also believe in the
examination of the dead in the sepulchre, by two angels, called Munkar
and Nekeer, of terrible aspect, who will cause the body (to which the
soul shall, for the time, be re-united) to sit upright in the
grave,[107] and will question the deceased respecting his faith. The
wicked they will severely torture; but the good they will not hurt.
Lastly, he should believe in God’s absolute decree of every event, both
good and evil. This doctrine has given rise to as much controversy among
the Muslims as among Christians; but the former, generally, believe in
predestination as, in some respects, conditional.
The most important duties enjoined in the _ritual and moral laws_ are
_prayer, alms-giving, fasting_, and _pilgrimage_.
The religious _purifications_, which are of two kinds,—first, the
ordinary ablution preparatory to _prayer_, and secondly, the washing of
the whole body, together with the performance of the former
ablution,—are of primary importance: for prayer, which is a duty so
important that it is called “the Key of Paradise,” will not be accepted
from a person in a state of uncleanness. It is therefore also necessary
to avoid impurity by clipping the nails, and other similar
practices.[108]
There are partial washings, or purifications, which all Muslims perform
on certain occasions, even if they neglect their prayers, and which are
considered as religious acts.[109] The ablution called “el-wudoó,” which
is preparatory to prayer, I shall now describe. The purifications just
before alluded to are a part of the wudoó: the other washings are not,
of necessity, to be performed immediately after, but only when the
person is about to say his prayers; and these are performed in the
mosque or in the house, in public or in private. There is in every
mosque a tank (called “meydaäh”) or a “hanafeeyeh,” which is a raised
reservoir, with spouts round it, from which the water falls. In some
mosques there are both these. The Muslims of the Hanafee sect (of which
are the Turks) perform the ablution at the latter (which has received
its name from that cause); for they must do it with running water, or
from a tank or pool at least ten cubits in breadth, and the same in
depth; and I believe that there is only one meydaäh in Cairo of that
depth, which is in the great mosque El-Azhar. A small hanafeeyeh of
tinned copper, placed on a low shelf, and a large basin, or a small ewer
and basin of the same metal, are generally used in the house for the
performance of the wudoó.
The person, having tucked up his sleeves a little higher than his
elbows, says, in a low voice, or inaudibly, “I purpose performing the
wudoó, for prayer.”[110] He then washes his hands three times; saying,
in the same manner as before, “In the name of God, the Compassionate,
the Merciful! Praise be to God, who hath sent down water for
purification, and made El-Islám to be a light and a conductor, and a
guide to Thy gardens, the gardens of delight, and to Thy mansion, the
mansion of peace.” Then he rinses his mouth three times, throwing the
water into it with his right hand;[111] and in doing this he says, “O
God, assist me in the reading of Thy book, and in commemorating Thee,
and in thanking Thee, and in worshipping Thee well!” Next, with his
right hand, he throws water up his nostrils (snuffing it up at the same
time), and then blows it out, compressing his nostrils with the thumb
and finger of the _left_ hand; and this also is done three times. While
doing it, he says, “O God, make me to smell the odours of Paradise, and
bless me with its delights; and make me not to smell the smell of the
fires [of Hell].” He then washes his face three times, throwing up the
water with both hands, and saying, “O God, whiten my face with Thy
light, on the day when Thou shalt whiten the faces of Thy favourites;
and do not blacken my face, on the day when Thou shalt blacken the faces
of Thine enemies.”[112] His right hand and arm, as high as the elbow, he
next washes three times, and as many times causes some water to run
along his arm, from the palm of the hand to the elbow, saying, as he
does this, “O God, give me my book in my right hand;[113] and reckon
with me with an easy reckoning.” In the same manner he washes the left
hand and arm, saying, “O God, do not give me my book in my left hand,
nor behind my back; and do not reckon with me with a difficult
reckoning; nor make me to be one of the people of the fire.” He next
draws his wetted right hand over the upper part of his head, raising his
turban or cap with his left: this he does but once; and he accompanies
the action with this supplication, “O God, cover me with Thy mercy, and
pour down Thy blessing upon me; and shade me under the shadow of Thy
canopy, on the day when there shall be no shade but its shade.” If he
have a beard, he then combs it with the wetted fingers of his right
hand; holding his hand with the palm forwards, and passing the fingers
through his beard from the throat upwards. He then puts the tips of his
fore-fingers into his ears, and twists them round, passing his thumbs at
the same time round the back of the ears, from the bottom upwards; and
saying, “O God, make me to be of those who hear what is said, and obey
what is best;” or, “O God, make me to hear good.” Next he wipes his neck
with the back of the fingers of both hands, making the ends of his
fingers meet behind his neck, and then drawing them forward; and in
doing so, he says, “O God, free my neck from the fire; and keep me from
the chains, and the collars, and the fetters.” Lastly, he washes his
feet, as high as the ankles, and passes his fingers between the toes: he
washes the right foot first, saying, at the same time, “O God, make firm
my feet upon the Sirát, on the day when feet shall slip upon it:” on
washing the left foot, he says, “O God, make my labour to be approved,
and my sin forgiven, and my works accepted, merchandise that shall not
perish, by Thy pardon, O Mighty! O very Forgiving! by Thy mercy, O most
Merciful of those who show mercy!” After having thus completed the
ablution, he says, looking towards heaven, “Thy perfection, O God! [I
extol] with Thy praise: I testify that there is no deity but Thou alone:
Thou hast no companion: I implore Thy forgiveness, and turn to Thee with
repentance.” Then looking towards the earth, he adds, “I testify that
there is no deity but God: and I testify that Mohammad is His servant
and His apostle.” Having uttered these words, he should recite, once,
twice, or three times, the “Soorat el-Kadr,” or 97th chapter of the
Kur-án.
The wudoó is generally performed in less than two minutes; most persons
hurrying through the act, as well as omitting almost all the prayers,
etc., which should accompany and follow the actions. It is not required
before each of the five daily prayers, when the person is _conscious_ of
having avoided every kind of impurity since the last performance of this
ablution. When water cannot be easily procured, or would be injurious to
the health of the individual, he may perform the ablution with dust or
sand. This ceremony is called “tayemmum.” The person, in this case,
strikes the palms of his hands upon any dry dust or sand (it will
suffice to do so upon his cloth robe, as it must contain some dust),
and, with both hands, wipes his face: then, having struck his hands
again upon the dust, he wipes his right hand and arm as high as the
elbow; and then, the left hand and arm, in the same manner. This
completes the ceremony. The washing of the whole body is often performed
merely for the sake of cleanliness; but not as a religious act,
excepting on particular occasions—as on the morning of Friday, and on
the two grand festivals, etc.,[114] when it is called “ghusl.”
Cleanliness is required not only in the worshipper, but also in the
ground, mat, carpet, robe, or whatever else it be, upon which he prays.
Persons of the lower orders often pray upon the bare ground, which is
considered clean if it be dry; and they seldom wipe off immediately the
dust which adheres to the nose and forehead in prostration; for it is
regarded as ornamental to the believer’s face: but when a person has a
cloak or any other garment that he can take off without exposing his
person in an unbecoming manner, he spreads it upon the ground to serve
as a prayer-carpet. The rich use a prayer-carpet (called “seggádeh”)
about the size of a wide hearth-rug, having a niche represented upon it,
the point of which is turned towards Mekkeh.[115] It is reckoned sinful
to pass near before a person engaged in prayer.
_Prayer_ is called “salah.” Five times in the course of every day is its
performance required of the Muslim: but there are comparatively few
persons in Egypt who do not sometimes, or often, neglect this duty; and
many who scarcely ever pray. Certain portions of the ordinary prayers
are called “fard,” which are appointed by the Kur-án; and others,
“sunneh,” which are appointed by the Prophet, without allegation of a
divine order.
The first time of prayer commences at the “maghrib,” or sunset,[116] or
rather, about four minutes later; the second, at the “’eshë,” or
nightfall, when the evening has closed, and it is quite dark;[117] the
third, at the “subh” or “fegr;” _i.e._, daybreak;[118] the fourth, at
the “duhr,” or noon, or, rather, a little later, when the sun has begun
to decline; the fifth, at the “’asr,” or afternoon; _i.e._, about
mid-time between noon and nightfall.[119] Each period of prayer ends
when the next commences, excepting that of daybreak, which ends at
sunrise. The Prophet would not have his followers commence their prayers
at sunrise, nor exactly at noon or sunset, because, he said, infidels
worshipped the sun at such times.
Should the time of prayer arrive when they are eating, or about to eat,
they are not to rise to prayer till they have finished their meal. The
prayers should be said as nearly as possible at the commencement of the
periods above mentioned: they may be said after, but not before. The
several times of prayer are announced by the “muëddin” of each mosque.
Having ascended to the gallery of the “mád’neh,” or menaret, he chants
the “adán,” or call to prayer, which is as follows: “God is most Great!”
(this is said four times.) “I testify that there is no deity but God!”
(twice.) “I testify that Mohammad is God’s Apostle!” (twice.) “Come to
prayer!” (twice.) “Come to security!” (twice.)[120] “God is most Great!”
(twice.) “There is no deity but God!”—Most of the muëddins of Cairo have
harmonious and sonorous voices, which they strain to the utmost pitch:
yet there is a simple and solemn melody in their chants which is very
striking, particularly in the stillness of night.[121] _Blind_ men are
generally preferred for the office of muëddins, that the hareems and
terraces of surrounding houses may not be overlooked from the mád’nehs.
Two other calls to prayer are made during the night, to rouse those
persons who desire to perform supererogatory acts of devotion.[122] A
little after midnight, the muëddins of the great royal mosques in Cairo
(_i.e._, of each of the great mosques founded by a Sultán, which is
called “Gámë, Sultánee”), and of some other large mosques, ascend the
mád’nehs, and chant the following call, which, being one of the two
night-calls not at the regular periods of obligatory prayers, is called
the “Oola,” a term signifying merely the “First.” Having commenced by
chanting the common adán, with those words which are introduced in the
call to morning-prayer (“Prayer is better than sleep”), he adds, “There
is no deity but God” (three times) “alone: He hath no companion: to Him
belongeth the dominion; and to Him belongeth praise. He giveth life, and
causeth death; and He is living, and shall never die. In His hand is
blessing [or good]; and He is Almighty.—There is no deity but God!”
(three times) “and we will not worship any beside Him, ‘serving Him with
sincerity of religion,’[123] ‘though the infidels be averse’[124]
[thereto]. There is no deity but God! Mohammad is the most noble of the
creation in the sight of God. Mohammad is the best prophet that hath
been sent, and a lord by whom his companions became lords; comely;
liberal of gifts; perfect; pleasant to the taste; sweet; soft to the
throat [or to be drunk]. Pardon, O Lord, Thy servant and Thy poor
dependent, the endower of this place, and him who watcheth it with
goodness and beneficence, and its neighbours, and those who frequent it
at the times of prayers and good acts, O Thou Bountiful!—O Lord!”[125]
(three times.) “Thou art He who ceaseth not to be distinguished by
mercy: Thou art liberal of Thy clemency towards the rebellious; and
protectest him; and concealest what is foul; and makest manifest every
virtuous action; and Thou bestowest Thy beneficence upon the servant,
and comfortest him, O Thou Bountiful!—O Lord!” (three times.) “My sins,
when I think upon them, [I see to be] many; but the mercy of my Lord is
more abundant than are my sins: I am not solicitous on account of good
that I have done; but for the mercy of God I am most solicitous.
Extolled be the Everlasting! He hath no companion in His great dominion.
His perfection [I extol]: exalted be His name: [I extol] the perfection
of God.”
About an hour before daybreak, the muëddins of most mosques chant the
second call, named the “Ebed,” and so called from the occurrence of that
word near the commencement.[126] This call is as follows: “[I extol] the
perfection of God, the Existing for ever and ever” (three times): “the
perfection of God, the Desired, the Existing, the Single, the Supreme:
the perfection of God, the One, the Sole: the perfection of Him who
taketh to Himself, in His great dominion, neither female companion, nor
male partner, nor any like unto Him, nor any that is disobedient, nor
any deputy, nor any equal, nor any offspring. His perfection [I extol]:
and exalted be His name! He is a Deity who knew what hath been before it
was, and called into existence what hath been; and He is now existing as
He was [at the first]. His perfection [I extol]: and exalted be His
name! He is a Deity unto whom there is none like existing. There is none
like unto God, the Bountiful, existing. There is none like unto God, the
Clement, existing. There is none like unto God, the Great, existing. And
there is no deity but Thou, O our Lord, to be worshipped and to be
praised and to be desired and to be glorified. [I extol] the perfection
of Him who created all creatures, and numbered them, and distributed
their sustenance, and decreed the terms of the lives of His servants:
and our Lord, the Bountiful, the Clement, the Great, forgetteth not one
of them. [I extol] the perfection of Him who, of His power and
greatness, caused the pure water to flow from the solid stone, the mass
of rock: the perfection of Him who spake with our lord Moosa [or Moses]
upon the mountain;[127] whereupon the mountain was reduced to dust,[128]
through dread of God, whose name be exalted, the One, the Sole. There is
no deity but God. He is a just Judge. [I extol] the perfection of the
First. Blessing and peace be on thee, O comely of countenance! O Apostle
of God! Blessing and peace be on thee, O first of the creatures of God!
and seal of the apostles of God! Blessing and peace be on thee, O thou
Prophet! on thee and on thy Family, and all thy Companions. God is most
Great! God is most Great!” etc., to the end of the call to
morning-prayer. “O God, favour and preserve and bless the blessed
Prophet, our lord Mohammad! And may God, whose name be blessed and
exalted, be well pleased with thee, O our lord El-Hasan, and with thee,
O our lord El-Hoseyn, and with thee, O Aboo-Farrág,[129] O Sheykh of the
Arabs, and with all the favourites [the “welees”] of God. Amen.”
The prayers which are performed daily at the five periods before
mentioned are said to be of so many “rek’ahs,” or inclinations of the
head.[130]
[Illustration: POSTURES OF PRAYER. (PART I.)]
The worshipper, standing with his face towards the Kibleh (that is,
towards Mekkeh), and his feet not quite close together, says, inaudibly,
that he has purposed to recite the prayers of so many rek’ahs (sunneh or
fard) the morning-prayers (or the noon, etc.) of the present day (or
night); and then, raising his open hands on each side of his face, and
touching the lobes of his ears with the ends of his thumbs, he says,
“God is most Great!” (“Alláhu Akbar.”) This ejaculation is called the
“tekbeer.” He then proceeds to recite the prayers of the prescribed
number of rek’ahs,[131] thus:—
Still standing, and placing his hands before him, a little below his
girdle, the left within the right, he recites (with his eyes directed
towards the spot where his head will touch the ground in prostration)
the Fát’hah, or opening chapter of the Kur-án,[132] and after it three
or more other verses, or one of the short chapters, of the Kur-án—very
commonly the 112th chapter—but without repeating the bismillah (in the
name of God, etc.) before the second recitation. He then says, “God is
most Great!” and makes, at the same time, an inclination of his head and
body, placing his hands upon his knees, and separating his fingers a
little. In this posture he says, “[I extol] the perfection of my Lord,
the Great!” (three times), adding, “May God hear him who praiseth Him.
Our Lord, praise be unto Thee!” Then, raising his head and body, he
repeats, “God is most Great!” He next drops gently upon his knees, and,
saying again, “God is most Great!” places his hands upon the ground, a
little before his knees, and puts his nose and forehead also to the
ground (the former first), between his two hands. During this
prostration he says, “[I extol] the perfection of my Lord, the Most
High!” (three times.) He raises his head and body (but his knees remain
upon the ground), sinks backwards upon his heels, and places his hands
upon his thighs, saying, at the same time, “God is most Great!” and this
he repeats as he bends his head a second time to the ground. During this
second prostration he repeats the same words as in the first, and in
raising his head again, he utters the tekbeer as before. Thus are
completed the prayers of one rek’ah. In all the changes of posture, the
toes of the right foot must not be moved from the spot where they were
first placed, and the left foot should be moved as little as possible.
[Illustration: POSTURES OF PRAYER. (PART II.)]
Having finished the prayers of one rek’ah, the worshipper rises upon his
feet (but without moving his toes from the spot where they were,
particularly those of the right foot), and repeats the same; only he
should recite some other chapter, or portion, after the Fát’hah, than
that which he repeated before, as, for instance, the 108th chapter.[133]
After every _second_ rek’ah (and after the _last_, though there be an
odd number, as in the evening fard), he does not immediately raise his
knees from the ground, but bends his left foot under him, and sits upon
it, and places his hands upon his thighs, with the fingers a little
apart. In this posture he says, “Praises are to God, and prayers, and
good works. Peace be on thee, O Prophet, and the mercy of God, and His
blessings! Peace be on us, and on [all] the righteous worshippers of
God!” Then raising the first finger of the right hand[134] (but not the
hand itself), he adds, “I testify that there is no deity but God; and I
testify that Mohammad is His servant and His apostle.”
After the _last_ rek’ah of each of the prayers (that is, after the
sunneh prayers and the fard alike), after saying, “Praises are to God,”
etc., the worshipper, looking upon his right shoulder, says, “Peace be
on you, and the mercy of God!” Then looking upon the left, he repeats
the same. These salutations are considered by some as addressed only to
the guardian angels who watch over the believer, and note all his
actions;[135] but others say that they are addressed both to angels and
men (_i.e._, believers only), who may be present; no person, however,
returns them. Before the salutations in the _last_ prayer, the
worshipper may offer up any short petition (in Scriptural language
rather than his own); while he does so, looking at the palms of his two
hands, which he holds like an open book before him, and then draws over
his face, from the forehead downwards.
Having finished both the sunneh and fard prayers, the worshipper, if he
would acquit himself completely, or rather, perform supererogatory acts,
remains sitting (but may then sit more at his ease), and recites the
“A′yet el-Kursee,” or Throne-Verse, which is the 256th of the 2nd
chapter of the Kur-án;[136] and adds, “O High! O Great! Thy perfection
[I extol].” He then repeats, “The perfection of God!” (thirty-three
times.) “The perfection of God, the Great, with His praise for ever!”
(once.) “Praise be to God!” (thirty-three times.) “Extolled be His
dignity! There is no deity but He!” (once.) “God is most Great!”
(thirty-three times.) “God is most Great in greatness, and praise be to
God in abundance!” (once.) He counts these repetitions with a string of
beads called “sebhah” (more properly “subhah”). The beads are
ninety-nine, and have a mark between each thirty-three. They are of
aloes, or other odoriferous or precious wood, or of coral, or of certain
fruit-stones, or seeds, etc.
Any wandering of the eyes, or of the mind, a coughing, or the like,
answering a question, or any action not prescribed to be performed, must
be strictly avoided (unless it be _between_ the sunneh prayers and the
fard, or be difficult to avoid; for it is held allowable to make three
slight irregular motions, or deviations from correct deportment);
otherwise the worshipper must begin again, and repeat his prayers with
due reverence. It is considered extremely sinful to interrupt a man when
engaged in his devotions. The time usually occupied in repeating the
prayers of four rek’ahs, without the supererogatory additions, is less
than four, or even three, minutes. The Muslim says the five daily
prayers in his house or shop or in the mosque, according as may be most
convenient to him: it is seldom that a person goes from his house to the
mosque to pray, excepting to join the congregation on Friday. Men of the
lower orders oftener pray in the mosques than those who have a
comfortable home, and a mat or carpet upon which to pray.
The same prayers are said by the congregation in the mosque on the noon
of Friday; but there are additional rites performed by the Imám and
other ministers on this occasion. The chief reasons for fixing upon
Friday as the Sabbath of the Muslims were, it is said, because Adam was
created on that day, and died on the same day of the week, and because
the general resurrection was prophesied to happen on that day; whence,
particularly, Friday was named the day of “El-Gum’ah” (or the assembly).
The Muslim does not abstain from worldly business on Friday, excepting
during the time of prayer, according to the precept of the Kur-án, ch.
lxii., _vv._ 9 and 10.
[Illustration: INTERIOR OF A MOSQUE.]
To form a proper conception of the ceremonials of the Friday-prayers, it
is necessary to have some idea of the interior of a mosque. A mosque in
which a congregation assembles to perform the Friday-prayers is called
“gámë’.” The mosques of Cairo are so numerous, that none of them is
inconveniently crowded on the Friday; and some of them are so large as
to occupy spaces three or four hundred feet square. They are mostly
built of stone, the alternate courses of which are generally coloured
externally red and white. Most commonly a large mosque consists of
porticoes surrounding a square open court, in the centre of which is a
tank or a fountain for ablution. One side of the building faces the
direction of Mekkeh, and the portico on this side, being the principal
place of prayer, is more spacious than those on the three other sides of
the court: it generally has two or more rows of columns, forming so many
aisles, parallel with the exterior wall. In some cases, this portico,
like the other three, is open to the court; in other cases, it is
separated from the court by partitions of wood, connecting the front row
of columns. In the centre of its exterior wall is the mehráb (or niche)
which marks the direction of Mekkeh; and to the right of this is the
“mimbar” (or pulpit). Opposite the mehráb, in the fore part of the
portico, or in its central part, there is generally a platform (called
“dikkeh”), surrounded by a parapet, and supported by small columns; and
by it, or before it, are one or two seats, having a kind of desk to bear
a volume of the Kur-án, from which a chapter is read to the
congregation. The walls are generally quite plain, being simply
white-washed; but in some mosques the lower part of the wall of the
place of prayer is lined with coloured marbles, and the other part
ornamented with various devices executed in stucco, but mostly with
texts of the Kur-án (which form long friezes, having a pleasing effect),
and never with the representation of anything that has life. The
pavement is covered with matting, and the rich and poor pray side by
side; the man of rank or wealth enjoying no peculiar distinction or
comfort, unless (which is sometimes the case) he have a prayer-carpet
brought by his servant, and spread for him.[137]
The Prophet did not forbid _women_ to attend public prayers in a mosque,
but pronounced it better for them to pray in private: in Cairo, however,
neither females nor young boys are allowed to pray with the congregation
in the mosque, or even to be present in the mosque at any time of
prayer: formerly women were permitted (and perhaps are still in some
countries), but were obliged to place themselves apart from the men, and
behind the latter; because, as Sale has remarked, the Muslims are of
opinion that the presence of females inspires a different kind of
devotion from that which is requisite in a place dedicated to the
worship of God. Very few women in Egypt even pray at home.
Over each of the mosques of Cairo presides a “Názir” (or warden), who is
the trustee of the funds which arise from lands, houses, etc.,
bequeathed to the mosque by the founder and others, and who appoints the
religious ministers and the inferior servants. Two “Imáms” are employed
to officiate in each of the larger mosques: one of them, called the
“Khateeb,” preaches and prays before the congregation on the Friday: the
other is an “Imám Rátib,” or ordinary Imám, who recites the five prayers
of every day in the mosque, at the head of those persons who may be
there at the exact times of those prayers: but in most of the smaller
mosques both these offices are performed by one Imám. There are also to
each mosque one or more “muëddins” (to chant the call to prayer), and
“bowwábs” (or door-keepers), according as there are one or more mád’nehs
(or menarets) and entrances; and several other servants are employed to
sweep the mosque, spread the mats, light the lamps, and attend to the
sákiyeh (or water-wheel), by which the tank or fountain, and other
receptacles for water, necessary to the performance of ablutions, are
supplied. The Imáms, and those persons who perform the lower offices,
are all paid from the funds of the mosque, and not by any contributions
exacted from the people.
The condition of the Imáms is very different, in most respects, from
that of Christian priests. They have no authority above other persons,
and do not enjoy any respect but what their reputed piety or learning
may obtain them: nor are they a distinct order of men set apart for
religious offices, like our clergy, and composing an indissoluble
fraternity; for a man who has acted as the Imám of a mosque may be
displaced by the warden of that mosque, and, with his employment and
salary, loses the _title_ of Imám, and has no better chance of being
again chosen for a religious minister than any other person competent to
perform the office. The Imáms obtain their livelihood chiefly by other
means than the service of the mosque, as their salaries are very small:
that of a Khateeb being generally about a piaster (2⅖_d._ of our money)
per month; and that of an ordinary Imám, about five piasters. Some of
them engage in trade; several of them are “’attárs” (or druggists and
perfumers), and many of them are schoolmasters: those who have no
regular occupations of these kinds often recite the Kur-án for hire in
private houses. They are mostly chosen from among the poor students of
the great mosque El-Azhar.
The large mosques are open from day-break till a little after the ’eshë,
or till nearly two hours after sunset. The others are closed between the
hours of morning and noon prayers; and most mosques are also closed in
rainy weather (excepting at the times of prayer), lest persons who have
no shoes should enter, and dirt the pavement and matting. Such persons
always enter by the door nearest the tank or fountain (if there be more
than one door), that they may wash before they pass into the place of
prayer; and generally this door alone is left open in dirty weather. The
great mosque El-Azhar remains open all night, with the exception of the
principal place of prayer, which is called the “maksoorah,” being
partitioned off from the rest of the building. In many of the larger
mosques, particularly in the afternoon, persons are seen lounging,
chatting together, eating, sleeping, and sometimes spinning or sewing,
or engaged in some other simple craft; but, notwithstanding such
practices, which are contrary to precepts of their prophet, the Muslims
very highly respect their mosques. There are several mosques in Cairo
(as the Azhar, Hasaneyn, etc.), _before_ which no Frank, or any other
Christian, nor a Jew, were allowed to pass, till of late years, since
the French invasion.
On the Friday, half an hour before the “duhr” (or noon), the muëddins of
the mosques ascend to the galleries of the mád’nehs, and chant the
“Selám,” which is a salutation to the Prophet, not always expressed in
the same words, but generally in words to the following
effect:—“Blessing and peace be on thee, O thou of great dignity! O
Apostle of God! Blessing and peace be on thee, to whom the Truth said, I
am God! Blessing and peace be on thee, thou first of the creatures of
God, and seal of the Apostles of God! From me be peace on thee, on thee
and on thy Family and all thy companions!”—Persons then begin to
assemble in the mosques.
The utmost solemnity and decorum are observed in the public worship of
the Muslims. Their looks and behaviour in the mosque are not those of
enthusiastic devotion, but of calm and modest piety. Never are they
guilty of a designedly irregular word or action during their prayers.
The pride and fanaticism which they exhibit in common life, in
intercourse with persons of their own, or of a different faith, seem to
be dropped on their entering the mosque, and they appear wholly absorbed
in the adoration of their Creator; humble and downcast, yet without
affected humility, or a forced expression of countenance.
The Muslim takes off his shoes at the door of the mosque, carries them
in his left hand, sole to sole, and puts his right foot first over the
threshold. If he have not previously performed the preparatory ablution,
he repairs at once to the tank or fountain to acquit himself of that
duty. Before he commences his prayers, he places his shoes (and his
sword and pistols, if he have such arms) upon the matting, a little
before the spot where his head will touch the ground in prostration: his
shoes are put one upon the other, sole to sole.
The people who assemble to perform the noon prayers of Friday arrange
themselves in rows parallel to that side of the mosque in which is the
niche, and facing that side. Many do not go until the adán of noon, or
just before. When a person goes at, or a little after, the Selám, as
soon as he has taken his place in one of the ranks, he performs two
rek’ahs, and then remains sitting, on his knees or cross-legged, while a
reader, having seated himself on the reading-chair immediately after the
Selám, is occupied in reciting (usually without book) the Soorat el-Kahf
(the 18th chapter of the Kur-án), or a part of it; for, generally, he
has not finished it before the adán of noon, when he stops. All the
congregation, as soon as they hear the adán (which is the same as on
other days), sit on their knees and feet. When the adán is finished,
they stand up, and perform, each separately, two[138] rek’ahs, “sunnet
el-gum’ah” (or the sunneh ordinance for Friday), which they conclude,
like the ordinary prayers, with the two salutations. A servant of the
mosque, called a “Murakkee,” then opens the folding-doors at the foot of
the pulpit-stairs, takes from behind them a straight wooden sword, and,
standing a little to the right of the doorway, with his right side
towards the kibleh, holds this sword in his right hand, resting the
point on the ground. In this position he says, “Verily God favoureth,
and His angels bless, the Prophet. O ye who believe, bless him, and
greet him with a salutation!”[139] Then one or more persons, called
“Muballighs,” stationed on the dikkeh, chant the following, or similar
words.[140] “O God! favour and preserve and bless the most noble of the
Arabs and ’Agam [or foreigners], the Imám of Mekkeh and El-Medeeneh and
the Temple, to whom the spider showed favour, and wove its web in the
cave; and whom the dabb[141] saluted, and before whom the moon was
cloven in twain, our lord Mohammad, and his Family and Companions!” The
Murakkee then recites the adán (which the Muëddins have already
chanted): after every few words he pauses, and the Muballighs on the
dikkeh repeat the same words in a sonorous chant.[142] Before the adán
is finished, the Khateeb, or Imám, comes to the foot of the pulpit,
takes the wooden sword from the Murakkee’s hand, ascends the pulpit, and
sits on the top step or platform. The pulpit of a large mosque on this
day is decorated with two flags, with the profession of the faith, or
the names of God and Mohammad, worked upon them: these are fixed at the
top of the stairs, slanting forward. The Murakkee and Muballighs having
finished the adán, the former repeats a tradition of the Prophet,
saying, “The Prophet (upon whom be blessing and peace!) hath said, ‘If
thou say unto thy companion while the Imám is preaching on Friday, Be
thou silent, thou speakest rashly.’ Be ye silent: ye shall be rewarded:
God shall recompense you.” He then sits down. The Khateeb now rises,
and, holding the wooden sword[143] in the same manner as the Murakkee
did, delivers an exhortation, called “khutbet el-waaz.” As the reader
may be curious to see a translation of a Muslim sermon, I insert one.
The following is a sermon preached on the first Friday of the Arab
year.[144] The original, as usual, is in rhyming prose.
“Praise be to God, the renewer of years, and the multiplier of
favours, and the creator of months and days, according to the most
perfect wisdom and most admirable regulation; who hath dignified the
months of the Arabs above all other months, and pronounced that among
the more excellent of them is El-Moharram the Sacred, and commenced
with it the year, as He hath closed it with Zu-l-Heggeh. How
propitious is the beginning, and how good is the end![145] [I extol]
His perfection, exempting Him from the association of any other deity
with Him. He hath well considered what He hath formed, and established
what He hath contrived, and He alone hath the power to create and to
annihilate. I praise Him, extolling His perfection, and exalting His
name, for the knowledge and inspiration which He hath graciously
vouchsafed; and I testify that there is no deity but God alone; He
hath no companion; He is the most holy King; the [God of] peace: and I
testify that our Lord and our Prophet and our friend Mohammad is His
servant, and His apostle, and His elect, and His friend, the guide of
the way, and the lamp of the dark. O God! favour and preserve and
bless this noble Prophet, and chief and excellent apostle, the
merciful-hearted, our lord Mohammad, and his family, and his
companions, and his wives, and his posterity, and the people of his
house, the noble persons, and preserve them amply! O servants of God!
your lives have been gradually curtailed, and year after year hath
passed away, and ye are sleeping on the bed of indolence and on the
pillow of iniquity. Ye pass by the tombs of your predecessors, and
fear not the assault of destiny and destruction, as if others departed
from the world and ye must of necessity remain in it. Ye rejoice at
the arrival of new years, as if they brought an increase to the term
of life, and swim in the seas of desires, and enlarge your hopes, and
in every way exceed other people [in presumption], and ye are sluggish
in doing good. O how great a calamity is this! God teacheth by an
allegory. Know ye not that in the curtailment of time by indolence and
sleep there is very great trouble? Know ye not that in the cutting
short of lives by the termination of years is a very great warning?
Know ye not that the night and day divide the lives of numerous souls?
Know ye not that health and capacity are two blessings coveted by many
men? But the truth hath become manifest to him who hath eyes. Ye are
now between two years: one year hath passed away, and come to an end,
with its evils; and ye have entered upon another year, in which, if it
please God, mankind shall be relieved. Is any of you determining upon
diligence [in doing good] in the year to come? or repenting of his
failings in the times that are passed? The happy is he who maketh
amends for the time passed in the time to come; and the miserable is
he whose days pass away, and he is careless of his time. This new year
hath arrived, and the sacred month of God hath come with blessings to
you—the first of the months of the year, and of the four sacred
months, as hath been said, and the most worthy of preference and
honour and reverence. Its fast is the most excellent of fasts after
that which is incumbent,[146] and the doing of good in it is among the
most excellent of the objects of desire. Whosoever desireth to reap
advantage from it, let him fast the ninth and tenth days, looking for
aid.[147] Abstain not from this fast through indolence, and esteeming
it a hardship; but comply with it in the best manner, and honour it
with the best of honours, and improve your time by the worship of God
morning and evening. Turn unto God with repentance, before the assault
of death: He is the God who accepteth repentance of His servants, and
pardoneth sins.—_The Tradition._[148]—The Apostle of God (God favour
and preserve him!) hath said, ‘The most excellent prayer, after the
prescribed,[149] is the prayer that is said in the last third of the
night; and the most excellent fast, after Ramadán, is that of the
month of God, El-Moharram.’”
The Khateeb, having concluded his exhortation, says to the congregation,
“Supplicate God.” He then sits down, and prays privately; and each
member of the congregation at the same time offers up some private
petition, as after the ordinary prayers, holding his hands before him
(looking at the palms), and then drawing them down his face. This done,
the Muballighs say, “A′meen! A′meen! (Amen! Amen!) O Lord of all
creatures!”—The Khateeb now rises again, and recites another Khutbeh,
called “khutbet en-naat,” of which the following is a translation:—[150]
“Praise be to God, abundant praise, as He hath commanded! I testify that
there is no deity but God alone: He hath no companion: affirming His
supremacy, and condemning him who denieth and disbelieveth: and I
testify that our lord and our prophet Mohammad is His servant and His
apostle, the lord of mankind, the intercessor, the accepted intercessor,
on the day of assembling: God favour him and his family as long as the
eye seeth and the ear heareth! O people! reverence God by doing what He
hath commanded, and abstain from that which He hath forbidden and
prohibited. The happy is he who obeyeth, and the miserable is he who
opposeth and sinneth. Know that the present world is a transitory abode,
and that the world to come is a lasting abode. Make provision,
therefore, in your transitory state for your lasting state, and prepare
for your reckoning and standing before your Lord: for know that ye shall
to-morrow be placed before God, and reckoned with according to your
deeds; and before the Lord of Might ye shall be present, ‘and those who
have acted unjustly shall know with what an overthrowal they shall be
overthrown.’[151] Know that God, whose perfection I extol, and whose
name be exalted, hath said (and ceaseth not to say wisely, and to
command judiciously, warning you, and teaching, and honouring the
dignity of your Prophet, extolling and magnifying him), ‘Verily, God
favoureth, and His angels bless, the Prophet: O ye who believe, bless
him, and greet him with a salutation!’[152] O God! favour Mohammad and
the family of Mohammad, as Thou favouredst Ibráheem[153] and the family
of Ibráheem; and bless Mohammad and the family of Mohammad, as Thou
blessedst Ibráheem and the family of Ibráheem among all creatures—for
Thou art praiseworthy and glorious! O God! do Thou also be well pleased
with the four Khaleefehs, the orthodox lords, of high dignity and
illustrious honour, Aboo-Bekr Es-Siddeek, and ’Omar, and ’Osmán, and
’Alee; and be Thou well pleased, O God! with the six who remained of the
ten noble and just persons who swore allegiance to thy Prophet Mohammad
(God favour and preserve him!) under the tree; (for Thou art the Lord of
piety, and the Lord of pardon,) those persons of excellence and
clemency, and rectitude and prosperity, Talhah, and Ez-Zubeyr, and Saad,
and Sa’eed, and ’Abd-Er-Rahmán Ibn-’Owf, and Aboo-’Obeydeh ’Amir
Ibn-El-Garráh; and with all the Companions of the Apostle of God! (God
favour and preserve him!); and be Thou well pleased, O God! with the two
martyred descendants, the two bright moons, ‘the two lords of the youths
of the people of Paradise in Paradise,’ the two sweet-smelling flowers
of the Prophet of this nation, Aboo-Mohammad El-Hasan, and
Aboo-’bd-Allah El-Hoseyn: and be Thou well pleased, O God! with their
mother, the daughter of the Apostle of God (God favour and preserve
him!), Fátimeh Ez-Zahra, and with their grandmother Khadeegeh El-Kubra,
and with ’A’ïsheh, the mother of the faithful, and with the rest of the
pure wives, and with the generation which succeeded the Companions, and
the generation which succeeded that, with beneficence to the day of
judgment! O God! pardon the believing men and the believing women, and
the Muslim men and the Muslim women, those who are living, and the dead;
for Thou art a hearer near, an answerer of prayers, O Lord of all
creatures! O God! aid El-Islám, and strengthen its pillars, and make
infidelity to tremble, and destroy its might, by the preservation of Thy
servant, and the son of Thy servant, the submissive to the might of Thy
majesty and glory, whom God hath aided, by the care of the Adored King,
our master the Sultán, son of the Sultán, the Sultán Mahmood[154] Khán:
may God assist him, and prolong [his reign]! O God! assist him, and
assist his armies! O Thou Lord of the religion, and of the world
present, and the world to come! O Lord of all creatures! O God! assist
the forces of the Muslims, and the armies of the Unitarians! O God!
frustrate the infidels and polytheists, thine enemies, the enemies of
the religion! O God! invert their banners, and ruin their habitations,
and give them and their wealth as booty to the Muslims![155] O God!
unloose the captivity of the captives, and annul the debts of the
debtors; and make this town to be safe and secure, and blessed with
wealth and plenty, and all the towns of the Muslims, O Lord of all
creatures! And decree safety and health to us and to all travellers, and
pilgrims, and warriors, and wanderers, upon Thy earth, and upon Thy sea,
such as are Muslims, O Lord of all creatures! ‘O Lord! we have acted
unjustly towards our own souls, and if Thou do not forgive us and be
merciful unto us, we shall surely be of those who perish.[156] I beg of
God, the Great, that He may forgive me and you, and all the people of
Mohammad, the servants of God. ‘Verily God commandeth justice, and the
doing of good, and giving [what is due] to kindred; and forbiddeth
wickedness, and iniquity, and oppression: He admonisheth you that ye may
reflect.’[157] Remember God; He will remember you: and thank Him; He
will increase to you [your blessings]. Praise be to God, the Lord of all
creatures!”
During the rise of the Nile, a good inundation is also prayed for in
this Khutbeh. The Khateeb, or Imám, having ended it, descends from the
pulpit, and the Muballighs chant the “ikámeh” (described in page 66):
the Imám, stationed before the niche, then recites the “fard” prayers of
Friday, which consist of two rek’ahs, and are similar to the ordinary
prayers. The people do the same, but silently, and keeping time exactly
with the Imám in the various postures. Those who are of the Málikee sect
then leave the mosque; and so also do many persons of the other sects:
but some of the Sháfe’ees and Hanafees (there are scarcely any
Hambel′ees in Cairo) remain, and recite the _ordinary_ fard prayers of
noon; forming a number of separate groups, in each of which one acts as
Imám. The rich, on going out of the mosque, often give alms to the poor
outside the door.
There are other prayers to be performed on particular occasions—on the
two grand annual festivals, on the nights of Ramadán (the month of
abstinence), on the occasion of an eclipse of the sun or moon, for rain,
previously to the commencement of battle, in pilgrimage, and at
funerals.
I have spoken thus fully of Muslim worship because my countrymen in
general have very imperfect and erroneous notions on this subject; many
of them even imagining that the Muslims ordinarily pray to their
_Prophet_ as well as to God. Invocations to the Prophet, for his
_intercession_, are, indeed, frequently made, particularly at his tomb,
where pious visitors generally say, “We ask thy intercession, O Apostle
of God!” The Muslims also even implore the intercession of their
numerous saints.
The duty next in importance to prayer is that of giving _alms_. Certain
alms are prescribed by law, and are called “zekah”: others, called
“sadakah,” are voluntary. The former, or obligatory alms, were, in the
earlier ages of El-Islám, collected by officers appointed by the
sovereign, for pious uses, such as building mosques, etc.; but now it is
left to the Muslim’s conscience to give them, and to apply them in what
manner he thinks fit; that is, to bestow them upon whatever needy
persons he may choose. They are to be given once in every year, of
cattle and sheep, generally in the proportion of one in forty, two in a
hundred and twenty; of camels, for every five, a ewe; or for
twenty-five, a pregnant camel; and likewise of money, and, among the
Hanafees, of merchandize, etc. He who has money to the amount of two
hundred dirhems (or drams) of silver, or twenty mitkáls (_i.e._, thirty
drams) of gold (or, among the Hanafees, the value of the above in gold
or silver ornaments, utensils, etc.), must annually give the fortieth
part (“ruba el-’oshr”), or the value of that part.
_Fasting_ is the next duty. The Muslim is commanded to fast during the
whole month of Ramadán[158] every day, from the first appearance of
daybreak, or rather from the hour when there is sufficient light for a
person to distinguish plainly a white thread from a black thread[159]
(about two hours before sunrise in Egypt), until sunset. He must abstain
from eating, drinking, smoking, smelling perfumes, and every unnecessary
indulgence or pleasure of a worldly nature; even from intentionally
swallowing his spittle. When Ramadán falls in summer,[160] the fast is
very severe; the abstinence from drinking being most painfully felt.
Persons who are sick, or on a journey, and soldiers in time of war, are
not obliged to observe the fast during Ramadán; but if they do not keep
it in this month they should fast an equal number of days at a future
time. Fasting is also to be dispensed with in the cases of a nurse and a
pregnant woman. The Prophet even disapproved of any person’s keeping the
fast of Ramadán if not perfectly able; and desired no man to fast so
much as to injure his health, or disqualify himself for necessary
labour. The modern Muslims seem to regard the fast of Ramadán as of more
importance than any other religious act, for many of them keep this fast
who neglect their daily prayers; and even those who break the fast, with
very few exceptions, pretend to keep it. Many Muslims of the wealthy
classes eat and drink in secret during Ramadán; but the greater number
strictly keep the fast, which is fatal to numerous persons in a weak
state of health. There are some other days on which it is considered
meritorious to fast, but not absolutely necessary. On the two grand
festivals, namely, that following Ramadán, and that which succeeds the
pilgrimage, it is _unlawful_ to do so, being expressly forbidden by the
Prophet.
The last of the four most important duties, that of _pilgrimage_,
remains to be noticed. It is incumbent on every Muslim to perform, once
in his life, the pilgrimage to Mekkeh and Mount ’Arafát, unless poverty
or ill health prevent him; or, if a Hanafee, he may send a deputy, whose
expenses he must pay.[161] Many, however, neglect the duty of pilgrimage
who cannot plead a lawful excuse; and they are not reproached for so
doing. It is not merely by the visit to Mekkeh, and the performance of
the ceremonies of compassing the Kaabeh seven times and kissing the
“black stone” in each round, and other rites in the Holy City, that the
Muslim acquires the title of “el-hágg”[162] (or the pilgrim): the final
object of the pilgrimage is Mount ’Arafát, six hours’ journey distant
from Mekkeh. During his performance of the required ceremonies in
Mekkeh, and also during his journey to ’Arafát, and until his completion
of the pilgrimage, the Muslim wears a peculiar dress, called “ehrám”
(vulgarly herám), generally consisting of two simple pieces of cotton,
or linen, or woollen cloth, without seam or ornament, one of which is
wrapped round the loins, and the other thrown over the shoulders: the
instep and heel of each foot, and the head, must be bare; but umbrellas
are now used by many of the pilgrims. It is necessary that the pilgrim
be present on the occasion of a Khutbeh which is recited on Mount
’Arafát in the afternoon of the 9th of the month of Zu-l-Heggeh. In the
ensuing evening, after sunset, the pilgrims commence their return to
Mekkeh. Halting the following day in the valley of Mina (or, as it is
more commonly called, Muna), they complete the ceremonies of the
pilgrimage by a sacrifice (of one or more male sheep, he-goats, cows, or
she-camels, part of the flesh of which they eat, and part give to the
poor), and by shaving the head and clipping the nails. Every one, after
this, resumes his usual dress, or puts on a new one, if provided with
such. The sacrifice is called “el-fida” (or the ransom), as it is
performed in commemoration of the ransom of Isma’eel (or Ishmael) by the
sacrifice of the ram, when he was himself about to have been offered up
by his father; for it is the general opinion of the Muslims that it was
this son, not Isaac, who was to have been sacrificed by his father.
There are other ordinances, more or less connected with those which have
been already explained.
The two festivals called “el-’Eed es-Sugheiyir,”[163] or the Minor
Festival, and el-Kebeer,” or the Great Festival, the occasions of which
have been mentioned above, are observed with public prayer and general
rejoicing. The first of these lasts three days; and the second, three or
four days. The festivities with which they are celebrated will be
described in a subsequent chapter. On the first day of the latter
festival (it being the day on which the pilgrims perform their
sacrifice) every Muslim should slay a victim, if he can afford to
purchase one. The wealthy person slays several sheep, or a sheep or two,
and a buffalo, and distributes the greater portion of the meat to the
poor. The slaughter may be performed by a deputy.
War against enemies of El-Islám, who have been the first aggressors, is
enjoined as a sacred duty; and he who loses his life in fulfilling this
duty, if unpaid, is promised the rewards of a martyr. It has been said,
even by some of their leading doctors, that the Muslims are commanded to
put to death all idolaters who refuse to embrace El-Islám, excepting
women and children, whom they are to make slaves:[164] but the precepts
on which this assertion is founded relate to the Pagan Arabs, who had
violated their oaths and long persevered in their hostility to Mohammad
and his followers. According to the decisions of the most reasonable
doctors, the laws respecting other idolaters, as well as Christians and
Jews, who have drawn upon themselves the hostility of the Muslims, are
different: of such enemies, if reduced by force of arms, refusing to
capitulate or to surrender themselves, the men may be put to death or be
made slaves, and the women and children also, under the same
circumstances, may be made slaves: but life and liberty are to be
granted to those enemies who surrender themselves by capitulation or
otherwise, on the condition of their embracing El-Islám or paying a
poll-tax, unless they have acted perfidiously towards the Muslims, as
did the Jewish tribe of Kureydhah, who, being in league with Mohammad,
went over to his enemies and aided them against him: for which conduct,
when they surrendered, the men were slain, and the women and children
were made slaves.—The Muslims, it may here be added, are forbidden to
contract intimate friendship with unbelievers.
There are certain prohibitory laws in the Kur-án which must be mentioned
here, as remarkably affecting the moral and social condition of its
disciples.
Wine, and all inebriating liquors, are forbidden, as being the cause of
“more evil than profit.”[165] Many of the Muslims, however, in the
present day, drink wine, brandy, etc., in secret; and some, thinking it
no sin to indulge thus in moderation, scruple not to do so openly; but
among the Egyptians there are few who transgress in this flagrant
manner. “Boozeh,” or “boozah,” which is an intoxicating liquor made with
barley-bread, crumbled, mixed with water, strained, and left to ferment,
is commonly drunk by the boatmen of the Nile, and by other persons of
the lower orders.[166] Opium, and other drugs which produce a similar
effect, are considered unlawful, though not mentioned in the Kur-án; and
persons who are addicted to the use of these drugs are regarded as
immoral characters; but in Egypt, such persons are not very numerous.
Some Muslims have pronounced tobacco, and even coffee, unlawful.
The eating of swine’s flesh is strictly forbidden. The unwholesome
effects of that meat in a hot climate would be a sufficient reason for
the prohibition; but the pig is held in abhorrence by the Muslim chiefly
on account of its extremely filthy habits.[167] Most animals prohibited
for food by the Mosaic law are alike forbidden to the Muslim. The camel
is an exception. The Muslim is “forbidden [to eat] that which dieth of
itself, and blood, and swine’s flesh, and that on which the name of any
beside God hath been invoked; and that which hath been strangled or
killed by a blow, or by a fall, or by the horns [of another beast]; and
that which hath been [partly] eaten by a wild beast, except what he
shall [himself] kill; and that which hath been sacrificed unto
idols.”[168] An animal that is killed for the food of man must be
slaughtered in a particular manner: the person who is about to perform
the operation must say, “In the name of God! God is most great!” and
then cut its throat, at the part next the head, taking care to divide
the windpipe, gullet, and carotid arteries; unless it be a camel, in
which case he should _stab_ the throat at the part next the breast. It
is forbidden to utter, in slaughtering an animal, the phrase which is so
often made use of on other occasions, “In the name of God, the
Compassionate, the Merciful!” because the mention of the most benevolent
epithets of the Deity on such an occasion would seem like a mockery of
the sufferings which it is about to endure. Some persons in Egypt, but
mostly women, when about to kill an animal for food, say, “In the name
of God! God is most great! God give thee patience to endure the
affliction which He hath allotted thee!”[169] If the sentiment which
first dictated this prayer were always felt, it would present a
beautiful trait in the character of the people who use it. In cases of
necessity, when in danger of starving, the Muslim is allowed to eat any
food which is unlawful under other circumstances. The mode of slaughter
above described is, of course, only required to be practised in the
cases of domestic animals. Most kinds of fish are lawful food:[170] so
also are many birds; the tame kinds of which must be killed in the same
manner as cattle; but the wild may be shot. The hare, rabbit, gazelle,
etc., are lawful food, and may either be shot, or killed by a dog,
provided the name of God was uttered at the time of discharging the
arrow, etc., or slipping the dog, and he (the dog) has not eaten any
part of the prey. This animal, however, is considered very unclean: the
Sháfe’ees hold themselves to be polluted by the touch of its nose, if it
be wet; and if any part of their clothes be so touched, they must wash
that part with seven waters, and once with clean earth: some others are
only careful not to let the animal lick, or defile in a worse manner,
their persons or their dress, etc. When game has been struck down by any
weapon, but not killed, its throat must be immediately cut: otherwise it
is unlawful food.
Gambling and usury are prohibited,[171] and all games of chance; and
likewise the making of images or pictures of anything that has
life.[172] The Prophet declared that every representation of this kind
would be placed before its author on the day of judgment, and that he
would be commanded to put life into it; which not being able to do, he
would be cast, for a time, into hell.
The principal _civil_ and _criminal laws_ remain to be stated. Their
origin we discover partly in customs of the Pagan Arabs, but mostly in
the Jewish Scriptures and traditions.
The civil and criminal laws are chiefly and immediately derived from the
Kur-án[173]; but, in many important cases, this highest authority
affords no precept. In most of these cases the Traditions of the Prophet
direct the decisions of the judge.[174] There are, however, some
important cases, and many of an inferior kind, respecting which both the
Kur-án and the Traditions are silent or undecisive. These are determined
by the explanations and amplifications derived either from the
concordance of the principal early disciples, or from analogy, by the
four great Imáms, or founders of the four orthodox sects of El-Islám;
generally on the authority of the Imám of that sect to which the ruling
power belongs, which sect, in Egypt, and throughout the Turkish Empire,
is that of the Hanafees: or, if none of the decisions of the Imám relate
to a case in dispute (which not unfrequently happens), judgment is given
in accordance with a sentence of some other eminent doctor, founded upon
analogy.—In general, only the principal laws, as laid down in the Kur-án
and the Traditions, will be here stated.
The laws relating to _marriage_ and the licence of _polygamy_, the
facility of _divorce_ allowed by the Kur-án, and the permission of
_concubinage_, are essentially the natural and necessary consequences of
the main principle of the constitution of Muslim society—the restriction
of the intercourse between the sexes before marriage. Few men would
marry if he who was disappointed in a wife whom he had never seen before
were not allowed to take another; and in the case of a man’s doing this,
his own happiness, or that of the former wife, or the happiness of both
these parties, may require his either retaining this wife or divorcing
her. But I hope that my reader will admit a much stronger reason for
these laws, regarding them as designed for the _Muslims_. As the Mosaic
code allowed God’s chosen people, for the hardness of their hearts, to
put away their wives, and forbade neither polygamy nor concubinage, he
who believes that Moses was divinely inspired, to enact the best laws
for his people, must hold the permission of these practices to be less
injurious to morality than their prohibition, among a people similar to
the ancient Jews. Their permission, though certainly productive of
injurious effects upon morality and domestic happiness, prevents a
profligacy that would be worse than that which prevails to so great a
degree in European countries, where parties are united in marriage after
an intimate mutual acquaintance. As to the licence of polygamy, which
seems to be unfavourable to the accomplishment of the main object for
which marriage was instituted, as well as to the exercise and
improvement of the nobler powers of the mind, we should remark that it
was not introduced, but limited, by the legislator of the Muslims. It is
true that he assumed to himself the privilege of having a greater number
of wives than he allowed to others; but, in doing so, he may have been
actuated by the want of male offspring, rather than impelled by
voluptuousness.
The law respecting marriage and concubinage is perfectly explicit as to
the number of wives whom a Muslim may have at the same time; but it is
not so with regard to the number of concubine-slaves whom he may have.
It is written, “Take in marriage, of the women who please you, two,
three, or four; but if ye fear that ye cannot act equitably [to so many,
take] one; or [take] those whom your right hands have acquired,”[175]
that is, your slaves. Therefore many of the wealthy Muslims marry two,
three, or four wives, and keep besides several concubine-slaves; and
many of the most revered characters, even Companions of the Prophet, are
recorded to have done the same. The conduct of the latter clearly shows
that the number of concubine-slaves whom a man may have is not limited
by the law in the opinion of the orthodox.[176]
It is held lawful for a Muslim to marry a Christian or a Jewish woman,
if induced to do so by excessive love of her, or if he cannot obtain a
wife of his own faith; but in this case the offspring must follow the
father’s faith,[177] and the wife does not inherit when the father dies.
A Muslim′eh, however, is not allowed under any circumstances, but when
force is employed, to marry a man who is not of her own faith. A man is
forbidden, by the Kur-án[178] and the Sunneh, to marry his mother, or
other ascendant; his daughter, or other descendant; his sister, or
half-sister; the sister of his father or mother, or other ascendant; his
niece, or any of her descendants; his foster-mother,[179] or a woman
related to him by milk in any of the degrees which would preclude his
marriage with her if she were similarly related to him by consanguinity;
the mother of his wife, even if he have not consummated his marriage
with this wife; the daughter of his wife if he have consummated his
marriage with the latter, and she be still his wife; his father’s wife,
and his son’s wife; and to have at the same time two wives who are
sisters, or aunt and niece: he is forbidden also to marry his
unemancipated slave, or another man’s slave, if he have already a free
wife. It is lawful for the Muslim to see the faces of these women whom
he is forbidden to marry, but of no others, excepting his own wives and
female slaves. The marriage of a man and woman, or of a man and a girl
who has arrived at puberty, is lawfully effected by their declaring
(which the latter generally does by a “wekeel,” or deputy) their consent
to marry each other, in the presence of two witnesses (if witnesses can
be procured), and by the payment, or part-payment, of a dowry. But the
consent of a girl under the age of puberty is not required; her father,
or, if he be dead, her nearest adult male relation, or any person
appointed as her guardian by will or by the Kádee, acting for her as he
pleases.[180] The giving of a dowry is indispensable, and the least sum
that is allowed by law is ten “dirhems” (or drachms of silver), which is
equal to about five shillings of our money. A man may legally marry a
woman without mentioning a dowry; but after the consummation of the
marriage she can, in this case, compel him to pay the sum of ten
dirhems.[181]
A man may divorce his wife twice, and each time take her back without
any ceremony, excepting in a case to be mentioned below; but if he
divorce her the third time, or put her away by a triple divorce conveyed
in one sentence, he cannot receive her again until she has been married
and divorced by another husband, who must have consummated his marriage
with her.[182] When a man divorces his wife (which he does by merely
saying, “Thou art divorced,” or “I divorce thee”), he pays her a portion
of her dowry (generally one-third), which he had kept back from the
first, to be paid on this occasion, or at his death; and she takes away
with her the furniture, etc., which she brought at her marriage. He may
thus put her away from mere dislike,[183] and without assigning any
reason; but a woman cannot separate herself from her husband against his
will, unless it be for some considerable fault on his part, as cruel
treatment, or neglect; and even then, application to the Kádee’s court
is generally necessary to compel the man to divorce her; and she
forfeits the above-mentioned remnant of the dowry.
The first and second divorce, if made without any mutual agreement for a
compensation from the woman, or a pecuniary sacrifice on her part, is
termed “talák reg’ee” (a divorce which admits of return); because the
husband may take back his wife, without her consent, during the period
of her “’eddeh” (which will be presently explained), but not after,
unless with her consent, and by a new contract. If he divorce her the
first or second time for a compensation, she perhaps requesting,
“Divorce me for what thou owest me,” or “—hast of mine” (that is, of the
dowry, furniture, etc.), or for an additional sum, he cannot take her
again but by her own consent, and by a new contract. This is a “talák
báïn” (or separating divorce), and is termed “the lesser separation,” to
distinguish it from the third divorce, which is called “the greater
separation.” The “’eddeh” is the period during which a divorced woman or
a widow must wait before marrying again,—in either case, if pregnant,
until delivery; otherwise the former must wait three lunar periods, or
three months, and the latter, four months and ten days. A woman who is
divorced when in a state of pregnancy, though she may make a new
contract of marriage immediately after her delivery, must wait forty
days longer before she can complete her marriage by receiving her
husband. The man who divorces his wife must maintain her in his own
house, or in that of her parents, or elsewhere, during the period of her
’eddeh, but must cease to live with her as her husband from the
commencement of that period. A divorced woman who has a son under two
years of age may retain him until he has attained that age, and may be
compelled to do so by the law of the Sháfe’ees, and by the law of the
Málikees, until he has arrived at puberty, but the Hanafee law limits
the period during which the boy should remain under her care to seven
years: her daughter she should retain until nine years of age, or the
period of puberty. If a man divorce his wife before the consummation of
marriage, he must pay her half the sum which he has promised to give her
as a dowry, or, if he have promised no dowry, he must pay her the half
of the smallest dowry allowed by law, which has been above mentioned,
and she may marry again immediately.
When a wife refuses to obey the lawful commands of her husband, he may,
and generally does, take her, or two witnesses[184] against her, to the
Kádee’s court, to prefer a complaint against her; and, if the case be
proved, a certificate is written declaring the woman “náshizeh,” or
rebellious against her husband. This process is termed “writing a woman
náshizeh.” It exempts her husband from obligation to lodge, clothe, and
maintain her. He is not obliged to divorce her; and, by refusing to do
this, he may prevent her marrying another man as long as he lives; but,
if she promise to be obedient afterwards, he must take her back, and
maintain her, or divorce her. It is more common, however, for a wife
whose husband refuses to divorce her, if she have parents or other
relations able and willing to support her comfortably, to make a
complaint at the Kádee’s court, stating her husband’s conduct to be of
such a nature towards her that she will not live with him, and thus
cause herself to be registered “náshizeh,” and separated from him. In
this case, the husband generally persists, from mere spite, in refusing
to divorce her.
As concubines are _slaves_, some account of slaves in general may here
be appropriately inserted, with a statement of the principal laws
respecting concubines and their offspring, etc.—The slave is either a
person taken captive in war, or carried off by force from a foreign
hostile country, and being at the time of capture an infidel; or the
offspring of a female slave by another slave, or by any man who is not
her owner, or by her owner if he do not acknowledge himself to be the
father; but a person cannot be the slave of a relation who is within the
prohibited degrees of marriage. The power of the owner is such that he
may even kill his slave with impunity for any offence; and he incurs but
a slight punishment (as imprisonment for a period at the discretion of
the judge) if he do so wantonly. He may give or sell his slaves,
excepting in some cases which will be mentioned, and may marry them to
whom he will, but not separate them when married. A slave, however,
according to most of the doctors, cannot have more than two wives at the
same time. As a slave enjoys less advantages than a free person, the
law, in some cases, ordains that his punishment for an offence shall be
half of that to which the free is liable for the same offence, or even
less than half: if it be a fine, or pecuniary compensation, it must be
paid by the owner, to the amount, if necessary, of the value of the
slave, or the slave must be given in compensation. An unemancipated
slave, at the death of the owner, becomes the property of the heirs of
the latter; and when an emancipated slave dies, leaving no male
descendant or collateral relation, the former owner is the heir; or, if
he be dead, his heirs inherit the slave’s property. But an unemancipated
slave can acquire no property without the permission of the owner.
Complete and immediate emancipation is sometimes granted to a slave
gratuitously, or for a future pecuniary compensation. It is conferred by
means of a written document, or by a verbal declaration in the presence
of two witnesses, or by presenting the slave with the certificate of
sale obtained from the former owner. Future emancipation is sometimes
covenanted to be granted on the fulfilment of certain conditions; and
more frequently, to be conferred on the occasion of the owner’s death.
In the latter case, the owner cannot sell the slave to whom he has made
this promise; and as he cannot alienate by will more than one-third of
the whole property that he leaves, the law ordains that, if the value of
the said slave exceed that portion, the slave must obtain, and pay to
the owner’s heirs, the additional sum.—A Muslim may take as his
concubine any of his female slaves who is a Muslim’eh, or a Christian,
or a Jewess, if he have not married her to another man; but he may not
have as his concubines, at the same time, two or more who are sisters,
or who are related to each other in any of the degrees which would
prevent their both being his wives at the same time if they were free. A
Christian is not by the law allowed, nor is a Jew, to have a Muslim′eh
slave as his concubine.[185] The master must wait a certain period
(generally from a month to three months) after his acquisition of a
female slave, before he can take her as his concubine. When a female
slave becomes a mother by her master, the child which she bears to him
is free, if he acknowledge it to be his own; but if not, it is his
slave. In the former case the mother cannot afterwards be sold or given
away by her master (though she must continue to serve him and be his
concubine as long as he desires); and she is entitled to emancipation at
his death. Her bearing a child to him is called the cause of her
emancipation or liberty; but it does not oblige him to emancipate her as
long as he lives, though it is commendable if he do so, and make her his
wife, provided he have not already four wives, or if he marry her to
another man, should it be her wish. A free person cannot become the
husband or wife of his, or her, own slave, without first emancipating
that slave; and the marriage of a free person with the slave of another
is dissolved if the former become the owner of the latter, and cannot be
renewed but by emancipation and a regular legal contract.
The most remarkable general principles of the laws of _inheritance_ are
the denial of any privileges to primogeniture,[186] and in most cases
awarding to a female a share equal to half that of a male of the same
degree of relationship to the deceased.[187] A person may bequeath
one-third of his or her property; but not a larger portion, unless he or
she has no legal heir; nor any portion to a legal heir, excepting wife
or husband, without the consent of all the other heirs. The children of
a person deceased inherit the whole of that person’s property, or what
remains after payment of the legacies and debts, etc., and the share of
a male is double the share of a female. If the children of the deceased
be only females, two or more in number, they inherit together, by the
law of the Kur-án, two-thirds; and if there be but one child, and that a
female, she inherits by the same law half. [But the remaining third, or
half, is also assigned to the said daughters or daughter, by a law of
the Sunneh (which applies also to other cases), if there be no other
legal heir.] If the deceased have left no immediate descendant, the sons
and daughters of his son or sons inherit as immediate descendants [and
so on]. If the deceased have left a child or a son’s child [and so on],
each of the parents of the deceased inherits one-sixth. If the father be
dead, his share falls to _his_ father. [If the mother be dead, her share
falls to _her_ mother.] If the deceased have left no child or son’s
child [and so on], the mother has one-third of the property, or of what
remains after deducting the share of the wife or wives or husband, and
the residue is for the father; unless the deceased has left two or more
brothers or sisters, in which case the mother inherits one-sixth, and
the father the residue; the said brothers or sisters receiving
nothing[188] [if the deceased have left a father or any ascendant in the
male line]. A man inherits half of what remains of his wife’s property
after the payment of her legacies, etc., if she have left no child or
son’s child [and so on]; and one-fourth if she have left a child or
son’s child [and so on]. One-fourth is the share of the wife, or of the
wives conjointly, if the deceased husband have left no child or son’s
child [and so on]; and one-eighth if he have left any such
descendant.[189] If the deceased have not left a father [nor any
ascendant in the male line], nor a child [nor a son’s child, and so on],
the law ordains as follows:—1. A sole brother, or sister, only by the
mother’s side, inherits one-sixth; and if there be two or more brothers
or sisters, only by the mother’s side, or one or more of such relations
of each sex, they inherit collectively one-third, which is equally
divided, without distinction of male and female.—2. If the deceased have
left a sole sister by his father and mother [and no such brother], she
inherits half; and a man inherits the whole property of such a sister
[or what remains after the payment of her legacies, etc.], if she have
left no child; but if she have left a male child [or son’s child, and so
on], he (the brother) inherits nothing; and if she have left a female
child, the said brother inherits what remains after deducting that
child’s share [and after the payment of the legacies, etc.]. If the
deceased have left two or more sisters, by his father and mother [and no
such brother], they inherit together two-thirds. If the deceased have
left one or more brothers, and one or more sisters, by his father and
mother, they inherit the whole [or what remains after the payment of the
legacies, etc.], and the share of a male is double the share of a
female.—3. Brothers and sisters by the father’s side only [when there is
no brother or sister by the father and mother] inherit as brothers and
sisters by the father and mother.[190] No distinction is made between
the child of a wife and that borne by a slave to her master (if the
master acknowledge the child to be his own): both inherit equally. So
also do the child of a wife and the adopted child. A bastard inherits
only from his mother, and _vice versâ_. When there is no legal heir, or
legatee, the property falls to the government-treasury, which is called
“beyt el-mál.” The laws respecting certain remote degrees of kindred,
etc., I have not thought it necessary to state.[191] The property of the
deceased is nominally divided into keeráts (or twenty-fourth parts); and
the share of each son, or other heir, is said to be so many keeráts.
The law is remarkably lenient towards _debtors_. “If there be any
[debtor],” says the Kur-án,[192] “under a difficulty [of paying his
debt], let [his creditor] wait till it be easy [for him to do it]; but
if ye remit it as alms, it will be better for you.” The Muslim is
commanded (in the chapter from which the above extract is taken), when
he contracts a debt, to cause a statement of it to be written, and
attested by two men, or a man and two women, of his own faith. The
debtor is imprisoned for non-payment of his debt; but if he establish
his insolvency, he is liberated. He may be compelled to work for the
discharge of his debt, if able.
The Kur-án ordains that _murder_ shall be punished with death; or
rather, that the free shall die for the free, the slave for the slave,
and a woman for a woman; or that the perpetrator of the crime shall pay
to the heirs of the person whom he has killed, if they allow it, a fine,
which is to be divided according to the laws of inheritance.[193] It
also ordains that _unintentional homicide_ shall be expiated by freeing
a believer from slavery, and paying, to the family of the person killed,
a fine, unless they remit it.[194] But these laws are amplified and
explained by the same book and by the Imáms.—A fine is not to be
accepted for murder unless the crime has been attended by some
palliating circumstance. This fine, which is the price of blood, is a
hundred camels; or a thousand deenárs (about £500) from him who
possesses gold; or from him who possesses silver, twelve thousand
dirhems[195] (about £300). This is for killing a free-man: for a woman,
half the sum: for a slave, his or her value; but that must fall short of
the price of blood for the free. A person unable to free a believer must
fast two months, as in Ramadán. The accomplices of a murderer are liable
to the punishment of death. By the Sunneh also, a man is obnoxious to
capital punishment for the murder of a woman; and by the Hanafee law,
for the murder of another man’s slave. But he is exempted from this
punishment who kills his own child or other descendant, or his own
slave, or his son’s slave, or a slave of whom he is part-owner: so also
are his accomplices; and according to Esh-Sháfe’ee, a Muslim, though a
slave, is not to be put to death for killing an infidel, though the
latter be free. In the present day, however, murder is generally
punished with death; the government seldom allowing a composition in
money to be made. A man who kills another in self-defence, or to defend
his property from a robber, is exempt from all punishment. The price of
blood is a debt incumbent on the family, tribe, or association of which
the homicide is a member. It is also incumbent on the inhabitants of an
enclosed quarter, or the proprietor or proprietors of a field, in which
the body of a person killed by an unknown hand is found; unless the
person has been found killed in his own house. A woman, convicted of a
capital crime, is generally put to death by drowning in the Nile.
The Bedawees have made the law of the avenging of blood terribly
severe and unjust, transgressing the limits assigned by the Kur-án:
for, with them, any single person descended from the homicide, or from
the homicide’s father, grandfather, great-grandfather, or
great-grandfather’s father, may be killed by any of such relations of
the person murdered or killed in fight; but, among most tribes, the
fine is generally accepted instead of the blood. Cases of
blood-revenge are very common among the peasantry of Egypt, who, as I
have before remarked, retain many customs of their Bedawee ancestors.
The relations of a person who has been killed, in an Egyptian village,
generally retaliate with their own hands rather than apply to the
government, and often do so with disgusting cruelty, and even mangle
and insult the corpse of their victim. The relations of a homicide
usually fly from their own to another village, for protection. Even
when retaliation has been made, animosity frequently continues between
the two parties for many years; and often a case of blood-revenge
involves the inhabitants of two or more villages in hostilities, which
are renewed, at intervals, during the period of several generations.
_Retaliation_ for intentional _wounds_ and _mutilations_ is allowed,
like as for murder; “eye for eye,” etc.;[196] but a fine may be accepted
instead, which the law allows also for unintentional injuries. The fine
for a member that is single (as the nose) is the whole price of blood,
as for homicide; for a member of which there are two, and not more (as a
hand), half the price of blood; for one of which there are ten (a finger
or toe), a tenth of the price of blood; but the fine of a man for
maiming or wounding a woman is half of that for the same injury to a
man; and that of a free person for injuring a slave varies according to
the value of the slave. The fine for depriving a man of any of his five
senses, or dangerously wounding him, or grievously disfiguring him for
life, is the whole price of blood.
_Theft_, whether committed by a man or by a woman, according to the
Kur-án,[197] is to be punished by cutting off the offender’s right hand
for the first offence; but a Sunneh law ordains that this punishment
shall not be inflicted if the value of the stolen property is less than
a quarter of a deenár;[198] and it is also held necessary, to render the
thief obnoxious to this punishment, that the property stolen should have
been deposited in a place to which he had not ordinary or easy access;
whence it follows, that a man who steals in the house of a near relation
is not subject to this punishment; nor is a slave who robs the house of
his master. For the second offence, the left foot is to be cut off; for
the third, according to the Sháfe’ee law, the left hand; for the fourth,
the right foot; and for further offences of the same kind, the culprit
is to be flogged or beaten; or, by the Hanafee code, for the third and
subsequent offences, the criminal is to be punished by a long
imprisonment. A man may steal a free-born infant without offending
against the law, because it is not property; but not a slave; and the
hand is not to be cut off for stealing any article of food that is
quickly perishable, because it may have been taken to supply the
immediate demands of hunger. There are also some other cases in which
the thief is exempt from the punishments above mentioned. In Egypt, of
late years, these punishments have not been inflicted. Beating and hard
labour have been substituted for the first, second, or third offence,
and frequently death for the fourth. Most petty offences are usually
punished by beating with the “kurbág” (a thong or whip of hippopotamus’
hide, hammered into a round form), or with a stick, generally on the
soles of the feet.[199]
_Adultery_ is most severely visited: but to establish a charge of this
crime against a wife, four eye-witnessses are necessary.[200] If
convicted thus, she is to be put to death by stoning.[201] I need
scarcely say that cases of this kind have very seldom occurred, from the
difficulty of obtaining such testimony.[202] Further laws on this
subject, and still more favourable to the women, are given in the
Kur-án[203] in the following words:—“But [as to] those who accuse women
of reputation [of fornication or adultery], and produce not four
witnesses [of the fact], scourge them with eighty stripes, and receive
not their testimony for ever; for such are infamous prevaricators,
excepting those who shall afterwards repent; for God is gracious and
merciful. They who shall accuse their wives [of adultery], and shall
have no witnesses [thereof] besides themselves, the testimony [which
shall be required] of one of them, [shall be] that he swear four times
by God that he speaketh the truth, and the fifth [time that he
imprecate] the curse of God on him if he be a liar; and it shall avert
the punishment [of the wife] if she sware four times by God that he is a
liar, and if the fifth [time she imprecate] the wrath of God on her if
he speak the truth.” The commentators and lawyers have agreed that,
under these circumstances, the marriage must be dissolved. In the
chapter from which the above quotation is made, it is ordained (in verse
2) that unmarried persons convicted of fornication shall be punished by
scourging, with a hundred stripes; and a Sunneh law renders them
obnoxious to the further punishment of banishment for a whole year.[204]
Of the punishment of women convicted of incontinence in Cairo, I shall
speak in the next chapter, as it is an arbitrary act of the government,
not founded on the laws of the Kur-án, or the Traditions.[205]
_Drunkenness_ was punished by the Prophet by flogging, and is still in
Cairo, though not often. The “hadd,” or number of stripes for this
offence, is eighty in the case of a free man, and forty in that of a
slave.
_Apostacy_ from the faith of El-Islám is considered a most heinous sin,
and must be punished with death, unless the apostate will recant on
being thrice warned. I once saw a woman paraded through the streets of
Cairo, and afterwards taken down to the Nile to be drowned, for having
apostatized from the faith of Mohammad, and having married a Christian.
Unfortunately, she had tattooed a blue cross on her arm, which led to
her detection by one of her former friends in a bath. She was mounted
upon a high-saddled ass, such as ladies in Egypt usually ride, and very
respectably dressed, attended by soldiers, and surrounded by a rabble,
who, instead of commiserating, uttered loud imprecations against her.
The Kádee who passed sentence upon her, exhorted her in vain to return
to her former faith. Her own father was her accuser! She was taken in a
boat into the midst of the river, stripped nearly naked, strangled, and
then thrown into the stream.[206] The Europeans residing in Cairo
regretted that the Básha was then at Alexandria, as they might have
prevailed upon him to pardon her. Once before, they interceded with him
for a woman who had been condemned for apostacy. The Básha ordered that
she should be brought before him; he exhorted her to recant; but finding
her resolute, reproved her for her _folly_, and sent her home,
commanding that no injury should be done to her.
Still more severe is the law with respect to _blasphemy_. The person who
utters blasphemy against God, or Mohammad, or Christ, or Moses, or any
prophet, is to be put to death without delay, even though he profess
himself repentant; repentance for such a sin being deemed impossible.
Apostacy or infidelity is occasioned by misjudgment; but blasphemy is
the result of utter depravity.
A few words may here be added respecting the sect of the “Wahhábees,”
also called “Wahabees,” which was founded less than a century ago, by
Mohammad Ibn-’Abd-El-Wahháb, a pious and learned sheykh of the province
of En-Nejd, in Central Arabia. About the middle of the last century, he
had the good fortune to convert to his creed a powerful chief of
Ed-Dir’eeyeh, the capital of En-Nejd. This chief, Mohammad Ibn-So’ood,
became the sovereign of the new sect—their religious and political
head—and under him and his successors the Wahhábee doctrines were spread
throughout the greater part of Arabia. He was first succeeded by his
son, ’Abd-El-’Azeez; next, by So’ood, the son of the latter, and the
greatest of the Wahhábee leaders; and lastly, by ’Abd-Allah, the son of
this So’ood, who, after an arduous warfare with the armies of Mohammad
’Alee, surrendered himself to his victorious enemies, was sent to Egypt,
thence to Constantinople, and there beheaded. The wars which Mohammad
’Alee carried on against the Wahhábees, had for their chief object the
destruction of the political power of the new sect. Their religious
tenets are still professed by many of the Arabs, and allowed to be
orthodox by the most learned of the ’Ulama of Egypt. The Wahhábees are
merely reformers, who believe all the fundamental points of El-Islám,
and all the accessory doctrines of the Kur-án and the Traditions of the
Prophet: in short, their tenets are those of the primitive Muslims. They
disapprove of gorgeous sepulchres, and domes erected over tombs; such
they invariably destroy when in their power. They also condemn, as
idolaters, those who pay peculiar veneration to deceased saints; and
even declare all other Muslims to be heretics, for the extravagant
respect which they pay to the Prophet. They forbid the wearing of silk
and gold ornaments, and all costly apparel, and also the practice of
smoking tobacco. For the want of this last luxury, they console
themselves in some degree by an immoderate use of coffee.[207] There are
many learned men among them, and they have collected many valuable books
(chiefly historical) from various parts of Arabia, and from Egypt.
-----
Footnote 96:
Ch. 112.—In quoting passages in the Kur-án, I have sometimes followed
Sale’s translation, to the general fidelity of which I willingly add
my testimony. I should, however, mention that some of his explanatory
notes are unauthorized and erroneous; as, for instance, with respect
to the laws of inheritance; on which subject his version of the text
also is faulty. When necessary, I have distinguished the verses by
numbers. In doing this I had originally adopted the divisions made by
Marracci, but have since made the numbers to agree with those in the
late edition of the Arabic text by Fluegel, which, from its superior
accuracy, is likely to supersede the former editions.
Footnote 97:
Kur-án, ch. iii., _vv._ 40-42.
Footnote 98:
Kur-án, ch. iv., _v._ 169.
Footnote 99:
The title of “Seyyidna” (our Lord) is given by the Muslims to prophets
and other venerated persons.
Footnote 100:
Kur-án, ch. iv., _v._ 156.
Footnote 101:
The Muslim seldom mentions the name of the Prophet without adding,
“Salla-lláhu ’aleyhi wa-sellem”; _i.e._, “God favour and preserve
him!”
Footnote 102:
In the first edition of this work, I here mentioned _the_ Devil as
distinct from the genii; but I have since found that the majority of
the most esteemed Arab authors are of the contrary opinion. Theirs is
also the _general_ opinion of the _modern_ Arabs.—The angelic nature
is considered as inferior to the human (because the angels were
commanded to prostrate themselves before Adam), and still more so is
the nature of genii.
Footnote 103:
Like those of the gazelle: this meaning of their common appellation
(which is mentioned afterwards) is, however, disputed.
Footnote 104:
The title of martyr is given to the unpaid soldier killed in a war for
the defence of the faith, to a person who innocently meets with his
death from the hand of another, to a victim of the plague (if he has
not fled from the disease) or of dysentery, to a person who is
drowned, and to one who is killed by the fall of any building.
Footnote 105:
See Sale’s Preliminary Discourse to his Translation of the Kur-án,
sect. iv.
Footnote 106:
A Muslim of some learning professed to me that he considered the
description of Paradise given in the Kur-án to be, in a great measure,
figurative: “like those,” said he, “in the book of the Revelation of
St. John;” and he assured me that many learned Muslims were of the
same opinion.
Footnote 107:
The corpse is always deposited in a vault, and not placed in a coffin,
but merely wrapped in winding-sheets or clothes.
Footnote 108:
Alluded to in the first chapter.
Footnote 109:
For an account of these private ablutions, and the occasions which
require their performance, the reader may consult Reland, De Rel.
Moh., pp. 80-83, ed. 1717.
Footnote 110:
All persons do not use exactly the same words on this occasion, nor
during the performance of the wudoó; and most persons use no words
during the performance.
Footnote 111:
He should also use a tooth-stick (miswák) to clean his teeth; but few
do so.
Footnote 112:
It is believed that the good man will rise to judgment with his face
white; and the bad, with his face black. Hence a man’s face is said to
be white or black according as he is in good or bad repute; and “may
God blacken thy face!” is a common imprecation.
Footnote 113:
To every man is appropriated a book, in which all the actions of his
life are written. The just man, it is said, will receive his book in
his right hand; but the wicked, in his left, which will be tied behind
his back; his right hand being tied up to his neck.
Footnote 114:
Here, again, I must beg to refer the reader (if he desires such
information) to Reland’s account of the ghusl, and the occasions which
require its performance.—De Rel. Moh., pp. 66-77, ed. 1717.
Footnote 115:
Seggádehs, of the kind here described, are now sold in London, under
the name of Persian carpets or Persian rugs.
Footnote 116:
I have called this the first, because the Mohammadan day commences
from sunset; but the morning prayer is often termed the first; the
prayer of noon, the second; and so on.
Footnote 117:
The ’eshë of the Sháfe’ees, Málikees, and Hambel′ees, is when the red
gleam (“esh-shafak el-ahmar”) after sunset has disappeared; and that
of the Hanafees, when both the red and the white gleam have
disappeared.
Footnote 118:
Generally on the first faint appearance of light in the east. The
Hanafees mostly perform the morning-prayer a little later, when the
yellow gleam (“el-isfirár”) appears: this they deem the most proper
time, but they may pray earlier.
Footnote 119:
The ’asr, according to the Sháfe’ees, Málikees, and Hambel’ees, is
when the shade of an object, cast by the sun, is equal to the length
of that object, added to the length of the shade which the same object
casts at noon; and, according to the Hanafees, when the shadow is
equal to _twice_ the length of the object added to the length of its
mid-day shadow.
Footnote 120:
Here is added, in the morning call, “Prayer is better than sleep!”
(twice.)
Footnote 121:
A common air, to which the adán is chanted in Cairo, will be given in
the chapter on Egyptian music.
Footnote 122:
They are few who do so.
Footnote 123:
Kur-án, ch. xcviii., _v._ 4.
Footnote 124:
Same, ch. ix., _v._ 32, and ch. lxi., _v._ 8.
Footnote 125:
This exclamation (“Yá rabb!”) is made in a very loud tone.
Footnote 126:
The word “ebed” is here used adverbially, signifying “for ever.”
Footnote 127:
These words, “The perfection of Him who spake,” etc. (“subhána men
kellema,” etc.), are pronounced in a very high and loud tone.
Footnote 128:
See Kur-án, ch. vii., _v._ 139.
Footnote 129:
“Aboo-Farrág” is a surname of a famous saint, the seyyid Ahmad
El-Bedawee, buried at Tanta in the Delta: it implies that he obtains
relief to those who visit his tomb, and implore his intercession.
Footnote 130:
The morning-prayers, two rek’ahs sunneh and two fard: the noon, four
sunneh and four fard; the afternoon, the same; the evening, three fard
and two sunneh; and the night-prayers (or ’eshë), four sunneh and four
fard, and two sunneh again. After these are yet to be performed three
rek’ahs “witr;” _i.e._, single or separate prayers: these may be
performed immediately after the ’eshë prayers, or at any time in the
night; but are more meritorious if _late_ in the night.
Footnote 131:
There are some little differences in the attitudes of the four great
sects during prayer. I describe those of the Hanafees.
Footnote 132:
Some persons previously utter certain supererogatory ejaculations,
expressive of the praise and glory of God; and add, “I seek refuge
with God from Satan the accursed;” which petition is often offered up
before reciting any part of the Kur-án on other occasions, as
commanded by the Kur-án itself (ch. xvi., _v._ 100). The Kur-án is
usually recited, in the fard prayers, in a voice slightly audible,
excepting at noon and the ’asr, when it is recited inaudibly. By
Imáms, when praying at the head of others, and sometimes by persons
praying alone, it is chanted. In the sunneh prayers it is recited
inaudibly.
Footnote 133:
In the third and fourth fard rek’ahs, the recitation of a second
portion of the Kur-án after the Fát’hah should be omitted; and before
fard prayers of four rek’ahs, the “ikámeh” (which consists of the
words of the adán, with the addition of “the time of prayer is come,”
pronounced twice after “come to security”) should be repeated; but
most persons neglect doing this, and many do not observe the former
rule.
Footnote 134:
The doctors of El-Islám differ respecting the proper position of the
fingers of the right hand on this occasion: some hold that all the
fingers but the first are to be doubled, as represented in Part II. of
the sketch of the postures of prayer.
Footnote 135:
Some say that every believer is attended by two angels; others say,
five; others, sixty, or a hundred and sixty.
Footnote 136:
Beginning with the words “God: there is no deity but He;” and ending
with, “He is the High, the Great.”
Footnote 137:
Adjoining each mosque are several “latrinæ,” in each of which is a
receptacle with water, for ablution.
Footnote 138:
If of the sect of the Sháfe’ees, to which most of the people of Cairo
belong; but if of that of the Hanafees, _four_ rek’ahs.
Footnote 139:
Kur-án, chap. xxxiii., _v._ 56.
Footnote 140:
There are some trifling differences in the forms of salutations of the
Prophet in the Friday-prayers in different mosques; I describe what is
most common.
Footnote 141:
A kind of lizard, the _lacerta Libyca_.
Footnote 142:
In the great mosque El-Azhar there are several Muballighs in different
places, to make the adán heard to the whole congregation.
Footnote 143:
To commemorate the acquisition of Egypt by the sword. It is never used
by the Khateeb but in a country or town that has been so acquired by
the Muslims from unbelievers.
Footnote 144:
During my first visit to Egypt I went to the great mosque El-Azhar, to
witness the performance of the Friday-prayers by the largest
congregation in Cairo. I was pleased with the preaching of the Khateeb
of the mosque, Gád-El-Mowla, and afterwards procured his sermon-book
(“deewán khutab”), containing sermons for every Friday in the year,
and for the two “’eeds,” or grand festivals. I translate the first
sermon.
Footnote 145:
The year begins and ends with a sacred month. The sacred months are
four: the first, seventh, eleventh, and twelfth. During these, war was
forbidden to be waged against such as acknowledged them to be sacred,
but was afterwards allowed. The first month is also held to be
excellent on account of the day of ’A’shoora (respecting which see
Chap. XXIV. of this work); and the last, on account of the pilgrimage.
Footnote 146:
That of the month of Ramadán.
Footnote 147:
See an account of the customs observed in honour of the day of
’A’shoora, chap. xxiv.
Footnote 148:
The Khateeb always closes his exhortation with one or two traditions
of the Prophet.
Footnote 149:
The five daily prayers ordained by the Kur-án.
Footnote 150:
This is always the same, or nearly so.
Footnote 151:
Kur-án, chap. xxvi., last verse.
Footnote 152:
Idem., chap. xxxiii., _v._ 56.
Footnote 153:
The patriarch Abraham.
Footnote 154:
The reigning Sultán at the time when the above was written.
Footnote 155:
This sentence, beginning “O God, frustrate,” was not inserted in one
copy of this prayer, which I obtained from an Imám. Another Imám, at
whose dictation I wrote the copy here translated, told me that this
sentence and some others were often omitted.
Footnote 156:
Kur-án, chap. vii., _v._ 22.
Footnote 157:
Ibid., chap. xvi., _v._ 92.
Footnote 158:
Because the Prophet received the first revelation in that month.
Footnote 159:
Kur-án, chap. ii., _v._ 183.
Footnote 160:
The year being lunar, each month retrogrades through all the seasons
in the course of about thirty-three years and a half.
Footnote 161:
A Málikee is held bound to perform the pilgrimage if strong enough to
bear the journey on foot, and able to earn his food on the way.
Footnote 162:
On the pronunciation of this word, see a note to the second paragraph
of Chapter V., p. 120.
Footnote 163:
More properly “Sagheer.” This is what many travellers have incorrectly
called “the Great Festival.”
Footnote 164:
Misled by the decision of those doctors, and an opinion prevalent in
Europe, I represented the laws of “holy war” as more severe than I
find them to be according to the letter and spirit of the Kur-án, when
carefully examined, and according to the Hanafee code. I am indebted
to Mr. Urquhart for suggesting to me the necessity of revising my
former statement on this subject; and must express my conviction that
no precept is to be found in the Kur-án which, taken with the context,
can justify unprovoked war.
Footnote 165:
Kur-án, chap. ii., _v._ 216. A kind of wine, formerly called “nebeedh”
(a name now given to prohibited kinds), may be lawfully drunk. This is
generally an infusion of dry grapes, or dry dates. The Muslims used to
keep it until it had slightly fermented; and the Prophet himself was
accustomed to drink it, but not when it was more than two days old.
The nebeedh of raisins is now called “zebeeb.”
Footnote 166:
A similar beverage, thus prepared from barley, was used by the ancient
Egyptians. (Herodotus, lib. ii., cap. 77.) The modern inhabitants of
Egypt also prepare boozeh from wheat and from millet in the same
manner, but less commonly.
Footnote 167:
Swine were universally deemed impure by the ancient Egyptians
(Herodotus, lib. ii., cap. 47.)
Footnote 168:
Kur-án, chap. v., _v._ 4.
Footnote 169:
The Arabic words of this prayer, “God give thee patience,” etc., are,
“Allah yesabbirak (for yusabbirak) ’ala má belák.”
Footnote 170:
In some respects the Muslim code does not appear to be so strictly
founded upon exigencies of a sanatory nature as the Mosaic. See
Leviticus xi. 9-12. In Egypt, fish which have not scales are generally
found to be unwholesome food. One of the few reasonable laws of
El-Hákim was that which forbade the selling or catching such kinds of
fish. See De Sacy, “Chrestomathie Arabe,” 2nde ed., tome i., p. 98.
Footnote 171:
It is unlawful to give or receive interest, however small, for a loan,
or on account of credit; and to exchange any article for another
article of the same species, but differing in quantity. These and
several other commercial transactions of a similar kind are severely
condemned; but they are not very uncommon among modern Muslims, some
of whom take exorbitant interest.
Footnote 172:
Many of the Muslims hold that only sculptures which cast a shadow,
representing living creatures, are unlawful; but the Prophet certainly
condemned pictures also.
Footnote 173:
A law given in the Kur-án is called “fard.”
Footnote 174:
A law derived from the Traditions is called “sunneh.”
Footnote 175:
Kur-án, chap. iv., _v._ 3.
Footnote 176:
Some Muslim moralists argue, that, as four wives are a sufficient
number for one man, so also are four concubine-slaves, or four women
consisting of these two classes together; but, notwithstanding what
Sale and some other learned men have asserted on this subject, the
Muslim law certainly does not limit the number of concubine-slaves
whom a man may have, whether in addition to, or without, a wife or
wives.
Footnote 177:
In like manner, when a Christian man marries a Jewess, the Muslim law
requires the offspring to profess “the better faith,” namely, the
Christian, if unwilling to embrace El-Islám.
Footnote 178:
Chap. iv., _vv._ 26, 27.
Footnote 179:
By the Hanafee code, a man may not marry a woman from whose breast he
has received a single drop of milk; but Esh-Sháfe’ee does not prohibit
the marriage unless he has been suckled by her five times in the
course of the first two years.
Footnote 180:
A boy may be thus married; but he may divorce his wife.
Footnote 181:
Whatever property the wife receives from her husband, parents, or any
other person, is entirely at her own disposal, and not subject to any
claim of her husband or his creditors.
Footnote 182:
Kur-án, chap. ii., _vv._ 229, 230.
Footnote 183:
As the Mosaic law also allows. See Deut. xxiv. 1.
Footnote 184:
The witnesses must always be Muslims in accusations against a person
of the same faith.
Footnote 185:
Yet many Christians and Jews in Egypt infringe the law in this respect
with impunity.
Footnote 186:
In this the Muslim law differs from the Mosaic, which assigns a double
portion to the first-born son. See Deut. xxi. 17.
Footnote 187:
In my summary of the principal laws relating to inheritance, in the
former editions of this work, there were some errors, occasioned by my
relying too much upon Sale’s version of the Kur-án; for I doubted not
his accuracy, as he had several commentaries to consult, and I had
none; wherefore, in my inquiries respecting these laws, I sought only
to add to, not to correct, the information conveyed by his version. I
have here given a corrected statement, derived from the Kur-án and the
Commentary of the Geláleyn, supplying some words of necessary
explanation (which are enclosed in brackets) partly on the authority
of a sheykh who was my tutor, and partly from the valuable work of
D’Ohsson, “Tableau Général de l’Empire Othoman,” Code Civil, livre iv.
Footnote 188:
According to Sale’s translation of the 12th verse of chap. iv., and a
note thereon, if the deceased have no child, and his parents be his
heirs, then his mother shall have the third part, and his father the
other two-thirds: but if he have brethren, his mother shall have a
sixth part;—and by his translation of the last verse of the same
chapter, stating that the brothers of a man who has died _without
issue_ have a claim to inheritance, it is implied that the brothers,
_if the father be living_, must have a share; consequently, that they
would have, in the case above-mentioned, a sixth part: for he has not
stated that this portion which is deducted from the mother’s share
goes to the father, nor that the father’s share is diminished.—Why the
mother’s share is diminished and the father’s increased, in the case
to which this note relates, I do not see: the reason might be easily
inferred, were it not that the surviving brothers or sisters of the
deceased may be his brothers or sisters by the mother’s side only.
Footnote 189:
This is exclusive of what may remain due to her of her dowry, of which
one-third is usually held in reserve by the husband, to be paid to her
if he divorce her, or when he dies.
Footnote 190:
The portions of the Kur-án upon which the above laws are founded are
verses 12-15, and the last verse, of chap. iv.
Footnote 191:
The reader may see them in D’Ohsson’s work before mentioned.
Footnote 192:
Chap. ii., _v._ 280.
Footnote 193:
Chap. ii., _v._ 173.
Footnote 194:
Chap. iv., _v._ 94.
Footnote 195:
Or, according to some, ten thousand dirhems.
Footnote 196:
Kur-án, chap. v., _v._ 49.
Footnote 197:
Chap. v., _v._ 42.
Footnote 198:
The deenár is a mitkál (or nearly 72 English grains) of gold. Sale,
copying a false translation by Marracci, and neglecting to examine the
Arabic text quoted by the latter, has stated the sum in question to be
four deenárs.
Footnote 199:
The feet are confined by a chain or rope attached at each end to a
staff, which is turned round to tighten it. This is called a
“falakah.” Two persons (one on each side) strike alternately.
Footnote 200:
Kur-án, chap. iv., _v._ 19.
Footnote 201:
This is a “Sunneh” law. The doom, as Mr. Urquhart observes, “stands
rather as the expression of public abhorrence, than as a law which is
to be carried into execution.” (“Spirit of the East,” vol. ii., p.
425.) The law is the same in the case of the adulterer, if married;
but it is never enforced. See Leviticus xx. 10, and John viii. 4, 5.
Footnote 202:
It is worthy of remark, that the circumstance which occasioned the
promulgation of this extraordinary law was an accusation of adultery
preferred against the Prophet’s favourite wife, ’A’ïsheh; she was thus
absolved from punishment, and her reputation was cleared by additional
“revelations.”
Footnote 203:
Chap. xxiv., _vv._ 4-9.
Footnote 204:
An unmarried person convicted of adultery is likewise obnoxious only
to this punishment. The two laws mentioned in Leviticus xx. 13 and 15
have been introduced into the Muslim code; but in the present day they
are never executed.
Footnote 205:
In the villages of Egypt, a woman found, or suspected, to have been
guilty of this crime, if she be not a common prostitute, often
experiences a different fate, which will be described in the account
of the domestic life and customs of the lower orders.
Footnote 206:
The conduct of the lower orders in Cairo on this occasion speaks sadly
against their character. A _song_ was composed on the victim of this
terrible law, and became very popular in the metropolis.
Footnote 207:
Among many other erroneous statements respecting the Wahhábees, it has
been asserted that they prohibit the drinking of coffee.
----------------------------
CHAPTER IV.
GOVERNMENT.
Egypt has, of late years, experienced great political changes, and
nearly ceased to be a province of the Turkish Empire. Its present Básha
(Mohammad ’Alee), having exterminated the Ghuzz, or Memlooks, who shared
the government with his predecessors, has rendered himself almost an
independent prince. He, however, professes allegiance to the Sultán, and
remits the tribute, according to former custom, to Constantinople; he
is, moreover, under an obligation to respect the fundamental laws of the
Kur-án and the Traditions; but he exercises a dominion otherwise
unlimited.[208] He may cause any one of his subjects to be put to death
without the formality of a trial, or without assigning any cause: a
simple horizontal motion of his hand is sufficient to imply the sentence
of decapitation. But I must not be understood to insinuate that he is
prone to shed blood without any reason: severity is a characteristic of
this prince rather than wanton cruelty; and boundless ambition has
prompted him to almost every action by which he has attracted either
praise or censure.[209]
In the Citadel of the Metropolis is a court of judicature, called
“ed-Deewán el-Khideewee,”[210] where, in the Básha’s absence, presides
his “Kikhya,”[211] or deputy, Habeeb Efendee. In cases which do not fall
within the province of the Kádee, or which are sufficiently clear to be
decided without referring them to the court of that officer, or to
another council, the president of the Deewán el-Khideewee passes
judgment. Numerous guard-houses have been established throughout the
metropolis, at each of which is stationed a body of Nizám, or regular
troops. The guard is called “Kulluk,” or, more commonly at present,
“Karakól.” Persons accused of thefts, assaults, etc., in Cairo, are
given in charge to a soldier of the guard, who takes them to the chief
guard-house, in the Mooskee, a street in that part of the town in which
most of the Franks reside. The charges being here stated, and committed
to writing, he conducts them to the “Zábit,” or chief magistrate of the
police of the metropolis. The Zábit, having heard the case, sends the
accused for trial to the Deewán el-Khideewee.[212] When a person denies
the offence with which he is charged, and there is not sufficient
evidence to convict him, but some ground of suspicion, he is generally
bastinaded, in order to induce him to confess; and then, if not before,
when the crime is not of a nature that renders him obnoxious to a very
heavy punishment, he, if guilty, admits it. A thief, after this
discipline, generally confesses, “The devil seduced me, and I took it.”
The punishment of the convicts is regulated by a system of arbitrary,
but lenient and wise, policy: it usually consists in their being
compelled to labour, for a scanty sustenance, in some of the public
works, such as the removal of rubbish, digging canals, etc.; and
sometimes the army is recruited with able-bodied young men convicted of
petty offences. In employing malefactors in labours for the improvement
of the country, Mohammad ’Alee merits the praises bestowed upon Sabacon,
the Ethiopian conqueror and king of Egypt, who is said to have
introduced this policy. The Básha is, however, very severe in punishing
thefts, etc., committed against himself:—death is the usual penalty in
such cases.
There are several inferior councils for conducting the affairs of
different departments of the administration. The principal of these are
the following:—1. The “Meglis el-Meshwar′ah” (the Council of
Deliberation), also called “Meglis el-Meshwar′ah el-Melekeeyeh” (the
Council of Deliberation on the Affairs of the State), to distinguish it
from other councils. The members of this and of the other similar
councils are chosen by the Básha, for their talents or other
qualifications; and consequently his will and interest sway them in all
their decisions. They are his instruments, and compose a committee for
presiding over the general government of the country, and the commercial
and agricultural affairs of the Básha. Petitions, etc., addressed to the
Básha, or to his Deewán, relating to private interests or the affairs of
the government, are generally submitted to their consideration and
judgment, unless they more properly come under the cognizance of other
councils hereafter to be mentioned. 2. The “Meglis el-Gihádeeyeh” (the
Council of the Army); also called “Meglis el-Meshwar′ah el-’Askereeyeh”
(the Council of Deliberation on Military Affairs). The province of this
court is sufficiently shown by its name. 3. The Council of the
“Tarskháneh,” or Navy. 4. The “Deewán et-Tuggár” (or Court of the
Merchants). This court, the members of which are merchants of various
countries and religions, presided over by the “Sháhbandar” (or chief of
the merchants of Cairo), was instituted in consequence of the laws of
the Kur-án and the Sunneh being found not sufficiently explicit in some
cases arising out of modern commercial transactions.
The “Kádee” (or chief judge) of Cairo presides in Egypt only a year, at
the expiration of which term, a new Kádee having arrived from
Constantinople, the former returns. It was customary for this officer to
proceed from Cairo, with the great caravan of pilgrims, to Mekkeh,
perform the ceremonies of the pilgrimage, and remain one year as Kádee
of the holy city, and one year at El-Medeeneh.[213] He purchases his
place privately of the government, which pays no particular regard to
his qualifications, though he must be a man of some knowledge, an
’Osmánlee (that is, a Turk), and of the sect of the Hanafees. His
tribunal is called the “Mahkem′eh,” or Place of Judgment. Few Kádees are
very well acquainted with the Arabic language; nor is it necessary for
them to have such knowledge. In Cairo, the Kádee has little or nothing
to do but to confirm the sentence of his “Náïb” (or deputy), who hears
and decides the more ordinary cases, and whom he chooses from among the
’Ulama of Istambool, or the decision of the “Muftee” (or chief doctor of
the law) of his own sect, who constantly resides in Cairo, and gives
judgment in all cases of difficulty. But in general, the Náïb is, at the
best, but little conversant with the popular dialect of Egypt;
therefore, in Cairo, where the chief proportion of the litigants at the
Mahkem′eh are Arabs, the judge must place the utmost confidence in the
“Básh Turgumán” (or Chief Interpreter), whose place is permanent, and
who is consequently well acquainted with all the customs of the court,
particularly with the system of bribery; and this knowledge he is
generally very ready to communicate to every new Kádee or Náïb. A man
may be grossly ignorant of the law, and yet hold the office of Kádee of
Cairo: several instances of this kind have occurred; but the Náïb must
be a lawyer of learning and experience.
When a person has a suit to prefer at the Mahkem′eh against another
individual or party, he goes thither, and applies to the “Básh Rusul”
(or chief of the bailiffs or sergeants who execute arrests) for a
“Rasool” to arrest the accused. The Rasool receives a piaster or
two,[214] and generally gives half of this fee privately to his chief.
The plaintiff and defendant then present themselves in the great hall of
the Mahkem′eh, which is a large saloon, facing a spacious court, and
having an open front formed by a row of columns and arches. Here are
seated several officers called “Sháhids,” whose business is to hear and
write the statements of the cases to be submitted to judgment, and who
are under the authority of the “Básh Kátib” (or Chief Secretary). The
plaintiff, addressing any one of the Sháhids whom he finds unoccupied,
states his case, and the Sháhid commits it to writing, and receives a
fee of a piaster or more; after which, if the case be of a trifling
nature, and the defendant acknowledge the justice of the suit, he (the
Sháhid) passes sentence; but otherwise he conducts the two parties
before the Náïb, who holds his court in an inner apartment. The Náïb,
having heard the case, desires the plaintiff to procure a “fetwa” (or
judicial decision) from the Muftee of the sect of the Hanafees, who
receives a fee, seldom less than ten piasters, and often more than a
hundred or two hundred. This is the course pursued in all cases but
those of a very trifling nature, which are settled with less trouble,
and those of great importance or intricacy. A case of the latter kind is
tried in the private apartment of the Kádee, before the Kádee himself,
the Náïb, and the Muftee of the Hanafees, who is summoned to hear it,
and to give his decision; and sometimes, in cases of very great
difficulty or moment, several of the ’Ulama of Cairo are, in like
manner, summoned. The Muftee hears the case and writes his sentence, and
the Kádee confirms his judgment, and stamps the paper with his seal,
which is all that he has to do in any case. The accused may clear
himself by his oath when the plaintiff has not witnesses to produce:
placing his right hand on a copy of the Kur-án, which is held out to
him, he says, “By God, the Great!” three times, adding, “By what is
contained in this of the word of God!” The witnesses must be men of good
repute, or asserted to be such, and not interested in the cause: in
every case at least two witnesses are requisite[215] (or one man and two
women); and each of these must be attested to be a person of probity by
two others. An infidel cannot bear witness against a Muslim in a case
involving capital or other heavy punishment; and evidence in favour of a
son or grandson, or of a father or grandfather, is not received; nor is
the testimony of slaves; neither can a master testify in favour of his
slave.
The fees, until lately, used to be paid by the successful party; but now
they are paid by the other party. The Kádee’s fees for decisions in
cases respecting the sale of property are two per cent. on the amount of
the property: in cases of legacies, four per cent., excepting when the
heir is an orphan not of age, who pays only two per cent.: for decisions
respecting property in houses or land, when the cost of the property in
question is known, his fees are two per cent.; but when the cost is not
known, one year’s rent. These are the legitimate fees; but more than the
due amount is often exacted. In cases which do not concern property, the
Kádee’s Náïb fixes the amount of the fees. There are also other fees
than those of the Kádee to be paid after the decision of the case: for
instance, if the Kádee’s fees be two or three hundred piasters, a fee of
about two piasters must be paid to the Básh Turgumán; about the same to
the Básh Rusul; and one piaster to the Rasool, or to each Rasool
employed.
The rank of a plaintiff or defendant, or a bribe from either, often
influences the decision of the judge. In general the Náïb and Muftee
take bribes, and the Kádee receives from his Náïb. On some occasions,
particularly in long litigations, bribes are given by each party, and
the decision is awarded in favour of him who pays highest. This
frequently happens in difficult law-suits; and even in cases respecting
which the law is perfectly clear, strict justice is not always
administered; bribes and false testimony being employed by one of the
parties. The shocking extent to which the practices of bribery and
suborning false witnesses are carried in Muslim courts of law, and among
them in the tribunal of the Kádee of Cairo, may be scarcely credited on
the bare assertion of the fact: some strong proof, resting on
indubitable authority, may be demanded; and here I shall give such
proof, in a summary of a case which was tried not long since, and which
was related to me by the Secretary and Imám of the Sheykh El-Mahdee, who
was then supreme Muftee of Cairo (being the chief Muftee of the
Hanafees), and to whom this case was referred after judgment in the
Kádee’s court.
A Turkish merchant, residing at Cairo, died, leaving property to the
amount of six thousand purses,[216] and no relation to inherit but one
daughter. The seyyid Mohammad El-Mahrookee, the Sháh-bandar (chief of
the merchants of Cairo), hearing of this event, suborned a common
felláh, who was the bowwáb (or door-keeper) of a respected sheykh, and
whose parents (both of them Arabs) were known to many persons, to assert
himself a son of a brother of the deceased. The case was brought before
the Kádee, and, as it was one of considerable importance, several of the
principal ’Ulama of the city were summoned to decide it. They were all
bribed or influenced by El-Mahrookee, as will presently be shown; false
witnesses were brought forward to swear to the truth of the bowwáb’s
pretensions, and others to give testimony to the good character of these
witnesses. Three thousand purses were adjudged to the daughter of the
deceased, and the other half of the property to the bowwáb. El-Mahrookee
received the share of the latter, deducting only three hundred piasters,
which he presented to the bowwáb. The chief Muftee, El-Mahdee, was
absent from Cairo when the case was tried. On his return to the
metropolis, a few days after, the daughter of the deceased merchant
repaired to his house, stated her case to him, and earnestly solicited
redress. The Muftee, though convinced of the injustice which she had
suffered, and not doubting the truth of what she related respecting the
part which El-Mahrookee had taken in this affair, told her that he
feared it was impossible for him to annul the judgment, unless there
were some informality in the proceedings of the court, but that he would
look at the record of the case in the register of the Mahkem′eh. Having
done this, he betook himself to the Básha, with whom he was in great
favour for his knowledge and inflexible integrity, and complained to him
that the tribunal of the Kádee was disgraced by the administration of
the most flagrant injustice; that false witness was admitted by the
’Ulama, however evident and glaring it might be; and that a judgment
which they had given in a late case, during his absence, was the general
talk and wonder of the town. The Básha summoned the Kádee and all the
’Ulama who had tried this case, to meet the Muftee in the Citadel; and
when they had assembled there, addressed them, as from himself, with the
Muftee’s complaint. The Kádee, appearing, like the ’Ulama, highly
indignant at this charge, demanded to know upon what it was grounded.
The Básha replied that it was a general charge, but particularly
grounded on the case in which the court had admitted the claim of a
bowwáb to a relationship and inheritance which they could not believe to
be his right. The Kádee here urged that he had passed sentence in
accordance with the unanimous decision of the ’Ulama then present. “Let
the record of the case be read,” said the Básha. The journal being sent
for, this was done; and when the secretary had finished reading the
minutes, the Kádee, in a loud tone of proud authority, said, “And I
judged so.” The Muftee, in a louder and more authoritative tone,
exclaimed, “And thy judgment is false!” All eyes were fixed in
astonishment, now at the Muftee, now at the Básha, now at the other
’Ulama. The Kádee and the ’Ulama rolled their heads and stroked their
beards. The former exclaimed, tapping his breast, “I, the Kádee of Misr,
pass a false sentence!” “And we,” said the ’Ulama, “we, Sheykh Mahdee!
we, ’Ulama el-Islám, give a false decision!” “O Sheykh Mahdee,” said
El-Mahrookee (who, from his commercial transactions with the Básha,
could generally obtain a place in his councils), “respect the ’Ulama as
they respect thee!” “O Mahrookee!” exclaimed the Muftee, “art thou
concerned in this affair? Declare what part thou hast in it, or else
hold thy peace: go, speak in the assemblies of the merchants, but
presume not again to open thy mouth in the council of the ’Ulama!”
El-Mahrookee immediately left the palace, for he saw how the affair
would terminate, and had to make his arrangements accordingly. The
Muftee was now desired, by the other ’Ulama, to adduce a proof of the
invalidity of their decision. Drawing from his bosom a small book on the
laws of inheritance, he read from it, “To establish a claim to
relationship and inheritance, the names of the father and the mother of
the claimant, and those of his father’s father and mother, and of his
mother’s father and mother, must be ascertained.” The names of the
father and mother of the pretended father of the bowwáb the false
witnesses had not been prepared to give; and this deficiency in the
testimony (which the ’Ulama, in trying the case, purposely overlooked)
now caused the sentence to be annulled. The bowwáb was brought before
the council, and, denying the imposition of which he had been made the
principal instrument, was, by order of the Básha, very severely
bastinaded; but the only confession that could be drawn from him by the
torture which he endured was, that he had received nothing more of the
three thousand purses than three hundred piasters. Meanwhile,
El-Mahrookee had repaired to the bowwáb’s master: he told the latter
what had happened at the Citadel, and what he had foreseen would be the
result, put into his hand three thousand purses, and begged him
immediately to go to the council, give this sum of money, and say that
it had been placed in his hands in trust by his servant. This was done,
and the money was paid to the daughter of the deceased.
In another case, when the Kádee and the council of the ’Ulama were
influenced in their decision by a Básha (not Mohammad ’Alee), and passed
a sentence contrary to law, they were thwarted in the same manner by
El-Mahdee. This Muftee was a rare example of integrity. It is said that
he never took a fee for a fetwa. He died shortly after my first visit to
this country.—I could mention several other glaring cases of bribery in
the court of the Kádee of Cairo; but the above is sufficient.
There are five minor Mahkem′ehs in Cairo; and likewise one at its
principal port, Boolák; and one at its southern port, Masr El-’Ateekah.
A Sháhid from the great Mahkem′eh presides at each of them, as deputy of
the chief Kádee, who confirms their acts. The matters submitted to these
minor tribunals are chiefly respecting the sales of property, and
legacies, marriages, and divorces; for the Kádee marries female orphans
under age who have no relations of age to act as their guardians; and
wives often have recourse to law to compel their husbands to divorce
them. In every country-town there is also a Kádee, generally a native of
the place, and never a Turk, who decides all cases, sometimes from his
own knowledge of the law, but commonly on the authority of a Muftee. One
Kádee generally serves for two or three or more villages.
Each of the four orthodox sects of the Muslims (the Hanafees, Sháfe’ees,
Málikees, and Hambel′ees) has its “Sheykh,” or religious chief, who is
chosen from among the most learned of the body, and resides in the
metropolis. The Sheykh of the great mosque El-Azhar (who is always of
the sect of the Sháfe’ees, and sometimes Sheykh of that sect), together
with the other Sheykhs above mentioned, and the Kadee, the Nakeeb
el-Ashraf (the chief of the Shereefs, or descendants of the Prophet),
and several other persons, constitute the council of the ’Ulama[217] (or
learned men), by whom the Turkish Báshas and Memlook chiefs have often
been kept in awe, and by whom their tyranny has frequently been
restricted: but now this learned body has lost almost all its influence
over the government. Petty disputes are often, by mutual consent of the
parties at variance, submitted to the judgment of one of the four
Sheykhs first mentioned, as they are the chief Muftees of their
respective sects; and the utmost deference is always paid to them.
Difficult and delicate causes, which concern the laws of the Kur-án or
the Traditions, are also frequently referred by the Básha to these
Sheykhs; but their opinion is not always followed by him: for instance,
after consulting them respecting the legality of dissecting human
bodies, for the sake of acquiring anatomical knowledge, and receiving
their declaration that it was repugnant to the laws of the religion, he,
nevertheless, has caused it to be practised by Muslim students of
anatomy.
The police of the metropolis is more under the direction of the military
than of the civil power. A few years ago it was under the authority of
the “Wálee” and the “Zábit;” but since my first visit to this country
the office of the former has been abolished. He was charged with the
apprehension of thieves and other criminals; and under his jurisdiction
were the public women, of whom he kept a list, and from each of whom he
exacted a tax. He also took cognizance of the conduct of the women in
general; and when he found a female to have been guilty of a single act
of incontinence, he added her name to the list of the public women, and
demanded from her the tax, unless she preferred, or could afford, to
escape that ignominy, by giving to him, or to his officers, a
considerable bribe. This course was always pursued, and is still, by a
person who farms the tax of the public women,[218] in the case of
unmarried females, and generally in the case of the married also; but
the latter are sometimes privately put to death, if they cannot, by
bribery or some other artifice, save themselves. Such proceedings are,
however, in two points, contrary to the law, which ordains that a person
who accuses a woman of adultery or fornication, without producing four
witnesses of the crime, shall be scourged with eighty stripes, and
decrees other punishments than those of degradation and tribute against
women convicted of such offences.
The office of the Zábit has before been mentioned. He is now the chief
of the police. His officers, who have no distinguishing mark to render
them known as such, are interspersed through the metropolis: they often
visit the coffee-shops, and observe the conduct, and listen to the
conversation, of the citizens. Many of them are pardoned thieves. They
accompany the military guards in their nightly rounds through the
streets of the metropolis. Here, none but the blind are allowed to go
out at night later than about an hour and a half after sunset, without a
lantern or a light of some kind. Few persons are seen in the streets
later than two or three hours after sunset. At the fifth or sixth hour,
one might pass through the whole length of the metropolis and scarcely
meet more than a dozen or twenty persons, excepting the watchmen and
guards, and the porters at the gates of the bye-streets and quarters.
The sentinel, or guard, calls out to the approaching passenger, in
Turkish, “Who is that?” and is answered in Arabic, “A citizen.”[219] The
private watchman, in the same case exclaims, “Attest the unity of God!”
or merely, “Attest the unity!”[220] The reply given to this is, “There
is no deity but God!” which Christians, as well as Muslims, object not
to say; the former understanding these words in a different sense from
the latter. It is supposed that a thief, or a person bound on any
unlawful undertaking, would not dare to utter these words. Some persons
loudly exclaim, in reply to the summons of the watchman, “There is no
deity but God: Mohammad is God’s Apostle.” The private watchmen are
employed to guard, by night, the sooks (or market-streets) and other
districts of the town. They carry a nebboot (or long staff), but no
lantern.
The Zábit, or A′gha of the police, used frequently to go about the
metropolis by night, often accompanied only by the executioner and the
“shealeg′ee,” or bearer of a kind of torch called “shealeh,” which is
still in use.[221] This torch burns, soon after it is lighted, without a
flame, excepting when it is waved through the air, when it suddenly
blazes forth: it therefore answers the same purpose as our dark lantern.
The burning end is sometimes concealed in a small pot or jar, or covered
with something else, when not required to give light; but it is said
that thieves often smell it in time to escape meeting the bearer. When a
person without a light is met by the police at night, he seldom attempts
resistance or flight; the punishment to which he is liable is beating.
The chief of the police had an arbitrary power to put any criminal or
offender to death without trial, and when not obnoxious, by law, to
capital punishment; and so also had many inferior officers, as will be
seen in subsequent pages of this work: but within the last two or three
years, instances of the exercise of such power have been very rare, and
I believe they would not now be permitted. The officers of the Zábit
perform their nightly rounds with the military guards merely as being
better acquainted than the latter with the haunts and practices of
thieves and other bad characters; and the Zábit himself scarcely ever
exercises any penal authority beyond that of beating or flogging.
Very curious measures, such as we read of in some of the tales of “the
Thousand and One Nights,” were often adopted by the police magistrates
of Cairo, to discover an offender, before the late innovations. I may
mention an instance. The authenticity of the following case, and of
several others of a similar nature, is well known. I shall relate it in
the manner in which I have heard it told.—A poor man applied one day to
the A′gha of the police, and said, “Sir, there came to me, to-day, a
woman, and she said to me, ‘’Take this “kurs,”[222] and let it remain in
your possession for a time, and lend me five hundred piasters:’ and I
took it from her, Sir, and gave her the five hundred piasters, and she
went away: and when she was gone away, I said to myself, ‘’Let me look
at this kurs;’ and I looked at it, and behold, it was yellow brass: and
I slapped my face, and said, ‘’I will go to the A′gha, and relate my
story to him; perhaps he will investigate the affair, and clear it up;’
for there is none that can help me in this matter but thou.” The A′gha
said to him, “Hear what I tell thee, man. Take whatever is in thy shop;
leave nothing; and lock it up; and to-morrow morning go early; and when
thou hast opened the shop, cry out, ‘’Alas for my property!’ then take
in thy hands two clods, and beat thyself with them, and cry, ‘’Alas for
the property of others!’ and whoever says to thee, ‘’What is the matter
with thee?’ do thou answer, ‘’The property of others is lost: a pledge
that I had, belonging to a woman, is lost; if it were my own, I should
not thus lament it;’ and this will clear up the affair.” The man
promised to do as he was desired. He removed everything from his shop,
and early the next morning he went and opened it, and began to cry out,
“Alas for the property of others!” and he took two clods, and beat
himself with them, and went about every district of the city, crying,
“Alas for the property of others! a pledge that I had, belonging to a
woman, is lost; if it were my own, I should not thus lament it.” The
woman who had given him the kurs in pledge heard of this, and discovered
that it was the man whom she had cheated; so she said to herself, “Go
and bring an action against him.” She went to his shop, riding on an
ass, to give herself consequence, and said to him, “Man, give me my
property that is in thy possession.” He answered, “It is lost.” “Thy
tongue be cut out!” she cried: “dost thou lose my property? By Allah! I
will go to the A′gha, and inform him of it.” “Go,” said he; and she
went, and told her case. The A′gha sent for the man; and, when he had
come, said to his accuser, “What is thy property in his possession?” She
answered, “A kurs of red Venetian gold.” “Woman,” said the A′gha, “I
have a gold kurs here: I should like to show it thee.” She said, “Show
it me, Sir, for I shall know my kurs.” The A′gha then untied a
handkerchief, and, taking out of it the kurs which she had given in
pledge, said, “Look.” She looked at it and knew it, and hung down her
head. The A′gha said, “Raise thy head, and say where are the five
hundred piasters of this man.” She answered, “Sir, they are in my
house.” The executioner was sent with her to her house, but without his
sword; and the woman, having gone into the house, brought out a purse
containing the money, and went back with him. The money was given to the
man from whom it had been obtained, and the executioner was then ordered
to take the woman to the Rumeyleh (a large open place below the
Citadel), and there to behead her; which he did.
The markets of Cairo, and the weights and measures, are under the
inspection of an officer called the “Mohtes′ib.” He occasionally rides
about the town, preceded by an officer who carries a large pair of
scales, and followed by the executioners and numerous other servants.
Passing by shops, or through the markets, he orders each shopkeeper, one
after another, or sometimes only one here and there, to produce his
scales, weights, and measures, and tries whether they be correct. He
also inquires the prices of provisions at the shops where such articles
are sold. Often, too, he stops a servant, or other passenger in the
street, whom he may chance to meet carrying any article of food that he
has just bought, and asks him for what sum, or at what weight, he
purchased it. When he finds that a shopkeeper has incorrect scales,
weights, or measures, or that he has sold a thing deficient in weight,
or above the regular market price, he punishes him on the spot. The
general punishment is beating or flogging. Once I saw a man tormented in
a different way, for selling bread deficient in weight. A hole was bored
through his nose, and a cake of bread, about a span wide, and a finger’s
breadth in thickness, was suspended to it by a piece of string. He was
stripped naked, with the exception of having a piece of linen about his
loins, and tied, with his arms bound behind him, to the bars of a window
of a mosque called the Ashrafeeyeh, in the main street of the
metropolis, his feet resting upon the sill. He remained thus about three
hours, exposed to the gaze of the multitude which thronged the street,
and to the scorching rays of the sun.
A person who was appointed Mohtes′ib shortly after my former visit to
this country (Mustaf′a Káshif, a Kurd) exercised his power in a most
brutal manner, clipping men’s ears (that is, cutting off the lobe, or
ear-lap), not only for the most trifling transgression, but often for no
offence whatever. He once met an old man, driving along several asses
laden with water-melons, and pointing to one of the largest of these
fruits, asked its price. The old man put his finger and thumb to his
ear-lap, and said, “Cut it, Sir.” He was asked again and again, and gave
the same answer. The Mohtes′ib, angry, but unable to refrain from
laughing, said, “Fellow, are you mad or deaf?” “No,” replied the old
man, “I am neither mad nor deaf; but I know that, if I were to say the
price of the melon is ten faddahs, you would say, ‘Clip his ear’; and if
I said _five_ faddahs, or _one_ faddah, you would say, ‘Clip his ear’;
therefore clip it at once, and let me pass on.” His humour saved
him.—Clipping ears was the usual punishment inflicted by this Mohtes′ib;
but sometimes he tortured in a different manner. A butcher, who had sold
some meat wanting two ounces of its due weight, he punished by cutting
off two ounces of flesh from his back. A seller of “kunáfeh” (a kind of
paste resembling vermicelli) having made his customers pay a trifle more
than was just, he caused him to be stripped, and seated upon the round
copper tray on which the kunáfeh was baked, and kept so until he was
dreadfully burnt. He generally punished dishonest butchers by putting a
hook through their nose, and hanging a piece of meat to it. Meeting, one
day, a man carrying a large crate full of earthen water-bottles from
Semennood, which he offered for sale as made at Kinë, he caused his
attendants to break each bottle separately against the vendor’s head.
Mustaf’a Káshif also exercised his tyranny in other cases than those
which properly fell under his jurisdiction. He once took a fancy to send
one of his horses to a bath, and desired the keeper of a bath in his
neighbourhood to prepare for receiving it, and to wash it well, and make
its coat very smooth. The bath-keeper, annoyed at so extraordinary a
command, ventured to suggest that, as the pavements of the bath were of
marble, the horse might slip, and fall; and also, that it might take
cold on going out; and that it would, therefore, be better for him to
convey to the stable the contents of the cistern of the bath in buckets,
and there to perform the operation. Mustaf′a Káshif said, “I see how it
is; you do not like that my horse should go into your bath.” He desired
some of his servants to throw him down, and beat him with staves until
he should tell them to stop. They did so; and beat the poor man till he
died.
A few years ago there used to be carried before the Mohtes′ib, when
going his rounds to examine the weights and measures, etc., a pair of
scales larger than that used at present. Its beam, it is said, was a
hollow tube, containing some quicksilver; by means of which, the bearer,
knowing those persons who had bribed his master, and those who had not,
easily made either scale preponderate.
As the Mohtes′ib is the overseer of the public markets, so there are
officers who have a similar charge in superintending each branch of the
Básha’s trade and manufactures; and some of these persons have been
known to perpetrate most abominable acts of tyranny and cruelty. One of
this class, who was named ’Alee Bey, “Názir el-Kumásh” (or Overseer of
the Linen), when he found a person in possession of a private loom, or
selling the produce of such a loom, generally bound him up in a piece of
his linen, soaked in oil and tar; then suspended him, thus enveloped, to
a branch of a tree, and set light to the wrapper. After having destroyed
a number of men in this horrible manner, he was himself, among many
others, burnt to death, by the explosion of a powder-magazine on the
northern slope of the Citadel of Cairo, in 1824, the year before my
first arrival in Egypt. A friend of mine, who spoke to me of the
atrocities of this monster, added, “When his corpse was taken to be
buried, the Sheykh El-’Aroosee (who was Sheykh of the great mosque
El-Azhar) recited the funeral prayers over it, in the mosque of the
Hasaneyn; and I acted as ‘muballigh’ (to repeat the words of the Imám):
when the Sheykh uttered the words, ‘Give your testimony respecting him,’
and when I had repeated them, no one of all the persons present, and
they were many, presumed to give the answer, ‘He was of the virtuous’:
all were silent. To make the circumstance more glaring, I said again,
‘Give your testimony respecting him:’ but not an answer was heard; and
the Sheykh, in confusion, said, but in a very low voice, ‘May God have
mercy upon him.’ Now we may certainly say of this cursed man,” continued
my friend, “that he is gone to hell: yet his wife is constantly having
‘khatmehs’ (recitations of the Kur-án) performed in her house for him;
and lights two wax candles, for his sake, every evening, at the niche of
the mosque of the Hasaneyn.”
Every quarter in the metropolis has its sheykh, called “Sheykh
el-Hárah,” whose influence is exerted to maintain order, to settle any
trifling disputes among the inhabitants, and to expel those who disturb
the peace of their neighbours. The whole of the metropolis is also
divided into eight districts, over each of which is a sheykh, called
“Sheykh et-Tumn.”
The members of various trades and manufactures in the metropolis and
other large towns have also their respective sheykhs, to whom all
disputes respecting matters connected with those trades or crafts are
submitted for arbitration; and whose sanction is required for the
admission of new members.
The servants in the metropolis are likewise under the authority of
particular sheykhs. Any person in want of a servant may procure one by
applying to one of these officers, who, for a small fee (two or three
piasters), becomes responsible for the conduct of the man whom he
recommends. Should a servant so engaged rob his master, the latter gives
information to the sheykh, who, whether he can recover the stolen
property or not, must indemnify the master.
Even the common thieves used, not many years since, to respect a
superior, who was called their sheykh. He was often required to search
for stolen goods, and to bring offenders to justice; which he generally
accomplished. It is very remarkable that the same strange system
prevailed among the ancient Egyptians.[223]
The Coptic Patriarch, who is the head of his church, judges petty causes
among his people in the metropolis; and the inferior clergy do the same
in other places; but an appeal may be made to the Kádee. A Muslim
aggrieved by a Copt may demand justice from the Patriarch or the Kádee:
a Copt who seeks redress from a Muslim must apply to the Kádee. The Jews
are similarly circumstanced. The Franks, or Europeans in general, are
not answerable to any other authority than that of their respective
consuls, excepting when they are aggressors against a Muslim: they are
then surrendered to the Turkish authorities, who, on the other hand,
will render justice to the Frank who is aggrieved by a Muslim.
The inhabitants of the country-towns and villages are under the
government of Turkish officers and of their own countrymen. The whole of
Egypt is divided into several large provinces, each of which is governed
by an ’Osmánlee (or a Turk); and these provinces are subdivided into
districts, which are governed by native officers, with the titles of
“Mamoor and Názir.” Every village, as well as town, has also its Sheykh,
called “Sheykh el-Beled;” who is one of the native Muslim inhabitants.
All the officers above mentioned, excepting the last, were formerly
Turks; and there were other Turkish governors of small districts, who
were called “Ká-shifs,” and “ Káïm-makáms:” the change was made very
shortly before my present visit to this country; and the Felláheen
complain that their condition is worse than it was before; but it is
generally from the tyranny of their great Turkish governors that they
suffer most severely.
The following case will convey some idea of the condition of Egyptian
peasants in some provinces. A Turk,[224] infamous for many barbarous
acts, presiding at the town of Tanta, in the Delta, went one night to
the government-granary of that town, and, finding two peasants sleeping
there, asked them who they were, and what was their business in that
place. One of them said that he had brought 130 ardebbs of corn from a
village of the district; and the other, that he had brought 60 ardebbs
from the land belonging to the town. “You rascal!” said the governor to
the latter; “this man brings 130 ardebbs from the lands of a small
village; and you, but 60 from the lands of the town.” “This man,”
answered the peasant of Tanta, “brings corn but once a week; and I am
now bringing it every day.” “Be silent!” said the governor; and,
pointing to a neighbouring tree, he ordered one of the servants of the
granary to hang the peasant to one of its branches. The order was
obeyed, and the governor returned to his house. The next morning he went
again to the granary, and saw a man bringing in a large quantity of
corn. He asked who he was, and what quantity he had brought; and was
answered, by the hangman of the preceding night, “This is the man, Sir,
whom I hanged by your orders, last night; and he has brought 160
ardebbs.” “What!” exclaimed the governor: “has he risen from the dead?”
He was answered, “No, Sir; I hanged him so that his toes touched the
ground; and when you were gone, I untied the rope: you did not order me
to _kill_ him.” The Turk muttered, “Aha! hanging and killing are
different things: Arabic is copious: next time I will say kill. Take
care of Aboo-Dá-ood.”[225] This is his nick-name.
Another occurrence may here be aptly related, as a further illustration
of the nature of the government to which the people of Egypt are
subjected. A felláh, who was appointed Názir (or governor) of the
district of El-Manoofeeyeh (the southernmost district of the Delta), a
short time before my present visit to Egypt, in collecting the taxes at
a village, demanded, of a poor peasant, the sum of sixty riyáls (ninety
faddahs each, making a sum total of a hundred and thirty-five piasters,
which was then equivalent to about thirty shillings). The poor man urged
that he possessed nothing but a cow, which barely afforded sustenance to
himself and his family. Instead of pursuing the method usually followed
when a felláh declares himself unable to pay the tax demanded of him,
which is to give him a severe bastinading, the Názir, in this case, sent
the Sheykh el-Beled to bring the poor peasant’s cow, and desired some of
the felláheen to buy it. They saying that they had not sufficient money,
he sent for a butcher, and desired him to kill the cow; which was done:
he then told him to divide it into sixty pieces. The butcher asked for
his pay; and was given the head of the cow. Sixty felláheen were then
called together; and each of them was compelled to purchase, for a
riyál, a piece of the cow. The owner of the cow went, weeping and
complaining, to the Názir’s superior, the late Mohammad Bey, Deftardár.
“O my master,” said he, “I am oppressed and in misery: I had no property
but one cow, a milch cow: I and my family lived upon her milk; and she
ploughed for me, and threshed my corn; and my whole subsistence was
derived from her: the Názir has taken her, and killed her, and cut her
up into sixty pieces, and sold the pieces to my neighbours—to each a
piece, for one riyál; so that he obtained but sixty riyáls for the
whole, while the value of the cow was a hundred and twenty riyáls, or
more. I am oppressed and in misery, and a stranger in the place, for I
came from another village; but the Názir had no pity on me. I and my
family are become beggars, and have nothing left. Have mercy upon me,
and give me justice: I implore it by thy hareem.” The Deftardár, having
caused the Názir to be brought before him, asked him, “Where is the cow
of this felláh?” “I have sold it,” said the Názir. “For how much?” “For
sixty riyáls.” “Why did you kill it and sell it?” “He owed sixty riyáls
for land: so I took his cow, and killed it, and sold it for the amount.”
“Where is the butcher that killed it?” “In Manoof.” The butcher was sent
for, and brought. The Deftardár said to him, “Why did you kill this
man’s cow?” “The Názir desired me,” he answered, “and I could not oppose
him: if I had attempted to do so, he would have beaten me, and destroyed
my house: I killed it; and the Názir gave me the head as my reward.”
“Man,” said the Deftardár, “do you know the persons who bought the
meat?” The butcher replied that he did. The Deftardár then desired his
secretary to write the names of the sixty men, and an order to the
sheykh of their village to bring them to Manoof, where this complaint
was made. The Názir and butcher were placed in confinement till the next
morning; when the sheykh of the village came, with the sixty felláheen.
The two prisoners were then brought again before the Deftardár, who said
to the sheykh and the sixty peasants, “Was the value of this man’s cow
sixty riyáls?” “O our master,” they answered, “her value was greater.”
The Deftardár sent for the Kádee of Manoof, and said to him, “O Kádee,
here is a man oppressed by this Názir, who has taken his cow, and killed
it; and sold its flesh for sixty riyáls. What is thy judgment?” The
Kádee replied, “He is a cruel tyrant, who oppresses every one under his
authority. Is not a cow worth a hundred and twenty riyáls, or more? and
he has sold this one for sixty riyáls: this is tyranny towards the
owner.” The Deftardár then said to some of his soldiers, “Take the
Názir, and strip him, and bind him.” This done, he said to the butcher,
“Butcher, dost thou not fear God? Thou hast killed the cow unjustly.”
The butcher again urged that he was obliged to obey the Názir. “Then,”
said the Deftardár, “if I order thee to do a thing, wilt thou do it?” “I
will do it,” answered the butcher. “Slaughter the Názir,” said the
Deftardár. Immediately, several of the soldiers present seized the
Názir, and threw him down; and the butcher cut his throat, in the
regular orthodox manner of killing animals for food. “Now, cut him up,”
said the Deftardár, “into sixty pieces.” This was done: the people
concerned in the affair, and many others, looking on; but none daring to
speak. The sixty peasants who had bought the meat of the cow were then
called forward, one after another, and each was made to take a piece of
the flesh of the Názir, and to pay for it two riyáls; so that a hundred
and twenty riyáls were obtained from them. They were then dismissed; but
the butcher remained. The Kádee was asked what should be the reward of
the butcher; and answered that he should be paid as he had been paid by
the Názir. The Deftardár therefore ordered that the head of the Názir
should be given to him; and the butcher went away with his worse than
valueless burden, thanking God that he had not been more unfortunate,
and scarcely believing himself to have so easily escaped until he
arrived at his village. The money paid for the flesh of the Názir was
given to the owner of the cow.
Most of the governors of provinces and districts carry their oppression
far beyond the limits to which they are authorized to proceed by the
Básha; and even the sheykh of a village, in executing the commands of
his superiors, abuses his lawful power: bribes, and the ties of
relationship and marriage, influence him and them, and by lessening the
oppression of some, who are more able to bear it, greatly increase that
of others. But the office of a sheykh of a village is far from being a
sinecure: at the period when the taxes are demanded of him, he
frequently receives a more severe bastinading than any of his inferiors;
for when the population of a village does not yield the sum required,
their sheykh is often beaten for their default: and not always does he
produce his own proportion until he has been well thrashed. All the
felláheen are proud of the stripes they receive for withholding their
contributions; and are often heard to boast of the number of blows which
were inflicted upon them before they would give up their money. Ammianus
Marcellinus gives precisely the same character to the Egyptians of his
time.[226]
The revenue of the Básha of Egypt is generally said to amount to about
three millions of pounds sterling.[227] Nearly half arises from the
direct taxes on land, and from indirect exactions from the felláheen:
the remainder, principally from the custom-taxes, the tax on palm-trees,
a kind of income-tax, and the sale of various productions of the land;
by which sale, the government, in most instances, obtains a profit of
more than fifty per cent.
The present Básha has increased his revenue to this amount by most
oppressive measures. He has dispossessed of their lands almost all the
private proprietors throughout Egypt, allotting to each, as a partial
compensation, a pension for life, proportioned to the extent and quality
of the land which belonged to him. The farmer has, therefore, nothing to
leave to his children but his hut, and perhaps a few cattle and some
small savings.
The direct taxes on land are proportioned to the natural advantages of
the soil. Their average amount is about 8_s._ per feddán, which is
nearly equal to an English acre.[228] But the cultivator can never
calculate exactly the full amount of what the government will require of
him: he suffers from indirect exactions of quantities (differing in
different years, but always levied per feddán) of butter, honey, wax,
wool, baskets of palm-leaves, ropes of the fibres of the palm-tree, and
other commodities: he is also obliged to pay the hire of the camels
which convey his grain to the government shooneh (or granary), and to
defray various other expenses. A portion of the produce of his land is
taken by the government,[229] and sometimes the whole produce, at a
fixed and fair price, which, however, in many parts of Egypt, is
retained to make up for the debts of the insolvent peasants.[230] The
felláh, to supply the bare necessaries of life, is often obliged to
steal, and convey secretly to his hut, as much as he can of the produce
of his land. He may either himself supply the seed for his land, or
obtain it as a loan from the government: but in the latter case he
seldom obtains a sufficient quantity, a considerable portion being
generally stolen by the persons through whose hands it passes before he
receives it. To relate all the oppressions which the peasantry of Egypt
endure from the dishonesty of the Mamoors and inferior officers would
require too much space in the present work. It would be scarcely
possible for them to suffer more, and live. It may be hardly necessary,
therefore, to add, that few of them engage, with assiduity, in the
labours of agriculture, unless compelled to do so by their superiors.
The Básha has not only taken possession of the lands of the private
proprietors, but he has also thrown into his treasury a considerable
proportion of the incomes of religious and charitable institutions,
deeming their accumulated wealth superfluous. He first imposed a tax (of
nearly half the amount of the regular land-tax) upon all land which had
become a “wakf” (or legacy unalienable by law) to any mosque, fountain,
public school, etc.; and afterwards took absolute possession of such
lands, granting certain annuities in lieu of them, for keeping in repair
the respective buildings, and for the maintenance of those persons
attached to them, as Názirs (or wardens), religious ministers, inferior
servants, students, and other pensioners. He has thus rendered himself
extremely odious to most persons of the religious and learned
professions, and especially to the Názirs of the mosques, who too
generally enriched themselves from the funds intrusted to their care,
which were, in most cases, superabundant. The _household_ property of
the mosques and other public institutions (the wakfs of numerous
individuals of various ranks) the Básha has hitherto left inviolate.
The tax upon the palm-trees has been calculated to amount to about a
hundred thousand pounds sterling. The trees are rated according to their
qualities; generally at a piaster and a half each.
The income-tax, which is called “firdeh,” is generally a twelfth or more
of a man’s annual income or salary, when that can be ascertained. The
maximum, however, is fixed at five hundred piasters. In the large towns
it is levied upon individuals; in the villages upon houses. The
income-tax of all the inhabitants of the metropolis amounts to eight
thousand purses, or about forty thousand pounds sterling.
The inhabitants of the metropolis and of other large towns pay a heavy
tax on grain, etc. The tax on each kind of grain is eighteen piasters
per ardebb (or about five bushels); which sum is equal to the price of
wheat in the country after a good harvest.[231]
-----
Footnote 208:
Though his territory has been greatly lessened since the above was
written, his power in Egypt remains nearly the same.
Footnote 209:
The government of Egypt, from the period of the conquest of this
country by the Arabs, has been nearly the same as it is at present in
its influence upon the manners and customs and character of the
inhabitants; and I therefore do not deem an historical retrospect
necessary to the illustration of this work. It should, however, be
mentioned that the people of Egypt are not now allowed to indulge in
that excessive fanatical rudeness with which they formerly treated
unbelievers; and hence European travellers have one great cause for
gratitude to Mohammad ’Alee. Restraint may, at first, increase, but
will probably, in the course of time, materially diminish the feeling
of fanatical intolerance.
Footnote 210:
“Khideewee” is a relative adjective formed from the Turkish “Khideev,”
which signifies “a prince.”
Footnote 211:
Thus pronounced in Egypt, but more properly “Kyáhya,” or “Ketkhud′a.”
Footnote 212:
A very arbitrary power is often exercised in this and similar courts,
and the proceedings are conducted with little decorum. Many Turkish
officers, even of the highest rank, make use of language far too
disgusting for me to mention, towards persons brought before them for
judgment, and towards those who appeal to them for justice.
Footnote 213:
He used to arrive in Cairo in the beginning of Ramadán; but the
beginning of the first month, Moharram, has of late been fixed upon,
instead of the former period.
Footnote 214:
The Egyptian piaster is now equivalent to the fifth part of a
shilling, or 2¼_d._
Footnote 215:
This law is borrowed from the Jews. See Deut. xix. 15.—A man may
refuse to give his testimony.
Footnote 216:
A purse is the sum of five hundred piasters, and was then equivalent
to nearly seven pounds sterling, but is now equal to only five pounds.
Footnote 217:
In the singular “’A′lim.” This title is more particularly given to a
professor of jurisprudence. European writers generally use the plural
form of this appellation for the singular.
Footnote 218:
Since this was written, the public women throughout Egypt have been
compelled to relinquish their licentious profession.
Footnote 219:
“Ibn beled.” If blind, he answers, “Aama.”
Footnote 220:
“Wahhed;” or, to more than one person, “Wahhedoo.”
Footnote 221:
Baron Hammer-Purgstall is mistaken in substituting “Meshaaledschi” for
“Shealeg′ee.” The officer who bears the latter appellation does not
carry a mesh′al, but a twisted torch. The mesh′al is described and
figured in Chap. vi.
Footnote 222:
An ornament worn on the crown of the head-dress by women, described in
the Appendix to this work.
Footnote 223:
See Diodorus Siculus, lib. i., cap. 80.
Footnote 224:
Suleymán A′gha, the Silahdár.
Footnote 225:
Aboo-Dá-ood, Aboo-’Alee, etc., are patronymics, used by the Egyptian
peasants in general, not as signifying “Father of Dá-ood,” “Father of
’Alee,” etc., but “whose father is (or was) Dá-ood,” “—— ’Alee,” etc.
Footnote 226:
Lib. xxii. The more easily the peasant pays, the more is he made to
pay.
Footnote 227:
Some estimate it at _five_ millions; others, at little more than _two_
millions.
Footnote 228:
The feddán has lately been reduced: it was equal to about an English
acre and one-tenth a few years ago; and somewhat more at an earlier
period.
Footnote 229:
Of some productions, as cotton, flax, etc., the government always
takes the whole.
Footnote 230:
Even the debts of the peasantry of one village are often imposed upon
the inhabitants of another who have paid all that is justly due from
them.
Footnote 231:
The above account of the government of Egypt, having been written in
the years 1834 and 1835, is not altogether correct with respect to the
present time (1842). Great changes are now being made in various
departments; and as the Básha has no longer to maintain an enormous
military and naval force, he will be able to ameliorate very
considerably the condition of the people whom he governs. Most of the
evils of which the people of Egypt have hitherto had to complain have
arisen from the vast expense incurred in war, from the conscription,
and from the dishonesty of almost all the Básha’s civil officers.
----------------------------
CHAPTER V.| | DOMESTIC LIFE.
Having sufficiently considered the foundations of the moral and social
state of the Muslims of Egypt, we may now take a view of their domestic
life and ordinary habits; and, first, let us confine our attention to
the higher and middle orders.
A master of a family, or any person who has arrived at manhood, and is
not in a menial situation, or of very low condition, is commonly
honoured with the appellation of “the sheykh,” prefixed to his name. The
word “sheykh” literally signifies “an elder,” or “an aged person”; but
it is often used as synonymous with our appellation of “Mister”; though
more particularly applied to a learned man, or a reputed saint. A
“shereef,” or descendant of the Prophet, is called “the seyd,” or “the
seyyid” (master, or lord), whatever be his station. Many shereefs are
employed in the lowest offices: there are servants, dustmen, and
beggars, of the honoured race of Mohammad; but all of them are entitled
to the distinctive appellation above mentioned, and privileged to wear
the green turban;[232] many of them, however, not only among those of
humble station, but also among the wealthy, and particularly the
learned, assume neither of these prerogatives; preferring the title of
“sheykh,” and the white turban. A man who has performed the pilgrimage
is generally called “the hágg;”[233] and a woman who has alike
distinguished herself, “the hággeh:” yet there are many pilgrims who,
like those shereefs just before alluded to, prefer the title of
“sheykh.” The general appellation of a lady is “the sitt,” which
signifies “the mistress,” or “the lady.”
Before I describe the ordinary habits of the master of a family, I must
mention the various classes of persons of whom the family may consist.
The hareem, or the females of the house, have distinct apartments
allotted to them; and into these apartments (which, as well as the
persons to whom they are appropriated, are called “the hareem”) no males
are allowed to enter, excepting the master of the family, and certain
other near relations, and children. The hareem may consist, first, of a
wife, or wives (to the number of four); secondly, of female slaves, some
of whom, namely, white and Abyssinian slaves, are generally concubines,
and others (the black slaves) kept merely for servile offices, as
cooking, waiting upon the ladies, etc.; thirdly, of female free
servants, who are, in no case, concubines, or not legitimately so. The
male dependants may consist of white and of black slaves, and free
servants; but are mostly of the last-mentioned class. Very few of the
Egyptians avail themselves of the licence, which their religion allows
them, of having four wives; and still smaller is the number of those who
have two or more wives, and concubines besides. Even most of those men
who have but one wife are content, for the sake of domestic peace, if
for no other reason, to remain without a concubine slave: but some
prefer the possession of an Abyssinian slave to the more expensive
maintenance of a wife; and keep a black slave-girl, or an Egyptian
female servant, to wait upon her, to clean and keep in order the
apartments of the hareem, and to cook. It is seldom that two or more
wives are kept in the same house: if they be, they generally have
distinct apartments. Of male servants, the master of a family keeps, if
he can afford to do so, one or more to wait upon him and his male
guests: another, who is called a “sakka,” or water-carrier, but who is
particularly a servant of the hareem, and attends the ladies when they
go out;[234] a “bowwáb,” or door-keeper, who constantly sits at the door
of the house; and a “sáïs,” or groom, for the horse, mule, or ass. Few
of the Egyptians have “memlooks,” or male white slaves; most of these
being in the possession of rich ’Osmánlees (or Turks); and scarcely any
but Turks of high rank keep eunuchs: but a wealthy Egyptian merchant is
proud of having a black slave to ride or walk behind him, and to carry
his pipe.
The Egyptian is a very early riser; as he retires to sleep at an early
hour: it is his duty to be up and dressed before daybreak, when he
should say the morning-prayers. In general, while the master of a family
is performing the religious ablution, and saying his prayers, his wife
or slave is preparing for him a cup of coffee, and filling his pipe,
which she presents to him as soon as he has acquitted himself of his
religious duties.
Many of the Egyptians take nothing before noon but the cup of coffee and
the pipe: others take a light meal at an early hour. The meal of
breakfast (“el-fatoor”) generally consists of bread, with eggs, butter,
cheese, clouted cream, or curdled milk, etc.; or of a “fateereh,” which
is a kind of pastry, saturated with butter, made very thin, and folded
over and over like a napkin: it is eaten alone, or with a little honey
poured over it, or sugar. A very common dish for breakfast is “fool
mudemmes,” or beans, similar to our horse-beans, slowly boiled, during a
whole night, in an earthen vessel, buried, all but the neck, in the hot
ashes of an oven or a bath, and having the mouth closely stopped: they
are eaten with linseed-oil, or butter, and generally with a little
lime-juice: thus prepared, they are sold in the morning in the sooks (or
markets) of Cairo and other towns. A meal is often made (by those who
cannot afford luxuries) of bread and a mixture called “dukkah,” which is
commonly composed of salt and pepper, with “zaatar” (or wild marjoram)
or mint or cumin-seed, and with one, or more, or all, of the following
ingredients: namely, coriander-seed, cinnamon, sesame, and “hommus” (or
chick-peas): each mouthful of bread is dipped in this mixture. The bread
is always made in the form of a round flat cake, generally about a span
in width, and a finger’s breadth in thickness.
The pipe and the cup of coffee are enjoyed by almost all persons who can
afford such luxuries, very early in the morning, and oftentimes during
the day. There are many men who are scarcely ever seen without a pipe
either in their hand or carried behind them by a servant. The smoker
keeps his tobacco for daily use in a purse or bag made of shawl-stuff,
or silk, or velvet, which is often accompanied with a small pouch
containing a flint and steel, and some agaric tinder, and is usually
crammed into his bosom.
[Illustration: PIPES.]
The pipe (which is called by many names, as “shibuk,” “’ood,” etc.) is
generally between four and five feet long; some pipes are shorter, and
some are of greater length. The most common kind used in Egypt is made
of a kind of wood called “garmash′ak.”[235] The greater part of the
stick (from the mouth-piece to about three-quarters of its length) is
covered with silk, which is confined at each extremity by gold thread,
often intertwined with coloured silks, or by a tube of gilt silver; and
at the lower extremity of the covering is a tassel of silk. The covering
was originally designed to be moistened with water, in order to cool the
pipe, and, consequently, the smoke, by evaporation; but this is only
done when the pipe is old, or not handsome. Cherry-stick pipes, which
are never covered, are also used by many persons, particularly in the
winter. In summer the smoke is not so cool from the cherry-stick pipe as
from the kind before mentioned. The bowl is of baked earth, coloured red
or brown.[236] The mouth-piece is composed of two or more pieces of
opaque, light-coloured amber, interjoined by ornaments of enamelled
gold, agate, jasper, carnelion, or some other precious substance. It is
the most costly part of the pipe; the price of one of the kind most
generally used by persons of the middle order is from about one to three
pounds sterling. A wooden tube passes through it. This is often changed,
as it soon becomes foul from the oil of the tobacco. The pipe also
requires to be cleaned very often, which is done with tow, by means of a
long wire. Many poor men in Cairo gain their livelihood by going about
to clean pipes.
The tobacco smoked by persons of the higher orders, and some others, in
Egypt, is of a very mild and delicious flavour. It is mostly from the
neighbourhood of El-Ládikeeyeh, in Syria. The best kind is the “mountain
tobacco,” grown on the hills about that town. A stronger kind, which
takes its name from the town of Soor, sometimes mixed with the former,
is used by most persons of the middle orders. In smoking, the people of
Egypt and of other countries of the East draw in their breath freely, so
that much of the smoke descends into the lungs; and the terms which they
use to express “smoking tobacco” signify “_drinking_ smoke,” or
“_drinking_ tobacco,” for the same word signifies both “smoke” and
“tobacco.” Few of them spit while smoking; I have very seldom seen any
do so.
Some of the Egyptians use the Persian pipe, in which the smoke passes
through water. The pipe of this kind most commonly used by persons of
the higher classes is called “nárgeeleh,” because the vessel that
contains the water is a cocoa-nut, of which “nárgeeleh” is an Arabic
name. Another kind, which has a glass vase, is called “sheesheh.”[237]
Each has a very long flexible tube. A particular kind of tobacco, called
“tumbák,” from Persia, is used in the water-pipe; it is first washed
several times, and put into the pipe-bowl while damp, and two or three
pieces of live charcoal are placed on the top. Its flavour is mild, and
very agreeable; but the strong inhalation necessary in this mode of
smoking is injurious to persons of delicate lungs.[238] In using the
Persian pipe, the person as freely draws the smoke into his lungs as he
would inhale pure air. The great prevalence of liver-complaints in
Arabia is attributed to the general use of the nárgeeleh; and many
persons in Egypt suffer severely from the same cause. A kind of pipe
commonly called “gózeh,” which is similar to the nárgeeleh, excepting
that it has a short cane tube, instead of the snake (or flexible one),
and no stand, is used by men of the lowest class, for smoking both the
tumbák and the intoxicating “hasheesh,” or hemp.
[Illustration: COFFEE SERVICE.]
The coffee (“kahweh”[239]) is made very strong, and without sugar or
milk. The coffee-cup (which is called “fingán”) is small, generally
holding not quite an ounce and a half of liquid. It is of porcelain, or
Dutch ware, and, being without a handle, is placed within another cup
(called “zarf”), of silver or brass, according to the circumstances of
the owner, and, both in shape and size, nearly resembling our
egg-cup.[240] In preparing the coffee, the water is first made to boil,
the coffee (freshly roasted and pounded) is then put in, and stirred,
after which the pot is again placed on the fire, once or twice, until
the coffee begins to simmer, when it is taken off, and its contents are
poured out into the cups while the surface is yet creamy. The Egyptians
are excessively fond of pure and strong coffee thus prepared, and very
seldom add sugar to it (though some do so when they are unwell), and
never milk or cream; but a little cardamom-seed is often added to it. It
is a common custom, also, to fumigate the cup with the smoke of mastic;
and the wealthy sometimes impregnate the coffee with the delicious
fragrance of ambergris. The most general mode of doing this is to put
about a carat-weight of ambergris in a coffee-pot, and melt it over a
fire; then make the coffee in another pot, in the manner before
described, and, when it has settled a little, pour it into the pot which
contains the ambergris. Some persons make use of the ambergris, for the
same purpose, in a different way, sticking a piece of it, of the weight
of about two carats, in the bottom of the cup, and then pouring in the
coffee; a piece of the weight above mentioned will serve for two or
three weeks. This mode is often adopted by persons who like always to
have the coffee which they themselves drink flavoured with this perfume,
and do not give all their visitors the same luxury. The coffee-pot is
sometimes brought in a vessel of silver or brass (called
“’áz’kee”[241]), containing burning charcoal. This vessel is suspended
by three chains. In presenting the coffee, the servant holds the foot of
the zarf with his thumb and first finger. In receiving the fingán and
zarf, he makes use of both hands, placing the left beneath and the right
above at the same instant.
In cold weather, a brasier, or chafing-dish (called “mankal,” and
vulgarly “mankad”), of tinned copper, full of burning charcoal, is
placed on the floor, and sometimes perfume is burnt in it. The Egyptians
take great delight in perfumes,[242] and often fumigate their
apartments. The substance most commonly used for this purpose is
frankincense of an inferior quality, called “bakhoor el-barr.” Benzoin
and aloes-wood are also used for the same purpose.
If he can conveniently afford to keep a horse, mule, or ass, or to hire
an ass, the Egyptian is seldom seen walking far beyond the threshold of
his own house; but very few of the people of Cairo, or of the other
towns, venture to expose themselves to the suspicion of possessing
superfluous wealth, and, consequently, to greater exactions of the
government than they would otherwise suffer, by keeping horses.[243] The
modern saddle of the horse is generally padded, and covered with cloth
or velvet, embroidered, or otherwise ornamented; and the head-stall and
breast-leather are adorned with silk tassels, and coins, or other
ornaments, of silver. Wealthy merchants, and the great ’ulama, usually
ride mules. The saddle of the mule is, generally, nearly the same as
that of the ass, of which a sketch is inserted; when the rider is one of
the ’ulama, it is covered with a “seggádeh” (or prayer-carpet); so,
also, sometimes, is the ladies’ saddle, from which, however, the former
differs considerably, as will be shown hereafter. Asses are most
generally used for riding through the narrow and crowded streets of
Cairo, and there are many for hire; their usual pace is an easy amble.
Egypt has long been famed for its excellent asses, which are, in
general, larger than those of our country, and very superior to the
latter in every respect. The usual price of one of a good breed and well
trained is about three or four pounds sterling. The ass is furnished
with a stuffed saddle, the forepart of which is covered with red
leather, and the seat, most commonly, with a kind of soft woollen lace,
similar to our coach-lace, of red, yellow, and other colours. The
stirrup-leathers are, in every case, very short. The horseman is
preceded by a servant, or by two servants, to clear the way; and, for
the same purpose, a servant generally runs beside or behind the ass, or
sometimes before, calling out to the passengers to move out of the way
to the right or left, or to take care of their backs, faces, sides,
feet, or heels.[245] The rider, however, must be vigilant, and not trust
merely to his servant, or he may be thrown down by the wide load of a
camel, which accident, indeed, is sometimes unavoidable in the more
narrow and crowded streets. His pipe is generally carried by the
servant, and filled and lighted if he dismount at a house or shop.
[Illustration: ÁZ’KEE AND MANKALS.[244]]
If he have no regular business to employ him, the Egyptian spends the
greater part of the day in riding, paying visits, or making purchases;
or in smoking and sipping coffee and chatting with a friend at home; or
he passes an hour or more in the morning enjoying the luxuries of a
public bath. At noon he has again to say prayers, if he fulfil the
duties imposed on him by his religion; but, as I have remarked on a
former occasion, there are comparatively few persons among the Egyptians
who do not sometimes neglect these duties, and there are many who
scarcely ever pray. Directly after midday (if he has not taken a late
breakfast) he dines, then takes a pipe and a cup of coffee, and, in hot
weather, usually indulges himself with a nap. Often he retires to
recline in the hareem, where a wife or female slave watches over his
repose, or rubs the soles of his feet with her hands. On such occasions,
and at other times when he wishes to enjoy privacy, every person who
comes to pay him a visit is told, by the servant, that he is in the
hareem; and no friend expects him to be called thence, unless on very
urgent business. From the time of the afternoon-prayers until sunset
(the next time of prayer) he generally enjoys again his pipe and a cup
of coffee in the society of some one or more of his friends at home or
abroad. Shortly after sunset he sups.
I must now describe the meals of dinner (“el-ghada”) and supper
(“el-’asha”), and the manner and etiquette of eating. The same remarks
will apply to both these repasts; excepting that supper is always the
principal meal. It is the general custom to cook in the afternoon, and
what remains of the supper is eaten the next day for dinner, when there
are no guests in the house. The master of a family generally dines and
sups with his wife or wives and children; but there are many men,
particularly of the higher classes, who are too proud to do this, or too
much engaged in society to be able to do so, unless on some few
occasions; and there are men even of the lowest class who scarcely ever
eat with their wives or children. When a person is paying a visit to a
friend, and the hour of dinner or supper arrives, it is incumbent on the
master of the house to order the meal to be brought; and the same is
generally considered necessary if the visitor be a stranger.
[Illustration: WASHING BEFORE OR AFTER A MEAL.]
Every person, before he sits down to the table, or rather to the tray,
washes his hands,[246] and sometimes his mouth also, with soap and
water; or, at least, has some water poured upon his right hand. A
servant brings to him a basin and ewer (called “tisht” and “ibreek”), of
tinned copper, or brass.[247] The former of these has a cover pierced
with holes, with a raised receptacle for the soap in the middle; and the
water, being poured upon the hands, passes through this cover into the
space below; so that when the basin is brought to a second person, the
water with which the former one has washed is not seen. A napkin
(“footah”) is given to each person.
[Illustration: TISHT AND IBREEK.[248]]
A round tray (called “seeneeyeh,” and “sáneeyeh”) of tinned copper, or
sometimes of brass, generally between two and three feet in diameter,
serves as a table; being placed upon a stool (“kursee”) about fifteen
inches high, made of wood, and often covered with mother-of-pearl,
tortoise-shell, bone, etc. These two pieces of furniture compose the
“sufrah.” Round cakes of bread, such as have been before described,
sometimes cut in halves across the middle, are placed round the tray,
with several limes, cut in two, to be squeezed over any of the dishes
that may require the acid; and a spoon of box-wood, or of ebony, or
tortoise-shell, is put for each person. The bread often serves as a
plate. Several dishes of tinned copper, or of china, containing
different kinds of viands, vegetables, etc., are then placed upon the
tray, according to the common fashion of the country; or only one dish
is put on at a time, after the Turkish mode.
[Illustration: KURSEE AND SEENEEYEH.]
The persons who are to partake of the repast sit upon the floor around
the tray, each with his napkin upon his knees; or, if the tray be placed
near the edge of a low deewán, which is often done, some of the persons
may sit on the deewán, and the others on the floor: but if the party be
numerous, the tray is placed in the middle of the room, and they sit
round it with one knee on the ground, and the other (the right) raised;
and, in this manner, as many as twelve persons may sit round a tray
three feet wide. Each person bares his right arm to the elbow, or tucks
up the hanging end of his sleeve. Before he begins to eat, he says,
“Bi-smi-llah” (In the name of God).[249] This is generally said in a
low, but audible voice; and by the master of the house first. It is
considered both as a grace and as an invitation to any person to partake
of the meal; and when any one is addressed with “Bi-smi-llah,” or
“Tafaddal” (which latter signifies, in this case, “Do me the favour to
partake of the repast”), he must reply, if he do not accept the
invitation, “Heneeän” (or “May it be productive of enjoyment,” or
“benefit”), or use some similar expression: else it will be feared that
an evil eye has been cast upon the food; and they say that, “in the food
that is coveted” (or upon which an envious eye has fallen), “there is no
blessing.” But the manner in which the Egyptian often presses a stranger
to eat with him, shows that feelings of hospitality most forcibly
dictate the “Bi-smi-llah.” The master of the house first begins to eat;
the guests or others immediately follow his example. Neither knives nor
forks are used: the thumb and two fingers of the right hand serve
instead of those instruments; but the spoons are used for soup or rice,
or other things that cannot be easily taken without; and both hands may
be used in particular cases, as will be presently explained. When there
are several dishes upon the tray, each person takes of any that he
likes, or of every one in succession: when only one dish is placed upon
the tray at a time, each takes from it a few mouthfuls, and it is
quickly removed, to give place to another.[251] To pick out a delicate
morsel, and hand it to a friend, is esteemed polite. The manner of
eating with the fingers, as practised in Egypt and other Eastern
countries, is more delicate than may be imagined by Europeans who have
not witnessed it, nor heard it correctly described. Each person breaks
off a small piece of bread, dips it in the dish, and then conveys it to
his mouth, together with a small portion of the meat or other contents
of the dish.[252] The piece of bread is generally doubled together, so
as to enclose the morsel of meat, etc.; and only the thumb and first and
second fingers are commonly used. When a person takes a piece of meat
too large for a single mouthful, he usually places it upon his bread.
[Illustration: A PARTY AT DINNER OR SUPPER.[250]]
The food is dressed in such a manner that it may be easily eaten in the
mode above-described. It generally consists, for the most part, of
“yakhnee,” or stewed meat, with chopped onions, or with a quantity of
“bámiyehs,”[253] or other vegetables; “káwurmeh,” or a richer stew, with
onions; “warak mahshee,” or vine-leaves, or bits of lettuce-leaf or
cabbage-leaf, with a mixture of rice and minced meat (delicately
seasoned with salt, pepper, and onions, and often with garlic, parsley,
etc.) wrapped up in them, and boiled; cucumbers (“khiyár”), or black,
white, or red “bádingáns,”[254] or a kind of gourd (called “kara
kooseh”) of the size and shape of a small cucumber, which are all
“mahshee,” or stuffed, with the same composition as the leaves
above-mentioned; and “kebáb,” or small morsels of mutton or lamb,
roasted on skewers. Many dishes consist wholly, or for the most part, of
vegetables; such as cabbage, purslain, spinach, beans, lupins, chick
peas, gourd cut into small pieces, colocasia, lentils, etc. Fish,
dressed with oil, is also a common dish. Most of the meats are cooked
with clarified butter, on account of the deficiency of fat; and are made
very rich: the butter, in the hot season, is perfectly liquid. When a
fowl is placed whole on the tray, both hands are generally required to
separate the joints; or two persons, each using the right hand alone,
perform this operation together: but some will do it very cleverly
without assistance, and with a single hand. Many of the Arabs will not
allow the left hand to touch food in any case,[255] excepting when the
right is maimed. A boned fowl, stuffed with raisins, pistachio-nuts,
crumbled bread, and parsley, is not an uncommon dish; and even a whole
lamb, stuffed with pistachio-nuts, etc., is sometimes served up; but the
meat is easily separated with one hand. Sweets are often mixed with
stewed meat, etc.; as, for instance, “’annáb” (or jujubes), peaches,
apricots, etc., and sugar, with yakhnee. Various kinds of sweets are
also served up, and often in no particular order with respect to other
meats. A favourite sweet dish is “kunáfeh,” which is made of
wheat-flour, and resembles vermicelli, but is finer; it is fried with a
little clarified butter, and sweetened with sugar or honey. A dish of
water-melon (“batteekh”), if in season, generally forms part of the
meal. This is cut up about a quarter of an hour before, and left to cool
in the external air, or in a current of air, by the evaporation of the
juice on the surfaces of the slices; but it is always watched during
this time, lest a serpent should come to it, and poison it by its breath
or bite; for this reptile is said to be extremely fond of the
water-melon, and to smell it at a great distance. Water-melons are very
abundant in Egypt, and mostly very delicious and wholesome. A dish of
boiled rice (called “ruzz mufelfel,” the “piláv” of the Turks), mixed
with a little butter, and seasoned with salt and pepper, is generally
that from which the last morsels are taken; but, in the houses of the
wealthy, this is often followed by a bowl of “khusháf,”[256] a sweet
drink, commonly consisting of water with raisins boiled in it, and then
sugar: when cool, a little rose-water is dropped into it.[257] The
water-melon frequently supplies the place of this.[258]
The Egyptians eat very moderately, though quickly. Each person, as soon
as he has finished, says, “El-hamdu li-lláh” (Praise be to God),[259]
and gets up, without waiting till the others have done:[260] he then
washes his hands and mouth with soap and water; the basin and ewer being
held by a servant, as before.
[Illustration: WATER-BOTTLES.]
The only beverage at meals is water of the Nile, or, sometimes, at the
tables of the rich, sherbet, which will presently be described. The
Arabs drink little or no water _during_ a meal, but generally take a
large draught immediately _after_. The water of the Nile is remarkably
good; but that of all the wells in Cairo and in other parts of Egypt is
slightly brackish. In general, water is drunk either from an earthen
bottle or from a brass cup.[261] The water-bottles are of two kinds; one
called “dórak,” and the other “kulleh:” the former has a narrow, and the
latter a wide, mouth. They are made of a greyish, porous earth, which
cools the water deliciously, by evaporation; and they are, therefore,
generally placed in a current of air. The interior is often blackened
with the smoke of some resinous wood, and then perfumed with the smoke
of “kafal”[262] wood and mastic; the latter used last. A small earthen
vessel (called “mibkhar′ah”) is employed in performing these operations,
to contain the burning charcoal, which is required to ignite the wood,
and the mastic; and the water-bottle is held inverted over it. A strip
of rag is tied round the neck of the dórak, at the distance of about an
inch from the mouth, to prevent the smoke-black from extending too far
upon the exterior of the bottle. Many persons also put a little
orange-flower-water into the bottles. This gives a very agreeable
flavour to their contents. The bottles have stoppers of silver, brass,
tin, wood, or palm-leaves; and are generally placed in a tray of tinned
copper, which receives the water that exudes from them. In cold weather,
china bottles are used in many houses instead of those above-described,
which then render the water too cold.[263] The two most common forms of
drinking-cups are here represented. Some of them have texts of the
Kur-án, etc., engraved in the interior, or the names of “the Seven
Sleepers”: but inscriptions of the former kind I have seldom seen. Every
person, before and after drinking, repeats the same ejaculations as
before and after eating; and this he does each time that he drinks
during a meal: each friend present then says to him, “May it be
productive of enjoyment,” or “benefit”; to which the reply is, “God
cause thee to have enjoyment.”[264]
Though we read, in some of the delightful tales of “The Thousand and One
Nights,” of removing “the table of viands” and bringing “the table of
wine,” this prohibited beverage is not often introduced in general
society, either during or after the meal, or at other times, by the
Muslims of Egypt in the present day. Many of them, however, habitually
indulge in drinking wine with select parties of their acquaintance. The
servants of a man who is addicted to this habit know such of his friends
as may be admitted, if they happen to call when he is engaged in this
unlawful pleasure; and to all others they say that he is not at home, or
that he is in the hareem. Drinking wine is indulged in by such persons
before and after supper, and during that meal; but it is most approved
_before_ supper, as they say that it quickens the appetite. The “table
of wine” is usually thus prepared, according to a penitent Muslim
wine-bibber, who is one of my friends (I cannot speak on this subject
from my own experience; for, as I never drink wine, I have never been
invited to join a Muslim wine-party):—a round japanned tray, or a glass
dish, is placed on the stool before-mentioned: on this are generally
arranged two cut-glass jugs, one containing wine,[265] and the other,
rosoglio; and sometimes two or more bottles besides: several small
glasses are placed with these; and glass saucers of dried and fresh
fruits, and, perhaps, pickles: lastly, two candles, and often a bunch of
flowers stuck in a candlestick, are put upon the tray.
[Illustration: SHERBET-CUPS.]
The Egyptians have various kinds of sherbets, or sweet drinks. The most
common kind[266] is merely sugar and water, but very sweet:
lemonade[267] is another: a third kind, the most esteemed, is prepared
from a hard conserve of violets, made by pounding violet-flowers, and
then boiling them with sugar: this violet-sherbet is of a green colour:
a fourth kind is prepared from mulberries: a fifth, from sorrel. There
is also a kind of sherbet sold in the streets,[268] which is made with
raisins, as its name implies; another kind, which is a strong infusion
of liquorice-root, and called by the name of that root; and a third
kind, which is prepared from the fruit of the locust tree, and called,
in like manner, by the name of the fruit. The sherbet is served in
coloured glass cups, generally called “kullehs,” containing about
three-quarters of a pint; some of which (the more common kind) are
ornamented with gilt flowers, etc. The sherbet-cups are placed on a
round tray, and covered with a round piece of embroidered silk, or cloth
of gold. On the right arm of the person who presents the sherbet is hung
a large oblong napkin with a wide embroidered border of gold and
coloured silks at each end. This is ostensibly offered for the purpose
of wiping the lips after drinking the sherbet; but it is really not so
much for use as for display: the lips are seldom or scarcely touched
with it.
The interval between supper and the “’eshë,” or time of the
night-prayers, is generally passed in smoking a pipe, and sipping a cup
of coffee. The enjoyment of the pipe may be interrupted by prayer, but
is continued afterwards; and sometimes draughts or chess, or some other
game, or at least conversation, contributes to make the time glide away
more agreeably. The members of an Egyptian family in easy circumstances
may pass their time very pleasantly; but they do so in a quiet way. The
men often pay evening visits to their friends, at, or after,
supper-time. They commonly use, on these and similar occasions, a
folding lantern (“fánoos”), composed of waxed cloth strained over rings
of wire, and a top and bottom of tinned copper. This kind of lantern is
here represented, together with the common lamp (“kandeel”), and its
usual receptacle of wood, which serves to protect the flame from the
wind. The lamp is a small vessel of glass, having a little tube in the
bottom, in which is stuck a wick formed of cotton twisted round a piece
of straw. Some water is poured in first, and then the oil. A lamp of
this kind is often hung over the entrance of a house. By night, the
interiors of the houses present a more dull appearance than in the day:
the light of one or two candles (placed on the floor or on a stool, and
sometimes surrounded by a large glass shade, or enclosed in a glass
lantern, on account of the windows being merely of lattice-work) is
generally thought sufficient for a large and lofty saloon. Few of the
Egyptians sit up later, in summer, than three or four o’clock, which is
three or four hours after sunset; for their reckoning of time is from
sunset at every season of the year: in winter they often sit up five or
six hours.
Thus the day is usually spent by men of moderate wealth who have no
regular business to attend to, or none that requires their own active
superintendence. But it is the habit of the _tradesman_ to repair, soon
after breakfast, to his shop or warehouse, and to remain there until
near sunset.[269] He has leisure to smoke as much as he likes; and his
customers often smoke with him. To some of these he offers his own pipe
(unless they have theirs with them), and a cup of coffee, which is
obtained from the nearest coffee-shop. A great portion of the day he
sometimes passes in agreeable chat with customers, or with the tradesmen
of the next or opposite shops. He generally says his prayers without
moving from the shop. Shortly after the noon-prayers, or sometimes
earlier or later, he eats a light meal, such as a plate of kebáb and a
cake of bread (which a boy or maid daily brings from his house, or
procures in the market), or some bread and cheese or pickles, etc.,
which are carried about the streets for sale; and if a customer be
present, he is always invited, and often pressed, to partake of this
meal. A large earthen bottle of water is kept in the shop, and
replenished, whenever necessary, by a passing “sakka,” or water-carrier.
In the evening, the tradesman returns to his house, eats his supper,
and, soon after, retires to bed.
It is the general custom in Egypt for the husband and wife to sleep in
the same bed, excepting among the wealthy classes, who mostly prefer
separate beds. The bed is usually thus prepared in the houses of persons
of moderate wealth: a mattress, stuffed with cotton, about six feet
long, and three or four feet in width, is placed upon a low frame: a
pillow is placed for the head, and a sheet spread over this and the
mattress: the only covering in summer is generally a thin blanket: and
in winter a thick quilt, stuffed with cotton. If there be no frame, the
mattress is placed upon the floor; or two mattresses are laid one upon
the other, with the sheet, pillow, etc.; and often, a cushion of the
deewán is placed on each side. A musquito-curtain[270] is suspended over
the bed by means of four strings, which are attached to nails in the
wall. The dress is seldom changed on going to bed; and in winter, many
people sleep with all their ordinary clothes on, excepting the gibbeh,
or cloth coat; but in summer, they sleep almost, or entirely, unclad. In
winter, the bed is prepared in a small closet (called “khazneh”): in
summer, in a large room. All the bed-clothes are rolled up, in the
day-time, and placed on one side, or in the closet above-mentioned.
During the hottest weather, many people sleep upon the house-top, or in
a “fes-hah,” (or “fesahah”), which is an uncovered apartment; but
ophthalmia and other diseases often result from their thus exposing
themselves to the external air at night. The most common kind of frame
for the bed is made of palm-sticks; but this harbours bugs, which are
very abundant in Egypt in the summer, as fleas are in the winter. These
and other plagues to which the people of Egypt are exposed by night and
day have been before mentioned.[271] With regard to the most disgusting
of them, the lice, it may here be added, that, though they are not
always to be avoided even by the most scrupulous cleanliness, a person
who changes his linen after two or three days’ wear is very seldom
annoyed by these vermin; and when he is, they are easily removed, not
attaching themselves to the skin; they are generally found in the linen.
A house may be kept almost clear of fleas by frequent washing and
sweeping; and the flies may be kept out by placing nets at the doors and
windows: but it is impossible to purify an Egyptian house from bugs, if
it contain much wood-work, which is generally the case.
The male servants lead a very easy life, with the exception of the
“sáïs,” or groom, who whenever his master takes a ride, runs before or
beside him; and this he will do in the hottest weather for hours
together, without appearing fatigued. Almost every wealthy person in
Cairo has a “bowwáb,” or door-keeper, always at the door of his house,
and several other male servants. Most of these are natives of Egypt; but
many Nubians are also employed as servants in Cairo and other Egyptian
towns. The latter are mostly bowwábs, and are generally esteemed more
honest than the Egyptian servants; but I am inclined to think, from the
opinion of several of my friends, and from my own experience, that they
have acquired this reputation only by superior cunning. The wages of the
male servants are very small, usually from one to two dollars (or from
four to eight shillings) per month: but they receive many presents.[272]
On the “’eed” (or festival) after Ramadán, the master generally gives,
to each of his servants, part or the whole of a new suit of clothes,
consisting of an “’eree” (a blue shirt, which is their outer dress), a
“tarboosh,” and a turban. Other articles of dress which they require
during the year (excepting, sometimes, shoes) the servants are obliged
to provide for themselves. Besides what their master gives them, they
also receive small presents of money from his visitors, and from the
tradespeople with whom he deals; particularly whenever he has made any
considerable purchase. They sleep in the clothes which they wear during
the day, each upon a small mat; and in winter they cover themselves with
a cloak[273] or blanket. In some respects, they are often familiar in
their manners to their master, even laughing and joking with him: in
others, they are very submissive: paying him the utmost honour, and
bearing corporal chastisement from his hand with child-like patience.
The male black slave is treated with more consideration than the free
servant; and leads a life well suited to his lazy disposition. If
discontented with his situation, he can legally compel his master to
sell him. Many of the slaves in Egypt wear the Turkish military dress.
They are generally the greatest fanatics in the East; and more
accustomed than any other class to insult the Christians and every
people who are not of the faith which they have themselves adopted,
without knowing more of its doctrines than Arab children who have been
but a week at school. Of the female slaves, some account will be given
in the next chapter.
An acquaintance with the modern inhabitants of Egypt leads us often to
compare their domestic habits with those of Europeans in the middle
ages; and, perhaps, in this comparison, the points of resemblance which
we observe, with regard to the men, are more striking than the
contrasts; but the reverse will be found to be the case when we consider
the state of the females.
-----
Footnote 232:
Men and women of this race often contract marriages with persons who
are not members of the same; and as the title of shereef is inherited
from either of the parents, the number of persons who enjoy this
distinction has become very considerable.
Footnote 233:
This word is thus pronounced by the inhabitants of Cairo and the
greater part of Egypt; but in most other countries where Arabic is
spoken, “hájj.” The Turks and Persians use, instead of it, the
synonymous Arabic word “hájjee.”
Footnote 234:
Unless there be a eunuch. The sakka is generally the chief of the
servants.
Footnote 235:
I believe it is maple.
Footnote 236:
To preserve the matting or carpet from injury, a small brass tray is
often placed beneath the bowl; and a small tray of wood is made use of
to receive the ashes of the tobacco.
Footnote 237:
A Persian word, signifying “glass.”
Footnote 238:
It is, however, often recommended in the case of a cough. One of my
friends, the most celebrated of the poets of Cairo, who is much
troubled by asthma, uses the nárgeeleh almost incessantly from morning
till night.
Footnote 239:
This is the name of the _beverage_; the _berries_ (whether whole or
pounded) are called “bunn.”
Footnote 240:
In a full service there are ten fingáns and zarfs of uniform kinds,
and often another fingán and zarf of a superior kind for the master of
the house, or for a distinguished guest. In the accompanying sketch,
the coffee-pot (“bekreg,” or “bakrag”) and the zarfs and tray are of
silver, and are represented on a scale of one-eighth of the real size.
Below this set are a similar zarf and fingán, on a scale of
one-fourth, and a brass zarf, with the fingán placed in it. Some zarfs
are of plain or gilt silver filigree; and a few opulent persons have
them of gold. Many Muslims, however, religiously disallow all utensils
of gold and of silver.
Footnote 241:
Baron Hammer-Purgstall considers this word a corruption, and writes
“chasseki” in its stead; “’áz’kee” (for “’ázikee”) is, however, the
term used by the Egyptians.
Footnote 242:
They sometimes perfume the beard and mustaches with civet.
Footnote 243:
Whether walking or riding, a person of the higher classes is usually
attended by a servant bearing his pipe.
Footnote 244:
One of the latter (that to the right) is an earthen vessel. Each of
the above utensils is represented on a scale of about one-eighth of
the real size.
Footnote 245:
“Yemeenak! shimálak!” (to thy right! to thy left!), “dahrak!” (thy
back!), “wishshak!” (thy face!), “gembak!” (thy side!), “riglak!” (thy
foot!), “kaabak!” (thy heel!), and, to a Turk, “sákin!” (take care!),
are the most common cries. The following appellations are also often
added: “yá efendee!” (to a Turk), “yá sheykh!” (to an old or a
middle-aged Muslim native), “yá sabee!” (to a young man), “yá weled!”
or “yá ibnee!” (to a boy), “yá shereef!” (to a green turbaned
descendant of the Prophet), “yá m’allim!” (to a native Christian, or a
Jew), “yá khawágeh!” (to a Frank), “yá sitt!” (to a lady, or a female
of the middle order), and “yá bint!” that is “daughter,” or “girl” (to
a poor female). A woman of the lower class, however old she be, the
servant must call “girl,” or “daughter,” or probably she will not move
an inch out of the way. A little girl, or young woman, is often called
“’arooseh,” or “bride;” and “hággeh,” or “female pilgrim,” is an
appellation often given to women in the streets.
Footnote 246:
See Mark vii. 3.
Footnote 247:
In the houses of some of the opulent, these utensils are of silver. I
have also seen some of gilt copper.
Footnote 248:
The width of the former is fourteen inches; and the height of the
latter, the same.
Footnote 249:
Or “Bi-smi-lláhi-r-rahmáni-r-raheem” (In the name of God, the
Compassionate, the Merciful).
Footnote 250:
One of the servants is holding a water-bottle: the other, a fly-whisk,
made of palm leaves.
Footnote 251:
Our Saviour and His disciples thus ate from one dish. See Matt. xxvi.
23.
Footnote 252:
Or he merely sops his morsel of bread in the dish. See Ruth ii. 14;
and John xiii. 26.
Footnote 253:
The bámiyeh is the esculent “hibiscus:” the part which is eaten is a
polygonal pod, generally between one and three inches in length, and
of the thickness of a small finger: it is full of seeds and nutritive
mucilage, and has a very pleasant flavour. A little lime-juice is
usually dropped on the plate of bámiyehs.
Footnote 254:
The black and white bádingán are the fruits of two kinds of egg-plant:
the red is the tomato.
Footnote 255:
Because used for unclean purposes.
Footnote 256:
So called from the Persian “khósh áb,” or “sweet water.”
Footnote 257:
It is drunk with ladles of tortoise-shell or cocoa-nut.
Footnote 258:
The principal and best fruits of Egypt are dates, grapes, oranges and
citrons of various kinds, common figs, sycamore-figs, prickly pears,
pomegranates, bananas, and a great variety of melons. From this
enumeration, it appears that there are not many good fruits in this
country.
Footnote 259:
Or, “El-hamdu li-lláhi rabbi-l-’álameen” (Praise be to God, the Lord
of all creatures).
Footnote 260:
It is deemed highly improper to rise during a meal, even from respect
to a superior who may approach. It has been mentioned before, that the
Prophet forbade his followers to rise while eating, or when about to
eat, even if the time of prayer arrived.
Footnote 261:
The ancient Egyptians used drinking-cups of brass. (Herodotus, lib.
ii. cap. 37.)
Footnote 262:
“Amyris kafal” of Forskal. An Arabian tree.
Footnote 263:
Baron Hammer-Purgstall has remarked, that two other vessels should
have been mentioned here (in the first edition of this work), more
especially because their names have been adopted in European
languages: they are the “garrah” or “jarrah,” a water-jar or pitcher,
and the “demigán” or “demiján,” a large bottle, “la dame-jeanne.”
Footnote 264:
“Allah yehenneek” (for “yuhenneek”).
Footnote 265:
“Nebeed” (more properly, “nebeedh”), or “mudám.”
Footnote 266:
Called simply “sharbát,” or “sharbát sukkar,” or only “sukkar.”
Footnote 267:
“Leymoonáteh,” or “sharáb el-leymoon.”
Footnote 268:
Called “zebeeb.” This name is also given to an intoxicating conserve.
Footnote 269:
A description of the shops, and a further account of the tradesmen of
Cairo, will be given in another chapter, on Industry.
Footnote 270:
“Námooseeyeh.” It is composed of muslin, or linen of an open texture,
or crape, and forms a close canopy.
Footnote 271:
In the Introduction to this work.
Footnote 272:
“The habit of irregular remuneration, in lieu of fixed, invariable,
and _actionable_ wages, produces a difference of mental habits, as
regards servants and masters, that I am sure is not to be understood
through description; and yet every day you see Europeans, those men
who affect such comprehensive views and such powers of logic, reviling
the habit of giving presents, not perceiving that this practice leads
to the preservation of those interesting domestic relations which I
conceive to be the greatest lesson, political and moral, that is
presented to us by the Eastern world.”—Urquhart’s Spirit of the East,
vol. ii. p. 402.
Footnote 273:
See Exodus, xxii. 26, 27.
----------------------------
CHAPTER VI.
DOMESTIC LIFE—_continued_.
Quitting the lower apartments, where we have been long detained, I must
enter upon a more presumptuous office than I have yet undertaken, which
is that of a guide to the “Hareem:”[274] but first I must give some
account of marriage, and the marriage-ceremonies.
To abstain from marrying when a man has attained a sufficient age, and
when there is no just impediment, is esteemed, by the Egyptians,
improper, and even disreputable. For being myself guilty of this fault
(to use no harsher term), I have suffered much inconvenience and
discomfort during my stay in this country, and endured many reproaches.
During my former visit to Egypt, having occasion to remove from a house
which I had occupied for some months in a great thoroughfare-street in
Cairo, I engaged another house, in a neighbouring quarter: the lease was
written, and some money paid in advance; but a day or two after, the
agent of the owner came to inform me that the inhabitants of the
quarter, who were mostly “shereefs” (or descendants of the Prophet),
objected to my living among them, because I was not married. He added,
however, that they would gladly admit me if I would even purchase a
female slave, which would exempt me from the opprobrium cast upon me by
the want of a wife. I replied, that, being merely a sojourner in Egypt,
I did not like to take either a wife or female slave, whom I must soon
abandon: the money that I had paid was, therefore, returned to me. In
another quarter, I was less unfortunate; such heavy objections on
account of my being unmarried were not raised: I was only required to
promise that no persons wearing hats should come into the quarter to
visit me; yet, after I had established myself in my new residence, the
sheykh (or chief) of the quarter often endeavoured to persuade me to
marry. All my arguments against doing so he deemed of no weight. “You
tell me,” said he, “that in a year or two you mean to leave this
country: now, there is a young widow, who, I am told, is handsome,
living within a few doors of you, who will be glad to become your wife,
even with the express understanding that you shall divorce her when you
quit this place; though, of course, you may do so before, if she should
not please you.” This young damsel had several times contrived to let me
catch a glimpse of a pretty face, as I passed the house in which she and
her parents lived. What answer could I return? I replied, that I had
actually, by accident, seen her face, and that she was the last woman I
should wish to marry, under such circumstances: for I was sure that I
could never make up my mind to part with her. But I found it rather
difficult to silence my officious friend.—It has been mentioned before,
in the Introduction, that an unmarried man, or one who has not a female
slave, is usually obliged to dwell in a wekáleh, unless he has some near
relation with whom to reside; but that Franks are now exempted from this
restriction.
The Egyptian females arrive at puberty much earlier than the natives of
colder climates. Many marry at the age of twelve or thirteen years; and
some remarkably precocious girls are married at the age of _ten_:[275]
but such occurrences are not common. Few remain unmarried after sixteen
years of age. An Egyptian girl at the age of thirteen, or even earlier,
may be a mother. The women of Egypt are generally very prolific; but
females of other countries residing here are often childless; and the
children of foreigners, born in Egypt, seldom live to a mature age, even
when the mother is a native. It was on this account that the emancipated
Memlooks (or military slaves) usually adopted Memlooks.
It is very common among the Arabs of Egypt and of other countries, but
less so in Cairo than in other parts of Egypt, for a man to marry his
first cousin. In this case, the husband and wife continue to call each
other “cousin;” because the tie of blood is indissoluble; but that of
matrimony very precarious. A union of this kind is generally lasting, on
account of this tie of blood; and because mutual intercourse may have
formed an attachment between the parties in tender age; though, if they
be of the higher or middle classes, the young man is seldom allowed to
see the face of his female cousin, or even to meet and converse with
her, after she has arrived at or near the age of puberty, until she has
become his wife.
Marriages in Cairo are generally conducted, in the case of a virgin, in
the following manner; but in that of a widow, or a divorced woman, with
little ceremony. Most commonly, the mother, or some other near female
relation, of the youth or man who is desirous of obtaining a wife,
describes to him the personal and other qualifications of the young
woman with whom she is acquainted, and directs his choice:[276] or he
employs a “khát’beh,” or “khátibeh;” a woman whose regular business it
is to assist men in such cases. Sometimes two or more women of this
profession are employed. A khát’beh gives her report confidentially,
describing one girl as being like a gazelle, pretty and elegant and
young; and another, as not pretty, but rich, and so forth. If the man
have a mother and other near female relations, two or three of these
usually go with a khát’beh to pay visits to several hareems, to which
she has access in her professional character of a matchmaker; for she is
employed as much by the women as by the men. She sometimes also
exercises the trade of a “delláleh” (or broker) for the sale of
ornaments, clothing, etc., which procures her admission into almost
every hareem. The women who accompany her in search of a wife for their
relation are introduced to the different hareems merely as ordinary
visitors; and as such, if disappointed, they soon take their leave,
though the object of their visit is of course understood by the other
party: but if they find among the females of a family (and they are sure
to see all who are marriageable) a girl or young woman having the
necessary personal qualifications, they state the motive of their visit,
and ask, if the proposed match be not at once disapproved of, what
property, ornaments, etc., the object of their wishes may possess. If
the father of the intended bride be dead, she may perhaps possess one or
more houses, shops, etc.; and in almost every case, a marriageable girl
of the middle or higher ranks has a set of ornaments of gold and jewels.
The women-visitors, having asked these and other questions, bring their
report to the expectant youth or man. If satisfied with their report, he
gives a present to the khát’beh, and sends her again to the family of
his intended wife, to make known to them his wishes. She generally gives
an exaggerated description of his personal attractions, wealth, etc. For
instance, she will say, of a very ordinary young man, of scarcely any
property, and of whose disposition she knows nothing, “My daughter, the
youth who wishes to marry you is young, graceful, elegant, beardless,
has plenty of money, dresses handsomely, is fond of delicacies, but
cannot enjoy his luxuries alone; he wants you as his companion; he will
give you everything that money can procure; he is a stayer-at-home, and
will spend his whole time with you, caressing and fondling you.”
The parents may betroth their daughter to whom they please, and marry
her to him without her consent, if she be not arrived at the age of
puberty; but after she has attained that age, she may choose a husband
for herself, and appoint any man to arrange and effect her marriage. In
the former case, however, the khát’beh and the relations of a girl
sought in marriage usually endeavour to obtain her consent to the
proposed union. Very often, a father objects to giving a daughter in
marriage to a man who is not of the same profession or trade as himself;
and to marrying a younger daughter before an elder.[277] The bridegroom
can scarcely ever obtain even a surreptitious glance at the features of
his bride, until he finds her in his absolute possession, unless she
belong to the lower classes of society; in which case, it is easy enough
for him to see her face.
When a female is about to marry, she should have a “wekeel” (or deputy)
to settle the compact, and conclude the contract, for her, with her
proposed husband. If she be under the age of puberty, this is absolutely
necessary; and in this case, her father, if living, or (if he be dead)
her nearest adult male relation, or a guardian appointed by will, or by
the Kádee, performs the office of wekeel: but if she be of age, she
appoints her own wekeel, or may even make the contract herself; though
this is seldom done.
After a youth or man has made choice of a female to demand in marriage,
on the report of his female relations, or that of the khát’beh, and, by
proxy, made the preliminary arrangements before described with her and
her relations in the hareem, he repairs with two or three of his friends
to her wekeel. Having obtained the wekeel’s consent to the union, if the
intended bride be under age, he asks what is the amount of the required
“mahr” (or dowry).
The giving of a dowry is indispensable, as I have mentioned in a former
chapter. It is generally calculated in “riyáls,” of ninety faddahs (now
equivalent to five pence and two-fifths) each. The riyál is an imaginary
money, not a coin. The usual amount of the dowry, if the parties be in
possession of a moderately good income, is about a thousand riyáls (or
twenty-two pounds ten shillings); or, sometimes, not more than half that
sum. The wealthy calculate the dowry in purses, of five hundred piasters
(now, five pounds sterling) each; and fix its amount at ten purses, or
more. It must be borne in mind that we are considering the case of a
virgin-bride; the dowry of a widow or a divorced woman is much less. In
settling the amount of the dowry, as in other pecuniary transactions, a
little haggling frequently takes place: if a thousand riyáls be demanded
through the wekeel, the party of the intended bridegroom will probably
make an offer of six hundred: the former party then gradually lowering
the demand, and the other increasing the offer, they at length agree to
fix it at eight hundred. It is generally stipulated that two-thirds of
the dowry shall be paid immediately before the marriage contract is
made; and the remaining third held in reserve, to be paid to the wife in
case of divorcing her against her own consent, or in case of the
husband’s death.
This affair being settled, and confirmed by all persons present reciting
the opening chapter of the Kur-án (the Fát’hah), an early day (perhaps
the day next following) is appointed for paying the money, and
performing the ceremony of the marriage-contract, which is properly
called “’akd ennikáh.”[278] The making this contract is commonly called
“ketb el-kitáb” (or the writing of the writ); but it is very seldom the
case that any document is written to confirm the marriage, unless the
bridegroom is about to travel to another place, and fears that he may
have occasion to prove his marriage where witnesses of the contract
cannot be procured. Sometimes the marriage-contract is concluded
immediately after the arrangement respecting the dowry, but more
generally a day or two after. On the day appointed for this ceremony,
the bridegroom, again accompanied by two or three of his friends, goes
to the house of the bride, usually about noon, taking with him that
portion of the dowry which he has promised to pay on this occasion. He
and his companions are received by the bride’s wekeel; and two or more
friends of the latter are usually present. It is necessary that there be
two witnesses (and those must be Muslims) to the marriage-contract,
unless in a situation where witnesses cannot be procured. All persons
present recite the Fát’hah; and the bridegroom then pays the money.
After this, the marriage-contract is performed. It is very simple. The
bridegroom and the bride’s wekeel sit upon the ground, face to face,
with one knee upon the ground, and grasp each other’s right hand,
raising the thumbs, and pressing them against each other. A fikee[279]
is generally employed to instruct them what they are to say. Having
placed a handkerchief over their joined hands, he usually prefaces the
words of the contract with a “khutbeh,” consisting of a few words of
exhortation and prayer, with quotations from the Kur-án and Traditions,
on the excellency and advantages of marriage. He then desires the
bride’s wekeel to say, “I betroth [or marry], to thee, my daughter [or
the female who has appointed me her wekeel], such a one [naming the
bride], the virgin[280] [or the adult virgin], for a dowry of such an
amount.” (The words “for a dowry,” etc., are sometimes omitted.) The
bride’s wekeel having said this, the bridegroom, prompted in the same
manner by the fikee, says, “I accept from thee her betrothal [or
marriage] to myself, and take her under my care, and bind myself to
afford her my protection; and ye who are present bear witness of this.”
The wekeel addresses the bridegroom in the same manner a second and a
third time; and each time, the latter replies as before. They then
generally add, “And blessing be on the Apostles, and praise be to God,
the Lord of all creatures: amen:” after which, all present again repeat
the Fát’hah. It is not always the same form of “khutbeh” that is recited
on these occasions: any form may be used; and it may be repeated by any
person: it is not even necessary; and is often altogether omitted. The
contract concluded, the bridegroom sometimes (but seldom unless he be a
person of the lower orders) kisses the hands of his friends and others
there present; and they are presented with sherbet, and generally remain
to dinner. Each of them receives an embroidered handkerchief, provided
by the family of the bride; excepting the fikee, who receives a similar
handkerchief, with a small gold coin tied up in it, from the bridegroom.
Before the persons assembled on this occasion disperse, they settle when
the “leylet ed-dukhleh” is to be: this is the night when the bride is
brought to the house of the bridegroom, and the latter, for the first
time, visits her.
In general, the bridegroom waits for his bride about eight or ten days
after the conclusion of the contract. Meanwhile, he sends to her, two or
three or more times, some fruit, sweetmeats, etc.; and perhaps makes her
a present of a shawl, or some other article of value. The bride’s family
are at the same time occupied in preparing for her a stock of household
furniture (as deewáns, matting, carpets, bedding, kitchen-utensils,
etc.) and dress. The portion of the dowry which has been paid by the
bridegroom, and generally a much larger sum (the additional money, which
is often more than the dowry itself, being supplied by the bride’s
family), is expended in purchasing the articles of furniture, dress, and
ornaments, for the bride. These articles, which are called “gaház,” are
the property of the bride; and if she be divorced, she takes them away
with her. She cannot, therefore, with truth, be said to be
_purchased_.[281] The furniture is sent, commonly borne by a train of
camels, to the bridegroom’s house. Often, among the articles of the
gaház is a chair for the turban or head-dress, alluded to in a former
page. It is of a large size, but slight make; the bottom and back
generally of cane-work; sometimes with a canopy. It is never used to sit
upon. The turban, when placed upon it, is covered with a kerchief of
thick silk stuff, usually ornamented with gold thread. There are
sometimes sent two of these chairs; one for the husband and the other
for the wife.
The bridegroom should receive his bride on the eve of Friday, or that of
Monday;[282] but the former is generally esteemed the more fortunate
period. Let us say, for instance, that the bride is to be conducted to
him on the eve of Friday. During two or three or more preceding nights,
the street or quarter in which the bridegroom lives is illuminated with
chandeliers and lanterns, or with lanterns and small lamps, some
suspended from cords drawn across from the bridegroom’s and several
other houses on each side to the houses opposite; and several small silk
flags, each of two colours, generally red and green, are attached to
these or other cords.[283] An entertainment is also given on each of
these nights, particularly on the _last_ night before that on which the
wedding is concluded, at the bridegroom’s house. On these occasions, it
is customary for the persons invited, and for all intimate friends, to
send presents to his house, a day or two before the feast which they
purpose or expect to attend; they generally send sugar, coffee, rice,
wax-candles, or a lamb: the former articles are usually placed upon a
tray of copper or wood, and covered with a silk or embroidered kerchief.
The guests are entertained on these occasions by musicians and male or
female singers, by dancing girls, or by the performance of a “khatmeh”
or a “zikr.”[284]
[Illustration: LANTERN, ETC., SUSPENDED ON THE OCCASION OF A WEDDING.]
In the houses of the wealthy, the khát’beh or khat’behs, together with
the “dáyeh” (or midwife) of the family, the “belláneh” (or female
attendant of the bath), and the nurse of the bride, are each presented,
a day or two after the conclusion of the contract, with a piece of gold
stuff, a Kashmeer shawl, or a piece of striped silk, such as yeleks and
shintiyáns are made of; and, placing these over the left shoulder, and
attaching the edges together on the right side, go upon asses, with two
or more men before them beating kettle-drums or tabours, to the houses
of all the friends of the bride, to invite the females to accompany her
to and from the bath, and to partake of an entertainment given on that
occasion. At every house where they call, they are treated with a
repast, having sent notice the day before of their intended visit. They
are called “mudnát.”[285] I have sometimes seen them walking, and
without the drums before them; but making up for the want of these
instruments by shrill, quavering cries of joy called “zagháreet.”[286]
On the preceding Wednesday (or on the Saturday if the wedding be to
conclude on the eve of Monday), at about the hour of noon, or a little
later, the bride goes in state to the bath.[287] The procession to the
bath is called “Zeffet el-Hammám.” It is headed by a party of musicians
with a hautboy, or two, and drums of different kinds.[288] Frequently,
as I have mentioned in a former chapter, some person avails himself of
this opportunity to parade his young son previously to circumcision; the
child, and his attendants, in this case, follow next after the
musicians, in the manner already described. Sometimes, at the head of
the bride’s party are two men who carry the utensils and linen used in
the bath, upon two round trays, each of which is covered with an
embroidered or a plain silk kerchief; also a sakka, who gives water to
any of the passengers, if asked; and two other persons, one of whom
bears a “kumkum,” or bottle of plain or gilt silver, or of china,
containing rose-water, or orange-flower-water, which he occasionally
sprinkles on the passengers; and the other, a “mibkhar’ah” (or
perfuming-vessel) of silver, with aloes-wood, or some other odoriferous
substance, burning in it: but it is seldom that the procession is thus
attended. In general, the first persons among the bride’s party are
several of her married female relations and friends, walking in pairs;
and next, a number of young virgins. The former are dressed in the usual
manner, covered with the black silk habarah: the latter have white silk
habarahs, or shawls. Then follows the bride, walking under a canopy of
silk, of some gay colour, as pink, rose-colour, or yellow, or of two
colours composing wide stripes, often rose-colour and yellow. It is
carried by four men, by means of a pole at each corner, and is open only
in front; and at the top of each of the four poles is attached an
embroidered handkerchief. The dress of the bride, during this
procession, entirely conceals her person. She is generally covered, from
head to foot, with a red Kashmeer shawl; or with a white or yellow
shawl, though rarely. Upon her head is placed a small pasteboard cap, or
crown. The shawl is placed over this, and conceals from the view of the
public the richer articles of her dress, her face, and her jewels, etc.,
excepting one or two “kussahs”[289] (and sometimes other ornaments),
generally of diamonds and emeralds, attached to that part of the shawl
which covers her forehead. She is accompanied by two or three of her
female relations within the canopy; and often, when in hot weather, a
woman, walking backwards before her, is constantly employed in fanning
her, with a large fan of black ostrich-feathers, the lower part of the
front of which is usually ornamented with a piece of looking-glass.
Sometimes one zeffeh, with a single canopy, serves for two brides, who
walk side by side. The procession moves very slowly, and generally
pursues a circuitous route, for the sake of greater display. On leaving
the house, it turns to the right. It is closed by a second party of
musicians, similar to the first, or by two or three drummers.
-------------------------------------------
[Illustration: BRIDAL PROCESSION. (Part I.)]
_Lane’s Modern Egyptians_] [_Page 150_
-------------------------------------------
In the bridal processions of the lower orders, which are often conducted
in the same manner as that above described, the women of the party
frequently utter, at intervals, those shrill cries of joy called
zagháreet, which I have before had occasion to mention; and females of
the poorer classes, when merely spectators of a zeffeh, often do the
same.
The whole bath is sometimes hired for the bride and her party
exclusively. They pass several hours, or seldom less than two, occupied
in washing, sporting, and feasting; and frequently “’A′l’mehs” (or
female singers) are hired to amuse them in the bath: they then return in
the same order in which they came. The expense of the zeffeh falls on
the relations of the bride; but the feast is supplied by the bridegroom.
Having returned from the bath to the house of her family, the bride and
her companions sup together. If ’A′l’mehs have contributed to the
festivity in the bath, they also return with the bride, to renew their
concert. Their songs are always on the subject of love, and of the
joyous event which occasions their presence. After the company have been
thus entertained, a large quantity of henna having been prepared, mixed
into a paste, the bride takes a lump of it in her hand, and receives
contributions (called “nukoot”) from her guests: each of them sticks a
coin (usually of gold) in the henna which she holds upon her hand; and
when the lump is closely stuck with these coins, she scrapes it off her
hand upon the edge of a basin of water. Having collected in this manner
from all her guests, some more henna is applied to her hands and feet,
which are then bound with pieces of linen; and in this state they remain
until the next morning, when they are found to be sufficiently dyed with
its deep orange-red tint. Her guests make use of the remainder of the
dye for their own hands. This night is called “Leylet el-Henna,” or “the
Night of the Henna.”
It is on this night, and sometimes also during the latter half of the
preceding day, that the bridegroom gives his chief entertainment.
“Mohabbazeen” (or low farce-players) often perform on this occasion
before the house, or, if it be large enough, in the court. The other and
more common performances by which the guests are amused have been before
mentioned.
On the following day the bride goes in procession to the house of the
bridegroom. The procession before described is called “the zeffeh of the
bath,” to distinguish it from this, which is the more important, and
which is therefore particularly called “Zeffet el-’Arooseh,” or “the
Zeffeh of the Bride.” In some cases, to diminish the expenses of the
marriage-ceremonies, the bride is conducted privately to the bath, and
only honoured with a zeffeh to the bridegroom’s house. This procession
is exactly similar to the former. The bride and her party, after
breakfasting together, generally set out a little after mid-day. They
proceed in the same order, and at the same slow pace, as in the zeffeh
of the bath; and, if the house of the bridegroom be near, they follow a
circuitous route, through several principal streets, for the sake of
display. The ceremony usually occupies three or more hours.
-------------------------------------------
[Illustration: BRIDAL PROCESSION. (Part II.)]
_Lane’s Modern Egyptians_] [_Page 152_
-------------------------------------------
Sometimes, before bridal processions of this kind, two swordsmen, clad
in nothing but their drawers, engage each other in a mock combat; or two
peasants cudgel each other with nebboots, or long staves. In the
procession of a bride of a wealthy family, any person who has the art of
performing some extraordinary feat to amuse the spectators is almost
sure of being a welcome assistant, and of receiving a handsome
present.[290] When the seyyid ’Omar, the Nakeeb el-Ashráf (or chief of
the descendants of the Prophet), who was the main instrument of
advancing Mohammad ’Alee to the dignity of Básha of Egypt, married a
daughter, about twenty-seven years since, there walked before the
procession a young man who had made an incision in his abdomen, and
drawn out a large portion of his intestines, which he carried before him
on a silver tray. After the procession he restored them to their proper
place, and remained in bed many days before he recovered from the
effects of this foolish and disgusting act. Another man, on the same
occasion, ran a sword through his arm, before the crowding spectators,
and then bound over the wound, without withdrawing the sword, several
handkerchiefs, which were soaked with the blood. These facts were
described to me by an eye-witness. A spectacle of a more singular and
more disgusting nature used to be not uncommon on similar occasions, but
is now very seldom witnessed.[291] Sometimes, also, “háwees” (or
conjurors and sleight-of-hand performers) exhibit a variety of tricks on
these occasions. But the most common of all the performances here
mentioned are the mock fights. Similar exhibitions are also sometimes
witnessed on the occasion of a circumcision.[292]
The bride and her party, having arrived at the bridegroom’s house, sit
down to a repast. Her friends, shortly after, take their departure,
leaving with her only her mother and sister, or other near female
relations, and one or two other women, usually the belláneh. The ensuing
night is called “Leylet ed-Dukhleh,” or “the Night of the Entrance.”
[Illustration: MESH’ALS.]
The bridegroom sits below. Before sunset, he goes to the bath, and there
changes his clothes; or he merely does the latter at home, and, after
having supped with a party of his friends, waits till a little before
the “’eshë” (or time of the night-prayer), or until the third or fourth
hour of the night, when, according to general custom, he should repair
to some celebrated mosque, such as that of the Hasaneyn, and there say
his prayers. If young, he is generally honoured with a zeffeh on this
occasion: he goes to the mosque preceded by musicians with drums and one
or more hautboys, and accompanied by a number of friends, and by several
men bearing “mesh’als.” The mesh’al is a staff with a cylindrical frame
of iron at the top filled with flaming wood, or having two, three, four,
or five of these receptacles for fire. The party usually proceeds to the
mosque with a quick pace, and without much order. A second group of
musicians, with the same instruments, or with drums only, closes the
procession. The bridegroom is generally dressed in a kuftán with red
stripes, and a red gibbeh, with a Kashmeer shawl of the same colour for
his turban; and walks between two friends similarly dressed. The prayers
are commonly performed merely as a matter of ceremony; and it is
frequently the case that the bridegroom does not pray at all, or prays
without having previously performed the wudoó, like memlooks who say
their prayers only because they fear their master.[293] The procession
returns from the mosque with more order and display, and very slowly;
perhaps because it would be considered unbecoming in the bridegroom to
hasten home to take possession of his bride. It is headed, as before, by
musicians, and two or more bearers of mesh’als. These are generally
followed by two men, bearing, by means of a pole resting horizontally
upon their shoulders, a hanging frame, to which are attached about sixty
or more small lamps, in four circles, one above another, the uppermost
of which circles is made to revolve, being turned round occasionally by
one of the two bearers. These numerous lamps, and several mesh’als
beside those before mentioned, brilliantly illumine the streets through
which the procession passes, and produce a remarkably picturesque
effect. The bridegroom and his friends and other attendants follow,
advancing in the form of an oblong ring, all facing the interior of the
ring, and each bearing in his hand one or more wax candles, and
sometimes a sprig of henna or some other flower, excepting the
bridegroom and the friend on either side of him. These three form the
latter part of the ring, which generally consists of twenty or more
persons. At frequent intervals the party stops for a few minutes; and
during each of these pauses, a boy or man, one of the persons who
compose the ring, sings a few words of an epithalamium. The sounds of
the drums, and the shrill notes of the hautboy (which the bride hears
half an hour or more before the procession arrives at the house), cease
during these songs. The train is closed, as in the former case, by a
second group of musicians.
In the manner above described, the bridegroom’s zeffeh is most commonly
conducted; but there is another mode, that is more respectable, called
“zeffeh sádátee,” which signifies “the gentlemen’s zeffeh.” In this, the
bridegroom is accompanied by his friends in the same manner as before
related, and attended and preceded by men bearing mesh’als, but not by
musicians: in the place of these are about six or eight men, who, from
their being employed as singers on occasions of this kind, are called
“wilád el-läyálee,” or “sons of the nights.” Thus attended, he goes to
the mosque; and while he returns slowly thence to his house, the singers
above mentioned chant, or rather sing, “muweshshahs” (or lyric odes) in
praise of the Prophet. Having returned to the house, these same persons
chant portions of the Kur-án, one after another, for the amusement of
the guests; then, all together, recite the opening chapter (the
Fát’hah); after which one of them sings a “kaseedeh” (or short poem) in
praise of the Prophet: lastly, all of them again sing muweshshahs. After
having thus performed, they receive “nukoot” (or contributions of money)
from the bridegroom and his friends.
Soon after his return from the mosque, the bridegroom leaves his friends
in a lower apartment, enjoying their pipes and coffee and sherbet. The
bride’s mother and sister, or whatever other female relations were left
with her, are above; and the bride herself, and the belláneh, in a
separate apartment.[294] If the bridegroom be a youth or young man, it
is considered proper that he, as well as the bride, should exhibit some
degree of bashfulness: one of his friends, therefore, carries him a part
of the way up to the hareem. On entering the bride’s apartment, he gives
a present to the belláneh, and she retires. The bride has a shawl thrown
over her head; and the bridegroom must give her a present of money,
which is called “the price of the uncovering of the face,” before he
attempts to remove this, which she does not allow him to do without some
apparent reluctance, if not violent resistance, in order to show her
maiden modesty. On removing the covering, he says, “In the name of God,
the Compassionate, the Merciful;” and then greets her with this
compliment: “The night be blessed,” or “—is blessed:” to which she
replies, if timidity do not choke her utterance, “God bless thee.” The
bridegroom now sees the face of his bride for the first time, and
generally finds her nearly what he has been led to expect. He remains
with her but a few minutes longer:[295] having satisfied his curiosity
respecting her personal charms, he calls to the women (who generally
collect at the door, where they wait in anxious suspense) to raise their
cries of joy, or zagháreet: and the shrill sounds acquaint the persons
below and in the neighbourhood, and often, responded by other women,
spread still further the news, that he has acknowledged himself
satisfied with his bride: he soon afterwards descends to rejoin his
friends, and remains with them an hour, or more, before he returns to
his wife. It very seldom happens that the husband, if disappointed in
his bride, immediately disgraces and divorces her; in general, he
retains her, in this case, a week or more.
Having now described the most usual manner in which the marriages of
virgin-brides are conducted in Cairo, I may add a few words on some of
the ceremonies observed in other cases of matrimony, both of virgins and
of widows or divorced women.
The daughters of the great, generally having baths in their own houses,
seldom go to the public bath previously to marriage. A bride of a
wealthy family, and her female relations and friends, if there be not a
bath in her house, go to the public bath, which is hired for them
exclusively, and to the bridegroom’s house, without music or canopy,
mounted on asses: the bride herself generally wearing a Kashmeer shawl,
in the manner of a habarah.
If the bridegroom or the bride’s family have eunuchs, these ride before
the bride; and sometimes a man runs at the head of the procession,
crying, “Bless ye the Prophet!” This man, on entering the house, throws
down upon the threshold some leaves of the white beet (“salk”), over
which the ladies ride. The object of this act is to propitiate fortune.
The same man then exclaims, “Assistance from God, and a speedy
victory!”[296]
Marriages, among the Egyptians, are sometimes conducted without any pomp
or ceremony, even in the case of virgins, by mutual consent of the
bridegroom and the bride’s family, or the bride herself; and widows and
divorced women are never honoured with a zeffeh on marrying again. The
mere sentence, “I give myself up to thee,” uttered by a female to a man
who proposes to become her husband (even without the presence of
witnesses, if none can easily be procured), renders her his legal wife,
if arrived at puberty; and marriages with widows and divorced women,
among the Muslims of Egypt, and other Arabs, are sometimes concluded in
this simple manner. The dowry of such women is generally one quarter or
third or half the amount of that of a virgin.
In Cairo, among persons not of the lowest order, though in very humble
life, the marriage ceremonies are conducted in the same manner as among
the middle orders. But when the expenses of such zeffehs as I have
described cannot by any means be paid, the bride is paraded in a very
simple manner, covered with a shawl (generally red), and surrounded by a
group of her female relations and friends, dressed in their best, or in
borrowed, clothes, and enlivened by no other sounds of joy than their
zagháreet, which they repeat at frequent intervals.
The general mode of zeffeh among the inhabitants of the villages is
different from those above described. The bride, usually covered with a
shawl, is seated on a camel, and so conveyed to the bridegroom’s
dwelling. Sometimes four or five women or girls sit with her on the same
camel, one on either side of her, and two or three others behind: the
seat being made very wide, and usually covered with carpets or other
drapery. She is followed by a group of women singing. In the evening of
the wedding, and often during several previous evenings, in a village,
the male and female friends of the two parties meet at the bridegroom’s
house, and pass several hours of the night in the open air, amusing
themselves with songs and a rude kind of dance, accompanied by the
sounds of a tambourine or some kind of drum: both sexes sing; but only
the women dance.—I have introduced here these few words on the
marriage-ceremonies of the peasantry to avoid scattering notes on
subjects of the same nature. I now revert to the customs of the people
of Cairo.
On the morning after the marriage, “khäwals”[297] or “gházeeyehs”
(dancing men or girls) perform in the street before the bridegroom’s
house, or in the court.[298] On the same morning also, if the bridegroom
be a young man, the person who carried him upstairs generally takes him
and several friends to an entertainment in the country, where they spend
the whole day. This ceremony is called “el-huroobeh,” or the flight.
Sometimes the bridegroom himself makes the arrangements for it, and pays
part of the expenses, if they exceed the amount of the contributions of
his friends; for they give nukoot on this occasion. Musicians and
dancing girls are often hired to attend the entertainment. If the
bridegroom be a person of the lower orders, he is conducted back in
procession, preceded by three or four musicians with drums and hautboys;
his friends and other attendants carrying each a nosegay, as in the
zeffeh of the preceding night; and if their return be after sunset, they
are accompanied by men bearing mesh’als, lamps, etc.; and the friends of
the bridegroom carry lighted wax candles, besides the nosegays.[299]
Subsequent festivities occasioned by marriage will be described in a
later chapter.
The husband, if he can conveniently so arrange, generally prefers that
his mother should reside with him and his wife; that she may protect his
wife’s honour, and consequently his own also. It is said that the
mother-in-law is, for this reason, called “hamah.”[300] The women of
Egypt are said to be generally prone to criminal intrigues; and I fear
that, in this respect, they are not unjustly accused. Sometimes a
husband keeps his wife in the house of her mother, and pays the daily
expenses of both. This ought to make the mother very careful with regard
to expenditure, and strict as to her daughter’s conduct, lest the latter
should be divorced; but it is said that, in this case, she often acts as
her daughter’s procuress, and teaches her innumerable tricks, by which
to gain the upper hand over her husband, and to drain his purse. The
influence of the wife’s mother is also scarcely less feared when she
only enjoys occasional opportunities of seeing her daughter: hence it is
held more prudent for a man to marry a female who has neither mother nor
any near relations of her own sex; and some wives are even prohibited
receiving any female friends but those who are relations of the husband:
they are very few, however, upon whom such severe restrictions are
imposed.
For a person who has become familiar with male Muslim society in Cairo,
without marrying, it is not so difficult as might be imagined by a
stranger to obtain, directly and indirectly, correct and ample
information respecting the condition and habits of the women. Many
husbands of the middle classes, and some of the higher orders, freely
talk of the affairs of the hareem with one who professes to agree with
them in their general moral sentiments, if they have not to converse
through the medium of an interpreter.
Though the women have a particular portion of the house allotted to
them, the _wives_, in general, are not to be regarded as prisoners; for
they are usually at liberty to go out and pay visits, as well as to
receive female visitors, almost as often as they please. The slaves,
indeed, being subservient to the wives, as well as to their master, or,
if subject to the master only, being under an authority almost
unlimited, have not that liberty. One of the chief objects of the master
in appropriating a distinct suite of apartments to his women, is to
prevent their being seen by the male domestics and other men without
being covered in the manner prescribed by their religion. The following
words of the Kur-án show the necessity under which a Muslim’eh is placed
of concealing whatever is attractive in her person or attire from all
men, excepting certain relations and some other persons. “And speak unto
the believing women, that they restrain their eyes, and preserve their
modesty, and discover not their ornaments, except what [necessarily]
appeareth thereof: and let them throw their veils over their bosoms, and
not show their ornaments, unless to their husbands, or their fathers, or
their husbands’ fathers, or their sons, or their husbands’ sons, or
their brothers, or their brothers’ sons, or their sisters’ sons, or
their women, or those [captives] which their right hands shall possess,
or unto such men as attend [them] and have no need [of women], or unto
children:” “and let them not make a noise with their feet, that their
ornaments which they hide may [thereby] be discovered.”[301] The last
passage alludes to the practice of knocking together the anklets which
the Arab women in the time of the Prophet used to wear, and which are
still worn by many women in Egypt.
I must here transcribe two notes of eminent commentators on the Kur-án,
in illustration of the above extract, and inserted in Sale’s
translation. This I do, because they would convey an erroneous idea of
modern customs with regard to the admission, or non-admission, of
certain persons into the hareem. The first is on the above words, “or
their women,” which it thus explains:—“That is, such as are of the
Mohammadan religion: it being reckoned by some unlawful, or, at least,
indecent, for a woman who is a true believer to uncover herself before
one who is an infidel; because the latter will hardly refrain from
describing her to the men: but others suppose all women in general are
here accepted; for, in this particular, doctors differ.” In Egypt, and,
I believe, in every other Muslim country, it is not now considered
improper for any woman, whether independent, or a servant, or a slave, a
Christian, a Jewess, a Muslim’eh, or a pagan, to enter a Muslim’s
hareem.—The second of the notes above alluded to is on the words “or
those captives,” and is as follows:—“Slaves of either sex are included
in this exception, and, as some think, domestic servants who are not
slaves, as those of a different nation. It is related that Mohammad once
made a present of a man-slave to his daughter Fátimeh; and when he
brought him to her, she had on a garment which was so scanty, that she
was obliged to leave either her head or her feet uncovered: and that the
Prophet, seeing her in great confusion on that account, told her she
need be under no concern, for that there was none present but her father
and her slave.” Among the Arabs of the Desert, this may still be the
case; but in Egypt I have never heard of an instance of an adult male
slave being allowed to see the hareem of a respectable man, whether he
belonged to that hareem or not, and am assured that it is never
permitted. Perhaps the reason why the man-slave of a woman is allowed
this privilege by the Kur-án is, because she cannot become his lawful
wife as long as he continues her slave: but this is a poor reason for
granting him access to the hareem, in such a state of society. It is
remarkable that, in the verse of the Kur-án above quoted, uncles are not
mentioned as privileged to see their nieces unveiled: some think that
they are not admissible, and for this reason, lest they should describe
the persons of their nieces to their sons; for it is regarded as highly
improper for a man to describe the features or person of a female (as to
say, that she has large eyes, a straight nose, small mouth, etc.) to one
of his own sex, by whom it is unlawful for her to be seen, though it is
not considered indecorous to describe her in general terms, as, for
instance, to say, “She is a sweet girl, and set off with kohl and
henna.”
It may be mentioned here, as a general rule, that a man is allowed to
see unveiled only his own wives and female slaves, and those females
whom he is prohibited by law from marrying, on account of their being
within certain degrees of consanguinity or family connexion, or having
given him suck, or being nearly related to his foster-mother.[302] The
high antiquity of the veil has been alluded to in the first chapter of
this work. It has also been mentioned that it is considered more
necessary, in Egypt, for a woman to cover the upper and back part of her
head than her face; and more requisite for her to conceal her face than
most other parts of her person. For instance, a female who cannot be
persuaded to unveil her face in the presence of men, will think it but
little shame to display the whole of her bosom, or the greater part of
her leg. There are, it is true, many women among the lower classes in
this country who constantly appear in public with unveiled face; but
they are almost constrained to do so by the want of a burko’ (or
face-veil), and the difficulty of adjusting the tarhah (or head-veil),
of which scarcely any woman is destitute, so as to supply the place of
the former; particularly when both their hands are occupied in holding
some burden which they are carrying upon the head. When a respectable
woman is, by any chance, seen with her head or face uncovered by a man
who is not entitled to enjoy that privilege, she quickly assumes or
adjusts her tarhah, and often exclaims, “O my misfortune!” or “O my
sorrow!” Motives of coquetry, however, frequently induce an Egyptian
woman to expose her face before a man when she thinks that she may
appear to do so unintentionally, or that she may be supposed not to see
him. A man may also occasionally enjoy opportunities of seeing the face
of an Egyptian lady when she really thinks herself unobserved; sometimes
at an open lattice, and sometimes on a house-top. Many small houses in
Cairo have no apartment on the ground-floor for the reception of male
visitors, who therefore ascend to an upper room; but as they go upstairs
they exclaim several times, “Destoor!” (“Permission!”), or “Yá Sátir!”
(“O Protector!” that is, “O protecting God!”), or use some similar
ejaculation, in order to warn any woman who may happen to be in the way,
to retire, or to veil herself; which she does by drawing a part of her
tarhah before her face, so as to leave, at most, only one eye visible.
To such an absurd pitch do the Muslims carry their feeling of the
sacredness of women, that entrance into the _tombs_ of some females is
denied to men; as, for instance, the tombs of the Prophet’s wives and
other females of his family, in the burial-ground of El-Medeeneh; into
which women are freely admitted; and a man and woman they never bury in
the same vault, unless a wall separate the bodies. Yet there are among
the Egyptians a few persons who are much less particular in this
respect: such is one of my Muslim friends here, who generally allows me
to see his mother when I call upon him. She is a widow, of about fifty
years of age; but, being very fat, and not looking so old, she calls
herself forty. She usually comes to the door of the apartment of the
hareem, in which I am received (there being no lower apartment in the
house for male visitors), and sits there upon the floor, but will never
enter the room. Occasionally, and as if by accident, she shows me the
whole of her face, with plenty of kohl round her eyes; and does not
attempt to conceal her diamonds, emeralds, and other ornaments, but
rather the reverse. The wife, however, I am never permitted to see,
though once I was allowed to talk to her, in the presence of her
husband, round the corner of a passage at the top of the stairs.
I believe that in Egypt the women are generally under less restraint
than in any other country of the Turkish empire; so that it is not
uncommon to see females of the lower orders flirting and jesting with
men in public, and men laying their hands upon them very freely. Still
it might be imagined that the women of the higher and middle classes
feel themselves severely oppressed, and are much discontented with the
state of seclusion to which they are subjected; but this is not commonly
the case. On the contrary, an Egyptian wife who is attached to her
husband is apt to think, if he allows her unusual liberty, that he
neglects her, and does not sufficiently love her; and to envy those
wives who are kept and watched with greater strictness.
It is not very common for an Egyptian to have more than one wife, or a
concubine-slave, though the law allows him _four_ wives (as I have
before stated), and, according to common opinion, as many
concubine-slaves as he may choose. But though a man restrict himself to
a single wife, he may change as often as he desires; and there are
certainly not many persons in Cairo who have not divorced one wife, if
they have been long married. The husband may, whenever he pleases, say
to his wife, “Thou art divorced;” if it be his wish, whether reasonable
or not, she must return to her parents or friends. This liability to an
unmerited divorcement is the source of more uneasiness to many wives
than all the other troubles to which they are exposed; as they may
thereby be reduced to a state of great destitution; but to others, who
hope to better their condition, it is, of course, exactly the reverse. I
have mentioned, in a former chapter, that a man may divorce his wife
twice, and each time receive her again without any ceremony; but that he
cannot legally take her again after a third divorce until she has been
married and divorced by another man. The consequences of a triple
divorce conveyed in one sentence are the same, unless the man and his
wife agree to infringe the law, or the former deny his having pronounced
the sentence; in which latter case the woman may have much difficulty to
enforce his compliance with the law, if she be inclined to do so.
In illustration of this subject, I may mention a case in which an
acquaintance of mine was concerned as a witness of the sentence of
divorce. He was sitting in a coffee-shop with two other men, one of whom
had just been irritated by something that his wife had said or done.
After a short conversation upon this affair, the angry husband sent for
his wife, and as soon as she came, said to her, “Thou art trebly
divorced;” then addressing his two companions, he added, “You, my
brothers, are witnesses.” Shortly after, however, he repented of this
act, and wished to take back his divorced wife; but she refused to
return to him, and appealed to the “Shara Allah” (or Law of God). The
case was tried at the Mahkem′eh. The woman, who was the plaintiff,
stated that the defendant was her husband; that he had pronounced
against her the sentence of a triple divorce; and that he now wished her
to return to him, and live with him as his wife, contrary to the law,
and consequently in a state of sin. The defendant denied that he had
divorced her. “Have you witnesses?” said the judge to the plaintiff. She
answered, “I have here two witnesses.” These were the men who were
present in the coffee-shop when the sentence of divorce was pronounced.
They were desired to give their evidence, and they stated that the
defendant divorced his wife by a triple sentence, in their presence. The
defendant averred that she whom he had divorced in the coffee-shop was
another wife of his. The plaintiff declared that he had no other wife:
but the judge observed to her that it was impossible she could know
that; and asked the witnesses what was the name of the woman whom the
defendant divorced in their presence? They answered that they were
ignorant of her name. They were then asked if they could swear that the
plaintiff was the woman who was divorced before them? Their reply was,
that they could not swear to a woman whom they had never seen unveiled.
Under these circumstances, the judge thought it advisable to dismiss the
case, and the woman was obliged to return to her husband. She might have
demanded that he should produce the woman whom he professed to have
divorced in the coffee-shop, but he would easily have found a woman to
play the part he required, as it would not have been necessary for her
to show a marriage certificate; marriages being almost always performed
in Egypt without any written contract, and sometimes even without
witnesses.
It not unfrequently happens that, when a man who has divorced his wife
the third time wishes to take her again (she herself consenting to their
reunion, and there being no witnesses to the sentence of divorce), he
does so without conforming with the offensive law before mentioned. It
is also a common custom for a man under similar circumstances to employ
a person to marry the divorced woman on the condition of his resigning
her, the day after their union, to him, her former husband, whose wife
she again becomes, by a second contract; though this is plainly contrary
to the spirit of the law. The wife, however, can withhold her consent,
unless she is not of age; in which case, her father, or other lawful
guardian, may marry her to whom he pleases. A poor man (generally a very
ugly person, and often one who is blind) is usually chosen to perform
this office. He is termed a “Mustahall,” or “Mustahill,” or a
“Mohallil.” It is often the case that the man thus employed is so
pleased with the beauty of the woman to whom he is introduced on these
terms, or with her riches, that he refuses to give her up; and the law
cannot compel him to divorce her, unless he act unjustly towards her as
her husband; which of course he takes good care not to do. But a person
may employ a mustahall without running this risk. It is the custom of
many wealthy Turks, and of some of the people of Egypt, to make use of a
slave, generally a black, their own property, to officiate in this
character. Sometimes, a slave is purchased for this purpose; or if the
person who requires him for such a service be acquainted with a
slave-dealer, he asks from the latter a present of a slave, signifying
that he will give him back again. The uglier the slave, the better. The
Turks generally choose one not arrived at puberty, which the tenets of
their sect allow. As soon as the woman has accomplished her “’eddeh” (or
the period during which she is obliged to wait before she can marry
again), the husband who divorced her, having previously obtained her
consent to what he is about to do, introduces the slave to her, and asks
her if she will be married to him. She replies that she will. She is
accordingly wedded to the slave, in the presence of witnesses, and a
dowry is given to her, to make the marriage perfectly legal. The slave
consummates the marriage, and thus becomes the woman’s legitimate
husband. Immediately after, or on the following morning, her former
husband presents this slave to her as her own property, and the moment
that she accepts him, her marriage with him becomes dissolved; for it is
unlawful for a woman to be the wife of her own slave: though she may
emancipate a slave, and _then_ marry him. As soon as her marriage is
dissolved by her accepting the gift of the slave, she may give back this
slave to her husband: but it seldom happens that the latter will allow a
person who has been a mustahall for him to remain in his house. The
wife, after this proceeding, may, as soon as she has again accomplished
her ’eddeh, become reunited to her former husband, after having been
separated from him, by the necessity of her fulfilling two ’eddehs,
about half a year, or perhaps more.
That the facility of divorce has depraving effects upon both sexes may
be easily imagined. There are many men in this country who, in the
course of ten years, have married as many as twenty, thirty, or more
wives; and women not far advanced in age who have been wives to a dozen
or more men successively. I have heard of men who have been in the habit
of marrying a new wife almost every month. A person may do this although
possessed of very little property: he may choose, from among the females
of the lower orders in the streets of Cairo, a handsome young widow or
divorced woman who will consent to become his wife for a dowry of about
ten shillings; and when he divorces her, he need not give her more than
double that sum to maintain her during her ensuing ’eddeh. It is but
just, however, to add that such conduct is generally regarded as very
disgraceful; and that few parents in the middle or higher classes will
give a daughter in marriage to a man who has divorced many wives.
Polygamy, which is also attended with very injurious effects upon the
morals of the husband and the wives, and only to be defended because it
serves to prevent a greater immorality than it occasions, is more rare
among the higher and middle classes than it is among the lower orders;
and it is not very common among the latter. A poor man may indulge
himself with two or more wives, each of whom may be able, by some art or
occupation, nearly to provide her own subsistence; but most persons of
the middle and higher orders are deterred from doing so by the
consideration of the expense and discomfort which they would incur. A
man having a wife who has the misfortune to be barren, and being too
much attached to her to divorce her, is sometimes induced to take a
second wife, merely in the hope of obtaining offspring; and from the
same motive, he may take a third and a fourth; but fickle passion is the
most evident and common motive both to polygamy and repeated divorces.
They are comparatively very few who gratify this passion by the former
practice. I believe that not more than one husband among twenty has two
wives.
When there are two or more wives belonging to one man, the first (that
is, the one first married) generally enjoys the highest rank; and is
called “the great lady.” Hence it often happens that, when a man who has
already one wife wishes to marry another girl or woman, the father of
the latter, or the female herself who is sought in marriage, will not
consent to the union unless the first wife be previously divorced. The
women, of course, do not approve of a man’s marrying more than one wife.
Most men of wealth, or of moderate circumstances, and even many men of
the lower orders, if they have two or more wives, have, for each, a
separate house. The wife has, or can oblige her husband to give her, a
particular description of lodging, which is either a separate house, or
a suite of apartments (consisting of a room in which to sleep and pass
the day, a kitchen, and a latrina) that are, or may be made, separate
and shut out from any other apartments in the same house. A fellow-wife
is called “durrah.”[303] The quarrels of durrahs are often talked of:
for it may be naturally inferred that, when two wives share the
affection and attentions of the same man, they are not always on terms
of amity with each other; and the same is generally the case with a wife
and a concubine-slave living in the same house, and under similar
circumstances.[304] If the chief lady be barren, and an inferior, either
wife or slave, bear a child to her husband or master, it commonly
results that the latter woman becomes a favourite of the man, and that
the chief wife or mistress is “despised in her eyes,” as Abraham’s wife
was in the eyes of Hagar on the same account.[305] It therefore not very
unfrequently happens that the first wife loses her rank and privileges;
another becomes the chief lady, and, being the favourite of her husband,
is treated by her rival or rivals, and by all the members and visitors
of the hareem, with the same degree of outward respect which the first
wife previously enjoyed: but sometimes the poisoned cup is employed to
remove her. A preference given to a second wife is often the cause of
the first’s being registered as “náshizeh,”[306] either on her husband’s
or her own application at the Mahkem′eh. Yet many instances are known of
neglected wives behaving with exemplary and unfeigned submission to
their husband, in such cases, and with amiable good nature towards the
favourite.[307]
Some wives have female slaves who are their own property, generally
purchased for them, or presented to them, before marriage. These cannot
be the husband’s concubines without their mistress’s permission, which
is sometimes granted (as it was in the case of Hagar, Sarah’s
bondwoman); but very seldom. Often, the wife will not even allow her
female slave or slaves to appear unveiled in the presence of her
husband. Should such a slave, without the permission of her mistress,
become the concubine of the husband, and bear him a child, the child is
a slave, unless, prior to its birth, the mother be sold, or presented,
to the father.
The white female slaves are mostly in the possession of wealthy Turks.
The concubine-slaves[308] in the houses of Egyptians of the higher and
middle classes are, generally, Abyssinians, of a deep brown or bronze
complexion. In their features, as well as their complexions, they appear
an intermediate race between the negroes and white people: but the
difference between them and either of the above-mentioned races is
considerable. They themselves, however, think that they differ so little
from the white people, that they cannot be persuaded to act as servants,
with due obedience, to their master’s wives; and the black (or negro)
slave-girl feels exactly in the same manner towards the Abyssinian; but
is perfectly willing to serve the white ladies. I should here mention,
that the slaves who are termed Abyssinians are not from the country
properly called Abyssinia, but from the neighbouring territories of the
Gallas. Most of them are handsome. The average price of one of these
girls is from ten to fifteen pounds sterling, if moderately handsome;
but this is only about half the sum that used to be given for one a few
years ago. They are much esteemed by the voluptuaries of Egypt; but are
of delicate constitution: many of them die, in this country, of
consumption. The price of a white slave-girl is usually from treble to
tenfold that of an Abyssinian; and the price of a black girl, about half
or two-thirds, or considerably more if well instructed in the art of
cookery. The black slaves are generally employed as menials.[309]
Almost all of the slaves become converts to the faith of El-Islám; but,
in general, they are little instructed in the rites of their new
religion; and still less in its doctrines. Most of the white female
slaves who were in Egypt during my former visit to this country were
Greeks; vast numbers of that unfortunate people having been made
prisoners by the Turkish and Egyptian army under Ibráheem Básha; and
many of them, males and females, including even infants scarcely able to
walk, sent to Egypt to be sold. Latterly, from the impoverishment of the
higher classes in this country, the demand for white slaves has been
small. A few, some of whom undergo a kind of preparatory education
(being instructed in music or other accomplishments, at Constantinople),
are brought from Circassia and Georgia. The white slaves, being often
the only female companions, and sometimes the wives, of the Turkish
grandees, and being generally preferred by them before the free ladies
of Egypt, hold a higher rank than the latter in common opinion. They are
richly dressed, presented with valuable ornaments, indulged, frequently,
with almost every luxury that can be procured, and, when it is not their
lot to wait upon others, may, in some cases, be happy: as lately has
been proved, since the termination of the war in Greece, by many females
of that country, captives in Egyptian hareems, refusing their offered
liberty, which all of these cannot be supposed to have done from
ignorance of the state of their parents and other relations, or the fear
of exposing themselves to poverty. But, though some of them are
undoubtedly happy, at least for a time, their number is comparatively
small: most are fated to wait upon more favoured fellow-prisoners, or
upon Turkish ladies, or to receive the unwelcome caresses of a wealthy
dotard, or of a man who has impaired his body and mind by excesses of
every kind; and, when their master or mistress becomes tired of them, or
dies, are sold again (if they have not borne children), or emancipated,
and married to some person in humble life, who can afford them but few
of the comforts to which they have been accustomed. The female slaves in
the houses of persons of the middle classes in Egypt are generally more
comfortably circumstanced than those in the hareems of the wealthy: if
concubines, they are, in most cases, without rivals to disturb their
peace; and if menials, their service is light, and they are under less
restraint. Often, indeed, if mutual attachment subsist between her and
her master, the situation of a concubine-slave is more fortunate than
that of a wife: for the latter may be cast off by her husband in a
moment of anger, by an irrevocable sentence of divorce, and reduced to a
state of poverty; whereas a man very seldom dismisses a female slave
without providing for her in such a manner that, if she have not been
used to luxuries, she suffers but little, if at all, by the change: this
he generally does by emancipating her, giving her a dowry, and marrying
her to some person of honest reputation; or by presenting her to a
friend. I have already mentioned, that a master cannot sell nor give
away a slave who has borne him a child, if he acknowledge it to be his
own; and that she is entitled to her freedom on his death. It often
happens that such a slave, immediately after the birth of her child, is
emancipated, and becomes her master’s wife: when she has become free,
she can no longer lawfully supply the place of a wife unless he marry
her. Many persons consider it disgraceful even to sell a female slave
who has been long in their service. Most of the Abyssinian and black
slave-girls are abominably corrupted by the Gellábs, or slave-traders,
of Upper Egypt and Nubia, by whom they are brought from their native
countries: there are very few of the age of eight or nine years who have
not suffered brutal violence; and so severely do these children,
particularly the Abyssinians, and boys as well as girls, feel the
treatment which they endure from the Gellábs, that many instances occur
of their drowning themselves during the voyage down the Nile.[310] The
female slaves of every class are somewhat dearer than the males of the
same age. Those who have not had the small-pox are usually sold for less
than the others. Three days’ trial is generally allowed to the
purchaser; during which time, the girl remains in his, or some friend’s,
hareem; and the women make their report to him. Snoring, grinding the
teeth, or talking during sleep, are commonly considered sufficient
reasons for returning her to the dealer.—The dresses of the female
slaves are similar to those of the Egyptian women.
The female servants, who are Egyptian girls or women, are those to whom
the lowest occupations are allotted. They generally veil their faces in
the presence of their masters, with the head-veil; drawing a part of
this before the face, so that they leave only one eye and one hand at
liberty to see and perform what they have to do. When a male visitor is
received by the master of a house in an apartment of the hareem (the
females of the family having been sent into another apartment on the
occasion), he is usually, or often, waited upon by a female servant, who
is always veiled.
Such are the relative conditions of the various classes in the hareem. A
short account of their usual habits and employments must be added.
The wives, as well as the female slaves, are not only often debarred
from the privilege of eating with the master of the family, but also
required to wait upon him when he dines or sups, or even takes his pipe
and coffee in the hareem. They frequently serve him as menials; fill and
light his pipe, make coffee for him, and prepare his food, or, at least,
certain dainty dishes; and if I might judge from my own experience, I
should say that most of them are excellent cooks; for, when a dish has
been recommended to me because made by the wife of my host, I have
generally found it especially good. The wives of men of the higher and
middle classes make a great study of pleasing and fascinating their
husbands by unremitted attentions, and by various arts. Their coquetry
is exhibited, even in their ordinary gait, when they go abroad, by a
peculiar twisting of the body.[311] In the presence of the husband, they
are usually under more or less restraint; and hence they are better
pleased when his visits, during the day, are not very frequent or long:
in his absence, they often indulge in noisy merriment.
The diet of the women is similar to that of the men, but more frugal;
and their manner of eating is the same. Many of them are allowed to
enjoy the luxury of smoking; for this habit is not considered unbecoming
in a female, however high her rank; the odour of the finer kinds of the
tobacco used in Egypt being very delicate. Their pipes are generally
more slender than those of the men, and more ornamented; and the
mouth-piece is sometimes partly composed of coral, in the place of
amber. They generally make use of perfumes, such as musk, civet, etc.,
and often, also, of cosmetics, and particularly of several preparations
which they eat or drink with the view of acquiring what they esteem a
proper degree of plumpness:[312] one of these preparations is extremely
disgusting; being chiefly composed of mashed beetles.[313] Many of them
also have a habit of chewing frankincense, and labdanum, which impart a
perfume to the breath. The habit of frequent ablutions renders them
cleanly in person. They spend but little time in the operations of the
toilet; and, after having dressed themselves in the morning, seldom
change their clothes during the day. Their hair is generally braided in
the bath; and not undone afterwards for several days.
The care of their children is the primary occupation of the ladies of
Egypt: they are also charged with the superintendence of domestic
affairs; but, in most families, the husband alone attends to the
household expenses. Their leisure-hours are mostly spent in working with
the needle; particularly in embroidering handkerchiefs, head-veils,
etc., upon a frame called “menseg,” with coloured silks and gold. Many
women, even in the houses of the wealthy, replenish their private purses
by ornamenting handkerchiefs and other things in this manner, and
employing a “delláleh” (or female broker) to take them to the market, or
to other hareems, for sale. The visit of one hareem to another often
occupies nearly a whole day. Eating, smoking, drinking coffee and
sherbet, gossiping, and displaying their finery, are sufficient
amusements to the company. On such occasions, the master of the house is
never allowed to enter the hareem, unless on some particular and
unavoidable business; and in this case, he must give notice of his
approach, and let the visitors have sufficient time to veil themselves,
or to retire to an adjoining room. Being thus under no fear of his
sudden intrusion, and being naturally of a lively and an unreserved
disposition, they indulge in easy gaiety, and not unfrequently in
youthful frolic. When their usual subjects of conversation are
exhausted, sometimes one of the party entertains the rest with the
recital of some wonderful or facetious tale. The Egyptian ladies are
very seldom instructed either in music or dancing; but they take great
delight in the performances of professional musicians and public
dancers; and often amuse themselves and their guests, in the absence of
better performers and better instruments, by beating the “darabukkeh”
(which is a kind of drum) and the “tár” (or tambourine); though seldom
in houses so situated that many passengers might hear the sounds of
festivity. On the occasion of any great rejoicing among the women (such
as takes place on account of the birth of a son, or the celebration of a
circumcision, or a wedding, etc.), “’A′l’mehs” (or professional female
singers) are often introduced; but not for the mere amusement of the
women, on common occasions, in any respectable family; for this would be
considered indecorous. The “Gházeeyehs” (or public dancing-girls), who
exhibit in the streets with unveiled faces, are very seldom admitted
into a hareem; but on such occasions as those above mentioned, they
often perform in front of the house, or in the court; though, by many
persons, even this is not deemed strictly proper. The “A′látees” (or
male musicians) are never hired exclusively for the amusement of the
women; but chiefly for that of the men: they always perform in the
assembly of the latter: their concert, however, is distinctly heard by
the inmates of the hareem.
When the women of the higher or middle classes go out to pay a visit, or
for any other purpose, they generally ride upon asses. They sit astride,
upon a very high and broad saddle, which is covered with a small carpet;
and each is attended by a man on one or on each side. Generally, all the
women of a hareem ride out together; one behind another. Mounted as
above described, they present a very singular appearance. Being raised
so high above the back of the “homár ’álee” (or the “high ass”—for so
the animal which they ride, furnished with the high saddle, is commonly
called[314]), they seem very insecurely seated; but I believe this is
not really the case: the ass is well girthed, and sure-footed; and
proceeds with a slow, ambling pace, and very easy motion. The ladies of
the highest rank, as well as those of the middling classes, ride asses,
thus equipped: they are very seldom seen upon mules or horses. The asses
are generally hired. When a lady cannot procure a homár ’álee, she rides
one of the asses equipped for the use of the men; but has a “seggádeh”
(or prayer-carpet) placed over its saddle; and the inferior members of
the hareem, and females of the middle orders, often do the same. Ladies
never walk abroad, unless they have to go but a very short distance.
They have a slow and shuffling gait, owing to the difficulty of
retaining the slippers upon their feet; and, in walking, they always
hold the front edges of the habarah in the manner represented in the
engraving in page 38 in this volume. Whether walking or riding, they are
regarded with much respect in public: no well-bred man stares at them;
but rather directs his eyes another way. They are never seen abroad at
night, if not compelled to go out or return at that time by some
pressing and extraordinary necessity: it is their usual rule to return
from paying a visit before sunset. The ladies of the higher orders never
go to a shop, but send for whatever they want; and there are numerous
dellálehs who have access to the hareems, and bring all kinds of
ornaments, articles of female apparel, etc., for sale. Nor do these
ladies, in general, visit the public bath, unless invited to accompany
thither some of their friends; for most of them have baths in their own
houses.
-----
Footnote 274:
The term “hareem” (which, as before mentioned, is applied both to the
females of a family and to the apartments which they occupy) signifies
_prohibited_, _sacred_, etc. The Turks, and many of the Arabs, use the
synonymous Arabic term “haram,” which the former pronounce “harem.”
Footnote 275:
They are often betrothed two or three or more years earlier.
Footnote 276:
Abraham’s sending a messenger to his own country to seek a wife for
his son Isaac (see Genesis xxiv.) was just such a measure as most
modern Arabs would adopt under similar circumstances, if easily
practicable.
Footnote 277:
See Genesis xxix. 26.
Footnote 278:
It is a common belief in Egypt, that, if any one makes a
marriage-contract in the month of Moharram, the marriage will be
unhappy, and soon dissolved: wherefore, few persons do so. The most
propitious period is the month of Showwál.
Footnote 279:
This appellation is commonly given to a schoolmaster. See a note in
page 48.
Footnote 280:
If the bride be not a virgin, a word importing this is substituted;
namely, “seyyib,” or, more properly, “theyyib.”
Footnote 281:
Among the peasants, however, the father, or other lawful guardian of
the bride, receives the dowry, and gives nothing in return but the
girl, and sometimes a little corn, etc. The bridegroom, in this case,
supplies everything; even the dress of the bride.
Footnote 282:
Burckhardt has erred in stating that _Monday_ and Thursday are the
days on which the ceremonies _immediately previous_ to the
marriage-night are performed, he should have said _Sunday_ and
Thursday. He has also fallen into some other errors in the account
which he has given of the marriage ceremonies of the Egyptians, in the
illustrations of his “Arabic Proverbs” (pp. 112-118). To mention this
I feel to be a duty to myself; but one which I perform with
reluctance, and not without the fear that Burckhardt’s just reputation
for general accuracy may make my reader think that he is right in
these cases, and that I am wrong. I write these words in Cairo, with
his book before me, and after sufficient experience and inquiries.
Footnote 283:
The lantern here represented, which is constructed of wood, and
painted green, red, white, and blue, is called “tureiya” (the Arabic
name of the Pleiades), and, together with the frame above, from which
six lamps are suspended, and which is termed “khátim Suleymán” (or
Solomon’s seal), composes what is called a “heml kanádeel.”
Footnote 284:
These entertainments I do not here particularly describe, as it is my
intention to devote the whole of a subsequent chapter to the subject
of private festivities. The “khatmeh” is the recitation of the whole
of the Kur-án; and the “zikr,” the repetition of the name of God, or
of the profession of his unity, etc.; I shall have occasion to speak
of both more fully in another chapter, on the periodical public
festivals.
Footnote 285:
From the verb ‘adna,’ “he brought,” etc.
Footnote 286:
These cries of the women, which are heard on various occasions of
rejoicing in Egypt and other Eastern countries, are produced by a
sharp utterance of the voice, accompanied by a quick, tremulous motion
of the tongue.
Footnote 287:
I have once seen this “zeffeh,” or procession, and a second which will
be described hereafter, go forth much later, and return an hour after
sunset.
Footnote 288:
The music is generally of a very rude kind; and the airs usually
played are those of popular songs; specimens of which will be found in
this work.
Footnote 289:
For a description of these ornaments, see the Appendix.
Footnote 290:
One of the most common of the feats witnessed on such an occasion is
the performance of a laborious task by a water-carrier, termed a
“keiyim,” who, for the sake of a present, and this empty title,
carries a water-skin filled with sand and water, of greater weight,
and for a longer period, than any of his brethren will venture to do;
and this he must accomplish without ever sitting down, except in a
crouching position, to rest. In the case of a bridal procession which
I lately witnessed, the keiyim began to carry his burden, a skin of
sand and water weighing about two hundred pounds, at sunset of the
preceding day; bore it the whole night, and the ensuing day, before
and during the procession, and continued to do so till sunset.
Footnote 291:
A correct description of this is given in Burckhardt’s “Arabic
Proverbs,” pp. 115, 116.
Footnote 292:
Grand zeffehs are sometimes accompanied by a number of cars, each
bearing a group of persons of some manufacture or trade performing the
usual work of their craft; even such as builders, white-washers, etc.;
including members of all, or almost all, the arts and manufactures
practised in the metropolis.
Footnote 293:
Hence this kind of prayer is called “salah memáleekeeyeh,” or “the
prayer of memlooks.”
Footnote 294:
Sometimes, when the parties are persons of wealth, the bride is
displayed before the bridegroom in different dresses, to the number of
seven.
Footnote 295:
I beg to refer the reader, if he desire further details on this
subject, to page 117 of Burckhardt’s “Arabic Proverbs.” His account
might have been more complete; but he seems to have studied to be
particularly concise in this case.
Footnote 296:
Kur-án, chap. lxi., ver. 13.
Footnote 297:
A khäwal is also called “gháïsh”; plural, “gheeyásh.”
Footnote 298:
This performance is called the bride’s “sabáheeyeh.”
Footnote 299:
Among the peasants of Upper Egypt, the relations and acquaintances of
the bridegroom and bride meet together on the day after the marriage;
and while a number of the men clap their hands, as an accompaniment to
a tambourine or two, and any other instruments that can be procured,
the bride dances before them for a short time. She has a head-veil
reaching to her heels, and a printed cotton handkerchief completely
covering her face, and wears, externally, the most remarkable of her
bridal garments (mentioned by Burckhardt, in the place before referred
to, and, in some parts of Egypt, hung over the door of a peasant’s
house after marriage). Other women, similarly veiled, and dressed in
their best, or borrowed, clothes, continue the dance about two hours,
or more.
Footnote 300:
Thus commonly pronounced, for “hamáh,” a word derived from the verb
“hama,” “he protected, or guarded.”
Footnote 301:
Chap. xxiv. ver. 31.
Footnote 302:
See the chapter on Religion and Laws. Eunuchs are allowed to see the
face of any woman; so also are young boys.
Footnote 303:
Commonly thus pronounced (or rather “durrah,” with a soft _d_) for
“darrah”; originally, perhaps, by way of a pun; as “durrah” is a
common name for a _parrot_.
Footnote 304:
The law enjoins a husband who has two or more wives, to be strictly
impartial to them in every respect; but compliance with its dictates
in this matter is rare.
Footnote 305:
See Genesis xvi. 4.
Footnote 306:
This has been explained in the 3rd chapter, page 88.
Footnote 307:
In general, the most beautiful of a man’s wives or slaves is, of
course, for a time, his greatest favourite; but in many (if not most)
cases, the lasting favourite is not the most handsome. The love of a
Muslim, therefore, is not always merely sensual; nor does the relative
condition and comfort of his wife, or of each of his wives, invariably
depend so much on his caprice or her own personal charms, as on her
general conduct and disposition.
Footnote 308:
A Muslim cannot take as a concubine a slave who is an idolatress.
Footnote 309:
The white female slave is called “Gáriyeh Beyda;” the Abyssinian,
“Gáriyeh Habasheeyeh;” and the black, “Gáriyeh Sóda.”
Footnote 310:
The Gellábs generally convey their slaves partly over the desert and
partly down the river.
Footnote 311:
The motion here described they term “ghung.”
Footnote 312:
The Egyptians (unlike the Maghrab′ees, and some other people of Africa
and of the East) do not generally admire very fat women. In his
love-songs, the Egyptian commonly describes the object of his
affections as of slender figure and small waist.
Footnote 313:
I observed here,—“It would seem that these insects were eaten by the
Jews (see Leviticus xi. 22); but we cannot suppose that they derived
this custom from the Egyptians, who regarded the beetle as sacred.”—A
learned friend, however, has informed me, that the word rendered
“beetle” in our version of the passage of Scripture which occasioned
this remark properly signifies a kind of locust.
Footnote 314:
It is also called “homár mughattee” (covered ass).
----------------------------
CHAPTER VII.
DOMESTIC LIFE—_continued_.
The domestic life of the _lower orders_ will be the subject of the
present chapter. In most respects, it is so simple, that, in comparison
with the life of the middle and higher classes, of which we have just
been taking a view, it offers but little to our notice.
The lower orders in Egypt, with the exception of a very small
proportion, chiefly residing in the large towns, consist of Felláheen
(or Agriculturists). Most of those in the great towns, and a few in the
smaller towns and some of the villages, are petty tradesmen or
artificers, or obtain their livelihood as servants, or by various
labours. In all cases, their earnings are very small; barely sufficient,
in general, and sometimes insufficient, to supply them and their
families with the cheapest necessaries of life.
Their food chiefly consists of bread (made of millet or of maize), milk,
new cheese, eggs, small salted fish, cucumbers and melons and gourds of
a great variety of kinds, onions and leeks,[315] beans, chick-peas,
lupins, the fruit of the black egg-plant, lentils, etc., dates (both
fresh and dried), and pickles. Most of the vegetables they eat in a
crude state. When the maize (or Indian corn) is nearly ripe, many ears
of it are plucked, and toasted or baked, and eaten thus by the peasants.
Rice is too dear to be an article of common food for the felláheen; and
flesh-meat they very seldom taste. There is one luxury, however, which
most of them enjoy; and that is, smoking the cheap tobacco of their
country, merely dried, and broken up. It is of a pale, greenish colour,
when dried, and of a mild flavour. Though all the articles of food
mentioned above are extremely cheap, there are many poor persons who
often have nothing with which to season their coarse bread but the
mixture called “dukkah,” described in a former chapter.[316] It is
surprising to observe how simple and poor is the diet of the Egyptian
peasantry, and yet how robust and healthy most of them are, and how
severe is the labour which they can undergo.
The women of the lower orders seldom pass a life of inactivity. Some of
them are even condemned to greater drudgery than the men. Their chief
occupations are the preparing of the husband’s food, fetching water
(which they carry in a large vessel on the head), spinning cotton,
linen, or woollen yarn, and making the fuel called “gelleh,” which is
composed of the dung of cattle, kneaded with chopped straw, and formed
into round flat cakes: these they stick upon the walls or roofs of their
houses, or upon the ground, to dry in the sun; and then use for heating
their ovens, and for other purposes. They are in a state of much greater
subjection to their husbands than is the case among the superior
classes. Not always is a poor woman allowed to eat with her husband.
When she goes out with him, she generally walks behind him; and if there
be anything for either of them to carry, it is usually borne by the
wife; unless it be merely a pipe or a stick. Some women, in the towns,
keep shops; and sell bread, vegetables, etc.; and thus contribute as
much as their husbands, or even more than the latter, to the support of
their families. When a poor Egyptian is desirous of marrying, the chief
object of his consideration is the dowry, which is usually from about
twenty “riyáls” (or nine shillings) to four times that amount, if
consisting only of money; and rather less, if, as is the case throughout
a great part of Egypt, it comprise certain articles of clothing: if he
can afford to give the dowry, he seldom hesitates to marry; for a little
additional exertion will enable him to support a wife and two or three
children. At the age of five or six years, the children become of use to
tend the flocks and herds; and at a more advanced age, until they marry,
they assist their fathers in the operations of agriculture. The poor in
Egypt have often to depend entirely upon their sons for support in their
old age; but many persons are deprived of these aids, and consequently
reduced to beggary, or almost to starvation. A few months ago, the
Básha, during his voyage from Alexandria to this city (Cairo), happening
to land at a village on the bank of the Nile, a poor man of the place
ran up to him, and grasped his sleeve so tightly, that the surrounding
attendants could not make him quit his hold: he complained that,
although he had been once in very comfortable circumstances, he had been
reduced to utter destitution by having his sons taken from him in his
old age as recruits for the army. The Básha (who generally pays
attention to personal applications) relieved him; but it was by ordering
that the richest man in the village should give him a cow.
A young family, however, is sometimes an insupportable burden to poor
parents. Hence, it is not a very rare occurrence, in Egypt, for children
to be publicly carried about for sale, by their mothers or by women
employed by the fathers: but this very seldom happens, except in cases
of great distress. When a mother dies, leaving one or more children
unweaned, and the father and other surviving relations are so poor as
not to be able to procure a nurse, this singular mode of disposing of
the child or children is often resorted to; or sometimes an infant is
laid at the door of a mosque, generally when the congregation is
assembled to perform the noon-prayers of Friday; and in this case it
usually happens that some member of the congregation, on coming out of
the mosque, and seeing the poor foundling, is moved with pity, and takes
it home to rear in his family, not as a slave, but as an adopted child;
or, if not, it is taken under the care of some person until an adoptive
father or mother be found for it. A short time ago, a woman offered for
sale, to the mistress of a family with whom a friend of mine is
acquainted in this city, a child a few days old, which she professed to
have found at the door of a mosque. The lady said that she would take
the child, to rear it for the sake of God, and in the hope that her own
child, an only one, might be spared to her as a reward for her charity;
and handed, to the woman who brought the infant, ten piasters (then
equivalent to a little more than two shillings): but the offered
remuneration was rejected. This shows that infants are sometimes made
mere objects of traffic; and some persons who purchase them may make
them their slaves, and sell them again. I have been informed, by a
slave-dealer (and his assertion has been confirmed to me by other
persons), that young Egyptian girls are sometimes sold as slaves from
other countries, either by a parent or by some other relation. The
slave-dealer here alluded to said, that several such girls had been
committed to him for sale; and by their own consent: they were taught to
expect rich dresses and great luxuries; and were instructed to say, that
they had been brought from their own country when only three or four
years of age, and that they consequently were ignorant of their native
language, and could speak only Arabic.
It often happens, too, that a felláh, in a state of great poverty, is
induced, by the offer of a sum of money, to place his son in a situation
far worse than that of ordinary slavery. When a certain number of
recruits are required from a village, the sheykh of the village often
adopts the plan that gives him the least trouble to obtain them, which
is, to take the sons of those persons who are possessed of most
property. Under such circumstances, a father, rather than part with his
son, generally offers, to one of his poorer fellow-villagers, a sum
equivalent to one or two pounds sterling, to procure a son of the
latter, as a substitute for his own; and usually succeeds; though the
love of offspring prevails among the Egyptians as much as filial piety;
and most parents have a great horror of parting with their children,
particularly if taken for recruits, as is proved by the means to which
they have recourse for the prevention of such an occurrence. There is
now (in 1834) seldom to be found, in any of the villages, an able-bodied
youth or young man who has not had one or more of his teeth broken out
(that he may not be able to bite a cartridge), or a finger cut off, or
an eye pulled out or blinded, to prevent his being taken for a recruit.
Old women and others make a regular trade of going about from village to
village, to perform these operations upon the boys; and the parents
themselves are sometimes the operators. But, from what has been said
before, it appears that it is not always affection alone that prompts
the parents to have recourse to such expedients to prevent their being
deprived of their children.
The Felláheen of Egypt cannot be justly represented in a very favourable
light with regard to their domestic and social condition and manners. In
the worst points of view, they resemble their Bedawee ancestors, without
possessing many of the virtues of the inhabitants of the desert, unless
in an inferior degree; and the customs which they have inherited from
their forefathers often have a very baneful effect upon their domestic
state. It has before been mentioned that they are descended from various
Arab tribes who have settled in Egypt at different periods; and that the
distinction of tribes is still preserved by the inhabitants of the
villages throughout this country. In the course of years, the
descendants of each tribe of settlers have become divided into numerous
branches, and these minor tribes have distinct appellations, which have
also often been given to the village or villages, or district, which
they inhabit. Those who have been longest established in Egypt have
retained less of Bedawee manners, and have more infringed the purity of
their race by intermarriages with Copt proselytes to the Muslim faith,
or with the descendants of such persons; hence, they are often despised
by the tribes more lately settled in this country, who frequently, in
contempt, term the former “Felláheen,” while they arrogate to themselves
the appellation of “Arabs” or “Bedawees.” The latter, whenever they
please, take the daughters of the former in marriage, but will not give
their own daughters in return; and if one of them be killed by a person
of the inferior tribe, they kill two, three, or even four, in
blood-revenge. The prevalence of the barbarous Bedawee law of
blood-revenge among the inhabitants of the villages of Egypt has been
mentioned in a former chapter: the homicide, or any person descended
from him, or from his great-grandfather’s father, is killed by any of
such relations of the person whom he has slain; and when the homicide
happens to be of one tribe, and the person killed of another, often a
petty war breaks forth between these two tribes, and is sometimes
continued, or occasionally renewed, during a period of several years.
The same is also frequently the result of a trifling injury committed by
a member of one tribe upon a person of another. In many instances, the
blood-revenge is taken a century or more after the commission of the act
which has occasioned it; when the feud, for that time, has lain dormant,
and perhaps is remembered by scarcely more than one individual. Two
tribes in Lower Egypt, which are called “Saad” and “Harám,” are most
notorious for these petty wars and feuds;[317] and hence their names are
commonly applied to any two persons or parties at enmity with each
other. It is astonishing that, in the present day, such acts (which, if
committed in a town or city in Egypt, would be punished by the death of,
perhaps, more than one of the persons concerned) should be allowed. Some
other particulars respecting blood-revenge and its consequences have
been stated in the chapter above alluded to. The avenging of blood is
allowed by the Kur-án; but moderation and justice are enjoined in its
execution; and the petty wars which it so often occasions in the present
age are in opposition to a precept of the Prophet, who said, “If two
Muslims contend with their swords, the slayer and the slain will be in
the fire [of Hell].”
The Felláheen of Egypt resemble the Bedawees in other respects. When a
Felláhah is found to have been unfaithful to her husband, in general,
he, or her brother, throws her into the Nile, with a stone tied to her
neck; or cuts her in pieces, and then throws her remains into the river.
In most instances, also, a father or brother punishes in the same manner
an unmarried daughter or sister who has been guilty of incontinence.
These relations are considered as more disgraced than the husband by the
crime of the woman; and are often despised if they do not thus punish
her.
-----
Footnote 315:
See Numbers xi. 5.
Footnote 316:
Page 122.
Footnote 317:
Like the “Keys” and “Yemen” of Syria.
----------------------------
CHAPTER VIII.
COMMON USAGES OF SOCIETY.
The respect in which trade is held by the Muslim greatly tends to
enlarge the circle of his acquaintance with persons of different ranks;
and freedom of intercourse with his fellow-men is further and very
greatly promoted by the law of the separation of the sexes, as it
enables him to associate with others, regardless of difference of wealth
or station, without the risk of occasioning unequal matrimonial
connections. The women, like the men, enjoy extensive intercourse with
persons of their own sex.
The Muslims are extremely formal and regular in their social manners;
though generally very easy in their demeanour, and free in their
conversation. Several of their most common usages are founded upon
precepts of their religion, and distinguish them in society from all
other people. Among these is their custom of greeting each other with
the salutation of “Peace be on you!” to which the proper and general
reply is, “On you be peace, and the mercy of God, and His
blessings!”[318] This salutation is never to be addressed by a Muslim to
a person whom he knows to be of another religion;[319] nor _vice
versâ_.[320] The giving it, by one Muslim to another, is a duty; but one
that may be omitted without sin: the returning it is absolutely
obligatory: the former is a “sunneh” ordinance; and the latter, “fard.”
Should a Muslim, however, thus salute, by mistake, a person not of the
same faith, the latter should not return it; and the former, on
discovering his mistake, generally revokes his salutation: so also he
sometimes does if a Muslim refuse to return his salutation; usually
saying, “Peace be on _us_, and on [all] the righteous worshippers of
God.”
The chief rules respecting salutation, as dictated by the Prophet, and
generally observed by modern Muslims, are as follow.—The person riding
should first salute him who is on foot; and he who passes by, the person
or persons who are sitting down or standing still; and a small party, or
one of such a party, should give the salutation to a large party; and
the young, to the aged.[321] As it is sufficient for one party to
_give_, so is it also for one only to _return_, the salutation. It is
required, too, that a Muslim, when he enters a house, should salute the
people of that house; and that he should do the same when he leaves it.
He should always salute first, and then talk.—But, to the above rules,
there are some exceptions. For instance, in a crowded city, it is not
necessary (indeed it is hardly possible) to salute many of those whom
one may pass; nor on a road where one meets numerous passengers. Yet it
is usual for a wealthy or well-dressed person, or a venerable sheykh, or
any person of distinction, to salute another who appears to be a man of
rank, wealth, or learning, even in a crowded street. Among polite
people, it is customary for him who gives or returns the salutation to
place his right hand upon his breast at the same time; or to touch his
lips, and then his forehead, or turban, with the same hand. This action
is called “teymeeneh.” The latter mode of teymeeneh, which is the more
respectful, is often performed to a person of superior rank, not only at
first, with the selám (or salutation of “Peace be on you!”), but also
frequently during a conversation, and in the latter case without the
selám.
A person of the lower orders, on approaching a superior, particularly if
the latter be a Turk, does not always give the selám, but only performs
this teymeeneh; and he shows his respect to a man of high rank by
bending down his hand to the ground, and then putting it to his lips and
forehead, without pronouncing the selám. It is a common custom, also,
for a man to kiss the hand of a superior (generally on the back only,
but sometimes on the back and front), and then to put it to his
forehead, in order to pay him particular respect: but in most cases the
latter does not allow this; and only touches the hand that is extended
towards his: the other person, then, merely puts his own hand to his
lips and forehead. To testify abject submission, in craving pardon for
an offence, or interceding for another person, or begging any favour of
a superior, not unfrequently the feet are kissed instead of the hand.
The son kisses the hand of the father; the wife, that of her husband;
and the slave, and often the free servant, that of the master. The
slaves and servants of a grandee kiss their lord’s sleeve, or the skirt
of his clothing.
When particular friends salute each other, they join their right hands,
and then each kisses his own hand, or puts it to his lips and forehead,
or raises it to his forehead only; or merely places it on his breast,
without kissing it: if after a long absence, and on some other
occasions, they embrace each other; each falling upon the other’s neck,
and kissing him on the right side of the face or neck, and then on the
left. Another mode of salutation is very commonly practised among the
lower orders, when two friends or acquaintances meet after a journey:
joining their right hands, each of them compliments the other on his
safety, and expresses his wishes for his welfare, by repeating,
alternately, many times, the words “selámát” and “teiyibeen:”[322] in
commencing this ceremony, which is often continued for nearly a minute
before they proceed to make any particular inquiries, they join their
hands in the same manner as is usually practised by us; and at each
alternation of the two expressions above mentioned, they change the
position of the hands: in repeating the second word, each of the two
persons turns his fingers over the thumb of the other; and in repeating
the first word again, the former position is resumed.
In polite society, various other formal salutations and compliments
follow the selám. To most of these there are particular replies; or two
or more different forms of reply may be used in some cases; but to
return any that custom has not prescribed would be considered as a proof
of ignorance or vulgarity. When a person asks his friend, “How is your
health?” the latter replies, “Praise be to God!” and it is only by the
tone of voice in which he makes this answer, that the inquirer can infer
whether he be well or ill. When one greets the other with “Teiyibeen,”
the usual reply is, “God bless thee,” or “God preserve thee.” A friend
or acquaintance, on meeting another whom he has not seen for several
days, or for a longer period, generally says, after the selám, “Thou
hast made us desolate [by thy absence from us];” and is usually
answered, “May God not make [us] desolate by thy absence.”—The ordinary
set compliments in use in Egyptian society are so numerous, that a dozen
pages of this work would not suffice for the mention of those which may
be heard almost every day.
When a person goes to the house of another, to pay a visit, or for any
other purpose, he never enters unawares; for this is expressly forbidden
by the Kur-án:[323] and particularly if he have to ascend to an upper
apartment; in which case he should call out for permission, or announce
his approach, as he goes upstairs, in the manner which I have had
occasion to describe in a former chapter.[324] Should he find no person
below, he generally claps his hands, at the door, or in the court; and
waits for a servant to come down to him; or for permission to be given
him to seat himself in a lower apartment, or to ascend to an upper room.
On entering the room in which the master of the house is seated, he
gives the selám. The master returns the salutation; and welcomes the
visitor with courteousness and affability. To his superiors,[325] and
generally to his equals, he rises. Persons more or less above him in
rank he proceeds to meet in the court, or between the court and the
room, or at the entrance of the room, or in the middle of the room, or a
step from the place where he was sitting: but often, to equals, he
merely makes a slight motion, as if about to rise; and to most
inferiors, he remains undisturbed. To his superiors, and often to his
equals, he yields the most honourable place, which is a corner of the
deewán: it is that corner which is to the right of a person facing the
upper end of the room. This end of the room is called the “sadr;” and
the whole of the seat which extends along it is more honourable than
those which extend along the sides; each of which is called “gemb.”
Visitors inferior in rank to the master of the house never seat
themselves at the upper end, unless invited to do so by him; and when so
invited, they often decline the offered honour. His equals sit at their
ease, cross-legged, or with one knee raised; and recline against the
cushions: his inferiors (first, at least) often sit upon their heels; or
take their place upon the edge of the deewán; or, if very much beneath
him in grade, seat themselves upon the mat or carpet. In strict
etiquette, the visitor should not, at first, suffer his hands to appear,
when entering the room, or when seated; but should let the sleeves fall
over them; and when he has taken his place on the deewán, he should not
stretch out his legs, nor even allow his feet to be seen: but these
rules are not often attended to, excepting in the houses of the great.
Various formal compliments and salutations are given and returned after
the selám; and some of them, particularly the expressions of “teiyibeen”
and “eysh hál’kum,” are repeated several times during the same
interview.
Sometimes the visitor’s own servant attends him with his pipe: the
former takes his tobacco-purse out of his bosom, and gives it to the
servant, who folds it up and returns it after having filled the pipe, or
after the termination of the visit: otherwise, a servant of the host
brings a pipe for the visitor, and one for his master; and next, a cup
of coffee is presented to each;[326] for “tobacco without coffee,” say
the Arabs, “is like meat without salt.” On receiving the pipe and the
coffee, the visitor salutes the master of the house with the teymeeneh,
which the latter returns; and the same is done on returning the cup to
the servant. The master of the house also salutes his guest in the same
manner, if the latter be not much beneath him in rank, on receiving and
returning his own cup of coffee. Servants often remain in the room
during the whole period of a visit, stationed at the lower end, in a
respectful attitude, with their hands joined (the left within the
right), and held before the girdle. The usual mode of summoning a
servant or other attendant who is not present is by clapping the hands,
striking the palm of the left hand with the fingers of the right: the
windows being of open lattice-work, the sound is heard throughout the
house.—The subjects of conversation are generally the news of the day,
the state of trade, the prices of provisions, and sometimes religion and
science. Facetious stories are often related; and, very frequently,
persons in the best society tell tales, and quote proverbs, of the most
indecent nature. In good society, people seldom talk of each other’s
hareems; but intimate friends, and many persons who do not strictly
observe the rules of good breeding, very often do so, and in a manner
not always delicate. Genteel people inquire respecting each other’s
“houses,” to ascertain whether their wives and families are well.—Visits
not unfrequently occupy several hours; and sometimes (especially those
of hareems), nearly a whole day. The pipes are replenished, or replaced
by others, as often as is necessary: for, however long a visitor may
stay, he generally continues smoking during the whole time; and
sometimes coffee is brought again, or sherbet. The manner in which the
coffee and sherbet are served has been before described. A person
receives the same compliment after drinking a glass of sherbet as after
taking a draught of water,[327] and replies to it in the same manner.
In the houses of the rich, it used to be a common custom to sprinkle the
guest, before he rose to take his leave, with rose-water or
orange-flower-water; and to perfume him with the smoke of some
odoriferous substance; but of late years this practice has become
unfrequent. The scent-bottle, which is called “kumkum,” is of plain or
gilt silver, or fine brass, or china, or glass; and has a cover pierced
with a small hole. The perfuming-vessel, or “mibkhar′ah,” is generally
of one or the other of the metals above mentioned: the receptacle for
the burning charcoal is lined, or half filled, with gypsum-plaster; and
its cover is pierced with apertures for the emission of the smoke. The
mibkhar′ah is used last: it is presented by a servant to the visitor or
master, who wafts the smoke towards his face, beard, etc., with his
right hand. Sometimes it is opened, to emit the smoke more freely. The
substance most commonly used in the mibkhar′ah is aloes-wood, or
benzoin, or cascarilla-bark. The wood is moistened before it is placed
upon the burning coals. Ambergris is also used for the same purpose; but
very rarely, and only in the houses of persons of great wealth, as it is
extremely costly. As soon as the visitor has been perfumed, he takes his
leave; but he should not depart without previously asking permission to
do so, and then giving the selám, which is returned to him, and paying
other set compliments, to which there are appropriate replies. If he be
a person of much higher rank than the master of the house, the latter
not only rises, but also accompanies him to the top of the stairs, or to
the door of the room, and then commends him to the care of God.
[Illustration: KUMKUM AND MIBKHAR’AH.—Each is about eight inches high.]
It is usual for a person, after paying a visit of ceremony, and on some
other occasions, previously to his leaving the house, to give a small
present (two or three piasters, or more, according to circumstances) to
one, or to several, of the servants: and if his horse or mule or ass be
waiting for him at the door, or in the court, one of the servants goes
with him to adjust his dress when he mounts: this officious person
particularly expects a present. When money is thus given to a man’s
servants, it is considered incumbent upon their master to do exactly the
same when he returns the visit.
Friends very often send presents to each other, merely for the sake of
complying with common custom. When a person celebrates any private
festivity, he generally receives presents from most of his friends; and
it is a universal rule that he should repay the donor by a similar gift,
or one of the same value, on a similar occasion. It is common for the
receiver of a present, on such an event, even to express to the giver
his hope that he may have to repay it on the occasion of a like
festivity. An acknowledgment accompanied by such an allusion to the
acquitment of the obligation imposed by the gift, which would be
offensive to a generous European, is, in this country, esteemed polite.
The present is generally wrapped in an embroidered handkerchief, which
is returned, with a trifling pecuniary gratification, to the bearer.
Fruit, laid upon leaves, and sweetmeats and other dainties, placed in a
dish or on a tray, and covered with a rich handkerchief or napkin, are
common presents. Very frequently, a present is given by a person to a
superior with a view of obtaining something more valuable in return.
This is often done by a servant to his master; and the gift is seldom
refused; but often paid for immediately in money, more than equivalent.
It is generally with the expectation above mentioned than an Arab gives
a present to a European. The custom of giving money to the servants of a
friend, after paying him a visit, is not now so common as it was a few
years since; but it is still observed by most persons on the occasion of
a visit of ceremony; and particularly on the two ’eeds, or religious
festivals, and by the guests at private festivities. Other customs of a
similar nature, which are observed at these festivities, will be
described in a subsequent chapter. To decline the acceptance of a
present generally gives offence; and is considered as reflecting
disgrace upon the person who has offered it.
There are many formal usages which are observed in Egypt, not merely on
the occasions of ceremonious visits, or in the company of strangers, or
at the casual meetings of friends, but also in the ordinary intercourse
of familiar acquaintances. When a man happens to sneeze, he says,
“Praise be to God!” Each person present (servants generally excepted)
then says to him, “God have mercy on you!” to which the former generally
replies, “God guide us and guide you!” or he returns the compliment in
words of a similar purport. Should he yawn, he puts the back of his left
hand to his mouth, and then says, “I seek refuge with God from Satan the
accursed!” but he is not complimented on this act; as it is one which
should rather be avoided: for it is believed that the devil is in the
habit of leaping into a gaping mouth. For a breach of good manners, it
is more common to ask the pardon of God, than that of the present
company, by saying, “I beg pardon of God, the Great!” When a man has
just been shaved, or been to the bath, when he has just performed the
ablution preparatory to prayer, when he has been saying his prayers, or
doing any other meritorious act, when he has just risen from sleep, when
he has purchased or put on any new article of dress, and on many other
occasions, there are particular compliments to be paid to him, and
particular replies for him to make.
It is a rule with the Muslims to honour the right hand and foot above
the left: to use the right hand for all honourable purposes; and the
left, for actions which, though necessary, are unclean: to put on and
take off the right shoe before the left; and to put the right foot first
over the threshold of a door.
The Egyptians are extremely courteous to each other, and have a peculiar
grace and dignity in their manner of salutation and their general
demeanour, combined with easiness of address, which seem natural to
them, being observable even in the peasants. The middle and higher
classes of townspeople pride themselves upon their politeness and
elegance of manners, and their wit, and fluency of speech; and with some
justice: but they are not less free in their conversation than their
less accomplished fellow-countrymen. Affability is a general
characteristic of the Egyptians of all classes. It is common for
strangers, even in a shop, after mutual salutation, to enter into
conversation with each other with as much freedom as if they were old
acquaintances; and for one who has a pipe to offer it to another who has
none; and it is not unusual, nor is it generally considered unpolite,
for persons in a first, casual meeting, to ask each other’s names,
professions or trades, and places of abode. Lasting acquaintances are
often formed on such occasions.[328] In the middle and higher ranks of
Egyptian society, it is very seldom that a man is heard to say anything
offensive to the feelings of another in his company; and the most
profligate never venture to utter an expression meant to cast ridicule
upon sincere religion: most persons, however, in every class, are
otherwise more or less licentious in their conversation, and extremely
fond of joking. They are generally very lively and dramatic in their
talk; but scarcely ever noisy in their mirth. They seldom indulge in
loud laughter; expressing their enjoyment of anything ludicrous by a
smile or an exclamation.
-----
Footnote 318:
“’Aleykumu-s selámu wa-rahmatu-lláhi wa-barakátuh,” or merely
“’Aleykum es-selám” (On you be peace!); but the longer salutation is
more commonly used, in accordance with an injunction in the Kur-án,
chap. iv., ver. 88.
Footnote 319:
Very few Muslims in Egypt do so. A European traveller, not disguised
by Turkish dress, often fancies that he is greeted with this
salutation, when it is really intended for his Muslim attendant.
Footnote 320:
A Muslim, however, when he receives this salutation from a person of
another religion, sometimes replies, “And on you” (Wa-’aleykum).
Footnote 321:
Herodotus speaks of the respect paid in Egypt to the aged, and of the
polite salutations of the Egyptians to each other. (Lib. ii., cap.
80.)
Footnote 322:
Meaning, “I congratulate you on your safety,” and “I hope you are
well.”
Footnote 323:
Chap. xxiv., ver. 27.
Footnote 324:
Chap. vi., p. 162.
Footnote 325:
That is, to those who are above him either in office, wealth, or
religious or literary reputation.
Footnote 326:
The visitor, if superior, or not much inferior in rank to the master
of the house, receives his pipe and coffee before the latter.
Footnote 327:
Mentioned in Chap. v., p. 136.
Footnote 328:
Acquaintances, and even strangers, often address each other as
relations, by the terms “Father,” “Son,” “Paternal uncle,” “Son of my
paternal uncle,” “Brother,” “Mother,” “Daughter,” “Maternal aunt,”
“Daughter of my maternal aunt,” “Sister,” etc.
----------------------------
CHAPTER IX.
LANGUAGE, LITERATURE, AND SCIENCE.
The metropolis of Egypt maintains the comparative reputation by which it
has been distinguished for many centuries, of being the best school of
Arabic literature, and of Muslim theology and jurisprudence. Learning,
indeed, has much declined among the Arabs universally; but least in
Cairo: consequently, the fame of the professors of this city still
remains unrivalled; and its great collegiate mosque, the Azhar,
continues to attract innumerable students from every quarter of the
Muslim world.
The Arabic spoken by the middle and higher classes in Cairo is generally
inferior, in point of grammatical correctness and pronunciation, to the
dialects of the Bedawees of Arabia, and of the inhabitants of the towns
in their immediate vicinity; but much to be preferred to those of Syria;
and still more, to those of the Western Arabs. The most remarkable
peculiarities in the pronunciation of the people of Egypt are the
following:—The fifth letter of the alphabet is pronounced by the natives
of Cairo, and throughout the greater part of Egypt, as _g_ in _give_;
while, in most parts of Arabia, and in Syria and other countries, it
receives the sound of _j_ in _joy_: but it is worthy of remark, that, in
a part of southern Arabia, where, it is said, Arabic was first spoken,
the former sound is given to this letter.[329] In those parts of Egypt
where this pronunciation of the fifth letter prevails, the sound of
“hemzeh” (which is produced by a sudden emission of the voice after a
total suppression) is given to the twenty-first letter, excepting by the
better instructed, who give to this letter its true sound, which I
represent by “k.” In other parts of Egypt, the pronunciation of the
fifth letter is the same as that of _j_ in _joy_, or nearly so; and the
twenty-first letter is pronounced as _g_ in _give_. By all the
Egyptians, in common with most other people who speak the Arabic
language, the third and fourth letters of the alphabet are pronounced
alike, as our _t_; and the eighth and ninth, as our _d_.—Of the
peculiarities in the _structure_ of the Egyptian dialect of Arabic, the
most remarkable are, the annexation of the letter “sheen” in negative
phrases, in the same manner as the word “pas” is used in French; as “má
yerdásh,” for “má yerda,” “he will not consent;” “má hoosh teiyib,”
(vulgarly, “mósh teiyib”), for “má huwa teiyib,” “it is not good:” the
placing the demonstrative pronoun _after_ the word to which it relates;
as “el-beyt dé,” “this house;” and a frequent unnecessary use of the
diminutive form in adjectives: as “sugheiyir,” for “sagheer,” “small;”
“kureiyib,” for “kareeb,” “near.”
There is not so much difference between the literary and vulgar dialects
of Arabic as some European Orientalists have supposed: the latter may be
described as the ancient dialect _simplified_, principally by the
omission of the final vowels and other terminations which distinguish
the different cases of nouns and some of the persons of verbs.[330] Nor
is there so great a difference between the dialects of Arabic spoken in
different countries as some persons, who have not held intercourse with
the inhabitants of such countries, have imagined: they resemble each
other more than the dialects of some of the different counties in
England. The Arabic language abounds with synonyms; and, of a number of
words which are synonymous, one is in common use in one country, and
another elsewhere. Thus, the Egyptian calls milk “leben;” the Syrian
calls it “haleeb:” the word “leben,” is used in Syria to denote a
particular preparation of _sour_ milk. Again, bread is called in Egypt
“’eysh;” and in other Arab countries, “khubz;” and many examples of a
similar kind might be adduced.—The pronunciation of Egypt has more
softness than that of Syria and most other countries in which Arabic is
spoken.
The literature of the Arabs is very comprehensive; but the number of
their books is more remarkable than the variety. The relative number of
the books which treat of religion and jurisprudence may be stated to be
about one-fourth: next in number are works on grammar, rhetoric, and
various branches of philology: the third in the scale of proportion are
those on history (chiefly that of the Arab nation), and on geography:
the fourth, poetical compositions. Works on medicine, chemistry, the
mathematics, algebra, and various other sciences, etc., are
comparatively very few.
There are, in Cairo, many large libraries; most of which are attached to
mosques, and consist, for the greater part, of works on theology and
jurisprudence, and philology. Several rich merchants, and others, have
also good libraries. The booksellers of Cairo are, I am informed, only
eight in number;[331] and their shops are but ill stocked. Whenever a
valuable book comes into the possession of one of these persons, he goes
round with it to his regular customers; and is almost sure of finding a
purchaser. The leaves of the books are seldom sewed together; but they
are usually enclosed in a cover bound with leather; and mostly have,
also, an outer case of pasteboard and leather. Five sheets, or double
leaves, are commonly placed together, one within another; composing what
is called a “karrás.” The leaves are thus arranged, in small parcels,
without being sewed, in order that one book may be of use to a number of
persons at the same time; each taking a karrás. The books are laid flat,
one upon another; and the name is written upon the front of the outer
case, or upon the edge of the leaves. The paper is thick and glazed: it
is mostly imported from Venice, and glazed in Egypt. The ink is very
thick and gummy. Reeds are used instead of pens; and they suit the
Arabic character much better. The Arab, in writing, places the paper
upon his knee, or upon the palm of his left hand, or upon what is called
a “misned′eh,” composed of a dozen or more pieces of paper attached
together at the four corners, and resembling a thin book, which he rests
on his knee. His ink and pens are contained in a receptacle called
“dawáyeh,” mentioned in the first chapter of this work, together with
the penknife, and an ivory instrument (“mikattah”) upon which the pen is
laid to be nibbed. He rules his paper by laying under it a piece of
pasteboard with strings strained and glued across it (called a
“mistar′ah”), and slightly pressing it over each string. Scissors are
included among the apparatus of a writer: they are used for cutting the
paper; a torn edge being considered as unbecoming. In Cairo there are
many persons who obtain their livelihood by copying manuscripts. The
expense of writing a karrás of twenty pages, quarto size, with about
twenty-five lines to a page, in an ordinary hand, is about three
piasters (or a little more than sevenpence of our money); but more if in
an elegant hand; and about double the sum if with the vowel points, etc.
In Egypt, and particularly in its metropolis, those youths or men who
purpose to devote themselves to religious employments, or to any of the
learned professions, mostly pursue a course of study in the great mosque
El-Azhar, having previously learned nothing more than to read, and,
perhaps, to write, and to recite the Kur-án. The Azhar, which is
regarded as the principal university[332] of the East, is an extensive
building, surrounding a large, square court. On one side of this court,
the side towards Mekkeh, is the chief place of prayer, a spacious
portico; on each of the other three sides are smaller porticoes, divided
into a number of apartments, called “riwáks,” each of which is destined
for the use of natives of a particular country, or of a particular
province of Egypt. This building is situated within the metropolis. It
is not remarkable in point of architecture, and is so surrounded by
houses that very little of it is seen externally. The students are
called “mugáwireen.”[333] Each riwák has a library for the use of its
members; and from the books which it contains, and the lectures of the
professors, the students acquire their learning. The regular subjects of
study are grammatical inflexion and syntax, rhetoric, versification,
logic, theology, the exposition of the Kur-án, the Traditions of the
Prophet, the complete science of jurisprudence, or rather of religious,
moral, civil, and criminal law, which is chiefly founded on the Kur-án
and the Traditions, together with arithmetic, as far as it is useful in
matters of law. Lectures are also given on algebra, and on the
calculations of the Mohammadan calendar, the times of prayer, etc.
Different books are read by students of different sects. Most of the
students, being natives of Cairo, are of the Sháfe’ee sect; and always
the Sheykh, or head of the mosque, is of this sect. None of the students
pay for the instruction they receive, being mostly of the poorer
classes. Most of those who are strangers, having riwáks appropriated to
them, receive a daily allowance of food, provided from funds chiefly
arising from the rents of houses bequeathed for their maintenance. Those
of Cairo and its neighbourhood used to receive a similar allowance; but
this they no longer enjoy, excepting during the month of Ramadán; for
the present Básha of Egypt has taken possession of all the cultivable
land which belonged to the mosques; and thus the Azhar has lost the
greater portion of the property which it possessed: nothing but the
expenses of necessary repairs, and the salaries of its principal
officers, are provided for by the government. The professors also
receive no salaries. Unless they inherit property, or have relations to
maintain them, they have no regular means of subsistence but teaching in
private houses, copying books, etc.; but they sometimes receive presents
from the wealthy. Any person who is competent to the task may become a
professor by obtaining a licence from the Sheykh of the mosque. The
students mostly obtain their livelihood by the same means as the
professors, or by reciting the Kur-án in private houses, and at the
tombs and other places. When sufficiently advanced in their studies,
some of them become kádees, muftees, imáms of mosques, or schoolmasters,
in their native villages or towns, or in Cairo; others enter into trade;
some remain all their lifetime studying in the Azhar, and aspire to be
ranked among the higher ’Ulama. Since the confiscation of the lands
which belonged to the Azhar, the number of that class of students to
whom no endowed riwák is appropriated has very much decreased. The
number of students, including all classes excepting the blind, is (as I
am informed by one of the professors) about one thousand five
hundred.[334]
There is a chapel (called “Záwiyet el-’Omyán,” or the Chapel of the
Blind), adjacent to the eastern angle of the Azhar, and one of the
dependencies of that mosque, where at present about three hundred poor
blind men, most of whom are students, are maintained from funds
bequeathed for that purpose. These blind men often conduct themselves in
a most rebellious and violent manner; they are notorious for such
conduct and for their fanaticism. A short time ago, a European traveller
entering the Azhar, and his presence there being buzzed about, the blind
men eagerly inquired, “Where is the infidel?” adding, “We will kill
him!” and groping about at the same time to feel and lay hold of him;
they were the only persons who seemed desirous of showing any violence
to the intruder. Before the accession of the present Básha, they often
behaved in a very outrageous manner whenever they considered themselves
oppressed, or scanted in their allowance of food; they would, on these
occasions, take a few guides, go about with staves, seize the turbans of
passengers in the streets, and plunder the shops. The most celebrated of
the present professors in the Azhar, the sheykh El-Kuweysinee,[335] who
is himself blind, being appointed, a few years ago, Sheykh of the
Záwiyet el-’Omyán, as soon as he entered upon his office, caused every
one of the blind men there to be flogged; but they rose against him,
bound him, and inflicted upon him a flogging far more severe than that
which they had themselves endured, and obliged him to give up his
office.
Learning was in a much more flourishing state in Cairo before the
entrance of the French army than it has been in later years. It suffered
severely from this invasion, not through direct oppression, but in
consequence of the panic which this event occasioned and the troubles by
which it was followed. Before that period, a sheykh who had studied in
the Azhar, if he had only two boys, sons of a moderately rich felláh, to
educate, lived in luxury: his two pupils served him, cleaned his house,
prepared his food, and, though they partook of it with him, were his
menial attendants at every time but that of eating: they followed him
whenever he went out, carried his shoes (and often kissed them when they
took them off) on his entering a mosque, and in every case treated him
with the honour due to a prince. He was then distinguished by an ample
dress and the large formal turban called a mukleh; and as he passed
along the street, whether on foot or mounted on an ass or mule,
passengers often pressed towards him to implore a short ejaculatory
prayer on their behalf; and he who succeeded in obtaining this wish
believed himself especially blessed: if he passed by a Frank riding, the
latter was obliged to dismount; if he went to a butcher to procure some
meat (for he found it best to do so, and not to send another), the
butcher refused to make any charge, but kissed his hand, and received as
an honour and a blessing whatever he chose to give.—The condition of a
man of this profession is now so fallen that it is with difficulty he
can obtain a scanty subsistence unless possessed of extraordinary
talent.
The Muslim ’ulama are certainly much fettered in the pursuit of some of
the paths of learning by their religion; and superstition sometimes
decides a point which has been controverted for centuries. There is one
singular means of settling a contention on any point of faith, science,
or fact, of which I must give an instance. The following anecdote was
related to me by the Imám of the late Muftee (the sheykh El-Mahdee): I
wrote it in Arabic, at his dictation, and shall here translate his
words. The sheykh Mohammad El-Baháee (a learned man, whom the vulgar
regard as a “welee,” or especial favourite of heaven) was attending the
lectures of the sheykh El-Emeer El-Kebeer (sheykh of the sect of the
Málikees), when the professor read, from the Gámë’ es-Sagheer[336] of
Es-Suyootee, this saying of the Prophet: “Verily El-Hasan and El-Hoseyn
are the two lords of the youths of the people of Paradise, in Paradise;”
and proceeded to remark, in his lecture, after having given a summary of
the history of El-Hasan and El-Hoseyn, that, as to the common opinion of
the people of Masr (or Cairo) respecting the head of El-Hoseyn, holding
it to be in the famous Mesh-hed in this city (the mosque of the
Hasaneyn), it was without foundation; not being established by any
credible authority. “I was affected,” says Mohammad El-Baháee, “with
excessive grief, by this remark; since I believed what is believed by
people of integrity and of intuition, that the noble head was in this
Mesh-hed; and I entertained no doubt of it: but I would not oppose the
sheykh El-Emeer, on account of his high reputation and extensive
knowledge. The lecture terminated, and I went away, weeping; and when
night overshaded the earth, I rose upon my feet, praying and humbly
supplicating my Lord, and betaking myself to His most noble apostle (God
favour and preserve him!), begging that I might see him in my sleep, and
that he would inform me in my sleep of the truth of the matter
concerning the place of the noble head. And I dreamed that I was walking
on the way to visit the celebrated Mesh-hed El-Hoseynee in Masr, and
that I approached the kubbeh,[337] and saw in it a spreading light,
which filled it: and I entered its door, and found a shereef standing by
the door; and I saluted him, and he returned my salutation, and said to
me, ‘Salute the Apostle of God (God favour and preserve him!);’ and I
looked towards the kibleh,[338] and saw the Prophet (God favour and
preserve him!) sitting upon a throne, and a man standing on his right,
and another man standing on his left: and I raised my voice, saying,
‘Blessing and peace be on thee, O Apostle of God!’ and I repeated this
several times, weeping as I did it: and I heard the Apostle of God (God
favour and preserve him!) say to me, ‘Approach, O my son! O Mohammad!’
Then the first man took me, and conducted me towards the Prophet (God
favour and preserve him!) and placed me before his noble hands; and I
saluted him, and he returned my salutation, and said to me, ‘God
recompense thee for thy visit to the head of El-Hoseyn my son.’ I said,
‘O Apostle of God, is the head of El-Hoseyn here?’ He answered, ‘Yes, it
is here.’ And I became cheerful: grief fled from me; and my heart was
strengthened. Then I said, ‘O Apostle of God, I will relate to thee what
my sheykh and my preceptor El-Emeer hath affirmed in his lecture:’ and I
repeated to him the words of the sheykh: and he (God favour and preserve
him!) looked down, and then raised his head, and said, ‘The copyists are
excused.’ I awoke from my sleep joyful and happy: but I found that much
remained of the night; and I became impatient of its length; longing for
the morn to shine, that I might go to the sheykh, and relate to him the
dream, in the hope that he might believe me. When the morn arose, I
prayed, and went to the house of the sheykh; but found the door shut. I
knocked it violently; and the porter came in alarm, asking, ‘Who is
that?’ but when he knew me, for he had known my abode from the sheykh,
he opened the door to me: if it had been another person, he would have
beaten him. I entered the court of the house, and began to call out, ‘My
Master! My Master!’ The sheykh awoke, and asked, ‘Who is that?’ I
answered, ‘It is I, thy pupil, Mohammad El-Baháee!’ The sheykh was in
wonder at my coming at this time, and exclaimed, ‘God’s perfection! What
is this? What is the news?’ thinking that some great event had happened
among the people. He then said to me, ‘Wait while I pray.’ I did not sit
down until the sheykh came down to the hall; when he said to me, ‘Come
up:’ and I went up, and neither saluted him, nor kissed his hand, from
the effect of the dream which I had seen; but said, ‘The head of
El-Hoseyn is in this well-known mesh-hed in Masr: there is no doubt of
it.’ The sheykh said, ‘What proof have you of that? If it be a true
record, adduce it.’ I said, ‘From a book, I have none.’ The sheykh said,
‘Hast thou seen a vision?’ I replied, ‘Yes;’ and I related it to him;
and informed him that the Apostle of God (God favour and preserve him!)
had acquainted me that the man who was standing by the door was ’Alee
the son of Aboo-Tálib, and that he who was on the right of the Prophet,
by the throne, was Aboo-Bekr, and that he on his left was ’Omar the son
of El-Khattáb; and that they had come to visit the head of the Imám
El-Hoseyn. The sheykh rose, and took me by the hand, and said, ‘Let us
go and visit the Mesh-hed El-Hoseynee;’ and when he entered the kubbeh,
he said, ‘Peace be on thee, O son of the daughter of the Apostle of God!
I believe that the noble head is here, by reason of the vision which
this person has seen; for the vision of the Prophet is true; since He
hath said, “Whoso seeth Me in his sleep seeth Me truly; for Satan cannot
assume the similitude of My form.”’ Then the sheykh said to me, ‘Thou
hast believed, and I have believed: for these lights are not
illusive.’”—The above-quoted tradition of the Prophet has often
occasioned other points of dispute to be settled in the same manner, by
a dream; and when the dreamer is a person of reputation, no one ventures
to contend against him.
The remark made at the commencement of this chapter implies that there
are, in the present day, many learned men in the metropolis of Egypt;
and there are some also in other towns of this country. One of the most
celebrated of the modern ’Ulama of Cairo is the sheykh Hasan El-’Attár,
who is the present sheykh of the Azhar. In theology and jurisprudence,
he is not so deeply versed as some of his contemporaries, particularly
the sheykh El-Kuweysinee, whom I have before mentioned; but he is
eminently accomplished in polite literature. He is the author of an
“Insha,” or an excellent collection of Arabic letters, on various
subjects, which are intended as models of epistolary style. This work
has been printed at Boolák. In mentioning its author, I fulfil a promise
which he condescended to ask of me: supposing that I should publish, in
my own country, some account of the people of Cairo, he desired me to
state that I was acquainted with him, and to give my opinion of his
acquirements.—The sheykh Mohammad Shiháb is also deservedly celebrated
as an accomplished Arabic scholar, and elegant poet. His affability and
wit attract to his house, every evening, a few friends, whose pleasures,
on these occasions, I sometimes participate. We are received in a small,
but very comfortable room: each of us takes his own pipe; and coffee
alone is presented to us: the sheykh’s conversation is the most
delightful banquet that he can offer us.—There are also several other
persons in Cairo who enjoy considerable reputation as philologists and
poets.—The sheykh ’Abd-Er-Rahmán El-Gabartee, another modern author, and
a native of Cairo, particularly deserves to be mentioned, as having
written a very excellent history of the events which have taken place in
Egypt since the commencement of the twelfth century of the Flight.[339]
He died in 1825, or 1826, soon after my first arrival in Cairo. His
family was of El-Gabart (also called Ez-Zeyla’), a province of
Abyssinia, bordering on the ocean. The Gabartees (or natives of that
country) are Muslims. They have a riwák (or apartment appropriated to
such of them as wish to study) in the Azhar; and there is a similar
provision for them at Mekkeh, and also at El-Medeeneh.
The works of the ancient Arab poets were but imperfectly understood (in
consequence of many words contained in them having become obsolete)
between two and three centuries, only, after the time of Mohammad: it
must not therefore be inferred, from what has been said in the preceding
paragraph, that persons able to explain the most difficult passages of
the early Arab authors are now to be found in Cairo, or elsewhere. There
are, however, many in Egypt who are deeply versed in Arabic Grammar,
rhetoric, and polite literature; though the sciences mostly pursued in
this country are theology and jurisprudence. Few of the ’ulama of Egypt
are well acquainted with the history of their own nation; much less with
that of other people.
The literary acquirements of those who do not belong to the classes who
make literature their profession are of a very inferior kind. Many of
the wealthy tradespeople are well instructed in the arts of reading and
writing; but few of them devote much time to the pursuit of literature.
Those who have committed to memory the whole, or considerable portions,
of the Kur-án, and can recite two or three celebrated “kaseedehs” (or
short poems), or introduce, now and then, an apposite quotation in
conversation, are considered accomplished persons. Many of the tradesmen
of Cairo can neither read nor write, or can only read; and are obliged
to have recourse to a friend to write their accounts, letters, etc.: but
these persons generally cast accounts, and make intricate calculations,
mentally, with surprising rapidity and correctness.
It is a very prevalent notion among the Christians of Europe, that the
Muslims are enemies to almost every branch of knowledge. This is an
erroneous idea; but it is true that their studies, in the present age,
are confined within very narrow limits. Very few of them study medicine,
chemistry (for our first knowledge of which we are indebted to the
Arabs), the mathematics, or astronomy. The Egyptian medical and surgical
practitioners are mostly barbers, miserably ignorant of the sciences
which they profess, and unskilful in their practice; partly in
consequence of their being prohibited by their religion from availing
themselves of the advantage of dissecting human bodies. But a number of
young men, natives of Egypt, are now receiving European instruction in
medicine, anatomy, surgery, and other sciences, for the service of the
Government. Many of the Egyptians, in illness, neglect medical aid;
placing their whole reliance on Providence or charms. Alchemy is more
studied in this country than pure chemistry; and astrology, more than
astronomy. The astrolabe and quadrant are almost the only astronomical
instruments used in Egypt. Telescopes are rarely seen here; and the
magnetic needle is seldom employed, excepting to discover the direction
of Mekkeh; for which purpose, convenient little compasses (called
“kibleeyehs”), showing the direction of the kibleh at various large
towns in different countries, are constructed, mostly at Dimyát: many of
these have a dial, which shows the time of noon, and also that of the
’asr at different places and different seasons. Those persons in Egypt
who profess to have considerable knowledge of astronomy are generally
blind to the true principles of the science: to say that the earth
revolves round the sun, they consider absolute heresy. Pure astronomy
they make chiefly subservient to their computations of the calendar.
The Muslim year consists of twelve lunar months; the names of which are
pronounced by the Egyptians in the following manner:—
1. Moharram.
2. Safar.
3. Rabeea el-Owwal.
4. Rabeea et-Tánee.
5. Gumád el-Owwal, or Gumáda-l-Oola.
6. Gumád et-Tánee, or Gumáda-t-Tániyeh.
7. Regeb.
8. Shaabán.
9. Ramadán.
10. Showwál.
11. Zu-l-Kaadeh, or El-Kaadeh.
12. Zu-l-Heggeh, or El-Heggeh.[340]
Each of these months retrogrades through all the different seasons of
the solar year in the period of about thirty-three years and a half:
consequently, they are only used for fixing the anniversaries of most
religious festivals, and for the dates of historical events, letters,
etc.; and not in matters relating to astronomy or the seasons. In the
latter cases, the Coptic months are still in general use.
With their modern names I give the corresponding periods of our
calendar:—
1. Toot commences on the 10th or 11th of Sept.
2. Bábeh ” ” 10th or 11th of Oct.
3. Hátoor ” ” 9th or 10th of Nov.
4. Kiyahk (vulg. Kiyák) ” ” 9th or 10th of Dec.
5. Toobeh ” ” 8th or 9th of Jan.
6. Amsheer ” ” 7th or 8th of Feb.
7. Barmahát ” ” 9th of March.
8. Barmoodeh ” ” 8th of April.
9. Beshens ” ” 8th of May.
10. Ba-ooneh ” ” 7th of June.
11. Ebeeb ” ” 7th of July.
12. Misra ” ” 6th of August.
The Eiyám en-Nesee (Intercalary days), five or six days, complete the
year.
These months, it will be observed, are of thirty days each. Five
intercalary days are added at the end of three successive years; and six
at the end of the fourth year. The Coptic leap-year immediately precedes
ours: therefore the Coptic year begins on the 11th of September only
when it is the next after their leap-year; or when our next ensuing year
is a leap-year; and, consequently, after the following February, the
corresponding days of the Coptic and our months will be the same as in
other years. The Copts begin their reckoning from the era of Diocletian,
A.D. 284.
In Egypt, and other Muslim countries, from sunset to sunset is reckoned
as the civil day; the night being classed with the day which _follows_
it: thus the night _before_ Friday is called the night _of_ Friday.
Sunset is twelve o’clock: an hour after sunset, one o’clock; two hours,
two o’clock; and so on to twelve; after twelve o’clock in the morning,
the hours are again named one, two, three, and so on.[341] The Egyptians
wind up and (if necessary) set their watches at sunset; or rather, a few
minutes after; generally when they hear the call to evening-prayer.
Their watches, according to this system of reckoning from sunset, to be
always quite correct, should be set every evening, as the days vary in
length.
The following Table shows the times of Muslim prayer,[342] with the
apparent European time of sunset, in and near the latitude of Cairo, at
the commencement of each zodiacal month:—
┌───────────────────┬───────────────┬───────┬──────────┬───────┬─────
│ │ Sunset. │ ’Eshë │Day-break.│ Noon. │ ’Asr. │
├───────────────────┼───────┬───────┼───────┼───────┬──┴────┬──┴────┐
│ │ Mo.T.│ Eur.T.│ Mo.T.│ Mo.T.│ Mo.T.│ Mo.T.│
│ │ h. m.│ h. m.│ h. m.│ h. m.│ h. m.│ h. m.│
│ June 21 │ 12 0│ 7 4│ 1 34│ 8 6│ 4 56│ 8 31│
│ July 22│ May 21│ 12 0│ 6 53│ 1 30│ 8 30│ 5 7│ 8 43│
│ Aug. 23│ Apr. 20│ 12 0│ 6 31│ 1 22│ 9 24│ 5 29│ 9 4│
│ Sept. 23│ Mar. 20│ 12 0│ 6 4│ 1 18│ 10 24│ 5 56│ 9 24│
│ Oct. 23│ Feb. 18│ 12 0│ 5 37│ 1 18│ 11 18│ 6 23│ 9 35│
│ Nov. 22│ Jan. 20│ 12 0│ 5 15│ 1 22│ 11 59│ 6 45│ 9 41│
│ Dec. 21 │ 12 0│ 5 4│ 1 24│ 12 15│ 6 56│ 9 43│
└───────────────────┴───────┴───────┴───────┴───────┴───────┴───────┘
A pocket almanack is annually printed at the government-press at
Boolák.[343] It comprises the period of a solar year, commencing and
terminating with the vernal equinox; and gives, for every day, the day
of the week, and of the Mohammadan, Coptic, Syrian, and European months;
together with the sun’s place in the zodiac, and the time of sunrise,
noon, and the ’asr. It is prefaced with a summary of the principal eras
and feast-days of the Muslims, Copts, and others; and remarks and
notices relating to the seasons. Subjoined to it is a calendar
containing physical, agricultural, and other notices for every day in
the year; mentioning eclipses, etc.; and comprising much matter suited
to the superstitions of the people. It is the work of Yahya Efendee,
originally a Christian priest of Syria; but now a Muslim.
Of Geography, the Egyptians in general, and, with very few exceptions,
the best instructed among them, have scarcely any knowledge: having no
good maps, they are almost wholly ignorant of the relative situations of
the several great countries of Europe. Some few of the learned venture
to assert that the earth is a globe; but they are opposed by a great
majority of the ’Ulama. The common opinion of all classes of Muslims is,
that our earth is an almost plane expanse, surrounded by the ocean,[344]
which, they say, is encompassed by a chain of mountains called “Káf.”
They believe it to be the uppermost of _seven_ earths; and in like
manner they believe that there are seven heavens, one above another.
Such being the state of science among the modern Egyptians, the reader
will not be surprised at finding the present chapter followed by a long
account of their superstitions; a knowledge of which is necessary to
enable him to understand their character, and to make due allowances for
many of its faults. We may hope for, and, indeed, reasonably expect, a
very great improvement in the intellectual and moral state of this
people, in consequence of the introduction of European sciences, by
which their present ruler has, in some degree, made amends for his
oppressive sway; but it is not probable that this hope will be soon
realized to any considerable extent.[345]
-----
Footnote 329:
It seems probable that the Arabs of Egypt have retained, in this case,
a pronunciation which was common, if not almost universal, with their
ancestors in Asia.—See De Sacy’s Grammaire Arabe, 2nde ed., tome i.,
pp. 17 and 18.
Footnote 330:
The Arabs began to simplify their spoken language in the first century
of the Flight, in consequence of their spreading among foreigners, who
could not generally acquire the difficult language which their
conquerors had hitherto used. For a proof of this, see “Abulfedæ
Annales Muslemici, Arab. et Lat.” vol. i. pp. 432 and 434.
Footnote 331:
These are natives. There are also a few Turkish booksellers.
Footnote 332:
The Azhar is not called a “university” with strict propriety; but is
regarded as such by the Muslims, as whatever they deem worthy of the
name of science, or necessary to be known, is taught within its walls.
Its name has been translated by European travellers, “the Mosque of
Flowers,” as though it had been called “Gámë’ el-Azhár,” instead of
“El-Gámë’ el-Azhar,” which is its proper appellation, and signifies
“the Splendid Mosque.” It is the first, with respect to the period of
its foundation, as well as in size, of all the mosques within the
original limits of the city.—The preceding portion of this note (which
was inserted in the first edition of the present work) appears to have
escaped the notice of Baron Hammer-Purgstall, for he has remarked (in
the Vienna “Jahrbücher der Literatur,” lxxxi. Bd., p. 71) that,
instead of “Azhar,” I should have written, in this case, “Esher” [or
“Ezher”]; the former, he says, signifying “flowers.” The name of the
mosque in question (synonymous with “neiyir,” or “splendid,” etc.) is
pronounced by almost all the natives of Egypt, and the Arabs in
general, as I have written it, “Azhar,” with the accent on the first
syllable; and the plural of “zahreh” (a flower), “azhár;” but by the
Turks the former word is pronounced “ezher.”
Footnote 333:
In the singular, “mugáwir.”
Footnote 334:
Many persons say that their number is not less than three thousand;
others, not more than one thousand. It varies very much at different
times.
Footnote 335:
Since this was written he became Sheykh of the Azhar.
Footnote 336:
A celebrated compendious collection of the Traditions of the Prophet.
Footnote 337:
The saloon of the tomb.
Footnote 338:
That is, towards the niche which marks the direction of Mekkeh.
Footnote 339:
The twelfth century of the Flight commenced on the 16th or 17th of
October, A.D. 1688.
Footnote 340:
It is the general opinion of our chronologers, that the first day of
the Muslim era of “the Flight” (in Arabic, “el-Hijrah,” or, as it is
pronounced by most of the Egyptians, “el-Higreh,” more correctly
translated “the Emigration”) was Friday, the 16th of July, A.D. 622.
It must be remarked, that the Arabs generally commence each month on
the night on which the new moon is first actually seen; and this night
is, in most cases, the second, but sometimes and in some places the
third, after the true period of the new moon: if, however, the moon is
not seen on the second or third night, the month is commenced on the
latter. The new moon of July, A.D. 622, happened between five and six
o’clock in the morning of the 14th: therefore the 16th was most
probably the first _day_ of the era. This era does not commence from
the day on which the Prophet departed from Mekkeh (as supposed by most
of our authors who have mentioned this subject), but from the first
day of the moon or month of Moharram preceding that event. It is said
that Mohammad, after he had remained three days concealed in a cave
near Mekkeh, with Aboo-Bekr began his journey, or “the flight,” to
El-Medeeneh, on the ninth day of the third month (Rabeea el-Owwal),
sixty-eight days after the commencement of the era. Thus the first two
months are made of thirty days each, which is often the case when the
calculation from the actual sight of the new moon is followed; and the
flight itself, from the cave, may be inferred to have commenced on the
22nd of September. It may be added, that this record, by showing that
each of the first two months consisted of thirty days, strengthens the
supposition that the era commenced on the 16th of July. On the eve of
the 15th, the moon was not visible.
Footnote 341:
Consequently the time of noon according to Mohammadan reckoning, on
any particular day, subtracted from twelve, gives the apparent time of
sunset, on that day, according to European reckoning.
Footnote 342:
The periods of the ’eshë, daybreak, and ’asr, are here given according
to the reckoning most commonly followed in Egypt. (See the chapter on
religion and laws.) Mo. T. denotes Mohammadan Time: Eur. T., European
Time.
Footnote 343:
More than a hundred books have been printed at this press: most of
them for the use of the military, naval, and civil servants of the
government.
Footnote 344:
As the Greeks believed in the age of Homer and Hesiod.
Footnote 345:
It has been justly remarked, by Baron Hammer-Purgstall, that the
present chapter of this work is very deficient. I should gladly have
made its contents more ample, had I not felt myself obliged to consult
the taste of the general reader, upon whose patience I fear I have
already trespassed to too great an extent by the insertion of much
matter calculated to interest only Orientalists. With respect to
recent innovations, I have made but few and brief remarks in this
work, in consequence of my having found the lights of European science
almost exclusively confined to those servants of the Government, who
have been _compelled_ to study under Frank instructors, and European
customs adopted by scarcely any persons excepting a few _Turks_. Some
Egyptians who had studied for a few years in France declared to me
that they could not instil any of the notions which they had there
acquired even into the minds of their most intimate friends.
----------------------------
CHAPTER X.
SUPERSTITIONS.
The Arabs are a very superstitious people; and none of them are more so
than those of Egypt. Many of their superstitions form a part of their
religion; being sanctioned by the Kur-án; and the most prominent of
these is the belief in “Ginn,” or Genii—in the singular, “Ginnee.”
The Ginn are said to be of preadamite origin, and, in their general
properties, an intermediate class of beings between angels and men, but
inferior in dignity to both, created of fire, and capable of assuming
the forms and material fabric of men, brutes, and monsters, and of
becoming invisible at pleasure. They eat and drink, propagate their
species (like, or in conjunction with, human beings), and are subject to
death; though they generally live many centuries. Their principal abode
is in the chain of mountains called “Káf,” which are believed to
encompass the whole earth: as mentioned near the close of the preceding
chapter. Some are believers in El-Islám: others are infidels: the latter
are what are also called “Sheytáns,” or devils; of whom Iblees (that is,
Satan, or _the_ devil) is the chief: for it is the general and
best-supported opinion, that he (like the other devils) is a ginnee, as
he was created of fire; whereas the _angels_ are created of _light_, and
are impeccable. Of both the classes of genii, good and evil, the Arabs
stand in great awe; and for the former they entertain a high degree of
respect. It is a common custom of this people, on pouring water, etc.,
on the ground, to exclaim, or mutter, “Destoor;” that is, to ask the
permission, or crave the pardon, of any ginnee that may chance to be
there: for the ginn are supposed to pervade the solid matter of the
earth, as well as the firmament, where, approaching the confines of the
lowest heaven, they often listen to the conversation of the angels
respecting future things, thus enabling themselves to assist diviners
and magicians. They are also believed to inhabit rivers, ruined houses,
wells, baths, ovens, and even the _latrina_: hence, persons, when they
enter the latter place, and when they let down a bucket into a well, or
light a fire, and on other occasions, say, “Permission!” or “Permission,
ye blessed!”—which words, in the case of entering the latrina, they
sometimes preface with a prayer for God’s protection against all evil
spirits; but in doing this, some persons are careful not to mention the
name of God after they have entered (deeming it improper in such a
place), and only say, “I seek refuge with _Thee_ from the male and
female devils.” These customs present a commentary on the story in the
“Thousand and One Nights,” in which a merchant is described as having
killed a ginnee by throwing aside the stone of a date which he had just
eaten. In the same story, and in others of the same collection, a ginnee
is represented as approaching in a whirlwind of sand or dust; and it is
the general belief of the Arabs of Egypt, that the “zóba’ah,” or
whirlwind which raises the sand or dust in the form of a pillar of
prodigious height, and which is so often seen sweeping across the fields
and deserts of this country, is caused by the flight of one of these
beings; or, in other words, that the ginnee “rides in the
whirlwind.”[346] A charm is usually uttered by the Egyptians to avert
the zóba’ah, when it seems to be approaching them: some of them exclaim,
“Iron, thou unlucky!”—as genii are supposed to have a great dread of
that metal: others endeavour to drive away the monster by exclaiming,
“God is most great!” What we call a “falling star” (and which the Arabs
term “shilháb”) is commonly believed to be a dart thrown by God at an
evil ginnee; and the Egyptians, when they see it, exclaim, “May God
transfix the enemy of the faith!” The evil ginnees are commonly termed
“’Efreets;” and one of this class is mentioned in the Kur-án in these
words, “An ’efreet of the ginn answered” (chap. xxvii. ver. 39): which
words Sale translates, “A terrible genius answered.” They are generally
believed to differ from the other ginn in being very powerful, and
always malicious; but to be, in other respects, of a similar nature. An
evil ginnee of the most powerful class is called a “Márid.”
Connected with the history of the ginn are many fables not acknowledged
by the Kur-án, and therefore not credited by the more sober Muslims, but
only by the less instructed. All agree that the ginn were created before
mankind; but some distinguish another class of preadamite beings of a
similar nature. It is commonly believed that the earth was inhabited,
before the time of Adam, by a race of beings differing from ourselves in
form, and much more powerful; and that forty (or, according to some,
seventy-two) preadamite kings, each of whom bore the name of Suleymán
(or Solomon), successively governed this people. The last of these
Suleymáns was named Gánn Ibn-Gánn; and from him, some think, the ginn
(who are also called “gánn”)[347] derive their name. Hence, some believe
the ginn to be the same with the preadamite race here mentioned: but
others assert that they (the ginn) were a distinct class of beings, and
brought into subjection by the other race.
Ginnees are believed often to assume, or perpetually to wear, the shapes
of cats, dogs, and other brute animals. The sheykh Khaleel
El-Medábighee, one of the most celebrated of the ′ulama of Egypt, and
author of several works on various sciences, who died, at a very
advanced age, during the period of my former visit to this country, used
to relate the following anecdote.—He had, he said, a favourite black
cat, which always slept at the foot of his musquito-curtain. Once, at
midnight, he heard a knocking at the door of his house; and his cat
went, and opened the hanging shutter of his window, and called, “Who is
there?” A voice replied, “I am such a one” (mentioning a strange name)
“the ginnee: open the door.” “The lock,” said the sheykh′s cat, “has had
the name [of God] pronounced upon it.”[348] “Then throw me down,” said
the other, “two cakes of bread.” “The bread-basket,” answered the cat at
the window, “has had the name pronounced upon it” “Well,” said the
stranger, “at least give me a draught of water.” But he was answered
that the water-jar had been secured in the same manner; and asked what
he was to do, seeing that he was likely to die of hunger and thirst: the
sheykh′s cat told him to go to the door of the next house; and went
there also himself, and opened the door, and soon after returned. Next
morning the sheykh deviated from a habit which he had constantly
observed: he gave, to the cat, half of the fateereh upon which he
breakfasted, instead of a little morsel, which he was wont to give; and
afterwards said, “O my cat, thou knowest that I am a poor man: bring me,
then, a little gold:” upon which words, the cat immediately disappeared,
and he saw it no more.—Ridiculous as stories of this kind really are, it
is impossible, without relating one or more, to convey a just notion of
the opinions of the people whom I am attempting to describe.
It is commonly affirmed, that malicious or disturbed genii very often
station themselves on the roofs, or at the windows, of houses in Cairo,
and other towns of Egypt, and throw bricks and stones down into the
streets and courts. A few days ago, I was told of a case of this kind,
which had alarmed the people in the main street of the metropolis for a
whole week; many bricks having been thrown down from some of the houses
every day during this period, but nobody killed or wounded. I went to
the scene of these pretended pranks of the genii, to witness them, and
to make inquiries on the subject; but on my arrival there, I was told
that the “regm” (that is, the throwing) had ceased. I found no one who
denied the throwing down of the bricks, or doubted that it was the work
of genii; and the general remark, on mentioning the subject, was, “God
preserve us from their evil doings!”
One of my friends observed to me, on this occasion, that he had met with
some Englishmen who disbelieved in the existence of genii; but he
concluded that they had never witnessed a public performance, though
common in their country, of which he had since heard, called “kumedyeh”
(or comedy); by which term he meant to include all theatrical
performances. Addressing one of his countrymen, and appealing to me for
the confirmation of his words, he then said—“An Algerine, a short time
ago, gave me an account of a spectacle of this kind which he had seen in
London.”—Here his countryman interrupted him, by asking, “Is not England
in London? or is London a town in England?”—My friend, with diffidence,
and looking to me, answered that London was the metropolis of England;
and then resumed the subject of the theatre.—“The house,” said he, “in
which the spectacle was exhibited cannot be described: it was of a round
form, with many benches on the floor, and closets all round, in rows,
one above another, in which people of the higher classes sat; and there
was a large square aperture, closed with a curtain. When the house was
full of people, who paid large sums of money to be admitted, it suddenly
became very dark: it was night; and the house had been lighted up with a
great many lamps; but these became almost entirely extinguished, all at
the same time, without being touched by anybody. Then the great curtain
was drawn up: they heard the roaring of the sea and wind; and
indistinctly perceived, through the gloom, the waves rising and foaming,
and lashing the shore. Presently a tremendous peal of thunder was heard,
after a flash of lightning had clearly shown to the spectators the
agitated sea: and then there fell a heavy shower of real rain. Soon
after, the day broke; the sea became more plainly visible; and two ships
were seen in the distance: they approached, and fought each other,
firing their cannons; and a variety of other extraordinary scenes were
afterwards exhibited. Now it is evident,” added my friend, “that such
wonders must have been the works of genii, or at least performed by
their assistance.”—He could not be convinced of his error by my
explanations of these phenomena.
During the month of Ramadán, the genii, it is said, are confined in
prison; and hence, on the eve of the festival which follows that month,
some of the women of Egypt, with the view of preventing these objects of
dread from entering their houses, sprinkle salt upon the floors of the
apartments; saying, as they do it, “In the name of God, the
Compassionate, the Merciful.”
A curious relic of ancient Egyptian superstition must here be mentioned.
It is believed that each quarter in Cairo has its peculiar
guardian-genius, or Agathodæmon, which has the form of a serpent.
The ancient tombs of Egypt, and the dark recesses of the temples, are
commonly believed, by the people of this country, to be inhabited by
′efreets. I found it impossible to persuade one of my servants to enter
the Great Pyramid with me, from his having this idea. Many of the Arabs
ascribe the erection of the Pyramids, and all the most stupendous
remains of antiquity in Egypt, to Gánn Ibn-Gánn, and his servants, the
ginn; conceiving it impossible that they could have been raised by human
hands.
The term ′efreet is commonly applied rather to an evil ginnee than any
other being; but the ghosts of dead persons are also called by this
name; and many absurd stories are related of them; and great are the
fears which they inspire. There are some persons, however, who hold them
in no degree of dread.—I had once a humorous cook, who was somewhat
addicted to the intoxicating hasheesh: soon after he had entered my
service, I heard him, one evening, muttering and exclaiming on the
stairs, as if in surprise at some event; and then politely saying, “But
why are you sitting here in the draught?—Do me the favour to come up
into the kitchen, and amuse me with your conversation a little.” The
civil address, not being answered, was repeated and varied several
times; till I called out to the man, and asked him to whom he was
speaking. “The ′efreet of a Turkish soldier,” he replied, “is sitting on
the stairs, smoking his pipe, and refuses to move: he came up from the
well below: pray step and see him.” On my going to the stairs, and
telling the servant that I could see nothing, he only remarked that it
was because I had a clear conscience. He was told, afterwards, that the
house had long been haunted; but asserted that he had not been
previously informed of the supposed cause; which was the fact of a
Turkish soldier having been murdered there. My cook professed to see
this ′efreet frequently after.
The existence of “Ghools” likewise obtains almost universal credence
among the modern Egyptians, in common with several other Eastern
nations. These beings are generally believed to be a class of evil
ginnees, and are said to appear in the forms of various animals, and in
many monstrous shapes; to haunt burial-grounds, and other sequestered
spots; to feed upon dead bodies; and to kill and devour every human
creature who has the misfortune to fall in their way. Hence, the term
“ghool” is applied, in general, to any cannibal.
That fancies such as these should exist in the minds of a people so
ignorant as those who are the subject of these pages cannot reasonably
excite our surprise. But the Egyptians pay a superstitious reverence not
to imaginary beings alone: they extend it to certain individuals of
their own species; and often to those who are justly the least entitled
to such respect.[349] An _idiot_ or a _fool_ is vulgarly regarded by
them as a being whose mind is in heaven, while his grosser part mingles
among ordinary mortals; consequently, he is considered an especial
favourite of heaven. Whatever enormities a reputed saint may commit (and
there are many who are constantly infringing precepts of their
religion), such acts do not affect his fame for sanctity: for they are
considered as the results of the abstraction of his mind from worldly
things; his soul, or reasoning faculties, being wholly absorbed in
devotion; so that his passions are left without control. Lunatics who
are dangerous to society are kept in confinement; but those who are
harmless are generally regarded as saints. Most of the reputed saints of
Egypt are either lunatics, or idiots, or impostors. Some of them go
about perfectly naked, and are so highly venerated, that the women,
instead of avoiding them, sometimes suffer these wretches to take any
liberty with them in the public street; and, by the lower orders, are
not considered as disgraced by such actions, which, however, are of very
rare occurrence. Others are seen clad in a cloak or long coat composed
of patches of various coloured cloths, which is called a “dilk,”[350]
adorned with numerous strings of beads, wearing a ragged turban, and
bearing a staff with shreds of cloth of various colours attached to the
top. Some of them eat straw, or a mixture of chopped straw and broken
glass; and attract observation by a variety of absurd actions. During my
first visit to this country, I often met, in the streets of Cairo, a
deformed man, almost naked, with long matted hair, and riding upon an
ass, led by another man. On these occasions, he always stopped his beast
directly before me, so as to intercept my way, recited the Fat′hah (or
opening chapter of the Kur-án), and then held out his hand for an alms.
The first time that he thus crossed me, I endeavoured to avoid him; but
a person passing by remonstrated with me, observing that the man before
me was a saint, and that I ought to respect him, and comply with his
demand, lest some misfortune should befall me. Men of this class are
supported by alms, which they often receive without asking for them. A
reputed saint is commonly called “sheykh,” “murábit,” or “welee.” If
affected with lunacy or idiotcy, or of weak intellect, he is also, and
more properly, termed “megzoob,” or “mesloob.” “Welee” is an appellation
correctly given only to an eminent and very devout saint; and signifies
“a favourite of heaven;” but it is so commonly applied to real or
pretended idiots, that some wit has given it a new interpretation, as
equivalent to “beleed,” which means “a fool” or “simpleton;” remarking
that these two terms are equivalent both in sense and in the numerical
value of the letters composing them: for “welee” is written with the
letters “wä′w,” “lám,” and “yé,” of which the numerical values are 6,
30, and 10, or, together, 46; and “beleed” is written with “bé,” “lám,”
“yé,” and “dál,” which are 2, 30, 10, and 4, or, added together, 46. A
simpleton is often jestingly called a welee.
The Muslims of Egypt, in common with those of other countries, entertain
very curious superstitions respecting the persons whom they call welees.
I have often endeavoured to obtain information on the most mysterious of
these superstitions; and have generally been answered, “You are meddling
with the matters of the ‘tareekah,’” or the religious course of the
darweeshes; but I have been freely acquainted with general opinions on
these subjects, and such are perhaps all that may be required to be
stated in a work like the present: I shall, however, also relate what I
have been told by learned persons, and by darweeshes, in elucidation of
the popular belief.
In the first place, if a person were to express a doubt as to the
existence of true welees, he would be branded with infidelity; and the
following passage of the Kur-án would be adduced to condemn him:
“Verily, on the favourites[351] of God no fear shall come, nor shall
they grieve.”[352] This is considered as sufficient to prove that there
is a class of persons distinguished above ordinary human beings. The
question then suggests itself, “Who, or of what description are these
persons?” and we are answered, “They are persons wholly devoted to God,
and possessed of extraordinary faith; and, according to their degree of
faith, endowed with the power of performing miracles.”[353]
The most holy of the welees is termed the Kutb; or, according to some
persons, there are two who have this title; and again, according to
others, four. The term “kutb” signifies an _axis_; and hence is applied
to a welee who rules over others: they depending upon him, and being
subservient to him. For the same reason it is applied to temporal
rulers, or any person of high authority. The opinion that there are
_four_ kutbs, I am told, is a vulgar error, originating from the
frequent mention of “the four kutbs,” by which expression are meant the
founders of the four most celebrated orders of darweeshes (the
Rifá’eeyeh, Kádireeyeh, Ahmedeeyeh, and Baráhimeh); each of whom is
believed to have been the kutb of his time. I have also generally been
told, that the opinion of there being _two_ kutbs is a vulgar error,
founded upon two names, “Kutb el-Hakeekah” (or the Kutb of Truth), and
“Kutb el-Ghós” (or the Kutb of Invocation for help), which properly
belong to but one person. The term “el-Kutb el-Mutawellee” is applied,
by those who believe in but one kutb, to the one ruling at the present
time; and by those who believe in two, to the _acting_ kutb. The kutb
who exercises a superintendence over all other welees (whether or not
there be another kutb—for if there be, he is inferior to the former)
has, under his authority, welees of different ranks, to perform
different offices; “Nakeebs,” “Negeebs,” “Bedeels,”[354] etc.; who are
known only to each other, and perhaps to the rest of the welees, as
holding such offices.
The Kutb, it is said, is often seen, but not known as such; and the same
is said of all who hold authority under him. He always has a humble
demeanour, and mean dress; and mildly reproves those whom he finds
acting impiously; particularly such as have a false reputation for
sanctity. Though he is unknown to the world, his favourite stations are
well known; yet at these places he is seldom visible. It is asserted
that he is almost constantly seated at Mekkeh, on the roof of the
Kaabeh; and, though never seen there, is always heard at midnight to
call twice, “O thou most merciful of those who show mercy!” which cry is
then repeated from the mád’nehs of the temple, by the muëddins: but a
respectable pilgrim, whom I have just questioned upon this matter, has
confessed to me that he himself has witnessed that this cry is made by a
regular minister of the mosque; yet that few pilgrims know this: he
believes, however, that the roof of the Kaabeh is the chief “markaz” (or
station) of the Kutb. Another favourite station of this revered and
unknown person is the gate of Cairo called Báb Zuweyleh, which is at the
southern extremity of that part of the metropolis which constituted the
old city; though now in the heart of the town; for the capital has
greatly increased towards the south, as it has also towards the west.
From its being a supposed station of this mysterious being, the Báb
Zuweyleh is commonly called “El-Mutawellee.”[355] One leaf of its great
wooden door (which is never shut), turned back against the eastern side
of the interior of the gateway, conceals a small vacant space, which is
said to be the place of the Kutb. Many persons, on passing by it, recite
the Fát’hah; and some give alms to a beggar who is generally seated
there, and who is regarded by the vulgar as one of the servants of the
Kutb. Numbers of persons afflicted with head-ache drive a nail into the
door, to charm away the pain; and many sufferers from the tooth-ache
extract a tooth, and insert it in a crevice of the door, or fix it in
some other way, to insure their not being attacked again by the same
malady. Some curious individuals often try to peep behind the door, in
the vain hope of catching a glimpse of the Kutb, should he happen to be
there, and not at the moment invisible. He has also many other stations,
but of inferior celebrity, in Cairo; as well as one at the tomb of the
seyyid Ahmad El-Bedawee, at Tanta; another at El-Mahalleh (which, as
well as Tanta, is in the Delta); and others in other places. He is
believed to transport himself from Mekkeh to Cairo in an instant; and so
also from any one place to another. Though he has a number of favourite
stations, he does not abide solely at these; but wanders throughout the
whole world, among persons of every religion, whose appearance, dress,
and language he assumes; and distributes to mankind, chiefly through the
agency of the subordinate welees, evils and blessings, the awards of
destiny. When a Kutb dies, he is immediately succeeded in his office by
another.
Many of the Muslims say that Elijah, or Elias, whom the vulgar confound
with El-Khidr,[356] was the Kutb of his time; and that he invests the
successive kutbs: for they acknowledge that he has never died; asserting
him to have drunk of the Fountain of Life. This particular in their
superstitious notions respecting the kutbs, combined with some others
which I have before mentioned, is very curious when compared with what
we are told, in the Bible, of Elijah, of his being transported from
place to place by the spirit of God; of his investing Elisha with his
miraculous powers, and his offices; and of the subjection of the other
prophets to him and to his immediate successor.[357] Some welees
renounce the pleasures of the world, and the society of mankind; and, in
a desert place, give themselves up to meditation upon heaven, and
prayer; depending upon Divine Providence for their support; but their
retreat becomes known; and the Arabs daily bring them food. This, again,
reminds us of the history of Elijah: for, in the opinion of some
critics, we should read, for the word “ravens,” in the fourth and sixth
verses of the seventeenth chapter of the second book of Kings, “Arabs:”
“I have commanded the _Arabs_ to feed thee”—“And the _Arabs_ brought him
bread,” etc.
Certain welees are said to be commissioned by the Kutb to perform
offices which, according to the accounts of my informants here, are far
from being easy. These are termed “As-háb ed-Darak,” which is
interpreted as signifying “watchmen,” or “overseers.” In illustration of
their employments, the following anecdote was related to me a few days
ago.—A devout tradesman in this city, who was ardently desirous of
becoming a welee, applied to a person who was generally believed to
belong to this holy class, and implored the latter to assist him to
obtain the honour of an interview with the Kutb. The applicant, after
having undergone a strict examination as to his motives, was desired to
perform the ordinary ablution (el-wudoó), very early the next morning;
then to repair to the mosque of El-Mu-eiyad (at an angle of which is the
Báb Zuweyleh, or El-Mutawellee, before mentioned), and to lay hold of
the first person whom he should see coming out of the great door of this
mosque. He did so. The first person who came out was an old,
venerable-looking man; but meanly clad; wearing a brown woollen gown (or
zaaboot); and this proved to be the Kutb. The candidate kissed his hand,
and entreated to be admitted among the As-háb ed-Darak. After much
hesitation, the prayer was granted: the Kutb said, “Take charge of the
district which consists of the Darb el-Ahmar[358] and its immediate
neighbourhood;” and immediately the person thus addressed found himself
to be a welee; and perceived that he was acquainted with things
concealed from ordinary mortals: for a welee is said to be acquainted by
God with all secrets necessary for him to know.—It is commonly said of a
welee, that he knows what is secret, or not discoverable by the senses;
which seems plainly contradictory to what we read in several places in
the Kur-án,—that none knoweth what is secret (or hidden from the senses)
but God: the Muslims, however, who are seldom at a loss in a discussion,
argue that the passages above alluded to, in the Kur-án, imply the
knowledge of secrets in an unrestricted sense; and that God imparts to
welees such secrets only as He thinks fit.
The welee above mentioned, as soon as he had entered upon his office,
walked through his district; and seeing a man at a shop with a jar full
of boiled beans before him, from which he was about to serve his
customers as usual, took up a large piece of stone, and with it broke
the jar. The bean-seller immediately jumped up, seized hold of a palm
stick that lay by his side, and gave the welee a severe beating; but the
holy man complained not; nor did he utter a cry: as soon as he was
allowed, he walked away. When he was gone, the bean-seller began to try
if he could gather up some of the scattered contents of the jar. A
portion of the jar remained in its place; and on looking into this, he
saw a venomous serpent in it, coiled round, and dead. In horror at what
he had done, he exclaimed, “There is no strength or power but in God! I
implore forgiveness of God, the Great! What have I done! This man is a
welee; and has prevented my selling what would have poisoned my
customers.”—He looked at every passenger all that day, in the hope of
seeing again the saint whom he had thus injured, that he might implore
his forgiveness; but he saw him not; for he was too much bruised to be
able to walk. On the following day, however, with his limbs still
swollen from the blows he had received, the welee limped through his
district, and broke a great jar of milk at a shop not far from that of
the bean-seller; and the owner treated him as the bean-seller had done
the day before; but while he was beating him, some persons ran up, and
stopped his hand, informing him that the person whom he was thus
punishing was a welee, and relating to him the affair of the serpent
that was found in the jar of beans. “Go, and look,” said they, “in your
jar of milk, and you will find, at the bottom of it, something either
poisonous or unclean.” He looked; and found, in the remains of the jar,
a dead dog.—On the third day, the welee, with the help of a staff,
hobbled painfully up the Darb el-Ahmar, and saw a servant carrying, upon
his head, a supper-tray covered with dishes of meat, vegetables, and
fruit, for a party who were going to take a repast in the country;
whereupon he put his staff between the man’s legs, and overthrew him;
and the contents of the dishes were scattered in the street. With a
mouth full of curses, the servant immediately began to give the saint as
severe a thrashing as he himself expected to receive from his
disappointed master for this accident; but several persons soon
collected around him; and one of these bystanders observed a dog eat a
part of the contents of one of the dishes, and, a moment after, fall
down dead: he therefore instantly seized the hand of the servant and
informed him of this circumstance, which proved that the man whom he had
been beating was a welee. Every apology was made to the injured saint,
with many prayers for his forgiveness: but he was so disgusted with his
new office, that he implored God and the Kutb to release him from it;
and, in answer to his solicitations, his supernatural powers were
withdrawn, and he returned to his shop, more contented than before.—This
story is received as true by the people of Cairo; and therefore I have
inserted it: for, in treating of superstitions, we have more to do with
opinions than with facts. I am not sure, indeed, that it is altogether
false: the supposed saint might have employed persons to introduce the
dead serpent and dog into the vessels which he broke. I am told that
many a person has obtained the reputation of being a welee by artifices
of the kind just mentioned.
There have been many instances, in Egypt, of welees afflicting
themselves by austerities similar to those which are often practised by
devotees in India. At the present time there is living, in Cairo, a
welee who has placed an iron collar round his neck, and chained himself
to a wall of his chamber; and it is said that he has been in this state
more than thirty years: but some persons assert that he has often been
seen to cover himself over with a blanket, as if to sleep, and that the
blanket has been removed immediately after, and nobody found beneath it!
Stories of this kind are related and believed by persons who, in many
respects, are endowed by good sense; and to laugh, or express discredit,
on hearing them, would give great offence. I was lately told that a
certain welee being beheaded, for a crime of which he was not guilty,
his head spoke after it was cut off;[359] and, of another decapitated
under similar circumstances, that his blood traced upon the ground, in
Arabic characters, the following declaration of his innocence—“I am a
welee of God; and have died a martyr.”
It is a very remarkable trait in the character of the people of Egypt
and other countries of the East, that Muslims, Christians, and Jews
adopt each other’s superstitions, while they abhor the more rational
doctrines of each other’s faiths. In sickness, the Muslim sometimes
employs Christian and Jewish priests to pray for him: the Christians and
Jews, in the same predicament, often called in Muslim saints for the
like purpose. Many Christians are in the frequent habit of visiting
certain Muslim saints here; kissing their hands; begging their prayers,
counsels, or prophecies; and giving them money and other presents.
Though their prophet disclaimed the power of performing miracles, the
Muslims attribute to him many; and several miracles are still, they say,
constantly or occasionally performed for his sake, as marks of the
Divine favour and honour. The pilgrims who have visited El-Medeeneh
relate that there is seen every night, a ray or column of faint light
rising from the cupola over the grave of the Prophet to a considerable
height, apparently to the clouds, or, as some say, to Paradise; but that
the observer loses sight of it when he approaches very near the
tomb.[360] This is one of the most remarkable of the miracles which are
related as being still witnessed. On my asking one of the most grave and
sensible of all my Muslim friends here, who had been on a pilgrimage,
and visited El-Medeeneh, whether this assertion were true, he averred
that it was; that he had seen it every night of his stay in that city;
and he remarked that it was a most striking and impressive proof of
God’s favour and honour for “our lord Mohammad.” I did not presume to
question the truth of what he asserted himself to have seen; nor to
suggest that the great number of lights kept burning every night in the
mosque might produce this effect; but to judge whether this might be the
case, I asked my friend to describe to me the construction of the
apartment of the tomb, its cupola, etc. He replied that he did not enter
it, nor the Kaabah at Mekkeh, partly from his being in a state of
excessive nervous excitement (from his veneration for those holy
buildings, but particularly for the former, which almost affected him
with a kind of hysteric fit), and partly because, being of the sect of
the Hanafees, he held it improper, after he should have stepped upon
such sacred ground, ever again to run the risk of defiling his feet by
walking barefooted: consequently, he would have been obliged always to
wear leather socks, or mezz, within his outer shoes; which, he said, he
could not afford to do. The pilgrims also assert that, in approaching
El-Medeeneh, from the distance of three days’ journey, or more, they
always see a flickering lightning in the direction of the sacred city,
which they believe to proceed from the Prophet’s tomb. They say that
however they turn, they always see this lightning in the direction of
El-Medeeneh. There is something strikingly poetical in this and in the
former statement.
A superstitious veneration, and honours unauthorized by the Kur-án or
any of the Traditions, are paid by all sects of Muslims, excepting the
Wahhábees, to deceased saints, even more than to those who are living;
and more particularly by the Muslims of Egypt.[361] Over the graves of
most of the more celebrated saints are erected large and handsome
mosques; over that of a saint of less note (one who, by a life of
sanctity or hypocrisy, has acquired the reputation of being a welee, or
devout sheykh) is constructed a small, square, white-washed building,
crowned with a cupola. There is generally, directly over the vault in
which the corpse is deposited, an oblong monument of stone or brick
(called “tarkeebeh”) or wood (in which case it is called “táboot”); and
this is usually covered with silk or linen, with some words from the
Kur-án worked upon it, and surrounded by a railing or screen, of wood or
bronze, called “maksoorah.” Most of the sanctuaries of saints in Egypt
are tombs; but there are several which only contain some inconsiderable
relic of the person to whom they are dedicated, and there are a few
which are mere cenotaphs. The most sacred of all these sanctuaries is
the mosque of the Hasaneyn, in which the head of the martyr El-Hoseyn,
the son of the Imám ’Alee, and grandson of the Prophet, is said to be
buried. Among others but little inferior in sanctity, are the mosques of
the seyyideh Zeyneb (daughter of the Imám ’Alee, and grand-daughter of
the Prophet), the seyyideh Sekeeneh (daughter of the Imám El-Hoseyn),
the seyyideh Nefeeseh (great grand-daughter of the Imám El-Hasan), and
the Imám Esh-Sháfe’ee, already mentioned as the author of one of the
four great Muslim sects, that to which most of the people of Cairo
belong. The buildings above mentioned, with the exception of the last
two, are within the metropolis; the last but one is within a southern
suburb of Cairo, and the last, in the great southern cemetery.
The Egyptians occasionally visit these and other sanctuaries of their
saints, either merely with the view of paying honour to the deceased,
and performing meritorious acts for the sake of these venerated persons,
which they believe will call down a blessing on themselves, or for the
purpose of urging some special petition, as for the restoration of
health, or for the gift of offspring, etc.; in the persuasion that the
merits of the deceased will insure a favourable reception of the prayers
which they offer up in such consecrated places. The generality of the
Muslims regard their deceased saints as intercessors with the Deity, and
make votive offerings to them. The visitor, on arriving at the tomb,
should greet the deceased with the salutation of peace, and should utter
the same salutation on entering the burial-ground; but I believe that
few persons observe this latter custom. In the former case, the visitor
should front the face of the dead, and consequently turn his back to the
kibleh. He walks round the maksoorah or monument from left to right, and
recites the Fát’hah, inaudibly, or in a very low voice, before its door,
or before each of its four sides. Sometimes a longer chapter of the
Kur-án than the first (or Fát’hah) is recited afterwards, and sometimes
a “khatmeh” (or recitation of the whole of the Kur-án) is performed on
such an occasion. These acts of devotion are generally performed for the
sake of the saint, though merit is likewise believed to reflect upon the
visitor who makes a recitation. He usually says at the close of this,
“[Extol] the perfection of thy Lord, the Lord of Might, exempting Him
from that which they [that is, the unbelievers] ascribe to Him” (namely,
the having a son, or a partaker of his godhead); and adds, “And peace be
on the Apostles, and praise be to God, the Lord of all creatures. O God,
I have transferred the merit of what I have recited from the excellent
Kur-án to the person to whom this place is dedicated,” or—“to the soul
of this welee.” Without such a declaration, or an intention to the same
effect, the merit of the recital belongs solely to the person who
performs it. After this recital, the visitor, if it be his desire,
offers up any prayer for temporal or spiritual blessings, generally
using some such form as this—“O God, I conjure Thee by the Prophet, and
by him to whom this place is dedicated, to grant me such and such
blessings;” or “My burdens be on God and on thee, O thou to whom this
place is dedicated.” In doing this, some persons face any side of the
maksoorah. It is said to be more proper to face the maksoorah and the
kibleh; but I believe that the same rule should be observed in this case
as in the salutation. During the prayer the hands are held as in the
private supplications after the ordinary prayers of every day, and
afterwards they are drawn down the face. Many of the visitors kiss the
threshold of the building, and the walls, windows, maksoorah, etc. This,
however, the more strict disapprove, asserting it to be an imitation of
a custom of the Christians. The rich, and persons in easy circumstances,
when they visit the tomb of a saint, distribute money or bread to the
poor, and often give money to one or more water-carriers to distribute
water to the poor and thirsty, for the sake of the saint.[362] There are
particular days of the week on which certain tombs are more generally
visited; thus, the mosque of Hasaneyn is mostly visited by men on
Tuesday, and by women on Saturday; that of the seyyideh Zeyneb, on
Wednesday; that of the Imám Esh-Sháfe’ee, on Friday. On these occasions
it is a common custom for the male visitors to take with them sprigs of
myrtle. They place some of these on the monument, or on the floor within
the maksoorah, and take back the remainder, which they distribute to
their friends. The poor sometimes place “khoos” (or palm leaves), as
most persons do upon the tombs of their friends and relations. The women
of Cairo, instead of the myrtle or palm-leaves, often place roses,
flowers of the henna-tree, jasmine, etc.
At almost every village in Egypt is the tomb of some favourite or patron
saint, which is generally visited on a particular day of the week by
many of the inhabitants, chiefly women, some of whom bring thither
bread, which they leave there for poor travellers, or any other persons.
Some also place small pieces of money in these tombs. These gifts are
offerings to the sheykh, or given for his sake. Another custom common
among the peasants is, to make votive sacrifices at the tombs of their
sheykhs. For instance, a man makes a vow (“nedr”) that if he recover
from a sickness, or obtain a son, or any other specific object of
desire, he will give to a certain sheykh (deceased), a goat, or a lamb,
or a sheep, etc. If he attain his object, he sacrifices the animal which
he has vowed at the tomb of the sheykh, and makes a feast with its meat
for any persons who may choose to attend. Having given the animal to the
saint, he thus gives to the latter the merit of feeding the poor. Little
kids are often vowed as future sacrifices, and have the right ear slit,
or are marked in some other way. It is not uncommon, too, without any
definite view but that of obtaining general blessings, to make these
vows; and sometimes a peasant vows that he will sacrifice, for the sake
of a saint, a calf which he possesses, as soon as it is full-grown and
fatted. It is let loose, by consent of all his neighbours, to pasture
where it will, even in fields of young wheat; and at last, after it has
been sacrificed, a public feast is made with its meat. Many a large bull
is thus given away.
Almost every celebrated saint, deceased, is honoured by an anniversary
birth-day festival, which is called “moolid,” or, more properly,
“mólid.” On the occasions of such festivals, many persons visit the
tomb, both as a duty and as a supposed means of obtaining a special
blessing; fikees are hired to recite the Kur-án, for the sake of the
saint; fakeers often perform zikrs; and the people living in the
neighbourhood of the tomb hang lamps before their doors, and devote half
the night to such pleasures as those of smoking, sipping coffee, and
listening to story-tellers at the coffee-shops, or to the recitals of
the Kur-án and the zikrs. I have now a cluster of lamps hanging before
my door, in honour of the moolid of a sheykh who is buried near the
house in which I am living. Even the native Christians often hang up
lamps on these occasions. The festivities often continue several days.
The most famous moolids celebrated in Cairo, next to that of the
Prophet, are those of the Hasaneyn and the seyyideh Zeyneb, accounts of
which will be found in a subsequent chapter on the periodical public
festivals, etc., of the people of Egypt. Most of the Egyptians not only
expect a blessing to follow their visiting the tomb of a celebrated
saint, but they also dread that some misfortune will befall them if they
neglect this act. Thus, while I am writing these lines, an acquaintance
of mine is suffering from an illness which he attributes to his having
neglected, for the last two years, to attend the festivals of the seyyid
Ahmad El-Bedawee, at Tanta, this being the period of one of these
festivals. The tomb of this saint attracts almost as many visitors, at
the periods of the great annual festivals, from the metropolis, and from
various parts of Lower Egypt, as Mekkeh does pilgrims from the whole of
the Muslim world. Three moolids are celebrated in honour of him every
year—one, about the tenth of the Coptic month of Toobeh (17th or 18th of
January); the second, at or about the Vernal Equinox;[363] and the
third, or great moolid, about a month after the Summer Solstice (or
about the middle of the Coptic month of Ebeeb), when the Nile has risen
considerably, but the dams of the canals are not yet cut. Each lasts one
week and a day, beginning on a Friday, and ending on the afternoon of
the next Friday; and on each night there is a display of fireworks. One
week after each of these, is celebrated the moolid of the seyyid
Ibráheem Ed-Dasookee, at the town of Dasook, on the east bank of the
western branch of the Nile. The seyyid Ibráheem was a very famous saint,
next in rank to the seyyid El-Bedawee. These moolids, both of the seyyid
El-Bedawee and of the seyyid Ibráheem, are great fairs, as well as
religious festivals. At the latter, most of the visitors remain in their
boats; and some of the Saadeeyeh darweeshes of Rasheed exhibit their
feats with serpents—some carrying serpents with silver rings in their
mouths, to prevent their biting; others partly devouring these reptiles
alive. The religious ceremonies at both are merely zikrs,[364] and
recitals of the Kur-án.—It is customary among the Muslims, as it was
among the Jews, to rebuild, whitewash, and decorate the tombs of their
saints, and occasionally to put a new covering over the tarkeebeh or
táboot; and many of them do this from the same pharisaic motives which
actuated the Jews.[365]
“Darweeshes” are very numerous in Egypt; and some of them who confine
themselves to religious exercises, and subsist by alms, are much
respected in this country, particularly by the lower orders. Various
artifices are employed by persons of this class to obtain the reputation
of superior sanctity, and of being endowed with the power of performing
miracles. Many of them are regarded as welees.
A direct descendant of Aboo-Bekr, the first Khaleefeh, having the title
of “Esh-Sheykh el-Bekree,” and regarded as the representative of that
prince, holds authority over all orders of darweeshes in Egypt. The
present Sheykh el-Bekree, who is also descended from the Prophet, is
Nakeeb el-Ashráf, or chief of the Shereefs.—I may here add that the
second Khaleefeh, ’Omar, has likewise his representative, who is the
sheykh of the ’Enáneeyeh, or Owlád ’Enán, an order of darweeshes so
named from one of their celebrated sheykhs, Ibn-’Enán. ’Osmán has no
representative, having left no issue. The representative of ’Alee is
called Sheykh es-Sádát,[366] or Sheykh of the Seyyids, or Shereefs, a
title of less importance than that of Nakeeb of the Shereefs. Each of
these three sheykhs is termed the occupant of the “seggádeh” (or prayer
carpet) of his great ancestor. So also the sheykh of an order of
darweeshes is called the occupant of the seggádeh of the founder of the
order.[367] The seggádeh is considered as the spiritual throne. There
are four great seggádehs of darweeshes in Egypt, which are those of four
great orders about to be mentioned.
The most celebrated orders of darweeshes in Egypt are the following:—1.
The “Rifá’eeyeh” (in the singular “Rifá’ee”). This order was founded by
the seyyid Ahmad Rifá’ah El-Kebeer. Its banners and the turbans of its
members are black; or the latter are of a very deep blue woollen stuff,
or muslin of a very dark greenish hue. The Rifá’ee darweeshes are
celebrated for the performance of many wonderful feats.[368] The
“’Ilwáneeyeh,” or “Owlád ’Ilwán,” who are a sect of the Rifá’ees,
pretend to thrust iron spikes into their eyes and bodies without
sustaining any injury; and in appearance they do this, in such a manner
as to deceive any person who can believe it possible for a man to do
such things in reality. They also break large masses of stone on their
chests, eat live coals, glass, etc.; and are said to pass swords
completely through their bodies, and packing-needles through both their
cheeks, without suffering any pain, or leaving any wound; but such
performances are now seldom witnessed. I am told that it was a common
practice for a darweesh of this order to hollow out a piece of the trunk
of a palm-tree, fill it with rags soaked with oil and tar, then set fire
to these contents, and carry the burning mass under his arm in a
religious procession (wearing only drawers), the flames curling over his
bare chest, back, and head, and apparently doing him no injury. The
“Saadeeyeh,” an order founded by the sheykh Saad-ed-Deen El-Gibáwee, are
another and more celebrated sect of the Rifá’ees. Their banners are
green, and their turbans of the same colour, or of the dark hue of the
Rifá’ees in general. There are many darweeshes of this order who handle
with impunity live, venomous serpents, and scorpions, and partly devour
them. The serpents, however, they render incapable of doing any injury
by extracting their venomous fangs; and doubtless they also deprive the
scorpions of their poison. On certain occasions (as, for instance, on
that of the festival of the birth of the Prophet), the Sheykh of the
Saadeeyeh rides on horseback over the bodies of a number of his
darweeshes and other persons, who throw themselves on the ground for the
purpose; and all assert that they are not injured by the tread of the
horse. This ceremony is called the “dóseh.” Many Rifá’ee and Saadee
darweeshes obtain their livelihood by going about to charm away serpents
from houses. Of the feats of these modern Psylli, an account will be
given in another chapter. 2. The “Kádireeyeh,” an order founded by the
famous seyyid ’Abd-El-Kádir El-Geelánee. Their banners and turbans are
white. Most of the Kádireeyeh of Egypt are fishermen; these, in
religious processions, carry upon poles nets of various colours (green,
yellow, red, white, etc.), as the banners of their order. 3. The
“Ahmedeeyeh,” or order of the seyyid Ahmad El-Bedawee, whom I have
lately mentioned. This is a very numerous and highly respected order.
Their banners and turbans are red. The “Beiyoomeeyeh” (founded by the
seyyid ’Alee El-Beiyoomee), the “Shaaráweeyeh” (founded by the sheykh
Esh-Shaaráwee[369]), the “Shinnáweeyeh” (founded by the seyyid ’Alee
Esh-Shinnáwee), and many other orders, are sects of the Ahmedeeyeh. The
Shinnáweeyeh train an _ass_ to perform a strange part in the ceremonies
of the last day of the moolid of their great patron saint, the seyyid
Ahmad El-Bedawee, at Tanta. The ass, of its own accord, enters the
mosque of the seyyid, proceeds to the tomb, and there stands, while
multitudes crowd around it, and each person who can approach near enough
to it plucks off some of its hair, to use as a charm, until the skin of
the poor beast is as bare as the palm of a man’s hand. There is another
sect of the Ahmedeeyeh, called “Owlád Nooh,” all young men, who wear
“tartoors” (or high caps), with a tuft of pieces of various coloured
cloth on the top, wooden swords, and numerous strings of beads, and
carry a kind of whip (called “firkilleh”), a thick twist of cords. 4.
The “Baráhimeh,” or “Burhámeeyeh,” the order of the seyyid Ibráheem
Ed-Dasookee, whose moolid has been mentioned above. Their banners and
turbans are green. There are many other classes of darweeshes, some of
whom are sects of one or other of the above orders. Among the more
celebrated of them are the “Hefnáweeyeh,” the “’Afeefeeyeh,” the
“Demirdásheeyeh,” the “Nakshibendeeyeh,” the “Bekreeyeh,” and the
“Leyseeyeh.”
It is impossible to become acquainted with all the tenets, rules, and
ceremonies of the darweeshes, as many of them, like those of the
freemasons, are not to be divulged to the uninitiated. A darweesh with
whom I am acquainted thus described to me his taking the “’ahd,” or
initiatory covenant, which is nearly the same in all the orders. He was
admitted by the sheykh of the Demirdásheeyeh. Having first performed the
ablution preparatory to prayer (the wudoó), he seated himself upon the
ground before the sheykh, who was seated in like manner. The sheykh and
he (the “mureed,” or candidate) then clasped their right hands together
in the manner which I have described as practised in making the
marriage-contract: in this attitude, and with their hands covered by the
sleeve of the sheykh, the candidate took the covenant; repeating after
the sheykh, the following words, commencing with the form of a common
oath of repentance. “I beg forgiveness of God, the Great” (three times);
“than whom there is no other deity; the Living, the Everlasting: I turn
to Him with repentance, and beg his grace, and forgiveness, and
exemption from the fire.” The sheykh then said to him, “Dost thou turn
to God with repentance?” He replied, “I do turn to God with repentance;
and I return unto God; and I am grieved for what I have done [amiss],
and I determine not to relapse”—and then repeated, after the sheykh, “I
beg for the favour of God, the Great, and the noble Prophet; and I take
as my sheykh, and my guide unto God (whose name be exalted), my master
’Abd Er-Raheem Ed-Demirdáshee El-Khalwet′ee Er-Rifá’ee En-Nebawee; not
to change, nor to separate; and God is our witness: by God, the Great!”
(this oath was repeated three times): “there is no deity but God” (this
also was repeated three times). The sheykh and the mureed then recited
the Fát’hah together, and the latter concluded the ceremony by kissing
the sheykh’s hand.
The religious exercises of the darweeshes chiefly consist in the
performance of “zikrs.” Sometimes standing in the form of a circular or
oblong ring, or in two rows, facing each other, and sometimes sitting,
they exclaim, or chant, “Lá iláha illa-lláh” (There is no deity but
God), or “Alláh! Alláh! Alláh!” (God! God! God!), or repeat other
invocations, etc., over and over again, until their strength is almost
exhausted; accompanying their ejaculations or chants with a motion of
the head, or of the whole body, or of the arms. From long habit they are
able to continue these exercises for a surprising length of time without
intermission. They are often accompanied, at intervals, by one or more
players upon a kind of flute called a “náy,” or a double reed-pipe,
called “arghool,” and by persons singing religious odes; and some
darweeshes use a little drum, called “báz,” or a tambourine, during
their zikrs: some, also, perform a peculiar dance; the description of
which, as well as of several different zikrs, I reserve for future
chapters.
Some of the rites of darweeshes (as forms of prayer, modes of zikr,
etc.), are observed only by particular orders: others, by members of
various orders. Among the latter may be mentioned the rites of the
“Khalwet′ees” and “Sházilees”; two great classes, each of which has its
sheykh. The chief difference between these is that each has its
particular form of prayer to repeat every morning; and that the former
distinguish themselves by occasional seclusion; whence their appellation
of “Khalwet′ees[370]:” the prayer of this class is repeated before
daybreak; and is called “wird es-sahar:” that of the Sházilees, which is
called “hezb esh-Sházilee,” after day-break. Sometimes, a Khalwet′ee
enters a solitary cell, and remains in it forty days and nights, fasting
from day-break till sunset the whole of this period. Sometimes also a
number of the same class confine themselves, each in a separate cell, in
the sepulchral mosque of the sheykh Ed-Demirdáshee, on the north of
Cairo, and remain there three days and nights, on the occasion of the
moolid of that saint, and only eat a little rice, and drink a cup of
sherbet, in the evening: they employ themselves in repeating certain
forms of prayer, etc. not imparted to the uninitiated; only coming out
of their cells to unite in the five daily prayers in the mosque; and
never answering any one who speaks to them but by saying, “There is no
deity but God.” Those who observe the forty days’ fast, and seclude
themselves during that long period, practise nearly the same rules; and
employ their time in repeating the testimony of the faith, imploring
forgiveness, praising God, etc.
Almost all the darweeshes of Egypt are tradesmen or artisans or
agriculturists; and only occasionally assist in the rites and ceremonies
of their respective orders: but there are some who have no other
occupations than those of performing zikrs at the festivals of saints
and at private entertainments, and of chanting in funeral processions.
These are termed “fukara,” or “fakeers”; which is an appellation given
also to the poor in general, but especially to poor devotees. Some
obtain their livelihood as water-carriers, by supplying the passengers
in the streets of Cairo, and the visitors at religious festivals, with
water, which they carry in an earthen vessel, or a goat’s skin on the
back. A few lead a wandering life, and subsist on alms; which they often
demand with great importunacy and effrontery. Some of these distinguish
themselves in the same manner as certain reputed saints before
mentioned, by the “dilk,” or coat of patches, and the staff with shreds
of cloth of different colours attached to the top: others wear fantastic
dresses of various descriptions.
Some Rifá’ee darweeshes (besides those who follow the occupation of
charming away serpents from houses) pursue a wandering life; travelling
about Egypt, and profiting by a ridiculous superstition which I must
here mention. A venerated saint called See[371] Dá-ood El-’Azab (or
Master David the Bachelor), who lived at Tefáhineh, a village in Lower
Egypt, had a calf, which always attended him, brought him water, etc.
Since his death, some Rifá’ee darweeshes have been in the habit of
rearing a number of calves at his native place, or burial place, above
named; teaching them to walk upstairs, to lie down at command, etc.; and
then going about the country, each with his calf, to obtain alms. The
calf is called “′Egl El-’Azab” (the Calf of El-’Azab, or,—of the
Bachelor). I once called into my house one of these darweeshes, with his
calf, the only one I have seen: it was a buffalo calf; and had two bells
suspended to it; one attached to a collar round his neck, and the other
to a girth round its body. It walked up the stairs very well; but showed
that it had not been very well trained in every respect. The ’Egl
El-’Azab is vulgarly believed to bring into the house a blessing from
the saint after whom it is called.
There are numerous wandering Turkish and Persian darweeshes in Egypt;
and to these, more than to the few Egyptian darweeshes who lead a
similar life, must the character for impudence and importunacy be
ascribed. Very often, particularly in Ramadán, a foreign darweesh goes
to the mosque of the Hasaneyn, which is that most frequented by the
Turks and Persians, at the time of the Friday-prayers; and, when the
Khateeb is reciting the first khutbeh passes between the ranks of
persons who are sitting upon the floor, and places before each a little
slip of paper upon which are written a few words, generally exhortative
to charity (as “He who giveth alms will be provided for”—“The poor
darweesh asketh an alms,” etc.); by which proceeding he usually obtains
from each, or almost every person, a piece of five or ten faddahs, or
more. Many of the Persian darweeshes in Egypt carry an oblong bowl of
cocoa-nut or wood or metal, in which they receive their alms, and put
their food; and a wooden spoon; and most of the foreign darweeshes wear
dresses peculiar to their respective orders: they are chiefly
distinguished by the cap: the most common description of cap is of a
sugar-loaf, or conical shape, and made of felt: the other articles of
dress are generally a vest and full drawers, or trousers, or a shirt and
belt, and a coarse cloak, or long coat. The Persians here all affect to
be Sunnees. The Turks are the more intrusive of the two classes.
Here I may mention another superstition of the Egyptians, and of the
Arabs in general; namely, their belief that birds and beasts have a
language by which they communicate their thoughts to each other, and
celebrate the praises of God.
-----
Footnote 346:
I measured the height of a zóba’ah, with a sextant, at Thebes, under
circumstances which insured a very near approximation to perfect
accuracy (observing its altitude, from an elevated spot, at the
precise moment when it passed through, and violently agitated, a
distant group of palm-trees), and found it to be seven hundred and
fifty feet. I think that several zóba’ahs which I have seen were of
greater height. Others, which I measured at the same place, were
between five hundred and seven hundred feet in height.
Footnote 347:
According to some writers, the Gánn are the least powerful class of
Genii.
Footnote 348:
It is a custom of many “fukaha” (or learned and devout persons), and
some others, to say, “In the name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful,” on locking a door, covering bread, laying down their
clothes at night, and on other occasions; and this, they believe,
protects their property from genii. The thing over which these words
have been pronounced is termed “musemmee (for “musemma”) ’aleyh.”
Footnote 349:
As is the case also in Switzerland.
Footnote 350:
Also (and, I believe, more properly) written “dalik,” but commonly
pronounced as above.
Footnote 351:
In the original, “owliya,” plural of “welee.”
Footnote 352:
Chap, x., ver. 63.
Footnote 353:
A miracle performed by a welee is termed “karámeh:” one performed by a
prophet, “moagiz′eh.”
Footnote 354:
In the plural forms, “Nukaba,” “Angáb” or “Nugaba,” and “Abdál.”
Footnote 355:
For “Báb El-Mutawellee.”
Footnote 356:
This mysterious person, according to the more approved opinion of the
learned, was not a prophet, but a just man, or saint, the Wezeer and
counsellor of the first Zu-l-Karneyn, who was a universal conqueror,
but an equally doubtful personage, contemporary with the patriarch
Ibráheem, or Abraham. El-Khidr is said to have drunk of the Fountain
of Life, in consequence of which he lives till the day of judgment,
and to appear frequently to Muslims in perplexity. He is generally
clad in green garments; whence, according to some, his name.
Footnote 357:
See 1 Kings xviii. 12, and 2 Kings ii. 9-16.
Footnote 358:
A street on the south of the Báb Zuweyleh.
Footnote 359:
Like that of the Sage Doobán, whose story is told in “The Thousand and
One Nights.”
Footnote 360:
It is also said that similar phenomena, but not so brilliant,
distinguish some other tombs at El-Medeeneh and elsewhere.
Footnote 361:
Several superstitious customs, observed in the performance of many
ordinary actions, result from their extravagant respect for their
prophet, and their saints in general. For instance, on lighting the
lamp in the evening, more particularly at a shop, it is customary to
say, “Commemorate Mohammad, and forget not the excellencies of ’Alee;
the Fát’hah for the Prophet, and for every welee;” and then to repeat
the Fát’hah. It is usual to say, on first seeing the new moon, “O God,
favour our lord Mohammad! God make thee a blessed moon (or month);”
and on looking at one’s face in a glass, “O God, favour our lord
Mohammad!” This ejaculation being used to counteract the influence of
the evil eye, it seems as if an Arab feared the effect even of his own
admiring look.
Footnote 362:
See the account of the water-carriers in Chap. xiv.
Footnote 363:
Called the “Shems el-Kebeereh.”
Footnote 364:
The “zikr” will be fully described in another chapter, on the
periodical public festivals, etc.
Footnote 365:
See St. Matthew xxiii. 29.
Footnote 366:
Often improperly called “esh-Sheykh es-Sádát.”
Footnote 367:
The title is “sáheb seggádeh.”
Footnote 368:
In most of their juggling performances the darweeshes of Egypt are
inferior to the most expert of the Indians.
Footnote 369:
Thus commonly pronounced, for Esh-Shaaránee.
Footnote 370:
From “khalweh,” a cell, or closet.
Footnote 371:
“See” is a vulgar contraction of “Seedee,” which is itself a
contraction of “Seyyidee,” signifying “My Master,” or “Mister.”
----------------------------
CHAPTER XI.
SUPERSTITIONS—_continued_.
One of the most remarkable traits in modern Egyptian superstition is the
belief in written charms. The composition of most of these amulets is
founded upon magic; and occasionally employs the pen of almost every
village schoolmaster in Egypt. A person of this profession, however,
seldom pursues the study of magic further than to acquire the formulæ of
a few charms, most commonly consisting, for the greater part, of certain
passages of the Kur-án, and names of God, together with those of angels,
genii, prophets, or eminent saints, intermixed with combinations of
numerals, and with diagrams, all of which are supposed to have great
secret virtues.
The most esteemed of all “hegábs” (or charms) is a “mus-haf” (or copy of
the Kur-án). It used to be the general custom of the Turks of the middle
and higher orders, and of many other Muslims, to wear a small mus-haf in
an embroidered leather or velvet case hung upon the right side by a silk
string which passed over the left shoulder: but this custom is not now
very common. During my former visit to this country, a respectable Turk,
in the military dress, was seldom seen without a case of this
description upon his side, though it often contained no hegáb. The
mus-haf and other hegábs are still worn by many women; generally
enclosed in cases of gold, or of gilt or plain silver. To the former,
and to many other charms, most extensive efficacy is attributed; they
are esteemed preservatives against disease, enchantment, the evil eye,
and a variety of other evils. The charm next in point of estimation to
the mus-haf is a book or scroll containing certain chapters of the
Kur-án; as the 6th, 18th, 36th, 44th, 55th, 67th and 78th; or some
others; generally seven.—Another charm, which is believed to protect the
wearer (who usually places it within his cap) from the devil and all
evil genii, and many other objects of fear, is a piece of paper
inscribed with the following passages from the Kur-án.[372] “And the
_preservation_ of both [heaven and earth] is no burden unto Him. He is
the High, the Great” (chap. ii. ver. 256). “But God is the best
_protector_; and He is the most merciful of those who show mercy” (chap.
xii., ver. 64). “They _watch_ him by the command of God” (chap. xiii.,
ver. 12). “And we _guard_ them from every devil driven away with stones”
(chap. xv., ver. 17). “And a _guard_ against every rebellious devil”
(chap. xxxvii., ver. 7). “And a _guard_. This is the decree of the
Mighty, the Wise” (chap. lxi., ver. 11). “And God encompasseth them
behind. Verily it is a glorious Kur-án, [written] on a _preserved_
tablet” (chap. lxxxv., ver. 20, 21, 22).—The ninety-nine names, or
epithets, of God, comprising all the divine attributes, if frequently
repeated, and written on a paper, and worn on the person, are supposed
to make the wearer a particular object for the exercise of all the
beneficent attributes.—In like manner it is believed that the
ninety-nine names, or titles, etc., of the Prophet, written upon
anything, compose a charm which (according to his own assertion, as
recorded by his cousin and son-in-law the Imám ’Alee) will, if placed in
a house, and frequently read from beginning to end, keep away every
misfortune, pestilence and all diseases, infirmity, the envious eye,
enchantment, burning, ruin, anxiety, grief, and trouble. After repeating
each of these names, the Muslim adds, “God favour and preserve
him!”[373]—Similar virtues are ascribed to a charm composed of the names
of the “As-háb el-Kahf” (or Companions of the Cave, also called the
Seven Sleepers), together with the name of their dog.[374] These names
are sometimes engraved in the bottom of a drinking-cup, and more
commonly on the round tray of tinned copper which, placed on a stool,
forms the table for dinner, supper, etc.—Another charm, supposed to have
similar efficacy, is composed of the names of those paltry articles of
property which the Prophet left at his decease. These relics[375] were
two “sebhahs” (or rosaries), his “mus-haf” (in unarranged fragments),
his “muk-hul′ah” (or the vessel in which he kept the black powder with
which he painted the edges of his eyelids), two “seggádehs” (or prayer
carpets), a hand-mill, a staff, a tooth-stick, a suit of clothes,[376]
the ewer which he used in ablution, a pair of sandals, a “burdeh” (or a
kind of woollen covering),[377] three mats, a coat of mail, a long
woollen coat, his white mule “ed-duldul,” and his she-camel
“el-’adba.”—Certain verses of the Kur-án are also written upon slips of
paper, and worn upon the person as safeguards against various evils, and
to procure restoration to health, love and friendship, food, etc. These
and other charms, enclosed in cases of gold, silver, tin, leather, or
silk, etc., are worn by many of the modern Egyptians, men, women, and
children.
It is very common to see children in this country with a charm against
the _evil eye_,[378] enclosed in a case, generally of a triangular form,
attached to the top of the cap; and horses often have similar
appendages. The Egyptians take many precautions against the evil eye;
and anxiously endeavour to avert its imagined consequences. When a
person expresses what is considered improper or envious admiration of
anything, he is generally reproved by the individual whom he has thus
alarmed, who says to him, “Bless the Prophet!” and if the envier obeys,
saying, “O God, favour him!” no ill effects are apprehended. It is
considered very improper for a person to express his admiration of
another, or of any object which is not his own property, by saying, “God
preserve us!”[379] “How pretty!” or, “Very pretty!” The most approved
expression in such cases is “Má sháa-lláh!” (or “What God willeth
[cometh to pass]!]”); which implies both admiration and submission to,
or approval of, the will of God. A person who has exclaimed “How
pretty!” or used similar words, is often desired to say, rather, “Má
sháa-lláh!” as well as to bless the Prophet. In the second chapter of
this work a remarkable illustration has been given of the fear which
mothers in Egypt entertain of the effect of the evil eye upon their
children. It is the custom in this country, when a person takes the
child of another into his arms, to say, “In the name of God, the
Compassionate, the Merciful!” and, “O God, favour our lord Mohammad!”
and then to add, “Má sháa-lláh!” It is also a common custom of the
people of Egypt, when admiring a child, to say, “I seek refuge with the
Lord of the Day-break for thee!” alluding to the Chapter of the
Day-break (the 113th chapter of the Kur-án); in the end of which,
protection is implored against the mischief of the envious. The parents,
when they see a person stare at, or seem to envy their young offspring,
sometimes cut off a piece of the skirts of his clothes, burn it with a
little salt (to which some add coriander-seed, alum, etc.), and fumigate
with the smoke, and sprinkle with the ashes, the child or children.
This, it is said, should be done a little before sunset, when the sun
becomes red.
Alum is very generally used, in the following manner, by the people of
Egypt, to counteract the effects of the evil eye. A piece of about the
size of a walnut is placed upon burning coals, and left until it has
ceased to bubble. This should be done a short time before sunset; and
the person who performs the operation should repeat three times, while
the alum is burning, the first chapter of the Kur-án, and the last three
chapters of the same; all of which are very short. On taking the alum
off the fire, it will be found (we are told) to have assumed the form of
the person whose envy or malice has given occasion for this process: it
is then to be pounded, put into some food, and given to a black dog to
be eaten. I have once seen this done, by a man who suspected his wife of
having looked upon him with an evil eye; and in this case, the alum did
assume a form much resembling that of a woman, in what the man declared
was a peculiar posture in which his wife was accustomed to sit. But the
shape which the alum takes depends almost entirely on the disposition of
the coals; and can hardly be such that the imagination may not see in it
some resemblance to a human being.—Another supposed mode of obviating
the effects of the envious eye is, to prick a paper with a needle,
saying, at the same time, “This is the eye of such a one, the envier;”
and then to burn the paper.—Alum is esteemed a very efficacious charm
against the evil eye: sometimes, a small, flat piece of it, ornamented
with tassels, is hung to the top of a child’s cap. A tassel of little
shells and beads is also used in the same manner, and for the same
purpose. The small shells called cowries are especially considered
preservatives against the evil eye; and hence, as well as for the sake
of ornament, they are often attached to the trappings of camels, horses
and other animals, and sometimes to the caps of children. Such
appendages are evidently meant to attract the eye to themselves, and so
to prevent observation and envy of the object which they are designed to
protect.
To counteract the effects of the evil eye, many persons in Egypt, but
mostly women, make use of what is called “mey’ah mubárakah” (or blessed
storax), which is a mixture of various ingredients that will be
mentioned below, prepared and sold only during the first ten days of the
month of Moharram. During this period we often see, in the streets of
Cairo, men carrying about this mixture of mey’ah, etc., for sale, and
generally crying some such words as the following:—“Mey’ah mubárakah! A
new year and blessed ’A’shoora![380] The most blessed of years [may this
be] to the believers! Yá mey’ah mubárakah!” The man who sells it bears
upon his head a round tray, covered with different coloured sheets of
paper—red, yellow, etc., upon which is placed the valuable mixture. In
the middle is a large heap of “tifl” (or refuse) of a dark reddish
material for dyeing, mixed with a little “mey’ah” (or storax), coriander
seed, and seed of the fennel-flower: round this large heap are smaller
heaps: one consisting of salt dyed blue with indigo; another, of salt
dyed red; a third, of salt dyed yellow; a fourth, of “sheeh” (a kind of
wormwood); a fifth, of dust of “libán” (or frankincense). These are all
the ingredients of the “mey’ah mubárakah.” The seller is generally
called into the house of the purchaser. Having placed his tray before
him, and received a plate, or a piece of paper, in which to put the
quantity to be purchased, he takes a little from one heap, then from
another, then from a third, and so on, until he has taken some from each
heap; after which, again and again, he takes an additional quantity from
each kind. While he does this, he chants a long spell, generally
commencing thus:—“In the name of God! and by God! There is no conqueror
that conquereth God, the Lord of the East and the West: we are all His
servants: we must acknowledge His unity: His unity is an illustrious
attribute.” After some words on the virtues of salt, he proceeds to
say:—“I charm thee from the eye of girl, sharper than a spike; and from
the eye of woman, sharper than a pruning-knife; and from the eye of boy,
more painful than a whip; and from the eye of man, sharper than a
chopping-knife;” and so on. Then he relates how Solomon deprived the
evil eye of its influence; and afterwards enumerates every article of
property that the house is likely to contain, and that the person who
purchases his wonderful mixture may be conjectured to possess; all of
which he charms against the influence of the eye. Many of the
expressions which he employs in this spell are very ridiculous, words
being introduced merely for the sake of rhyme. The mey’ah mubárakah, a
handful of which may be purchased for five faddahs,[381] is treasured up
by the purchaser during the ensuing year; and whenever it is feared that
a child or other person is affected by the evil eye, a little of it is
thrown upon some burning coals in a chafing-dish; and the smoke which
results is generally made to ascend upon the supposed sufferer.
It is a custom among the higher and middle classes in Cairo, on the
occasion of a marriage, to hang chandeliers in the street before the
bridegroom’s house; and it often happens that a crowd is collected to
see a very large and handsome chandelier suspended: in this case it is a
common practice to divert the attention of the spectators by throwing
down and breaking a large jar, or by some other artifice, lest an
envious eye should cause the chandelier to fall. Accidents which confirm
the Egyptians in their superstitions respecting the evil eye often
occur: for instance, a friend of mine has just related to me that, a
short time ago, he saw a camel carrying two very large jars of oil; a
woman stopped before it, and exclaimed, “God preserve us! What large
jars!” The conductor of the camel did not tell her to bless the Prophet;
and the camel, a few minutes after, fell, and broke both the jars and
one of its own legs.
While writing these notes on modern Egyptian superstitions, I have been
amused by a complaint of one of my Masree[382] friends, which will serve
to illustrate what I have just stated. “The Básha,” he said, “having, a
few days ago, given up his monopoly of the meat, the butchers now
slaughter for their own shops; and it is quite shocking to see fine
sheep hung up in the streets, quite whole, tail[383] and all, before the
public eye, so that every beggar who passes by envies them; and one
might, therefore, as well eat poison as such meat.” My cook has made the
same complaint to me; and, rather than purchase from one of the shops
near at hand, takes the trouble of going to one in a distant quarter,
kept by a man who conceals his meat from the view of the passengers in
the street.
Many of the tradesmen of the metropolis, and of other towns of Egypt,
place over their shops (generally upon the hanging shutter which is
turned up in front) a paper inscribed with the name of God, or that of
the Prophet, or both, or the profession of the faith (“There is no deity
but God: Mohammad is God’s Apostle”), the words, “In the name of God,
the Compassionate, the Merciful,” or some maxim of the Prophet, or a
verse of the Kur-án (as, “Verily we have granted thee a manifest
victory” [ch. xlviii., ver. 1], and “Assistance from God, and a speedy
victory: and do thou bear good tidings to the believers” [ch. lxi., ver.
13]), or an invocation to the Deity, such as, “O Thou Opener [of the
doors of prosperity, or subsistence]! O Thou Wise! O Thou Supplier of
our wants! O Thou Bountiful!” This invocation is often pronounced by the
tradesman when he first opens his shop in the morning, and by the
pedestrian vendor of small commodities, bread, vegetables, etc., when he
sets out on his daily rounds. It is a custom also among the lower orders
to put the first piece of money that they receive in the day to the lips
and forehead before putting it in the pocket.
Besides the inscriptions over shops, we often see in Cairo the
invocation, “O God!” sculptured over the door of a private house, and
the words “The Excellent Creator is the Everlasting,” or, “He is the
Excellent Creator, the Everlasting,” painted in large characters upon
the door, both as a charm, and to remind the master of the house,
whenever he enters it, of his own mortality.[384] These words are often
inscribed upon the door of a house when its former master, and many or
all of its former inhabitants, have been removed by death.
The most approved mode of charming away sickness or disease is to write
certain passages of the Kur-án[385] on the inner surface of an
earthenware cup or bowl; then to pour in some water, and stir it until
the writing is quite washed off; when the water, with the sacred words
thus infused in it, is to be drunk by the patient. These words are as
follow: “And He will _heal_ the breasts of the people who believe”
(chap. ix., ver. 14). “O men, now hath an admonition come unto you from
your Lord, and a _remedy_ for what is in your breasts” (chap. x., ver.
58). “Wherein is a _remedy_ for men” (chap. xvi., ver. 71). “We send
down, of the Kur-án, that which is a _remedy_ and mercy to the
believers” (chap. xvii., ver. 84). “And when I am sick He _healeth_ me”
(chap. xxii., ver. 80). “Say, It is, to those who believe, a guide and a
_remedy_” (chap. xli., ver. 44). Four of these verses, notwithstanding
they are thus used, refer, not to diseases of the _body_, but of the
_mind_; and another (the third) alludes to the virtues of _honey_! On my
applying to my sheykh (or tutor) to point out to me in what chapters
these verses were to be found, he begged me not to translate them into
my own language, because the translation of the Kur-án, unaccompanied by
the original text, is prohibited: not that he seemed ashamed of the
practice of employing these words as a charm, and did not wish my
countrymen to be informed of the custom: for he expressed his full
belief in their efficacy, even in the case of an infidel patient,
provided he had proper confidence in their virtue. “Seeing,” he
observed, “that the Prophet (God favour and preserve him!) has said, ‘If
thou confide in God, with true confidence, He will sustain thee as He
sustaineth the birds.’” I silenced his scruples on the subject of
translating these verses by telling him that we had an English
translation of the whole of the Kur-án. Sometimes, for the cure of
diseases, and to counteract poisons, etc., a draught of water from a
metal cup, having certain passages of the Kur-án and talismanic
characters and figures engraved in the interior, is administered to the
patient. I have a cup of this description, lately given to me[386] here
(in Cairo), much admired by my Muslim acquaintances. On the exterior is
an inscription enumerating its virtues: it is said to possess charms
that will counteract all poisons, etc., and the evil eye, and cure “all
sicknesses and diseases, excepting the sickness of death.” I have seen
here another cup which appeared to have been exactly similar to that
above mentioned, but its inscriptions were partly effaced. The secret
virtues of the Kur-án are believed to be very numerous. One day, on my
refusing to eat of a dish that I feared would do me harm, I was desired
to repeat the Soorat Kureysh (106th chapter of the Kur-án) to the end of
the words “supplieth them with food against hunger,” and to repeat these
last words three times. This, I was assured, would be a certain
preventive of any harm that I might have feared.
There are various things which are regarded in the same light as written
charms; such as dust from the tomb of the Prophet, water from the sacred
well of Zemzem, in the Temple of Mekkeh, and pieces of the black brocade
covering of the Kaabeh.[387] The water of Zemzem is much valued for the
purpose of sprinkling upon grave-clothes.—An Arab, to whom I had given
some medicine which had been beneficial to him, in the Sa’eed, during my
former visit to this country, heard me inquire for some Zemzem-water (as
several boats full of pilgrims on their return from Mekkeh were coming
down the Nile), and perhaps thought, from my making this inquiry, that I
was a pious Muslim: accordingly, to show his gratitude to me, he gave me
what I was seeking to obtain. Having gone to the house of a friend, he
returned to my boat, bringing a small bundle, which he opened before me.
“Here,” said he, “are some things which I know you will value highly.
Here are two tin flasks of the water of Zemzem: one of them you shall
have: you may keep it to sprinkle your grave-clothing with it. This is a
‘miswák’ (a tooth-stick) dipped in the water of Zemzem: accept it from
me: clean your teeth with it, and they will never ache, nor decay. And
here,” he added (showing me three small, oblong and flat cakes, of a
kind of greyish earth, each about an inch in length, and stamped with
Arabic characters, “In the name of God! Dust of our land [mixed] with
the saliva of some of us”), “these are composed of earth from over the
grave of the Prophet (God favour and preserve him!): I purchased them
myself in the noble tomb, on my return from the pilgrimage: one of them
I give to you: you will find it a cure for every disease: the second I
shall keep for myself; and the third we will eat together.”—Upon this,
he broke in halves one of the three cakes; and we each ate our share. I
agreed with him (though I had read the inscription) that it was
delicious; and I gladly accepted his presents. I was afterwards enabled
to make several additions to my Mekkeh curiosities; comprising a piece
of the covering of the Kaabeh, brought from Mekkeh by the sheykh
Ibráheem (Burckhardt), and given to me by his legatee ’Osmán. A cake
composed of dust from the Prophet’s tomb is sometimes sewed up in a
leather case, and worn as an amulet. It is also formed into lumps of the
shape and size of a small pear; and hung to the railing or screen which
surrounds the monument over the grave of a saint, or to the monument
itself, or to the windows or door of the apartment which contains it.
So numerous are the charms which the Egyptians employ to insure good
fortune, or to prevent or remove evils of every kind, and so various are
the superstitious practices to which they have recourse with these
views, that a large volume would scarcely suffice to describe them in
detail. These modes of endeavouring to obtain good and to avoid or
dispel evil, when they are not founded upon religion or magic or
astrology, are termed matters of “’ilm er-rukkeh,” or the science of the
distaff (that is, of the women); which designation is given to imply
their absurdity, and because women are the persons who most confide in
them. This term is considered, by some, as a vulgar corruption of “’ilm
er-rukyeh,” or “the science of enchantment:” by others, it is supposed
to be substituted for the latter term by way of a pun. Some practices of
the nature just described have already been incidentally mentioned: I
shall only give a few other specimens.
It is a very common custom in Cairo to hang an aloe-plant over the door
of a house; particularly over that of a new house, or over a door newly
built: and this is regarded as a charm to insure long and flourishing
lives to the inmates, and long continuance to the house itself.[388] The
women also believe that the Prophet visits the house where this plant is
suspended. The aloe, thus hung, without earth or water, will live for
several years, and even blossom. Hence it is called “sabr,” which
signifies “patience.”
When any evil is apprehended from a person, it is customary to break a
piece of pottery behind his back. This is also done with the view of
preventing further intercourse with such a person.
As ophthalmia is very prevalent in Egypt, the ignorant people of this
country resort to many ridiculous practices of a superstitious nature
for its cure. Some, for this purpose, take a piece of dried mud from the
Bank of the Nile at or near Boolák, the principal port of Cairo, and,
crossing the river, deposit it on the opposite bank, at Imbábeh. This is
considered sufficient to insure a cure.—Others, with the same view, hang
to the head-dress, over the forehead, or over the diseased eye, a
Venetian sequin; but it must be one of a particular description, in
which the figures on each side correspond, head to head, and feet to
feet.[389] Yet, if a person having a Venetian sequin, or a dollar, in
his pocket, enter the room of one who is suffering from ophthalmia or
fever, his presence is thought to aggravate the complaint. It is also a
general belief, here, that, if an individual in a state of religious
uncleanness enter a room in which is a person afflicted with ophthalmia,
the patient’s disease will consequently be aggravated, and that a speck
will appear in one or each of his eyes. A man with whom I am acquainted
has, at the time I write this, just come out of a room in which he had
confined himself, while suffering from ophthalmia, for about three
months, from this fear; never allowing any person to enter; his servant
always placing his food outside his door. He has, however, come out with
a speck in one of his eyes.
Another practice, which is often adopted in similar cases, but mostly by
women, and frequently with the view of preventing barrenness, is very
singular and disgusting. The large open place called the Rumeyleh, on
the west of the Citadel of Cairo, is a common scene of the execution of
criminals; and the decapitation of persons convicted of capital offences
in the metropolis was formerly almost always performed there, rather
than in any other part of the town. On the south of this place is a
building called “Maghsil es-Sultán,” or the Sultán’s washing-place for
the dead; where is a table of stone, upon which the body of every person
who is decapitated is washed, previously to its burial, and there is a
trough to receive the water, which is never poured out, but remains
tainted with the blood, and fetid. Many a woman goes thither, and, for
the cure of ophthalmia, or to obtain offspring, or to expedite delivery
in the case of a protracted pregnancy, without speaking (for silence is
deemed absolutely necessary), passes under the stone table above
mentioned, with the left foot foremost, and then over it; and does this
seven times; after which, she washes her face with the polluted water
that is in the trough, and gives five or ten faddahs to an old man and
his wife, who keep the place; then goes away, still without speaking.
Men, in the case of ophthalmia, often do the same. The Maghsil is said
to have been built by the famous Beybars, before he became Sultán; in
consequence of his observing that the remains of persons decapitated in
Cairo were often kicked about, and buried without being previously
washed.
Some women step over the body of a decapitated man seven times, without
speaking, to become pregnant; and some, with the same desire, dip in the
blood a piece of cotton wool, of which they afterwards make use in a
manner I must decline mentioning.
A ridiculous ceremony is practised for the cure of a pimple on the edge
of the eye-lid, or what we commonly call a “stye,” and which is termed
in Egypt “shahháteh;” a word which literally signifies “a female
beggar.” The person affected with it goes to any seven women of the name
of Fát’meh, in seven different houses, and begs from each of them a
morsel of bread: these seven morsels constitute the remedy.—Sometimes,
in a similar case, and for the same purpose, a person goes out before
sunrise, and, without speaking, walks round several tombs, from right to
left, which is the reverse of the regular course made in visiting
tombs.—Another supposed mode of cure in a case of the same kind is, to
bind a bit of cotton on the end of a stick; then to dip it in one of the
troughs out of which the dogs drink in the streets of Cairo, and to wipe
the eye with it. The patient is thus careful to preserve his hand from
the polluted water, when he is about to apply this to another part of
his person.
As an imaginary cure for ague, some of the women of Egypt (I mean those
of the Muslim faith) hang to their necks the finger of a Christian or
Jew, cut off a corpse, and dried. This and other practices mentioned
before are striking proofs of the degrading effects of superstition, and
of its powerful influence over the mind: for, in general, the Muslims
are scrupulously careful to conform with that precept of their religion
which requires them to abstain from everything polluting or unclean.
When a child is unable to walk, after having attained the age when it is
usual to begin to do so, it is a common custom for the mother to bind
its feet together with a palm-leaf tied in three knots, and to place it
at the door of a mosque during the period when the congregation are
engaged in performing the Friday-prayers: when the prayers are ended,
she asks the first, second, and third persons who come out of the mosque
to untie each a knot of the palm-leaf; and then carries the child home,
confident that this ceremony will soon have the effect of enabling the
little one to walk.
There are several pretended antidotes for poison, and remedies for
certain diseases, to which the Egyptians often have recourse, and which
may perhaps have some efficacy: but superstition attributes to them
incredible virtues. The bezoar-stone is used as an antidote for poison,
by rubbing it in a cup with a little water: the cup is then filled with
water, which the patient drinks. In the same manner, and for the same
purpose, a cup made of the horn of the rhinoceros is used: a piece of
the same material (the horn) is rubbed in it.—As a cure for the
jaundice, many persons in Cairo drink the water of a well in this city,
called “beer el-yarakán,” or “the well of the jaundice.” It is the
property of an old woman, who reaps considerable advantage from it: for
it has two mouths, under one of which is a dry receptacle for anything
that may be thrown down: and the old woman desires the persons who come
to use the medicinal water to drop through this mouth whatever she
happens to be in need of, as sugar, coffee, etc.
The Muslims have recourse to many superstitious practices to determine
them when they are in doubt as to any action which they contemplate,
whether they shall do it or not. Some apply, for an answer, to a table
called a “záïrgeh.” There is a table of this kind ascribed to Idrees, or
Enoch. It is divided into a hundred little squares, in each of which is
written some Arabic letter. The person who consults it repeats, three
times, the opening chapter of the Kur-án, and the 59th verse of the
Soorat el-An’ám (or 6th chapter)—“With him are the keys of the secret
things: none knoweth them but He: and He knoweth whatever is on the land
and [what is] in the sea: and there falleth not a leaf, but He knoweth
it, nor a grain in the dark parts of the earth, nor a moist thing nor a
dry thing, but [it is noted] in a distinct writing.”—Having done this,
without looking directly at the table, he places his finger upon it: he
then looks to see upon what letter his finger is placed, writes that
letter, the fifth following it, the fifth following this, and so on,
until he comes again to the first which he wrote; and these letters
together compose the answer. The construction of the table may be shown
by translating it, thus—
┌───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┐
│ d │ w │ w │ a │ w │ o │ h │ a │ b │ h │
├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┤
│ i │ o │ i │ s │ o │ t │ d │ t │ t │ w │
├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┤
│ w │ o │ a │ a │ a │ i │ e │ n │ i │ i │
├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┤
│ t │ s │ d │ n │ t │ h │ i │ a │ a │ e │
├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┤
│ o │ t │ t │ n │ t │ u │ w │ t │ d │ h │
├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┤
│ t │ i │ a │ e │ s │ f │ l │ i │ n │ u │
├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┤
│ e │ l │ n │ j │ c │ a │ d │ t │ o │ c │
├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┤
│ r │ o │ h │ y │ e │ o │ w │ y │ p │ e │
├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┤
│ f │ r │ w │ e │ d │ i │ o │ i │ a │ e │
├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┤
│ l │ n │ s │ c │ t │ l │ g │ h │ e │ h │
└───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┘
For an example, suppose the finger to be placed on the letter _e_ in the
sixth line: we take, from the table, the letters _e n j o y p e a c e a
b s t a i n a n d_ which compose this sentence: “Abstain, and enjoy
peace;” the sentence always commencing with the first of the letters
taken from the uppermost line. It will be seen that the table gives only
five answers; and that, if we proceed as above directed, we must obtain
one of these answers, with whatever letter of the table we commence. It
will also be observed that the framer of the table, knowing that men
very frequently wish to do what is wrong, and seldom to do what is
right, and that it is generally safer for them to abstain when in doubt,
has given but one affirmative answer, and four negative.[391]
Some persons have recourse to the Kur-án for an answer to their doubts.
This they call making an “istikhárah,” or application for the favour of
heaven, or for direction in the right course. Repeating, three times,
the opening chapter, the 112th chapter, and the verse above quoted, they
let the book fall open, or open it at random, and, from the seventh line
of the right hand page, draw their answer. The words often will not
convey a direct answer; but are taken as affirmative or negative
according as their general tenor is good or bad, promising a blessing,
or denouncing a threat, etc. Instead of reading the seventh line of this
page, some count the number of the letters “khá” and “sheen” which occur
in the whole page; and if the “khás” predominate, the inference is
favourable: “khá” represents “kheyr,” or “good:” “sheen,” “sharr,” or
“evil.”
There is another mode of istikhárah; which is, to take hold of any two
points of a “sebhah” (or rosary), after reciting the Fát’hah three
times, and then to count the beads between these two points, saying, in
passing the first bead through the fingers, “[I extol] the perfection of
God;” in passing the second, “Praise be to God;” in passing the third,
“There is no deity but God;” and repeating these expressions in the same
order, to the last bead: if the first expression fall to the last bead,
the answer is affirmative and favourable: if the second, indifferent: if
the last, negative. This is practised by many persons.
Some, again, in similar cases, on lying down to sleep at night, beg of
God to direct them by a dream; by causing them to see something white or
green, or water, if the action which they contemplate be approved, or if
they are to expect approaching good fortune; and if not, by causing them
to see something black or red, or fire: they then recite the Fát’hah ten
times, and continue to repeat these words—“O God, favour our lord
Mohammad!”—until they fall asleep.
The Egyptians place great faith in dreams, which often direct them in
some of the most important actions of life. They have two large and
celebrated works on the interpretation of dreams, by Ibn-Sháheen and
Ibn-Seereen, the latter of whom was the pupil of the former. These books
are consulted, even by many of the learned, with implicit confidence.
When one person says to another, “I have seen a dream,” the latter
usually replies, “Good” (_i.e._ may it be of good omen), or, “Good,
please God.” When a person has had an evil dream, it is customary for
him to say, “O God, favour our lord Mohammad!” and to spit over his left
shoulder three times, to prevent an evil result.
In Egypt, as in most other countries, superstitions are entertained
respecting days of the week; some being considered fortunate, and others
unfortunate.—The Egyptians regard _Sunday_ as an _unfortunate_ day, on
account of the night which follows it.—This night, which (according to
the system already mentioned) is called the night of _Monday_, the
learned Muslims, and many of the inferior classes, consider
_unfortunate_, because it was that of the death of their Prophet; but
some regard it as _fortunate_, particularly for the consummation of
marriage, though not so auspicious for this affair as the eve of Friday.
The day following it is also considered, by some, as _fortunate_; and by
others, as _unfortunate_.—_Tuesday_ is generally thought _unfortunate_,
and called “the day of blood,” as it is said that several eminent
martyrs were put to death on this day: and hence, also, it is commonly
esteemed a proper day for being bled.—_Wednesday_ is regarded as
_indifferent_.—_Thursday_ is called “el-mubárak” (or, the blessed), and
is considered _fortunate_, particularly deriving a blessing from the
following night and day.—The eve, or night, of _Friday_ is _very
fortunate_, especially for the consummation of marriage. Friday is
blessed above all other days as being the Sabbath of the Muslims: it is
called “el-fadeeleh” (or, the excellent).—_Saturday_ is the _most
unfortunate_ of days. It is considered very wrong to commence a journey,
and, by most people in Egypt, to shave, or cut the nails, on this day.—A
friend of mine here was doubting whether he should bring an action
against two persons on so unfortunate a day as Saturday: he decided, at
last, that it was the best day of the week for him to do this, as the
ill fortune must fall upon one of the two parties only, and doubtless
upon his adversaries, because they were two to one.—There are some days
of the _year_ which are esteemed very fortunate, as those of the two
grand festivals, etc.: and some which are regarded as unfortunate; as,
for instance, the last Wednesday in the month of Safar: when many
persons make a point of not going out of their houses, from the belief
that numerous afflictions fall upon mankind on that day.[392]—Some
persons draw lucky or unlucky omens from the first object they see on
going out of the house in the morning: according as that object is
pleasant or the reverse, they say, “Our morning is good” or “— bad.” A
one-eyed person is regarded as of evil omen; and especially one who is
blind of the _left_ eye.
-----
Footnote 372:
Called “áyát-el-hefz” (the verses of protection, or preservation).
Footnote 373:
Just before I quitted my house in Cairo to return to England, a
friend, who had been my sheykh (or tutor), wrote on a slip of paper,
“There is no deity but God: Mohammad is God’s apostle:” then tore it
in halves, gave me the latter half (on which was written “Mohammad is
God’s apostle”), and concealed the other in a crack in the roof of a
little cupboard in my usual sitting-room. This was to insure my coming
back to Cairo: for it is believed that the profession of the faith
cannot remain incomplete: so that by my keeping the latter half always
upon my person, it would bring me back to the former half.
Footnote 374:
These, it is said, were Christian youths of Ephesus, who took refuge
from the persecution of the emperor Decius in a cave, and slept there,
guarded by their dog, for the space of 300 [solar] or 309 [lunar]
years. (See the Kur-án, chap. xviii.)
Footnote 375:
Called “mukhallafát en-nebee.”
Footnote 376:
A shirt which is said to have been worn by the Prophet is preserved in
the mosque of El-Ghóree, in Cairo. It is wrapped in a Kashmeer shawl;
and not shown to any but persons of very high rank.
Footnote 377:
The “burdeh,” which is worn by some of the peasants in Egypt, is an
oblong piece of thick woollen stuff, resembling the “herám,” excepting
in colour, being generally brown or greyish. It appears to have been,
in earlier times, always striped; but some modern burdehs are plain,
and others have stripes so narrow and near together, that at a little
distance the stuff appears to be of one colour. The Prophet’s is
described as about seven feet and a half in length, and four and a
half in width. It was used by him, as burdehs are at present, both to
envelop the body by day, and as a night-covering.—I may be excused for
remarking here (as it seems to be unknown to some Arabic scholars)
that the terms “akhdar” and “ahmar,” which are applied by different
historians to the Prophet’s burdeh, are used to signify respectively
_grey_ and _brown_, as well as _green_ and _red_.
Footnote 378:
This superstition explains many customs which would otherwise seem
unaccountable.
Footnote 379:
The ejaculation which I thus translate is “Yá selám,” or “Yá selámu
sellim.” “Es-Selám” is one of the names of the Deity.
Footnote 380:
This is the name of the tenth day of Moharram.
Footnote 381:
Now equivalent to a farthing and one-fifth.
Footnote 382:
This is, Caireen.
Footnote 383:
The fat of the tail is esteemed a dainty.
Footnote 384:
See the engraving of a door with this inscription inserted in the
introduction, p. 6.
Footnote 385:
Called “áyát esh-shifë” (the verses of restoration).
Footnote 386:
By Robert Hay, Esq., who purchased it from a peasant at Thebes.
Footnote 387:
Every year, on the first day of the Great Festival, which immediately
follows the pilgrimage, a new covering is hung upon the Kaabeh. The
old one is cut up; and the greater part of it is sold to the pilgrims.
Footnote 388:
It has been said, by a traveller, that this is only done at pilgrims’
houses: but such is not the case, at least in Egypt.
Footnote 389:
A sequin of this description is termed “benduk′ee musháhrah.”
Footnote 391:
The more approved záïrgehs are extremely complicated, and the process
of consulting them involves intricate astrological calculations.
Footnote 392:
This superstition, however, was condemned by the Prophet.
----------------------------
CHAPTER XII.
MAGIC, ASTROLOGY, AND ALCHEMY.
If we might believe some stories which are commonly related in Egypt, it
would appear that, in modern days, there have been, in this country,
magicians not less skilful than Pharaoh’s “wise men and sorcerers” of
whom we read in the Bible.
The more intelligent of the Muslims distinguish two kinds of magic,
which they term “Er-Roohánee” (_vulgò_, “Rowhánee”) and “Es-Seemiya:”
the former is _spiritual_ magic, which is believed to effect its wonders
by the agency of angels and genii, and by the mysterious virtues of
certain names of God, and other supernatural means: the latter is
_natural_ and _deceptive_ magic; and its chief agents, the less
credulous Muslims believe to be certain perfumes and drugs, which affect
the vision and imagination nearly in the same manner as opium: this
drug, indeed, is supposed by some persons to be employed in the
operations of the latter branch of magic.
“Er-Roohánee,” which is universally considered, among the Egyptians, as
_true_ magic, is of two kinds, “’ilwee” (or high) and “suflee” (or low);
which are also called “rahmánee” (or divine, or, literally, relating to
“the Compassionate,” which is an epithet of God) and “sheytánee” (or
satanic).—The ’ilwee, or rahmánee, is said to be a science founded on
the agency of God, and of his angels, and good genii, and on other
lawful mysteries; to be always employed for good purposes, and only
attained and practised by men of probity, who, by tradition, or from
books, learn the names of those superhuman agents, and invocations which
insure compliance with their desires. The writing of charms for good
purposes belongs to this branch of magic, and to astrology, and to the
science of the mysteries of numbers. The highest attainment in divine
magic consists in the knowledge of the “Ism-el-Aazam.” This is “the most
great name” of God, which is generally believed, by the learned, to be
known to none but prophets and apostles of God. A person acquainted with
it can, it is said, by merely uttering it, raise the dead to life, kill
the living, transport himself instantly wherever he pleases, and perform
any other miracle. Some suppose it to be known to eminent welees.—The
suflee is believed to depend on the agency of the devil, and other evil
genii; and to be used for bad purposes, and by bad men. To this branch
belongs the science called, by the Arabs, “es-sehr;” which is a term
they give only to wicked enchantment.—Those who perform what is called
“darb el-mendel” (of which I propose to relate some examples) profess to
do it by the agency of genii; that is, by the science called
er-roohánee: but there is another opinion on this subject which will be
presently mentioned.—One of the means by which genii are believed to
assist magicians has been explained in the second paragraph of Chapter
X.
“Es-Seemiya” is generally pronounced, by the learned, to be a false
science, and deceptive art, which produces surprising effects by those
natural means which have been above mentioned; and the “darb el-mendel,”
as perfumes are employed in the performance of it, is considered, by
such persons, as pertaining to es-seemiya.
“’Ilm en-Nugoom,” or Astrology, is studied by many persons in Egypt. It
is chiefly employed in casting nativities, in determining fortunate
periods, etc., and very commonly, to divine by what sign of the zodiac a
person is influenced; which is usually done by a calculation founded
upon the numerical values of the letters composing his or her name, and
that of the mother: this is often done in the case of two persons who
contemplate becoming man and wife, with the view of ascertaining whether
they will agree.—The science called “darb er-ramal,” or geomancy, by
which, from certain marks made at random on paper, or on sand (whence,
according to some, its name), the professors pretend to discover past,
passing, and future events, is, I am informed, mainly founded on
astrology.
“El-Keemiya,” or Alchemy, is also studied by many persons in Egypt, and
by some possessed of talents by which they might obtain a better
reputation than this pursuit procures them, and who, in spite of the
derision which they experience from a few men of sounder minds, and the
reproaches of those whom they unintentionally make their dupes,
continue, to old age, their fruitless labours. Considerable knowledge of
chemistry is, however, sometimes acquired in the study of this false
science; and in the present degraded state of physical knowledge in this
country it rather evinces a superior mind when a person gives his
attention to alchemy.
There is, or was,[393] a native of Egypt very highly celebrated for his
performances in the higher kind of that branch of magic called
er-roohánee; the sheykh Isma’eel Aboo-Ru-oos, of the town of Dasook.
Even the more learned and sober of the people of this country relate
most incredible stories of his magical skill; for which some of them
account by asserting his having been married to a “ginneeyeh” (or female
genie); and others, merely by his having “ginn” at his service, whom he
could mentally consult and command, without making use of any such charm
as the lamp of ’Alá-ed-Deen.[394] He is said to have always employed
this supernatural power either for good or innocent purposes; and to
have been much favoured by the present Básha, who, some say, often
consulted him. One of the most sensible of my Muslim friends, in this
place (Cairo), informs me that he once visited Aboo-Ru-oos, at Dasook,
in company with the sheykh El-Emeer, son of the sheykh El-Emeer
El-Kebeer, sheykh of the sect of the Málikees. My friend’s companion
asked their host to show them some proof of his skill in magic; and the
latter complied with the request. “Let coffee be served to us,” said the
sheykh El-Emeer, “in my father’s set of fingáns and zarfs, which are in
Masr.” They waited a few minutes; and then the coffee was brought; and
the sheykh El-Emeer looked at the fingáns and zarfs, and said they were
certainly his father’s. He was next treated with sherbet, in what he
declared himself satisfied were his father’s kullehs. He then wrote a
letter to his father, and, giving it to Aboo-Ru-oos, asked him to
procure an answer to it. The magician took the letter, placed it behind
a cushion of his deewán, and, a few minutes after, removing the cushion,
showed him that this letter was gone, and that another was in its place.
The sheykh El-Emeer took the latter, opened and read it; and found in
it, in a handwriting which, he said, he could have sworn to be that of
his father, a complete answer to what he had written, and an account of
the state of his family which he proved, on his return to Cairo, a few
days after, to be perfectly true.[395]
A curious case of magic fell under the cognizance of the government
during my former visit to this country; and became a subject of general
talk and wonder throughout the metropolis. I shall give the story of
this occurrence precisely as it was related to me by several persons in
Cairo; without curtailing it of any of the exaggerations with which they
embellished it; not only because I am ignorant how far it is true, but
because I would show how great a degree of faith the Egyptians in
general place in magic, or enchantment.
Mustaf′a Ed-Digwee, chief secretary in the Kádee’s court, in this city,
was dismissed from his office, and succeeded by another person of the
name of Mustaf′a, who had been a seyrefee, or money-changer. The former
sent a petition to the Básha, begging to be reinstated; but before he
received an answer, he was attacked by a severe illness, which he
believed to be the effect of enchantment: he persuaded himself that
Mustaf′a the seyrefee had employed a magician to write a spell which
should cause him to die; and therefore sent a second time to the Básha,
charging the new secretary with this crime. The accused was brought
before the Básha; confessed that he had done so; and named the magician
whom he had employed. The latter was arrested; and, not being able to
deny the charge brought against him, was thrown into prison, there to
remain until it should be seen whether or not Ed-Digwee would die. He
was locked up in a small cell; and two soldiers were placed at the door,
that one of them might keep watch while the other slept. Now for the
marvellous part of the story.—At night, after one of the guards had
fallen asleep, the other heard a strange, murmuring noise, and, looking
through a crack of the door of the cell, saw the magician sitting in the
middle of the floor, muttering some words which he (the guard) could not
understand. Presently, the candle which was before him became
extinguished; and, at the same instant, four other candles appeared; one
in each corner of the cell. The magician then rose, and, standing on one
side of the cell, knocked his forehead three times against the wall; and
each time that he did so, the wall opened, and a man appeared to come
forth from it. After the magician had conversed for some minutes with
the three personages whom he thus produced, they disappeared; as did,
also, the four candles; and the candle that was in the midst of the cell
became lighted again, as at first: the magician then resumed his
position on the floor; and all was quiet. Thus the spell that was to
have killed Ed-Digwee was dissolved. Early the next morning, the invalid
felt himself so much better, that he called for a basin and ewer,
performed the ablution, and said his prayers; and from that time he
rapidly recovered. He was restored to his former office; and the
magician was banished from Egypt. Another enchanter (or “sahhár”) was
banished a few days after, for writing a charm which caused a Muslim′eh
girl to be affected with an irresistible love for a Copt Christian.
A few days after my first arrival in this country, my curiosity was
excited on the subject of magic by a circumstance related to me by Mr.
Salt, our Consul-general. Having had reason to believe that one of his
servants was a thief, from the fact of several articles of property
having been stolen from his house, he sent for a celebrated Maghrab′ee
magician, with the view of intimidating them, and causing the guilty one
(if any of them were guilty) to confess his crime. The magician came;
and said that he would cause the exact image of the person who had
committed the thefts to appear to any youth not arrived at the age of
puberty; and desired the master of the house to call in any boy whom he
might choose. As several boys were then employed in a garden adjacent to
the house, one of them was called for this purpose. In the palm of this
boy’s right hand, the magician drew, with a pen, a certain diagram, in
the centre of which he poured a little ink. Into this ink, he desired
the boy steadfastly to look. He then burned some incense, and several
bits of paper inscribed with charms; and at the same time called for
various objects to appear in the ink. The boy declared that he saw all
these objects, and, last of all, the image of the guilty person; he
described his stature, countenance, and dress; said that he knew him;
and directly ran down into the garden, and apprehended one of the
labourers, who, when brought before the master, immediately confessed
that he was the thief.
The above relation made me desirous of witnessing a similar performance
during my first visit to this country; but not being acquainted with the
name of the magician here alluded to, or his place of abode, I was
unable to obtain any tidings of him. I learned, however, soon after my
return to England, that he had become known to later travellers in
Egypt; was residing in Cairo; and that he was called the sheykh
’Abd-El-Kádir El-Maghrab′ee. A few weeks after my second arrival in
Egypt, my neighbour ’Osmán, interpreter of the British consulate,
brought him to me; and I fixed a day for his visiting me, to give me a
proof of the skill for which he is so much famed. He came at the time
appointed, about two hours before noon; but seemed uneasy; frequently
looking up at the sky, through the window; and remarked that the weather
was unpropitious: it was dull and cloudy; and the wind was boisterous.
The experiment was performed with three boys; one after another. With
the first, it was partly successful; but with the others, it completely
failed. The magician said that he could do nothing more that day; and
that he would come in the evening of a subsequent day. He kept his
appointment; and admitted that the time was favourable. While waiting
for my neighbour, before mentioned, to come and witness the
performances, we took pipes and coffee; and the magician chatted with me
on indifferent subjects. He is a fine, tall, and stout man, of a rather
fair complexion, with a dark brown beard; is shabbily dressed; and
generally wears a large green turban, being a descendant of the Prophet.
In his conversation, he is affable and unaffected. He professed to me
that his wonders were effected by the agency of _good_ spirits; but to
others, he has said the reverse: that his magic is satanic.
In preparing for the experiment of the magic mirror of ink, which, like
some other performances of a similar nature, is here termed “darb
el-mendel,” the magician first asked me for a reed-pen and ink, a piece
of paper, and a pair of scissors; and, having cut off a narrow strip of
paper, wrote upon it certain forms of invocation, together with another
charm, by which he professes to accomplish the object of the experiment.
He did not attempt to conceal these; and on my asking him to give me
copies of them, he readily consented, and immediately wrote them for me;
explaining to me, at the same time, that the object he had in view was
accomplished through the influence of the two first words, “Tarshun” and
“Taryooshun,”[396] which, he said, were the names of two genii, his
“familiar spirits.” I compared the copies with the originals; and found
that they exactly agreed. Facsimiles of them are here inserted, with a
translation.
[Illustration: MAGIC INVOCATION AND CHARM.]
“Tarshun! Taryooshun! Come down!
Come down! Be present! Whither are gone
the prince and his troops? Where are El-Ahmar
the prince and his troops? Be present
ye servants of these names!”
“And this is the removal. ‘And we have removed from thee
thy veil; and thy sight to-day
is piercing.’ Correct: correct.”
Having written these, the magician cut off the paper containing the
forms of invocation from that upon which the other charm was written;
and cut the former into six strips. He then explained to me that the
object of the latter charm (which contains part of the 21st verse of the
Soorat Káf, or 50th chapter of the Kur-án) was to open the boy’s eyes in
a supernatural manner; to make his sight pierce into what is to us the
invisible world.
[Illustration: MAGIC SQUARE AND MIRROR OF INK.]
I had prepared, by the magician’s direction, some frankincense and
coriander-seed,[397] and a chafing-dish with some live charcoal in it.
These were now brought into the room, together with the boy who was to
be employed: he had been called in, by my desire, from among some boys
in the street, returning from a manufactory; and was about eight or nine
years of age. In reply to my inquiry respecting the description of
persons who could see in the magic mirror of ink, the magician said that
they were a boy not arrived at puberty, a virgin, a black female slave,
and a pregnant woman. The chafing-dish was placed before him and the
boy; and the latter was placed on a seat. The magician now desired my
servant to put some frankincense and coriander-seed into the
chafing-dish; then taking hold of the boy’s right hand, he drew, in the
palm of it, a magic square,[398] of which a copy is here given. The
figures which it contains are Arabic numerals. In the centre, he poured
a little ink, and desired the boy to look into it, and tell him if he
could see his face reflected in it: the boy replied that he saw his face
clearly. The magician, holding the boy’s hand all the while,[399] told
him to continue looking intently into the ink; and not to raise his
head.
He then took one of the little strips of paper inscribed with the forms
of invocation, and dropped it into the chafing-dish, upon the burning
coals and perfumes, which had already filled the room with their smoke;
and as he did this, he commenced an indistinct muttering of words, which
he continued during the whole process, excepting when he had to ask the
boy a question, or to tell him what he was to say. The piece of paper
containing the words from the Kur-án he placed inside the fore part of
the boy’s tákeeyeh, or scull-cap. He then asked him if he saw anything
in the ink; and was answered, “No:” but about a minute after, the boy,
trembling and seeming much frightened, said, “I see a man sweeping the
ground.” “When he has done sweeping,” said the magician, “tell me.”
Presently the boy said, “He has done.” The magician then again
interrupted his muttering to ask the boy if he knew what a “beyrak” (or
flag) was; and being answered, “Yes,” desired him to say, “Bring a
flag.” The boy did so; and soon said, “He has brought a flag.” “What
colour is it?” asked the magician: the boy replied, “Red.” He was told
to call for another flag; which he did; and soon after he said that he
saw another brought, and that it was black. In like manner, he was told
to call for a third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh; which he
described as being successively brought before him; specifying their
colours, as white, green, black, red, and blue. The magician then asked
him (as he did, also, each time that a new flag was described as being
brought), “How many flags have you now before you?” “Seven,” answered
the boy. While this was going on, the magician put the second and third
of the small strips of paper upon which the forms of invocation were
written, into the chafing-dish; and fresh frankincense and
coriander-seed having been repeatedly added, the fumes became painful to
the eyes. When the boy had described the seven flags as appearing to
him, he was desired to say, “Bring the Sultán’s tent; and pitch it.”
This he did; and in about a minute after, he said, “Some men have
brought the tent; a large green tent: they are pitching it;” and
presently he added, “They have set it up.” “Now,” said the magician,
“order the soldiers to come, and to pitch their camp around the tent of
the Sultán.” The boy did as he was desired; and immediately said, “I see
a great many soldiers, with their tents: they have pitched their tents.”
He was then told to order that the soldiers should be drawn up in ranks;
and, having done so, he presently said, that he saw them thus arranged.
The magician had put the fourth of the little strips of paper into the
chafing-dish; and soon after, he did the same with the fifth. He now
said, “Tell some of the people to bring a bull.” The boy gave the order
required, and said, “I see a bull: it is red: four men are dragging it
along; and three are beating it.” He was told to desire them to kill it,
and cut it up, and to put the meat in saucepans, and cook it. He did as
he was directed; and described these operations as apparently performed
before his eyes. “Tell the soldiers,” said the magician, “to eat it.”
The boy did so; and said, “They are eating it. They have done; and are
washing their hands.” The magician then told him to call for the Sultán;
and the boy, having done this, said, “I see the Sultán riding to his
tent, on a bay horse; and he has, on his head, a high red cap: he has
alighted at his tent, and sat down within it.” “Desire them to bring
coffee to the Sultán,” said the magician, “and to form the court.” These
orders were given by the boy; and he said that he saw them performed.
The magician had put the last of the six little strips of paper into the
chafing-dish. In his mutterings I distinguished nothing but the words of
the written invocation, frequently repeated, excepting on two or three
occasions, when I heard him say, “If they demand information, inform
them; and be ye veracious.” But much that he repeated was inaudible, and
as I did not ask him to teach me his art, I do not pretend to assert
that I am fully acquainted with his invocations.
He now addressed himself to me; and asked me if I wished the boy to see
any person who was absent or dead. I named Lord Nelson, of whom the boy
had evidently never heard; for it was with much difficulty that he
pronounced the name, after several trials. The magician desired the boy
to say to the Sultán—“My master salutes thee, and desires thee to bring
Lord Nelson: bring him before my eyes, that I may see him, speedily.”
The boy then said so; and almost immediately added, “A messenger is
gone, and has returned, and brought a man, dressed in a black[400] suit
of European clothes: the man has lost his left arm.” He then paused for
a moment or two; and, looking more intently, and more closely, into the
ink, said, “No, he has not lost his left arm; but it is placed to his
breast.” This correction made his description more striking than it had
been without it: since Lord Nelson generally had his empty sleeve
attached to the breast of his coat: but it was the _right_ arm that he
had lost. Without saying that I suspected the boy had made a mistake, I
asked the magician whether the objects appeared in the ink as if
actually before the eyes, or as if in a glass, which makes the right
appear left. He answered, that they appeared as in a mirror. This
rendered the boy’s description faultless.[401]
The next person I called for was a native of Egypt, who has been for
many years resident in England, where he has adopted our dress; and who
had been long confined to his bed by illness before I embarked for this
country: I thought that his name, one not very uncommon in Egypt, might
make the boy describe him incorrectly; though another boy, on the former
visit of the magician, had described this same person as wearing a
European dress, like that in which I last saw him. In the present case
the boy said, “Here is a man brought on a kind of bier, and wrapped up
in a sheet.” This description would suit, supposing the person in
question to be still confined to his bed, or if he be dead.[402] The boy
described his face as covered; and was told to order that it should be
uncovered. This he did; and then said, “His face is pale; and he has
mustaches, but no beard:” which is correct.
Several other persons were successively called for; but the boy’s
descriptions of them were imperfect, though not altogether incorrect. He
represented each object as appearing less distinct than the preceding
one; as if his sight were gradually becoming dim: he was a minute, or
more, before he could give any account of the persons he professed to
see towards the close of the performance; and the magician said it was
useless to proceed with him. Another boy was then brought in; and the
magic square, etc., made in his hand; but he could see nothing. The
magician said he was too old.
Though completely puzzled, I was somewhat disappointed with his
performances, for they fell short of what he had accomplished, in many
instances, in presence of certain of my friends and countrymen. On one
of these occasions, an Englishman present ridiculed the performance, and
said that nothing would satisfy him but a correct description of the
appearance of his own father, of whom, he was sure, no one of the
company had any knowledge. The boy, accordingly, having called by name
for the person alluded to, described a man in a Frank dress, with his
hand placed to his head, wearing spectacles, and with one foot on the
ground, and the other raised behind him, as if he were stepping down
from a seat. The description was exactly true in every respect: the
peculiar position of the hand was occasioned by an almost constant
headache; and that of the foot or leg, by a stiff knee, caused by a fall
from a horse, in hunting. I am assured that, on this occasion, the boy
accurately described each person and thing that was called for. On
another occasion, Shakspeare was described with the most minute
correctness, both as to person and dress; and I might add several other
cases in which the same magician has excited astonishment in the sober
minds of Englishmen of my acquaintance. A short time since, after
performing in the usual manner, by means of a boy, he prepared the magic
mirror in the hand of a young English lady, who, on looking into it for
a little while, said that she saw a broom sweeping the ground without
anybody holding it, and was so much frightened that she would look no
longer.
I have stated these facts partly from my own experience, and partly as
they came to my knowledge on the authority of respectable persons. The
reader may be tempted to think, that, in each instance, the boy saw
images produced by some reflection in the ink; but this was evidently
not the case; or that he was a confederate, or guided by leading
questions. That there was no collusion, I satisfactorily ascertained, by
selecting the boy who performed the part above described in my presence
from a number of others passing by in the street, and by his rejecting a
present which I afterwards offered him with the view of inducing him to
confess that he did not really see what he had professed to have seen. I
tried the veracity of another boy on a subsequent occasion in the same
manner; and the result was the same. The experiment often entirely
fails; but when the boy employed is right in one case, he generally is
so in all: when he gives, at first, an account altogether wrong, the
magician usually dismisses him at once, saying that he is too old. The
perfumes, or excited imagination, or fear, may be supposed to affect the
vision of the boy who describes objects as appearing to him in the ink;
but, if so, why does he see exactly what is required, and objects of
which he can have had no previous particular notion? Neither I nor
others have been able to discover any clue by which to penetrate the
mystery; and if the reader be alike unable to give the solution, I hope
that he will not allow the above account to induce in his mind any
degree of scepticism with respect to other portions of this work.[403]
-----
Footnote 393:
I was informed that he had died during my second visit to Egypt.
Footnote 394:
I must be excused for deviating from our old and erroneous mode of
writing the name of the master of the “wonderful lamp.” It is vulgarly
pronounced ’Aláy-ed-Deen.
Footnote 395:
Of a more famous magician, the sheykh Ahmad Sádoomeh, who flourished
in Egypt in the latter half of the last century, an account is given
in my translation of “The Thousand and One Nights,” chap. i., note 15.
Footnote 396:
Or, “Tarsh” and “Taryoosh;” the final “un” being the inflexion which
denotes the nominative case.
Footnote 397:
He generally requires some benzoin to be added to these.
Footnote 398:
The numbers in this magic square, in our own ordinary characters, are
as follows:—
┌───┬───┬───┐
│ 4 │ 9 │ 2 │
├───┼───┼───┤
│ 3 │ 5 │ 7 │
├───┼───┼───┤
│ 8 │ 1 │ 6 │
└───┴───┴───┘
It will be seen that the horizontal, vertical, and diagonal rows give,
each, the same sum, namely, 15.
Footnote 399:
This reminds us of animal magnetism.
Footnote 400:
Dark blue is called by the modern Egyptians “eswed,” which properly
signifies _black_, and is therefore so translated here.
Footnote 401:
Whenever I desired the boy to call for any person to appear, I paid
particular attention both to the magician and to ’Osmán. The latter
gave no direction either by word or sign; and indeed he was generally
unacquainted with the personal appearance of the individual called
for. I took care that he had no previous communication with the boys;
and have seen the experiment fail when he _could_ have given
directions to them, or to the magician. In short, it would be
difficult to conceive any precaution which I did not take. It is
important to add, that the dialect of the magician was more
intelligible to me than to the boy. When _I_ understood him perfectly
at once, he was sometimes obliged to vary his words to make the _boy_
comprehend what he said.
Footnote 402:
A few months after this was written, I had the pleasure of hearing
that the person here alluded to was in better health. Whether he was
confined to his bed at the time when this experiment was performed, I
have not been able to ascertain.
Footnote 403:
I have been gratified by finding that this hope has been realized. I
wish I could add that the phenomena were now explained. In No. 117 of
the “Quarterly Review,” pp. 202 and 203, it has been suggested that
the performances were effected by means of pictures and a concave
mirror; and that the images of the former were reflected from the
surface of the mirror, and received on a cloud of smoke under the eyes
of the boy. This, however, I cannot admit; because such means could
not have been employed without my perceiving them; nor would the
images be _reversed_ (unless the pictures were so) by being reflected
from the surface of a mirror, and received upon a _second surface_;
for the boy was looking _down_ upon the palm of his hand, so that an
image could not be formed upon the smoke (which was copious but not
dense) between his eye and the supposed mirror. The grand difficulty
of the case is the exhibition of “the correct appearance of private
individuals unknown to fame,” as remarked in the “Quarterly Review,”
in which a curious note, presenting “some new features of difficulty,”
is appended. With the most remarkable of the facts there related I was
acquainted; but I was not bold enough to insert them. I may now,
however, here mention them. Two travellers (one of them, M. Léon
Delaborde; the other, an Englishman), both instructed by the magician
’Abd-el-Kádir, are stated to have succeeded in performing similar
feats. Who this Englishman was, I have not been able to learn: he
positively denied all collusion, and asserted that he did nothing but
repeat the forms taught him by the magician.
----------------------------
CHAPTER XIII.
CHARACTER.
The natural or innate character of the modern Egyptians is altered, in a
remarkable degree, by their religion, laws, and government, as well as
by the climate and other causes; and to form a just opinion of it is,
therefore, very difficult. We may, however, confidently state, that they
are endowed, in a higher degree than most other people, with some of the
more important mental qualities; particularly, quickness of
apprehension, a ready wit, and a retentive memory. In youth, they
generally possess these and other intellectual powers; but the causes
above alluded to gradually lessen their mental energy.
Of the leading features of their character, none is more remarkable than
their religious pride. They regard persons of every other faith as the
children of perdition; and such, the Muslim is early taught to
despise.[404] It is written in the Kur-án, “O ye who have believed, take
not the Jews and Christians as friends: they are friends one to another;
and whosoever of you taketh them as his friends, verily he is [one] of
them.”[405] From motives of politeness, or selfish interest, these
people will sometimes talk with apparent liberality of sentiment, and
even make professions of friendship, to a Christian (particularly to a
European), whom, in their hearts, they contemn: but as the Muslims of
Egypt judge of the Franks in general from the majority of those in their
towns, some of whom are outcasts from their native countries, and others
(though not _all_ the rest, of course), men under no moral restraint,
they are hardly to be blamed for despising them. The Christians are,
however, generally treated with civility by the people of Egypt: the
Muslims being as remarkable for their toleration as for their contempt
of unbelievers.
It is considered the highest honour among the Muslims, to be religious;
but the desire to appear so leads many into hypocrisy and pharisaical
ostentation. When a Muslim is unoccupied by business, or amusement, or
conversation, he is often heard to utter some pious ejaculation. If a
wicked thought, or the remembrance of a wicked action that he has
committed, trouble him, he sighs forth, “I beg forgiveness of God, the
Great!” The shopkeeper, when not engaged with customers, nor enjoying
his pipe, often employs himself, in the sight and hearing of the
passengers in the street, in reciting a chapter of the Kur-án, or in
repeating to himself those expressions in praise of God which often
follow the ordinary prayers, and are counted with the beads; and in the
same public manner he prays.—The Muslims frequently swear by God (but
not irreverently); and also by the Prophet, and by the head or beard of
the person they address. When one is told anything that excites his
surprise and disbelief, he generally exclaims, “Wa-llah?” or,
“Wa-lláhi?” (by God?); and the other replies, “Wa-lláhi!”—As on ordinary
occasions before eating and drinking, so also on taking medicine,
commencing a writing, or any important undertaking, and before many a
trifling act, it is their habit to say, “In the name of God, the
Compassionate, the Merciful;” and after the act, “Praise be to God.”
When two persons make any considerable bargain, they recite together the
first chapter of the Kur-án (the Fát’hah). In case of a debate on any
matter of business or of opinion, it is common for one of the parties,
or a third person who may wish to settle the dispute, or to cool the
disputants, to exclaim, “Blessing on the Prophet!”—“O God, favour him!”
is said, in a low voice, by the other or others; and they then continue
the argument, but generally with moderation.
Religious ejaculations often interrupt conversation upon trivial and
even licentious subjects, in Egyptian society; sometimes, in such a
manner that a person not well acquainted with the character of this
people would perhaps imagine that they intended to make religion a jest.
In many of their most indecent songs the name of God is frequently
introduced; and this is certainly done without any profane motive, but
from the habit of often mentioning the name of the Deity in vain, and of
praising Him on every trifling occasion of surprise, or in testimony of
admiration of anything uncommon. Thus, a libertine, describing his
impressions on the first sight of a charming girl (in one of the
grossest songs I have ever seen or heard even in the Arabic language),
exclaims, “Extolled be He who formed thee, O full moon!”—and this and
many similar expressions are common in many other songs and odes; but
what is most remarkable in the song particularly alluded to above, is a
profane comparison with which it terminates. I shall adduce, as an
example of the strange manner in which licentiousness and religion are
often blended together in vulgar Egyptian poetry and rhyming prose, a
translation of the last three stanzas of an ode on love and wine:—
“She granted me a reception, the graceful of form, after her distance
and coyness. I kissed her teeth and her cheek; and the cup rang in her
hand. The odours of musk and ambergris were diffused by a person whose
form surpassed the elegance of a straight and slender branch. She
spread a bed of brocade; and I passed the time in uninterrupted
happiness. A Turkish fawn enslaved me.
“Now I beg forgiveness of God, my Lord, for all my faults and sins;
and for all that my heart hath said. My members testify against me.
Whenever grief oppresseth me, O Lord, Thou art my hope from whatever
afflicteth me. Thou knowest what I say, and what I think. Thou art the
Bountiful, the Forgiving! I implore Thy protection: then pardon me.
“And I praise that benignant being[406] whom a cloud was wont to
shade; the comely: how great was his comeliness! He will intercede for
us on the day of judgment, when his haters, the vile, the polytheists,
shall be repentant. Would that I might always, as long as I live,
accompany the pilgrims, to perform the circuits and worship and
courses, and live in uninterrupted happiness!”
In translating the first of the above stanzas, I have substituted the
feminine for the masculine pronoun; for, in the original, the former is
meant, though the latter is used, as is commonly the case in similar
compositions of the Egyptians. One of my Muslim friends having just
called on me after my writing the above remarks, I read to him the last
four stanzas of this ode, and asked him if he considered it proper thus
to mix up religion with debauchery. He answered, “Perfectly proper; a
man relates his having committed sins, and then prays to God for
forgiveness, and blesses the Prophet.”—“But,” said I, “this is an ode
written to be chanted for the amusement of persons who take pleasure in
unlawful indulgences; and see here, when I close the leaves, the page
which celebrates a debauch comes in contact, face to face, with that
upon which are written the names of the Deity; the commemoration of the
pleasures of sin is placed upon the prayer for forgiveness.” “That is
nonsense,” replied my friend; “turn the book over, place that side
upwards which is now downwards, and then the case will be the
reverse—sin covered by forgiveness; and God, whose name be exalted, hath
said in the Excellent Book, ‘Say, O my servants, who have transgressed
against your own souls, despair not of the mercy of God, seeing that God
forgiveth all sins [unto those who repent], for He is the Very
Forgiving, the Merciful.’”[407] His answer reminds me of what I have
often observed, that the generality of Arabs, a most inconsistent
people, are every day breaking their law in some point or other,
trusting that two words (“Astaghfir Alláh,” or “I beg forgiveness of
God”) will cancel every transgression. He had a copy of the Kur-án in
his hand, and on my turning it over to look for the verse he had quoted,
I found in it a scrap of paper containing some words from the venerated
volume; he was about to burn this piece of paper lest it should fall out
and be trodden upon; and on my asking him whether it was allowable to do
so, he answered, that it might either be burnt, or thrown into running
water; but that it was better to burn it, as the words would ascend in
the flames, and be conveyed by angels to heaven. Sometimes the Kur-án is
quoted in jest, even by persons of strict religious principles. For
instance, the following equivocal and evasive answer was once suggested
to me on a person’s asking of me a present of a watch, which, I must
previously mention, is called “sá-’ah,” a word which signifies an
“hour,” and the “period of the general judgment.”—“Verily, the ‘sá’ah’
shall come: I will surely make it to appear” (chap. xx. ver. 15).
There are often met with, in Egyptian society, persons who will
introduce an apposite quotation from the Kur-án or the Traditions of the
Prophet in common conversation, whatever be the topic; and an
interruption of this kind is not considered, as it would be in general
society in our own country, either hypocritical or annoying; but rather
occasions expressions, if not feelings, of admiration, and often diverts
the hearers from a trivial subject to matters of a more serious nature.
The Muslims of Egypt, and, I believe, those of other countries, are
generally fond of conversing on religion; and the most prevalent mode of
entertaining a party of guests among the higher and middle ranks in this
place (Cairo) is the recital of a “khatmeh” (or the whole of the
Kur-án), which is chanted by fikees, hired for the purpose; or the
performance of a “zikr,” which has been before mentioned. Few persons
among them would venture to say, that they prefer hearing a concert of
music to the performance of a khatmeh or zikr; and they certainly do
take great pleasure in the latter performances. The manner in which the
Kur-án is sometimes chanted is, indeed, very pleasing; though I must
say, that a complete khatmeh is, to me, extremely tiresome. With the
religious zeal of the Muslims, I am daily struck: yet I have often
wondered that they so seldom attempt to make converts to their faith. On
my expressing my surprise, as I have frequently done, at their
indifference with respect to the propagation of their religion,
contrasting it with the conduct of their ancestors of the early ages of
El-Islám, I have generally been answered—“Of what use would it be if I
could convert a thousand infidels? Would it increase the number of the
faithful? By no means: the number of the faithful is decreed by God; and
no act of man can increase or diminish it.” The contending against such
an answer would have led to an interminable dispute: so I never ventured
a reply. I have heard quoted, by way of apology for their neglecting to
make proselytes, the following words of the Kur-án: “Dispute not against
those who have received the Scriptures”[408] (namely, the Christians and
Jews), without the words immediately following—“unless in the best
manner; except against such of them as behave injuriously [towards you]:
and say [unto them], We believe in [the revelation] that hath been sent
down unto us, and [also in that] which hath been sent down unto you: and
our God and your God is one.”[409] If this precept were acted upon by
the Muslims, it might perhaps lead to disputes which would make them
more liberal-minded, and much better informed.
The respect which most modern Muslims pay to their Prophet is almost
idolatrous. They very frequently swear by him; and many of the most
learned, as well as the ignorant, often implore his intercession.
Pilgrims are generally much more affected on visiting his tomb than in
performing any other religious rite. There are some Muslims who will not
do anything that the Prophet is not recorded to have done: and who
particularly abstain from eating anything that he did not eat, though
its lawfulness be undoubted. The Imám Ahmad Ibn-Hambal would not even
eat water-melons, because, although he knew that the Prophet ate them,
he could not learn whether he ate them with or without the rind, or
whether he broke, bit, or cut them: and he forbade a woman, who
questioned him as to the propriety of the act, to spin by the light of
torches passing in the street by night, which were not her own property,
because the Prophet had not mentioned whether it was lawful to do so,
and was not known to have ever availed himself of a light belonging to
another person without that person’s leave.—I once, admiring some very
pretty pipe-bowls, asked the maker why he did not stamp them with his
name. He answered “God forbid! My name is Ahmad” (one of the names of
the Prophet): “would you have me put it in the fire?”—I have heard
adduced as one of the subjects of complaint against the present Básha,
his causing the camels and horses of the government to be branded with
his names, “Mohammad ’Alee.” “In the first place,” said a friend of
mine, who mentioned this fact to me, “the iron upon which are engraved
these names, names which ought to be so much venerated, the names of the
Prophet (God favour and preserve him!), and his Cousin (may God be well
pleased with him!), is put into the fire, which is shocking: then it is
applied to the neck of a camel; and causes blood, which is impure, to
flow, and to pollute the sacred names both upon the iron and upon the
animal’s skin: and when the wound is healed, how probable is it, and
almost certain and unavoidable, that the camel will, when he lies down,
lay his neck upon something unclean!”
A similar feeling is the chief reason why the Muslims object to printing
their books. They have scarcely a book (I do not remember to have seen
one) that does not contain the name of God: it is a rule among them to
commence every book with the words “In the name of God, the
Compassionate, the Merciful,” and to begin the preface or introduction
by praising God, and blessing the Prophet; and they fear some impurity
might be contracted by the ink that is applied to the name of the Deity,
in the process of printing, or by the paper to be impressed with that
sacred name, and perhaps with words taken from the Kur-án. They fear,
also, that their books, becoming very cheap by being printed, would fall
into the hands of infidels; and are much shocked at the idea of using a
brush composed of hogs’ hair (which was at first done here) to apply the
ink to the name, and often to the words, of God. Hence, books have
hitherto been printed in Egypt only by order of the government: but two
or three persons have lately applied for, and received, permission to
make use of the government-press. I am acquainted with a bookseller here
who has long been desirous of printing some books which he feels sure
would bring him considerable profit; but cannot overcome his scruples as
to the lawfulness of doing so.
The honour which the Muslims show to the Kur-án is very striking. They
generally take care never to hold it, or suspend it, in such a manner as
that it shall be below the girdle; and they deposit it upon a high and
clean place; and never put another book, or anything else, on the top of
it. On quoting from it, they usually say, “He whose name be exalted” (or
“God, whose name be exalted”) “hath said, in the Excellent Book.” They
consider it extremely improper that the sacred volume should be touched
by a Christian or a Jew, or any other person not a believer in its
doctrines; though some of them are induced, by covetousness, but very
rarely, to sell copies of it to such persons. It is even forbidden to
the Muslim to touch it unless he be in a state of legal purity; and
hence, these words of the book itself—“None shall touch it but they who
are purified”[410]—are often stamped upon the cover. The same remarks
apply, also, to anything upon which is inscribed a passage of the
Kur-án. It is remarkable, however, that most of the old Arab coins bear
inscriptions of words from the Kur-án, or else the testimony of the
faith (“There is no deity but God: Mohammad is God’s Apostle”);
notwithstanding they were intended for the use of Jews and Christians,
as well as Muslims: but I have heard this practice severely
condemned.—On my once asking one of my Muslim friends whether figs were
esteemed wholesome in Egypt, he answered, “Is not the fig celebrated in
the Kur-án? God swears by it: ‘By the fig and the olive!’” (chap. xcv.,
ver. 1).
There is certainly much enthusiastic piety in the character of the
modern Muslims, notwithstanding their inconsistencies and superstitions:
such, at least, is generally the case. There are, I believe, very few
professed Muslims who are really unbelievers; and these dare not openly
declare their unbelief, through fear of losing their heads for their
apostasy. I have heard of two or three such, who have been rendered so
by long and intimate intercourse with Europeans; and have met with one
materialist, who has often had long discussions with me. In preceding
chapters of this work, several practices indicative of the religious
feeling which prevails among the Muslims of Egypt have been incidentally
mentioned. Religious appeals are generally used by the beggars in this
country: some examples of these will be given hereafter. Of a similar
nature, also, are the cries of many of the persons who sell vegetables,
etc. The cry of the nightly watchman in the quarter in which I lived in
Cairo during my first visit struck me as remarkable for its beauty and
sublimity—“I extol the perfection of the living King, who sleepeth not
nor dieth.” The present watchman, in the same quarter, exclaims, “O
Lord! O Everlasting!” Many other illustrations of the religious
character of the people whom I am endeavouring to portray might be
added. I must, however, here acknowledge, that religion has much
declined among them and most others of the same faith. Whoever has been
in the habit of conversing familiarly with the modern Muslims must often
have heard them remark, with a sigh, “It is the end of time!”—“The world
has fallen into infidelity.”—They are convinced that the present state
of their religion is a proof that the end of the world is near. The
mention which I have made, in a former chapter, of some of the tenets of
the Wahhábees, as being those of the primitive Muslims, shows how much
the generality of the modern professors of the faith of the Kur-án have
deviated from the precepts originally delivered to its disciples.
Influenced by their belief in predestination, the men display, in times
of distressing uncertainty, an exemplary patience, and, after any
afflicting event, a remarkable degree of resignation and fortitude,
approaching nearly to apathy;[411] generally exhibiting their sorrow
only by a sigh, and the exclamation of “Allah kereem!” (God is
bountiful!)—but the women, on the contrary, give vent to their grief by
the most extravagant cries and shrieks. While the Christian blames
himself for every untoward event which he thinks he has brought upon
himself, or might have avoided, the Muslim enjoys a remarkable serenity
of mind in all the vicissitudes of life. When he sees his end
approaching, his resignation is still conspicuous: he exclaims, “Verily
to God we belong; and verily to Him we return!” and to those who inquire
respecting his state, in general his reply is, “Praise be to God! Our
Lord is bountiful!”—His belief in predestination does not, however,
prevent his taking any step to attain an object that he may have in
view; not being perfectly absolute, or unconditional: nor does it in
general make him careless of avoiding danger; for he thinks himself
forbidden to do so by these words of the Kur-án,[412] “Throw not
yourselves[413] into perdition;” excepting in some cases; as in those of
pestilence and other sicknesses; being commanded, by the Prophet, not to
go into a city where there is a pestilence, nor to come out from it. The
lawfulness of quarantine is contested among Muslims; but the generality
of them condemn it.
The same belief in predestination renders the Muslim utterly devoid of
presumption with regard to his future actions, or to any future events.
He never speaks of anything that he intends to do, or of any
circumstance which he expects and hopes may come to pass, without
adding, “If it be the will of God;” and, in like manner, in speaking of
a past event of which he is not certain, he generally prefaces or
concludes what he says with the expression “God is all-knowing” (or, “—
most knowing.”).
Benevolence and charity to the poor are virtues which the Egyptians
possess in an eminent degree, and which are instilled into their hearts
by religion; but from their own profession it appears that they are as
much excited to the giving of alms by the expectation of enjoying
corresponding rewards in heaven, as by pity for the distresses of their
fellow-creatures, or a disinterested wish to do the will of God. It may
be attributed, in some measure, to the charitable disposition of the
inhabitants, that beggars are so numerous in Cairo. The many handsome
“Sebeels,” or public fountains (buildings erected and endowed for the
gratuitous supply of water to passengers), which are seen in this city,
and the more humble structures of the same kind in the villages and
fields, are monuments of the same virtue.
In my earlier intercourse with the people of Egypt, I was much pleased
at observing their humanity to dumb animals; to see a person, who
gathered together the folds of his loose clothes to prevent their coming
in contact with a dog, throw, to the impure animal, a portion of the
bread which he was eating. Murders, burglaries, and other atrocious
crimes, were then very rare among them. Now, however, I find the
generality of the Egyptians very much changed for the worse, with
respect to their humanity to brutes and to their fellow-creatures. The
increased severity of the government seems, as might be expected, to
have engendered tyranny, and an increase of every crime, in the people:
but I am inclined to think that the conduct of Europeans has greatly
conduced to produce this effect; for I do not remember to have seen acts
of cruelty to dumb animals excepting in places where Franks either
reside or are frequent visitors, as Alexandria, Cairo, and Thebes. It is
shocking to see the miserable asses which are used for carrying dust,
etc., in Cairo; many of them with large crimson wounds, like carbuncles,
constantly chafed by rough ropes of the fibres of the palm-tree which
are attached to the back part of the pack-saddle. The dogs in the
streets are frequently beaten, both by boys and men, from mere
wantonness; and I often see children amusing themselves with molesting
the cats, which were formerly much favoured.[414] Robberies and murders,
during two or three months after my last arrival here, were occurrences
of almost every week. Most of the Turkish governors of districts used to
exercise great oppression over the felláheen: but since persons of the
latter class have been put in the places of the former, they have
exceeded their predecessors in tyranny; and it is a common remark, that
they are “more execrable than the Turks.”[415]
Though I now frequently see the houseless dogs beaten in the streets of
Cairo, and that when quite inoffensive and quiet, I still often observe
men feeding them with bread, etc.; and the persons who do so are mostly
poor men. In every district of this city are many small troughs, which
are daily replenished with water for the dogs. In each street where
there are shops, a sakka receives a small monthly sum from each shopman
for sprinkling the street, and filling the trough or troughs for the
dogs in that street. There is also a dogs’-trough under almost every
shop of a sharbetlee, or seller of sherbets.—It may here be mentioned,
that the dogs of Cairo, few of which have masters, compose regular and
distinct tribes; and the dogs of each tribe confine themselves to a
certain district or quarter, from which they invariably chase away any
strange dog that may venture to intrude. These animals are very numerous
in Cairo. They are generally careful to avoid coming in contact with the
men; as if they knew that the majority of the people of the city regard
them as unclean: but they often bark at persons in the Frank dress; and
at night they annoy every passenger. They are of use in eating the offal
thrown out from the butchers’ shops, and from houses. Many dogs also
prowl about the mounds of rubbish around the metropolis; and these, with
the vultures, feed upon the carcases of the camels, asses, etc., that
die in the town. They are mostly of a sandy colour; and seem to partake
of the form and disposition of the jackal.
The general opinion of the Muslims, which holds the dog to be unclean,
does not prevent their keeping this animal as a house-guard, and
sometimes even as a pet. A curious case of this kind occurred a short
time ago. A woman in this city, who had neither husband nor child nor
friend to solace her, made a dog her companion. Death took this only
associate from her; and, in her grief and her affection for it, she
determined to bury it; and not merely to commit it to the earth without
ceremony, but to inter it as a Muslim, in a respectable tomb, in the
cemetery of the Imám Esh-Sháfe’ee, which is regarded as especially
sacred. She washed the dog according to the rules prescribed to be
observed in the case of a deceased Muslim, wrapped it in handsome
grave-clothes, sent for a bier, and put it in; then hired several
wailing-women; and, with them, performed a regular lamentation. This
done (but not without exciting the wonder of her neighbours, who could
not conjecture what person in her house was dead, yet would not intrude,
because she never associated with them), she hired a number of chanters,
to head the funeral-procession, and schoolboys, to sing, and carry the
Kur-án before the bier; and the train went forth in respectable order;
herself and the hired wailing-women following the bier, and rending the
air with their shrieks: but the procession had not advanced many steps,
when one of the female neighbours ventured to ask the afflicted lady who
the person was that was dead; and was answered, “It is my poor child.”
The inquirer charged her with uttering a falsehood; and the bereaved
lady confessed that it was her dog; begging, at the same time, that her
inquisitive neighbour would not divulge the secret; but, for an Egyptian
woman to keep a secret, and such a secret, was impossible: it was
immediately made known to the by-standers; and a mob, in no good humour,
soon collected, and put a stop to the funeral. The chanters and
singing-boys and wailing-women vented their rage against their employer
(as soon as they had secured their money) for having made fools of them;
and if the police had not interfered, she would probably have fallen a
victim to popular fury.[416]
It is a curious fact, that, in Cairo, houseless cats are fed at the
expense of the Kádee; or, rather, almost wholly at his expense. Every
afternoon, a quantity of offal is brought into the great court before
the Mahkem′eh; and the cats are called together to eat. The Sultán
Ez-Záhir Beybars (as I learn from the Básh Kátib of the Kádee)
bequeathed a garden, which is called “gheyt el-kuttah” (or the garden of
the cat), near his mosque, on the north of Cairo, for the benefit of the
cats: but this garden has been sold, over and over again, by the
trustees and purchasers: the former sold it on pretence of its being too
much out of order to be rendered productive, excepting at a considerable
expense; and it now produces only a “hekr” (or quit-rent) of fifteen
piasters a year, to be applied to the maintenance of the destitute cats.
Almost the whole expense of their support has, in consequence, fallen
upon the Kádee, who, by reason of his office, is the guardian of this
and all other charitable and pious legacies, and must suffer for the
neglect of his predecessors. Latterly, however, the duty of feeding the
cats has been very inadequately performed. Many persons in Cairo, when
they wish to get rid of a cat, send or take it to the Kádee’s house, and
let it loose in the great court.
The affability of the Egyptians towards each other has been mentioned in
a preceding chapter. Towards foreigners who do not conform with their
manners and customs, and profess the same way of thinking, they are
polite in their address, but cold and reserved, or parasitical, in
conversation. With such persons, and even among themselves, they often
betray much impertinent curiosity. They are generally extremely afraid
of making to themselves enemies; and this fear frequently induces them
to uphold each other, even when it is criminal to do so.
Cheerfulness is another remarkable characteristic of this people. Some
of them profess a great contempt for frivolous amusements; but most take
pleasure in such pastimes; and it is surprising to see how easily they
are amused: wherever there are crowds, noise, and bustle, they are
delighted. In their public festivals, there is little to amuse a person
of good education; but the Egyptians enjoy them as much as we do the
best of our entertainments. Those of the lower orders seem to be
extremely happy with their pipes and coffee, after the occupations of
the day, in the society of the coffee-shop.
Hospitality is a virtue for which the natives of the East in general are
highly and deservedly admired; and the people of Egypt are well entitled
to commendation on this account. A word which signifies literally “a
person on a journey” (“musáfir”) is the term most commonly employed in
this country in the sense of a visitor or guest. There are very few
persons here who would think of sitting down to a meal, if there were a
stranger in the house, without inviting him to partake of it, unless the
latter were a menial; in which case, he would be invited to eat with the
servants. It would be considered a shameful violation of good manners if
a Muslim abstained from ordering the table to be prepared at the usual
time because a visitor happened to be present. Persons of the middle
classes in this country, if living in a retired situation, sometimes
take their supper before the door of their house, and invite every
passenger of respectable appearance to eat with them. This is very
commonly done among the lower orders. In cities and large towns, claims
on hospitality are unfrequent; as there are many wekálehs, or khans,
where strangers may obtain lodging; and food is very easily procured:
but in the villages, travellers are often lodged and entertained by the
Sheykh or some other inhabitant; and if the guest be a person of the
middle or higher classes, or even not very poor, he gives a present to
his host’s servants, or to the host himself. In the desert, however, a
present is seldom received from a guest. By a Sunneh law, a traveller
may claim entertainment, of any person able to afford it to him, for
three days.—The account of Abraham’s entertaining the three angels,
related in the Bible, presents a perfect picture of the manner in which
a modern Bedawee sheykh receives travellers arriving at his encampment.
He immediately orders his wife or women to make bread; slaughters a
sheep or some other animal, and dresses it in haste; and bringing milk
and any other provisions that he may have ready at hand, with the bread,
and the meat which he has dressed, sets them before his guests. If these
be persons of high rank, he stands by them while they eat; as Abraham
did in the case above alluded to. Most Bedawees will suffer almost any
injury to themselves or their families rather than allow their guests to
be ill-treated while under their protection. There are Arabs who even
regard the chastity of their wives as not too precious to be sacrificed
for the gratification of their guests;[417] and at an encampment of the
Bisháreen, I ascertained that there are many persons in this great tribe
(which inhabits a large portion of the desert between the Nile and the
Red Sea) who offer their unmarried daughters to their guests, merely
from motives of hospitality, and not for hire.
There used to be, in Cairo, a numerous class of persons called
“Tufeyleeyeh,” or “Tufeylees” (that is, Spungers), who, taking advantage
of the hospitality of their countrymen, subsisted entirely by spunging:
but this class has, of late, very much decreased in number. Wherever
there was an entertainment, some of these worthies were almost sure to
be found; and it was only by a present of money that they could be
induced to retire from the company. They even travelled about the
country, without the smallest coin in their pockets, intruding
themselves into private houses whenever they wanted a meal, or
practising various tricks for this purpose. Two of them, I was told, a
little while since, determined to go to the festival of the seyyid
El-Bedawee, at Tanta; an easy journey of two days and a half from Cairo.
Walking at their leisure, they arrived at the small town of Kalyoob at
the end of their first day’s journey; and there found themselves at a
loss for a supper. One of them went to the Kádee; and, after saluting
him, said—“O Kádee, I am a traveller from the Sharkeeyeh, going to Masr;
and I have a companion who owes me fifty purses, which he has with him
at present, and refuses to give me; and I am actually in want of them.”
“Where is he?” said the Kádee. “Here, in this town,” answered the
complainant. The Kádee sent a rasool to bring the accused; and in the
meantime, expecting considerable fees for a judgment in such a case,
ordered a good supper to be prepared; which Kádees of country towns or
villages generally do under similar circumstances. The two men were
invited to sup and sleep before the case was tried. Next morning, the
parties were examined: the accused admitted that he had in his
possession the fifty purses of his companion; and said that he was ready
to give them up; for they were an encumbrance to him, being only the
paper purses in which coffee was sold. “We are Tufeylees,” he added; and
the Kádee, in anger, dismissed them.
The natives of Egypt in general, in common with the Arabs of other
countries, are (according to our system of morals) justly chargeable
with a fault which is regarded by us as one of great magnitude: it is
want of gratitude.[418] But this I am inclined to consider a relic of
the Bedawee character; and as arising from the very common practice of
hospitality and generosity, and from the prevailing opinion that these
virtues are absolute duties which it would be disgraceful and sinful to
neglect.
The temperance and moderation of the Egyptians, with regard to diet, are
very exemplary. Since my first arrival in Egypt, I have scarcely ever
seen a native of this country in a state of intoxication; unless it were
a musician at an entertainment, or a dancing girl, or a low prostitute.
It hardly need be added that they are extremely frugal. They show a
great respect for bread, as the staff of life,[419] and on no account
suffer the smallest portion of it to be wasted, if they can avoid it. I
have often observed an Egyptian take up a small piece of bread, which
had by accident fallen in the street or road, and, after putting it
before his lips and forehead three times, place it on one side, in order
that a dog might eat it, rather than let it remain to be trodden under
foot. The following instance of the excessive and unreasonable respect
of the Egyptians for bread has been related to me by several persons;
but I must say that I think it hardly credible.—Two servants were
sitting at the door of their master’s house, eating their dinner, when
they observed a Memlook Bey, with several of his officers, riding along
the street towards them. One of these servants rose, from respect to the
grandee, who, regarding him with indignation, exclaimed, “Which is the
more worthy of respect, the bread that is before you, or myself?”
Without waiting for a reply, he made, it is said, a well-understood
signal with his hand; and the unintending offender was beheaded on the
spot.
The higher and middle orders of Muslims in Egypt are scrupulously
cleanly; and the lower orders are more so than in most other countries:
but were not cleanliness a point of their religion, perhaps it would not
be so much regarded by them. From what has been said in a former chapter
of this work,[420] it appears that we must not judge of them, with
respect to this quality, from the dirty state in which they generally
leave their children. Their religious ablutions were, certainly, very
wisely ordained; personal cleanliness being so conducive to health in a
hot climate. The Egyptians in general are particularly careful to avoid
whatever their religion has pronounced unclean and polluting. One of
their objections against wine is, that it is unclean; and I believe that
very few of them, if any, could be induced by any means, unless by a
considerable bribe, to eat the smallest piece of pig’s flesh; excepting
the peasants of the Boheyreh (the province on the west of the western
branch of the Nile), many of whom eat the flesh of the wild boar, and
rats.[421] I was once amused with the remark of a Muslim, on the subject
of pork: he observed that the Franks were certainly a much calumniated
people: that it was well known they were in the habit of eating swine’s
flesh; but that some slanderous persons here asserted that it was not
only the flesh of the unclean beast that was eaten by the Franks, but
also its skin, and its entrails, and its very blood. On being answered
that the accusation was too true, he burst forth with a most hearty
curse upon the infidels, devoting them to the lowest place in hell.
Many of the butchers who supply the Muslim inhabitants of the metropolis
with meat are Jews. A few years ago, one of the principal ’ulama here
complained of this fact to the Básha; and begged him to put a stop to
it. Another of the ’ulama, hearing that this person had gone to make the
complaint above mentioned, followed him, and urged, before the Básha,
that the practice was not unlawful. “Adduce your proof,” said the
former. “Here,” answered the other, “is my proof, from the word of
God—‘Eat of that whereon the name of God hath been commemorated.’”[422]
The chief of the Jewish butchers was then summoned, and asked whether he
said anything previously to slaughtering an animal: he answered, “Yes:
we always say, as the Muslims, ‘In the name of God! God is most great!’
and we never kill an animal in any other way than by cutting its
throat.”—The complaint was consequently dismissed.
A few days ago, a man, purchasing a fateereh of a baker in this city,
saw him take out of his oven a dish of pork which he had been baking for
a Frank; and, supposing that the other things in the oven might have
been in contact with the unclean meat, and thus contaminated,
immediately brought a soldier from the nearest guard-house, and caused
the baker (who was in no slight alarm, and protested that he was
ignorant of there being any pig’s flesh in his oven) to be conducted
before the Zábit. This magistrate considered the case of sufficient
importance to be referred to the Básha’s deewán; and the president of
this council regarded it as of too serious and difficult a nature for
him to decide, and accordingly sent the accused to be judged at the
Mahkem′eh. The Kádee desired the opinion of the Muftee, who gave the
following sentence:—That all kinds of food, not essentially or radically
impure, were purified, of any pollution which they might have
contracted, by fire; and consequently, that whatever thing of this
description was in the oven, even if it had been in contact with the
pork, was clean as soon as it had been baked.
A short time since the Básha received, from Europe, a set of mattresses
and cushions stuffed with horse-hair, to form a deewán for his hareem.
The ladies opened one of the cushions, to ascertain what was the
substance which rendered them so agreeably elastic; and, disgusted in
the highest degree at seeing what they supposed to be hogs’ hair,
insisted upon throwing away the whole deewán.
A Frenchman who was employed here, a few years ago, to refine sugar, by
the present Básha, made use of blood for this purpose; and since that,
very few of the people of this country have ventured to eat any sugar
made by the Franks: the Básha was also obliged to prohibit the use of
blood in his own sugar-bakeries; and the white of eggs has been employed
in its stead. Some of the Egyptians, seeing the European sugar to be
very superior to that made here, use it; holding the doctrine that what
is originally clean may become clean again after pollution: but I am
obliged to keep the coarse Egyptian sugar for the purpose of making
sherbet for my visitors; some of whom hold long discussions with me on
this subject.
It is a general custom among the Egyptians, after washing clothes, to
pour clean water upon them, and to say, in doing so, “I testify that
there is no deity but God; and I testify that Mohammad is God’s
Apostle.”[423] In speaking of their religion, I have mentioned several
other practices instituted for the sake of cleanliness; most of which
are universally observed. But, notwithstanding these cleanly practices
and principles, and their custom of frequently going to the bath, the
Egyptians do not change their linen so often as some people of more
northern climates, who need not so much to do this frequently: they
often go to the bath in a dirty shirt, and, after a thorough washing,
put on the same again.
Filial piety is one of the more remarkable virtues of this people. The
outward respect which they pay to their parents I have already had
occasion to mention. Great respect is also shown by the young to those
far advanced in age;[424] particularly to such as are reputed men of
great piety or learning.
Love of their country, and more especially of _home_, is another
predominant characteristic of the modern Egyptians. In general, they
have a great dread of quitting their native land. I have heard of
several determining to visit a foreign country, for the sake of
considerable advantages in prospect; but when the time of their intended
departure drew near, their resolution failed them. Severe oppression has
lately lessened this feeling; which is doubtless owing, in a great
degree, to ignorance of foreign lands and their inhabitants. It was
probably from the same feeling prevailing among the Arabs of his time,
that Mohammad was induced to promise such high rewards in a future world
to those who fled their country for the sake of his religion. I have
heard it remarked as a proof of the extraordinary love which the
Egyptians have for their native place, that a woman or girl in this
country will seldom consent, or her parents allow her, to marry a man
who will not promise to reside with her in her native town or village;
but I rather think that the reluctance to change the place of abode in
this case arises from the risk which the female incurs of wanting the
protection of her relations. The Bedawees are so attached to their
deserts, and have so great a contempt for people who reside in towns,
and for agriculturists, that it is a matter of surprise that so many of
them were induced to settle even upon the fertile banks of the Nile. The
modern Egyptians, though mostly descended from Bedawees, while they
resemble their ancestors in love of their _native_ country, have a
horror of the desert. One journey in the desert furnishes them with
tales of exaggerated hardships, perils, and wonders, which they are
extremely fond of relating to their less experienced countrymen.
Indolence pervades all classes of the Egyptians, excepting those who are
obliged to earn their livelihood by severe manual labour. It is the
result of the climate, and of the fecundity of the soil. Even the
mechanics, who are extremely greedy of gain, will generally spend two
days in a work which they might easily accomplish in one; and will leave
the most lucrative employment to idle away their time with the pipe: but
the porter, the groom, who runs before his master’s horse, and the
boatmen, who are often employed in towing the vessels up the river
during calm and very hot weather, as well as many other labourers,
endure extreme fatigue.
The Egyptians are also excessively obstinate. I have mentioned, in a
former chapter, that they have been notorious, from ancient times, that
is, from the period of the Roman domination, for refusing to pay their
taxes until they have been severely beaten; and that they often boast of
the number of stripes which they have received before they would part
with their money. Such conduct is very common among them. I was once
told, that a felláh, from whom the value of about four shillings was
demanded by his governor, endured so severe a bastinading rather than
pay this paltry sum, which he declared he did not possess, that the
governor ordered him to be dismissed; but, striking him on his face as
he limped away, there fell out of his mouth a gold coin of the exact
value of the sum demanded of him; so that his beating, terrible as it
was, fell short of what was necessary to make him pay. This disposition
seems a strange peculiarity in their character; but it is easily
accounted for by the fact that they know very well, the more readily
they pay, the more will be exacted from them. In other respects,
however, they are extremely obstinate and difficult to govern; though
very obsequious in their manners and professions. It is seldom that an
Egyptian workman can be induced to make a thing exactly to order: he
will generally follow his own opinion in preference to that of his
employer; and will scarcely ever finish his work by the time he has
promised.
Though very submissive to their governors, the felláheen of Egypt are
not deficient in courage when excited by feuds among each other; and
they become excellent soldiers.
In sensuality, as far as it relates to the indulgence of libidinous
passions, the Egyptians, as well as other natives of hot climates,
certainly exceed more northern nations; yet this excess is not to be
attributed merely to the climate, but more especially to the institution
of polygamy, to the facility with which divorcements are accomplished
whenever a man may wish to marry a new wife, and to the custom of
concubinage. It is even said, and, I believe with truth, that, in this
respect, they exceed the neighbouring nations, whose religion and civil
institutions are similar;[425] and that their country still deserves the
appellation of “the abode of the wicked,” which, in the Kur-án,[426] is,
according to the best commentators, applied to ancient Egypt, if we take
the word here translated “wicked” in its more usual modern sense of
“debauchees.”—A vice for which the Memlooks who governed Egypt were
infamous was so spread by them in this country as to become not less
rare here than in almost any other country of the East; but of late
years, it is said to have much decreased.
The most immodest freedom of conversation is indulged in by persons of
both sexes, and of every station of life, in Egypt; even by the most
virtuous and respectable women, with the exception of a very few, who
often make use of coarse language, but not unchaste. From persons of the
best education, expressions are often heard so obscene as only to be fit
for a low brothel; and things are named, and subjects talked of, by the
most genteel women, without any idea of their being indecorous, in the
hearing of men, that many prostitutes in our country would abstain from
mentioning.
The women of Egypt have the character of being the most licentious in
their feelings of all females who lay any claim to be considered as
members of a civilized nation; and this character is freely bestowed
upon them by their countrymen, even in conversation with foreigners.
Numerous exceptions doubtless exist; and I am happy to insert the
following words translated from a note by my friend the sheykh Mohammad
’Eiyád Et-Tantáwee, on a passage in “The Thousand and One Nights.” “Many
persons reckon marrying a second time among the greatest of disgraceful
actions. This opinion is most common in the country-towns and villages;
and the relations of my mother are thus characterized, so that a woman
of them, when her husband dies while she is young, or divorces her while
she is young, passes her life, however long it may be, in widowhood, and
never marries a second time.”—But with respect to the majority of the
Egyptian women, it must, I fear, be allowed, that they are very
licentious. What liberty they have, many of them, it is said, abuse; and
most of them are not considered safe, unless under lock and key; to
which restraint few are subjected. It is believed that they possess a
degree of cunning in the management of their intrigues that the most
prudent and careful husband cannot guard against; and, consequently,
that their plots are seldom frustrated, however great may be the
apparent risk of the undertakings in which they engage. Sometimes, the
husband himself is made the unconscious means of gratifying his wife’s
criminal propensities. Some of the stories of the intrigues of women in
“The Thousand and One Nights” present faithful pictures of occurrences
not unfrequent in the modern metropolis of Egypt. Many of the men of
this city are of opinion that almost all the women would intrigue if
they could do so without danger; and that the greater proportion of them
do. I should be sorry to think that the former opinion was just; and I
am almost persuaded that it is over-severe, because it appears, from the
customs with regard to women generally prevailing here, that the latter
must be false. The difficulty of carrying on an intrigue with a female
in this place can hardly be conceived by a person who is not moderately
well acquainted with Eastern customs and habits. It is not only
difficult for a woman of the middle or higher classes to admit her
paramour into the house in which she resides, but it is almost
impossible for her to have a private interview with a man who has a
hareem in his own house; or to enter the house of a man who is neither
married nor has a concubine-slave, without attracting the notice of the
neighbours, and causing their immediate interference. But, as it cannot
be denied that many of the women of Egypt engage in intrigues
notwithstanding such risks, it may be supposed that the difficulties
which lie in the way are the chief bar to most others. Among the females
of the lower orders, intrigues are more easily accomplished, and
frequent.
The libidinous character of the generality of the women of Egypt, and
the licentious conduct of a great number of them, may be attributed to
many causes; partly to the climate, and partly to their want of proper
instruction, and of innocent pastimes and employments:[427] but it is
more to be attributed to the conduct of the husbands themselves; and to
conduct far more disgraceful to them than the utmost severity that any
of them is known to exercise in the regulations of his hareem. The
generality of husbands in Egypt endeavour to increase the libidinous
feelings of their wives by every means in their power; though, at the
same time, they assiduously study to prevent their indulging those
feelings unlawfully. The women are permitted to listen, screened behind
their windows of wooden lattice-work, to immoral songs and tales sung or
related in the streets by men whom they pay for this entertainment; and
to view the voluptuous dances of the ghawázee, and of the effeminate
khäwals. The ghawázee, who are professed prostitutes, are not
unfrequently introduced into the hareems of the wealthy, not merely to
entertain the ladies with their dances, but to teach them their
voluptuous arts; and even indecent puppets are sometimes brought into
such hareems for the amusement of the inmates.—Innumerable stories of
the artifices and intrigues of the women of Egypt have been related to
me. The following narratives of late occurrences will serve as
specimens.
A slave-dealer, who had been possessed of property which enabled him to
live in comfort, but had lost the greater part of it, married a young
and handsome woman in this city, who had sufficient wealth to make up
for his losses. He soon, however, neglected her; and as he was past the
prime of life, she became indifferent to him, and placed her affections
upon another man, a dustman, who had been in the habit of coming to her
house. She purchased for this person a shop close by her house; gave him
a sum of money to enable him to pursue a less degraded occupation, as a
seller of grain and fodder; and informed him that she had contrived a
plan for his visiting her in perfect security. Her hareem had a window
with hanging shutters; and almost close before this window rose a
palm-tree, out-topping the house. This tree, she observed, would afford
her lover a means of access to her, and of egress from her apartment in
case of danger. She had only one servant, a female, who engaged to
assist her in the accomplishment of her desires. Previously to her
lover’s first visit to her, she desired the servant to inform her
husband of what was about to take place in the ensuing night. He
determined to keep watch; and having told his wife that he was going
out, and should not return that night, concealed himself in a lower
apartment. At night, the maid came to tell him that the visitor was in
the hareem. He went up, but found the hareem-door shut. On his trying to
open it, his wife screamed; her lover, at the same time, escaping from
the window, by means of the palm-tree. She called to her
neighbours,—“Come to my assistance! Pray come! There is a robber in my
house!” Several of them soon came; and finding her locked in her room,
and her husband outside the door, told her there was nobody in the house
but her husband and maid. She said that the man they called her husband
was a robber: that her husband was gone to sleep out. The latter then
informed them of what had passed, and insisted that a man was with her:
he broke open the door, and searched the room; but, finding no man, was
reprimanded by his neighbours, and abused by his wife for uttering a
slander. The next day, his wife, taking with her, as witnesses of his
having accused her of a criminal intrigue, two of the neighbours who had
come in on hearing her screams for assistance, arraigned her husband at
the Mahkem′eh as the slanderer of a virtuous woman without the evidence
of his own sight or of other witnesses. Being convicted of this offence,
he was punished with eighty stripes, in accordance with the ordinance of
the Kur-án.[428] His wife now asked him if he would divorce her; but he
refused. For three days after this event, they lived peaceably together.
On the third night, the wife, having invited her lover to visit her,
bound her husband hand and foot, while he was asleep, and tied him down
to the mattress. Shortly after, her lover came up, and, waking the
husband, threatened him with instant death if he should call, and
remained with the wife for several hours, in his presence. As soon as
the intruder had gone, the husband was unbound by his wife, and called
out to his neighbours, beating her at the same time with such violence
that she, also, began to call for assistance. The neighbours coming in,
and seeing him in a fury, easily believed her assertion that he had
become raving mad, and, trying to soothe him with kind words, and
prayers that God would restore him to sanity, liberated her from his
grasp. She procured, as soon as possible, a rasool from the Kádee; and
went, with him and her husband and several of her neighbours who had
witnessed the beating that she had received, before the judge. The
neighbours unanimously declared their opinion that her husband was mad;
and the Kádee ordered that he should be conveyed to the Máristán[429]
(or common mad-house): but the wife, affecting to pity him, begged that
she might be allowed to chain him in an apartment in her house, that she
might alleviate his sufferings by waiting upon him. The Kádee assented,
praising the benevolence of the woman, and praying that God might reward
her. She accordingly procured an iron collar and a chain from the
Máristán, and chained him in a lower apartment of her house. Every
night, in his presence, her lover visited her: after which she
importuned him in vain to divorce her; and when the neighbours came in
daily to ask how he was, the only answer he received to his complaints
and accusations against his wife was—“God restore thee! God restore
thee!” Thus he continued about a month; and his wife, finding that he
still persisted in refusing to divorce her, sent for a keeper of the
Máristán to take him. The neighbours came round as he left the house:
one exclaimed, “There is no strength nor power but in God! God restore
thee!”—another said, “How sad! He was really a worthy man:”—a third
remarked, “Bádingáns[430] are very abundant just now.”—While he was
confined in the Máristán, his wife came daily to him, and asked him if
he would divorce her. On his answering “No,” she said, “Then chained you
may lie until you die; and my lover shall come to me constantly.” At
length, after seven months’ confinement, he consented to divorce her;
upon which she procured his liberation, and he fulfilled his promise.
Her lover was of too low a grade to become her husband, so she remained
unmarried, and received him whenever she pleased; but the maid revealed
the true history of this affair, and it soon became a subject of common
talk.
When the wife of a man of wealth or rank engages in a criminal intrigue,
both she and her paramour generally incur great danger.[431]—Last year,
the wife of an officer of high rank in the army took advantage of the
absence of her husband from the metropolis (where he always resided with
her when not on military duty) to invite a Christian merchant, of whom
she had been in the habit of buying silks, to pay her a visit. He went
to her house at the time appointed, and found a eunuch at the door, who
took him to another house, disguised him in the loose outer garments and
veil of a lady, and then brought him back, and introduced him to his
mistress. He passed nearly the whole of the night with her; and, rising
before she awoke, put into his pocket a purse which he had given her,
and went down to the eunuch, who conducted him again to the house where
he had put on his disguise: having here resumed his own outer clothes,
he repaired to his shop. Soon after, the lady, who had missed the purse,
came and taxed him with having taken it: she told him that she did not
want money, but only desired his company; and begged him to come to her
again in the ensuing evening, which he promised to do: but in the
afternoon, a female servant from the house of this lady came to his
shop, and told him that her mistress had mixed some poison in a bottle
of water which she had ordered to be given him to drink.—This mode of
revenge is said to have been often adopted when the woman’s paramour has
given her even a slight offence.
It is seldom that the wife of a Muslim is guilty of a criminal intrigue
without being punished with death if there be four witnesses to the
fact, and they or the husband prosecute her; and not always does she
escape this punishment if she be detected by any of the officers of
justice: in the latter case, four witnesses are not required, and often
the woman, if of a respectable family, is put to death, generally in
private, on the mere arbitrary authority of the government: but a bribe
will sometimes save her; for it will always be accepted, if it can with
safety. Drowning is the punishment now almost always inflicted,
publicly, upon women convicted of adultery in Cairo and other large
towns of Egypt, instead of that ordained by the law, which is stoning.—A
few months ago, a poor woman of this city married a man whose trade was
that of selling fowls, and, while living with him and her mother, took
three other lodgings, and married three other husbands; all of whom were
generally absent from the metropolis: so she calculated that when any of
these three persons came to town for a few days, she might easily find
an excuse to go to him. They happened, unfortunately for her, to come to
town on the same day; and all of them went, the same evening, to inquire
for her at her mother’s house. Being much embarrassed by their presence,
and her first husband being also with her, she feigned to be ill, and
soon to become insensible; and was taken, by her mother, to an inner
room. One of the husbands proposed to give her something to restore her:
another wished to try a different remedy: they began to contend which
was the best medicine; and one of them said, “I shall give her what I
please: is not she my wife?” “Your wife!” exclaimed each of the three
other husbands at the same time: “she is _my_ wife.”—Each proved his
marriage: the woman was taken to the Mahkem′eh; tried; condemned to
death; and thrown into the Nile.—Some time ago, when I was before in
this country, a similar case occurred: a woman married three soldiers,
of the nizám, or regular troops. She was buried in a hole, breast-deep,
and then shot.
A woman may sometimes, but very rarely, trust in palliating
circumstances, or the support of powerful friends, to save her from the
penalty of death, in case of her detection in a criminal intercourse; as
in the following instance.—The Básha, last year, gave one of the slaves
in his hareem in marriage to a rich slave-merchant, from whom he had
purchased many of his memlooks and female slaves. This man was not only
unfaithful to her, but utterly neglected her; and she, in consequence,
formed an improper intimacy with a merchant of whom she was a frequent
customer. One day, when her husband was out, a black slave belonging to
him happened to see a man’s head at a small aperture in a window of the
hareem. He immediately went up to search the room of the wife; who,
hearing him coming, locked her paramour in an adjoining closet. The
slave broke open the door of the closet; and the man within rushed at
him with a dagger which he wore in his girdle; but the former seized the
blade in his hand; and the woman held him until her lover had escaped:
she then kissed the slave’s hand, and implored him not to cause her
death by informing her husband of what had passed: she, however, found
him inexorable: he immediately went to his master, showing his bleeding
hand, and telling him the cause of the wound. The woman, meanwhile, fled
to the Básha’s hareem, for protection. Her husband demanded of the Básha
that she should be given up, and put to death; and, the request being
deemed a proper one, she was brought before her former master to answer
for her crime. She threw herself at his feet; kissed the skirt of his
clothing; and acquainted him with her husband’s vicious conduct, and his
utter neglect of her; and the Básha, feeling _himself_ insulted by the
husband’s conduct, spat in his face; and sent back the wife to his own
hareem. Her paramour did not live long after this: he was smothered in
the house of some courtesans; but none of these women was punished, as
it could not be proved which of them committed the act.
For their sentiments with regard to women, and their general conduct
towards the fair sex, the Egyptians, in common with other Muslims, have
been reprehended with too great severity. It is true that they do not
consider it necessary, or even delicate, to consult the choice of a girl
under age previously to giving her away in matrimony; but it is not less
true that a man of the middle or higher classes, almost always, makes
his choice of a wife from hearsay, or as a person blindfold; having no
means of seeing her until the contract is made and she is brought to his
house. It is impossible, therefore, that there should be any mutual
attachment before marriage. Both sexes, in truth, are oppressed by
tyrannical laws and customs; but, happily, they regard their chains as
becoming and honourable: they would feel themselves disgraced by shaking
them off. As to the restraint which is exercised towards the women, I
have before remarked that it is in a great degree voluntary on their
part, and that I believe it to be less strict in Egypt than in any other
country of the Turkish empire: it is certainly far less so than it has
been represented to be by many persons. They generally look upon this
restraint with a degree of pride, as evincing the husband’s care for
them; and value themselves upon their being hidden as treasures.[432] In
good society, it is considered highly indecorous to inquire, in direct
terms, respecting the health of a friend’s wife, or of any female in his
house, unless she be a relation of the person who makes the inquiry.—One
of my Egyptian acquaintances asking another native of this country, who
had been in Paris, what was the most remarkable thing that he had seen
in the land of the infidels, the latter, thinking lightly of all that he
had observed really worthy of exciting the admiration of an unprejudiced
and a sensible man, gave the following answer:—“I witnessed nothing so
remarkable as this fact. It is a custom of every person among the rich
and great, in Paris and other cities of France, frequently to invite his
friends and acquaintances, both men and women, to an entertainment in
his house. The rooms in which the company are received are lighted with
a great number of candles and lamps. There, the men and women assemble
promiscuously; the women, as you well know, unveiled; and a man may sit
next to another’s wife, whom he has never seen before, and may walk,
talk, and even dance with her, in the very presence of her own husband,
who is neither angry nor jealous at such disgraceful conduct.”
The Egyptians are equally remarkable for generosity and cupidity. That
two such opposite qualities should be united in the same mind is not a
little surprising; but such is generally the case with this people. An
overreaching and deceitful disposition in commercial transactions, which
is too common among all nations, is one of the most notorious faults of
the Egyptian: in such cases, he seldom scruples to frame a falsehood
which may better his bargain. Among people who groan beneath the yoke of
a tyrannical and rapacious government (and such has long been the
government of Egypt), a disposition to avarice invariably predominates:
for a man is naturally most tenacious of that which is most liable to be
taken from him; and hence the oppressed Egyptian, when he has a sum of
money which he does not require for necessary expenses, and cannot
profitably employ, generally lays it out in the purchase of ornaments
for his wife or wives; which ornaments he can easily convert again into
money. Hence, also, it is a common practice in this country (as it is,
or has been, in almost every country under similar political
circumstances) for a man to hide treasure in his house, under the paved
floor, or in some other part; and as many a person who does so dies
suddenly, without being able to inform his family where is his “makhba,”
or hiding-place, money is not unfrequently discovered on pulling down
houses.—A vice near akin to cupidity, namely envy, I believe to be
equally prevalent among the modern Egyptians, in common with the whole
Arab race; for many of them are candid enough to confess their own
opinion that this hateful disposition is almost wholly concentrated in
the minds of their nation.
The Egyptians are generally honest in the payment of debts. Their
Prophet asserted that even martyrdom would not atone for a debt
undischarged. Few of them ever accept interest for a loan of money, as
it is strictly forbidden by their law.
Constant veracity is a virtue extremely rare in modern Egypt. Falsehood
was _commended_ by the Prophet when it tended to reconcile persons at
variance with each other: also, when practised in order to please one’s
wife; and to obtain any advantage in a war with the enemies of the
faith: though highly reprobated in other cases. This offers some little
palliation of the general practice of lying which prevails among the
modern Arabs; for, if people are allowed to lie in certain cases, they
insensibly contract a habit of doing so in others. Though most of the
Egyptians often lie designedly, they are seldom heard to retract an
unintentional misstatement without expressing themselves thus—“No: I beg
forgiveness of God: it was so and so;” as, in stating anything of which
they are not quite certain, they say, “God is all-knowing.” I may here
mention (and I do it with some feeling of national pride) that, some
years ago, there was an Armenian jeweller in this city (Cairo) so noted
for his veracity, that his acquaintances determined to give him some
appellation significant of his possessing a virtue so rare among them;
and the name they gave him was “El-Ingileezee,” or _The Englishman_,
which has become his family name. It is common to hear tradesmen in this
place, when demanding a price which they do not mean to abate, say, “One
word; the word of the English:” they also often say, “The word of the
Franks,” in this sense: but I have never heard any particular nation
thus honourably distinguished excepting the English and the Maghrab′ees,
or Western Arabs, which latter people have acquired this reputation by
being rather more veracious than most other Arabs.
I have before mentioned the practice of swearing by God which prevails
among the Egyptians: I must here add, that many of them scruple not to
make use of an oath with the view of obtaining credit to a falsehood. In
this case, they sometimes say, “Wa-lláhi!” (“By God!”)—but more
commonly, “Wallah!”—for, though the latter expression has the same
meaning as the former, they pretend that it may also be used as an
ejaculation in praise of God; whereas “Wa-lláhi” is a decided oath, and,
if uttered to a falsehood, is a heinous sin. Such an oath, if violated,
must be expiated by once feeding or clothing ten poor men, liberating a
Muslim slave or captive, or fasting three days.[433] This, however, is
the expiation allowed by the Kur-án only for an inconsiderate oath: yet
the modern Muslims sometimes observe it in order to free themselves from
the guilt of a deliberate false oath; and they generally prefer the fast
to either of the other modes of expiation. There are some oaths which, I
believe, few Muslims would falsely take; such as saying three times, “By
God, the Great!”—and the oath upon the mus-haf (or copy of the
Kur-án)—saying, “By what this contains of the word of God!”—but a form
of oath that is still more to be depended upon is that of saying, “I
impose upon myself divorcement” (that is, the divorce of my wife, if
what I say be false); or, “I impose upon myself interdiction!” which has
a similar meaning (“My wife be unlawful to me!”)—or, “I impose upon
myself a triple divorcement!”—which binds by the irrevocable divorce of
the wife. If a man use any one of these three forms of oath falsely, his
wife, if he have but one, is divorced by the oath itself, if proved to
be false, without further ceremony; and if he have two or more wives, he
must, under such circumstances, choose one of them to put away. There
are, however, abandoned liars who will swear falsely by the oath that is
generally held most binding. A poet, speaking of a character of this
description, says,—
“But Abu-l-Mo’alla is most false
When he swears by the oath of divorce.”
The generality of the Egyptians are easily excited to quarrel;
particularly those of the lower orders, who, when enraged, curse each
other’s fathers, mothers, beards, etc.; and lavish upon each other a
variety of opprobrious epithets; such as “son of the dog, pimp, pig,”
and an appellation which they think still worse than any of these,
namely, “Jew.” When one curses the father of the other, the latter
generally retorts by cursing the father and mother, and sometimes the
whole household, of his adversary. They menace each other; but seldom
proceed to blows. In a few instances, however, I have seen low persons
in this country so enraged as to bite, and grasp each other by the
throat. I have also witnessed many instances of forbearance on the part
of individuals of the middle and lower classes, when grossly insulted: I
have often heard an Egyptian say, on receiving a blow from an equal,
“God bless thee!” “God requite thee good!” “Beat me again.” In general,
a quarrel terminates by one or both parties saying, “Justice is against
me:” often, after this, they recite the Fát’hah together; and then,
sometimes, embrace and kiss one another.
The Egyptians are particularly prone to satire; and often display
considerable wit in their jeers and jests. Their language affords them
great facilities for punning, and for ambiguous conversation, in which
they very frequently indulge. The lower order sometimes lampoon their
rulers in songs, and ridicule those enactments of the government by
which they themselves most suffer. I was once much amused with a song
which I found to be very popular in the town and district of Aswán, on
the southern frontier of Egypt: its burden was a plain invocation to the
plague to take their tyrannical governor and his Copt clerk. Another
song, which was popular throughout Egypt during my first visit to this
country, and which was composed on the occasion of an increase of the
income-tax called “firdeh,” began thus: “You who have [nothing on your
head but] a libdeh! sell it, and pay the firdeh.” The libdeh, I have
before mentioned, is a felt cap, which is worn under, or instead of, the
turban; and the man must be very poor who has no other covering than
this for his head.
-----
Footnote 404:
I am credibly informed that children in Egypt are often taught, at
school, a regular set of curses to denounce upon the persons and
property of Christians, Jews, and all other unbelievers in the
religion of Mohammad. See Appendix D.
Footnote 405:
Chap. v., ver. 56. Verses 62 and 63 of the same chapter explain the
reason of this precept:—“O ye who have believed, take not those who
have made your religion a laughing-stock and a jest, of those who have
received the Scripture before you, and the unbelievers [or
polytheists], as friends; (but fear God, if ye be believers;) and
[those who], when ye call to prayer, make it [namely, the prayer] a
laughing-stock and a jest. This [they do] because they are a people
who do not understand.” (The words enclosed in brackets are from the
Commentary of the Geláleyn.)
Footnote 406:
The Prophet.
Footnote 407:
Kur-án, chap. xxxix. ver. 54.
Footnote 408:
Chap. xxix., ver. 45.
Footnote 409:
In the first edition of the present work, copying Sale, who gives no
authority for the remark, I here added, “This precept is, however,
generally considered as abrogated by that of the sword.” These words
might lead the reader into error, as is shown by what I have said on
the subject of war in page 81.
Footnote 410:
Kur-án, chap. lvi. ver. 78.
Footnote 411:
They are not, however, so apathetic as some travellers have supposed;
for it is not uncommon to see them weep; and such a demonstration of
feeling is not considered by them as unmanly: even heroes are
frequently represented, in their romances and histories, as weeping
under heavy affliction.
Footnote 412:
Chap. ii., ver. 191.
Footnote 413:
Literally, “your hands;” but in the Commentary of the Geláleyn, the
meaning is said to be “yourselves.”
Footnote 414:
I think it proper to remark here, that I have good reason for
believing Burckhardt to have been misinformed when stating (see his
“Arabic Proverbs,” No. 393) that children in the East (in Egypt, etc.)
torture serpents by putting them into a leather bag, then throwing
unslaked lime upon them, and pouring water on it. I find no one who
has heard of such cruelty; and it is not likely that boys in this
country would dare to put a serpent in a bag (for they are excessively
afraid of this reptile), or would give several piasters for a bag to
destroy in this manner. The proverb upon which this statement is
founded perhaps alludes to a mode of destroying serpents; but not for
sport.
Footnote 415:
“The oppression of the Turks, rather than the justice of the Arabs,”
is a proverb often heard from the mouth of the Arab peasant; who, in
this case, applies the term “Arabs” to his own class, instead of the
Bedawees, to whom it now usually belongs. See Burckhardt’s “Arabic
Proverbs,” No. 176.
Footnote 416:
D’Herbelot mentions a somewhat similar case, in which a Turk, having
buried a favourite dog with some marks of respect, in his garden, was
accused, before the Kádee, of having interred the animal with the
ceremonies practised at the burial of a Muslim, and escaped punishment
(perhaps a severe one) by informing the judge that his dog had made a
will, leaving to him (the Kádee) a sum of money.—(Bibliothèque
Orientale, art. Cadhi.)
Footnote 417:
See Burckhardt’s Notes on the Bedouins, etc., 8vo edition, vol. i. pp.
179 and 180.
Footnote 418:
It has been remarked that this is inconsistent with the undeniable
gratitude which the Arabs feel towards God. To such an objection they
would reply, “We are entitled to the good offices of our
fellow-creatures by the law of God; but can claim no benefit from our
Maker.” I once afforded a refuge to a Bedawee who was in fear for his
life; but on parting, he gave me not a word of thanks: had he done so,
it would have implied his thinking me a person of mean disposition,
who regarded a positive duty as an act imposing obligation. Hence the
Arab usually acknowledges a benefit merely by a prayer for the long
life, etc., of his benefactor.
Footnote 419:
The name which they give to it is “’eysh,” which literally signifies
“life.”
Footnote 420:
Page 46.
Footnote 421:
Dogs, too, are eaten by many Maghrab′ees settled at Alexandria, and by
descendants of the same people; of whom there are also a few in Cairo,
in the quarter of Teyloon.
Footnote 422:
Kur-án, chap. vi., ver. 118.
Footnote 423:
To express that a person has done this, they say, “sháhad el-hawáïg,”
for “ghasal el-hawáïg wa-teshahhad ’aleyha.”
Footnote 424:
See Leviticus xix. 32.
Footnote 425:
This is not meant to reflect upon the Turks, nor upon the Arabs of the
desert.
Footnote 426:
Chap. vii., ver. 142.
Footnote 427:
In the first edition of the present work, I included, among these
supposed causes, the degree of restraint imposed upon the women, and
their seclusion from open intercourse with the other sex. This I did,
not because confinement is said to have this effect in the West,
where, being contrary to general custom, it is felt as an oppression,
but because the assertion of the Egyptians, that the Eastern women in
general are more licentiously disposed than the men, seemed to be an
argument against the main principle of the constitution of Eastern
society. I did not consider that this argument is at least
counter-balanced by what I have before mentioned, that the women who
are commonly considered the _most licentious_ (namely, those of Egypt)
are those who are said to have _most licence_.
Footnote 428:
Chap. xxiv., ver. 4.
Footnote 429:
Vulgarly called “Muristán.”
Footnote 430:
Madness is said to be more common and more violent in Egypt when the
black bádingán (or black egg-plant) is in season; that is, in the hot
weather.
Footnote 431:
“How many men, in Masr,” said one of my friends to me, “have lost
their lives on account of women! A very handsome young libertine, who
lived in this house which you now occupy, was beheaded here in the
street, before his own door, for an intrigue with the wife of a Bey,
and all the women of Masr wept for him.”
Footnote 432:
A respectable female is generally addressed, in a letter, as “the
guarded lady, and concealed jewel” (“es-sitt el-masooneh wa-l-góharah
el-meknooneh”).
Footnote 433:
Kur-án, chap. v., ver. 91.
----------------------------
CHAPTER XIV.
INDUSTRY.
It is melancholy to contrast the present poverty of Egypt with its
prosperity in ancient times, when the variety, elegance, and exquisite
finish displayed in its manufactures attracted the admiration of
surrounding nations, and its inhabitants were in no need of foreign
commerce to increase their wealth, or to add to their comforts.
Antiquarian researches show us that a high degree of excellence in the
arts of civilized life distinguished the Egyptians in the age of Moses,
and at a yet earlier period. Not only the Pharaohs and the priests and
military chiefs, but also a great proportion of the wealthy
agriculturists, and other private individuals, in those remote times,
passed a life of the most refined luxury, were clad in linen of the most
delicate fabric, and reclined on couches and chairs which have served as
models for the furniture of our modern saloons. Nature is as lavish of
her favours as she was of old to the inhabitants of the valley of the
Nile; but, for many centuries, they have ceased to enjoy the benefit of
a steady government: each of their successive rulers, during this long
lapse of time, considering the uncertain tenure of his power, has been
almost wholly intent upon increasing his own wealth; and thus, a large
portion of the nation has gradually perished, and the remnant, in
general, been reduced to a state of the most afflicting poverty. The
male portion of the population of Egypt being scarcely greater than is
sufficient for the cultivation of as much of the soil as is subject to
the natural inundation, or easily irrigated by artificial means, the
number of persons who devote themselves to manufactures in this country
is comparatively very small; and as there are so few competitors, and,
at present, few persons of wealth to encourage them, their works in
general display but little skill. But the low state of the manual arts
has, in a great degree, been occasioned by another cause: the Turkish
Sultán Seleem, after his conquest of Egypt, took with him thence to his
own country, as related by El-Gabartee, so many masters of crafts which
were not practised in Turkey, that more than fifty manual arts ceased to
be pursued in Egypt.
Painting and sculpture, as applied to the representation of living
objects, are, I have already stated, absolutely prohibited by the
religion of El-Islám: there are, however, some Muslims in Egypt who
attempt the delineation of men, lions, camels, and other animals,
flowers, boats, etc., particularly in (what they call) the decoration of
a few shop-fronts, the doors of pilgrims’ houses, etc.; though their
performances would be surpassed by children of five or six years of age
in our own country. But the Muslim religion especially promotes
industry, by requiring that every man be acquainted with some art or
occupation by which he may, in case of necessity, be able to support
himself and those dependent upon him, and to fulfil all his religious
and moral duties. The art in which the Egyptians most excel is
architecture. The finest specimens of Arabian architecture are found in
the Egyptian metropolis and its environs; and not only the mosques and
other public buildings are remarkable for their grandeur and beauty, but
many of the private dwellings, also, attract our admiration, especially
by their interior structure and decorations. Yet this art has, of late
years, much declined, like most others in this country: a new style of
architecture, partly Oriental and partly European, and of a very plain
description, being generally preferred. The doors, ceilings, windows,
and pavements of the buildings in the older style, which have already
been described, display considerable taste, of a peculiar kind; and so,
also, do most of the Egyptian manufactures; though many of them are
rather clumsy, or ill finished. The turners of wood, whose chief
occupation was that of making the lattice-work of windows, were very
numerous, and their work was generally neater than it is at present:
they have less employment now, as windows of modern houses are often
made of glass. The turner, like most other artisans in Egypt, sits to
his work. In the art of glass-making, for which Egypt was so much
celebrated in ancient times, the modern inhabitants of this country
possess but little skill: they have lost the art of manufacturing
coloured glass for windows; but, for the construction of windows of this
material, they are still admired, though not so much as they were a few
years ago, before the adoption of a new style of architecture diminished
the demand for their work. Their pottery is generally of a rude kind: it
mostly consists of porous bottles and jars, for cooling, as well as
keeping, water. For their skill in the preparation of morocco leather,
they are justly celebrated. The branches and leaves of the palm-tree
they employ in a great variety of manufactures: of the former, they make
seats, coops, chests, frames for beds, etc.: of the latter, baskets,
panniers, mats, brooms, fly-whisks, and many other utensils. Of the
fibres, also, that grow at the foot of the branches of the palm-tree are
made most of the ropes used in Egypt. The best mats (which are much used
instead of carpets, particularly in summer) are made of rushes. Egypt
has lost the celebrity which it enjoyed in ancient times for its fine
linen: the linen, cotton, and woollen cloths, and the silks now woven in
this country, are generally of coarse or poor qualities.
The Egyptians have long been famous for the art of hatching fowls’ eggs
by artificial heat. This practice, though obscurely described by ancient
authors, appears to have been common in Egypt in very remote times. The
building in which the process is performed is called, in Lower Egypt,
“maamal el-firákh,” and, in Upper Egypt, “maamal el-farroog:” in the
former division of the country, there are more than a hundred such
establishments; and in the latter, more than half that number. Most of
the superintendents, if not all, are Copts. The proprietors pay a tax to
the government. The maamal is constructed of burnt or sun-dried bricks;
and consists of two parallel rows of small ovens and cells for fire,
divided by a narrow, vaulted passage; each oven being about nine or ten
feet long, eight feet wide, and five or six feet high, and having above
it a vaulted fire-cell, of the same size, or rather less in height. Each
oven communicates with the passage by an aperture large enough for a man
to enter; and with its fire-cell by a similar aperture: the fire-cells,
also, of the same row, communicate with each other; and each has an
aperture in its vault (for the escape of the smoke), which is opened
only occasionally: the passage, too, has several such apertures in its
vaulted roof. The eggs are placed upon mats or straw, and one tier above
another, usually to the number of three tiers, in the ovens; and burning
“gelleh” (a fuel before mentioned, composed of the dung of animals,
mixed with chopped straw, and made into the form of round, flat cakes)
is placed upon the floors of the fire-cells above. The entrance of the
maamal is well closed. Before it are two or three small chambers, for
the attendant, and the fuel, and the chickens when newly hatched. The
operation is performed only during two or three months in the year—in
the spring—earliest in the most southern parts of the country. Each
maamal in general contains from twelve to twenty-four ovens; and
receives about a hundred and fifty thousand eggs, during the annual
period of its continuing open; one quarter or a third of which number
generally fail. The peasants of the neighbourhood supply the eggs: the
attendant of the maamal examines them; and afterwards usually gives one
chicken for every two eggs that he has received. In general, only half
the number of ovens are used for the first ten days; and fires are
lighted only in the fire-cells above these. On the eleventh day, these
fires are put out, and others are lighted in the other fire-cells, and
fresh eggs placed in the ovens below these last. On the following day,
some of the eggs in the former ovens are removed, and placed on the
floor of the fire-cells above, where the fires have been extinguished.
The general heat maintained during the process is from 100° to 103° of
Fahrenheit’s thermometer. The manager, having been accustomed to this
art from his youth, knows, from his long experience, the exact
temperature that is required for the success of the operation, without
having any instrument, like our thermometer, to guide him. On the
twentieth day, some of the eggs first put in are hatched; but most, on
the twenty-first day; that is, after the same period as is required in
the case of natural incubation. The weaker of the chickens are placed in
the passage: the rest, in the innermost of the anterior apartments,
where they remain a day or two before they are given to the persons to
whom they are due. When the eggs first placed have been hatched, and the
second supply half hatched, the ovens in which the former were placed,
and which are now vacant, receive the third supply; and, in like manner,
when the second supply is hatched, a fourth is introduced in their
place. I have not found that the fowls produced in this manner are
inferior in point of flavour, or in other respects, to those produced
from the egg by incubation. The fowls and their eggs in Egypt are, in
both cases, and with respect to size and flavour, very inferior to those
in our country.—In one of the Egyptian newspapers published by order of
the government (No. 248, for the 18th of Ramadán, 1246, or the 3d of
March, 1831, of our era) I find the following statement:—
Lower Egypt. Upper Egypt.
Number of establishments for the 105 59
hatching of fowls’ eggs in the
present year
Number of eggs used 19,325,600 6,878,900
Number spoiled 6,255,867 2,529,660
Number hatched 13,069,733 4,349,240
Though the commerce of Egypt has much declined since the discovery of
the passage from Europe to India by the Cape of Good Hope, and in
consequence of the monopolies and exactions of its present ruler, it is
still considerable.
-------------------------------------------
[Illustration: SHOPS IN A STREET IN CAIRO.]
The principal object in this view is the shop of an “Attar,” who sells
drugs, perfumes, wax candles, etc. The inscription on the shutter is,
“Yá fettáh” (See chap. xi.)
_Lane’s Modern Egyptians_] [_Page 289_
-------------------------------------------
The principal _imports_ from Europe are woollen cloths (chiefly from
France), calico, plain muslin, figured muslin (of Scotch manufacture,
for turbans), silks, velvet, crape, shawls (Scotch, English, and French)
in imitation of those of Kashmeer, writing-paper (chiefly from Venice),
fire-arms, straight sword-blades (from Germany) for the Nubians, etc.,
watches and clocks, coffee-cups and various articles of earthenware and
glass (mostly from Germany), many kinds of hardwares, planks, metal,
beads, wine and liqueurs; and white slaves, silks, embroidered
handkerchiefs and napkins, mouth-pieces of pipes, slippers, and a
variety of made goods, copper and brass wares, etc., from
Constantinople:—from Asia Minor, carpets (among which, the seggádehs, or
small prayer-carpets), figs, etc.:—from Syria, tobacco, striped silks,
’abáyehs (or woollen cloaks), soap:—from Arabia, coffee, spices, several
drugs, Indian goods (as shawls, silks, muslins, etc.):—from Abyssinia
and Sennár and the neighbouring countries, slaves, gold, ivory,
ostrich-feathers, kurbágs (or whips of hippopotamus’ hide), tamarind in
cakes, gums, senna:—from El-Gharb, or the West (that is, northern
Africa, from Egypt westwards), tarbooshes (or red cloth scull-caps),
burnooses (or white woollen hooded cloaks), heráms (or white woollen
sheets, used for night-coverings and for dress), yellow morocco shoes.
The principal _exports_ to Europe are wheat, maize, rice, beans, cotton,
flax, indigo, coffee, various spices, gums, senna, ivory,
ostrich-feathers:—to Turkey, male and female Abyssinian and black slaves
(including a few eunuchs), rice, coffee, spices, henna, etc.:—to Syria,
slaves, rice, etc.:—to Arabia, chiefly corn:—to Sennár and the
neighbouring countries, cotton and linen and woollen goods, a few Syrian
and Egyptian striped silks, small carpets, beads and other ornaments,
soap, the straight sword-blades mentioned before, fire-arms, copper
wares, writing-paper.
To convey some notion of the value of money in Cairo, I insert the
following list of the present prices of certain common articles of food,
etc. In the country towns and villages, most kinds of provisions are
cheaper than in the metropolis: meat, fowls, and pigeons, about half the
prices here mentioned: wheat and bread, from about one third to half.
P. F. (£ _s._ _d._)
Wheat, the ardebb (or about five bushels), from 63 0 (0 13 2⅕)
50 P. to
Rice, the ardebb, about 240 0 (2 8 0 )
Mutton or lamb, the ratl 1 0 (0 0 2⅖)
Beef, do. 0 35 (0 0 2⅒)
Fowls, each, 1 P. 10 F. to 1 20 (0 0 3⅗)
Pigeons, the pair, 1 P. 10 F. to 1 20 (0 0 3⅗)
Eggs, three for 0 5 (0 0 03୵10)
Fresh butter, the ratl 2 0 (0 0 4⅘)
Clarified butter, do. 2 P. to 2 10 (0 0 5⅖)
Coffee do. 6 P. to 7 0 (0 1 4⅘)
Gebelee tobacco, the ukkah, 15 P. to 18 0 (0 3 7⅕)
Sooree do. do. 5 P. to 10 0 (0 2 0 )
Egyptian loaf-sugar, the ratl 2 0 (0 0 4⅘)
European do do. 2 10 (0 0 5⅖)
Summer grapes do. 0 10 (0 0 0⅗)
Later do do. 20 F. to 0 30 (0 0 1⅘)
Fine biscuit, the kantár 160 0 (1 12 0 )
Water, the kirbeh (or goat’s skin), 10 F. to 0 20 (0 0 1⅕)
Fire-wood, the donkey-load 11 0 (0 2 2⅖)
Charcoal, the ukkah, 20 F. to 0 30 (0 0 1⅘)
Soap, the ratl 1 30 (0 0 4⅕)
Tallow candles, the ukkah 8 20 (0 1 8⅖)
Best wax do do. 25 0 (0 5 0 )
_Note._—The “ratl” is about 15¾ oz., and the “ukkah” nearly 2¾ lbs.,
avoir-dupois. The “kantár” is 100 ratls. P. denotes Piasters: F.,
Faddahs. For a full account of Egyptian measures, weights, and moneys,
see the Appendix.
There are in Cairo numerous buildings called “wekálehs,”[434] chiefly
designed for the accommodation of merchants, and for the reception of
their goods. The wekáleh is a building surrounding a square or oblong
court. Its ground-floor consists of vaulted magazines for merchandise,
which face the court; and these magazines are sometimes used as shops.
Above them are generally lodgings, which are entered from a gallery
extending along each of the four sides of the court; or, in the place of
these lodgings, there are other magazines; and in many wekálehs, which
have apartments intended as lodgings, these apartments are used as
magazines. In general, a wekáleh has only one common entrance; the door
of which is closed at night, and kept by a porter. There are about two
hundred of these buildings in Cairo; and three-fourths of that number
are within that part which constituted the original city.
It has already been mentioned, in the Introduction to this work, that
the great thoroughfare-streets of Cairo generally have a row of shops
along each side, not communicating with the superstructures. So, also,
have many of the bye-streets. Commonly, a portion of a street, or a
whole street, contains chiefly, or solely, shops appropriated to one
particular trade[435]; and is called the Sook (or Market) of that trade;
or is named after a mosque there situated. Thus, a part of the main
street of the city is called “Sook en-Nahháseen,” or the market of the
sellers of copper wares (or simply “the Nahháseen”—the word “Sook” being
usually dropped); another part is called “the Góhargeeyeh,” or [market
of] the jewellers; another, “the Khurdageeyeh,” or [market of] the
sellers of hardwares; another, “the Ghóreeyeh,” or [market of] the
Ghóreeyeh, which is the name of a mosque situated there. These are some
of the chief sooks of the city. The principal Turkish sook is called
“Khán El-Khaleelee.” Some of the sooks are covered over with matting, or
with planks, supported by beams extending across the street, a little
above the shops, or above the houses.
The shop (“dukkán”) is a square recess, or cell, generally about six or
seven feet high, and between three and four feet in width; or it
consists of two cells, one behind the other, the inner one serving as a
magazine.[436] The floor of the shop is even with the top of a
“mastab′ah,” or raised seat of stone or brick, built against the front.
This is usually about two feet and a half, or three feet, in height; and
about the same in breadth. The front of the shop is furnished with
folding shutters, commonly consisting of three leaves, one above
another: the uppermost of these is turned up in front; the two other
leaves, sometimes folded together, are turned down upon the mastab′ah,
and form an even seat, upon which is spread a mat or carpet, with,
perhaps, a cushion or two. Some shops have folding doors instead of the
shutters above described. The shopkeeper generally sits upon the
mastab′ah, unless he be obliged to retire a little way within his shop
to make room for two or more customers, who mount up on the seat, taking
off their shoes before they draw up their feet upon the mat or carpet.
To a regular customer, or one who makes any considerable purchase, the
shopkeeper generally presents a pipe (unless the former have his own
with him, and it be filled and lighted), and he calls or sends to the
boy of the nearest coffee-shop, and desires him to bring some coffee,
which is served in the same manner as in the house, in small china cups
placed within cups of brass. Not more than two persons can sit
conveniently upon the mastab′ah of a shop, unless it be more spacious
than is commonly the case; but some are three or four feet broad, and
the shops to which they belong five or six feet in width; and
consequently these afford room enough for four persons, or more, sitting
in the Eastern fashion. The shopman generally says his prayers upon the
mastab′ah in the sight of the passengers in the street. When he leaves
his shop for a few minutes, or for about half an hour, he either relies
for the protection of his property upon the next shopkeepers, or those
opposite, or hangs a net before his shop. He seldom thinks it necessary
to close and lock the shutters, excepting at night, when he returns to
his house; or when he goes to the mosque, on the Friday, to join in the
noon-prayers of that day.—The apartments above the shops have been
described in the Introduction.
-------------------------------------------
[Illustration:
THE SHOP OF A TURKISH MERCHANT IN THE SOOK CALLED KHÁN EL-KHALEELEE.
]
_Lane’s Modern Egyptians_] [_Page 293_
-------------------------------------------
Buying and selling are here very tiresome processes to persons
unaccustomed to such modes of bargaining. When a shopkeeper is asked the
price of any of his goods, he generally demands more than he expects to
receive; the customer declares the price exorbitant, and offers about
half or two-thirds of the sum first-named; the price thus bidden is, of
course, rejected: but the shopkeeper lowers his demand; and then the
customer, in his turn, bids somewhat higher than before: thus they
usually go on until they meet about half-way between the sum first
demanded and that first offered, and so the bargain is concluded. But I
believe that most of the tradesmen are, by European travellers, unjustly
blamed for thus acting; since I have ascertained that many an Egyptian
shopkeeper will sell an article for a profit of one _per cent._, and
even less. When a person would make any but a trifling purchase, having
found the article that exactly suits him, he generally makes up his mind
for a long altercation: he mounts upon the mastab′ah of the shop, seats
himself at his ease, fills and lights his pipe, and then the contest of
words commences, and lasts often half an hour, or even more. Sometimes
the shopkeeper, or the customer, interrupts the bargaining by
introducing some irrelevant topic of conversation, as if the one had
determined to abate his demand no further, or the other to bid no
higher: then again the haggling is continued. The bargain being
concluded, and the purchaser having taken his leave, his servant
generally receives, from the tradesman, a small present of money, which,
if not given spontaneously, he scruples not to demand. In many of the
sooks in Cairo auctions are held on stated days, once or twice a week.
They are conducted by “delláls” (or brokers), hired either by private
persons who have anything that they wish to sell in this manner, or by
shopkeepers; and the purchasers are of both these classes. The “delláls”
carry the goods up and down, announcing the sums bidden with cries of
“harág” or “haráj,” etc.—Among the lower orders, a bargain of the most
trifling nature is often made with a great deal of vehemence of voice
and gesture: a person ignorant of their language would imagine that the
parties engaged in it were quarrelling, and highly enraged. The peasants
will often say, when a person asks the price of anything which they have
for sale, “Receive it as a present:”[437] this answer having become a
common form of speech, they know that advantage will not be taken of it;
and when desired again to name the price, they will do so, but generally
name a sum that is exorbitant.
It would be tedious and uninteresting to enumerate all the trades
pursued in Cairo. The principal of them are those of the draper, or
seller of materials for dress (who is simply called “tágir,” or
merchant), and of the seller of ready-made dresses, arms, etc. (who has
the same appellation); the jeweller (“góhargee”); the goldsmith and
silversmith (“sáïgh”), who only works by order; the seller of hardwares
(“khurdagee”); the seller of copper wares (“nahhás”); the tailor
(“kheiyát”); the dyer (“sabbágh”); the darner (“refta”); the ornamental
sewer and maker of shereet, or silk lace, etc. (“habbák”); the maker of
silk cords, etc. (“’akkád”); the maker of pipes (“shibukshee”); the
druggist and perfumer (“’attár”), who also sells wax candles, etc.; the
tobacconist (“dakhákhinee”); the fruiterer (“fákihánee”); the seller of
dried fruits (“nukalee”); the seller of sherbet (“sharbetlee”); the
oilman (“zeiyát”), who sells butter, cheese, honey, etc., as well as
oil; the greengrocer (“khudaree”); the butcher (“gezzár”); and the baker
(“farrán”), to whom bread, meat, etc., are sent to be baked. There are
many cooks’ shops, where kebáb and various other dishes are cooked and
sold; but it is seldom that persons eat at these shops, generally
sending to them for provisions when they cannot conveniently prepare
food in their own houses. Shopkeepers often procure their breakfast or
dinner from one of these cooks, who are called “tabbákhs.” There are
also many shops in which fateerehs, and others in which boiled beans
(fool mudemmes) are sold. Both these articles of food have been
described in a former chapter. Many persons of the lower orders eat at
the shop of the “fatátiree” (or seller of fateerehs), or at that of the
“fowwál” (or bean-seller).
Bread, vegetables, and a variety of eatables, are carried about for
sale. The cries of some of the hawkers are curious, and deserve to be
mentioned. The seller of “tirmis” (or lupins) often cries, “Aid! O
Imbábee! Aid!” This is understood in two senses; as an invocation for
aid to the sheykh El-Imbábee, a celebrated Muslim saint, buried at the
village of Imbábeh, on the west bank of the Nile, opposite Cairo, in the
neighbourhood of which village the best tirmis is grown; and also as
implying that it is through the aid of the saint above mentioned that
the tirmis of Imbábeh is so excellent. The seller of this vegetable also
cries, “The tirmis of Imbábeh surpasses the almond!” Another cry of the
seller of tirmis is, “O how sweet the little offspring of the river!”
This last cry, which is seldom heard but in the country towns and
villages of Egypt, alludes to the manner in which the tirmis is prepared
for food. To deprive it of its natural bitterness, it is soaked, for two
or three days, in a vessel full of water, then boiled; and, after this,
sewed up in a basket of palm-leaves (called “fard”), and thrown into the
Nile, where it is left to soak again two or three days, after which it
is dried, and eaten cold, with a little salt.—The seller of sour limes
cries, “God make them light [or easy of sale]! O limes!”—The toasted
pips of a kind of melon called “’abdalláwee,” and of the water-melon,
are often announced by the cry of “O consoler of the embarrassed! O
pips!” though more commonly by the simple cry of “Roasted pips!”—A
curious cry of the seller of a kind of sweetmeat (“haláweh”) composed of
treacle fried with some other ingredients, is, “For a nail! O
sweetmeat!” He is said to be half a thief: children and servants often
steal implements of iron, etc., from the house in which they live, and
give them in exchange for his sweetmeat.—The hawker of oranges cries,
“Honey! O oranges! Honey!” and similar cries are used by the sellers of
other fruits and vegetables, so that it is sometimes impossible to guess
what the person announces for sale, as when we hear the cry of
“Sycamore-figs! O grapes!” excepting by the rule that what is for sale
is the least excellent of the fruits, etc., mentioned; as sycamore-figs
are not so good as grapes.—A very singular cry is used by the seller of
roses: “The rose was a thorn; from the sweat of the Prophet it
blossomed.” This alludes to a miracle related of the Prophet.—The
fragrant flowers of the henna-tree (or Egyptian privet) are carried
about for sale, and the seller cries, “Odours of paradise! O flowers of
the henna!”—A kind of cotton-cloth, made by machinery which is put in
motion by a bull, is announced by the cry of “The work of the bull! O
maidens!”
As the water of the wells in Cairo is slightly brackish, numerous
“sakkas” (carriers or sellers of water) obtain their livelihood by
supplying its inhabitants with water from the Nile. During the season of
the inundation, or rather during the period of about four months after
the opening of the canal which runs through the metropolis, the sakkas
draw their water from this canal: at other times they bring it from the
river. It is conveyed in skins by camels and asses, and sometimes, when
the distance is short, and the skin small, by the sakka himself. The
water-skins of the camel (which are called “rei”) are a pair of wide
bags of ox-hide. The ass bears a goat’s skin (called “kirbeh”); so also
does the sakka, if he have no ass. The rei contain three or four
kirbehs. The general cry of the sakka is, “O! may God compensate [me]!”
Whenever this cry is heard, it is known that a sakka is passing. For a
goat’s skin of water, brought from a distance of a mile and a half, or
two miles, he obtains scarcely more than a penny.
[Illustration: WATER-CARRIERS.]
There are also many sakkas who supply passengers in the streets of the
metropolis with water. One of this occupation is called “sakka
sharbeh:” his kirbeh has a long brass spout, and he pours the water
into a brass cup, or an earthen kulleh, for any one who would
drink.—There is a more numerous class who follow the same occupation,
called “hemalees.” These are mostly darweeshes, of the order of the
Rifá’ees, or that of the Beiyoomees, and are exempt from the
income-tax called firdeh. The hemalee carries, upon his back, a vessel
(called “ibreek”) of porous grey earth. This vessel cools the water.
Sometimes the hemalee has an earthen kulleh of water scented with
“móyet zahr” (or orange-flower-water), prepared from the flowers of
the “náring” (a bitter orange), for his best customers; and often a
sprig of náring is stuck in the mouth of his ibreek. He also,
generally, has a wallet hung by his side. From persons of the higher
and middle orders he receives from one to five faddahs for a draught
of water; from the poor, either nothing, or a piece of bread or some
other article of food, which he puts in his wallet. Many hemalees, and
some sakkas who carry the goat’s skin, are found at the scenes of
religious festivals, such as the moolids of saints, etc., in Cairo and
its neighbourhood. They are often paid, by visitors to the tomb of a
saint on such occasions, to distribute the water which they carry to
passengers; a cupful to whoever desires. This work of charity is
called “tesbeel;” and is performed for the sake of the saint, and on
other occasions than moolids. The water-carriers who are thus employed
are generally allowed to fill their ibreeks or kirbehs at a public
fountain, as they demand nothing from the passengers whom they supply.
When employed to distribute water to passengers in the street, etc.,
they generally chant a short cry, inviting the thirsty to partake of
the charity offered them in the name of God, most commonly in the
words, and to the air, here following:—
[Stanza]
Se - beel Al - láh Yá ’at - shán.
and praying that paradise and pardon may be the lot of him who affords
the charitable gift; thus—
[Stanza]
[Stanza]
El - gen - neh wa - l - magh - fi - reh
lak, yá sá - heb es - se - beel.
There are numerous other persons who follow occupations similar to that
of the hemalee. Among these are sellers of “’erksoos,” or infusion of
liquorice, mentioned in a former chapter. The “’erk-soosee” (or seller
of this beverage) generally carries a red earthen jar of the liquid on
his left side, partly supported by a strap and chain, and partly by his
left arm: the mouth having some leaf (or fibres of the palm-tree)
stuffed into it. He also carries two or more brass or china cups, which
he knocks together.—In the same manner, many “sharbetlees” (or sellers
of sherbet) carry about for sale “zebeeb” (or infusion of raisins). The
sharbetlee commonly bears, in his left hand, the glass vessel of a
“sheesheh,” filled with zebeeb; and a large tin or copper jug full of
the same, and several glass cups, in his right hand. Some sharbetlees
carry, on the head, a round tinned copper tray, with a number of glass
cups of “teen meblool,” or “belah meblool,” which are figs and dates
steeped in water; and a copper vessel, or a china bowl, of the same.
Sahlab (a thin jelly, made of water, wheat-starch, and sugar, boiled,
with a little cinnamon or ginger sprinkled upon it; or made as a drink
without starch) is likewise carried about in the same manner; and
“soobiya” (which is a drink made of the pips of the ’abdalláwee melon,
moistened and pounded, and steeped in water, which is then strained, and
sweetened with sugar; or made with rice instead of the pips) is also
vended in a similar way, and carried in vessels like those used for
zebeeb; but the glass cups are generally placed in a kind of trough of
tin, attached, by a belt, to the waist of the seller.
[Illustration: HEMALEES.]
It has been mentioned before that many poor persons in Cairo gain their
livelihood by going about to clean pipes. The pipe-cleaner
(“musellikátee”) carries a number of long wires for this purpose in
three or four hollow canes, or tubes of tin, which are bound together
and slung to his shoulder. A small leather bag, full of tow, to wind
round the top of the wire with which the pipe is cleaned, is attached to
the canes or tin tubes. The musellikátee generally obtains no more than
a “nuss faddah” (or about a quarter of a farthing) for each pipe that he
cleans.
A very great number of persons of both sexes among the lower orders in
Cairo, and many in other towns of Egypt, obtain their subsistence by
begging. As might be expected, not a few of these are abominable
impostors. There are some whose appearance is most distressing to every
humane person who sees them, but who accumulate considerable property. A
case of this kind was made public here a few months ago. A blind felláh,
who was led through the streets of the metropolis by a young girl, his
daughter, both of whom were always nearly naked, was in the daily habit
of bringing to his house a blind Turkish beggar to sup with him. One
evening he was not at home; but his daughter was there, and had prepared
the supper for his Turkish friend, who sat and ate alone; and, in doing
this, happened to put his hand on one side and felt a jar full of money,
which, without scruple, he carried away with him. It contained the sum
of a hundred and ten purses (then equivalent to rather more than five
hundred and fifty guineas), in kheyreeyehs, or small coins of nine
piasters each. The plundered beggar sought redress at the Citadel, and
recovered his property, with the exception of forty kheyreeyehs, which
the thief had spent, but was interdicted from begging in future.
Children are often seen in Cairo perfectly naked; and I have several
times seen females from twelve to twenty years of age, and upwards, with
only a narrow strip of rag round the loins, begging in the streets of
this city. They suffer little from exposure of the bare person to the
cold of winter or the scorching sun of summer, being accustomed to it
from infancy; and the men may, if they choose, sleep in some of the
mosques. In other respects, also, their condition is not quite so bad as
their appearance might lead a stranger to suppose. They are almost sure
of obtaining either food or money sufficient for supplying the absolute
wants of nature in consequence of the charitable disposition of their
countrymen and the common habit which the tradespeople have of eating in
their shops, and generally giving a morsel of their food to those who
ask for it. There are many beggars who spend the greater part of the
day’s gains to indulge themselves at night with the intoxicating
hasheesh, which, for a few hours, renders them, in imagination, the
happiest of mankind.
The cries of the beggars of Cairo are generally appeals to God. Among
the most common are—“O Exciter of compassion! O Lord!”—“For the sake of
God! O ye charitable!”—“I am seeking from my Lord a cake of bread!”—“O
how bountiful Thou art! O Lord!”—“I am the guest of God and the
Prophet!”—in the evening, “My supper must be Thy gift! O Lord!”—on the
eve of Friday, “The night of the excellent Friday!”—and on Friday, “The
excellent day of Friday!”—One who daily passed my door used to exclaim,
“Place thy reliance upon God! There is none but God!” and another, a
woman, I now hear crying, “My supper must be Thy gift! O Lord! from the
hand of a bountiful believer, a testifier of the unity of God! O
masters!”—The answers which beggars generally receive (for they are so
numerous that a person cannot give to all who ask of him) are, “God help
thee!”—“God will sustain!”—“God give thee!”—“God content, or enrich,
thee!”—They are not satisfied by any denial but one implied by these or
similar answers. In the more frequented streets of Cairo, it is common
to see a beggar asking for the price of a cake of bread, which he or she
holds in the hand, followed by the seller of the bread. Some beggars,
particularly darweeshes, go about chanting verses in praise of the
Prophet, or beating cymbals, or a little kettle-drum. In the country,
many darweeshes go from village to village begging alms. I have seen
them on horseback; and one I lately saw thus mounted, and accompanied by
two men bearing each a flag, and by a third beating a drum: this beggar
on horseback was going from hut to hut asking for bread.
The most important of the occupations which employ the modern Egyptians,
and that which (as before mentioned) engages all but a very small
proportion of them, is agriculture.
-------------------------------------------
[Illustration: THE SHÁDOOF.]
_Lane’s Modern Egyptians_] [_Page 300_
-------------------------------------------
The greater portion of the cultivable soil is fertilized by the natural
annual inundation; but the fields in the vicinity of the river and of
the large canals, and some other lands, in which pits are dug for water,
are irrigated by means of machines of different kinds. The most common
of these machines is the “shádoof,” which consists of two posts or
pillars of wood, or of mud and canes or rushes, about five feet in
height, and less than three feet apart, with a horizontal piece of wood
extending from top to top, to which is suspended a slender lever, formed
of a branch of a tree, having at one end a weight chiefly composed of
mud, and at the other, suspended to two long palm-sticks, a vessel in
the form of a bowl, made of basket-work, or of a hoop and a piece of
woollen stuff or leather: with this vessel the water is thrown up to the
height of about eight feet into a trough hollowed out for its reception.
In the southern parts of Upper Egypt, four or five shádoofs are
required, when the river is at the lowest, to raise the water to the
level of the fields. There are many shádoofs with two levers, etc.,
which are worked by two men. The operation is extremely
laborious.—Another machine much used for the same purpose, and almost
the only one employed for the irrigation of gardens in Egypt, is the
“sákiyeh.” This mainly consists of a vertical wheel, which raises the
water in earthen pots attached to cords, and forming a continuous
series; a second vertical wheel fixed to the same axis, with cogs; and a
large, horizontal, cogged wheel, which, being turned by a pair of cows
or bulls, or by a single beast, puts in motion the two former wheels and
the pots. The construction of this machine is of a very rude kind, and
its motion produces a disagreeable creaking noise.—There is a third
machine, called “táboot,” used for the irrigation of lands in the
northern parts of Egypt, where it is only requisite to raise the water a
few feet. It somewhat resembles the “sákiyeh:” the chief difference is,
that, instead of the wheel with pots, it has a large wheel with hollow
jaunts, or fellies, in which the water is raised. In the same parts of
Egypt, and often to raise the water to the channel of the “táboot,” a
vessel like that of the “shádoof,” with four cords attached to it, is
also used. Two men, each holding two of the cords, throw up the water by
means of this vessel, which is called “katweh.”—In the process of
artificial irrigation, the land is divided into small squares, by ridges
of earth, or into furrows; and the water, flowing from the machine along
a narrow gutter, is admitted into one square or furrow after another.
The “rei” lands (or those which are naturally inundated) are, with some
exceptions, cultivated but once during the year. After the waters have
retired, about the end of October or beginning of November, they are
sown with wheat, barley, lentils, beans, lupins, chick-peas, etc. This
is called the “shitawee” (or winter) season. But the “sharákee” lands
(or those which are too high to be subject to the natural inundation),
and some parts of the rei, by artificial irrigation are made to produce
three crops every year; though not _all_ the sharákee lands are thus
cultivated. The lands artificially irrigated produce, first, their
shitawee crops, being sown at the same period as the rei lands,
generally with wheat or barley. Secondly, in what is called the
“seyfee,” or, in the southern parts of Egypt, the “keydee,” or “geydee”
(that is, the summer) season, commencing about the vernal equinox, or a
little later, they are sown with millet (“durah seyfee”), or with
indigo, or cotton, etc. Thirdly, in the “demeereh” season, or period of
the rise of the Nile, commencing about, or soon after the summer
solstice, they are sown with millet again, or with maize (“durah
shámee”), etc., and thus crowned with a third harvest.—Sugar is
cultivated throughout a large portion of Upper Egypt, and rice in the
low lands near the Mediterranean.
For the purpose of separating the grain of wheat, barley, etc., and
cutting the straw, which serves as fodder, the Egyptians use a machine
called “nórag,” in the form of a chair, which moves upon small iron
wheels, or thin circular plates, generally eleven, fixed to three thick
axle-trees, four to the foremost, the same number to the hindmost, and
three to the intermediate axle-tree. This machine is drawn, in a circle,
by a pair of cows or bulls, over the corn. The plough, and the other
implements which they use in husbandry, are of rude and simple kinds.
The navigation of the Nile employs a great number of the natives of
Egypt. The boatmen of the Nile are mostly strong, muscular men. They
undergo severe labour in rowing, poling, and towing; but are very
cheerful; and often the most so when they are most occupied, for then
they frequently amuse themselves by singing. In consequence of the
continual changes which take place in the bed of the Nile, the most
experienced pilot is liable frequently to run his vessel aground; on
such an occurrence, it is often necessary for the crew to descend into
the water, to shove off the boat with their backs and shoulders. On
account of their being so liable to run aground, the boats of the Nile
are generally made to draw rather more water at the head than at the
stern, and hence the rudder is necessarily very wide. The better kind of
boats used on the Nile, which are very numerous, are of a simple but
elegant form, mostly between thirty and forty feet in length, with two
masts, two large triangular sails, and a cabin, next the stern,
generally about four feet high, and occupying about a fourth, or a
third, of the length of the boat. In most of these boats, the cabin is
divided into two or more apartments. Sudden whirlwinds and squalls being
very frequent on the Nile, a boatman is usually employed to hold the
main-sheet in his hand, that he may be able to let it fly at a moment’s
notice: the traveller should be especially careful with respect to this
precaution, however light the wind.
-----
Footnote 434:
“Wekáleh” (generally pronounced by the Franks _occaleh_, _occal_,
etc.) is for “Dár el-Wekáleh,” signifying a _factory_.
Footnote 435:
This has long been the case in other Eastern countries. See Jeremiah
xxxvii. 21.
Footnote 436:
The tradesman keeps his main stock of goods (if more than his shop
will contain) in this magazine, or in his private dwelling, or in a
wekáleh.
Footnote 437:
As Ephron did to Abraham, when the latter expressed his wish to
purchase the cave and field of Machpelah. See Genesis xxiii. 11.
----------------------------
CHAPTER XV.
USE OF TOBACCO, COFFEE, HEMP, OPIUM, ETC.
The interdiction of wine, and other fermented and intoxicating liquors,
which is one of the most important laws in the code of El-Islám, has
caused the greater number of the disciples of this faith to become
immoderately addicted to other means of inducing slight intoxication, or
different kinds of pleasurable excitement.
The most prevalent means, in most Muslim countries, of exciting what the
Arabs term “keyf,” which I cannot more nearly translate than by the word
“exhilaration,” is tobacco. It appears that tobacco was introduced into
Turkey, Arabia, and other countries of the East, shortly before the
beginning of the seventeenth century of the Christian era:[438] that is,
not many years after it had begun to be regularly imported into Western
Europe, as an article of commerce, from America. Its lawfulness to the
Muslim has often been warmly disputed;[439] but is now generally
allowed. In the character of the Turks and Arabs, who have become
addicted to its use, it has induced considerable changes, particularly
rendering them more inactive than they were in earlier times, leading
them to waste over the pipe many hours which might be profitably
employed; but it has had another and a better effect; that of
superseding, in a great measure, the use of wine, which, to say the
least, is very injurious to the health of the inhabitants of hot
climates. In the tales of “The Thousand and One Nights,” which were
written before the introduction of tobacco into the East, and which we
may confidently receive as presenting faithful pictures of the state of
Arabian manners and customs at the period when they appeared, we have
abundant evidence that wine was much more commonly and more openly drunk
by Muslims of that time, or of the age immediately preceding, than it is
by those of the present day. It may further be remarked, in the way of
apology for the pipe, as employed by the Turks and Arabs, that the mild
kinds of tobacco generally used by them have a very gentle effect; they
calm the nervous system, and, instead of stupefying, sharpen the
intellect. The pleasures of Eastern society are certainly much
heightened by the pipe, and it affords the peasant a cheap and sober
refreshment, and probably often restrains him from less innocent
indulgences.
The cup of coffee, which, when it can be afforded, generally accompanies
the pipe, is commonly regarded as an almost equal luxury, and doubtless
conduced with tobacco to render the use of wine less common among the
Arabs: its name, “kahweh,” an old Arabic term for wine, strengthens this
supposition. It is said that the discovery of the refreshing beverage
afforded by the berry of the coffee-plant was made in the latter part of
the seventh century of the Flight (or of the thirteenth of the Christian
era), by a certain devotee named the sheykh ’Omar, who, driven by
persecution to a mountain of El-Yemen, with a few of his disciples, was
induced, by the want of provisions, to make an experiment of the
decoction of coffee-berries, as an article of food; the coffee-plant
being there a spontaneous production. It was not, however, till about
two centuries after this period that the use of coffee began to become
common in El-Yemen. It was imported into Egypt between the years 900 and
910 of the Flight (towards the end of the fifteenth or the beginning of
the sixteenth century of our era, or about a century before the
introduction of tobacco into the East), and was then drunk in the great
mosque El-Azhar, by the fakeers of El-Yemen and Mekkeh and El-Medeeneh,
who found it very refreshing to them while engaged in their exercises of
reciting prayers, and the praises of God, and freely indulged themselves
with it. About half a century after, it was introduced into
Constantinople.[440] In Arabia, in Egypt, and in Constantinople, it was
often the subject of sharp disputes among the pious and learned; many
doctors asserting that it possessed intoxicating qualities, and was,
therefore, an unlawful beverage to Muslims; while others contended that,
among many other virtues, it had that of repelling sleep, which rendered
it a powerful help to the pious in their nocturnal devotions: according
to the fancy of the ruling power, its sale was therefore often
prohibited and again legalized. It is now, and has been for many years,
acknowledged as lawful by almost all the Muslims, and is immoderately
used even by the Wahhábees, who are the most rigid in their condemnation
of tobacco, and in their adherence to the precepts of the Kur-án, and
the Traditions of the Prophet. Formerly it was generally prepared from
the berries and husks together; and it is still so prepared, or from the
husks alone, by many persons in Arabia. In other countries of the East,
it is prepared from the berries alone, freshly roasted and pounded.
Cairo contains above a thousand “Kahwehs,”[441] or coffee-shops. The
kahweh is, generally speaking, a small apartment, whose front, which is
towards the street, is of open wooden work, in the form of arches. Along
the front, excepting before the door, is a “mastab′ah,” or raised seat,
of stone or brick, two or three feet in height, and about the same in
width, which is covered with matting; and there are similar seats in the
interior, on two or three sides. The coffee-shops are most frequented in
the afternoon and evening, but by few excepting persons of the lower
orders, and tradesmen. The exterior mastab′ah is generally preferred.
Each person brings with him his own tobacco and pipe. Coffee is served
by the “kahweg′ee” (or attendant of the shop), at the price of five
faddahs a cup, or ten for a little “bekreg” (or pot) of three or four
cups.[442] The kahweg′ee also keeps two or three nárgeelehs or
sheeshehs, and gózehs, which latter are used for smoking both the tumbák
(or Persian tobacco) and the hasheesh (or hemp), for hasheesh is sold at
some coffee-shops. Musicians and story-tellers frequent some of the
kahwehs, particularly on the evenings of religious festivals.
The leaves and capsules of hemp, called in Egypt “hasheesh,” were
employed in some countries of the East in very ancient times to induce
an exhilarating intoxication. Herodotus (lib. iv., cap. 75) informs us
that the Scythians had a custom of burning the seeds of this plant, in
religious ceremonies, and that they became intoxicated with the fumes.
Galen also mentions the intoxicating properties of hemp. The practice of
chewing the leaves of this plant to induce intoxication, prevailed, or
existed, in India, in very early ages; thence it was introduced into
Persia; and about six centuries ago (before the middle of the thirteenth
century of our era) this pernicious and degrading custom was adopted in
Egypt, but chiefly by persons of the lower orders; though several men
eminent in literature and religion, and vast numbers of fakeers (or poor
devotees), yielded to its fascinations, and contended that it was lawful
to the Muslim. The habit is now very common among the lower orders in
the metropolis and other towns of Egypt. There are various modes of
preparing it; and various names, as “sheera,” “bast,” etc., are given to
its different preparations. Most commonly, I am told, the young leaves
are used alone, or mixed with tobacco, for smoking; and the capsules,
without the seeds, pounded and mixed with several aromatic substances
for an intoxicating conserve. Acids counteract its operation. The
preparation of hemp used for smoking generally produces boisterous
mirth. Few inhalations of its smoke, but the last very copious, are
usually taken from the gózeh. After the emission of the last draught
from the mouth and nostrils, commonly a fit of coughing, and often a
spitting of blood, ensues, in consequence of the lungs having been
filled with the smoke. Hasheesh is to be obtained not only at some of
the coffee-shops; there are shops of a smaller and more private
description solely appropriated to the sale of this and other
intoxicating preparations: they are called “mahshesh′ehs.” It is
sometimes amusing to observe the ridiculous conduct, and to listen to
the conversation, of the persons who frequent these shops. They are all
of the lower orders. The term “hashshásh,” which signifies “a smoker or
an eater, of hemp,” is an appellation of obloquy: noisy and riotous
people are often called “hashshásheen,” which is the plural of that
appellation, and the origin of our word “assassin;” a name first applied
to Arab warriors in Syria, in the time of the Crusades, who made use of
intoxicating and soporific drugs in order to render their enemies
insensible.[443]
The use of opium and other drugs to induce intoxication is not so common
in Egypt as in many other countries of the East: the number of Egyptians
addicted to this vice is certainly not nearly so great, in proportion to
the whole population, as is the relative number of persons in our own
country who indulge in habitual drunkenness. Opium is called, in Arabic,
“afiyoon;” and the opium-eater, “afiyoonee.” This latter appellation is
a term of less obloquy than that of “hashshásh;” because there are many
persons of the middle and higher classes to whom it is applicable. In
its crude state, opium is generally taken, by those who have not long
been addicted to its use, in the dose of three or four grains, for the
purpose above mentioned; but the “afiyoonee” increases the dose by
degrees. The Egyptians make several conserves composed of hellebore,
hemp, and opium, and several aromatic drugs, which are more commonly
taken than the simple opium. A conserve of this nature is called
“maagoon;” and the person who makes or sells it, “maagungee.” The most
common kind is called “barsh.” There is one kind which, it is said,
makes the person who takes it manifest his pleasure by singing; another
which will make him chatter; a third which excites to dance; a fourth
which particularly affects the vision, in a pleasurable manner; a fifth
which is simply of a sedative nature. These are sold at the
“mahshesh′eh.”
The fermented and intoxicating liquor called “boozeh,” or “boozah,”
which is drunk by many of the boatmen of the Nile, and by other persons
of the lower orders in Egypt, has been mentioned in a former chapter. I
have seen, in tombs at Thebes, many large jars, containing the dregs of
beer of this kind, prepared from barley.
-----
Footnote 438:
El-Is-hákee states that the custom of smoking tobacco began to be
common in Egypt between the years of the Flight 1010 and 1012 (A.D.
1601 and 1603).
Footnote 439:
El-Gabartee relates, that about a century ago, in the time of Mohammad
Básha El-Yedekshee (or Yedekchee), who governed Egypt in the years of
the Flight, 1156-8, it frequently happened that when a man was found
with a pipe in his hand in Cairo, he was made to eat the bowl with its
burning contents. This may seem incredible, but a pipe-bowl _may_ be
broken by strong teeth. The tobacco first used in the East was
probably very strong.
Footnote 440:
See De Sacy’s Chrestomathie Arabe, vol. i., pp. 412-483, 2nde ed.
Footnote 441:
“Kahweh,” being the name of the _beverage_ sold at the coffee-shop, is
hence applied to the shop itself.
Footnote 442:
A decoction of ginger, sweetened with sugar, is likewise often sold at
the Kahwehs, particularly on the nights of festivals.
Footnote 443:
See, on this subject, the close of chapter xxii.
----------------------------
CHAPTER XVI.
THE BATH.
Bathing is one of the greatest luxuries enjoyed by the people of Egypt.
The inhabitants of the villages of this country, and those persons who
cannot afford the trifling expense incurred in the public bath, often
bathe in the Nile. Girls and young women are not unfrequently seen thus
indulging themselves in the warm weather, and generally without any
covering; but mostly in unfrequented places. The rich, I have before
mentioned, have baths in their own houses; but men who have this
convenience often go to the public bath; and so also do the ladies, who,
on many occasions, are invited to accompany thither their female
friends.
There are, in Cairo, between sixty and seventy “Hammáms,” or baths, to
which the public have access for a small expense. Some of these are for
men only; others, only for women and young children; and some for both
sexes; for men during the forenoon, and in the afternoon for females.
When the bath is appropriated to women, a napkin, or any piece of linen
or drapery is hung over the entrance, to warn the men from entering: all
the male servants having gone out a short time before; and females
having taken their places. The front of the bath is generally ornamented
in a manner similar to that in which most of the mosques are decorated,
but usually more fanciful, in red and white, and sometimes other
colours, particularly over and about the entrance. The building consists
of several apartments, all of which are paved with marble, chiefly
white, with an intermixture, in some parts, of black marble, and small
pieces of fine red tile, in the same manner as the durká′ah of a room in
a private house, of which a sketch has been inserted in the Introduction
to this work. The inner apartments are covered with domes, which have a
number of small, round, glazed apertures, for the admission of light.
The materials chiefly employed in the construction of the walls and
domes are bricks and plaster, which, after having been exposed to the
steam that is produced in the bath when it is in use, are liable to
crack and fall if the heat be intermitted even for a few days. A sákiyeh
(or water-wheel), turned by a cow or bull, is constructed upon a level
with the higher parts of the building, to raise water from a well or
tank for the supply of the boiler, etc.
The bath is believed to be a favourite resort of ginn (or genii), and
therefore when a person is about to enter it, he should offer up an
ejaculatory prayer for protection against evil spirits, and should put
his left foot first over the threshold. For the same reason, he should
not pray nor recite the Kur-án in it. On entering, if he have a watch,
and a purse containing more than a trifling sum of money, he gives these
in charge to the “m’allim” (or keeper of the bath), who locks them in a
chest: his pipe, and sword (if he have one), he commits to a servant of
the bath, who takes off his shoes, and supplies him with a pair of
wooden clogs; the pavement being wet. The first apartment is called the
“meslakh.” It generally has two, three, or four “leewáns,” similar to
mastab′ahs, or considerably wider, cased with marble, and a fountain
(called “faskeeyeh”) of cold water, which rises from an octagonal
basement constructed of stone cased with marble, etc. (similar to that
in the inner apartment represented in a section accompanying this
description), in the centre. One of the leewáns, being designed for the
accommodation of persons of the higher and middle orders, is furnished
with mattresses and cushions: upon the other, or others, which are for
the lower orders, there is usually no furniture excepting mats. In many
baths there is also, in the meslakh, a small kind of stall, for coffee.
[Illustration:
Scale of feet.
PLAN OF A BATH.
]
In warm weather, the bathers mostly prefer to undress in the meslakh: in
winter, they undress in an inner, closed apartment, called the
“beytowwal;” between which and the first apartment is a short passage,
with two or three latrinæ on one side. “Beytowwal” signifies “first
chamber;” and this name is given to the chamber here mentioned because
it is the first of the warm apartments; but it is less warm than the
principal apartment, of which it is the ante-chamber. In general, it has
two mastab′ahs, one higher than the other, cased with marble like the
pavement. The higher accommodates but one person; and is for the higher
classes: the other is sufficiently large for two. When the former is
occupied, and another high seat is wanted, two or three mattresses are
placed one upon another on the lower mastab′ah, or on the leewán (or
raised part of the floor). A seggádeh (or small prayer-carpet) is spread
on the mastab′ah for a person of the higher orders. The bather receives
a napkin in which to put his clothes; and another to put round his
waist: this reaches to the knees, or a little lower; and is termed
“mahzam”: a third, if he require it, is brought to him to wind round his
head, in the manner of a turban, leaving the top of the head bare; a
fourth to put over his chest, and a fifth to cover his back. It is
generally a boy, or beardless young man, who attends the bather while he
undresses, and while he puts on his mahzam, etc., etc.: he is called a
“láwingee” (as the word is vulgarly pronounced), which is a corruption
of “leewángee,” or attendant of the “leewán.”[444]
[Illustration: SECTION OF THE HARÁRAH.]
When the bather has undressed, and attired himself in the manner above
described, the láwingee opens to him the door of the inner and principal
apartment, which is called “harárah.” This, in general, has four low
leewáns, like those of most rooms in private houses, which give it the
form of a cross; and, in the centre, a “faskeeyeh” (or fountain) of hot
water, rising from a small shallow basin in the middle of a high
octagonal seat, cased with white and black marble, and pieces of red
tile. The harárah, together with several chambers connected with it, may
generally be described as occupying almost an exact square. The
beytowwal is at one of the angles. Two small chambers, which adjoin each
other, and occupy a second angle of the square, contain, the one, a
“maghtas,” or tank, of warm water, to which there is an ascent of a few
steps; the other, a “hanafeeyeh,” consisting of two taps, projecting
from the wall; one of hot, and one of cold water, with a small trough
beneath; before which is a seat: the name of hanafeeyeh is commonly
given, not merely to the taps above mentioned, but to the chamber which
contains them. A third angle of the square is occupied by two other
small chambers similar to those just described; one containing a second
maghtas, of water not quite so warm as the former: the other, a second
hanafeeyeh. Each maghtas is filled by a stream of water pouring down
from the dome of the chamber. The fourth angle of the square is
generally occupied by a chamber which has no communication with the
harárah; and which contains the fire over which is the boiler. The
central part of the harárah, its leewáns, and the small chambers
connected with it, are covered with domes, which have a number of small,
glazed apertures.
[Illustration: FOOT-RASPS—One quarter of the real size.]
The bather, having entered the harárah, soon perspires profusely, from
the humid heat which is produced by the hot water of the tanks and
fountain, and by the boiler. The operator of the bath, who is called
“mukeyyisátee,” immediately comes to him. If the bather be covered with
more than one napkin, the mukeyyisátee takes them off, and gives him a
wet mahzam; or the former mahzam is retained, and wetted. The bather
sits on the marble seat of the faskeeyeh, or lies upon a napkin on one
of the leewáns, or by the edge of one of the tanks, to submit to the
first operation, which is that of cracking his joints. The operator
cracks almost every joint of his frame: he rings the body, first one way
and then the other, to make several of the vertebræ crack: even the neck
is made to crack twice, by wrenching the head round, each way, which
produces a sensation rather alarming to an inexperienced person; and
each ear is generally twisted round until it cracks: the limbs are
wrested with apparent violence; but with such skill, that an untoward
accident in this operation is never heard of. The main object of this
process is to render the joints supple. The mukeyyisátee also kneads the
bather’s flesh. After this, or previously, he rubs the soles of his feet
with a kind of rasp, of baked clay. There are two kinds of rasps used
for this purpose: one is very porous and rough; and its rasping surface
is scored with several lines: the other is of a fine close clay; and the
surface with which the rubbing is performed is rendered rough
artificially: both are of a dark, blackish colour. Those which are used
by ladies are generally encased (the lower, or rasping, surface of
course excepted) in thin, embossed silver. The rougher rasp is of
indispensable utility to persons who do not wear stockings; which is the
case with most of the inhabitants of Egypt: the other is for the more
delicate; and is often used for rubbing the limbs, to render the skin
smooth. The next operation is that of rubbing the bather’s flesh with a
small, coarse, woollen bag.[445] This done, the bather, if he please,
dips himself in one of the tanks. He is next taken to a hanafeeyeh. A
napkin having been hung before the entrance to this, the mukeyyisátee
lathers the bather with “leef” (or fibres of the palm-tree) and soap and
sweet water, which last is brought in a copper vessel, and warmed in one
of the tanks; for the water of the hanafeeyeh is from a well, somewhat
brackish, and consequently not fit for washing with soap. The leef is
employed in the same manner as sponge is by us: it is not of the kind
produced by the palm-trees of Egypt, which is of a brown colour: that
used in the hammám is white; and is brought from the Hejáz. The
mukeyyisátee washes off the soap with water from the hanafeeyeh; and, if
required, shaves the bather’s arm-pits: he then goes, leaving him to
finish washing, etc. The latter then calls for a set of napkins, four in
number, and, having covered himself in the same manner as before
described, returns to the beytowwal; but first it is the custom of
persons of the more independent classes to give half a piaster, or a
piaster, to the mukeyyisátee, though it is not demanded.
In the beyt-owwal, a mattress is spread, for the bather, on the
mastab′ah, covered with napkins, and having one or two cushions at one
end. On this he reclines, sipping a cup or two of coffee, and smoking,
while a láwingee rubs the soles of his feet, and kneads his body and
limbs; or two láwingees perform these operations, and he gives to each
of them five or ten faddahs, or more. He generally remains half an hour,
or an hour, smoking his shibuk or sheesheh: then dresses and goes out.
The “háris,” who is the foreman, and who has the charge of drying the
napkins in the meslakh, and of guarding, brings him a looking-glass, and
(unless the bather have neither beard nor mustaches) a comb. The bather
asks him for his watch, etc., puts from one to four piasters on the
looking-glass, and goes. One piaster is a common sum to pay for all the
operations above described.
Many persons go to the bath twice a week: others, once a week, or less
frequently; but some are merely washed with soap and water, and then
plunge into one of the tanks, for which, of course, they pay less.
The women who can afford to do so visit the hammám frequently; but not
so often as the men. When the bath is not hired for the females of one
family, or for one party of ladies, exclusively, women of all conditions
are admitted. In general, all the females of a house, and the young
boys, go together. They take with them their own seggádehs, and the
napkins, basins, etc., which they require, and even the necessary
quantity of sweet water for washing with soap, and for drinking; and
some carry with them fruits, sweetmeats, and other refreshments. A lady
of wealth is also often accompanied by her own “belláneh,” or
“másh′tah,” who is the washer and tire-woman. Many women of the lower
orders wear no covering whatever in the bath; not even a napkin round
the waist: others always wear the napkin, and the high clogs. There are
few pleasures in which the women of Egypt delight so much as in the
visit to the bath, where they frequently have entertainments; and often,
on these occasions, they are not a little noisy in their mirth. They
avail themselves of the opportunity to display their jewels and their
finest clothes, and to enter into familiar conversation with those whom
they meet there, whether friends or strangers. Sometimes a mother
chooses a bride for her son from among the girls or women whom she
chances to see in the bath. On many occasions, as, for instance, in the
case of the preparations for a marriage, the bath is hired for a select
party, consisting of the women of two or more families; and none else
are admitted: but it is more common for a lady and a few friends and
attendants to hire a “khilweh”: this is the name they give to the
apartment of the hanafeeyeh. There is more confusion among a mixed
company of various ranks; but where all are friends, the younger girls
indulge in more mirth and frolic. They spend an hour or more under the
hands of the belláneh, who rubs and washes them, plaits their hair,
applies the depilatory,[446] etc. They then retire to the beytowwal or
meslakh, and there, having put on part of their dress, or a large loose
shirt, partake of various refreshments, which, if they have brought none
with them, they may procure by sending an attendant of the bath to the
market. Those who smoke take their own pipes with them. On particular
occasions of festivity, they are entertained with the songs of two or
more ’A′l’mehs, hired to accompany them to the bath.
-----
Footnote 444:
See the Plan, of which the following is an explanation.—A, General
entrance and vestibule. B, B, Meslakh. C, C, C, C, C, Leewáns. D,
Station of the M’allim. E, Faskeeyeh. F, Coffee-stall. G, G, Latrinæ.
H, Beytowwal. I, I, Leewán. K, K, Mastab′ahs. L, L, Harárah. M, M, M,
M, Leewáns. N, Faskeeyeh. O, O, Two chambers, each containing a
maghtas (or tank). P, P, Hanafeeyehs. Q, Place of the fire, over which
is the boiler.
Footnote 445:
This operation is termed “tekyees,” and the bag “kees el-hammán,”
hence the operator is called “mukeyyisátee,” or more properly,
“mukeyyis.”
Footnote 446:
The depilatory called “noorah,” which is often employed in the bath,
being preferred to the resin more commonly used, is composed, as I am
informed, of quick-lime with a small proportion (about an eighth part)
of orpiment. It is made into a paste, with water, before application;
and loosens the hair in about two minutes, when it is washed off.—See
Russell’s Aleppo, vol. i, pp. 134, 378, 379: 2nd edition.
----------------------------
CHAPTER XVII.
GAMES.
Most of the games of the Egyptians are of kinds which suit their sedate
dispositions. They take great pleasure in chess (which they call
“satreng”), draughts (“dámeh”), and trictrac or backgammon (“táwulah”).
Their chess-men are of very simple forms; as the Muslim is forbidden, by
his religion, to make an image of anything that has life. The Muslims of
Egypt in general are, however, less scrupulous with regard to the
prohibition of games of hazard: though some of them consider even chess
and draughts as forbidden, games partly or wholly hazardous are very
common among all ranks of this people: and scarcely less so is that of
cards, which, being almost always played for money, or for some other
stake, is particularly called, by way of distinction, “leab el-kumár,”
“the game of hazard, or of gain.” Persons of the lower orders in the
towns of Egypt are often seen playing at these and other games at the
coffee-shops; but frequently for no greater stake than that of a few
cups of coffee.
One of the games most common among the Egyptians is that of the
“mankal′ah.” Two persons play at this, with a board (or two boards
joined by hinges), in which are twelve hemispherical holes, called
“buyoot,” or “beyts,” in two equal rows; and with seventy-two small
shells, of the kind called cowries; or as many pebbles: these, whether
shells or pebbles, are termed the “hasa” (in the singular, “hasweh”). To
explain the game of the mankal′ah, I must distinguish the beyts of the
board by letters, thus:—
[Illustration: MANKAL′AH.]
The beyts marked A, B, C, D, E, F, belong to one party; and the opposite
six beyts to the other. One of the parties, when they are about to play
the game in the most simple manner (for there are two modes of playing
it), distributes all the hasa unequally into the beyts; generally
putting at least four into each beyt. If they were distributed equally,
there would be six in each beyt; but this is seldom done: for, in this
case, he who plays first is sure to lose. The act of distributing the
hasa is called “tebweez.” When one party is dissatisfied with the
other’s distribution of the hasa, he may turn the board round; and then
his adversary begins the game; which is not the case otherwise.
Supposing the party to whom belong the beyts A, B, C, D, E, F, commences
the game, he takes the hasa from beyt F, and distributes them to the
beyts _a_, _b_, _c_, etc., one to each beyt; and if there be enough to
put in each of his adversary’s six beyts, and more remain in his hand,
he proceeds in the same manner to distribute them to his own beyts, in
the order A, B, C, etc.; and then, if he have still one or more
remaining, to his adversary’s beyts, as before, and so on. If the last
beyt into which he has put a hasweh contain but one (having been empty
before he put that in; for it may have been left empty at the first), he
ceases; and his adversary plays: but if it contain two or four, he takes
its contents, with those of the beyt opposite; and if the last beyt
contain two or four, and one or more of the preceding beyts also contain
either of these numbers, no beyt with any other number intervening, he
takes the contents of these preceding beyts also, with the contents of
those opposite. If the last beyt into which he has put a hasweh contain
(with this hasweh) three, or five, or more, he takes these out, and goes
on distributing them in the same manner as before: for instance, if, in
this case, the last beyt into which he has put a hasweh be D, he puts
one from its contents into E, another into F, a third into _a_, and so
on; and thus he continues, until making the last beyt to contain but one
stops him, or making it to contain two or four brings him gain, and
makes it his adversary’s turn to play. He always plays from beyt F, or,
if that be empty, from the nearest beyt to it in his own row containing
one or more haswehs. When one party has more than a single hasweh in one
or more of his beyts, and the other has none, the former is obliged to
put one of his into the first of his adversary’s beyts. If only one
hasweh remain on one side, and none on the other, that one is the
property of the person on whose side it is. When the board is completely
cleared, each party counts the number of the hasa he has taken; and the
one who has most reckons the excess of his above his adversary’s number
as his gain. The gainer in one board begins to play the next board; his
adversary having first distributed the hasa. When either party has made
his successive gains amount to sixty, he has won the game.—In this
manner, the game of the mankal′ah is played by young persons; and hence
this mode of playing it is called “the game of the ignorant” (“leab
el-ghasheem”): others generally play in a different manner, which is
termed “the game of the wise, or intelligent” (“leab el-’ákil”), and
which must now be described.
The hasa are distributed in one or more beyts on one side, and in the
corresponding beyt or beyts on the other side; commonly in four beyts on
each side, leaving the two extreme beyts of each side vacant: or they
are distributed in any other conventional manner; as, for instance,
about half into beyt A, and the remainder in beyt _a_. The person who
distributes the hasa does not count how many he places in a beyt; and it
is at his option whether he places them only in one beyt on each side,
or in all the beyts. Should the other person object to his distribution,
he may turn the board round; but in that case forfeits his right of
playing first. The person who plays first may begin from any one of his
beyts; judging by his eye which will bring him the best fortune. He
proceeds in the same manner as before described; putting one hasweh in
each beyt; and taking in the same cases as in the former mode; and then
the other plays. After the first gain, he counts the hasa in each of his
beyts; and plays from that which will bring him the greatest advantage.
One of the parties may stop the other to count the hasa which he takes
out of a beyt to distribute, in order to insure his distributing them
correctly. The gain of one party after finishing one board is counted,
as in the former mode, by the excess of the number he has taken above
the number acquired by the other; and the first who makes his successive
gains to amount to sixty, wins the game.—This game is of use in
practising the players in calculation. It is very commonly played at the
coffee-shops; and the players generally agree, though it is unlawful to
do so, that the loser shall pay for the coffee drunk by himself and his
adversary and the spectators, or for a certain number of cups.
Another game very general among the lower classes in Egypt is called
“táb.” In other countries of the East this is called “táb wa-dukk;” but
I never hear this name given to it in Egypt. In this country it is
played in the following manner:—Four small pieces of stick, of a flat
form, about a span (or eight inches) in length, and two-thirds of an
inch in breadth, are first prepared: they are generally formed of a
piece of palm-branch; one side of which, being cut flat and smooth, is
white; the other, green, or, if not fresh, of a dull yellow colour; the
former side is commonly called white, and the other black. These are
called the “táb.” Next, it is necessary to be provided with a “seega.”
This is a board, divided into four rows of squares, called “beyts” or
“dárs,” each about two inches wide; or it consists of similar rows of
holes made in the ground, or in a flat stone: the beyts are usually
seven, nine, eleven, thirteen, or fifteen, in each row. To show the mode
of playing the game, I shall here represent a seega of nine beyts in
each row; and distinguish the beyts by letters.
┌───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┐
│_i_│_h_│_g_│_f_│_e_│_d_│_c_│_b_│_a_│
├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┤
│_k_│_l_│_m_│_n_│_o_│_p_│_q_│_r_│_s_│
├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┤
│ S │ R │ Q │ P │ O │ N │ M │ L │ K │
├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┤
│ A │ B │ C │ D │ E │ F │ G │ H │ I │
└───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┘
In each beyt of one exterior row is usually placed a little piece of
stone, or dingy brick, about the size of a walnut; and in each beyt of
the other exterior row, a piece of red brick or tile. Or, sometimes,
pieces are placed only in a certain number of beyts in those rows; as,
for instance, in the first four. The pieces of one row must be
distinguished from those in the other. They are called “kiláb” (or
dogs); in the singular, “kelb.” The game is generally played by two
persons. The four little sticks are thrown, all together, against a
stick thrust into the ground or held in the hand with one end resting on
the ground, or against a wall, or against a stick inclined against a
wall. If they fall so that one only has its white side upwards, the
player is said to have thrown, or brought, “táb” (plural “teeb”), or a
“weled” (or child, plural “wilád”), and counts one: if there be two
white, and the other two black, he counts two (“itneyn”): if there be
three white, and one black, he counts three (“teláteh”): if all four be
white, four (“arba’′ah”): if all four black, six (“sitteh”). When one
throws táb, or four, or six, he throws again; but when he has thrown
two, or three, it is then the turn of the other. To one of the players
belongs the row of beyts A, B, C, etc.: to the other, that of _a_, _b_,
_c_, etc. They first throw alternately until one has thrown táb; and he
who has done this then throws again until he has brought two, or three.
Supposing him, at the beginning of the game, to have thrown táb and four
and two, he removes the kelb from beyt I, and places it in the seventh
beyt from I, which is Q. He must always commence with the kelb in beyt
I. The other party, in like manner, commences from beyt _i_. Neither
party can remove a kelb from its original place but by throwing táb
before each such removal. The kelbs before removal from their original
places are called “Nasára” (or Christians, in the singular “Nasránee”);
and after removal, when they are privileged to commence the contest,
“Muslimeen” (or “Muslims”): when a person has made a kelb a Muslim, it
is said of him “sellem kelb;” and of the kelb, “aslam.” Each time that a
player throws táb, he generally makes a kelb Muslim, until he has made
them all so, and thus prepared them to circulate in the beyts. Each
player may have two or more kelbs in circulation at the same time. Let
us suppose (to make the description more simple) that the person to whom
belongs the row of beyts A, B, C, etc., is circulating a single kelb: he
moves it through the two middle rows of beyts in the order of the
letters by which I have distinguished them, from K to S, and from _k_ to
_s_; and may then either repeat the same round or enter his adversary’s
row, as long as there is any kelb remaining in that row; but in the
latter case, he does not continue to circulate the same kelb, excepting
under circumstances which will be mentioned hereafter. Whenever a throw,
or any of two or more throws, which the player has made enables him to
move his kelb into a beyt occupied by one of his opponent’s kelbs, he
takes the latter. For instance, if one party has a kelb in the beyt _m_,
and the other has one in _o_, and another in _s_, and the former has
thrown táb (or one) and then four, and then two, he may take the kelb in
_o_ by the throw of two; then, by the throw of four, take that in _s_;
and, by the throw of táb, pass into _a_, and take a third kelb if it
contain one. A player may, by means of a suitable throw, or two or more
throws, move one of his kelbs into a beyt occupied by another of his
own; and these two together, in like manner, he may add to a third, or
he may add a third to them: thus he may unite any number of his own
kelbs, and circulate them together, as if they were but one; but he
cannot divide them again, and play with them separately, unless he throw
táb. If he avail himself of a throw which he has made to bring them back
into a row through which they have already passed (either separately or
together), they become reduced to a single kelb: but he need not avail
himself of such a throw: he may wait until he throws táb. Two or more
kelbs thus united are called an “’eggeh.” The object of so uniting them
is to place them as soon as possible in a situation of safety, as will
be seen by what immediately follows. If either party pass one of his
kelbs into his adversary’s row, he may leave it there in safety as long
as he does not want to continue to play with it, because the latter
cannot bring back a kelb into his own row. The former, however, cannot
continue to circulate the kelb which has entered that row until he has
no kelb remaining in his own row; or unless he have only an ’eggeh in
his row, and does not throw táb, which alone enables him to divide the
’eggeh. In circulating through his adversary’s beyts, he proceeds in the
order of the letters by which I have marked them. He cannot pass the
same kelb again into his adversary’s row: after it has passed through
that row, he circulates it through the two middle rows only, in the same
manner as at first.—This game is often played by four or more persons,
and without the seega. When one person throws four, he is called the
Sultán. He holds a makra’′ah, which is a piece of the thick end of a
palm-stick, with two or three splits made in the thicker part of it.
When a player throws six, he is called the Wezeer, and holds the stick
against which the táb are thrown. Whenever a person throws two, the
Sultán gives him a blow, or two or more blows (as many as the Wezeer may
order), on the sole of his foot, or the soles of both feet, with the
makra’′ah. When a player throws twice six, he is both Sultán and Wezeer.
[Illustration: SEEGA.]
Many of the felláheen of Egypt also frequently amuse themselves with a
game called that of the “seega,” which may be described in a few words.
The seega employed in this game is different from that of the táb: it
consists of a number of holes, generally made in the ground; most
commonly, of five rows of five holes in each, or seven rows of seven in
each, or nine rows of nine in each: the first kind is called the
“khamsáwee seega;” the second, the “seb’áwee;” and the third, the
“tis’áwee.” A khamsáwee seega is here represented.
The holes are called “’oyoon” (or eyes, in the singular “’eyn”). In this
seega, they are twenty-five in number. The players have each twelve
“kelbs,” similar to those used in the game of the táb.[447] One of them
places two of his kelbs in the ’eyns marked _a_, _a_: the other puts two
of his in those marked _b_, _b_: they then alternately place two kelbs
in any of the ’eyns that they may choose, excepting the central ’eyn of
the seega. All the ’eyns but the central one being thus occupied (most
of the kelbs placed at random), the game is commenced. The party who
begins moves one of his kelbs from a contiguous ’eyn into the central.
The other party, if the ’eyn now made vacant be not next to any one of
those occupied by his kelbs, desires his adversary to give him, or open
to him, a way; and the latter must do so, by removing, and thus losing,
one of his own kelbs. This is also done on subsequent occasions, when
required by similar circumstances. The aim of each party, after the
first disposal of the kelbs, is to place any one of his kelbs in such a
situation that there shall be, between it and another of his, one of his
adversary’s kelbs. This, by so doing, he takes; and as long as he can
immediately make another capture by such means, he does so, without
allowing his adversary to move.—These are the only rules of the game. It
will be remarked that, though most of the kelbs are placed at random,
foresight is requisite in the disposal of the remainder.—Several seegas
have been cut upon the stones on the summit of the great pyramid, by
Arabs who have served as guides to travellers.
Gymnastic games, or such diversions as require much bodily exertion, are
very uncommon among the Egyptians. Sometimes two peasants contend with
each other, for mere amusement, or for a trifling wager or reward, with
“nebboots,” which are thick staves, five or six feet long: the object of
each is to strike his adversary on the head. The nebboot is a formidable
weapon, and is often seen in the hand of an Egyptian peasant: he often
carries it when on a journey; particularly when he travels by night;
which, however, is seldom the case. Wrestling-matches are also sometimes
witnessed in Egypt: the combatants (who are called “musáre’een,” in the
singular “musáre’”) strip themselves of all their clothing excepting
their drawers, and generally oil their bodies; but their exercises are
not remarkable, and are seldom performed but for remuneration, on the
occasions of festivals, processions, etc.—On such occasions, too, mock
combats between two men, usually clad only in their drawers, and each
armed with a sabre and a small shield, are not unfrequently witnessed:
neither attempts to wound his adversary: every blow is received on the
shield.
The game of the “gereed,” as played by the Memlooks and Turkish
soldiers, has often been described; but the manner in which it is
practised by many of the peasants of Upper Egypt is much more worthy of
description. It is often played by the latter on the occasion of the
marriage of a person of influence, such as the sheykh of a tribe or
village; or on that of a circumcision; or when a votive calf or ox or
bull, which has been let loose to pasture where it will, by common
consent, is about to be sacrificed at the tomb of a saint, and a public
feast made with its meat. The combatants usually consist of two parties,
of different villages, or of different tribes or branches of a tribe;
each party about twelve or twenty or more in number; and each person
mounted on a horse or mare. The two parties station themselves about
five hundred feet or more apart. A person from one party gallops towards
the other party, and challenges them: one of the latter, taking, in his
left hand, four, five, six, or more gereeds, each six feet, or an inch
or two more or less, in length, but generally equal in length to the
height of a tall man, and very heavy (being the lower part of the
palm-stick, freshly cut, and full of sap), pursues the challenger at
full gallop: he approaches him as near as possible—often within arm’s
length; and throws, at his head or back, one gereed after another, until
he has none left. The gereed is blunt at both ends. It is thrown with
the small end foremost, and with uplifted arm; and sometimes inflicts
terrible, and even fatal, wounds.[448] The person against whom the
gereeds are thrown endeavours to catch them, or to ward them off with
his arm or with a sheathed sword; or he escapes them by the superior
speed of his horse. Having sustained the attack, and arrived at the
station of his party, he tries his skill against the person by whom he
has been pursued, in the same manner as the latter did against him.—This
sport, which reminds us of the tournaments of old, and which was a game
of the early Bedawees, continues for several hours. It is common only
among those tribes who have not been many years, or not more than a few
centuries, settled on the banks of the Nile; and who have consequently
retained many Bedawee customs and habits. About the close of the period
of my former visit to this country, three men and a mare were killed at
this game within an hour, in the western plain of Thebes. It is seldom,
however, that a man loses his life in this exercise: at least, of late,
I have heard of no such occurrence taking place.—In Lower Egypt, a
gereed only half the length of those above described, or little more, is
used in playing this game.
Other exercises, which are less frequently performed, and only at
festivals for the amusement of the spectators, will be described in
subsequent pages.
-----
Footnote 447:
The larger seegas, in like manner, require a sufficient number of
kelbs to occupy all the ’eyns excepting one.
Footnote 448:
During my last residence at Thebes, a fine athletic man, the best
gereed-player of the place, whom I had taken into my service as a
nightly guard, received a very severe wound at this game; and I had
some difficulty to effect a cure: he was delirious for many hours in
consequence of it, and had nearly lost his life. The gereed struck him
a little before his ear, and penetrated downwards into his neck.
----------------------------
CHAPTER XVIII.
MUSIC.
The Egyptians in general are excessively fond of music; and yet they
regard the study of this fascinating art (like dancing) as unworthy to
employ any portion of the time of a man of sense; and as exercising too
powerful an effect upon the passions, and leading a man into gaiety and
dissipation and vice. Hence it was condemned by the Prophet: but it is
used, notwithstanding, even in religious ceremonies; especially by the
darweeshes. The Egyptians have very few books on music; and these are
not understood by their modern musicians. The natural liking of the
Egyptians for music is shown by their habit of regulating their motions,
and relieving the dulness of their occupations, in various labours, by
songs or chants. Thus do the boatmen, in rowing, etc.; the peasants in
raising water; the porters in carrying heavy weights with poles; men,
boys, and girls, in assisting builders, by bringing bricks, stones, and
mortar, and removing rubbish: so also, the sawyers, reapers, and many
other labourers. Though the music of the Egyptians is of a style very
difficult for foreigners to acquire or imitate, the children very easily
and early attain it. The practice of chanting the Kur-án, which is
taught in all their schools, contributes to increase their natural
fondness for music.
How science was cherished by the Arabs when all the nations of Europe
were involved in the grossest ignorance, and how much the former
profited by the works of ancient Greek writers, is well known. It
appears that they formed the system of music which has prevailed among
them for many centuries partly from Greek, and partly from Persian and
Indian treatises. From the Greek language are derived the most general
Arabic term for music, namely, “mooseeka,” and the names of some of the
Arab musical instruments; but most of the technical terms used by the
Arab musicians are borrowed from the Persian and Indian languages. There
is a striking degree of similarity between many of the airs which I have
heard in Egypt and some of the popular melodies of Spain;[449] and it is
not surprising that this is the case: for music was much cultivated
among the Arabs of Spain; and the library of the Escurial contains many
Arabic treatises on this art.
The most remarkable peculiarity in the Arab system of music is the
division of tones into thirds. Hence I have heard Egyptian musicians
urge against the European systems of music that they are deficient in
the number of sounds. These small and delicate gradations of sound give
a peculiar softness to the performances of the Arab musicians, which are
generally of a plaintive character: but they are difficult to
discriminate with exactness, and are therefore seldom observed in the
vocal and instrumental music of those persons who have not made a
regular study of the art. Most of the popular airs of the Egyptians,
though of a similar character, in most respects, to the music of their
professional performers, are very simple; consisting of only a few
notes, which serve for every one or two lines of a song, and which are
therefore repeated many times. I must confess that I generally take
great delight in the more refined kind of music which I occasionally
hear in Egypt; and the more I become habituated to the style, the more I
am pleased with it; though, at the same time, I must state that I have
not met with many Europeans who enjoy it in the same degree as myself.
The natives of Egypt are generally enraptured with the performances of
their vocal and instrumental musicians: they applaud with frequent
exclamations of “Allah!”[450] and “God approve thee!” “God preserve thy
voice!” and similar expressions.
The male professional musicians are called “A′láteeyeh;” in the
singular, “A′látee,” which properly signifies “a player upon an
instrument;” but they are generally both instrumental and vocal
performers. They are people of very dissolute habits; and are regarded
as scarcely less disreputable characters than the public dancers. They
are, however, hired at most grand entertainments, to amuse the company;
and on these occasions they are usually supplied with brandy, or other
spirituous liquors, which they sometimes drink until they can neither
sing nor strike a chord. The sum commonly paid to each of them for one
night’s performance is equal to about two or three shillings; but they
often receive considerably more. The guests generally contribute the
sum.
There are also female professional singers. These are called “’Awálim;”
in the singular, “’A′l’meh,” or “’A′limeh;” an appellation literally
signifying “a learned female.” The ’Awálim are often hired on the
occasion of a fête in the hareem of a person of wealth. There is
generally a small, elevated apartment, called a “tukeyseh,” or
“mughanna,” adjoining the principal saloon of the hareem, from which it
is separated only by a screen of wooden lattice-work; or there is some
other convenient place in which the female singers may be concealed from
the sight of the master of the house, should he be present with his
women. But when there is a party of male guests, they generally sit in
the court, or in a lower apartment, to hear the songs of the ’Awálim,
who, in this case, usually sit at a window of the hareem, concealed by
the lattice-work. Some of them are also instrumental performers. I have
heard the most celebrated ’Awálim in Cairo, and have been more charmed
with their songs than with the best performances of the A′láteeyeh, and
more so, I think I may truly add, than with any other music that I have
ever enjoyed. They are often very highly paid. I have known instances of
sums equal to more than fifty guineas being collected for a single
’A’l’meh from the guests at an entertainment in the house of a merchant,
where none of the contributors were persons of much wealth. So powerful
is the effect of the singing of a very accomplished ’A′l’meh, that her
audience, in the height of their excitement, often lavish upon her sums
which they can ill afford to lose. There are, among the ’Awálim in
Cairo, a few who are not altogether unworthy of the appellation of
“learned females;” having some literary accomplishments. There are also
many of an inferior class, who sometimes dance in the hareem: hence,
travellers have often misapplied the name of “almé,” meaning “’ál’meh,”
to the common dancing-girls, of whom an account will be given in another
chapter of this work.
The Egyptians have a great variety of musical instruments. Those which
are generally used at private concerts are the “kemengeh,” “kánoon,”
“’ood,” and “náy.”
[Illustration: KEMENGEH.]
The “kemengeh”[451] is a kind of viol. Its name, which is Persian, and
more properly written “kemángeh,” signifies “a bow-instrument.” This
instrument, and all the others of which I insert engravings, I have
drawn with the camera-lucida. The total length of the kemengeh which is
here represented is thirty-eight inches. The sounding-body is a
cocoa-nut, of which about a fourth part has been cut off. It is pierced
with many small holes. Over the front of it is strained a piece of the
skin of a fish of the genus “silurus,” called “bayád;” and upon this
rests the bridge. The neck is of ebony inlaid with ivory; and of a
cylindrical form. At the bottom of it is a piece of ivory; and the head,
in which the pegs are inserted, is also of ivory. The pegs are of beech;
and their heads, of ivory. The foot is of iron: it passes through the
sounding-body, and is inserted into the neck, to the depth of four or
five inches. Each of the two chords consists of about sixty horse-hairs:
at the lower end, they are attached to an iron ring, just below the
sounding-body: towards the other extremity, each is lengthened with a
piece of lamb’s gut, by which it is attached to its peg. Over the
chords, a little below their junction with the gut-strings, a double
band of leather is tied, passing round the neck of the instrument. The
bow is thirty-four inches and a half in length. Its form is shown by the
engraving. The stick is generally of ash. The horse-hairs, passed
through a hole at the head of the bow-stick and secured by a knot, and
attached at the other end to an iron ring, are tightened or slackened by
a band of leather which passes through the ring just mentioned and
through another ring at the foot of the bow. A performer on the
kemengeh, in passing the bow from one chord to the other, turns the
kemengeh about sixty degrees round. The sketches introduced, are from
drawings which I have made with the camera-lucida. Together, they
represent an ordinary Egyptian band, such as is generally seen at a
private entertainment. The performer on the kemengeh usually sits on the
right hand of him who performs on the kánoon, or opposite (that is,
facing) the latter, on the left hand of whom sits the performer on the
’ood; and next to this last is the performer on the náy. Sometimes there
are other musicians, whose instruments will be mentioned hereafter; and
often two singers.
[Illustration:
KÁNOON.
No. 1 is the key; 2, the ring, or thimble; 3, the plectrum.
]
The “kánoon” is a kind of dulcimer. Its name is from the Greek κανὼν, or
from the same origin; and has the same signification; that is, “rule,”
“law,” “custom.” The instrument from which the engraving here given was
taken is, perhaps, an inch or two longer than some others which I have
seen. Its greatest length is thirty-nine inches and three-quarters; and
its breadth, sixteen inches: its depth is two inches and one-tenth. The
kánoon is sometimes made entirely of walnut-wood, with the exception of
some ornamental parts. In the instrument which I have drawn, the face
and the back are of a fine kind of deal: the sides are of beech. The
piece in which the pegs are inserted is of beech: and so also is the
ridge along its interior edge, through which the cords are passed. The
pegs are of poplar-wood. The bridge is of fine deal. In the central part
of the face of the instrument is a circular piece of wood of a reddish
colour, pierced with holes; and towards the acute angle of the face is
another piece of similar wood, likewise pierced with holes. In that part
of the face upon which the bridge rests are five oblong apertures,
corresponding with the five feet of the bridge. A piece of fishes’ skin
nine inches wide is glued over this part; and the five feet of the
bridge rest upon those parts of the skin which cover the five apertures
above mentioned; slightly depressing the skin. The chords are of lamb’s
gut. There are three chords to each note; and, altogether, twenty-four
treble chords. The shortest side of the instrument is veneered with
walnut-wood, inlaid with mother-of-pearl. The instrument is played with
two plectra; one plectrum attached to the fore-finger of each hand. Each
plectrum is a small, thin piece of buffalo’s horn; and is placed between
the finger and a ring, or thimble, formed of a flat piece of brass or
silver, in the manner represented in the sketch.—The instrument is
placed on the knees of the performer. Under the hands of a skilful
player, the kánoon pleases me more than any other Egyptian instrument
without an accompaniment; and to a band it is an important accession.
[Illustration: EGYPTIAN MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS, PIPE, ORNAMENTS, ETC.]
The “’ood” is a lute, which is played with a plectrum. This has been for
many centuries the instrument most commonly used by the best Arab
musicians, and is celebrated by numerous poets. Its name (the original
signification of which is “wood”), with the article _el_ prefixed to it,
is the source whence are derived the terms _liuto_ in Italian, _luth_ in
French, _lute_ in English, etc. The length of the ’ood, as represented
in the middle of the accompanying engraving, measuring from the button,
or angle of the neck, is twenty-five inches and a half. The body of it
is composed of fine deal, with edges, etc., of ebony: the neck of ebony,
faced with box and an ebony edge. On the face of the body of the
instrument, in which are one large and two small shemsehs of ebony, is
glued a piece of fishes’ skin, under that part of the chords to which
the plectrum is applied, to prevent the wood from being worn away by the
plectrum. The instrument has seven double strings; two to each note.
They are of lamb’s gut. The order of these double chords is singular:
the double chord of the lowest note is that which corresponds to the
chord of the highest note in our violins, etc.: next in the scale above
this is the fifth (that is, counting the former as the first): then the
seventh, second, fourth, sixth, and third. The plectrum is a slip of a
vulture’s feather.
The “náy,” which is the fourth and last of the instruments which I have
mentioned as most commonly used at private concerts, is a kind of flute.
There are several kinds of náy, differing from each other in dimensions,
but in little else. The most common is that here represented. It has
been called the darweesh’s flute; because often used at the zikrs of
darweeshes to accompany the songs of the “munshids.” It is a simple
reed, about eighteen inches in length, seven-eighths of an inch in
diameter at the upper extremity, and three-quarters of an inch at the
lower. It is pierced with six holes in front, and generally with another
hole at the back. The sounds are produced by blowing, through a very
small aperture of the lips, against the edge of the orifice of the tube,
and directing the wind chiefly within the tube. By blowing with more or
less force, sounds are produced an octave higher or lower. In the hands
of a good performer, the náy yields fine, mellow tones; but it requires
much practice to sound it well. A náy is sometimes made of a portion of
a gun-barrel.
[Illustration: NÁY]
Another instrument often used at private concerts is a small tambourine
called “rikk,” similar to one of which an engraving will be found in
this chapter, page 330, but rather smaller.
A kind of mandoline, called “tamboor,” is also used at concerts in
Egypt; but mostly by Greeks and other foreigners. These musicians
likewise use a dulcimer, called “santeer,” which resembles the kánoon,
excepting that it has two sides oblique, instead of one (the two
opposite sides equally inclining together), has double chords of wire,
instead of treble chords of lamb’s gut, and is beaten with two sticks
instead of the little plectra.
[Illustration: RABÁB ESH-SHÁ’ER.]
A curious kind of viol, called “rabáb,” is much used by poor singers, as
an accompaniment to the voice. There are two kinds of viol which bear
this name; the “rabáb el-mughannee” (or singers’ viol), and the “rabáb
esh-shá’er” (or poet’s viol); which differ from each other only in this,
that the former has two chords, and the latter but one. The latter is
that of which I give an engraving; but it will be observed that it is
convertible into the former kind, having two pegs. It is thirty-two
inches in length. The body of it is a frame of wood, of which the front
is covered with parchment, and the back uncovered. The foot is of iron:
the chord of horse-hairs, like those of the kemengeh. The bow, which is
twenty-eight inches long, is similar to that of the kemengeh. This
instrument is always used by the public reciters of the romance of
Aboo-Zeyd, in chanting the poetry. The reciter of this romance is called
“Shá’er” (or poet); and hence the instrument is called “the poet’s
viol,” and “the Aboo-Zeydee viol.” The Shá’er himself uses this
instrument; and another performer on the same kind of rabáb generally
accompanies him.
The instruments used in wedding-processions, and the processions of
darweeshes, etc., are chiefly a hautboy, called “zemr,” and several
kinds of drums, of which the most common kinds are the “tabl beledee”
(or country drum, that is Egyptian drum), and the “tabl Shámee” (or
Syrian drum). The former is of a similar kind to our common military
drum; but not so deep. It is hung obliquely. The latter is a kind of
kettle-drum, of tin-copper, with a parchment face. It is generally about
sixteen inches in diameter, and not more than four in depth in the
centre; and is beaten with two slender sticks. The performer suspends it
to his neck, by a string attached to two rings fixed to the edge of the
instrument. I have represented these drums in the sketch of a bridal
procession, and in another engraving opposite page 48.
A pair of large kettle-drums, called “nakákeer” (in the singular,
“nakkárah”), are generally seen in most of the great religious
processions connected with the pilgrimage, etc., in Cairo. They are both
of copper, and similar in form; each about two-thirds of a sphere; but
are of unequal dimensions: the flat surface, or face, of the larger is
about two feet, or more, in diameter; and that of the latter, nearly a
foot and a half. They are placed upon a camel, attached to the fore part
of the saddle, upon which the person who beats them rides. The larger is
placed on the right.
Darweeshes, in religious processions, etc., and in begging, often make
use of a little tabl, or kettle-drum, called “báz,” six or seven inches
in diameter; which is held in the left hand, by a little projection in
the centre of the back; and beaten by the right hand, with a short
leather strap, or a stick. They also use cymbals, which are called
“kás,” on similar occasions. The báz is used by the Musahhir, to attract
attention to his cry in the nights of Ramadán. Castanets of brass,
called “ságát,” are used by the public female and male dancers. Each
dancer has two pairs of these instruments. They are attached, each by a
loop of string, to the thumb and second finger; and have a more pleasing
sound than castanets of wood or ivory.
[Illustration: 1. SÁGÁT. 2. TÁR. 3. DARABUKKEH.]
There are two instruments which are generally found in the hareem of a
person of moderate wealth, and which the women often use for their
diversion. One of these is a tambourine, called “tár,” of which I insert
an engraving. It is eleven inches in diameter. The hoop is overlaid with
mother-of-pearl, tortoise-shell, and white bone, or ivory, both without
and within; and has ten double circular plates of brass attached to it;
each two pairs having a wire passing through their centres. The tár is
held by the left or right hand, and beaten with the fingers of that
hand, and by the other hand. The fingers of the hand which holds the
instrument, striking only near the hoop, produce higher sounds than the
other hand, which strikes in the centre.—A tambourine of a larger and
more simple kind than that here described, without the metal plates, is
often used by the lower orders.—The other instrument alluded to in the
commencement of this paragraph is a kind of drum, called “darabukkeh.”
The best kind is made of wood, covered with mother-of-pearl and
tortoise-shell, etc. One of this description is here represented with
the tár. It is fifteen inches in length; covered with a piece of fishes’
skin at the larger extremity, and open at the smaller. It is placed
under the left arm; generally suspended by a string that passes over the
left shoulder; and is beaten with both hands. Like the tár, it yields
different sounds when beaten near the edge and in the middle. A more
common kind of darabukkeh is made of earth, and differs a little in form
from that just described. An engraving of it is here given.
[Illustration]
1 AND 2. EARTHEN DARABUKKEH.
5. MOUTH-PIECE OF THE LATTER.
3 AND 4. ZUMMÁRAH.
6. ARGHOOL.
The Zummárah is 14 inches long; the Arghool, 3 feet 2½ inches.
The boatmen of the Nile very often use an earthen darabukkeh; but of a
larger size than that used in hareems: generally from a foot and a half
to two feet in length. This is also used by some low story-tellers and
others. The boatmen employ, as an accompaniment to their earthen drum, a
double reed pipe, called “zummárah.”[452] There is also another kind of
double reed pipe, called “arghool;” of which one of the reeds is much
longer than the other, and serves as a drone, or continuous bass.[453]
This, likewise, is used by boatmen; and sometimes it is employed,
instead of the náy, at zikrs. Both of these reed pipes produce harsh
sounds; and those of the latter much resemble the sounds of the
bag-pipe. A rude kind of bag-pipe (“zummárah bi-soan”) is sometimes, but
rarely, seen in Egypt: its bag is a small goat’s-skin.
I shall now close this chapter with a few specimens of Egyptian music;
chiefly popular songs. These I note in accordance with the manner in
which they are commonly sung; without any of the embellishments which
are added to them by the A′láteeyeh. The airs of these are not always
sung to the same words; but the words are generally similar in style to
those which I insert, or at least as silly; though often abounding with
indecent metaphors, or with plain ribaldry.—It should be added, that
distinct enunciation, and a quavering voice, are characteristics of the
Egyptian mode of singing.
SONGS.
No. 1.
[Stanza]
[Stanza]
[Stanza]
Doos yá lel - lee Doos yá le - l - lee.
Doos yá lel - lee Doos yá le - - - - l-
lee. ’Eshkë mah - boo - bee fe - te - n - nee.
“Doos[454] yá lellee. Doos yá lellee (three times).
’Eshkë[455] mahboobee fetennee.”
Tread![456] O my joy![457] Tread! O my joy! (three times).
Ardent desire of my beloved hath involved me in trouble.
(The preceding lines are repeated after each of the following stanzas,
sometimes as a chorus.)
“Má[458] kullu men námet ’oyoonuh
Yahsib el-’áshik yenám.[459]
Wa-lláh ana mughram sabábeh.
Lem ’ala-l-’áshik melám.”
Let not every one whose eyes sleep
Imagine that the lover sleepeth.
By Allah! I am inflamed with intense love.
The lover is not obnoxious to blame.
“Yá Sheykh el-’Arab: Yá Seyyid:
Tegmaanee ’a-l-khilli leyleh.
Wa-n gánee habeebë kalbee
La-amal lu-l Kashmeer dulleyleh.”
O Sheykh of the Arabs! O Seyyid![460]
Unite me to the true love one night!
And if the beloved of my heart come to me
I will make the Kashmeer shawl her canopy.
“Kámil el-owsáf fetennee
Wa-l-’oyoon es-sood ramoonee
Min häwáhum sirt aghannee
Wa-l-häwa zowwad gunoonee.”
The perfect in attributes hath involved me in trouble,
And the black eyes have o’erthrown me.
From love of them I began to sing,
And the air[461] increased my madness.
“Gema’om gem’ al-’awázil
’An habeebee yemna’oonee.
Wa-lláh ana má afoot háwáhum
Bi-s-suyoof low katta’oonee.”
The crew of reproachers leagued together
To debar me from my beloved.
By Allah! I will not relinquish the love of them,[462]
Though they should cut me in pieces with swords.
“Kum bi-në yá khillë neskar
Tahta dill el-yásameeneh:
Nektuf el-khókh min ’ala ummuh
Wa-l-’awázil gháfileenë.”
Up with us! O true love! Let us intoxicate ourselves[463]
Under the shade of the jasmine:
We will pluck the peach from its mother [tree]
While the reproachers are unconscious.
“Yá benát goowa-l-medeeneh
’Andakum ashya temeeneh:
Telbisu-sh-sháteh bi-loolee
Wa-l-kiládeh ’a-n-nehdi zeeneh.”
O ye damsels in the city![464]
Ye have things of value:
Ye wear the sháteh[465] with pearls,
And the kiládeh,[466] an ornament over the bosom.
“Yá benát Iskendereeyeh
Meshyukum ’a-l-farshi gheeyeh:
Telbisu-l-Kashmeer bi-tellee
Wa-sh-shefáif sukkareeyeh.”
O ye damsels of Alexandria!
Your walk over the furniture[467] is alluring:
Ye wear the Kashmeer shawl, with lama,
And your lips are sweet as sugar.
“Yá miláh kháfoo min Allah
Wa-rhamu-l-’áshik li-llah.
Hobbukum mektoob min Allah:
Kaddaru-l-Mowla ’aleiya.”
O ye beauties! fear God,
And have mercy on the lover for the sake of God.
The love of you is ordained by God:
The Lord hath decreed it against me.
No. 2.
[Stanza]
[Stanza]
[Stanza]
Ya - bu - - l - ge - - l - - fee. Ya-
bu - l - ge l fee. Ráh e - l - mah-
boo - b má ’ád wi - l - fee.
“Ya-bu-l-gelfee. Ya-bu-l-gelfee.
Ráh el-mahboob: má ’ád wilfee.”
O thou in the long-sleeved yelek! O thou in the long-sleeved yelek!
The beloved is gone: my companion has not returned.
“Ráh el-mirsál wa-lem gáshee:
Wa-’eyn el-hobb bi-teráshee.
Ya-bu-l-gálif. Ya-bu-l-gelfee.
Yá reyt’në ma-nshebeknáshee.
Ya-bu-l-gelfee, etc.”
The messenger went, and has not returned:
And the eye of love is glancing.
O thou with the side-lock![468] O thou in the long-sleeved yelek!
Would that we had not been ensnared!
O thou in the long-sleeved yelek, etc.
“Wa-ley yá ’eyn shebekteenë
Wa-bi-l-alház garahteenë.
Ya-bu-l-gálif. Ya-bu-l-gelfee.
Bi-lláhi rikk wa-shfeenë.
Ya-bu-l-gelfee, etc.”
And why, O eye! hast thou ensnared us?
And with glances wounded us?
O thou with the side-lock! O thou in the long-sleeved yelek!
By Allah! have compassion, and heal us.
O thou in the long-sleeved yelek! etc.
“Askamten′ee yá habeebee:
Wa-má kasdee illa tibbak.
’Asák yá bedrë terhamnee:
Fa-inna kalbee yehebbak.
Ya-bu-l-wardee. Ya-bu-l-wardee.
Habeebë kalbee khaleek ’andee.”
Thou hast made me ill, O my beloved!
And my desire is for nothing but thy medicine.
Perhaps, O full moon! thou wilt have mercy upon me:
For verily my heart loveth thee.
O thou in the rose-coloured dress! O thou in the rose-coloured dress!
Beloved of my heart! remain with me.
“De-l-hobbë gánee yet’máyal:
Wa-sukrë hálee gufoonuh.
Meddeyt eedee akhud el-kás:
Sekirt ana min ’oyoonuh.
Ya-bu-l-wardee, etc.”
The beloved came to me with a vacillating gait;
And her eyelids were the cause of my intoxication.
I extended my hand to take the cup;
And was intoxicated by her eyes.
O thou in the rose-coloured dress! etc.
No. 3.
[Stanza]
[Stanza]
[Stanza]
Má marr wa - sa - ká - nee ha - bee - bee
suk - kar. Nusf el - la - yá - lee
’a-l - mu - dá - meh ne - s - kar.
“Má marr wa-sakánee habeebee sukkar.
Nusf el-läyálee ’a-l-mudámeh neskar.
Nedren ’aleiya wa-n ata mahboobee
La-amal ’amáyil má ’amilhásh ’Antar.”
My love passed not, but gave me sherbet of sugar to drink.
For half the nights we will intoxicate ourselves with wine.
I vow that, if my beloved come,
I will do deeds that ’Antar did not.
“Yá bintë melesik dáb wa-bent[469] eedeyke[470]
Wa-kháf ’aleykee min säwád ’eyneykee.
Kasdee ana askar wa-boos khaddeykee
Wa-amal ’amáyil mi ’amilhásh ’Antar.”
O damsel! thy silk shirt is worn out, and thine arms have become
visible,
And I fear for thee, on account of the blackness of thine eyes.
I desire to intoxicate myself, and kiss thy cheeks,
And do deeds that ’Antar did not.
“Fáïteh ’aleiya máliya-l-argeeleh:
Wa-meiyet[471] el-má-wardë fi-l-argeeleh.
Ata-bi-l-buneiyeh ’ámiláha heeleh.
Meta tekul-lee ta’ál yá geda neskar.”
She is passing by me, and filling the argeeleh;[472]
And there is rose-water in the argeeleh.
It seems to me the little lass is framing to herself some artifice.
When will she say to me, “O youth! come, and let us intoxicate
ourselves”?
“Tool el-layálee lem yenkat′a’ noohee
’Ala ghazal mufrad wa-khad roohee.
Nedren ’aleiya wa-n ata mahboobee
La-amal ’amáyil má ’amilhásh ’Antar.”
Every night long my moaning ceaseth not
For a solitary gazelle that hath taken away my soul.
I vow that, if my beloved come,
I will do deeds that ’Antar did not.
“Yá dema ’eynee ’a-l-khudeyd men hallak:
Kal-lee bi-zeedak shok ’ala bo’ádi khillak.
Irham muteiyam yá gemeel mashghul-bak.
Taama ’oyoon ellee má yehebbak ya-smar.”
O tear of my eye! who drew thee forth over the cheek?
It saith, “Thy desire increaseth on account of thy true-love’s absence.”
Have mercy upon one enslaved, O beautiful! and intent upon thee:
Blinded be the eyes of him who loves thee not, O dark complexioned!
“Asmar wa-háwi-l-wardeteyni-l-beedi.
Hobbee takhallak fee läyáli-l-’eedi.
Nedren ’aleiya wa-n atánee seedee
La-amal ’amáyil má ’amilhásh ’Antar.”
Dark-complexioned, and with two white roses![473]
My love hath perfumed herself on the nights of the festival.
I vow that, if my mistress come to me,
I will do deeds that ’Antar did not.
No. 4.
[Stanza]
[Stanza]
[Stanza]
A’ - shik ra - a mub - te - lee - -
ka - - - l-lu - - - - - h enta
rá - - - - - - - - -ye - h feyn.
“’A′shik ra-a mubtel′ee: kal-luh enta ráyeh feyn.
Wakaf kara kissatuh: bekyum sawa-l-itneyn.
Ráhom le-kádi-l-häwa-l-itneyn säwa yeshkum.
Bekyu-t-teláteh wa-káloo hobbena ráh feyn.
El-leyl. El-leyl. Yá helw el-ayádee: háwi-l-khókh en-nádee.
Entum min eyn wa-hna min eyn lemma shebektoonë.”
A lover saw another afflicted [in like manner]: he said to him, “Whither
art thou going?”
He stopped and told his story: they both wept together.
They went to the kádee of love, both together to complain.
The three wept, and said, “Whither is our love gone?”
The night! The night! O thou with sweet hands! Gatherer[474] of the dewy
peach!
Whence were ye, and whence were we, when ye ensnared us?
“A’shik yekul li-l-hamám hát lee genáhak yóm.
Kál el-hamám amrak bátil: kultu gheyr el-yóm:
Hatta ateer fi-l-gó wa-nzur wegh el-mahboob;
A′khud widád ’am wa-rga’ yá hamám fee yóm.
El-leyl. El-leyl, etc.”
A lover says to the dove, “Lend me your wings for a day.”
The dove replied, “Thy affair is vain:” I said, “Some other day:
That I may soar through the sky, and see the face of the beloved:
I shall obtain love enough for a year, and will return, O dove, in a
day.”
The night! The night! etc.
-------
THE CALL TO PRAYER.
The call to prayer, repeated from the mád’nehs (or menarets) of the
mosques, I have already mentioned.[475] I have often heard this call, in
Cairo, chanted in the following manner; and in a style more or less
similar, it is chanted by most of the muëddins of this city.
[Stanza]
[Stanza]
[Stanza]
[Stanza]
[Stanza]
[Stanza]
[Stanza]
[Stanza]
[Stanza]
[Stanza]
[Stanza]
[Stanza]
[Stanza]
[Stanza]
[Stanza]
[Stanza]
[Stanza]
[Stanza]
[Stanza]
Al _ lá _ hu ak _bar. Al-
lá _ hu ak _ bar. Al _ lá _ hu ak -
bar. Al _ lá - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - hu ak - bar.
Ash - hadu an lá i - lá - ha il-la- l -
láh. Ash-hadu an lá i -
lá. ha il - la - l-lá - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - h. Ash - hadu
an - na Mo - ham - ma - dar ra - soolu - l -
láh Ash - hadu an - na Moham - ma-
dar ra - soolu-l - lá - - - - - - - - - - -
h. Hei - ya ’a - la-s - sa - láh.
Hei - ya ’ala-s-salá
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - h.
Hei - ya ’ala - l - fe - láh. Hei - ya ’a-la-l-fe-
lá - - - - - - - - - - — - - - -h
Al- - lá - - hu ak - - bar.
Al - - lá - - - hu ak - - bar.
Lá i - lá - ha i-l - la - l-l-áh
THE CHANTING OF THE KUR-ÁN.
The following is inserted with the view of conveying some notion of the
mode in which the Kur-án is commonly chanted in Egypt. The portion here
selected is that which is most frequently repeated, namely, the
“Fát’hah,” or first chapter.
[Stanza]
[Stanza]
[Stanza]
[Stanza]
[Stanza]
[Stanza]
[Stanza]
[Stanza]
[Stanza]
Bi - smi-l - - lá - hi-r-rah - má - ni-r - ra-
heem. El - - hamdu li-l - lá - hi
rab - - bil - ’á - - la - - mee - - na-r - rah-
má - ni-r - ra - hee - mi má - li - ki yow - mi-d-
deen. Ee - yá - - ka naa - bu - doo - wa-
ee - yá - ka nesta - ’een. Ihdi - na-s - si - rá - ta-l-
mus - ta - kee - ma si - rá - ta-l - le zee - na an-
’am - ta ’a - lei - him ghei - ri-l-maghdoo - bi ’a-
lei - him wa-la-d - dá - - - -lleen. A’-meen.
-----
Footnote 449:
This is most remarkable in the more refined Egyptian music; but it is
also observable in the airs of some common ballads and chants.
Footnote 450:
Often, in such cases, pronounced in an unusually broad manner, and the
last syllable drawled out, thus—“Allauh!”
Footnote 451:
A friend (a native of Egypt) has observed to me, since the first
edition of this work was printed, that “rabáb” would be a more proper
term for this instrument, being the general Arabic name for a viol;
but I never heard it called in Egypt by any other name than
“kemengeh.” It is also thus called in Syria.
Footnote 452:
The mouth-piece (A B) of the zummárah is movable.
Footnote 453:
The arghool has three movable pieces to lengthen the longer tube (A B,
B C, and C D); and is sometimes used with only one or two of these;
and sometimes with none of them.
Footnote 454:
Here, in accordance with a rule observed in most modern Arab songs,
the masculine gender is applied to the beloved object, who is,
nevertheless, a female, as will be seen in several subsequent verses.
In translation, I therefore substitute the feminine gender in every
case where our language distinguishes gender. Some words occur,
bearing double meanings, which I leave unexplained. I write the Arabic
words as they are generally pronounced in Cairo, excepting in the case
of one letter, which I represent by “k,” to express the sound which
persons of education give to it instead of the more usual hiatus.
Footnote 455:
The Arabs find it impossible to utter three consonants together
without a pause between the second and third: hence the introduction
of the short vowel which terminates this word: it is a single letter
that is represented by _sh_.
Footnote 456:
Or pace, or strut.
Footnote 457:
“Yá lellee,” which is thus translated, is a common ejaculation
indicative of joy synonymous with “yá farhatee.” It is difficult to
render this and other cant terms.
Footnote 458:
This line and the first of the next stanza require an additional note,
which is the same as the last note of these lines, to be added at the
commencement
Footnote 459:
This and some other lines require that the note which should be the
last if they were of more correct measure be transferred to the
commencement of the next line.
Footnote 460:
The famous saint Es-seyyid Ahmad El-Bedawee, who is buried at Tanta,
in the Delta.
Footnote 461:
That is, the air of the song.
Footnote 462:
Namely, the black eyes.
Footnote 463:
The intoxication here meant is that of love, as is generally the case
when this expression is used in Arab songs.
Footnote 464:
Cairo.
Footnote 465:
An ornament described in the Appendix, resembling a necklace of
pearls, etc., attached on each side of the head-dress.
Footnote 466:
A kind of long necklace, reaching to the girdle.
Footnote 467:
The furniture consists of carpets, etc., spread upon the floor.
Footnote 468:
The lock of hair which hangs over the temple, commonly called
“maksoos.”
Footnote 469:
“Bent” is a vulgar contraction of “bánet.”
Footnote 470:
Dual of “eed,” vulg. for “yed;” meaning “arm” as well as “hand.”
Footnote 471:
A vulgar diminutive of “má,” water.
Footnote 472:
More commonly called “nárgeeleh:” the Persian pipe.
Footnote 473:
The dark-complexioned girl has two _white_ roses on her cheeks,
instead of red.
Footnote 474:
Or, thou who hast.
Footnote 475:
In the chapter on religion and laws.
----------------------------
CHAPTER XIX.
PUBLIC DANCERS.
Egypt has long been celebrated for its public dancing-girls; the most
famous of whom are of a distinct tribe, called “Ghawázee.”[476] A female
of this tribe is called “Gházeeyeh;” and a man, “Gházee;” but the plural
Ghawázee is generally understood as applying to the females. The error
into which most travellers in Egypt have fallen, of confounding the
common dancing-girls of this country with the ’A′l’mehs, who are female
singers, has already been exposed. The Ghawázee perform, unveiled, in
the public streets, even to amuse the rabble. Their dancing has little
of elegance. They commence with a degree of decorum; but soon, by more
animated looks, by a more rapid collision of their castanets of brass,
and by increased energy in every motion, they exhibit a spectacle
exactly agreeing with the descriptions which Martial[477] and
Juvenal[478] have given of the performances of the female dancers of
Gades. The dress in which they generally thus exhibit in public is
similar to that which is worn by women of the middle classes in Egypt in
private; that is, in the hareem; consisting of a yelek, or an ’anter′ee,
and the shintiyán, etc., of handsome materials. They also wear various
ornaments: their eyes are bordered with the kohl (or black collyrium);
and the tips of their fingers, the palms of their hands, and their toes
and other parts of their feet, are usually stained with the red dye of
the henna, according to the general custom of the middle and higher
classes of Egyptian women. In general, they are accompanied by musicians
(mostly of the same tribe), whose instruments are the kemengeh, or the
rabáb, and the tár; or the darabukkeh and zummárah or the zemr: the tár
is usually in the hands of an old woman.
The Ghawázee often perform in the court of a house, or in the street,
before the door, on certain occasions of festivity in the hareem; as,
for instance, on the occasion of a marriage, or the birth of a child.
They are never admitted into a respectable hareem; but are not
unfrequently hired to entertain a party of men in the house of some
rake. In this case, as might be expected, their performances are yet
more lascivious than those which I have already mentioned. Some of them,
when they exhibit before a private party of men, wear nothing but the
shintiyán (or trousers) and a tób (or very full shirt or gown) of
semi-transparent, coloured gauze, open nearly half-way down the front.
To extinguish the least spark of modesty which they may yet sometimes
affect to retain, they are plentifully supplied with brandy or some
other intoxicating liquor. The scenes which ensue cannot be described.
I need scarcely add, that these women are the most abandoned of the
courtesans of Egypt. Many of them are extremely handsome; and most of
them are richly dressed. Upon the whole, I think they are the finest
women in Egypt. Many of them have slightly aquiline noses; but in most
respects they resemble the rest of the females of this country. Women,
as well as men, take delight in witnessing their performances; but many
persons among the higher classes, and the more religious, disapprove of
them.
The Ghawázee being distinguished, in general, by a cast of countenance
differing, though slightly, from the rest of the Egyptians, we can
hardly doubt that they are, as themselves assert, a distinct race. Their
origin, however, is involved in much uncertainty. They call themselves
“Barámikeh,”[479] or “Barmek′ees;” and boast that they are descended
from the famous family of that name who were the objects of the favour,
and afterwards of the capricious tyranny, of Hároon Er-Rasheed, and of
whom we read in several of the tales of “The Thousand and One Nights:”
but, as a friend of mine lately observed to me, they probably have no
more right to call themselves “Barámikeh” than because they resemble
that family in liberality, though it is liberality of a different kind.
In many of the tombs of the ancient Egyptians, we find representations
of females dancing at private entertainments, to the sounds of various
instruments, in a manner similar to the modern Ghawázee, but even more
licentious; one or more of these performers being generally depicted in
a state of perfect nudity, though in the presence of men and women of
high stations. This mode of dancing we find, from the monuments here
alluded to, most of which bear the names of kings, which prove their
age, to have been common in Egypt in very remote times; even before the
Exodus of the Israelites. It is probable, therefore, that it has
continued without interruption; and perhaps the modern Ghawázee are
descended from the class of female dancers who amused the Egyptians in
the times of the early Pharaohs. From the similarity of the Spanish
fandango to the dances of the Ghawázee, we might infer that it was
introduced into Spain by the Arab conquerors of that country, were we
not informed that the Gaditanæ, or females of Gades (now called Cadiz),
were famous for such performances in the times of the early Roman
Emperors. However, though it hence appears that the licentious mode of
dancing here described has so long been practised in Spain, it is not
improbable that it was originally introduced into Gades from the East,
perhaps by the Phœnicians.[480]
The Ghawázee mostly keep themselves distinct from other classes,
abstaining from marriages with any but persons of their own tribe; but
sometimes a Gházeeyeh makes a vow of repentance, and marries a
respectable Arab; who is not generally considered as disgraced by such a
connexion. All of them are brought up for the venal profession, but not
all as dancers; and most of them marry, though they never do this until
they have commenced their career of venality. The husband is subject to
the wife: he performs for her the offices of a servant and procurer; and
generally, if she be a dancer, he is also her musician: but a few of the
men earn their subsistence as blacksmiths or tinkers. Most of the
Gházeeyehs welcome the lowest peasant, if he can pay even a very
trifling sum. Though some of them are possessed of considerable wealth,
costly ornaments, etc., many of their customs are similar to those of
the people whom we call “gipsies,” and who are supposed, by some, to be
of Egyptian origin. It is remarkable that the gipsies in Egypt often
pretend to be descended from a branch of the same family to whom the
Ghawázee refer their origin; but their claim is still less to be
regarded than that of the latter, because they do not unanimously agree
on this point. I shall have occasion to speak of them more particularly
in the next chapter. The ordinary language of the Ghawázee is the same
as that of the rest of the Egyptians; but they sometimes make use of a
number of words peculiar to themselves, in order to render their speech
unintelligible to strangers. They are, professedly, of the Muslim faith;
and often some of them accompany the Egyptian caravan of pilgrims to
Mekkeh. There are many of them in almost every large town in Egypt,
inhabiting a distinct portion of the quarter allotted to public women in
general. Their ordinary habitations are low huts, or temporary sheds, or
tents; for they often move from one town to another: but some of them
settle themselves in large houses; and many possess black female slaves
(by whose prostitution they increase their property), and camels, asses,
cows, etc., in which they trade. They attend the camps, and all the
great religious and other festivals; of which they are, to many persons,
the chief attractions. Numerous tents of Gházeeyehs are seen on these
occasions. Some of these women add, to their other allurements, the art
of singing; and equal the ordinary ’Awálim. Those of the lower class
dress in the same manner as other low prostitutes. Some of them wear a
gauze tób, over another shirt, with the shintiyán, and a crape or muslin
tarhah; and in general they deck themselves with a profusion of
ornaments, as necklaces, bracelets, anklets, a row of gold coins over
the forehead, and sometimes a nose-ring. All of them adorn themselves
with the kohl and henna. There are some other dancing-girls and
courtesans who call themselves Ghawázee, but who do not really belong to
that tribe.[481]
Many of the people of Cairo, affecting, or persuading themselves, to
consider that there is nothing improper in the dancing of the Ghawázee
but the fact of its being performed by females, who ought not thus to
expose themselves, employ men to dance in the same manner; but the
number of these male performers, who are mostly young men, and who are
called “Khäwals,”[482] is very small. They are Muslims, and natives of
Egypt. As they personate women, their dances are exactly of the same
description as those of the Ghawázee; and are, in like manner,
accompanied by the sounds of castanets: but, as if to prevent their
being thought to be really females, their dress is suited to their
unnatural profession; being partly male, and partly female: it chiefly
consists of a tight vest, a girdle, and a kind of petticoat. Their
general appearance, however, is more feminine than masculine: they
suffer the hair of the head to grow long, and generally braid it, in the
manner of the women: the hair on the face, when it begins to grow, they
pluck out; and they imitate the women also in applying kohl and henna to
their eyes and hands. In the streets, when not engaged in dancing, they
often even veil their faces; not from shame, but merely to affect the
manners of women. They are often employed, in preference to the
Ghawázee, to dance before a house, or in its court, on the occasion of a
marriage-fête, or the birth of a child, or a circumcision; and
frequently perform at public festivals.
There is, in Cairo, another class of male dancers, young men and boys,
whose performances, dress, and general appearance are almost exactly
similar to those of the Khäwals; but who are distinguished by a
different appellation, which is “Gink;” a term that is Turkish, and has
a vulgar signification which aptly expresses their character. They are
generally Jews, Armenians, Greeks, and Turks.
-----
Footnote 476:
Since this was written, public female dancing and prostitution were
prohibited by the government, in the beginning of June, 1834. Women
detected infringing this new law are to be punished with fifty stripes
for the first offence; and, for repeated offences, are to be also
condemned to hard labour for one or more years: men are obnoxious to
the discipline of the bastinado when parties in such offences. But
there is a simple plan for evading punishment in cases of this kind,
which, it is said, will be adopted by many persons. A man may marry a
venal female, legally, and divorce her the next day. He has only to
say two or three words, and pay a small sum of money, which he calls
her dowry. He says, “Will you marry me?” She answers, “Yes.” “For how
much?” he asks. She names the sum, and he gives it: she is then his
lawful wife. The next day he tells her that she is divorced from him.
He need be under little apprehension of her demanding the expenses of
her maintenance during the period of her ’eddeh, before the expiration
of which she cannot legally marry another man; for the marriage which
has just been contracted and dissolved is only designed as a means of
avoiding punishment in case of her being detected with the man; and
otherwise is kept secret; and the sum which she can demand for her
maintenance during the above-mentioned period is very paltry in
comparison with that which she may obtain by taking a new husband
every two or three days.
Footnote 477:
Lib. v., Epigr. 79.
Footnote 478:
Sat. xi., v. 162.
Footnote 479:
Commonly pronounced “Barám’keh.”
Footnote 480:
From the effect which it produced, it is probable that the dance
performed by the daughter of Herodias was of the kind here described.
See Matthew xiv. 6, 7, or Mark vi. 22, 23.
Footnote 481:
The courtesans of other classes abound in every town of Egypt; but in
and about the metropolis, these and the others before mentioned are
particularly numerous; some quarters being inhabited almost
exclusively by them. These women frequently conduct themselves with
the most audacious effrontery. Their dress is such as I have described
as being worn by the Ghawázee, or differs from that of respectable
women in being a little more gay, and less disguising. Some women of
the venal class in Cairo not only wear the burko’ (or face-veil), but
dress, in every respect, like modest women; from whom they cannot be
distinguished, excepting by those to whom they choose to discover
themselves. Such women are found in almost every quarter of the
metropolis. Many of them are divorced women, or widows; and many are
the wives of men whom business obliges to be often abroad.
Footnote 482:
The term “Gháïsh” (plural, “Gheeyásh”) is also applied to a person of
this class.
----------------------------
CHAPTER XX.
SERPENT CHARMERS, AND PERFORMERS OF LEGERDEMAIN TRICKS, ETC.
Many modern writers upon Egypt have given surprising accounts of a class
of men in this country, supposed, like the ancient “Psylli” of
Cyrenaïca, to possess a secret art, to which allusion is made in the
Bible,[483] enabling them to secure themselves from the poison of
serpents. I have met with many persons among the more intelligent of the
Egyptians who condemn these modern Psylli as impostors, but none who
have been able to offer a satisfactory explanation of the most common
and most interesting of their performances, which I am about to
describe.
Many Rifá’ee and Saadee darweeshes obtain their livelihood, as I have
mentioned on a former occasion, by going about to charm away serpents
from houses. A few other persons also profess the same art, but are not
so famous. The former travel over every part of Egypt, and find abundant
employment; but their gains are barely sufficient to procure them a
scanty subsistence. The charmer professes to discover, without ocular
perception (but perhaps he does so by a peculiar smell), whether there
be any serpents in a house; and if there be, to attract them to him; as
the fowler, by the fascination of his voice, allures the bird into his
net. As the serpent seeks the darkest place in which to hide himself,
the charmer has, in most cases, to exercise his skill in an obscure
chamber, where he might easily take a serpent from his bosom, bring it
to the people without the door, and affirm that he had found it in the
apartment; for no one would venture to enter with him after having been
assured of the presence of one of these reptiles within: but he is often
required to perform in the full light of day, surrounded by spectators;
and incredulous persons have searched him beforehand, and even stripped
him naked; yet his success has been complete. He assumes an air of
mystery, strikes the walls with a short palm-stick, whistles, makes a
clucking noise with his tongue, and spits upon the ground; and generally
says, “I adjure you by God, if ye be above, or if ye be below, that ye
come forth: I adjure you by the most great Name, if ye be obedient, come
forth; and if ye be disobedient, die! die! die!”—The serpent is
generally dislodged by his stick, from a fissure in the wall, or drops
from the ceiling of the room. I have often heard it asserted that the
serpent-charmer, before he enters a house in which he is to try his
skill, always employs a servant of that house to introduce one or more
serpents; but I have known instances in which this could not be the
case; and am inclined to believe that the darweeshes above mentioned are
generally acquainted with some real physical means of discovering the
presence of serpents without seeing them, and of attracting them from
their lurking-places. It is, however, a fact well ascertained, that the
most expert of them do not venture to carry serpents of a venomous
nature about their persons until they have extracted the poisonous
teeth. Many of them carry scorpions, also, within the cap, and next the
shaven head; but doubtless first deprive them of the power to injure;
perhaps by merely blunting the sting. Their famous feats of eating live
and venomous serpents, which are regarded as religious acts, I have
before had occasion to mention, and purpose to describe particularly in
another chapter.[484]
Performers of sleight-of-hand tricks, who are called “Höwáh” (in the
singular, “Háwee”[485]), are numerous in Cairo. They generally perform
in public places; collecting a ring of spectators around them; from some
of whom they receive small voluntary contributions during and after
their performances. They are most frequently seen on the occasions of
public festivals; but often also at other times. By indecent jests and
actions, they attract as much applause as they do by other means. The
“Háwee” performs a great variety of tricks; the most usual of which I
shall here mention. He generally has two boys to assist him. From a
large leather bag he takes out four or five snakes, of a largish size.
One of these he places on the ground, and makes it erect its head and
part of its body: another, he puts round the head of one of the boys,
like a turban; and two more over the boy’s neck. He takes these off;
opens the boy’s mouth, apparently passes the bolt of a kind of padlock
through his cheek, and locks it. Then, in appearance, he forces an iron
spike into the boy’s throat: the spike being really pushed up into a
wooden handle. He also performs another trick of the same kind as this:
placing the boy on the ground, he puts the edge of a knife upon his
nose, and knocks the blade until half its width seems to have entered.
Several indecent tricks which he performs with the boy I must abstain
from describing: some of them are abominably disgusting. The tricks
which he alone performs are more amusing. He draws a great quantity of
various-coloured silk from his mouth, and winds it on his arm; puts
cotton in his mouth, and blows out fire; takes out of his mouth a great
number of round pieces of tin, like dollars; and, in appearance, blows
an earthen pipe-bowl from his nose. In most of his tricks, he
occasionally blows through a large shell (called the Háwee’s zummárah),
producing sounds like those of a horn. Most of his sleight-of-hand
performances are nearly similar to those of exhibitors of the same class
in our own and other countries. Taking a silver finger-ring from one of
the bystanders, he puts it in a little box, blows his shell, and says
“’Efreet, change it!”—he then opens the box, and shows, in it, a
different ring: shuts the box again; opens it, and shows the first ring:
shuts it a third time; opens it, and shows a melted lump of silver,
which he declares to be the ring melted, and offers to the owner: the
latter insists upon having his ring in its original state: the Háwee
then asks for five or ten faddahs to recast it; and having obtained
this, opens the box again (after having closed it, and blown his shell),
and takes out of it the perfect ring. He next takes a larger covered
box; puts the skull-cap of one of his boys in it; blows his shell; opens
the box; and out comes a rabbit: the cap seems to be gone. He puts the
rabbit in again; covers the box; uncovers it; and out run two little
chickens: these he puts in again; blows his shell; uncovers the box; and
shows it full of fateerehs (or pancakes) and kunáfeh (which resembles
vermicelli): he tells his boys to eat its contents; but they refuse to
do it without honey: he then takes a small jug: turns it upside-down, to
show that it is empty; blows his shell; and hands round the jug full of
honey. The boys, having eaten, ask for water, to wash their hands. The
Háwee takes the same jug; and hands it filled with water, in the same
manner. He takes the box again; and asks for the cap; blows his shell;
uncovers the box; and pours out from it, into the boy’s lap (the lower
part of his shirt held up), four or five small snakes. The boy, in
apparent fright, throws them down; and demands his cap. The Háwee puts
the snakes back into the box; blows his shell; uncovers the box; and
takes out the cap.—Another of his common tricks is to put a number of
slips of white paper into a tinned copper vessel (the tisht of a seller
of sherbet); and to take them out dyed of various colours. He pours
water into the same vessel; puts in a piece of linen; then gives to the
spectators, to drink, the contents of the vessel, changed to sherbet of
sugar. Sometimes he apparently cuts in two a muslin shawl, or burns it
in the middle; and then restores it whole.—Often, he strips himself of
all his clothes, excepting his drawers; and tells two persons to bind
him, hands and feet, and put him in a sack. This done, he asks for a
piaster; and some one tells him that he shall have it if he will put out
his hand and take it. He puts out his hand free; draws it back; and is
then taken out of the sack bound as at first. He is put in again; and
comes out unbound; handing to the spectators a small tray, upon which
are four or five little plates filled with various eatables, and, if the
performance be at night, several small lighted candles placed round. The
spectators eat the food.
There is another class of jugglers in Cairo called “Keeyem” (in the
singular, “Keiyim”). In most of his performances, the Keiyim has an
assistant. In one, for instance, the latter places upon the ground
twenty-nine small pieces of stone. He sits upon the ground; and these
are arranged before him. The Keiyim having gone a few yards distant from
him, this assistant desires one of the spectators to place a piece of
money under any one of the bits of stone: this being done, he calls back
the Keiyim, informs him that a piece of money has been hidden, and asks
him to point out where it is; which the conjuror immediately does. The
secret of this trick is very simple: the twenty-nine pieces of stone
represent the letters of the Arabic alphabet; and the person who desires
the Keiyim to show where the money is concealed commences his address to
the latter with the letter represented by the stone which covers the
coin. In the same manner, or by means of signs made by the assistant,
the Keiyim is enabled to tell the name of any person present, or the
words of a song that has been repeated in his absence: the name or song
having been whispered to his assistant.
Fortune-telling is often practised in Egypt, mostly by Gipsies, as in
our own country. There are but few Gipsies in this country. They are
here called “Ghagar” or “Ghajar” (in the singular, “Ghagaree” or
“Ghajaree”). In general, they profess themselves descendants of the
Barámikeh, like the Ghawázee; but of a different branch. Many (I believe
most) of the women are fortune-tellers. These women are often seen in
the streets of Cairo, dressed in a similar manner to the generality of
the females of the lower classes, with the tób and tarhah, but always
with unveiled faces; usually carrying a gazelle’s skin, containing the
materials for their divinations; and crying, “I perform divination! What
is present I manifest! What is absent I manifest!” etc. They mostly
divine by means of a number of shells, with a few pieces of coloured
glass, money, etc., intermixed with them. These they throw down; and
from the manner in which they chance to lie, they derive their
prognostications: a larger shell than the rest represents the person
whose fortune they are to discover; and the other shells, etc.,
represent different events, evils and blessings, which, by their
proximity to, or distance from, the former, they judge to be fated to
befall the person in question early or late or never. Some of these
Gipsy-women also cry, “Nedukk wa-n’táhir!” (“We puncture and
circumcise!”).[486] Many of the Gipsies in Egypt are blacksmiths,
braziers, and tinkers; or itinerant sellers of the wares which are made
by others of this class; particularly of trumpery trinkets of brass,
etc.
Some Gipsies also follow the occupation of a “Bahluwán.” This
appellation is properly given to a performer of gymnastic exercises, a
famous swordsman, or a champion; and such descriptions of persons
formerly exhibited their feats of strength and dexterity, under this
name, in Cairo; but the performances of the modern Bahluwán are almost
confined to rope-dancing; and all the persons who practise this art are
Gipsies. Sometimes the rope is tied to the mád’neh of a mosque, at a
considerable height from the ground; and extends to the length of
several hundred feet; being supported at many points by poles fixed in
the ground. The dancer always uses a long balancing-pole. Sometimes he
dances or walks on the rope with clogs on his feet, or with a piece of
soap tied under each foot, or with a child suspended to each of his
ankles by a rope, or with a boy tied to each end of the balancing-pole;
and he sits upon a round tray placed on the rope. I have only seen three
of these bahluwáns, and their performances were not of the more
difficult kinds above described, and less clever than those of the
commonest rope-dancers in England. Women, girls, and boys, often follow
this occupation. The men and boys also perform other feats than those of
rope-dancing; such as tumbling, leaping through a hoop, etc.
The “Kureydátee” (whose appellation is derived from “kird,” an ape, or a
monkey) amuses the lower orders in Cairo by sundry performances of an
ape or a monkey, an ass, a dog, and a kid. He and the ape (which is
generally of the cynocephalus kind) fight each other with sticks. He
dresses the ape fantastically, usually as a bride, or a veiled woman;
puts it on the ass; and parades it round within the ring of spectators;
himself going before and beating a tambourine. The ape is also made to
dance, and perform various antics. The ass is told to choose the
handsomest girl in the ring; and does so; putting his nose towards her
face; and greatly amusing her and all the spectators. The dog is ordered
to imitate the motions of a thief; and accordingly crawls along on its
belly. The best performance is that of the kid: it is made to stand upon
a little piece of wood, nearly in the shape of a dice-box, about a span
long, and an inch and a half wide at the top and bottom, so that all its
four feet are placed close together: this piece of wood, with the kid
thus standing upon it, is then lifted up, and a similar piece placed
under it; and, in the same manner, a third piece, a fourth, and a fifth
are added.
The Egyptians are often amused by players of low and ridiculous farces,
who are called “Mohabbazeen.” These frequently perform at the festivals
prior to weddings and circumcisions, at the houses of the great; and
sometimes attract rings of auditors and spectators in the public places
in Cairo. Their performances are scarcely worthy of description: it is
chiefly by vulgar jests and indecent actions, that they amuse, and
obtain applause. The actors are only men and boys: the part of a woman
being always performed by a man or a boy in female attire. As a specimen
of their plays, I shall give a short account of one which was acted
before the Básha, a short time ago, at a festival celebrated in honour
of the circumcision of one of his sons; on which occasion, as usual,
several sons of grandees were also circumcised. The _dramatis personæ_
were a Názir (or Governor of a District), a Sheykh-Beled (or Chief of a
Village), a servant of the latter, a Copt clerk, a Felláh indebted to
the government, his wife, and five other persons, of whom two made their
appearance first in the character of drummers, one as a hautboy-player,
and the two others as dancers. After a little drumming and piping and
dancing by these five, the Názir and the rest of the performers enter
the ring. The Názir asks, “How much does ’Awad[487] the son of Regeb
owe?” The musicians and dancers, who now act as simple felláheen,
answer, “Desire the Christian to look in the register.” The Christian
clerk has a large dawáyeh (or receptacle for pens and ink) in his
girdle; and is dressed as a Copt, with a black turban. The Sheykh
el-Beled asks him, “How much is written against ’Awad the son of Regeb?”
The clerk answers, “A thousand piasters.” “How much,” says the Sheykh,
“has he paid?” He is answered, “Five piasters.” “Man,” says he,
addressing the felláh, “why don’t you bring the money?” The felláh
answers, “I have not any.” “You have not any?” exclaims the Sheykh.
“Throw him down.” An inflated piece of an intestine, resembling a large
kurbág, is brought; and with this the felláh is beaten. He roars out to
the Názir, “By the honour of thy horse’s tail, O Bey! By the honour of
thy wife’s trowsers, O Bey! By the honour of thy wife’s head-band, O
Bey!” After twenty such absurd appeals, his beating is finished, and he
is taken away, and imprisoned. Presently his wife comes to him, and asks
him, “How art thou?” He answers, “Do me a kindness, my wife: take a
little kishk[488] and some eggs and some sha’eereeyeh,[489] and go with
them to the house of the Christian clerk, and appeal to his generosity
to get me set at liberty.” She takes these, in three baskets, to the
Christian’s house, and asks the people there, “Where is the M’allim
Hanna, the clerk?” They answer, “There he sits.” She says to him, “O
M’allim Hanna, do me the favour to receive these, and obtain the
liberation of my husband.” “Who is thy husband?” he asks. She answers,
“The felláh who owes a thousand piasters.” “Bring,” says he, “twenty or
thirty piasters to bribe the Sheykh el-Beled.” She goes away, and soon
returns, with the money in her hand, and gives it to the Sheykh
el-Beled. “What is this?” says the Sheykh. She answers, “Take it as a
bribe, and liberate my husband.” He says, “Very well: go to the Názir.”
She retires for a while; blackens the edges of her eyelids with kohl;
applies fresh red dye of the henna to her hands and feet, and repairs to
the Názir. “Good evening, my master,” she says to him. “What dost thou
want?” he asks. She answers, “I am the wife of ’Awad, who owes a
thousand piasters.” “But what dost thou want?” he asks again. She says,
“My husband is imprisoned; and I appeal to thy generosity to liberate
him:” and as she urges this request, she smiles, and shows him that she
does not ask this favour without being willing to grant him a
recompense. He obtains this; takes the husband’s part; and liberates
him.—This farce was played before the Básha with the view of opening his
eyes to the conduct of those persons to whom was committed the office of
collecting the taxes.
-------------------------------------------
[Illustration: A SHA’ER, WITH HIS ACCOMPANYING VIOLIST, AND PART OF HIS
AUDIENCE.]
_Lane’s Modern Egyptians_] [_Page 359_
-------------------------------------------
The puppet show of “Kara Gyooz” has been introduced into Egypt by Turks,
in whose language the puppets are made to speak.[490] Their
performances, which are, in general, extremely indecent, occasionally
amuse the Turks residing in Cairo; but, of course, are not very
attractive to those who do not understand the Turkish language. They are
conducted in the manner of the “Chinese shadows;” and therefore only
exhibited at night.
-----
Footnote 483:
See Psalm lviii. 4, 5; Eccles. x. 11; and Jerem. viii. 17.
Footnote 484:
In the account of the Moolid en-Nebee, in the first of the chapters on
periodical public festivals, etc.
Footnote 485:
So called from his feats with serpents.
Footnote 486:
They tattoo, or make those blue marks upon the skin which I have
described in the first chapter of this work; and perform the operation
alluded to in a note inserted, page 48.
Footnote 487:
Thus vulgarly pronounced for “’Ewad.”
Footnote 488:
A description of this will be found in a subsequent chapter.
Footnote 489:
A kind of paste, resembling vermicelli.
Footnote 490:
This exhibition is called in Arabic “khayál ed-dill,” or, more
correctly, “— edh-dhill.”
----------------------------
CHAPTER XXI.
PUBLIC RECITATIONS OF ROMANCES.
The Egyptians are not destitute of better diversions than those
described in the preceding chapter: reciters of romances frequent the
principal kahwehs (or coffee-shops) of Cairo and other towns,
particularly on the evenings of religious festivals, and afford
attractive and rational entertainments. The reciter generally seats
himself upon a small stool on the mastab′ah, or raised seat, which is
built against the front of the coffee-shop:[491] some of his auditors
occupy the rest of that seat; others arrange themselves upon the
mastab′ahs of the houses on the opposite side of the narrow street; and
the rest sit upon stools or benches made of palm-sticks; most of them
with the pipe in hand; some sipping their coffee; and all highly amused,
not only with the story, but also with the lively and dramatic manner of
the narrator. The reciter receives a trifling sum of money from the
keeper of the coffee-shop, for attracting customers: his hearers are not
obliged to contribute anything for his remuneration: many of them give
nothing, and few give more than five or ten faddahs.[492]
The most numerous class of reciters is that of the persons called
“Sho’ara” (in the singular “Shá’er,” which properly signifies a _poet_).
They are also called “Aboo-Zeydeeyeh,” or “Aboo-Zeydees,” from the
subject of their recitations, which is a romance entitled “The Life of
Aboo-Zeyd” (“Seeret Aboo-Zeyd”). The number of these Sho’ara in Cairo is
about fifty; and they recite nothing but the adventures related in the
romance of Aboo-Zeyd.
This romance is said to have been founded upon events which happened in
the middle of the third century of the Flight; and is believed to have
been written not long after that period; but it was certainly composed
at a much later time, unless it have been greatly altered in
transcription. It is usually found in ten or more small quarto volumes.
It is half prose and half poetry; half narrative and half dramatic. As a
literary composition, it has little merit, at least in its present
state; but as illustrative of the manners and customs of the Bedawees,
it is not without value and interest. The heroes and heroines of the
romance, who are mostly natives of Central Arabia and El-Yemen, but some
of them of El-Gharb, or Northern Africa, which is called “the West,”
with reference to Arabia, generally pour forth their most animated
sentiments, their addresses and soliloquies, in verse. The verse is not
measured, though it is the opinion of some of the learned in Cairo that
it was originally conformed to the prescribed measures of poetry, and
that it has been altered by copyists; still, when read, as it always is,
almost entirely in the popular (not the literary) manner, it is pleasing
in sound, as it also often is in matter. Almost every piece of poetry
begins and ends with an invocation of blessings on the Prophet.
The Shá’er always commits his subject to memory; and recites without
book. The poetry he chants; and after every verse he plays a few notes
on a viol which has but a single chord, and which is called “the poet’s
viol,” or “the Aboo-Zeydee viol;” from its only being used in these
recitations. It has been described in a former chapter. The reciter
generally has an attendant with another instrument of this kind, to
accompany him. Sometimes a single note serves as a prelude and
interlude. To convey some idea of the style of a Shá’er’s music, I
insert a few notes of the commencement of a chant:—
[Stanza]
[Stanza]
[Stanza]
[Stanza]
Ma-ká - lá - tu Khadra anda
má kad te - fek - ke - ret li-
má kad gara má beyn neg - a Hi - lál.[493]
Some of the reciters of Aboo-Zeyd are distinguished by the appellations
of “Hiláleeyeh” (or Hilálees), “Zaghábeh,” or “Zughbeeyeh” (or
Zughbees), and “Zináteeyeh” (or “Zinátees”), from their chiefly
confining themselves to the narration of the exploits of heroes of the
Hilálee, Zughbee, or Zinátee tribes, celebrated in this romance.
As a specimen of the tale of Aboo-Zeyd, I shall here offer an abstract
of the principal contents of the first volume, which I have carefully
read for this purpose.
Aboo-Zeyd, or, as he was first more generally called, Barakát, was an
Arab of the tribe called Benee-Hilál, or El-Hiláleeyeh. Before his
birth, his father, the Emeer Rizk (who was the son of Náïl, a paternal
uncle of Sarhán, the king of the Benee-Hilál), had married ten wives,
from whom, to his great grief, he had obtained but two children, both of
them daughters, named Sheehah and ’Ateemeh, until one of his wives, the
Emeereh Gellás, increased his distress by bearing him a son without arms
or legs. Shortly before the birth of this son, the Emeer Rizk (having
divorced, at different times, such of his wives as pleased him least, as
he could not have more than four at one time, and having at last
retained only three) married an eleventh wife, the Emeereh Khadra,
daughter of Karda, the Shereef of Mekkeh. He was soon rejoiced to find
that Khadra showed signs of becoming a mother; and, in the hope that the
expected child would be a son, invited the Emeer Ghánim, chief of the
tribe of Ez-Zaghábeh, or Ez-Zughbeeyeh, with a large company of his
family and tribe, to come from their district and honour with their
presence the festival which he hoped to have occasion to celebrate.
These friends complied with his invitation, became his guests, and
waited for the birth of the child.
Meanwhile, it happened that the Emeereh Khadra, walking with the Emeereh
Shemmeh, a wife of King Sarhán, and a number of other females, saw a
black bird attack and kill a numerous flock of birds of various kinds
and hues, and, astonished at the sight, earnestly prayed God to give her
a son like this bird, even though he should be black. Her prayer was
answered: she gave birth to a black boy. The Emeer Rizk, though he could
not believe this to be his own son, was reluctant to put away the
mother, from the excessive love he bore her. He had only heard the
women’s description of the child: he would not see it himself, nor allow
any other man to see it, until the seventh day after its birth. For six
days his guests were feasted; and on the seventh, or “yóm es-subooa,” a
more sumptuous banquet was prepared; after which, according to custom,
the child was brought before the guests. A female slave carried it upon
a silver tray, and covered over with a handkerchief. When the guests, as
usual in such cases, had given their nukoot (or contributions) of gold
and silver coins, one of them lifted up the handkerchief, and saw that
the child was as the women had represented it. The Emeer Rizk, who had
stood outside the tent while this ceremony was performed, in great
distress of mind, was now sharply upbraided by most of his friends for
wishing to hide his supposed disgrace, and to retain an unchaste woman
as his wife: he was very reluctantly compelled to put her away, that his
tribe might not be held in dishonour on her account; and accordingly
despatched her, with her child, under the conduct of a sheykh named
Muneea, to return to her father’s house at Mekkeh. She departed thither,
accompanied also by a number of slaves, her husband’s property, who
determined to remain with her, being allowed to do so by the Emeer Rizk.
On the journey, the party pitched their tents in a valley; and here the
Emeereh Khadra begged her conductor to allow her to remain; for she
feared to go back, under such circumstances, to her father’s house. But
the Emeer Fadl Ibn-Beysem, chief of the tribe of Ez-Zahlán, with a
company of horsemen, chanced to fall in with her party during her
conversation with the sheykh Muneea, and, having heard her story,
determined to take her under his protection: returning to his
encampment, he sent his wife, the Emeereh Laag El-Baheeyeh, to conduct
her and the child thither, together with the slaves. The Emeer Fadl
adopted her child as his own; brought him up with his own two sons; and
treated him with the fondness of a father. The young Barakát soon gave
promise of his becoming a hero: he killed his schoolmaster, by severe
beating, for attempting to chastise one of his adoptive brothers; and
became the terror of all his schoolfellows. His adoptive father procured
another fikee for a schoolmaster; but Barakát’s presence frightened his
schoolfellows from attending; and the fikee therefore instructed him at
home. At the age of eleven years, he had acquired proficiency in all the
sciences, human and divine, then studied in Arabia; including astrology,
magic, alchemy, and a variety of other branches of knowledge.
Barakát now went, by the advice of the fikee, to ask a present of a
horse from his adoptive father; who answered his “Good morning” by
saying, “Good morning, my son, and dearer than my son.” Surprised at
this expression, the youth went to his mother, and asked her if the
Emeer Fadl were not really his father. She told him that this chief was
his uncle; and that his father was dead: that he had been killed by a
Hilálee Arab, called Rizk the son of Náïl. Becoming warmed and inspired
by the remembrance of her wrongs, she then more fully related her case
to her son in a series of verses. Of this piece of poetry I shall
venture to insert a translation, made verse for verse, and with the same
neglect of measure that is found in the original, which I also imitate
in carrying on the same rhyme throughout the whole piece, in accordance
with the common practice of Arab poets:—
“Thus did Khadra, reflecting on what had past
’Mid the tents of Hilál, her tale relate.
‘O Emeer Barakát, hear what I tell thee,
And think not my story is idle prate.
Thy father was Beysem, Beysem’s son,
Thine uncle Fadl’s brother: youth of valour innate![494]
And thy father was wealthy above his fellows;
None other could boast such a rich estate.
As a pilgrim to Mekkeh he journey’d, and there,
In my father’s house, a guest he sate:
He sought me in marriage; attain’d his wish;
And made me his lov’d and wedded mate:
For thy father had never been bless’d with a son:
And had often bewail’d his unhappy fate.
One day to a spring, with some friends I went,
When the chiefs had met at a banquet of state;
And, amusing ourselves with the sight of the water,
We saw numberless birds there congregate:
Some were white, and round as the moon at the full;
Some, with plumage of red; some small, some great;
Some were black, my son; and some were tall:
They compris’d all kinds that God doth create.
Though our party of women came unawares,
The birds did not fear us, nor separate;
But soon, from the vault of the sky descending,
A black-plum’d bird, of enormous weight,
Pounc’d on the others, and killed them all.
To God I cried—O Compassionate!
Thou Living! Eternal! I pray, for the sake
Of the Excellent Prophet, thy delegate,
Grant me a son like this noble bird,
E’en should he be black, thou Considerate!—
Thou wast form’d in my womb, and wast born, my son;
And all thy relations, with joy elate,
And thy father among them, paid honour to me:
But soon did our happiness terminate:
The chiefs of Hilál attack’d our tribe;
And Rizk, among them, precipitate,
Fell on thy father, my son, and slew him;
Then seiz’d on his wealth, his whole estate.
Thine uncle receiv’d me, his relative,
And thee as his son to educate.
God assist thee to take our blood-revenge,
And the tents of Hilál to desolate.
But keep closely secret what I have told thee:
Be mindful to no one this tale to relate:
Thine uncle might grieve; so ’tis fit that, with patience,
In hope of attaining thy wish, thou shouldst wait.’
Thus did Khadra address her son Barakát;
Thus her case with artful deception state.
Now beg we forgiveness of all our sins,
Of God the Exalted, the Sole, the Great;
And join me, my hearers, in blessing the Prophet,[495]
The guide, whose praise we should celebrate.”
Barakát, excited by this tale, became engrossed with the desire of
slaying his own father, whom he was made to believe to be his father’s
murderer.
His adoptive father gave him his best horse, and instructed him in all
the arts of war, in the chase, and in every manly exercise. He early
distinguished himself as a horseman, and excited the envy of many of the
Arabs of the tribe into which he had been admitted, by his dexterity in
the exercise of the “birgás” (a game exactly or nearly similar to what
is now called that of the “gereed”), in which the persons engaged,
mounted on horses, combated or pursued each other, throwing a
palm-stick.[496] He twice defeated plundering parties of the tribe of
Teydemeh; and, on the first occasion, killed ’Atwán the son of Dághir,
their chief. These Teydemeh Arabs applied, for succour, to Es-Saleedee,
king of the city of Teydemeh. He recommended them to Gessár the son of
Gásir, a chief of the Benee-Hemyer, who sent to demand, of the tribe of
Ez-Zahlán, fifteen years’ arrears of tribute which the latter had been
accustomed to pay to his tribe; and desired them to despatch to him,
with this tribute, the slave Barakát (for he believed him to be a
slave), a prisoner in bonds, to be put to death. Barakát wrote a reply,
in the name of the Emeer Fadl, promising compliance. Having a slave who
much resembled him, and who was nearly of the same age, he bound him on
the back of a camel, and, with him and the Emeer Fadl and his tribe,
went to meet Gessár and his party, and the Teydemeh Arabs. Fadl
presented the slave, as Barakát, to Gessár; who, pleased at having his
orders apparently obeyed, feasted the tribe of Ez-Zahlán: but Barakát
remained on horseback, and refused to eat of the food of his enemies,
as, if he did, the laws of hospitality would prevent his executing a
plot which he had framed. Gessár observed him; and, asking the Emeer
Fadl who he was, received the answer that he was a mad slave, named
Mes’ood. Having drawn Gessár from his party, Barakát discovered himself
to him, challenged, fought, and killed him, and took his tent: he
pardoned the rest of the hostile party; but imposed upon them the
tribute which the Zahlán Arabs had formerly paid them. Henceforth he had
the name of Mes’ood added to that which he had before borne. Again and
again he defeated the hostile attempts of the Benee-Hemyer to recover
their independence, and acquired the highest renown, not only in the
eyes of the Emeer Fadl and the whole tribe of Ez-Zahlán, of whom he was
made the chief, but also among all the neighbouring tribes.
We must now return to the Emeer Rizk, and his tribe.—Soon after the
departure of his wife Khadra he retired from his tribe, in disgust at
the treatment which he received on account of his supposed disgrace, and
in grief for his loss. With a single slave, he took up his abode in a
tent of black goats’ hair, one of those in which the tenders of his
camels used to live, by the spring where his wife had seen the combat of
the birds. Not long after this event, the Benee-Hilál were afflicted by
a dreadful drought, which lasted so long that they were reduced to the
utmost distress. Under these circumstances, the greater number of them
were induced, with their king Sarhán, to go to the country of the tribe
of Ez-Zahlán, for sustenance; but the Ga’áfireh, and some minor tribes
of the Benee-Hilál, joined, and remained with, the Emeer Rizk, who had
formerly been their commander. Sarhán and his party were attacked and
defeated by Barakát on their arrival in the territory of the Zahlán
Arabs; but on their abject submission were suffered by him to remain
there. They however cherished an inveterate hatred to the tribe of
Ez-Zahlán, who had before paid them tribute; and Sarhán was persuaded to
send a messenger to the Emeer Rizk, begging him to come and endeavour to
deliver them from their humiliating state. Rizk obeyed the summons. On
his way to the territory of the Zahlán Arabs, he was almost convinced,
by the messenger who had come to conduct him, that Barakát was his son;
but was at a loss to know why he was called by this name, as he himself
had named him Aboo-Zeyd. Arriving at the place of his destination, he
challenged Barakát. The father went forth to combat the son: the former
not certain that his opponent was his son; and the latter having no idea
that he was about to lift his hand against his father; but thinking that
his adversary was his father’s murderer. The Emeer Rizk found occasion
to put off the engagement from day to day: at last, being no longer able
to do this, he suffered it to commence: his son prevailed: he unhorsed
him, and would have put him to death had he not been charged to refrain
from doing this by his mother. The secret of Barakát’s parentage was now
divulged to him by the Emeereh Khadra; and the chiefs of the Benee-Hilál
were compelled to acknowledge him as the legitimate and worthy son of
the Emeer Rizk, and to implore his pardon for the injuries which he and
his mother had sustained from them. This boon, the Emeer Aboo-Zeyd
Barakát generously granted; and he thus added to the joy which the Emeer
Rizk derived from the recovery of his favourite wife, and his son.
The subsequent adventures related in the romance of Aboo Zeyd are
numerous and complicated. The most popular portion of the work is the
account of a “riyádeh,” or expedition in search of pasture; in which
Aboo-Zeyd, with three of his nephews, in the disguise of Shá’ers,
himself acting as their servant, are described as journeying through
northern Africa, and signalizing themselves by many surprising exploits
with the Arab tribe of Ez-Zináteeyeh.
-----
Footnote 491:
See the engraving opposite p. 359.
Footnote 492:
The reciter is generally heard to greater advantage in public than
when he is hired to entertain a private party; as, in the former case,
his profits are usually proportioned to the talent which he displays.
Footnote 493:
These words commence a piece of poetry of which a translation will be
found in this chapter.
Footnote 494:
Literally, “Thou who hast a valiant maternal uncle!” I add this note
merely for the sake of mentioning, that the Arabs generally consider
innate virtues as inherited through the mother rather than the father,
and believe that a man commonly resembles, in his good and evil
qualities, his maternal uncle.
Footnote 495:
When the reciter utters these words, we hear, from the lips of most of
the Muslims who are listening to him, the prayer of “Alláhum sallee
’aleyh!”—“O God, favour him!”
Footnote 496:
It is thus described in the romance: but a headless spear was formerly
sometimes used instead of the “gereed,” or palm-stick.
----------------------------
CHAPTER XXII.
PUBLIC RECITATIONS OF ROMANCES—_continued_.
Next in point of number to the Shó’ara, among the public reciters of
romances, are those who are particularly and solely distinguished by the
appellation of “Mohadditeen,” or Story-tellers (in the singular,
“Mohaddit”). There are said to be about thirty of them in Cairo. The
exclusive subject of their narrations is a work called “The Life of
Ez-Záhir” (“Seeret Ez-Záhir,” or “Es-Seereh ez-Záhireeyeh”[497]). They
recite without book.
The Seeret Ez-Záhir is a romance founded on the history of the famous
Sultán Ez-Záhir Beybars, and many of his contemporaries. This prince
acceded to the throne of Egypt in the last month of the year of the
Flight 658, and died in the first month of the year 676; and
consequently reigned a little more than seventeen years, according to
the lunar reckoning, commencing A.D. 1260, and ending in 1277. Complete
copies of the Seeret Ez-Záhir have become so scarce that I have only
heard of one existing in Egypt, which I have purchased: it consists of
six quarto volumes; but is nominally divided into ten; and is made up of
volumes of several different copies. The author and his age are unknown.
The work is written in the most vulgar style of modern Egyptian Arabic;
but as it was intended for the vulgar, it is likely that copyists may
have altered and modernized the language. The oldest volumes of my copy
of it were written a few years more or less than a century ago. To
introduce my reader to some slight acquaintance with this work, I shall
insert a translation of a few pages at the commencement of the second
volume; but, by way of introduction, I must say something of the
contents of the first volume.
A person named ’Alee Ibn-El-Warrákah, being commissioned to procure
memlooks from foreign countries, by El-Melik Es-Sáleh (a famous Sultán
of Egypt, and a celebrated welee), is related to have purchased
seventy-five memlooks in Syria; and to have added to them, immediately
after, the principal hero of this romance, a youth named Mahmood
(afterwards called Beybars), a captive son of Sháh Jakmak (or Gakmak)
King of Khuwárezm. ’Alee was soon after obliged to give Mahmood to one
of his creditors at Damascus, in lieu of a debt; and this person
presented him to his wife, to wait upon her son, a deformed idiot; but
he remained not long in this situation: the sister of his new master,
paying a visit to his wife, her sister-in-law, found her about to beat
the young memlook, for having neglected the idiot, and suffered him to
fall from a bench: struck with the youth’s countenance, as strongly
resembling a son whom she had lost, and pitying his condition, she
purchased him of her brother, adopted him, gave him the name of Beybars,
which was that of her deceased son, and made him master of her whole
property, which was very great. This lady was called the sitt Fát’meh
Bint-El-Akwásee (daughter of the bow-maker). Beybars showed himself
worthy of her generosity; exhibiting many proofs of a noble disposition,
and signalizing himself by numerous extraordinary achievements, which
attracted general admiration, but rendered him obnoxious to the jealousy
and enmity of the Básha of Syria, ’Eesa En-Násiree, who contrived many
plots to ensnare him, and to put him to death. After a time,
Negm-ed-Deen, a Wezeer of Es-Sáleh, and husband of a sister of the sitt
Fát’meh, came on an embassy to Damascus, and to visit his sister-in-law.
On his return to Egypt, Beybars accompanied him thither; and there he
was promoted to offices of high dignity by Es-Sáleh, and became a
particular favourite of the chief Wezeer, Sháheen El-Afram. The events
which immediately followed the death of Es-Sáleh are thus related.
“After the death of El-Melik Es-Sáleh Eiyoob, the Wezeer Eybek called
together an assembly in his house, and brought thither the Emeer
Kala-oon and his partisans: and the Wezeer Eybek said to the Emeer
Kala-oon, ‘To-morrow we will go up to the deewán with our troops, and
either I will be Sultán or thou shalt be.’ The Emeer Kala-oon answered,
‘So let it be:’ and they agreed to do this. In like manner, the Wezeer
Sháheen El-Afram also assembled the Emeer Eydemr El-Bahluwán and his
troops, and all the friends and adherents of the Emeer Beybars, and said
to them, ‘To-morrow, arm yourselves, and go up to the deewán; for it is
our desire to make the Emeer Beybars Sultán; since El-Melik Es-Sáleh
Eiyoob wrote for him a patent appointing him to the sovereignty;’ and
they answered, ‘On the head and the eye.’ So they passed the night, and
rose in the morning, and went up to the deewán; and there went thither
also the Wezeer Eybek Et-Turkamánee, with his troops, and the Emeer
Kala-oon El-Elfee, with his troops, and the Emeer ’Aláy-ed-Deen (or
’Alá-ed-Deen) El-Beyseree, with his troops, all of them armed. The Emeer
Beybars likewise went up to the deewán, with his troops; and the deewán
was crowded with soldiers. Then said the Wezeer Sháheen, ‘Rise, O
Beybars; sit upon the throne, and become Sultán; for thou hast a patent
appointing thee to the sovereignty.’ The Emeer Beybars answered, ‘I have
no desire for the sovereignty: here is present the Wezeer Eybek, and
here is Kala-oon: make one of them Sultán.’ But the Wezeer Sháheen said,
‘It cannot be: no one shall reign but thou.’ Beybars replied, ‘By thy
head, I will not reign.’ ‘As he pleases,’ said the Wezeer Eybek.—‘Is the
sovereignty to be conferred by force?’—‘As he pleases.’ The Wezeer
Sháheen said, ‘And is the throne to remain unoccupied, with no one to
act as Sultán?’ The Wezeer Eybek answered, ‘Here are _we_ present; and
here is the Emeer Kala-oon: whosoever will reign, let him reign.’ The
Emeer ’Ezzed-Deen El-Hillee said, ‘O Wezeer Sháheen, the son of El-Melik
Es-Sáleh is living.’ The Emeer Beybars asked, ‘Es-Sáleh has left a son?’
The Kurds[498] answered, ‘Yes; and his name is ’Eesa: he is at
El-Karak.’ ‘And why,’ said the Wezeer Sháheen, ‘were ye silent
respecting him?’ They replied, ‘We were silent for no other reason than
this, that he drinks wine.’ ‘Does he drink wine?’ said the Wezeer
Sháheen. The Kurds answered, ‘Yes.’ The Emeer Beybars said, ‘May our
Lord bring him to repentance!’ ‘Then,’ said the soldiers, ‘we must go to
the city of El-Karak, and bring him thence, and make him Sultán.’ The
Wezeer Sháheen said to them, ‘Take the Emeer Beybars with you:’ but
Eybek and Kala-oon answered, ‘We will go before him, and wait for him
there until he come.’ The Emeer Beybars said, ‘So let it be.’
“Upon this, the Wezeer Eybek and Kala-oon and ’Aláy-ed-Deen El-Beyseree,
and their troops, went down from the deewán and arranged their affairs,
and on the following day caused their tents to be brought out, with
their provisions, and pitched outside the ’A’dileeyeh.[499] Now the
Wezeer Sháheen knew that the troops wished to create a dissension
between the king (El-Melik) ’Eesa and Beybars. So the Wezeer Sháheen
went down from the deewán, and took the Emeer Beybars with him, and went
to his house, and said to him, ‘What hast thou perceived in the
departing of the troops before thee?’ He answered, ‘Those persons detest
me; for they are bearers of hatred; but I extol the perfection of Him
who is all-knowing with respect to secret things.’ The Wezeer said to
him, ‘My son, it is their desire to go before thee that they may create
a dissension between thee and El-Melik ’Eesa.’ The Emeer Beybars said,
‘There is no power nor strength but in God, the High, the Great!’ The
Wezeer said to him, ‘O Beybars, it is my wish to send ’Osmán
Ibn-El-Hebla[500] and Mohammad Ibn-Kámil, the Dromedarist, before the
troops; and whatever may happen, they will inform us of it.’ Beybars
answered, ‘So let it be.’ Accordingly, he sent them; and said to them,
‘Go before the troops to the castle of El-Karak, and whatever may happen
between them and El-Melik ’Eesa inform us of it.’ They answered, ‘It is
our duty,’ and they departed. Then said the Wezeer Sháheen, ‘O Beybars,
as to thee, do thou journey to Esh-Shám,[501] and stay in the house of
thy (adoptive) mother, the sitt Fát’meh Bint-El-Akwásee; and do not go
out of the house until I shall have sent to thee ’Osmán.’ He answered,
‘It is right.’ So the Emeer Beybars rose, and went to his house, and
passed the night, and got up in the morning, and set out on his journey
to Esh-Shám, and took up his abode in the house of his mother, the sitt
Fát’meh Bint-El-Akwásee. We shall have to speak of him again presently.
“As to ’Osmán Ibn-El-Hebla and Mohammad Ibn-Kámil, the Dromedarist, they
journeyed until they entered the castle of El-Karak, and inquired for
the residence of El-Melik ’Eesa, the son of El-Melik Es-Sáleh Eiyoob.
Some persons conducted them to the house; and they entered; and the
attendants there asked them what was their business. They informed them
that they were from Masr, and that they wished to have an interview with
El-Melik ’Eesa, the son of El-Melik Es-Sáleh Eiyoob. The attendants went
and told the kikhya, who came and spoke to them; and they acquainted him
with their errand: so he went and told El-Melik ’Eesa, saying, ‘Two men
are come to thee from Masr, and wish to have an interview with thee: the
one is named ’Osmán; and the other, Mohammad Ibn-Kámil, the
Dromedarist.’ The King said, ‘Go, call ’Osmán.’ The kikhya returned, and
took him, and brought him to El-Melik ’Eesa; and ’Osmán looked towards
the King, and saw him sitting tippling; and before him was a
candelabrum, and a handsome memlook was serving him with wine; and he
was sitting by a fountain surrounded by trees. Osmán said, ‘Mayst thou
be in the keeping of God, O King ’Eesa!’ The King answered, ‘Ho!
welcome, O ’Osmán! Come, sit down and drink.’ ’Osmán exclaimed, ‘I beg
forgiveness of God! I am a repentant.’ The King said, ‘Obey me, and
oppose me not.’ Then ’Osmán sat down; and the King said to him, ‘Why,
the door of repentance is open.’ And ’Osmán drank until he became
intoxicated.
“Now Eybek and Kala-oon and ’Aláy-ed-Deen and their troops journeyed
until they beheld the city of El-Karak, and pitched their tents, and
entered the city, and inquired for the house of El-Melik ’Eesa. The
people conducted them to the house, and they entered; and the attendants
asked them what was their object: they answered, that they were the
troops of Masr, and wished to have an interview with El-Melik ’Eesa. The
attendants went and told the kikhya, who came, and received them, and
conducted them to the hall of audience, where they sat down, while he
went and informed El-Melik ’Eesa, saying to him, ‘Come and speak to the
troops of Masr who have come to thee.’ The King rose, and went to the
troops, and accosted them; and they rose, and kissed his hand, and sat
down again. El-Melik ’Eesa then said to them, ‘For what purpose have ye
come?’ They answered, ‘We have come to make thee Sultán in Masr.’ He
said, ‘My father, El-Melik Es-Sáleh, is he not Sultán?’ They replied,
‘The mercy of God, whose name be exalted, be on him! Thy father has died
a victim of injustice: may our Lord avenge him on him who killed him!’
He asked, ‘Who killed him?’ They answered, ‘One whose name is Beybars
killed him.’ ‘And where is Beybars?’ said he. They replied, ‘He is not
yet come: we came before him.’ ‘Even so,’ said he. They then sat with
him, aspersing Beybars in his absence: and they passed the night there;
and, rising on the following morning, said to El-Melik ’Eesa, ‘It is our
wish to go out, and remain in the camp; for Sháheen, the Wezeer of thy
father, is coming, with the Emeer Beybars; and if they see us with thee,
they will accuse us of bringing to thee the information respecting
Beybars.’ He answered, ‘Good:’ so they went forth to the camp, and
remained there.
“The Wezeer Sháheen approached with his troops, and encamped, and saw
the other troops in their camp; but he would not ask them any questions,
and so entered the city, and went to El-Melik ’Eesa, who said to him,
‘Art thou Beybars, who poisoned my father?’ He answered, ‘I am the
Wezeer Sháheen, the Wezeer of thy father.’ The King said, ‘And where is
Beybars, who poisoned my father?’ The Wezeer replied, ‘Thy father
departed by a natural death to await the mercy of his Lord: and who told
thee that Beybars poisoned thy father?’ The King answered, ‘The troops
told me.’ ‘Beybars,’ said the Wezeer, ‘is in Esh-Shám: go thither, and
charge him in the deewán with having poisoned thy father, and bring
proof against him.’ So the Wezeer perceived that the troops had been
plotting.
“The Wezeer Sháheen then went, with his troops, outside the camp; and
Mohammad Ibn-Kámil the Dromedarist came to him, and kissed his hand. The
Wezeer asked him respecting ’Osmán. He answered, ‘I have no tidings of
him.’ Meanwhile, El-Melik ’Eesa went to ’Osmán, and said to him, ‘The
Wezeer is come with his troops, and they are outside the camp.’ So
’Osmán rose, and, reeling as he went, approached the tents; and the
Wezeer Sháheen saw him, and perceived that he was drunk, and called to
him. ’Osmán came. The Wezeer smelt him, seized him, and inflicted upon
him the ‘hadd’;[502] and said to him, ‘Didst thou not vow to relinquish
the drinking of wine?’ ’Osmán answered, ’El-Melik ’Eesa, whom ye are
going to make Sultán, invited me.’ The Wezeer said, ‘I purpose writing a
letter for you to take and give to the Emeer Beybars.’ ’Osmán replied,
‘Good.’ So the Wezeer wrote the letter, and ’Osmán took it and departed,
and entered Esh-Shám, and went to the house of the sitt Fát’meh, and
gave it to his master, who read it, and found it to contain as
follows.—‘After salutations—from his excellency the Grand Wezeer, the
Wezeer Sháheen El-Afram, to his honour the Emeer Beybars. Know that the
troops have aspersed thee, and created dissensions between thee and
El-Melik ’Eesa; and accused thee of having poisoned his father, El-Melik
Es-Sáleh Eiyoob. Now, on the arrival of this paper, take care of
thyself, and go not out of the house, unless I shall have sent to thee.
And the conclusion of the letter is, that ’Osmán got drunk in the castle
of El-Karak.’—Beybars was vexed with ’Osmán, and said to him, ‘Come
hither and receive a present:’ and he stretched forth his hand, and laid
hold of him. ’Osmán said, ‘What ails thee?’ Beybars exclaimed, ‘Did I
not make thee vow to relinquish the drinking of wine?′ ‘Has he told
thee?’ asked ’Osmán. ‘I will give thee a treat,’ said Beybars: and he
took him, and threw him down, and inflicted upon him the ‘hadd.’ ‘How is
it,’ said ’Osmán, ‘that the king whom you are going to make Sultán I
found drinking wine?’ Beybars answered, ‘If one has transgressed, must
thou transgress?’ ‘And is this,’ asked ’Osmán, ‘the hadd ordained by
God?’ Beybars answered, ‘Yes.’ ‘Then,’ said ’Osmán, ‘the hadd which
Aboo-Farmeh[503] inflicted upon me is a loan, and a debt which must be
repaid him.’ Beybars then said, ‘The troops have created a dissension
between me and El-Melik ’Eesa; and have accused me of poisoning his
father, El-Melik Es-Sáleh.’ ‘I beg the forgiveness of God,’ said ’Osmán.
‘Those fellows detest thee; but no harm will come to us from them.’
Beybars said, ‘O ’Osmán, call together the sáïses,[504] and arm them,
and let them remain in the lane of the cotton-weavers,[505] and not
suffer any troops to enter.’ ’Osmán answered, ‘On the head and the eye:’
and he assembled the sáïses, and armed them, and made them stand in two
rows: then he took a seat, and sat in the court of the house. The Emeer
Beybars also armed all his troops, and placed them in the court of the
house.
“As to El-Melik ’Eesa, he mounted his horse, and departed with the
troops, and journeyed until he entered Esh-Shám; when he went in
procession to the deewán, and sat upon the throne, and inquired of the
King[506] of Syria respecting Beybars. The King of Syria answered, ‘He
is in the lane of the cotton-weavers, in the house of his mother.’
El-Melik ’Eesa said, ‘O Sháheen, who will go and bring him?’ The Wezeer
answered, ‘Send to him the Emeer ’Aláy-ed-Deen El-Beyseree.’ So he sent
him. The Emeer descended, and went to the lane of the cotton-weavers.
’Osmán saw him, and cried out to him, ‘Dost thou remember, thou son of a
vile woman, the chicken which thou atest?’[507] He then struck him with
a mace: the Emeer fell from his horse; and ’Osmán gave him a
bastinading. He returned, and informed the king; and the King ’Eesa said
again, ‘O Sháheen, who will go and bring Beybars?’ The Wezeer answered,
‘Send to him the Wezeer Eybek.’ The King said, ‘Rise, O Wezeer Eybek,
and go, call Beybars:’ but Eybek said, ‘No one can bring him, excepting
the Wezeer.’ Then said El-Melik ’Eesa, ‘Rise, O Wezeer Sháheen, and
bring Beybars.’ The Wezeer answered, ‘On the head and the eye; but,
before I bring him, tell me, wilt thou deal with him according to law,
or by arbitrary power?’ The King said, ‘By law.’ Then said the Wezeer
Sháheen, ‘So let it be: and I spake not thus from any other motive than
because I fear for thyself and the troops, lest blood be shed: for
Beybars is very stubborn, and has many troops; and I fear for the army;
for he is himself equal to the whole host: therefore, bring accusation
against him, and prove by law that he poisoned thy father.’ The King
said, ‘So let it be.’
“Then the Wezeer Sháheen descended from the deewán, and went to the lane
of the cotton-weavers. ’Osmán saw him, and said, ‘Thou hast fallen into
the snare, O Aboo-Farmeh! the time of payment is come; and the debt must
be returned to the creditor. Dost thou know how to give me a
bastinading?’ The Wezeer said, ‘My dream which I saw has proved true.’
‘What was thy dream?’ asked ’Osmán. ‘I dreamed,’ said the Wezeer, ‘last
night, that I was travelling, and some Arabs attacked me, and surrounded
me, and I was straitened by them; and I saw thy master, the Emeer
Beybars, upon a mount; and I called out to him, Come to me, O Emeer
Beybars! and he knew me.’ The Wezeer Sháheen calling out thus, the Emeer
Beybars heard him, and came down running, with his sword in hand; and
found ’Osmán and the sáïses surrounding the Wezeer. He exclaimed,
‘’Osmán!’ and ’Osmán said, ‘He gave me a bastinading in the city of
El-Karak; and I want to return it.’ The Emeer Beybars sharply
reprimanded him. ‘And so,’ said ’Osmán to the Wezeer, ‘thou hast found a
way of escape.’ The Wezeer Sháheen then said, ‘O Emeer Beybars, El-Melik
’Eesa hath sent me to thee: he intends to prefer an accusation against
thee in the deewán of Esh-Shám, charging thee with having poisoned his
father. Now, do thou arm all thy soldiers, and come to the deewán, and
fear not; but say that which shall clear thee.’ Beybars answered, ‘So
let it be.’ He then armed all his soldiers, and went up to the deewán,
and kissed the hand of El-Melik ’Eesa; who said to him, ‘Art thou the
Emeer Beybars, who poisoned my father?’ Beybars answered, ‘Prove against
me that I poisoned thy father, and bring the charge before the judge,
and adduce evidence: the Kádee is here.’ The King said, ‘I have evidence
against thee.’ Beybars said, ‘Let us see.’ ‘Here,’ said the King, ‘are
the Wezeer Eybek and Kala-oon and ’Aláy-ed-Deen.’ The Emeer Beybars
asked them, ‘Do ye bear witness against me that I poisoned El-Melik
Es-Sáleh?’ They answered, ‘Never: we neither saw it, nor do we know
anything of the matter.’ The Kádee said, ‘Hast thou any witnesses beside
those?’ The King replied, ‘None: no one informed me but they.’ The Kádee
said, ‘O King, those men are hypocrites, and detest the Emeer Beybars.’
El-Melik ’Eesa thereupon became reconciled with the Emeer Beybars, and
said to his attendants, ‘Bring a kaftán.’ They brought one. He said to
them, ‘Invest with it the Emeer Beybars;’ and added, ‘I appoint thee, O
Beybars, commander-in-chief of the army.’ But Beybars said, ‘I have no
desire for the dignity, and will put on no kaftáns.’ The King asked,
‘Why, Sir?’ Beybars answered, ‘Because I have been told that thou
drinkest wine.’ The King said, ‘I repent.’ ’So let it be,’ said Beybars:
and the King vowed repentance to Beybars: and the Emeer Beybars said, ‘I
make a condition with thee, O King, that if thou drink wine, I inflict
upon thee the “hadd;”’ and the King replied, ‘It is right.’ Upon this
the King invested the Emeer Beybars with a kaftán; and a feast was made;
and guns were fired; and festivities were celebrated: and they remained
in Esh-Shám three days.
“El-Melik ’Eesa then gave orders for departure; and performed the first
day’s journey. On the second day they came to a valley, celebrated as a
halting-place of the Prophet, the Director in the way to heaven: in it
were trees, and brooks, and birds which sang the praises of the King,
the Mighty, the Pardoner. El-Melik ’Eesa said, ‘Pitch the tents here: we
will here pass the night.’ So they pitched the tents. And the day
departed with its brightness, and the night came with its darkness: but
the Everlasting remaineth unchanged: the stars shone; and God, the
Living, the Self-subsisting, looked upon the creation. It was the period
of the full moon; and the King felt a longing to drink wine by the side
of the brook and greensward: so he called to Abu-l-Kheyr, who came to
him, and kissed his hand. The King said to him, ’Abu-l-Kheyr, I have a
longing to drink wine.’ The servant answered, ‘Hast thou not vowed
repentance to the Emeer Beybars?’ The King said, ‘The door of repentance
is open; so do thou obey me:’ and he gave him ten pieces of gold. The
servant then went to a convent; and brought him thence a large bottle:
and the King said to him, ‘If thou see the Emeer Beybars coming, call
out _hay!_ and as long as thou dost not see him, call _clover!_’ The
servant answered, ‘Right:’ and he filled a cup, and handed it to the
King. Now, ’Osmán was by the tents: and he came before the pavilion of
El-Melik ’Eesa; and saw him sitting drinking wine: so he went, and told
his master, the Emeer Beybars. Beybars came. Abu-l-Kheyr saw him coming
from a tent, and called out to the King, ‘_Hay! hay!_’ The King
immediately threw the cup into the brook; Abu-l-Kheyr removed the
bottle; and the King set himself to praying: and when he had pronounced
the salutation [which terminates the prayers], he turned his eyes, and
saw the Emeer Beybars, and said to him, ‘Wherefore art thou come at this
hour? Go, sleep: it is late.’ Beybars answered, ‘I have come to ask thee
whether we shall continue our journey now, or to-morrow morning.’ The
King said, ‘To-morrow morning.’ And the Emeer Beybars returned, vexed
with ’Osmán; and said to him, ‘O ’Osmán, didst thou not tell me that the
King was sitting drinking wine? Now I have been, and found him praying.
Dost thou utter a falsehood against the Sultán?’ ’Osmán answered, ‘Like
as he has smoothed it over, do thou also: no matter.’ Beybars was
silent.
“They passed the night there; and on the following morning El Melik
’Eesa gave orders for departure. They journeyed towards Masr; and when
they had arrived at the ’A′dileeyeh, and pitched their tents, the Emeer
Beybars said, ‘O our lord the Sultán, we have now arrived at Masr.’ The
King answered, ‘I desire, O Beybars, to visit the tomb of the Imám
[Esh-Sháfe’ee].’ Beybars said, ‘The thing is right, O our lord the
Sultán: to-morrow I will conduct thee to visit the Imám.’ They remained
that night at the ’A’dileeyeh; and on the following morning the Sultán
rode in procession to visit the Imám, and returned in procession, and
visited the tomb of his father, El-Melik Es-Sáleh Eiyoob; and then went
in state to the Citadel: and the ’Ulama went up thither, and inaugurated
him as sovereign, and conducted him into the armoury; and he drew out
from thence a sword, upon which was inscribed ‘El-Melik
El-Mo’azzam:’[508] wherefore they named him ‘’Eesa El-Mo’azzam.’ They
coined the money with his name, and prayed for him on the pulpits of the
mosques; and he invested with kaftáns the soldiers and the Emeer
Beybars, the commander-in-chief. The Sultán then wrote a patent,
conferring the sovereignty, after himself, upon the Emeer Beybars, to be
King and Sultán. So the Emeer Beybars had two patents conferring upon
him the sovereignty; the patent of El-Melik Es-Sáleh Eiyoob, and the
patent of El-Melik ’Eesa El-Mo’azzam. Eybek and Kala-oon and
’Aláy-ed-Deen and their partisans, who hated Beybars, were grieved at
this; but his friends rejoiced. The troops descended from the deewán,
and went to their houses; and in like manner the Emeer Beybars descended
in procession, and went to his house by the Kanátir es-Sibáa.
“Now the queen Shegeret-ed-Durr sent to El-Melik ’Eesa El-Mo’azzam. He
went to her palace. She kissed his hand; and he said to her, ‘Who art
thou?’ She answered, ‘The wife of thy father, El-Melik Es-Sáleh.’ ‘And
what is thy name?’ said he. She replied, ‘The Queen Fátimeh
Shegeret-ed-Durr.’ He exclaimed, ‘Oh! welcome! pray for me then.’ She
said, ‘God bring thee to repentance!’ She then gave him a charge
respecting the Emeer Beybars; saying, ‘Thy father loved him above all
the chiefs, and entered into a covenant with him before God; and I,
also, made a covenant with him before God.’ He answered, ‘O Queen, by
thy life, I have written for him a patent conferring upon him the
sovereignty after me.’ She said, ‘And thy father, also, wrote for him a
patent, conferring upon him the sovereignty.’ The King then said to her,
‘Those chiefs created a dissension between me and him; and asserted that
he poisoned my father.’ She said, ‘I beg God’s forgiveness! They hate
him.’ After this the Queen remained chatting with him a short time; and
he went to his saloon, and passed the night, and rose.
“On the following day he held a court; and the hall was filled with
troops. And he winked to Abu-l-Kheyr, and said, ‘Give me to drink.’ Now
he had said to him the day before, ‘To-morrow, when I hold my court, and
say to thee, Give me to drink, bring me a water-bottle full of wine.’ So
when El-Melik ’Eesa sat upon the throne, and the court, filled with
troops, resembled a garden, the troops resembling the branches of
plants, he felt a longing to drink wine, and said to Abu-l-Kheyr, ‘Give
me to drink;’ and winked to him; and he brought to him the water-bottle;
and he drank, and returned it. Then he sat a little longer, and said
again, ‘Give me to drink, O Abu-l-Kheyr;’ and the servant brought the
bottle; and he drank, and gave it back. He sat a little longer; and
again he said, ‘Give me to drink.’ Kala-oon said, ‘O ’Aláy-ed-Deen, it
seems that the Sultán has breakfasted upon kawárë’.’[509] Upon this the
Wezeer Sháheen asked him, ‘What hast thou eaten?’ The King answered, ‘My
stomach is heated and flatulent.’ The Wezeer, however, perceived the
smell of wine; and was vexed. The court then broke up; and the troops
descended. The Wezeer Sháheen also descended, and took with him the
Emeer Beybars to his house, and said to him, ‘May God take retribution
from thee, O Beybars.’ Beybars said, ‘Why?’ The Wezeer answered,
‘Because thou didst not accept the sovereignty.’ ‘But for what reason
sayest thou this?’ asked Beybars. The Wezeer said, ‘The Sultán to-day
drank wine, while sitting upon the throne, three times. When the Vicar
of God, in administering the law, intoxicates himself, his decisions are
null, and he has not any right to give them.’ Beybars replied, ‘I made a
condition with him, that if he drank wine, I should inflict upon him the
“hadd”; and wrote a document to that effect in Esh-Shám.’ ‘To-morrow,’
said the Wezeer, ‘when he holds his court, observe him; and take the
water-bottle, and see what is in it. I perceived his smell.’ Beybars
answered, ‘It is right:’ and he arose, and went to his house sorrowful.
And he passed the night, and rose, and went to the court, and found it
filled with troops; and he kissed the hand of the Sultán, and sat in his
place. Presently the Sultán said, ‘Give me to drink, O Abu-l-Kheyr:’ and
the servant brought the water-bottle; and the Sultán drank. Beybars took
hold of the water-bottle; and said, ‘Give me to drink.’ The servant
answered, ‘This is medicinal water.’ ‘No harm,’ said Beybars: ‘I have a
desire for it.’ ‘It is rose-water,’ said the servant. Beybars said,
‘Good:’ and he took the bottle; and said, ‘Bring a basin.’ A basin was
brought; and he poured into it the contents of the bottle before the
troops; and they saw that it was wine. Then said the Emeer Beybars to
the Sultán, ‘Is it allowed thee by God to be His Vicar, and to
intoxicate thyself? Did I not make thee vow to relinquish the drinking
of wine, and say to thee, If thou drink it I will inflict upon thee the
“hadd;” and did I not write a document to that effect in Esh-Shám?’ The
Sultán answered, ‘It is a habit decreed against me, O Beybars.’ Beybars
exclaimed, ‘God is witness, O ye troops!’ and he took the Sultán, and
beat him; and he was unconscious, by reason of the wine that he had
drunk; and he loosed him, and departed from him, and went to his house.”
The second volume proceeds to relate the troubles which befell Beybars
in consequence of his incurring the displeasure of El-Melik ’Eesa by the
conduct just described; his restoration to the favour of that prince;
and his adventures during the reigns of the subsequent Sultáns, Khaleel
El-Ashraf, Es-Sáleh the youth, Eybek (his great and inveterate enemy),
and El-Mudaffar; and then, his own accession to the sovereignty. The
succeeding volumes contain narratives of his wars in Syria and other
countries; detailing various romantic achievements, and the exploits of
the “Fedáweeyeh,” or “Fedáwees,” of his time. The term Fedáwee, which is
now vulgarly understood to signify any warrior of extraordinary courage
and ability, literally and properly means a person who gives, or is
ready to give, his life as a ransom for his companions, or for their
cause; and is here applied to a class of warriors who owned no
allegiance to any sovereign unless to a chief of their own choice; the
same class who are called, in our histories of the Crusades,
“Assassins:” which appellation the very learned orientalist De Sacy has,
I think, rightly pronounced to be a corruption of “Hashshásheen,” a name
derived from their making frequent use of the intoxicating hemp, called
“hasheesh.” The romance of Ez-Záhir affords confirmation of the
etymology given by De Sacy; but suggests a different explanation of it:
the Fedáweeyeh being almost always described in this work as making use
of “beng” (a term applied to hemp, and also to henbane, which, in the
present day, is often mixed with hasheesh) to make a formidable enemy or
rival their prisoner, by disguising themselves, inviting him to eat,
putting the drug into his food or drink, and thus causing him speedily
to fall into a deep sleep, so that they were able to bind him at their
leisure, and convey him whither they would.[510] The chief of these
warriors is “Sheehah,” called “Sultán el-Kiláa wa-l-Hosoon” (or “Sultán
of the Castles and Fortresses”), who is described as almost constantly
engaged, and generally with success, in endeavouring to reduce all the
Fedáwees to allegiance to himself and to Beybars. From his adroitness in
disguises and plots, his Proteus-like character, his name has become a
common appellation of persons of a similar description. Another of the
more remarkable characters in this romance is “Guwán”(or John), a
European Christian, who, having deeply studied Muslim law, succeeds in
obtaining, and retains for a few years, the office of Kádee of the
Egyptian metropolis; and is perpetually plotting against Beybars,
Sheehah, and other Muslim chiefs.
Much of the entertainment derived from recitations of this work depends
upon the talents of the Mohaddit; who often greatly improves the stories
by his action, and by witty introductions of his own invention.
-----
Footnote 497:
Hence the Mohadditeen are sometimes called “Záhireeyeh.”
Footnote 498:
Es-Sáleh was of the house of Eiyoob, a family of Kurds.
Footnote 499:
“The ’A’dileeyeh” is the name of a mosque founded by El-Melik
El-’A’dil Toomán Bey, in the year of the Flight 906 (A.D. 1501),
outside the wall of Cairo, near the great gate called Báb en-Nasr. The
same name is also given to the neighbourhood of that mosque.
Footnote 500:
’Osmán (vulgarly called ’Otmán and ’Etmán) Ibn-El-Hebla was a rogue
whom Beybars took into his service as groom, and compelled to vow
repentance at the shrine of the seyyideh Nefeeseh (great-granddaughter
of the Imám Hasan), and, soon after, made his mukaddam, or chief of
his servants.
Footnote 501:
Damascus.
Footnote 502:
Eighty stripes, the punishment ordained for drunkenness.
Footnote 503:
’Osmán, for the sake of a rude joke, changes the name of the Wezeer
Sháheen (El-Afram) into an appellation too coarse to be here
translated.
Footnote 504:
Grooms, also employed as running footmen.
Footnote 505:
A lane from which the house was entered.
Footnote 506:
Sometimes called in this work “Básha” of Syria.
Footnote 507:
This is an allusion to ’Aláy-ed-Deen’s having eaten a dish that had
been prepared for Beybars, when the latter had just entered the
service of the Sultán Es-Sáleh.
Footnote 508:
The Magnified King.
Footnote 509:
A dish of lamb’s feet, cooked with garlic and vinegar, etc.
Footnote 510:
Since the above was written, I have found that El-Idreesee applies the
term “Hasheesheeyeh,” which is exactly synonymous with “Hashshásheen,”
to the “Assassins:” this, therefore, decides the question.
----------------------------
CHAPTER XXIII.
PUBLIC RECITATIONS OF ROMANCES—_Continued_.
There is, in Cairo, a third class of reciters of romances, who are
called “’Anátireh,” or “’Antereeyeh” (in the singular “’Anter′ee”); but
they are much less numerous than either of the other two classes before
mentioned; their number at present, if I am rightly informed, not
amounting to more than six. They bear the above appellation from the
chief subject of their recitations; which is the romance of “’Antar”
(“Seeret ’Antar”). As a considerable portion of this interesting work
has become known to English readers by Mr. Terrick Hamilton’s
translation, I need give no account of it. The reciters of it read it
from the book: they chant the poetry: but the prose they read, in the
popular manner; and they have not the accompaniment of the rabáb. As the
poetry in this work is very imperfectly understood by the vulgar, those
who listen to it are mostly persons of some education.
The ’Anátireh also recite from other works than that from which they
derive their appellation. All of them, I am told, occasionally relate
stories from a romance called “Seeret el-Mugáhideen” (“The History of
the Warriors”), or, more commonly, “Seeret Delhem′eh,” or
“Zu-l-Himmeh,”[511] from a heroine who is the chief character in the
work. A few years since, they frequently recited from the romance of
“Seyf Zu-l-Yezen” (vulgarly called “Seyf El-Yezen,” and “Seyf
El-Yezel”), a work abounding with tales of wonder; and from “The
Thousand and One Nights” (“Elf Leyleh wa-Leyleh”), more commonly known,
in our country, by the title of “The Arabian Nights’ Entertainments.”
The great scarcity of copies of these two works is, I believe, the
reason why recitations of them are no longer heard: even fragments of
them are with difficulty procured; and when a complete copy of “The
Thousand and One Nights” is found, the price demanded for it is too
great for a reciter to have it in his power to pay. I doubt whether the
romances of Aboo-Zeyd, Ez-Záhir, ’Antar, and Delhem′eh, are chosen as
the subjects of recitation because preferred to “The Thousand and One
Nights;” but it is certain that the modern Muslims of Egypt have
sufficient remains of Bedawee feeling to take great delight in hearing
tales of war.
That my reader may have some notion of all the works from which the
professional reciters of romances in Cairo draw materials for the
amusement of their audiences in the present day, I shall give a sketch
of some of the adventures related in the romance of Delhem′eh. This work
is even more scarce than any of those before mentioned. The copies, I am
told, were always in fifty-five volumes. After long search, all that I
have succeeded in procuring of it is a portion consisting of the first
three volumes (containing, together, 302 pages), and another portion,
consisting of the forty-sixth and forty-seventh volumes. The former
would present a good specimen of the work, were not the greater part
written in a hand scarcely legible; in consequence of which, and of the
many other subjects that now demand my attention, I have only been able
to read the first volume. The chief subjects of this work, according to
the preface, are the warlike exploits of Arabs of the Desert in the
times of the Khaleefehs of the houses of Umeiyeh and El-’Abbás. It is
composed from the narratives of various writers: nine names of the
authors are mentioned; but none of them are at present known: their
history and their age are alike uncertain; but the style of their
narratives shows them to be not modern. The account which the ’Anátireh
and Mohadditeen generally give of this romance is as follows.—When
El-Asma’′ee (or, as he is vulgarly called, El-Asmo’′ee) composed, or
compiled, the history of ’Antar,[512] that work (they say) became
extremely popular, and created so great an enthusiasm on the subjects of
the adventures of Arab warriors, that a diligent search was made for all
tales of the same kind; and from these was compiled the Seeret
el-Mugáhideen, or Delhem′eh, by some author now unknown; who, as he
could not equal the author of ’Antar in eloquence, determined to surpass
him in the length of his narratives; and ’Antar being generally in
forty-five volumes, he made his book fifty-five. The romance of
Delhem′eh abounds in poetry, which is not without beauties, nor without
faults; but these are, perhaps, mostly attributable to copyists.—Of a
part of what I have read, which introduces us to one of the principal
characters in the work, I shall now give an abridged translation.
At the commencement of the work, we are told that in the times of the
Khaleefehs of the house of Umeiyeh, none of the Arab tribes surpassed in
power, courage, hospitality, and other virtues for which the Arabs of
the Desert are so famous, the Benee-Kiláb, whose territory was in the
Hegáz: but the viceroy of the Khaleefeh over the collective tribes of
the desert was the chief of the Benee-Suleym, who prided themselves on
this distinction, and on their wealth. El-Háris, the chief of the
Benee-Kiláb, a horseman unrivalled in his day, in one of the predatory
excursions which he was wont frequently to make against other tribes,
took captive a beautiful girl, named Er-Rabáb (or the Viol), whom he
married. She became pregnant; and, during her pregnancy, dreamed that a
fire issued from her, and burnt all her clothing. Being much troubled by
this dream, she related it to her husband; and he, alike surprised and
distressed, immediately searched for, and soon found, a person to
interpret it. An old sheykh informed him that his wife would bear a son
of great renown, who would have a son more renowned than himself, and
that the mother of the former would be in danger of losing her life at
the time of his birth. This prophecy he repeated to the wife of
El-Háris, and at her request he wrote an amulet to be tied upon the
infant’s right arm as soon as he should be born; upon which amulet he
recorded the family and pedigree of the child:—“This child is the son of
El-Háris the son of Khálid the son of ’A′mir the son of Saasa’′ah the
son of Kiláb; and this is his pedigree among all the Arabs of the Hegáz;
and he is verily of the Benee-Kiláb.” Soon after this El-Háris fell
sick, and, after a short illness, died. Most of the Arabs of
neighbouring tribes, who had been subjected and kept in awe by him,
rejoiced at his death, and determined to obtain retribution by
plundering his property. This coming to the ears of his widow, Er-Rabáb,
she determined to return to her family, and persuaded a black slave who
had belonged to her late husband to accompany her. By night, and without
having mentioned their intention to any one else, they departed, and at
midnight they approached a settlement of Arabs whose chief was the Emeer
Dárim. Here the slave, tempted by the Devil, led her from the road, and
impudently told her that her beauty had excited in his breast a passion
which she must consent to gratify. She indignantly refused; but the
fright that she received from his base conduct occasioned a premature
labour, and in this miserable state she gave birth to a son. She washed
the infant with the water of a brook that ran by the spot, wrapped it in
a piece of linen which she tore off from her dress, tied the amulet to
its arm, and placed it to her breast. Scarcely had she done this, when
the slave, infuriated by disappointment, drew his sword and struck off
her head. Having thus revenged himself, he fled.
Now it happened, as Providence had decreed, that the wife of the Emeer
Dárim had just been delivered of a son, which had died; and the Emeer,
to dissipate his grief on this account, went out to hunt, with several
of his people, on the morning after Er-Rabáb had been murdered. He came
to the spot where her corpse lay, and saw it. The infant was still
sucking the breast of its dead mother; and God had sent a flight of
locusts, of the kind called “gundub,” to shade it from the sun with
their wings. Full of astonishment at the sight, he said to his Wezeer,
“See this murdered damsel, and this infant on her lap, and those flying
insects shading it, and the dead mother still affording it milk! Now, by
the faith of the Arabs, if thou do not ascertain the history of this
damsel, and the cause of her murder, I behead thee like her.” The Wezeer
answered, “O King, none knoweth what is secret but God, whose name be
exalted! Was I with her? or do I know her? But promise me protection,
and I will inform thee what I suppose to have been the case.” The King
said, “I give thee protection.” Then said the Wezeer, “Know, O King,—but
God is most-knowing,—that this is the daughter of some King; and she has
grown up, and a servant has had intercourse with her; and by him she has
conceived this child; and her family have become acquainted with the
fact, and killed her. This is my opinion, and there is an end of it.”
The King exclaimed, “Thou dog of the Arabs! what is this that thou
sayest to the prejudice of this damsel? By Allah! if I had not promised
thee protection, I had slain thee with the edge of the sword! If she had
committed this crime, she would not be affording the child her milk
after she was dead; nor would God have sent these flying insects to
shade the infant.” He then sent for a woman to wash the corpse, and
after it had been washed and bound in grave-clothes, he buried it
respectably.
From the circumstance of the gundub shading him with their wings, the
foundling received the name of “El-Gundub′ah.” The Emeer Dárim conveyed
it to his wife, and persuaded her to bring it up as her own; which she
did until the child had attained the age of seven years; when he was
sent to school; and there he remained until he had learned the Kur-án.
By the time he had attained to manhood, he had become a horseman
unrivalled; he was like a bitter colocynth, a viper, and a
calamity.[513]
Now his adoptive father, the Emeer Dárim, went forth one day, according
to his custom, on a predatory expedition, accompanied by a hundred
horsemen. Falling in with no booty, he proceeded as far as the territory
of a woman called Esh-Shamta (or the Grizzle), whom the heroes of her
time held in fear, on account of her prowess and strength; and who was
possessed of great wealth. He determined to attack her. She mounted her
horse in haste, on hearing of his approach, and went forth to meet him
and his party. For a whole hour she contended with them; killed the
greater number; and put the rest to flight, except the Emeer Dárim, whom
she took prisoner, and led in bonds, disgraced and despised, to her
fortress. Those of his attendants who had fled returned to their tribes,
and plunged them in affliction by the story they related. The Emeer
Dárim had ten sons. These all set out together, with a number of
attendants, to rescue their father; but they all became the prisoners of
Esh-Shamta; and most of their attendants were killed by her.
El-Gundub′ah now resolved to try his arms against this heroine. He went
alone, unknown to any of the tribe, except his foster-mother, and
arrived at the place of his destination. Esh-Shamta was on the top of
her fortress. She saw him approach, a solitary horseman; and perceived
that his riding was that of a hero. In haste she descended, and mounted
her horse, and went out to meet him. She shouted against him; and the
desert resounded with her shout; but El-Gundub′ah was unmoved by it.
They defied each other, and met; and for a whole hour the contest
lasted: at length El-Gundub′ah’s lance pierced the bosom of Esh-Shamta;
its glittering point protruded through her back; and she fell from her
horse, slain, and weltering in her blood. Her slaves, who were forty in
number, seeing their mistress dead, made a united attack upon her
victor; but he unhorsed them all; and then, reproaching them for having
served a woman when they were all men of prowess, admonished them to
submit to him; upon which they all acknowledged him as their master. He
divided among them the treasures of Esh-Shamta; and released his
adoptive father and brothers, with whom he returned to the tribe.
This exploit spread the fame of El-Gundub′ah among all the tribes of the
desert; but it excited envy in the breast of the Emeer Dárim, who soon
after desired him to seek for himself some other place of abode.
El-Gundub′ah remonstrated; but to no effect; and prepared for his
departure. When he was about to go, the Emeer Dárim desired to be
allowed to open the amulet that was upon El-Gundub′ah’s arm, and to read
what was written upon the paper. Having obtained permission, and done
this, he uttered a loud shout; and several of his people coming in to
inquire the cause of this cry, he said to them, “This youth is the son
of your enemy El-Háris, the Kilábee: take him, and slay him:” but
El-Gundub′ah insisted that they should contend with him one by one. The
Emeer Dárim was the first to challenge him; and addressed him in these
verses:[514]—
“This day I forewarn thee of death and disgrace,
From my weapon, thou offspring of parents base!
Didst thou think, thou vile foundling, to raise thyself,
O’er the heads of our tribe, to the foremost place?
Thy hope is now baffled: thy wish is deceiv’d:
For to-day we have known thee of hostile race.
Thy bloodthirsty father oppressed our tribe:
Both our men and our wealth were his frequent preys:
But to-day shall be taken a full revenge:
All our heroes shall see me their wrongs efface.
Be assur’d that thy death is now near at hand;
That my terrible lance shall pierce thee apace;
For ’twas I introduced thee among our tribe;
And the foe that I brought I will now displace.”
El-Gundub′ah replied, “O my uncle, thou hast treated me with kindness:
do not repent of it; but let me depart from you in peace: cancel not the
good that thou hast done.” But Dárim answered, “Use no protraction: for
thy death is determined on.” Then El-Gundub′ah thus addressed him:—
“Be admonish’d, O Dárim! thy steps retrace;
And haste not thus rashly thy fate to embrace.
Hast thou ever seen aught of evil in me?
I have always nam’d thee with honour and praise.
By my hand and lance was Esh-Shamta destroy’d,
When thou wast her captive, in bonds and disgrace:
I freed thee from bondage: and is it for this
We are now met as enemies, face to face?
God be judge between us: for He will be just,
And will show who is noble, and who is base.”
As soon as he had said these words, the Emeer Dárim charged upon him.
They fought for a whole hour; and at last, El-Gundub′ah pierced the
breast of Dárim with his spear; and the point protruded, glittering,
from the spine of his back. When Dárim’s sons saw that their father was
slain, they all attacked El-Gundub′ah; who received them as the thirsty
land receives a drizzling rain: two of them he killed: the rest fled;
and acquainted their mother with the events they had just witnessed.
With her head uncovered, and her bosom bare, she came weeping to
El-Gundub′ah, and thus exclaimed:—
“O Gundub′ah! thy lance hath wrought havoc sore:
Man and youth have perished; and lie in their gore;
And among them, the eldest of all my sons.
They are justly punish’d; but now I implore
That thou pardon the rest: in pity for me
Restrain thy resentment; and slaughter no more.
By my care of thy childhood! and by these breasts
Which have nourished thee, noble youth, heretofore!
Have mercy upon us; and leave us in peace:
In spite of thy wrongs, this contention give o’er.
I love thee as though thou wert truly my son;
And thy loss I shall sorrow for, evermore.”
El-Gundub′ah listened to her address; and when she had finished, he thus
replied:—
“O Mother! by Him whom we all adore!
And the just Mustaf′a Tá-Há![515] I deplore
The actions which I have been made to commit;
Deeds against my will; and not thought of before:
But God, to whose aid I ascribe my success,
Had of old decreed these events to occur.
For thy sake their pardon I grant; and I would
If their lances had made my life-blood to pour.
To withdraw myself hence, and sever the ties
Of affection and love, is a trial sore.
While I live I shall constantly wish thee peace,
And joy uninterrupted for evermore.”
Having said thus, El-Gundub′ah took leave of his foster-mother, and
departed alone, and went to the fortress of Shamta elsewh.]. The slaves
saw him approach; and met him: and, in reply to their inquiries, he
informed them of all that had just befallen him. He then asked if any of
them were willing to go with him in search of a better territory, where
they might intercept the caravans, and subsist by plunder; and they all
declaring their readiness to accompany him, he chose from among them as
many as he desired, and left the rest in the fortress. He travelled with
his slaves until they came to a desolate and dreary tract, without
verdure or water; and the slaves, fearing that they should die of
thirst, conspired against his life: but El-Gundub′ah, perceiving their
discontent, and guessing their intention, pressed on to a tract
abounding with water and pasture; and here they halted to rest.
El-Gundub′ah watched until all of them had fallen asleep; and then
despatched them, every one, with his sword. Having done this, he pursued
his journey during the night; and in the morning he arrived at a valley
with verdant sides, and abundance of pasture, with lofty trees, and
rapid streams, and birds whose notes proclaimed the praises of the Lord
of Power and Eternity. In the midst of this valley he saw a Bedawee
tent, and a lance stuck by it in the ground, and a horse picketed. The
Emeer Gundub′ah fixed his eyes upon this tent; and as he looked at it,
there came forth from it a person of elegant appearance, completely
armed, who bounded upon the horse, and galloped towards him, without
uttering a word to engage him in combat. “My brother!” exclaimed
El-Gundub′ah, “begin with salutation before the stroke of the sword; for
that is a principle in the nature of the noble.” But no answer was
returned. They fought until their spears were broken, and till their
swords were jagged: at length El-Gundub′ah seized hold of the vest
beneath his antagonist’s coat of mail, and heaved its wearer from the
saddle to the ground. He uplifted his sword; but a voice, so sweet, it
would have cured the sick, exclaimed, “Have mercy on thy captive, O hero
of the age!” “Art thou a man?” said El-Gundub′ah, “or a woman?” “I am a
virgin damsel,” she replied: and drawing away her “litám,”[516]
displayed a face like the moon at the full. When El-Gundub′ah beheld the
beauty of her face, and the elegance of her form, he was bewildered, and
overpowered with love. He exclaimed, “O mistress of beauties, and star
of the morn, and life of souls! acquaint me with thy secret, and inform
me of the truth of thy history.” She replied, “O hero of our time! O
hero of the age and period! shall I relate to thee my story in narrative
prose, or in measured verse?” He said, “O beauty of thine age, and
peerless-one of thy time! I will hear nothing from thee but measured
verse.” She then thus related to him all that had happened to her:—
“O thou noble hero, and generous knight!
Thou leader of warriors! and foremost in fight!
Hear, now, and attend to the story I tell.
I’m the virgin daughter, thou hero of might!
Of El-Melik[517] Káboos! and a maid whose fame
Has been raised, by her arms, to an envied height;
Acknowledg’d a heroine, bold and expert,
Skill’d alike with the lance and the sword to smite.
Many suitors sought me in marriage, but none
Could ever induce me his love to requite;
And I swore by my Lord, the Compassionate,
And the noble Mustaf′a, that moon-like light,
That to no man on earth I would e’er consent
In the bonds of marriage myself to unite,
Unless to a hero for prowess renown’d,
To one who should prove himself hardy in fight
Who in combat should meet me, and overcome,
And never betray the least weakness or fright.
My suitors assembled: I fought each in turn;
And I vanquish’d them all in our people’s sight:
Not a horseman among them attain’d his wish;
For I parried the thrusts of each daring knight.
I was justly ‘The Slayer of Heroes’ nam’d;
For no match could be found for my weapon bright.
But I fear’d my father might force me, at last,
To accept, as my husband, some parasite;
And therefore I fled; and, in this lonely place,
With my troop of horsemen, I chose to alight.
Here we watch for the passing caravans;
And with plunder we quiet our appetite.
Thou hast made me thy captive, and pardon’d me:
Grant me one favour more: my wish do not slight:
Receive me in marriage: embrace me at once;
For I willingly now acknowledge thy right.”
“Kattálet-esh-Shug’án,” or the Slayer of Heroes (for so was this damsel
named, as above related by herself), then said to El-Gundub′ah, “Come
with me and my party to my abode.” He went with her; and her people
received them with joy; and feasted the Emeer Gundub′ah three days. On
the fourth day, Kattálet-esh-Shug’án assembled the people of her tribe,
with El-Gundub′ah, at her own dwelling; and regaled them with a repast,
to which high and low were admitted. After they had eaten, they began to
converse; and asked El-Gundub′ah to acquaint them with his history. He
accordingly related to them what had befallen him with the Emeer Dárim;
how he had liberated him and his sons from captivity; and how
ungratefully he had been treated. There were ten persons sitting with
him; and nine of these recounted their deeds in arms. The tenth, who was
a slave, was then desired to tell his story; and he related his having
served the Emeer Háris, and murdered his widow. El-Gundub′ah heard with
impatience this tale of his mother’s murderer; and, as soon as it was
finished, drew his sword, and struck off the slave’s head; exclaiming,
“I have taken my blood-revenge upon this traitor slave!” The persons
present all drew their swords, and raised a tremendous shout.
Kattálet-esh-Shug’án was not then with them; but she heard the shout,
and instantly came to inquire the cause; which they related to her;
demanding, at the same time, that El-Gundub′ah should be given up to
them to be put to death. She drew them aside, and told them that he had
eaten of her food, and that she would not give him up, even if he had
robbed her of her honour; but that she would advise him to take his
departure on the morrow, and that, when he should have left her abode,
they might do as they pleased. She then went to him, and told him of his
danger. He asked what he should do. She answered, “Let us marry
forthwith, and depart from these people:” and this he gladly consented
to do.
They married each other immediately, taking God alone for their witness;
and departed at night, and proceeded on their way until the morning,
giving thanks to their Lord. For four days they continued their journey;
and on the fifth day arrived at a valley abounding with trees and fruits
and birds and running streams. They entered it at midnight. Seeing
something white among the trees, they approached it; and found it to be
a horse, white as camphor. They waited till morning; and then beheld a
settlement of Arabs: there were horses, and she and he camels, and tents
pitched, and lances stuck in the ground, and pavilions erected; and
among them was a great company; and there were maids beating
tambourines: they were surrounded with abundance. Through this valley,
El-Gundub′ah and his bride took their way: his love for her increased:
they conversed together; and her conversation delighted him. She now,
for the first time, ventured to ask him why he had killed the slave,
when he was her guest; and he related to her the history of this
wretch’s crime. After this, they talked of the beauties of the valley
which they had entered; and while they were thus amusing themselves, a
great dust appeared; and beneath it were seen troops of horsemen
galloping along. El-Gundub′ah immediately concluded that they were of
his wife’s tribe, and were come in pursuit of him; but he was mistaken:
for they divided into four parties, and all attacking, in different
quarters at the same time, the tribe settled in the valley soon made the
latter raise piteous cries and lamentations, and rend the air with the
shouts of “O ’A’mir! O Kiláb!” When El-Gundub′ah heard the cries of “O
’A’mir! O Kiláb!” he exclaimed to his wife, “These people are the sons
of my uncle! my flesh and my blood!” and instantly determined to hasten
to their assistance. His bride resolved to accompany him; and they both
together rushed upon the enemy, slaying every horseman in their way, and
piercing the breasts of those on foot, with such fury and such success,
that the defeated tribe rallied again, repulsed their assailants, and
recovered all the booty that had been taken; after which they returned
to El-Gundub′ah, and asked him who he was. He answered, “This is not a
time to ask questions; but a time to rest from fight and slaughter.” So
they took him with them, and retired to rest; and after they had rested
and eaten, he related to them his history. Delighted with his words,
they all exclaimed, “The truth hath appeared; and doubt is dissipated:
justice is rendered to the deserving; and the sword is returned to its
scabbard!” They immediately acknowledged him their rightful chief: but,
after the death of El-Háris, they had chosen for their chief an Emeer
named Gábir, who hated El-Háris, and termed him a robber; and this Emeer
now disputed their choice, and challenged El-Gundub′ah to decide the
matter by combat. The challenge was accepted, and the two rivals met and
fought; but, though Gábir was a thorough warrior, El-Gundub′ah slew him.
This achievement obtained him the possession of Gábir’s mare, an animal
coveted throughout the desert: the rest of the property of the
vanquished chief he left to be parted among the tribe. There were,
however, many partisans of Gábir; and these, when they saw him slain,
gathered themselves together against El-Gundub′ah: but he, with the
assistance of his own party, defeated them, and put them to flight.
Returning from their pursuit, he sat among his people and kinsfolk; and
the sheykhs of his tribe brought him horses and arms and everything
necessary: he received gifts from every quarter: his wife, also, was
presented with ornaments; and from that day the Emeer Gundub′ah was
acknowledged by all his tribe as the chief of the Benee-Kiláb.
-----
Footnote 511:
The latter, being a masculine appellation, is evidently a corruption
of the former. The name is written “Delhem′eh” in the older portions
of some volumes in my possession, made up of fragments of this work.
One of these portions appears to be at least three centuries old. In
some of the more modern fragments, the name is written “Zu-l-Himmeh.”
Footnote 512:
The ’Ulama in general despise the romance of ’Antar, and ridicule the
assertion that El-Asma’′ee was its author.
Footnote 513:
These are not terms of reproach among the Arabs, but of praise.
Footnote 514:
When the narrator introduces poetry, he generally desires his readers
and hearers to bless the Prophet. Frequently he merely says, “Bless ye
the Apostle:” and often, “Bless ye him for [the visit to] whose tomb
burdens are bound:” _i.e._ “Bless ye him whose tomb is an object of
pilgrimage:” for, though the pilgrimage ordained by the Kur-án is that
to the temple of Mekkeh and Mount ’Arafát, yet the Prophet’s tomb is
also an object of pious pilgrimage.—I translate the poetry from this
tale verse for verse, imitating the system pursued with regard to
rhyme in the originals.
Footnote 515:
Tá-Há (which is the title of the 20th chapter of the Kur-án, and is
composed of two letters of the Arabic alphabet) is considered, and
often used, as a name of the Arabian Prophet (of whom Mustaf′a and
Ahmad, as well as Mohammad, are also names): so likewise is Yá-Seen,
which is the title of the 36th chapter of the Kur-án.
Footnote 516:
The “litám” (or “lithám”) is a piece of drapery with which a Bedawee
often covers the lower part of his face. It frequently prevents his
being recognised by another Arab, who might make him a victim of
blood-revenge.
Footnote 517:
It was the custom to entitle the chief of a powerful tribe “El-Melik,”
or “the King.”
----------------------------
CHAPTER XXIV.
PERIODICAL PUBLIC FESTIVALS, ETC.
Many of the most remarkable customs of the modern Egyptians are
witnessed at their periodical public festivals celebrated in Cairo; the
more important of which I shall here describe. Most of these festivals
and other anniversaries take place at particular periods of the lunar,
Mohammadan year.
The first ten days of “Moharram” (the first month of the Mohammadan
year) are considered as eminently blessed; and are celebrated with
rejoicing: but the tenth day is especially honoured. They are vulgarly
called the “’ashr;” the derivation of which term will be explained
hereafter. The custom of selling, during this period of ten days, what
is called “mey’ah mubárakah,” to be used, during the ensuing year, as a
charm against the evil eye, whenever occasion may require, I have
already mentioned in the second of the two chapters devoted to the
superstitions of the modern Egyptians.—I have also mentioned that it is
considered, by the Egyptians, unlucky to make a marriage-contract in
Moharram.
It is a common custom of the Muslims of Egypt to give what they can
afford in alms during the month of Moharram; especially in the first ten
days, and more especially on the tenth day;[518] and many pretend,
though few of them really do so, to give, at this season, the “zekah,”
or alms required by their law, of which I have spoken in a former
chapter: they give what, and to whom, they will. During the ten days
above mentioned, and particularly on the tenth, many of the women of
Cairo, and even those in respectable circumstances, if they have a young
child, carry it through the streets, generally on the shoulder, or
employ another female to carry it, for the purpose of soliciting alms
from any well-dressed person whom they may chance to meet: sometimes the
mother or bearer of the child, and sometimes the child itself, asks for
the alms; saying, “My master, the alms of the ’ashr.” The word “’ashr”
is vulgarly understood as meaning the “ten days;” but I think it
signifies the “ten nights;” though I am informed that it is a corruption
of “’oshr,” a term improperly used for “ruba el-’oshr” (the quarter of
the tenth, or the fortieth part), which is the proportion that the
Muslim is required, by law, to give in alms of the money which he
possesses, and of some other articles of property. The sum generally
given to a child in the case above described is a piece of five
faddahs;[519] and this, and as many others as can be procured in the
same manner, are sometimes spent in sweetmeats, etc., but more usually
sewed to the child’s cap, and worn thus until the next Moharram; when,
if the child be not too old, the same custom is repeated for its sake;
the pieces of money thus obtained being considered as charms.
The women of Egypt, and particularly of Cairo, entertain some curious
superstitions respecting the first ten days of Moharram. They believe
that “ginn” (or genii) visit some people by night during this period;
and say that, on this occasion, a ginnee appears sometimes in the form
of a sakka (or water-carrier), and sometimes in that of a mule. In the
former case the mysterious visitor is called “sakka el-’ashr” (or “the
water-carrier of the ’ashr”); in the latter, “baghlet el-’ashr” (“the
mule of the ’ashr”). When the ginnee, they say, comes in the form of a
sakka, he knocks at the chamber-door of a person sleeping, who asks,
“Who is there?” The ginnee answers, “I, the sakka; where shall I empty
[the skin]?” The person within, as sakkas do not come at night, knows
who his visitor is, and says, “Empty into the water-jar;” and, going out
afterwards, finds the jar full of gold.—The ginnee in the form of a mule
is described in a more remarkable manner. He bears a pair of saddle-bags
filled with gold; a dead man’s head is placed upon his back, and round
his neck is hung a string of little round bells, which he shakes at the
door of the chamber of the person whom he comes to enrich. This person
comes out, takes off the dead man’s head, empties the saddle-bags of
their valuable contents, then fills them with straw or bran or anything
else, replaces them, and says to the mule, “Go, O blessed!”—Such are the
modes in which the good genii pay their zekah. During the first ten days
of Moharram, many an ignorant woman ejaculates this petition: “O my
Lord, send me the water-carrier of the ’ashr!” or, “Send me the mule of
the ’ashr!” The men, in general, laugh at these superstitions.
Some of the people of Cairo say that a party of genii, in the forms and
garbs of ordinary mortals, used to hold a midnight “sook” (or market)
during the first ten days of Moharram, in a street called Es-Saleebeh,
in the southern part of the metropolis, before an ancient sarcophagus,
which was called “el-Hód el-Marsood” (or “the Enchanted Trough”). This
sarcophagus was in a recess under a flight of steps leading up to the
door of a mosque adjacent to the old palace called Kal’at el-Kebsh: it
was removed by the French during their occupation of Egypt, and is now
in the British Museum. Since its removal, the sook of the genii, it is
said, has been discontinued. Very few persons, I am told, were aware of
this custom of the genii. Whoever happened to pass through the street
where they were assembled and bought anything of them, whether dates or
other fruit, cakes, bread, etc., immediately after found his purchase
converted into gold.
The tenth day of Moharram is called “Yóm ’A′shoora.” It is held sacred
on many accounts: because it is believed to be the day on which the
first meeting of Adam and Eve took place after they were cast out of
Paradise; and that on which Noah went out from the ark; also, because
several other great events are said to have happened on this day; and
because the ancient Arabs, before the time of the Prophet, observed it
by fasting. But what, in the opinion of most modern Muslims, and
especially the Persians, confers the greatest sanctity on the day of
’A′shoora, is the fact of its being that on which El-Hoseyn, the
Prophet’s grandson, was slain, a martyr, at the battle of the plain of
Karbal′a. Many Muslims fast on this day, and some also on the day
preceding.
As I am now writing on the day of ’A′shoora, I shall mention the customs
peculiar to it which I have witnessed on the present occasion.—I had to
provide myself with a number of five-faddah pieces before I went out
this day for the alms of the ’ashr, already mentioned. In the streets of
the town I saw many young children, from about three to six or seven
years of age, chiefly girls, walking about alone, or two or three
together, or carried by women, and begging these alms.—In the course of
the morning, a small group of blind fakeers, one of whom bore a
half-furled red flag, with the names of El-Hoseyn and other worthies
worked upon it in white, stopped in the street before my door, and
chanted a petition for an alms. One of them began, “O thou who hast alms
to bestow on the blessed day of ’A′shoora!”—the others then continued,
in chorus, “A couple of grains of wheat! A couple of grains of rice! O
Hasan! O Hoseyn!” The same words were repeated by them several times. As
soon as they had received a small piece of money, they passed on, and
then performed the same chant before other houses, but only where
appearances led them to expect a reward. Numerous groups of fakeers go
about the town in different quarters during this day, soliciting alms in
the same manner.
On my paying a visit to a friend a little before noon, a dish, which it
is the custom of the people of Cairo to prepare on the day of ’A′shoora,
was set before me. It is called “hoboob,” and is prepared with wheat
steeped in water for two or three days, then freed from the husks,
boiled, and sweetened over the fire with honey or treacle; or it is
composed of rice instead of wheat: generally, nuts, almonds, raisins,
etc., are added to it. In most houses this dish is prepared, or
sweetmeats of various kinds are procured or made, in accordance with one
of the traditions of the Prophet; which is—“Whoso giveth plenty to his
household on the day of ’A’shoora, God will bestow plenty upon him
throughout the remainder of the year.”
After the call to noon-prayers, I went to the mosque of the Hasaneyn,
which, being the reputed burial-place of the head of the martyr
El-Hoseyn, is the scene of the most remarkable of the ceremonies that,
in Cairo, distinguish the day of ’A′shoora. The avenues to this mosque,
near the Kádee’s court, were thronged with passengers; and in them I saw
several groups of dancing-girls (Gházeeyehs); some dancing, and others,
sitting in a ring in the public thoroughfare, eating their dinner, and
(with the exclamation of “bi-smi-llah!”) inviting each well-dressed man
who passed by to eat with them. One of them struggled hard with me to
prevent my passing without giving them a present. The sight of these
unveiled girls, some of them very handsome, and with their dress
alluringly disposed to display to advantage their fine forms, was but
ill calculated to prepare men who passed by them for witnessing
religious ceremonies; but so it is, that, on the occasions of all the
great religious festivals in Cairo, and at many other towns in Egypt,
these female warrers against modesty (not always seductive, I must
confess) are sure to be seen. On my way to the mosque, I had occasion to
rid myself of some of the small coins which I had provided, to give them
to children. My next occasion for disbursing was on arriving before the
mosque, when several water-carriers, of the class who supply passengers
in the streets, surrounded me; I gave two of them twenty faddahs, for
which each of them was to distribute the contents of the earthen vessel
which he bore on his back to poor passengers, for the sake of “our lord
El-Hoseyn.”
On entering the mosque, I was much surprised at the scene which
presented itself in the great hall, or portico. This, which is the
principal part of the mosque, was crowded with visitors, mostly women of
the middle and lower orders, with many children; and there was a
confusion of noises like what may be heard in a large schoolroom where
several hundred boys are engaged in play: there were children bawling
and crying, men and women calling to each other, and, amid all this
bustle, mothers and children were importuning every man of respectable
appearance for the alms of the ’ashr. Seldom have I witnessed a scene
more unlike that which the interior of a mosque generally presents; and
in this instance I was the more surprised, as the Gámë’ el-Hasaneyn is
the most sacred of all the mosques in Cairo. The mats which are usually
spread upon the pavement had been removed; some pieces of old matting
were put in their stead, leaving many parts of the floor uncovered; and
these, and every part, were covered with dust and dirt brought in by the
feet of many shoeless persons: for on this occasion, as it is impossible
to perform the ordinary prayers in the mosque, people enter without
having performed the usual ablution, and without repairing first to the
tank to do this; though every person takes off his, or her, shoes, as at
other times, on entering the mosque, many leaving them, as I did mine,
with a door-keeper. Several parts of the floor were wetted (by children
too young to be conscious of the sanctity of the place); and though I
avoided these parts, I had not been many minutes in the mosque before my
feet were almost black with the dirt upon which I had trodden, and with
that from other persons’ feet which had trodden upon mine. The heat,
too, was very oppressive; like that of a vapour-bath, but more heavy;
though there is a very large square aperture in the roof, with a
malkaf[520] of equal width over it, to introduce the northern breezes.
The pulpit-stairs and the gallery of the muballigheen were crowded with
women; and in the assemblage below the women were far more numerous than
the men. Why this should be the case I know not, unless it be because
the women are more superstitious, and have a greater respect for the day
of ’A’shoora, and a greater desire to honour El-Hoseyn by visiting his
shrine on this day.
It is commonly said by the people of Cairo, that no man goes to the
mosque of the Hasaneyn on the day of ’A’shoora but for the sake of the
women; that is, to be jostled among them; and this jostling he may
indeed enjoy to the utmost of his desire, as I experienced in pressing
forward to witness the principal ceremonies which contribute with the
sanctity of the day to attract such swarms of people. By the back-wall,
to the right of the pulpit, were seated, in two rows, face to face,
about fifty darweeshes, of various orders. They had not yet begun their
performances, or “zikrs,” in concert; but one old darweesh, standing
between the two rows, was performing a zikr alone, repeating the name of
God (Alláh), and bowing his head each time that he uttered the word,
alternately to the right and left. In pushing forward to see them, I
found myself in a situation rather odd in a country where it is deemed
improper for a man even to touch a woman who is not his wife or slave or
a near relation. I was so compressed in the midst of four women, that,
for some minutes, I could not move in any direction, and pressed so hard
against one young woman, face to face, that, but for her veil, our
cheeks had been almost in contact: from her panting, it seemed that the
situation was not quite easy to her; though a smile, expressed at the
same time by her large black eyes, showed that it was amusing: she could
not, however, bear it long, for she soon cried out, “My eye![521] do not
squeeze me so violently.” Another woman called out to me, “O Efendee! by
thy head! push on to the front, and make way for me to follow thee.”
With considerable difficulty I attained the desired place, but in
getting thither I had almost lost my sword and the hanging sleeves of my
jacket: some person’s dress had caught the guard of the sword, and had
nearly drawn the blade from the scabbard before I could get hold of the
hilt. Like all around me, I was in a profuse perspiration.
The darweeshes I found to be of different nations, as well as of
different orders. Some of them wore the ordinary turban and dress of
Egypt; others wore the Turkish ká-ook, or padded cap; and others, again,
wore high caps, or tartoors, mostly of the sugar-loaf shape. One of them
had a white cap of the form last mentioned, upon which were worked, in
black letters, invocations to the first four Khaleefehs, to El-Hasan and
El-Hoseyn, and to other eminent saints, founders of different orders of
darweeshes.[522] Most of the darweeshes were Egyptians; but there were
among them many Turks and Persians. I had not waited many minutes before
they began their exercises. Several of them first drove back the
surrounding crowd with sticks; but as no stick was raised at me, I did
not retire so far as I ought to have done; and before I was aware of
what the darweeshes were about to do, forty of them, with extended arms
and joined hands, had formed a large ring, in which I found myself
enclosed. For a moment I felt half inclined to remain where I was, and
join in the zikr; bow, and repeat the name of God; but another moment’s
reflection on the absurdity of the performance, and the risk of my being
discovered to be no darweesh, decided me otherwise; so, parting the
hands of two of the darweeshes, I passed outside the ring. The
darweeshes who formed the large ring (which enclosed four of the marble
columns of the portico) now commenced their zikr, exclaiming over and
over again, “Alláh!” and, at each exclamation, bowing the head and body,
and taking a step to the right; so that the whole ring moved rapidly
round. As soon as they commenced this exercise, another darweesh, a
Turk, of the order of Mowlawees, in the middle of the circle, began to
whirl; using both his feet to effect the motion, and extending his arms:
the motion increased in velocity until his dress spread out like an
umbrella. He continued whirling thus for about ten minutes, after which
he bowed to his superior, who stood within the great ring; and then,
without showing any signs of fatigue or giddiness, joined the darweeshes
in the great ring; who had now begun to ejaculate the name of God with
greater vehemence, and to jump to the right, instead of stepping. After
the whirling, six other darweeshes, within the great ring, formed
another ring, but a very small one; each placing his arms upon the
shoulders of those next him; and thus disposed, they performed a
revolution similar to that of the larger ring, excepting in being much
more rapid; repeating, also, the same exclamation of “Alláh!” but with a
rapidity proportionably greater. This motion they maintained for about
the same length of time that the whirling of the single darweesh before
had occupied; after which the whole party sat down to rest.—They rose
again after the lapse of about a quarter of an hour; and performed the
same exercise a second time.—I saw nothing more in the great portico
that was worthy of remark, excepting two fakeers (who, a bystander told
me, were “megázeeb,” or idiots), dancing, and repeating the name of God,
and each beating a tambourine.
I was desirous of visiting the shrine of El-Hoseyn on this anniversary
of his death, and of seeing if any particular ceremonies were performed
there on this occasion. With difficulty I pushed through the crowd in
the great portico to the door of the saloon of the tomb; but there I
found comparatively few persons collected. On my entering, one of the
servants of the mosque conducted me to an unoccupied corner of the
bronze screen which surrounds the monument over the place where the
martyr’s head is said to be buried, that I might there recite the
Fát’hah: this duty performed, he dictated to me the following prayer;
pausing after every two or three words, for me to repeat them, which I
affected to do; and another person, who stood on my left, saying
“A’meen” (or Amen), at the close of each pause. “O God, accept my visit,
and perform my want, and cause me to attain my wish; for I come with
desire and intent, and urge Thee by the seyyideh Zeyneb, and the Imám
Esh-Sháfe’ee, and the Sultán Aboo-So’ood.”[523] After this followed
similar words in Turkish; which were added in the supposition that I was
a Turk, and perhaps did not understand the former words in Arabic. This
short supplication has been often dictated to me at the tombs of saints
in Cairo on festival days. On the occasion above described, before I
proceeded to make the usual circuit round the screen which encloses the
monument, I gave to the person who dictated the prayer a small piece of
money, and he, in return, presented me with four little balls of bread,
each about the size of a hazelnut. This was consecrated bread, made of
very fine flour at the tomb of the seyyid Ahmad El-Bedawee; and brought
hither, as it is to several saints’ tombs in Cairo on occasions of
general visiting, to be given to the more respectable of the visitors.
It is called “’Eysh es-seyyid El-Bedawee.” Many persons in Egypt keep a
little piece of it (that is, one of the little balls into which it is
formed) constantly in the pocket, as a charm; others eat it, as a
valuable remedy against any disorder, or as a preventive of disease.
Generally, towards the end of “Safar” (the second month), the caravan of
Egyptian pilgrims, returning from Mekkeh, arrives at Cairo: hence, this
month is vulgarly called “Nezlet el-Hágg” (the Alighting of the
Pilgrims). Many pilgrims, coming by the Red Sea, arrive before the
caravan. A caravan of merchant-pilgrims arrives later than the main body
of pilgrims.
An officer, called “Sháweesh el-Hágg,” arrives about four or five days
before the caravan, having pushed on, with two Arabs, mounted on fleet
dromedaries, to announce the approach of the Hágg,[524] and the expected
day of their arrival at the metropolis; and to bring letters from
pilgrims to their friends. He and his two companions exclaim, as they
pass along, to the passengers in the way, “Blessing on the Prophet!” or,
“Bless the Prophet!” and every Muslim who hears the exclamation
responds, “O God, favour him!”—They proceed directly to the Citadel, to
convey the news to the Básha or his representative. The Sháweesh divides
his letters into packets, with the exception of those which are to great
or wealthy people, and sells them, at so many dollars a packet, to a
number of persons who deliver them, and receive presents from those to
whom they are addressed; but sometimes lose by their bargains. The
Sháweesh himself delivers those to the great and rich; and obtains from
them handsome presents of money, or a shawl, etc.
Some persons go out two or three days’ journey, to meet their friends
returning from pilgrimage; taking with them fresh provisions, fruits,
etc., and clothes, for the wearied pilgrims. The poorer classes seldom
go further than the Birket el-Hágg (or Lake of the Pilgrims), about
eleven miles from the metropolis, and the place where the caravan passes
the last night but one before its entry into the metropolis; or such
persons merely go to the last halting-place. These usually take with
them some little luxury in the way of food, and an ass, as an agreeable
substitute to the pilgrim for his jaded and uneasy camel;[525] together
with some clean, if not new, clothes; and many go out with musicians to
pay honour to their friends. It is very affecting to see, at the
approach of the caravan, the numerous parties who go out with drums and
pipes to welcome and escort to the city their friends arrived from the
holy places, and how many, who went forth in hope, return with
lamentation instead of music and rejoicing; for the arduous journey
through the desert is fatal to a great number of those pilgrims who
cannot afford themselves necessary conveniences. Many of the women who
go forth to meet their husbands or sons receive the melancholy tidings
of their having fallen victims to privation and fatigue. The piercing
shrieks with which they rend the air as they retrace their steps to the
city are often heard predominant over the noise of the drum, and the
shrill notes of the hautboy, which proclaim the joy of others.—The
pilgrims, on their return, are often accosted, by passengers, with the
petition, “Pray for pardon for me;” and utter this short ejaculation,
“God pardon thee!” or, “O God! pardon him!” This custom owes its origin
to a saying of the Prophet—“God pardoneth the pilgrim, and him for whom
the pilgrim implores pardon.”
I write the following account of the Nezlet el-Hágg just after
witnessing it, in the year of the Flight 1250 (A.D. 1834).—The caravan
arrived at its last halting-place, the Hasweh, a pebbly tract of the
desert, near the northern suburb of Cairo, last night, on the eve of the
4th of Rabeea el-Owwal. A few pilgrims left the caravan after sunset,
and entered the metropolis. The caravan entered this morning, the fourth
of the month. I was outside the walls soon after sunrise, before it drew
near; but I met two or three impatient pilgrims, riding upon asses, and
preceded by musicians or by flag-bearers, and followed by women singing;
and I also met several groups of women who had already been out to make
inquiries respecting relations whom they expected, and were returning
with shrieks and sobs. Their lamentation seemed more natural, and more
deeply felt, than that which is made at funerals. This year, in addition
to a great many deaths, there were to be lamented a thousand men who had
been seized for the army: so that, perhaps, there was rather more
wailing than is usual. About two hours and a half after sunrise, the
caravan began to draw near to the gates of the metropolis, parted in
three lines: one line towards the gate called Báb en-Nasr; another
directly towards the Báb el-Futooh; and the third, branching off from
the second, to the Báb el-’Adawee. The caravan this year was more
numerous than usual (though many pilgrims went by sea); and, in
consequence of the seizure of so many men for the army, it comprised an
uncommon proportion of women. Each of the three lines into which it
divided to enter the metropolis, as above mentioned, consisted, for the
most part, of an uninterrupted train of camels, proceeding one by one;
but sometimes there were two abreast; and in a few places the train was
broken for a short space. Many of the pilgrims had quitted their camels
to take the more easy conveyance of asses; and rode beside their camels;
many of them attended by musicians, and some by flag-bearers.
The most common kind of camel-litter used by the pilgrims is called a
“musattah,” or “heml musattah.” It resembles a small, square tent; and
is chiefly composed of two long chests, each of which has a high back:
these are placed on the camel in the same manner as a pair of panniers,
one on each side; and the high backs, which are placed outwards,
together with a small pole resting on the camel’s pack-saddle, support
the covering which forms what may be called the tent. This conveyance
accommodates two persons. It is generally open at the front; and may
also be opened at the back. Though it appears comfortable, the motion is
uneasy; especially when it is placed upon a camel that has been
accustomed to carry heavy burdens, and consequently has a swinging walk:
but camels of easy pace are generally chosen for bearing the musattah
and other kinds of litters. There is one kind of litter called a
“shibreeyeh,” composed of a small, square platform, with an arched
covering. This accommodates but one person; and is placed on the back of
the camel: two sahhárahs (or square chests), one on each side of the
camel, generally form a secure foundation for the shibreeyeh. The most
comfortable kind of litter is that called a “takht’rawán,” which is most
commonly borne by two camels; one before, and the other behind: the head
of the latter is painfully bent down under the vehicle. This litter is
sometimes borne by four mules; in which case its motion is more easy.
Two light persons may travel in it. In general, it has a small
projecting meshrebeeyeh of wooden lattice-work at the front and back, in
which one or more of the porous earthen water-bottles so much used in
Egypt may be placed.
I went on to the place where the caravan had passed the last night.
During my ride from the suburb to this spot, which occupied a little
more than half an hour (proceeding at a slow pace), about half the
caravan passed me; and in half an hour more almost the whole had left
the place of encampment.[526] I was much interested at seeing the
meetings of wives, brothers, sisters, and children, with the pilgrims:
but I was disgusted with one pilgrim: he was dressed in ragged clothes,
and sitting on a little bit of old carpet, when his wife, or perhaps his
sister, came out to him, perspiring under the weight of a large bundle
of clothes, and fervently kissed him, right and left: he did not rise to
meet her; and only made a few cold inquiries.—The Emeer el-Hágg (or
chief of the caravan), with his officers, soldiers, etc., were encamped
apart from the rest of the caravan. By his tent a tall spear was stuck
in the ground; and by its side also stood the “Mahmal,” or “Mahmil”[527]
(of which I shall presently give a sketch and description); with its
travelling cover, of canvas, ornamented with a few inscriptions.
Many of the pilgrims bring with them, as presents, from “the holy
territory,” water of the sacred well of “Zemzem” (in china bottles, or
tin or copper flasks), pieces of the “kisweh” (or covering) of the
Kaabeh (which is renewed at the season of the pilgrimage), dust from the
Prophet’s tomb (made into hard cakes), “libán” (or frankincense), “leef”
(or fibres of the palm-tree, used in washing, as we employ a sponge),
combs of aloes-wood, “sebhahs” (or rosaries) of the same or other
materials, “miswáks” (or sticks for cleaning the teeth, which are
generally dipped in Zemzem-water, to render them more acceptable),
“kohl” (or black powder for the eyes), shawls, etc., of the manufacture
of the Hegáz,[528] and various things from India.
It is a common custom to ornament the entrance of a pilgrim’s house a
day, or two or three days, before his arrival; painting the door, and
colouring the alternate courses of stone on each side and above it with
a deep dull red, and white; or, if it be of brick, ornamenting it in a
similar manner, with broad horizontal stripes of red and white: often
also trees, camels, etc., are painted in a very rude manner, in green,
black, red, and other colours. The pilgrim sometimes writes to order
this to be done. On the evening after his arrival, he entertains his
friends with a feast, which is called “the feast of the Nezleh.”
Numerous guests come to welcome him, and to say, “Pray for pardon for
me.” He generally remains at home a week after his return; and on the
seventh day gives to his friends another entertainment, which is called
“the feast of the Subooa.” This continues during the day and ensuing
night; and a khatmeh, or a zikr, is usually performed in the evening.
On the morning after that on which the main body of the pilgrims of the
great caravan enter the metropolis, another spectacle is witnessed: this
is the return of the Mahmal, which is borne in procession from the
Hasweh, through the metropolis, to the Citadel. This procession is not
always arranged exactly in the same order: I shall describe it as I have
this day witnessed it, on the morning after the return of the pilgrims
of which I have just given an account.
[Illustration: THE MAHMAL.]
First, I must describe the Mahmal itself. It is a square skeleton-frame
of wood, with a pyramidal top; and has a covering of black brocade,
richly worked with inscriptions and ornamental embroidery in gold, in
some parts upon a ground of green or red silk, and bordered with a
fringe of silk, with tassels surmounted by silver balls. Its covering is
not always made after the same pattern with regard to the decorations;
but in every cover that I have seen, I have remarked, on the upper part
of the front, a view of the Temple of Mekkeh, worked in gold; and, over
it, the Sultán’s cypher. It contains nothing; but has two mus-hafs (or
copies of the Kur-án), one on a scroll, and the other in the usual form
of a little book, and each enclosed in a case of gilt silver, attached,
externally, at the top. The sketch which I insert will explain this
description. The five balls with crescents, which ornament the Mahmal,
are of gilt silver. The Mahmal is borne by a fine tall camel, which is
generally indulged with exemption from every kind of labour during the
remainder of its life.
It is related that the Sultán Ez-Záhir Beybars, King of Egypt, was the
first who sent a Mahmal with the caravan of pilgrims to Mekkeh, in the
year of the Flight 670 (A.D. 1272), or 675; but this custom, it is
generally said, had its origin a few years before his accession to the
throne. Sheger-ed-Durr (commonly called Shegeret-ed-Durr), a beautiful
Turkish female slave, who became the favourite wife of the Sultán
Es-Sáleh Negm-ed-Deen, and on the death of his son (with whom terminated
the dynasty of the house of Eiyoob) caused herself to be acknowledged as
Queen of Egypt, performed the pilgrimage in a magnificent “hódag” (or
covered litter), borne by a camel; and for several successive years her
empty hódag was sent with the caravan merely for the sake of state.
Hence, succeeding princes of Egypt sent, with each year’s caravan of
pilgrims, a kind of hódag (which received the name of “Mahmal,” or
“Mahmil”), as an emblem of royalty; and the kings of other countries
followed their example.[529] The Wahhábees prohibited the Mahmal as an
object of vain pomp: it afforded them one reason for intercepting the
caravan.
The procession of the return of the Mahmal, in the year above mentioned,
entered the city, by the Báb en-Nasr, about an hour after sunrise. It
was headed by a large body of Nizám (or regular) infantry. Next came the
Mahmal, which was followed, as usual, by a singular character: this was
a long-haired, brawny, swarthy fellow, called “Sheykh-el-Gemel” (or
Sheykh of the Camel), almost entirely naked, having only a pair of old
trousers: he was mounted on a camel, and was incessantly rolling his
head. For many successive years this sheykh has followed the Mahmal, and
accompanied the caravan to and from Mekkeh; and all assert, that he
rolls his head during the whole of the journey. He is supplied by the
government with two camels and his travelling provisions. A few years
ago there used also to follow the Mahmal, to and from Mekkeh, an old
woman, with her head uncovered, and only wearing a shirt. She was called
“Umm-el-Kutat” (or the Mother of the Cats), having always five or six
cats sitting about her on her camel.—Next to the sheykh of the camel, in
the procession which I have begun to describe, followed a group of
Turkish horsemen; and then about twenty camels, with stuffed and
ornamented saddles, covered with cloth, mostly red and green. Each
saddle was decorated with a number of small flags, slanting forward from
the fore part, and a small plume of ostrich-feathers upon the top of a
stick fixed upright upon the same part; and some had a large bell hung
on each side; the ornaments on the covering were chiefly formed of the
small shells called cowries. I think I perceived that these camels were
slightly tinged with the red dye of the henna; as they are on other
similar occasions. They were followed by a very numerous body of Bedawee
horsemen; and with these the procession was closed.
Having been misinformed as to the time of the entry of the Mahmal, on my
arriving at the principal street of the city I found myself in the midst
of the procession; but the Mahmal had passed. Mounting a donkey that I
had hired, I endeavoured to overtake it; but it was very difficult to
make any progress: so, without further loss of time, I took advantage of
some bye-streets, and again joined the procession: I found, however,
that I had made very little advancement. I therefore dismounted; and,
after walking and running, and dodging between the legs of the Bedawees’
horses, for about half an hour, at length caught a glimpse of the
Mahmal, and, by a great effort, and much squeezing, overtook it soon
after, about a quarter of an hour before it entered the great open place
called the Rumeyleh, before the Citadel. After touching it three times,
and kissing my hand, I caught hold of the fringe, and walked by its
side. The guardian of the sacred object, who walked behind it, looked
very hard at me, and induced me to utter a pious ejaculation, which
perhaps prevented his displacing me; or possibly my dress influenced
him; for he only allowed other persons to approach and touch it one by
one; and then drove them back. I continued to walk by its side, holding
the fringe, nearly to the entrance of the Rumeyleh. On my telling a
Muslim friend, to-day, that I had done this, he expressed great
astonishment; and said that he had never heard of any one having done so
before; and that the Prophet had certainly taken a love for me, or I
could not have been allowed: he added, that I had derived an inestimable
blessing; and that it would be prudent in me not to tell any others of
my Muslim friends of this fact, as it would make them envy me so great a
privilege, and perhaps displease them. I cannot learn why the Mahmal is
esteemed so sacred. Many persons showed an enthusiastic eagerness to
touch it; and I heard a soldier exclaim, as it passed him, “O my Lord!
Thou hast denied my performing the pilgrimage!” The streets through
which it passed were densely crowded: the shops were closed; and the
mastab′ahs occupied by spectators. It arrived at the Rumeyleh about an
hour and a half after it had entered the metropolis: it crossed this
large place to the entrance of the long open space called Kara Meydán:
next proceeded along the latter place, while about twelve of the guns of
the Citadel fired a salute: then returned to the Rumeyleh, and proceeded
through it to the northern gate of the Citadel, called Báb el-Wezeer.
A curious custom is allowed to be practised on the occasions of the
processions of the Mahmal and Kisweh; which latter, and a more pompous
procession of the Mahmal, on its departure for Mekkeh, will be hereafter
described. Numbers of boys go about the streets of the metropolis in
companies; each boy armed with a short piece of the thick end of a
palm-stick, called a “makra’′ah,” in which are made two or three splits,
extending from the larger end to about half the length; and any
Christian or Jew whom they meet they accost with the demand of “Hát
el-’ádeh,” or “Give the customary present:” if he refuse the gift of
five or ten faddahs, they fall to beating him with their makra’′ahs.
Last year a Frank was beaten by some boys, in accordance with this
custom, and sought refuge in a large wekáleh; but some of the boys
entered after him, and repeated the beating. He complained to the Básha,
who caused a severe bastinading to be administered to the sheykh of the
wekáleh, for not having protected him.
In the beginning of the month of “Rabeea el-Owwal” (the third month)
preparations are commenced for celebrating the festival of the Birth of
the Prophet, which is called “Moolid en-Nebee.” The principal scene of
this festival is the south-west quarter of the large open space called
Birket el-Ezbekeeyeh, almost the whole of which, during the season of
the inundation, becomes a lake: this is the case for several years
together at the time of the festival of the Prophet, which is then
celebrated on the margin of the lake; but at present, the dry bed of the
lake is the chief scene of the festival. In the quarter above mentioned,
several large tents (called “seewáns”) are pitched; mostly for
darweeshes, who, every night, while the festival lasts, assemble in
them, to perform zikrs. Among these is erected a mast (sáree), firmly
secured by ropes, and with a dozen or more lamps hung to it. Around it,
numerous darweeshes, generally about fifty or sixty, form a ring, and
repeat zikrs. Near the same spot is erected what is termed a “káïm;”
which consists of four masts erected in a line, a few yards apart, with
numerous ropes stretched from one to the other and to the ground: upon
these ropes are hung many lamps; sometimes in the form of flowers,
lions, etc.; sometimes of words, such as the names of God and Mohammad,
the profession of the faith, etc.; and sometimes arranged in a merely
fanciful, ornamental manner. The preparations for the festival are
generally completed on the second day of the month; and on the following
day the rejoicings and ceremonies begin: these continue, day and night,
until the twelfth night of the month; that is, according to the
Mohammadan mode of reckoning, the night preceding the twelfth day of the
month; which night is that of the Moolid, properly speaking.[530] During
this period of nine days and nights, numbers of the inhabitants of the
metropolis flock to the Ezbekeeyeh.—I write these notes during the
Moolid; and shall describe the festival of this year (the year of the
Flight 1250, A.D. 1834); mentioning some particulars in which it differs
from those of former years.
During the day-time, the people assembled at the principal scene of the
festival are amused by Shá’ers (or reciters of the romance of
Aboo-Zeyd), conjurers, buffoons, etc. The Ghawázee have lately been
compelled to vow repentance, and to relinquish their profession of
dancing, etc.: consequently, there are now none of them at the festival.
These girls used to be among the most attractive of all the performers.
In some parts of the neighbouring streets, a few swings and whirligigs
are erected, and numerous stalls for the sale of sweetmeats, etc.
Sometimes, rope-dancers, who are gipsies, perform at this festival; but
there are none this year. At night, the streets above mentioned are
lighted with many lamps, which are mostly hung in lanterns of wood:[531]
numbers of shops and stalls, stocked with eatables, chiefly sweetmeats,
are open during almost the whole of the night; and so also are the
coffee-shops; at some of which, as well as in other places, Shá’ers or
Mohaddits amuse whoever chooses to stop and listen to their recitations.
Every night, an hour or more after midnight, processions of darweeshes
pass through this quarter: instead of bearing flags, as they do in the
day, they carry long staves, with a number of lamps attached to them at
the upper part, and called “menwars.” The procession of a company of
darweeshes, whether by day, with flags, or by night, with menwars, is
called the procession of the “ishárah” of the sect; that is, of the
“banner;” or rather, the term “ishárah” is applied to the procession
itself. These darweeshes are mostly persons of the lower orders, and
have no distinguishing dress: the greater number wear an ordinary
turban, and some of them merely a tarboosh, or a padded or felt cap; and
most of them wear the common blue linen or cotton, or brown woollen,
shirt—the dress which they wear on other occasions, at their daily work,
or at their shops.
On the last two nights, the festival is more numerously attended than on
the preceding nights; and the attractions are greater. I shall describe
what I have just witnessed on the former of these nights.
This being the eleventh night of the lunar month, the moon was high, and
enlivened the scenes of festivity. I passed on to a street called Sook
El-Bekree, on the south of the Birket el-Ezbekeeyeh, to witness what I
was informed would be the best of the zikrs that were to be performed.
The streets through which I passed were crowded; and persons were here
allowed, on this occasion, to go about without lanterns. As is usually
the case at night, there were scarcely any women among the passengers.
At the scene of the zikr in the Sook El-Bekree, which was more crowded
than any other place, was suspended a very large “negefeh” (a
chandelier, or rather a number of chandeliers, chiefly of glass, one
below another, placed in such a manner that they all appeared but one),
containing about two or three hundred kandeels (or small glass
lamps[532]). Around this were many lanterns of wood, each having several
kandeels hanging through the bottom. These lights were not hung merely
in honour of the Prophet: they were near a “záwiyeh” (or small mosque)
in which is buried the sheykh Darweesh[533] El-’Ashmáwee; and this night
was his Moolid. A zikr is performed here every Friday-night (or what
_we_ call Thursday-night); but not with so much display as on the
present occasion. I observed many Christian black turbans here; and
having seen scarcely any elsewhere this night, and heard the frequent
cry of “A grain of salt in the eye of him who doth not bless the
Prophet!” ejaculated by the sellers of sweetmeats, etc., which seemed to
show that Christians and Jews were at least in danger of being insulted,
at a time when the zeal of the Muslims was unusually excited, I asked
the reason why so many Copts should be congregated at the scene of this
zikr: I was answered, that a Copt, who had become a Muslim, voluntarily
paid all the expenses of this Moolid of the sheykh Darweesh. This sheykh
was very much revered: he was disordered in mind, or imitated the acts
of a madman; often taking bread and other eatables, and stamping upon
them, or throwing them into dirt; and doing many other things directly
forbidden by his religion; yet was he esteemed an eminent saint; for
such acts, as I have remarked on a former occasion, are considered the
results of the soul’s being occupied in devotion. He died about eight
years ago.
The “zikkeers” (or the performers of the zikr), who were about thirty in
number, sat cross-legged, upon matting extended close to the houses on
one side of the street, in the form of an oblong ring. Within this ring,
along the middle of the matting, were placed three very large
wax-candles, each about four feet high, and stuck in a low candlestick.
Most of the zikkeers were Ahmed′ee darweeshes, persons of the lower
orders, and meanly dressed: many of them wore green turbans. At one end
of the ring were four “munshids” (or singers of poetry), and with them
was a player on the kind of flute called “náy.” I procured a small seat
of palm-sticks from a coffee-shop close by, and, by means of a little
pushing, and the assistance of my servant, obtained a place with the
munshids, and sat there to hear a complete act, or “meglis,” of the
zikr; which I shall describe as completely as I can, to convey a notion
of the kind of zikr most common and most approved in Cairo. It commenced
at about three o’clock (or three hours after sunset); and continued two
hours.
The performers began by reciting the Fát’hah, altogether; their sheykh
(or chief) first exclaiming, “El-Fát’hah!” They then chanted the
following words:—“O God, favour our lord Mohammad among the former
generations; and favour our lord Mohammad among the latter generations;
and favour our lord Mohammad in every time and period; and favour our
lord Mohammad among the most exalted princes,[534] unto the day of
judgment: and favour all the prophets and apostles among the inhabitants
of the heavens and of the earth: and may God (whose name be blessed and
exalted!) be well pleased with our lords and our masters, those persons
of illustrious estimation, Aboo-Bekr and ’Omar and ’Osmán and ’Alee, and
with all the other favourites of God. God is our sufficiency; and
excellent is the Guardian! And there is no strength nor power but in
God, the High, the Great! O God! O our Lord! O Thou liberal of pardon! O
Thou most bountiful of the most bountiful! O God! Amen!” They were then
silent for three or four minutes; and again recited the Fát’hah, but
silently. This form of prefacing the zikr is commonly used by almost all
orders of darweeshes in Egypt.
After this preface, the performers began the zikr. Sitting in the manner
above described, they chanted, in slow measure, “Lá iláha illa-lláh”
(“There is no deity but God”), to the following air:—
[Stanza]
[Stanza]
[Stanza]
Lá i - lá - - ha il - - lal- - láh.
Lá i - lá - ha i -l - la - l -lá -h.
Lá i - lá - ha il - la-l láh.
bowing the head and body twice in each repetition of “Lá iláha
illa-lláh.” Thus they continued about a quarter of an hour; and then,
for about the same space of time, they repeated the same words to the
same air, but in a quicker measure, and with correspondingly quicker
motions. In the meantime, the munshids frequently sang, to the same, or
a variation of the same, air, portions of a kaseedeh, or of a
muweshshah; an ode of a similar nature to the Song of Solomon, generally
alluding to the Prophet as the object of love and praise.
I shall here give a translation of one of these muweshshahs, which are
very numerous, as a specimen of their style, from a book containing a
number of these poems, which I have purchased during the present Moolid,
from a darweesh who presides at many zikrs. He pointed out the following
poem as one of those most common at zikrs, and as one which was sung at
the zikr which I have begun to describe. I translate it verse for verse,
and imitate the measure and system of rhyme of the original, with this
difference only, that the first, third, and fifth lines of each stanza
rhyme with each other in the original, but not in my translation.
“With love my heart is troubled;
And mine eye-lid hind’reth sleep:
My vitals are dissever’d;
While with streaming tears I weep.
My union seems far distant:
Will my love e’er meet mine eye?
Alas! Did not estrangement
Draw my tears, I would not sigh.
“By dreary nights I’m wasted:
Absence makes my hope expire:
My tears, like pearls, are dropping;
And my heart is wrapt in fire.
Whose is like my condition?
Scarcely know I remedy.
Alas! Did not estrangement
Draw my tears, I would not sigh.
“O turtle-dove! acquaint me
Wherefore thus dost thou lament?
Art thou so stung by absence?
Of thy wings depriv’d, and pent?
He saith, ‘Our griefs are equal:
Worn away with love, I lie.’
Alas! Did not estrangement
Draw my tears, I would not sigh.
“O First, and sole Eternal!
Show Thy favour yet to me.
Thy slave, Ahmad El-Bekree,[535]
Hath no Lord excepting Thee.
By Tá-Há,[536] the Great Prophet!
Do thou not his wish deny.
Alas! Did not estrangement
Draw my tears, I would not sigh.”
I must translate a few more lines, to show more strongly the similarity
of these songs to that of Solomon; and lest it should be thought that I
have varied the expressions, I shall not attempt to render them into
verse. In the same collection of poems sung at zikrs is one which begins
with these lines:—
“O gazelle from among the gazelles of El-Yemen!
I am thy slave without cost:
O thou small of age, and fresh of skin!
O thou who art scarce past the time of drinking milk!”
In the first of these verses we have a comparison exactly agreeing with
that in the concluding verse of Solomon’s Song; for the word which, in
our Bible, is translated a “roe,” is used in Arabic as synonymous with
“ghazál” (or a gazelle); and the mountains of El-Yemen are “the
mountains of spices.”—This poem ends with the following lines:—
“The phantom of thy form visited me in my slumber:
I said, ‘O phantom of slumber! who sent thee?’
He said, ‘He sent me whom thou knowest;
He whose love occupies thee.’
The beloved of my heart visited me in the darkness of night:
I stood, to show him honour, until he sat down.
I said, ‘O thou my petition, and all my desire!
Hast thou come at midnight, and not feared the watchmen?’
He said to me, ‘I feared; but, however, love
Had taken from me my soul and my breath.’”
Compare the above with the second and five following verses of the fifth
chapter of Solomon’s Song.—Finding that songs of this description are
extremely numerous, and almost the only poems sung at zikrs; that they
are composed for this purpose, and intended only to have a spiritual
sense (though certainly not understood in such a sense by the generality
of the vulgar);[537] I cannot entertain any doubt as to the design of
Solomon’s Song. The specimens which I have just given of the religious
love-songs of the Muslims have not been selected in preference to others
as most agreeing with that of Solomon; but as being in frequent use; and
the former of the two as having been sung at the zikr which I have begun
to describe. I must now resume the description of that zikr.
At frequent intervals (as is customary in other zikrs), one of the
munshids sang out the word “Meded;” accenting each syllable. “Meded”
signifies, when thus used, spiritual or supernatural aid, and implies an
invocation for such aid.
The zikkeers, after having performed as above described, next repeated
the same words to a different air, for about the same length of time;
first very slowly, then quickly. The air was as follows:—
[Stanza]
[Stanza]
[Stanza]
Lá i - - - lá - - - ha il - - -la-l-
lá - h. Lá i - lá - - ha il - la-l-
lá - - -h. Lá i - lá - ha il - la-l - láh.
Then they repeated these words again, to the following air, in the same
manner:—
[Stanza]
[Stanza]
Lá i - - lá - - ha il - - la - l-
láh. Lá i - lá - ha il - la-l - láh.
They next rose, and, standing in the same order in which they had been
sitting, repeated the same words to another air. During this stage of
their performance, they were joined by a tall, well-dressed, black
slave, whose appearance induced me to inquire who he was: I was informed
that he was a eunuch, belonging to the Básha. The zikkeers, still
standing, next repeated the same words in a very deep and hoarse tone;
laying the principal emphasis upon the word “Lá” and the first syllable
of the last word (“Allah”); and uttering, apparently, with a
considerable effort: the sound much resembled that which is produced by
beating the rim of a tambourine. Each zikkeer turned his head
alternately to the right and left at each repetition of “Lá iláha
illa-lláh.” The eunuch above mentioned, during this part of the zikr,
became what is termed “melboos,” or possessed. Throwing his arms about,
and looking up, with a very wild expression of countenance, he
exclaimed, in a very high tone, and with great vehemence and rapidity,
“Allah! Allah! Allah! Allah! Allah! lá lá lá lá lá lá lá lá lá lá lá lá
láh! Yá ’ammee![538] Yá ’ammee! Yá ’ammee ’Ashmáwee! Yá ’Ashmáwee! Yá
’Ashmáwee! Yá ’Ashmáwee!” His voice gradually became faint; and when he
had uttered these words, though he was held by a darweesh who was next
him, he fell on the ground, foaming at the mouth, his eyes closed, his
limbs convulsed, and his fingers clenched over his thumbs. It was an
epileptic fit: no one could see it and believe it to be the effect of
feigned emotions: it was undoubtedly the result of a high state of
religious excitement. Nobody seemed surprised at it; for occurrences of
this kind at zikrs are not uncommon. All the performers now appeared
much excited; repeating their ejaculations with greater rapidity,
violently turning their heads, and sinking the whole body at the same
time: some of them jumping. The eunuch became melboos again, several
times; and I generally remarked that his fits happened after one of the
munshids had sung a line or two, and exerted himself more than usually
to excite his hearers: the singing was, indeed, to my taste, very
pleasing. Towards the close of the zikr, a private soldier, who had
joined throughout the whole performance, also seemed, several times, to
be melboos; growling in a horrible manner, and violently shaking his
head from side to side. The contrast presented by the vehement and
distressing exertions of the performers at the close of the zikr, and
their calm gravity and solemnity of manner at the commencement, was
particularly striking. Money was collected during the performance for
the munshids.[539] The zikkeers receive no pay.
An ishárah passed during the meglis of the zikr above described. This
zikr continues all night, until the morning-call to prayer: the
performers only resting between each meglis; generally taking coffee,
and some of them smoking.
It was midnight before I turned from this place to the Birket
El-Ezbekeeyeh. Here, the moonlight and the lamps together produced a
singular effect: several of the lamps of the káïm, of the sáree, and of
the tents, had, however, become extinguished; and many persons were
lying asleep upon the bare ground, taking their night’s rest. The zikr
of the darweeshes round the sáree had terminated: I shall therefore
describe this hereafter from my observation of it on the next night.
After having witnessed several zikrs in the tents, I returned to my
house to sleep.
On the following day (that immediately preceding what is properly called
the night of the Moolid), I went again to the Ezbekeeyeh, about an hour
before noon; but there were not many persons collected there at that
time; nor was there much to amuse them: I saw only two or three
conjurers and buffoons and shá’ers; each of whom had collected a small
ring of spectators and hearers. The concourse, however, gradually
increased; for a very remarkable spectacle was to be witnessed: a sight
which every year, on this day, attracts a multitude of wondering
beholders. This is called the “Dóseh,” or Treading. I shall now describe
it.
The sheykh of the Saadeeyeh darweeshes (the seyyid Mohammad
El-Menzeláwee), who is khateeb (or preacher) of the mosque of the
Hasaneyn, after having, as they say, passed a part of the last night in
solitude, repeating certain prayers and secret invocations, and passages
from the Kur-án, repaired this day (being Friday) to the mosque above
mentioned, to perform his accustomed duty. The noon-prayers and
preaching being concluded, he rode thence to the house of the Sheykh
El-Bekree, who presides over all the orders of darweeshes in Egypt. This
house is on the southern side of the Birket El-Ezbekeeyeh, next to that
which stands at the south-western angle. On his way from the mosque, he
was joined by numerous parties of Saadee darweeshes from different
districts of the metropolis; the members from each district having a
pair of flags. The sheykh is an old, grey-bearded man, of an intelligent
and amiable countenance, and fair complexion. He wore, this day, a white
benish, and a white ká-ook (or padded cap, covered with cloth), having a
turban composed of muslin of a very deep olive-colour, scarcely to be
distinguished from black, with a strip of white muslin bound obliquely
across the front. The horse upon which he rode was one of moderate
height and weight; my reason for mentioning this will presently be seen.
The sheykh entered the Birket El-Ezbekeeyeh preceded by a very numerous
procession of the darweeshes of whom he is the chief. In the way through
this place, the procession stopped at a short distance before the house
of the Sheykh El-Bekree. Here, a considerable number of the darweeshes
and others (I am sure that there were more than sixty, but I could not
count their number[540]) laid themselves down upon the ground, side by
side, as close as possible to each other, having their backs upwards,
their legs extended, and their arms placed together beneath their
foreheads. They incessantly muttered the word Allah! About twelve or
more darweeshes, most without their shoes, then ran over the backs of
their prostrate companions; some beating “bázes,” or little drums, of a
hemispherical form, held in the left hand; and exclaiming Allah! and
then the sheykh approached. His horse hesitated, for several minutes, to
tread upon the back of the first of the prostrate men; but being pulled,
and urged on behind, he at length stepped upon him; and then, without
apparent fear, ambled, with a high pace, over them all, led by two
persons, who ran over the prostrate men; one sometimes treading on the
feet; and the other on the heads. The spectators immediately raised a
long cry of “Alláh lá lá lá lá láh!” Not one of the men thus trampled
upon by the horse seemed to be hurt; but each, the moment that the
animal had passed over him, jumped up, and followed the sheykh. Each of
them received two treads from the horse; one from one of his forelegs,
and a second from a hind-leg. It is said that these persons, as well as
the sheykh, make use of certain words (that is, repeat prayers and
invocations) on the day preceding this performance, to enable them to
endure, without injury, the tread of the horse; and that some not thus
prepared, having ventured to lie down to be ridden over, have, on more
than one occasion, been either killed or severely injured. The
performance is considered as a miracle effected through supernatural
power which has been granted to every successive sheykh of the
Saadeeyeh.[541] Some persons assert that the horse is unshod for the
occasion, but I thought I could perceive that this was not the case.
They say, also, that the animal is trained for the purpose; but if so,
this would only account for the least surprising of the circumstances; I
mean, for the fact of the horse being made to tread on human beings; an
act from which, it is well known, that animal is very averse. The
present sheykh of the Saadeeyeh refused, for several years, to perform
the Dóseh. By much entreaty, he was prevailed upon to empower another
person to do it. This person, a blind man, did it successfully; but soon
after died; and the sheykh of the Saadeeyeh then yielded to the request
of his darweeshes; and has since always performed the Dóseh himself.
After the sheykh had accomplished this extraordinary performance,
without the slightest appearance of any untoward accident, he rode into
the garden, and entered the house of the Sheykh El-Bekree, accompanied
by only a few darweeshes. On my presenting myself at the door, a servant
admitted me; and I joined the assembly within. The sheykh, having
dismounted, seated himself on a seggádeh spread upon the pavement
against the endwall of a takhtabósh (or wide recess) of the court of the
house. He sat with bended back, and downcast countenance, and tears in
his eyes; muttering almost incessantly. I stood almost close to him.
Eight other persons sat with him. The darweeshes who had entered with
him, who were about twenty in number, stood in the form of a semicircle
before him, upon some matting placed for them; and around them were
about fifty or sixty other persons. Six darweeshes, advancing towards
him, about two yards, from the semicircle, commenced a zikr; each of
them exclaiming at the same time, “Alláhu heí!” (“God is living!”) and,
at each exclamation, beating, with a kind of small and short leather
strap, a “báz,” which he held, by a boss at the bottom, in his left
hand. This they did for only a few minutes. A black slave then became
melboos; and rushed into the midst of the darweeshes, throwing his arms
about, and exclaiming, “Alláh lá lá lá lá láh!” A person held him, and
he soon seemed to recover. The darweeshes, altogether, standing as first
described, in the form of a semicircle, then performed a second zikr;
each alternate zikkeer exclaiming, “Alláhu heí!” (“God is living!”) and
the others “Yá heí” (“O thou living!”) and all of them bowing at each
exclamation, alternately to the right and left. This they continued for
about ten minutes. Then, for about the same space of time, in the same
manner, and with the same motions, they exclaimed, “Dáïm!”
(“Everlasting!”) and, “Yá Dáïm!” (“O Everlasting!”). I felt an
irresistible impulse to try if I could do the same without being noticed
as an intruder, and accordingly joined the semicircle, and united in the
performance, in which I succeeded well enough not to attract
observation; but I worked myself into a most uncomfortable heat.—After
the zikr just described, a person began to chant a portion of the
Kur-án; but the zikr was soon resumed, and continued for about a quarter
of an hour. Most of the darweeshes there present then kissed the hand of
the sheykh, and he retired to an upper apartment.
It used to be a custom of some of the Saadeeyeh, on this occasion, after
the Dóseh, to perform their celebrated feat of eating live serpents,
before a select assembly, in the house of the Sheykh El-Bekree; but
their present sheykh has lately put a stop to this practice in the
metropolis, justly declaring it to be disgusting, and contrary to the
religion, which includes serpents among the creatures that are unfit to
be eaten. Serpents and scorpions were not unfrequently eaten by Saadees
during my former visit to this country. The former were deprived of
their poisonous teeth, or rendered harmless by having their upper and
lower lips bored, and tied together on each side with a silk string, to
prevent their biting; and sometimes those which were merely carried in
processions had two silver rings put in place of the silk strings.
Whenever a Saadee ate the flesh of a live serpent, he was, or affected
to be, excited to do so by a kind of frenzy. He pressed very hard with
the end of his thumb upon the reptile’s back, as he grasped it, at a
point about two inches from the head, and all that he ate of it was the
head and a part between it and the point where his thumb pressed, of
which he made three or four mouthfuls, the rest he threw away.—Serpents,
however, are not always handled with impunity even by Saadees. A few
years ago, a darweesh of this sect, who was called “el-Feel” (or the
Elephant), from his bulky and muscular form, and great strength, and who
was the most famous serpent-eater of his time, and almost of any age,
having a desire to rear a serpent of a very venomous kind which his boy
had brought him among others that he had collected in the desert, put
this reptile into a basket, and kept it for several days without food,
to weaken it; he then put his hand into the basket to take it out, for
the purpose of extracting its teeth; but it immediately bit his thumb:
he called out for help. There were, however, none but women in the
house, and they feared to come to him, so that many minutes elapsed
before he could obtain assistance. His whole arm was then found to be
swollen and black, and he died after a few hours.
No other ceremonies worthy of notice were performed on the day of the
Dóseh. The absence of the Ghawázee rendered the festival less merry than
it used to be.
In the ensuing night, that which is properly called the night of the
Moolid, I went again to the principal scene of the festival. Here I
witnessed a zikr performed by a ring of about sixty darweeshes round the
sáree. The moon was sufficient, without the lamps, to light up the
scene. The darweeshes who formed the ring round the sáree were of
various orders; but the zikr which they performed was of a kind usual
only among the order of the Beiyoomeeyeh. In one act of this zikr the
performers exclaimed, “Yá Alláh!” (“O God!”), and, at each exclamation,
first bowed their heads, crossing their hands at the same time before
their breasts; then raised their heads, and clapped their hands together
before their faces. The interior of the ring was crowded with persons
sitting on the ground. The zikkeers continued as above described about
half an hour. Next, they formed companies of five or six or more
together; but still in the form of a large ring. The persons in these
several companies held together, each (with the exception of the
foremost in the group) placing his left arm behind the back of the one
on his left side, and the hand upon the left shoulder of the latter: all
facing the spectators outside the ring. They exclaimed “Alláh!” in an
excessively deep and hoarse voice;[542] and at each exclamation took a
step, one time forwards, and the next time backwards; but each advancing
a little to his left at every forward step; so that the whole ring
revolved; though very slowly. Each of the zikkeers held out his right
hand to salute the spectators outside the ring; most of whom, if near
enough, grasped, and sometimes kissed, each extended hand as it came
before them.—Whenever a zikr is performed round the sáree, those in the
tents cease. I witnessed one other zikr this night, a repetition of that
of the preceding night in the Sook El-Bekree. There was nothing else to
attract spectators or hearers, excepting the reciters of romances.—The
festival terminated at the morning-call to prayer; and all the zikrs,
except that in the Sook El-Bekree, ceased about three hours after
midnight. In the course of the following day, the káïm, sáree, tents,
etc., were removed.
-----
Footnote 518:
This custom seems to have been copied from the Jews, who are
accustomed to abound in almsgiving and other good works during the ten
days commencing with their New Year’s Day and ending with the Day of
Atonement, more than in all the rest of the year.—See Dr. M’Caul’s
“Old Paths,” pp. 125, 129.
Footnote 519:
At present, equivalent to a farthing and one-fifth.
Footnote 520:
The “malkaf” has been described in the Introduction to this work, page
14.
Footnote 521:
This is a common expression of affection, meaning, “Thou who art as
dear to me as my eye.”
Footnote 522:
The words were, “Yá Aboo-Bekr, Yá ’Omar, Yá ’Osmán, Yá ’Alee, Yá
Hasan, Yá Hoseyn, Yá seyyid Ahmad Rifá’ah, Yá seyyid ’Abd-el-Kadir,
El-Geelánee, Yá seyyid Ahmad El-Bedawee, Yá seyyid Ibráheem
Ed-Dasookee.”
Footnote 523:
Aboo-So’ood was a very famous saint; and, being esteemed the most holy
person of his day, received the appellation of “Sultán,” which has
been conferred upon several other very eminent welees, and, when thus
applied, signifies “King of Saints.” The tomb of Aboo-So’ood is among
the mounds of rubbish on the south of Cairo.
Footnote 524:
The term “hágg” is applied both collectively and individually (to the
whole caravan, or body of pilgrims, and to a single pilgrim).
Footnote 525:
Many persons who have not applied themselves to the study of natural
history are ignorant of the remarkable fact that the camel has in
itself a provision against hunger, besides its well-known supply
against thirst. When deprived of its usual food for several successive
days, it feeds upon the fat of its own hump, which, under these
circumstances, gradually disappears before the limbs are perceptibly
reduced. This explanation of the use of an excrescence, which would
otherwise seem a mere inconvenient incumbrance, shows how wonderfully
the camel is adapted to the peculiar circumstances in which Providence
has placed it, and perhaps may be applied with equal propriety to the
hump of the bull and cow, and some other animals, in hot and arid
climates.
Footnote 526:
Had I remained stationary, somewhat more than two hours would have
elapsed before the whole caravan had passed me.
Footnote 527:
This seems to be the correct appellation, but it is commonly called
“Mahmal;” and I shall follow, on future occasions, the usual
pronunciation.
Footnote 528:
Or, as pronounced in Arabia, Hejáz.
Footnote 529:
Almost all travellers have given erroneous accounts of the Mahmal:
some asserting that its covering is that which is destined to be
placed over the tomb of the Prophet: others, that it contains the
covering which is to be suspended round the Kaabeh. Burckhardt, with
his general accuracy, describes it as a mere emblem of royalty.
Footnote 530:
The twelfth day of Rabeea el-Owwal is also the anniversary of the
_death_ of Mohammad. It is remarkable that his birth and death are
both related to have happened on the same day of the same month, and
on the same day of the week, namely, Monday.
Footnote 531:
Like that represented in Chap. VI.
Footnote 532:
Represented in Chap. V., near the end.
Footnote 533:
This was his name, not a title.
Footnote 534:
The angels in heaven.
Footnote 535:
The author of the poem. The singer sometimes puts his own name in the
place of this.
Footnote 536:
“Tá-Há” (as I have mentioned on a former occasion) is a name of the
Arabian Prophet.
Footnote 537:
As a proof of this, I may mention, that, since the above was written,
I have found the last six of the lines here translated, with some
slight alterations, inserted as a common love-song in a portion of
“The Thousand and One Nights,” printed at Calcutta (vol. i., page
425).
Footnote 538:
“Yá ’ammee!” signifies “O my uncle!”
Footnote 539:
Few of the spectators, or hearers, gave more than ten faddahs; and
those of the poorer classes gave nothing, and indeed were not
solicited.
Footnote 540:
I believe there were double this number; for I think I may safely say
that I saw as many as double on a subsequent occasion, at the festival
of the Mearág, which will hereafter be described.
Footnote 541:
It is said that the second sheykh of the Saadeeyeh (the immediate
successor of the founder of the order) rode over heaps of glass
bottles, without breaking any of them!
Footnote 542:
Performers of zikrs of this kind have been called, by various
travellers, “barking, or howling, dervishes.”
----------------------------
CHAPTER XXV.
PERIODICAL PUBLIC FESTIVALS, ETC.—_continued_.
It might seem unnecessary to continue a detailed account of the
periodical public festivals and other anniversaries celebrated in Egypt,
were it not that many of the customs witnessed on these occasions are
every year falling into disuse, and have never, hitherto, been fully and
correctly described. Hoping that this apology will be accepted, I
proceed.
During a period of fifteen nights and fourteen days in the month of
“Rabeea et-Tánee” (the fourth month), the mosque of the Hasaneyn is the
scene of a festival called “Moolid El-Hasaneyn,” celebrated in honour of
the birth of El-Hoseyn, whose head, as I have before mentioned, is said
to be there buried. This Moolid is the most famous of all those
celebrated in Cairo, excepting that of the Prophet. The grand day of the
Moolid El-Hasaneyn is always a Tuesday; and the night which is properly
called that of the Moolid is the one immediately ensuing, which is
termed that of Wednesday: this is generally about five or six weeks
after the Moolid en-Nebee; and concludes the festival. This present year
(I am writing at the time of the festival which I here describe, in the
year of the Flight 1250, A.D. 1834), the eve of the 21st of the month
having been fixed upon as the night of the Moolid, the festival began on
the eve of the 7th. On the two evenings preceding the eve of the 7th,
the mosque was lighted with a few more lamps than is usual; and this is
customary in other years; but these two nights are not distinguished
like those which follow.
On each of the fifteen great nights before mentioned, the mosque is
illuminated with a great number of lamps, and many wax candles; some of
which latter are five or six feet high, and very thick. This
illumination is made, on the first night, by the názir (or warden) of
the mosque, from the funds of the mosque: on the second night, by the
governor of the metropolis (at present Habeeb Efendee): on the following
nights by the sheykhs of certain orders of darweeshes; by some of the
higher officers of the mosque; and by wealthy individuals. On each of
these nights, those shops at which eatables, sherbet, etc., are sold, as
well as the coffee-shops, in the neighbourhood of the mosque, and even
many of those in other quarters, remain open until near morning; and the
streets in the vicinity of the mosque are thronged with persons lounging
about, or listening to musicians, singers, and reciters of romances. The
mosque is also generally crowded. Here we find, in one part of the great
portico, a company of persons sitting on the floor in two rows, facing
each other, and reading, altogether, certain chapters of the Kur-án.
This is called a “makra.” Sometimes there are several groups thus
employed. In another place we find a similar group reading, from a book
called “Deláïl el-Kheyrát,” invocations of blessing on the Prophet.
Again, in other places, we find a group of persons reciting particular
forms of prayer; and another, or others, performing a zikr, or zikrs.
Winding about among these groups, (whose devotional exercises are
performed for the sake of El-Hoseyn), or sitting upon the matting, are
those other visitors whom piety, or curiosity, or the love of amusement,
brings to this venerated sanctuary. There is generally an assembly of
darweeshes or others in the saloon of the tomb (which is covered by the
great dome, and is hence called the “kubbeh”) reciting forms of prayer,
etc.; and the visitors usually enter the saloon to perform the
ceremonies of reciting the Fát’hah, and compassing the shrine; but the
most frequented part is the great portico, where the zikrs, and most of
the other ceremonies, are performed.
Every night during this festival, we see Ishárahs, or processions of
darweeshes, of one or more sects, passing through the streets to the
mosque of the Hasaneyn, preceded by two or more men with drums, and
generally with hautboys, and sometimes with cymbals also; accompanied by
bearers of mesh’als; and usually having one or more lanterns. They
collect their party on their way, at their respective houses. Whenever
they pass by the tomb of a saint, their music ceases for a short time,
and they recite the Fát’hah, or a form of blessing on the Prophet,
similar to that preparatory to the zikr, which I have translated in my
account of the Moolid of the Prophet. They do this without stopping.
Arriving at the mosque, they enter; some of them with candles; visit the
shrine; and go away; with the exception of their sheykh and a few
others, who sometimes remain in the kubbeh, and join in reciting
prayers, etc.
One of the nights which offer most attractions is that of the Friday
(that is, preceding the Friday) next before the night of the Moolid. It
is the night of the sheykh El-Góharee, a person of wealth, who
illuminates the mosque on this occasion with an unusual profusion of
lights. On this night I went to the mosque about two hours after sunset,
before any of the ceremonies had commenced. The nearer I approached the
building, the more crowded did I find the streets. In one place were
musicians: before a large coffee-shop were two Greek dancing-boys, or
“gink,” elegant but effeminate in appearance, with flowing hair,
performing to the accompaniment of mandolines played by two of their
countrymen; and a crowd of admiring Turks, with a few Egyptians
surrounding them. They performed there also the evening before; and, I
was told, became so impudent from the patronage they received, as to
make an open seizure of a basket of grapes in the street.
On entering the mosque, I found it far more crowded than usual; more so
than on the preceding nights; but the lights were scarcely more numerous
than those sometimes seen in an English church; and the chandeliers and
lamps of the most common kind. A loud and confused din resounded through
the great portico; and there was nothing as yet to be seen or heard, and
indeed little afterwards, that seemed suited to a religious festival. A
great number of Turks, and some persons of my own acquaintance, were
among the visitors. I first sat down to rest with one of my friends, a
bookseller, and several of his fellow-darweeshes, who were about to
perform a zikr, at which he was to preside. I was treated by them with
coffee; for which I had to pay by giving the munshids a piaster. Soon
after they had begun their zikr, which was similar to the first which I
have described in the account of the Moolid of the Prophet, I got up to
visit the shrine, and to saunter about. Having paid my visit, I returned
from the saloon of the tomb, in which was a large assembly of darweeshes
reciting prayers, sitting in the form of a square, as large as the
saloon would admit, with the exception of that part which contained the
shrine. On re-entering the great portico, I perceived a great
disturbance; numbers of persons were pressing to one point, at a little
distance from me, and I heard a man crying out, “Nasránee! Káfir!”
(“Christian! Infidel!”). Concluding that one of the visitors had been
discovered to be a Christian, I expected a great uproar; but on asking
one of the bystanders what had occurred, I was told that these words
were only used as terms of insult by one Muslim to another who had given
him some offence. An officer of the mosque came running from the kubbeh,
with a staff in his hand, and soon restored order; but whether he
expelled both, or either, of the persons who occasioned the disturbance,
I could not discover; and I thought it prudent, in my case, to ask no
further questions. By the entrance of the kubbeh was a party reading, in
a very loud voice, and in concert, the Deláïl, before mentioned. After
standing for a few minutes to hear them, though the confusion of their
voices rendered it impossible for me to distinguish many words that they
uttered, I returned to the zikr which I had first attended.
Shortly after, I heard the loud sounds of the tambourines of a party of
’Eesáweeyeh darweeshes, whose performances constituted one of the chief
attractions of the night, from the other end of the great portico. I
immediately rose, and went thither. My friend the bookseller, quitting
his zikr, came after me, and imprudently called out to me, “Efendee!
take care of your purse!” In a minute, I felt my trousers pulled,
several times; and afterwards I found a large hole in them, apparently
cut with some sharp instrument, by a person in search of my pocket: for,
when the mosque is crowded as it was on this occasion, it generally
happens that some thieves enter even this most sacred building.[543] I
had almost despaired of getting near to the ’Eesáweeyeh, when my
servant, whom I had taken thither to carry my shoes, called out to the
persons around me, “Do you know whom you are pushing?” and instantly I
found a way made for me. It was then about three hours after sunset.
Before I describe the performances of the ’Eesáweeyeh, I should mention
that they are a class of darweeshes of whom all, or almost all, are
Maghrab′ees, or Arabs of Northern Africa, to the west of Egypt. They
derive their appellation from the name of their first sheykh, Seedee
Mohammad Ibn-’Eesa,[544] a Maghrab′ee. Their performances are very
extraordinary; and one is particularly remarkable. I was very anxious
that they should perform, this night, what I here allude to; and I was
not disappointed; though I was told that they had not done it in Cairo
for several years before.
I found about twenty of these darweeshes, variously dressed, sitting
upon the floor, close together, in the form of a ring, next to the
front-wall of the building. Each of them, excepting two, was beating a
large “tár” (or tambourine), rather more than a foot in width, and
differing from the common tár in being without the tinkling pieces of
metal which are attached to the hoop of the latter. One of the two
persons mentioned as exceptions was beating a small tár of the common
kind; and the other, a “báz,” or little kettle-drum. Before this ring of
darweeshes, a space rather larger than that which they occupied was left
by the crowd for other darweeshes of the same order; and soon after the
former had begun to beat their tambourines, the latter, who were six in
number, commenced a strange kind of dance; sometimes exclaiming “Alláh!”
and sometimes, “Alláh Mowlána!” (“God is our Lord!”). There was no
regularity in their dancing; but each seemed to be performing the antics
of a madman; now, moving his body up and down; the next moment, turning
round; then, using odd gesticulations with his arms; next jumping; and
sometimes, screaming: in short, if a stranger, observing them, were not
told that they were performing a religious exercise, supposed to be the
involuntary effect of enthusiastic excitement, he would certainly think
that these dancing darweeshes were merely striving to excel one another
in playing the buffoon; and the manner in which they were clad would
conduce to impress him with this idea. One of them wore a kaftán without
sleeves, and without a girdle; and had nothing on his head, which had
not been shaved for about a week: another had a white cotton skull-cap,
but was naked from the head to the waist; wearing nothing on his body
but a pair of loose drawers. These two darweeshes were the principal
performers. The former of them, a dark, spare, middle-aged man, after
having danced in his odd manner for a few minutes, and gradually become
more wild and extravagant in his actions, rushed towards the ring formed
by his brethren who were beating the társ. In the middle of this ring
was placed a small chafing-dish of tinned copper, full of red-hot
charcoal. From this the darweesh just mentioned seized a piece of live
charcoal, which he put into his mouth: then he did the same with
another, another, and another, until his mouth was full; when he
deliberately chewed these live coals, opening his mouth very wide every
moment, to show its contents, which, after about three minutes, he
swallowed; and all this he did without evincing the slightest symptom of
pain; appearing, during the operation and after it, even more lively
than before. The other darweesh, before alluded to as half-naked,
displayed a remarkably fine and vigorous form; and seemed to be in the
prime of his age. After having danced not much longer than the former,
his actions became so violent that one of his brethren held him; but he
released himself from his grasp, and, rushing towards the chafing-dish,
took out one of the largest live coals, and put it into his mouth. He
kept his mouth wide open for about two minutes; and during this period,
each time that he inhaled, the large coal appeared of almost a white
heat; and when he exhaled, numerous sparks were blown out of his mouth.
After this, he chewed and swallowed the coal; and then resumed his
dancing. When their performance had lasted about half an hour, the
darweeshes paused to rest.
Before this pause, another party of the same sect had begun to perform,
near the centre of the great portico. Of these I now became a spectator.
They had arranged themselves in the same order as the former party. The
ring composed by those who beat the tambourines consisted of about the
same number as in the other company; but the dancers here were about
twelve: sometimes less. One of them, a tall man, dressed in a dark
woollen gown, and with a bare shaven head, took from the chafing-dish,
which was handed to the dancers as though it had been a dish of cakes or
sweetmeats, a large piece of brilliantly hot coal; placed it between his
teeth, and kept it so for a short time; then drew it upon his tongue;
and, keeping his mouth wide open for, I think, more than two minutes,
violently inhaled and exhaled, showing the inside of his mouth like a
furnace, and breathing out sparks, as the former darweesh had done; but
with less appearance of excitement. Having chewed and swallowed the
coal, he joined the ring of the tambourine-players; and sat almost close
to my feet. I narrowly watched his countenance; but could not see the
least indication of his suffering any pain. After I had witnessed these
extraordinary performances for about an hour, both parties of darweeshes
stopped to rest; and as there was nothing more to see worthy of notice,
I then quitted the mosque.[545]
Sometimes, on this occasion, the ’Eesáweeyeh eat glass as well as fire.
One of them, the hágg Mohammad Es-Seláwee, a man of gigantic stature,
who was lamp-lighter in the mosque of the Hasaneyn, and who died a few
years ago, was one of the most famous of the eaters of fire and glass,
and celebrated for other performances. Often, when he appeared to become
highly excited, he used to spring up to the long bars, or rafters, of
wood, which extend across the arches above the columns of the mosque,
and which are sixteen feet or more from the pavement; and would run
along them, from one to another: then, with his finger, wetted in his
mouth, he would strike his arm, and cause blood to flow; and by the same
means stanch the blood.
The zikrs, during this festival, are continued all night. Many persons
pass the night in the mosque, sleeping on the matting; and it often
happens that thefts are committed there. On my return to my house after
witnessing the performances of the ’Eesáweeyeh, I found no fewer than
eight lice on my clothing.
On the following night there was nothing that I observed at all
entertaining, unless it were this, that my officious friend the
book-seller, who again presided at a zikr, wishing to pass me off for a
pious Muslim (or perhaps for the sake of doing a good work), without
having obtained my previous permission, openly proposed to four fikees
to perform a recitation of the Kur-án (I mean, of the whole book, a
“khatmeh”), on my part, for the sake of seyyidna[546]-l-Hoseyn. As this
is commonly done, on the occasions of this festival, by persons of the
higher and middle orders, it would have excited suspicion if I had
objected. It was therefore performed, in the afternoon and evening next
following; each fikee reciting a portion of the book; and then another
relieving him: it occupied about nine hours. After it was finished, I
was mentioned, by my assumed Oriental name, as the author of this pious
work. The performers received a wax candle, some bread, and a piaster
each.
On Monday the mats were removed, excepting a few, upon which groups of
fikees, employed to recite the Kur-án, seated themselves. Vast numbers
of persons resorted to the mosque this day, both men and women; chiefly
those who were desirous of obtaining a blessing by the visit, and
disliked the still greater crowding and confusion of the following day,
or day of the Moolid. In the ensuing evening, the streets in the
neighbourhood of the mosque were densely crowded; and, a little after
sunset, it was very difficult in some parts to pass. Numerous lamps were
hung in these streets; and many shops were open.
This was also the night of the Moolid of the famous Sultán “Es-Sáleh,”
of the house of Eiyoob, who is commonly believed to have been a welee,
and is said to have worn a dilk, and to have earned his subsistence by
making baskets, etc., of palm-leaves (“khoos”), without drawing any
money from the public treasury for his own private use. His tomb, which
adjoins his mosque, is in the Nahháseen (or market of the sellers of
copper wares), a part of the main street of the city, not far from the
mosque of the Hasaneyn. This market was illuminated with many lamps.
Most of the shops were open; and in each of these was a group of three
or four or more persons sitting with the master. The mosque and tomb of
Es-Sáleh are much neglected, and falling to decay, notwithstanding the
high veneration which the people of Cairo entertain for this prince. On
my approaching the door of the tomb, I was surrounded by hemalees and
sakkas, soliciting me to pay them to distribute the contents of an
ibreek or a kirbeh for the sake of Es-Sáleh. I entered the building with
my shoes on (seeing that others did the same); but took them off at the
threshold of the saloon of the tomb. This is a square hall, surmounted
by a dome. In the centre is an oblong monument, over the grave,
surrounded by a wooden railing. At the head of this railed enclosure (or
maksoorah) are four large wax candles; and at the foot, three; all of
which are encased in plaster, and resemble round-topped stone pillars.
They are coloured with broad, horizontal, red stripes, like the
alternate courses of stone in the exterior walls of most mosques in
Cairo. There probably were, originally, the same number at the foot as
there are at the head of the maksoorah; for there is a space which seems
to have been occupied by one at the foot. These candles, it is said,
were sent as a present, by a Pope, or by a Frank King, to Es-Sáleh, who,
being a welee, discovered, without inspecting them, that they were
filled with gunpowder, and ordered them to be thus encased in plaster:
or, according to another account, they were sent as a present for the
tomb, some years after the death of Es-Sáleh; and he appeared to the
guardian of his tomb in a dream, and informed him of the gunpowder-plot.
The saloon of the tomb I found scantily lighted; and having a very
ancient and neglected appearance. The pavement was uncovered. On my
entering, two servants of the mosque took me to the foot of the
maksoorah, and one of them dictated to me the Fát’hah, and the form of
prayer which I have mentioned in my account of the ceremonies of the day
of ’A’shoora; and the other responding “A’meen!” (“Amen!”): the former
then desired me to recite the Fát’hah, with them, a second time, and
gave me five of the little balls of bread from the tomb of the seyyid
El-Bedawee. They received, for this, half a piaster. Another servant
opened the door of the maksoorah for me to enter: an honour which
required that I should give him also a trifling present.
From the tomb of Es-Sáleh I proceeded to the mosque of the Hasaneyn,
through streets crowded to excess (though this was not the great night),
and generally well lighted. There was but little difference between the
scenes which the streets and the mosque of the Hasaneyn presented: among
the crowds in the mosque I saw numbers of children; and some of them
were playing, running after each other, and shouting. There were
numerous groups of fikees reciting the Kur-án; and one small ring of
darweeshes, in the centre of the great portico, performing a zikr. I
forced my way with difficulty into the kubbeh, and performed the circuit
round the shrine. Here was a very numerous party reciting the Kur-án.
After quitting the mosque, I spent about an hour and a half in a street,
listening to a Shá’er.
On the following day, the last and chief day of the festival, the mosque
of the Hasaneyn and its neighbourhood were much more thronged than on
the days previous; and in every sook, and before every wekáleh, and even
before the doors of most private houses of the middle and higher classes
of Muslims throughout the city, lamps were hung, to be lighted in the
ensuing night, the night of the Moolid. The number of beggars in the
streets this day, imploring alms for the sake of “seyyidna-l-Hoseyn,”
was surprising: sitting for about an hour in the afternoon at a shop in
the main street, I was quite wearied with saying, “God help thee!” “God
sustain thee!” etc. Almost all the inhabitants of the metropolis seemed
to be in the streets; and almost all the Turks residing here appeared to
be congregated in the neighbourhood of the Hasaneyn. This was the grand
day for visiting the shrine of El-Hoseyn: it is believed that the
Prophet is present there all this day and the ensuing night, witnessing
his followers’ pious visits to his grandson. Yet most of the great
people prefer going on the preceding day, or on any of the days of the
festival but the last, on account of the excessive crowding on this day:
I, however, went on this occasion for the very reason that deterred
them. I entered the kubbeh a little before sunset; and was surprised to
find a way made for me to advance easily to the shrine. A servant of the
mosque placed me before the door of the maksoorah; dictated to me the
same recitals as on the day of ’A′shoora; and gave me a handful of the
bread of the seyyid El-Bedawee; consisting of fourteen of the little
balls into which it is formed. But no sooner was this done than I was
squeezed till I was almost breathless by applicants for presents. The
man who had dictated the prayer to me asked me for his present (a
piaster); another said, “I have recited the chapter of Yá-Seen for thee,
O A′gha:” a third, “O Efendee, I am a servant of the maksoorah:” most of
the others were common beggars. I saw now that the Turks had good reason
to prefer another day. The more importunate of those to whom nothing was
due followed me through the crowd in the mosque, and into the street:
for I had given away all that I had in my pocket, and more than was
customary. I was invited to seat myself on the mastab′ah of a shop
opposite the mosque, to deliver myself from their jostling. In the
mosque I saw nothing to remark but crowding and confusion, and swarms of
beggars; men, women, and children. In the evening the mosque was still
crowded to excess; and no ceremonies were performed there but visiting
the shrine, recitations of the Kur-án, and two or three zikrs. The
streets were then more crowded than ever, till long after midnight; and
the illuminations gave them a very gay appearance. The Góhargeeyeh (or
jewellers’ bázár) was illuminated with a great profusion of chandeliers,
and curtained over. The mád’nehs of the larger mosques were also
illuminated. Many shops were open besides those at which eatables,
coffee, and sherbet were sold; and in some of them were seated fikees
(two or more together) reciting khatmehs (or the whole of the Kur-án).
There were Shá’ers, Mohaddits, Musicians, and Singers, in various
places, as on the former nights.
In about the middle of “Regeb”[547] (the seventh month) is celebrated
the Moolid of the “seyyideh Zeyneb,” the daughter of the Imám ’Alee, and
grand-daughter of the Prophet; always on the eve of a Wednesday. The
festival generally commences two weeks before: the principal day is the
last, or Tuesday. The scene of the festivities is the neighbourhood of
the mosque in which the seyyideh is commonly believed to be buried; a
gaudily ornamented, but not very handsome building, in the south-western
quarter of the metropolis.[548] The supposed tomb, over which is an
oblong monument, covered with embroidered silk, and surrounded by a
bronze screen, with a wooden canopy, similar to those of El-Hoseyn, is
in a small but lofty apartment of the mosque, crowned by a dome. Into
this apartment, on the occasion of the Moolid, visitors are admitted to
pray and perform their circuits round the monument. I have just been to
visit it, on the last or great day of the festival. In a street near the
mosque I saw several Reciters of Aboo-Zeyd, Háwees, Kureydátees, and
Dancers, and a few swings and whirligigs. In the mosque, the prayer
usual on such occasions, after the Fát’hah, was dictated to me; and I
received two of the little balls of the bread of the seyyid El-Bedawee.
The door of the sacred enclosure was open; but I had been told that only
women were allowed to enter, it being regarded in the same light as a
hareem: so I contented myself with making the circuit; which, owing to
the crowding of the visitors, and there being but a very narrow space
between three sides of the bronze enclosure and the walls of the
apartment, was rather difficult to accomplish. A respectable-looking
woman, in a state which rendered it rather dangerous for her to be
present in such a crowded place, cried out to me to make room for her
with a coarseness of language common to Arab females. Many persons there
begged me to employ them to recite a chapter of the Kur-án for the
seyyideh, urging the proposal with the prayer of “God give thee thy
desire!” for the visitors to the tombs or cenotaphs of saints generally
have some special petition to offer. There was a group of blind paupers
sitting on the floor, and soliciting alms. The mats were removed
throughout the mosque, and only idle loungers were to be seen there. On
going out, I was importuned by a number of hemalees and sakkas to give
them money to distribute water for the sake of “the daughter of Imám.”
It is customary to give a few faddahs to one or more servants of the
maksoorah; and to a fikee, to recite a chapter; and also to the beggars
in the mosque; and to one of the hemalees or sakkas. The chief
ceremonies performed in the mosque in the evenings were zikrs. Each
evening of the festival, darweeshes of one or more orders repaired
thither.
The night or eve of the twenty-seventh of Regeb is the anniversary of
the “Leylet el-Mearág,” or the night of the Prophet’s miraculous
ascension to heaven; in commemoration of which a festival is celebrated
in a part of the northern suburb of Cairo, outside the gate called Báb
El-’Adawee. For three days before, the Sheykh El-Bekree entertains
numerous persons in a house belonging to him in this quarter; and zikrs
are performed there in his house. In addition to the amusement afforded
in the streets by Háwees, Reciters of Aboo-Zeyd, etc., as on similar
festivals, the public witness on this occasion that extraordinary
performance called the “Dóseh,” which I have described in my account of
the Moolid en-Nebee. This is performed in a short, but rather wide
street of the suburb above mentioned, in front of the mosque of a saint
called Et-Tashtooshee, on the twenty-sixth day of the month, which is
the last and chief day of the festival. I have just been one of its
spectators. The day being Friday, the Sheykh of the Saadeeyeh (the only
person who is believed to be able to perform this reputed miracle) had
to fulfil his usual duty of praying and preaching in the mosque of the
Hasaneyn, at noon. From that mosque he rode in procession to the scene
of the Dóseh, preceded by a long train of his darweeshes, with their
banners, and some with the little drums which they often use. I was at
this spot a little after midday, and took my place on a mastab′ah which
extends along the foot of the front of the mosque of Et-Tashtooshee.
While sitting here, and amusing myself with observing the crowds
attracted by the same curiosity that brought me hither, a reputed saint,
who, a few days ago, begged of me a few piasters to feed some fakeers on
this occasion, passed by, and, seeing me, came and sat down by my side.
To pass away the time during which we had to wait before the Dóseh, he
related to me a tale connected with the cause of the festivities of this
day. A certain Sultán,[549] he said, had openly ridiculed the story of
the Mearág; asserting it to be impossible that the Prophet could have
got out of his bed by night, have been carried from Mekkeh to Jerusalem
by the beast Burák, have ascended thence with the angel to the Seventh
Heaven, and returned to Jerusalem and Mekkeh, and found his bed still
warm. He was playing at chess one day with his Wezeer, when the saint
Et-Tashtooshee came in to him, and asked to be allowed to play with him;
making this condition, that the Sultán, if overcome, should do what the
saint should order. The proposal was accepted. The Sultán lost the game;
and was ordered by the saint to plunge in a tank of water. He did so;
and found himself in a magnificent palace, and converted into a woman of
great beauty, with long hair, and every female attraction. He, or now
_she_, was married to the son of a king; gave birth to three children
successively, and then returned to the tank, and, emerging from it,
informed the Wezeer of what had happened to him. The saint reminding
him, now, of his incredulity on the subject of the Mearág, he declared
his belief in the miracle, and became an orthodox Muslim. Hence, the
festival of the Mearág is always celebrated in the neighbourhood of the
mosque in which Et-Tashtooshee is buried; and his Moolid is celebrated
at the same time.
Not long after the above tale was finished, an hour and a quarter after
mid-day, the procession of the Sheykh es-Saadeeyeh arrived. The foremost
persons, chiefly his own darweeshes, apparently considerably more than a
hundred (but I found it impossible to count them), were laid down in the
street, as close as possible together, in the same manner as at the
Moolid en-Nebee. They incessantly repeated the word “Alláh!” A number of
darweeshes, most with their shoes off, ran over them; several beating
their little drums; some carrying the black flags of the order of the
Rifá’ees (the parent order of the Saadees); and two carrying a
“sháleesh” (a pole about twenty feet in length, like a large flag-staff,
the chief banner of the Saadeeyeh, with a large conical ornament of
brass on the top): then came the sheykh, on the same grey horse that he
rode at the Moolid en-Nebee: he was dressed in a light-blue pelisse,
lined with ermine, and wore a black, or almost black, mukleh; which is a
large, formal turban, peculiar to persons of religious and learned
professions. He rode over the prostrate men, mumbling all the while. Two
persons led his horse; and they, also, trod upon the prostrate men;
sometimes on the legs, and on the heads. Once the horse pranced and
curveted, and nearly trod upon several heads: he passed over the men
with a high and hard pace. The sheykh entered the house of the Sheykh
El-Bekree, before mentioned, adjoining the mosque. None of the men who
were ridden over appeared to be hurt, and many got up laughing: but one
appeared to be “melboos,” or overcome by excitement; and, though he did
not put his hand to his back, as if injured by the tread of the horse,
seemed near fainting; and tears rolled down his face. It is possible,
however, that this man was hurt by the horse, and that he endeavoured to
conceal the cause.
After the Dóseh, my friend the saint insisted on my coming to his house,
which was near by, with three fikees. He conducted us to a small upper
room, furnished with an old carpet and cushions. Here the three fikees
sat down with me, and recited the Fát’hah together, in a very loud
voice. Then one of them chanted about half of the second chapter of the
Kur-án, very musically: another finished it. Our host afterwards brought
a stool, and placed upon it a tray with three large dishes of “’eysh
bilahm.” This is minced meat, fried with butter, and seasoned with some
taheeneh (or sesame from which oil has been pressed), vinegar, and
chopped onions; then put upon cakes of leavened dough, and baked. To
this meal I sat down, with the three fikees, our host waiting upon us. A
fourth fikee came in, and joined us at dinner. After we had eaten, the
fikees recited the Fát’hah for the host, and then for myself, and went
away. I soon after followed their example.
On the Leylet el-Mearág, between two and three hours after sunset, the
Sheykh El-Bekree returns in procession, preceded by numerous persons
bearing mesh’als, and by a number of darweeshes, to his house in the
Ezbekeeyeh. During this night, the mád’nehs of the larger mosques are
illuminated.
On the first or second Wednesday in “Shaabán” (the eighth month),
generally on the former day, unless that be the first or second day of
the month, the celebration of the Moolid of the “Imám Esh-Sháfe’ee”
commences. It ends on the eve of the Thursday in the next week. The
great cemetery called the Karáfeh, in the desert tract on the south of
the metropolis, where the Imám is buried, and the southern part of the
town, are the scenes of the festivities. As this Imám was the founder of
the sect to which most of the people of Cairo belong, his Moolid
attracts many visitors. The festivities are similar to those of other
great Moolids. On the Saturday before the last or chief day, the
ceremony of the Dóseh is performed. On the last day, Wednesday, the
visitors are most numerous; and during the ensuing night, zikrs, etc.,
are performed in the sepulchral mosque of the Imám. Above the dome of
this mosque, upon its point, is fixed a metal boat, in which there used
to be placed, on the occasion of the Moolid, an ardebb (or about five
bushels) of wheat, and a camel-load of water for the birds. The boat is
said to turn sometimes when there is no wind to move it, and, according
to the position which it takes, to foretoken various events, good and
evil; such as plenty or scarcity, the death of some great man, etc.
Several other Moolids follow that of the Imám; but those already
described are the most famous; and the ceremonies of all are nearly the
same.
The “Night of the Middle of Shaabán,” or “Leylet en-Nusf min Shaabán,”
which is the night of the fifteenth (that is _preceding_ the fifteenth
day) of that month, is held in great reverence by the Muslims, as the
period when the fate of every living man is confirmed for the ensuing
year. The Sidr (or lote-tree) of Paradise, which is more commonly called
Shegeret el-Muntah′a (or the Tree of the Extremity), probably for
several reasons, but chiefly (as is generally supposed) because it is
said to be at the extremity,[550] or on the most elevated spot, in
Paradise, is believed to have as many leaves as there are living human
beings in the world; and the leaves are said to be inscribed with the
names of all those beings; each leaf bearing the name of one person, and
those of his father and mother. The tree, we are taught, is shaken on
the night above mentioned, a little after sunset; and when a person is
destined to die in the ensuing year, his leaf, upon which his name is
written, falls on this occasion: if he be to die very soon, his leaf is
almost wholly withered, a very small portion only remaining green: if he
be to die later in the year, a larger portion remains green: according
to the time he has yet to live, so is the proportion of the part of the
leaf yet green. This, therefore, is a very awful night to the serious
and considerate Muslims; who, accordingly, observe it with solemnity and
earnest prayer. A particular form of prayer is used on the occasion,
immediately after the ordinary evening-prayers which are said soon after
sunset. Those who are able recite it without being prompted to do so;
and generally in a mosque: others assemble in the mosques for this
purpose, and hire a fikee to assist them; and many fikees, therefore,
resort to the mosques to perform this office. Each fikee officiates for
a group of persons. He first recites the “Soorat Yá-Seen” (or 36th
chapter of the Kur-án); and then, raising his hands before his face, as
in the ordinary supplications, and the other worshippers doing the same,
he recites the “do’a” (or prayer); repeating one, two, three, or more
words, which the others then repeat after him. The prayer is as
follows.—“O God! O Thou Gracious! and who art not an object of grace! O
Thou Lord of Dignity and Honour, and of Beneficence and Favour! There is
no deity but Thou, the Support of those who seek to Thee for refuge, and
the Helper of those who have recourse to Thee for help, and the Trust of
those who fear! O God, if Thou have recorded me in Thy abode, upon the
‘Original of the Book,’[551] miserable, or unfortunate, or scanted in my
sustenance, cancel, O God, of Thy goodness, my misery, and misfortune,
and scanty allowance of sustenance, and confirm me in thy abode, upon
the Original of the Book, as happy, and provided for, and directed to
good: for Thou hast said (and Thy saying is true) in Thy Book revealed
by the tongue of Thy commissioned Prophet, ‘God will cancel what He
pleaseth, and confirm; and with Him is the Original of the Book.’[552] O
my God! by the very great revelation [which is made] on the night of the
middle of the month of Shaabán the honoured, ‘in which every determined
decree is dispensed’[553] and confirmed, remove from me whatever
affliction I know, and what I know not, and what Thou best knowest; for
Thou art the most Mighty, the most Bountiful. And favour, O God, our
lord Mohammed, the Illiterate[554] Prophet, and his Family and
Companions, and preserve them.”—After having repeated this prayer, the
worshippers offer up any private supplication.
The night on which “Ramadán” (the month of abstinence, the ninth month
of the year) is expected to commence is called “Leylet er-Roo-yeh,” or
the Night of the Observation [of the new moon]. In the afternoon, or
earlier, during the preceding day, several persons are sent a few miles
into the desert, where the air is particularly clear, in order to obtain
a sight of the new moon: for the fast commences on the next day after
the new moon has been seen, or, if the moon cannot be seen in
consequence of a cloudy sky, at the expiration of thirty days from the
commencement of the preceding month. The evidence of one Muslim, that he
has seen the new moon, is sufficient for the proclaiming of the fast. In
the evening of the day above mentioned, the Mohtes′ib, the sheykhs of
several trades (millers, bakers, slaughter-men, sellers of meat,
oil-men, and fruiterers), with several other members of each of these
trades, parties of musicians, and a number of fakeers, headed and
interrupted by companies of soldiers, go in procession from the Citadel
to the Court of the Kádee, and there await the return of one of the
persons who have been sent to make the observation, or the testimony of
any other Muslim who has seen the new moon. The streets through which
they pass are lined with spectators. There used to be, in this
procession, several led horses, handsomely caparisoned; but of late,
military display, of a poor order, has, for the most part, taken the
place of civil and religious pomp. The procession of the night of the
Roo-yeh is now chiefly composed of Nizám infantry. Each company of
soldiers is preceded and followed by bearers of mesh’als, to light them
on their return; and followed by the sheykh, and a few other members, of
some trade, with several fakeers, shouting, as they pass along, “O!
Blessing! Blessing! Bless ye the Prophet! On him be peace!” After every
two or three companies, there is generally an interval of many minutes.
The Mohtes′ib and his attendants close the procession. When information
that the moon has been seen has arrived at the Kádee’s court, the
soldiers and others assembled there divide themselves into several
companies, one of which returns to the Citadel; the others perambulate
different quarters of the town, shouting, “O followers of the best of
the Creation![555] Fasting! Fasting!”—When the moon has not been seen on
this night, the people are informed by the cry of “To-morrow is of the
month of Shaabán! No fasting! No fasting!”—The people generally pass a
great part of this night (when the fast has been proclaimed as
commencing on the morrow) in eating and drinking and smoking; and seem
as merry as they usually do when released from the misery of the day’s
fast. The mosques, as on the following nights, are illuminated within;
and lamps are hung at their entrances, and upon the galleries of the
mád’nehs.
In Ramadán, instead of seeing, as at other times, many of the passengers
in the streets with the pipe in the hand, we now see them empty-handed,
until near sunset, or carrying a stick or cane, or a string of beads;
but some of the Christians now are not afraid, as they used to be, of
smoking in their shops in the sight of the fasting Muslims. The streets,
in the morning, have a dull appearance, many of the shops being shut;
but in the afternoon, they are as much crowded as usual, and all the
shops are open. The Muslims during the day-time, while fasting, are,
generally speaking, very morose: in the night, after breakfast, they are
unusually affable and cheerful. It is the general fashion of the
principal Turks in Cairo, and a custom of many others, to repair to the
mosque of the Hasaneyn in the afternoon during Ramadán, to pray and
lounge; and on these occasions a number of Turkish tradesmen (called
Tohafgeeyeh) expose for sale, in the court of the meydaäh (or tank for
ablution), a variety of articles of taste and luxury suited to the wants
of their countrymen. It is common, in this month, to see tradesmen in
their shops reciting the Kur-án or prayers, or distributing bread to the
poor. Towards evening, and for some time after sunset, the beggars are
more than usually importunate and clamorous; and at these times the
coffee-shops are much frequented by persons of the lower orders; many of
whom prefer to break their fast with a cup of coffee and a pipe. There
are few among the poor who do not keep the fast; but many persons of the
higher and middle classes break it in secret.
In general, during Ramadán, in the houses of persons of the higher and
middle classes, the stool of the supper-tray is placed, in the apartment
in which the master of the house receives his visitors, a few minutes
before sunset. A japanned tray is put upon it; and on this are placed
several dishes, or large saucers, containing different kinds of dry
fruits (which are called “nukl”); such as hazel-nuts (generally
toasted), raisins, shelled walnuts, dried dates, dried figs, shelled
almonds, sugared nuts, etc., and kahk, or sweet cakes. With these are
also placed several kullehs (or glass cups) of sherbet of sugar and
water; usually one or two cups more than there are persons in the house
to partake of the beverage, in case of visitors coming unexpectedly; and
often a little fresh cheese and a cake of bread are added. The pipes are
also made ready; and it is usual to provide, in houses where numerous
visitors are likely to call, several common reed pipes. Immediately
after the call to evening prayer, which is chanted four minutes after
sunset, the master and such of his family or friends as happen to be
with him drink each a glass of sherbet: they then usually say the
evening-prayers; and, this done, eat a few nuts, etc., and smoke their
pipes. After this slight refreshment, they sit down to a plentiful meal
of meat and other food, which they term their breakfast (“fatoor”).
Having finished this meal, they say the night-prayers, and certain
additional prayers of Ramadán, called “et-taráweeh;” or smoke again
before they pray. The taráweeh prayers consist of twenty rek’ahs; and
are repeated between the ’eshë prayers and the witr. Very few persons
say these prayers, excepting in the mosque, where they have an Imám to
take the lead; and they do little more than conform with his motions.
The smaller mosques are closed, in Ramadán, soon after the taráweeh
prayers: the larger remain open until the period of the last meal (which
is called the “sahoor”), or until the “imsák,” which is the period when
the fast must be recommenced. They are illuminated within and at their
entrances, as long as they remain open; and the mád’nehs are illuminated
during the whole of the night. The time during which the Muslim is
allowed to eat (commencing, as already stated, at sunset) varies from 11
hours 55 minutes to 7 hours 46 minutes (in the latitude of Cairo),
according as the night is long or short: the imsák being always twenty
minutes before the period of the prayer of daybreak. Consequently, the
time during which he keeps fast every day is from 12 hours 5 minutes to
16 hours 14 minutes.
The Muslims, during Ramadán, generally take their breakfast at home;
after which, they sometimes spend an hour or two in the house of a
friend. Many of them, but chiefly those of the lower orders, in the
evening, visit a coffee-shop, either merely for the sake of society, or
to listen to one of the reciters of romances, or musicians, who
entertain the company at many of the coffee-shops every night of this
month. Numerous passengers are seen in the streets during the greater
part of the night; and most of the shops at which sherbet and eatables
are sold remain open. Night is thus turned into day; and particularly by
the wealthy, most of whom sleep during a great part of the day. It is a
custom of some of the ’Ulama of Cairo to have a zikr performed in their
houses every night during this month; and some other persons, also,
occasionally invite their friends, and entertain them with a zikr or a
khatmeh.
Every night during Ramadán, criers, called “Musahhirs,” go about, first
to recite a complimentary cry before the house of each Muslim who is
able to reward them, and at a later hour to announce the period of the
“sahoor,” or last meal.[556] There is one of these criers to each
“khutt,” or small district, of Cairo. He begins his rounds about two
hours, or a little more, after sunset (that is, shortly after the
night-prayers have been said); holding, with his left hand, a small
drum, called “báz,” or “tablat el-musahhir,”[557] and, in his right
hand, a small stick or strap, with which he beats it; and is accompanied
by a boy carrying two “kandeels” (or small glass lamps) in a frame made
of palm-sticks. They stop before the house of every Muslim, excepting
the poor; and on each occasion of their doing this, the musahhir beats
his little drum to the following measure, three times:—
[Stanza]
after which he chants—“He prospereth who saith ‘There is no deity but
God’”—then he beats his drum in the same manner as before, and
adds,—“‘Mohammad, the Guide is the Apostle of God.’”—Then again beating
his drum he generally continues,—“The most happy of nights to thee, O
such a one!” (naming the master of the house). Having previously
inquired the names of the inmates of each house, he greets each person,
excepting women, in the same manner; mentioning every brother, son, and
young unmarried daughter of the master: saying, in the last case,—“The
most happy of nights to the chief lady among brides,[558] such a one.”
After each greeting he beats his drum; and after having greeted the man
(or men), adds,—“May God accept from him [or them] his [or their]
prayers and fasting and good works.”—He concludes by saying,—“God
preserve you, O ye generous, every year!”—At the houses of the great (as
also sometimes in other cases), after commencing as above (“He
prospereth who saith ‘There is no deity but God: Mohammad, the Guide, is
the Apostle of God’”), he generally repeats a long chant in unmeasured
rhyme; in which he first conjures God to pardon his sins, and blesses
the Prophet, and then proceeds to relate the story of the “mearág” (or
the Prophet’s miraculous ascension to heaven), and other similar stories
of miracles; beating his drum after every few words, or, rather, after
every rhyme.—A house of mourning the musahhir passes by. He generally
receives, at the house of a person of the middle orders, two, three, or
four piasters on the “’eed” which follows Ramadán: some persons give him
a trifle every night.
If my reader be at all impressed by what has been above related, of the
office of the musahhir, as illustrating the character of the Muslims, he
will be more struck by what here follows.—At many houses of the middle
classes in Cairo, the women often put a small coin (of five faddahs, or
from that sum to a piaster, or more) into a piece of paper, and throw it
out of a window to the musahhir; having first set fire to the paper,
that he may see where it falls: he then, sometimes by their desire, and
sometimes of his own accord, recites the Fát’hah, and relates to them a
short tale, in unmeasured rhyme, for their amusement; as, for instance,
the story of two “darrahs”—the quarrels of two women who are wives of
the same man. Some of the tales which he relates on these occasions are
of a grossly indecent nature; and yet they are listened to by females in
houses of good repute. How incongruous are such sequels! What
inconsistency of character do they evince!
During this month, those calls from the mád’nehs which are termed “the
Oola” and “the Ebed” are discontinued; and, in their stead, two other
calls are chanted. The period of the first of these, which is termed the
“Abrár” (from the first word of note occurring in it), is between an
hour and a half and half an hour before midnight, according as the night
is long or short. It consists of the following verses of the
Kur-án.[559] “But the just shall drink of a cup [of wine] mixed with
[the water of] Káfoor; a fountain from which the servants of God shall
drink: they shall convey the same by channels [whithersoever they
please]. [These] did fulfil their vow, and dread the day, the evil
whereof will disperse itself far abroad; and give food unto the poor and
the orphan and the bondsman for his sake, [saying,] We feed you for
God’s sake only: we desire no recompense from you, nor any thanks.”—The
second call is termed the “Selám” (or salutation); and is a series of
invocations of blessings on the Prophet, similar to those recited before
the Friday-prayers; but not always the same. This is generally chanted
about half an hour after midnight. The morning adán from the mád’nehs is
chanted much earlier than usual, as a warning to the Muslims to take
their last meal, the “sahoor;” in winter, in the longest night, about
two hours and a half, and in the short nights, about one hour and a
half, before the imsák. Another adán is also made from the dikkehs in
the great mosques about twenty minutes before the imsák, as a final
warning to any who may have neglected to eat; and at the period of the
imsák, in these mosques, the meekátee (who makes known the hours of
prayer, etc.), or some other person, calls out “Irfa’oo!” that is,
“Remove ye” [your food, etc.]—About an hour and a half before the imsák,
the musahhir goes his rounds to rouse or remind the people to eat at
those houses where he has been ordered to call; knocking and calling
until he is answered; and the porter of each quarter does the same at
each house in his quarter.—Some persons eat but little for their fatoor,
and make the sahoor the principal meal: others do the reverse; or make
both meals alike. Most persons sleep about half the night.
Some few pious persons spend the last ten days and nights of Ramadán in
the mosque of the Hasaneyn or that of the Seyyideh Zeyneb. One of these
nights, generally supposed to be the 27th of the month[560] (that is,
the night preceding the 27th day), is called “Leylet el-Kadr” (the Night
of Power, or of the Divine decree). On this night, the Kur-án is said to
have been sent down to Mohammad. It is affirmed to be “better than a
thousand months;”[561] and the angels are believed to descend, and to be
occupied in conveying blessings to the faithful from the commencement of
it until daybreak. Moreover, the gates of heaven being then opened,
prayer is held to be certain of success. Salt water, it is said,
suddenly becomes sweet on this night; and hence, some devout persons,
not knowing which of the last ten nights of Ramadán is the Leylet
el-Kadr, observe all those nights with great solemnity, and keep before
them a vessel of salt water, which they occasionally taste, to try if it
become sweet, so that they may be certain of the night. I find, however,
that a tradition of the Prophet fixes it to be one of the odd nights;
the 21st, 23rd, 25th, 27th, or 29th.
On the first three days of “Showwál” (the tenth month, the next after
Ramadán) is celebrated the minor of the two grand festivals which are
ordained, by the religion of the Muslims, to be observed with general
rejoicing. It is commonly called “el-’Eed es-Sugheiyir;” but more
properly “el-’Eed es-Sagheer.”[562] The expiration of the fast of
Ramadán is the occasion of this festival. Soon after sunrise on the
first day, the people having all dressed in new or in their best
clothes, the men assemble in the mosques, and perform the prayers of two
rek’ahs, a sunneh ordinance of the ’eed; after which, the Khateeb
delivers an exhortation. Friends, meeting in the mosque, or in the
street, or in each other’s houses, congratulate and embrace and kiss
each other. They generally visit each other for this purpose. Some, even
of the lower classes, dress themselves entirely in a new suit of
clothes; and almost every one wears something new, if it be only a pair
of shoes. The servant is presented with one or more new articles of
clothing by the master, and receives a few piasters from each of his
master’s friends, if they visit the house; or even goes to those
friends, to congratulate them, and receives his present: if he have
served a former master, he also visits him, and is in like manner
rewarded for his trouble; and sometimes he brings a present of a dish of
“kahk” (or sweet cakes), and obtains, in return, money of twice the
value, or more. On the days of this ’eed, most of the people of Cairo
eat “feseekh” (or salted fish) and “kahks,” “fateerehs” (or thin, folded
pancakes), and “shureyks” (a kind of bun). Some families also prepare a
dish called “mumezzezeh,” consisting of stewed meat, with onions, and a
quantity of treacle, vinegar, and coarse flour; and the master usually
procures dried fruits (“nukl”), such as nuts, raisins, etc., for his
family. Most of the shops in the metropolis are closed, excepting those
at which eatables and sherbet are sold; but the streets present a gay
appearance, from the crowds of passengers in their holiday-clothes.
On one or more days of this festival, some or all of the members of most
families, but chiefly the women, visit the tombs of their relatives.
This they also do on the occasion of the other grand festival, of which
an account will be given hereafter. The visitors, or their servants,
carry palm-branches, and sometimes sweet basil (“reehán”), to lay upon
the tomb which they go to visit. The palm-branch is broken into several
pieces, and these, or the leaves only, are placed on the tomb. Numerous
groups of women are seen on these occasions, bearing palm-branches, on
their way to the cemeteries in the neighbourhood of the metropolis. They
are also provided, according to their circumstances, with kahks,
shureyks, fateerehs, bread, dates, or some other kind of food, to
distribute to the poor who resort to the burial-grounds on these days.
Sometimes tents are pitched for them: the tent surrounds the tomb which
is the object of the visit.[563] The visitors recite the Fát’hah; or, if
they can afford it, employ a person to recite first the Soorat Yá-Seen,
or a larger portion of the Kur-án. Often a khatmeh (or recital of the
whole of the Kur-án) is performed at the tomb, or in the house, by
several fikees. The men generally return immediately after these rites
have been performed, and the fragments or leaves of the palm-branch laid
on the tomb: the women usually go to the tomb early in the morning, and
do not return until the afternoon: some of them (but these are not
generally esteemed women of correct conduct), if they have a tent, pass
the night in it, and remain until the end of the festival, or until the
afternoon of the following Friday: so also do the women of a family
possessed of a private, enclosed burial-ground, with a house within it;
for there are many such enclosures, and not a few with houses for the
accommodation of the females, in the midst of the public cemeteries of
Cairo. Intrigues are said to be not uncommon with the females who spend
the night in tents among the tombs. The great cemetery of Báb en-Nasr,
in the desert tract immediately on the north of the metropolis, presents
a remarkable scene on the two ’eeds. In a part next the city-gate from
which the burial-ground takes its name, many swings and whirligigs are
erected, and several large tents; in some of which, dancers, reciters of
Aboo-Zeyd, and other performers, amuse a dense crowd of spectators; and
throughout the burial ground are seen numerous tents for the reception
of the visitors of the tombs.
About two or three days after the ’eed above described, the “Kisweh,” or
covering of the Kaabeh, which is sent annually with the great caravan of
pilgrims, is conveyed in procession from the Citadel of the metropolis,
where it is manufactured at the Sultán’s expense, to the mosque of the
Hasaneyn, to be sewed together, and lined, preparatively to the
approaching pilgrimage. It is of a coarse, black brocade, covered with
inscriptions[564] of passages from the Kur-án, etc., which are
interwoven with silk of the same colour; and having a broad band across
each side, ornamented with similar inscriptions worked in gold.[565] The
following account of the procession of the Kisweh I write on my return
from witnessing it, on the 6th of Showwál 1249 (or 15th of February,
1834).
I took my seat, soon after sunrise, in the shop of the Básha’s
booksellers, in the main street of the city, nearly opposite the
entrance to the bázár called Khán El-Khaleelee. This and almost every
shop in the street were crowded with persons attracted by the desire of
witnessing the procession, old and young; for the Egyptians of every
class and rank and age take great pleasure in viewing public spectacles;
but the streets were not so much thronged as they usually are on the
occasions of the processions of the Mahmal. About two hours after
sun-rise, the four portions which form each one side of the “Kisweh”
were borne past the spot where I had taken my post; each of the four
pieces placed on an ass, with the ropes by which they were to be
attached. The asses were not ornamented in any way, nor neatly
caparisoned; and their conductors were common felláhs, in the usual blue
shirt. There was then an interval of about three-quarters of an hour;
and nothing to relieve the dulness of this long pause but the passing of
a few darweeshes, and two buffoons, who stopped occasionally before a
shop where they saw any well-dressed persons sitting, and, for the sake
of obtaining a present of about five faddahs (or a little more than a
farthing), engaged in a sham quarrel, abused each other in loud and
gross words, and violently slapped each other on the face.
After this interval came about twenty ill-dressed men, bearing on their
shoulders a long frame of wood, upon which was extended one quarter of
the “Hezám” (that is, the belt or band above mentioned). The Hezám is in
four pieces, which, when sewed together to the Kisweh, form one
continuous band, so as to surround the Kaabeh entirely, at about
two-thirds of its height. It is of the same kind of black brocade as the
Kisweh itself. The inscriptions in gold are well worked in large and
beautiful characters, and surrounded by a border of gold; and at each
end, where the upper and lower borders unite, the Hezám is ornamented in
a tasteful manner, with green and red silk, sewed on, and embroidered
with gold. One or other of the bearers frequently went aside to ask for
a present from some respectably dressed spectator. There was an interval
of about a quarter of an hour after the first quarter of the Hezám
passed by: the other three portions were then borne along, one
immediately after another, in the same manner. Then there was another
interval, of about half an hour; after which there came several tall
camels, slightly stained with the red dye of the henna, and having high,
ornamented saddles, such as I have described in my account of the return
of the Mahmal: upon each of these were one or two boys or girls; and
upon some were cats. These were followed by a company of Baltageeyeh (or
Pioneers), a very good military band (the instruments of various kinds,
but mostly trumpets, and all European), and the Básha’s guard, a
regiment of infantry, of picked young men, in uniforms of a dark blueish
brown, with new red shoes, and with stockings.
The “Burko’” (or Veil),[566] which is the curtain that is hung before
the door of the Kaabeh, was next borne along, stretched upon a high,
flattish frame of wood, fixed on the back of a fine camel. It was of
black brocade, embroidered in the same manner as the Hezám, with
inscriptions from the Kur-án in letters of gold, but more richly and
more highly ornamented, and was lined with green silk. The face of the
Burko’ was extended on the right side of the frame; and the green silk
lining on the left. It was followed by numerous companies of darweeshes,
with their banners; among which were several sháleeshes (such as I have
described in my account of the Dóseh at the festival of the Mearág),
which are the banners of the principal orders of darweeshes. Many of
them bore flags, inscribed with the profession of the faith (“There is
no deity but God: Mohammad is God’s Apostle”), or with words from the
Kur-án, and the names of God, the Prophet, and the founders of their
orders. Several Kádiree darweeshes bore nets, of various colours, each
extended upon a framework of hoops upon a pole: these were fishermen.
Some of the darweeshes were employed in repeating, as in a common zikr,
the name and attributes of God. Two men, armed with swords and shields,
engaged each other in a mock combat. One other, mounted on a horse, was
fantastically dressed in sheepskins, and wore a high skin cap, and a
grotesque false beard, composed of short pieces of cord or twist,
apparently of wool, with mustaches formed of two long brown feathers: he
occasionally pretended to write “fetwas” (or judicial decisions), upon
scraps of paper given to him by spectators, with a piece of stick, which
he feigned to charge with a substitute for ink by applying it to his
horse as though it were intended for a goad. But the most remarkable
group in this part of the procession consisted of several darweeshes of
the sect of the Rifá’ees, called Owlád-’Ilwán, each of whom bore in his
hand an iron spike, about a foot in length, with a ball of the same
metal at the thick end, having a number of small and short chains
attached to it. Several of these darweeshes, in appearance, thrust the
spike with violence into their eyes, and withdrew it, without showing
any mark of injury: it seemed to enter to the depth of about an inch.
This trick was very well performed. Five faddahs, or even a pipeful of
tobacco, seemed to be considered a sufficient recompense to the
religious juggler for this display of his pretended miraculous power.
The spectators near me seemed to entertain no suspicion of any fraud in
this singular performance; and I was reproached by one who sat by me, a
man of very superior information, for expressing my opinion that it was
a very clever piece of deception. Most of the darweeshes in the
procession were Rifá’ees: their sheykh, on horseback, followed them.
Next came the “Mahmal,” which I have described in my account of its
return to Cairo. It is added to the procession of the kisweh for the
sake of increasing the show: the grand procession of the Mahmal previous
to the departure of the great caravan of pilgrims takes place between
two and three weeks after. Another black covering, of an oblong form,
embroidered in like manner with gold, to be placed over the Makám
Ibráheem, in the temple of Mekkeh, was borne after the Mahmal. Behind
this rode a Turkish military officer, holding, upon an embroidered
kerchief, a small case, or bag, of green silk, embroidered with gold,
the receptacle of the key of the Kaabeh. Then followed the last person
in the procession: this was the half-naked sheykh described in my
account of the return of the Mahmal, who constantly follows this sacred
object, and accompanies the caravan to and from Mekkeh, mounted on a
camel, and incessantly rolling his head.[567]
In the latter part of Showwál, not always on the same day of the month,
but generally on or about the twenty-third, the principal officers and
escort of the great caravan of pilgrims pass, from the Citadel, through
the metropolis, in grand procession, followed by the Mahmal. The
procession is called that of the Mahmal. The various persons who take
part in it, most of whom proceed with the caravan to Mekkeh, collect in
the Kara Meydán and the Rumeyleh (two large open tracts) below the
Citadel, and there take their places in the prescribed order. As this
procession is conducted with less pomp in almost every successive year,
I shall describe it as I first witnessed it, during my former visit to
Egypt. The streets through which it passed were lined with spectators;
some, seated on the mastab′ahs of the shops (which were all closed), and
others, standing on the ground below. I obtained a good place at a shop
in the main street, through which it passed towards the gate called Báb
en-Nasr.
First, a cannon was drawn along, about three hours after sun-rise: it
was a small field-piece, to be used for the purpose of firing signals
for the departure of the caravan after each halt. Then followed two
companies of irregular Turkish cavalry (Delees and Tufekjees), about
five hundred men, most shabbily clad, and having altogether the
appearance of banditti. Next, after an interval of about half an hour,
came several men mounted on camels, and each beating a pair of the large
copper kettle-drums called nakkárahs,[568] attached to the fore part of
the saddle. Other camels, with large stuffed saddles, of the same kind
as those described in my account of the return of the Mahmal, without
riders, followed those above mentioned. These camels were all slightly
tinged of a dingy orange red with henna. Some of them had a number of
fresh, green palm-branches fixed upright upon the saddles, like enormous
plumes; others were decorated with small flags, in the same manner as
those above alluded to: several had a large bell hung on each side;
some, again, bore water-skins; and one was laden with the “khazneh,” a
square case, covered with red cloth, containing the treasure for
defraying those expenses of the pilgrimage which fall upon the
government. The baggage of the Emeer el-Hágg (or Chief of the Pilgrims)
then followed, borne by camels. With his furniture and provisions, etc.,
was conveyed the new “Kisweh.” After this, there was another interval.
The next persons in the procession were several darweeshes, moving their
heads from side to side, and repeating the name of God. With these were
numerous camel-drivers, sakkas, sweepers, and others; some of them
crying “’Arafát![569] O God!” and “God! God! [May the journey be] with
safety!” Then, again, followed several camels; some, with palm-branches,
and others, with large bells, as before described. Next, the takht‘rawán
(or litter) of the Emeer el-Hágg, covered with red cloth, was borne
along by two camels; the foremost of which had a saddle decorated with a
number of small flags. Some Arabs, and the “Deleel el-Hágg” (or Guide of
the Caravan), followed it; and next came several camels, and groups of
darweeshes and others, as before. Then followed about fifty members of
the Básha’s household, well dressed and mounted; a number of other
officers, with silver-headed sticks, and guns; the chief of the Delees,
with his officers; and another body of members of the household, mounted
like the first, but persons of an inferior order. These were followed by
several other officers of the court, on foot, dressed in kaftáns of
cloth of gold. Next came two swordsmen, naked to the waist, and each
having a small, round shield: they frequently stopped, and engaged each
other in sport; and occasionally received remuneration from some of the
spectators. These preceded a company of darweeshes, camel-drivers, and
others; and the shouts before mentioned were repeated.
After a short interval, the sounds of drums and fifes were heard; and a
considerable body of the Nizám, or regular troops, marched by. Next
followed the “Wálee” (or chief magistrate of police), with several of
his officers; then, the attendants of the “Emeer el-Hágg,” the “Emeer”
himself, three kátibs (or clerks), a troop of Maghrab′ee horsemen, and
three “Muballighs” of the Mountain, in white ’abáyehs (or woollen
cloaks), interwoven with gold. The office of the last is to repeat
certain words of the Khateeb (or preacher) on Mount ’Arafát. Then again
there intervened numerous groups of camel-drivers, sweepers, sakkas, and
others; many of them shouting as those before. In the midst of these
rode the “Imáms” of the four orthodox sects; one to each sect. Several
companies of darweeshes, of different orders, followed next, with the
tall banners and flags of the kind mentioned in my account of the
procession of the Kisweh; the Kádireeyeh having also, in addition to
their poles with various-coloured nets, long palm-sticks, as
fishing-rods. Kettledrums, hautboys, and other instruments, at the head
of each of these companies, produced a harsh music. They were followed
by members of various trades; each body headed by their sheykh.
Next came several camels; and then, the “Mahmal.” Many of the people in
the streets pressed violently towards it, to touch it with their hands,
which, having done so, they kissed; and many of the women who witnessed
the spectacle from the latticed windows of the houses let down their
shawls or head-veils, in order to touch with them the sacred object.
Immediately behind the Mahmal was the same person whom I have described
as following it on its return to Cairo, and in the procession of the
Kisweh: the half-naked sheykh, seated on a camel, and rolling his head.
In former years, the Mahmal used to be conveyed, on this occasion, with
much more pomp, particularly in the times of the Memlooks, who attended
it clad in their richest dresses, displaying their most splendid arms
and armour, and, in every way, vieing with each other in magnificence.
It used generally to be preceded by a group of Saadeeyeh darweeshes,
devouring live serpents.
The Mahmal, the baggage of the Emeer, etc., generally remain two or
three or more days in the plain of the Hasweh, on the north of the
metropolis; then proceed to the Birket el-Hágg (or Lake of the
Pilgrims), about eleven miles from the city, and remain there two days.
This latter halting-place is the general rendezvous of the pilgrims. The
caravan usually departs thence on the twenty-seventh of Showwál. The
journey to Mekkeh occupies thirty-seven days. The route lies over rocky
and sandy deserts, with very few verdant spots. To diminish the
hardships of the journey, the caravan travels slowly, and mostly by
night; starting about two hours before sunset, and halting the next
morning a little after sunrise. The litters most generally used by the
pilgrims I have described in the account of the return of the
caravan.—Most of the Turkish pilgrims, and many others, prefer going by
way of El-Kuseyr or Es-Suweys[570] and the Red Sea; and set out from
Cairo generally between two and three months before the great caravan.
On the tenth of “Zu-l-Heggeh” (the last month of the year) commences the
Great Festival, el-Kebeer;[571] which, like the former ’eed, lasts three
days, or four, and is observed with nearly the same customs. Every
person puts on his best clothes or a new suit; but it is more common to
put on new clothes on the minor ’eed. Prayers are performed in the
mosques on the first day, soon after sunrise, as on the other festival;
and the same customs of visiting and congratulation, and giving presents
(though generally of smaller sums) to servants and others, are observed
by most persons. The sacrifice that is performed on the first day, which
is the day of the pilgrim’s sacrifice, has been mentioned in the third
chapter of this work. It is a duty observed by most persons who can
easily afford to do it. For several previous days, numerous flocks of
sheep, and many buffaloes, are driven into the metropolis, to be sold
for sacrifice. Another custom observed on this festival, that of
visiting the tombs, I have also before had occasion to describe, in the
account of the ceremonies of the former ’eed. In most respects, what is
called the Minor Festival is generally observed with more rejoicing than
that which is termed the Great Festival. On this latter ’eed, most
persons who have the means to do so prepare a dish called “fetteh,”
composed of boiled mutton, or other meat (the meat of the victim), cut
into small pieces, placed upon broken bread, upon which is poured the
broth of the meat, and some vinegar flavoured with a little garlic fried
in a small quantity of melted butter, and then sprinkled over with a
little pepper.
-----
Footnote 543:
Thefts are also sometimes committed in this mosque on other occasions,
as a friend of mine lately experienced.—“I went there,” said he, “to
pray; and, as I was stooping over the brink of the ‘meydaäh,’ to
perform the ablution, having placed my shoes beside me, and was
saying, ‘I purpose to perform the divine ordinance of the “wudoó,”’
somebody behind me said to himself, ‘I purpose to take away this nice
pair of shoes.’ On looking round, I found an old worn-out pair of
shoes put in the place of my own, which were new.”
Footnote 544:
’Eesa is the Arabic name of Jesus, and not uncommon among Muslims, as
they acknowledge and highly venerate the Messiah.
Footnote 545:
The performances of Richardson, described in Evelyn’s Memoirs (pp.
375-6, 8vo edition), appear to have surpassed those of the darweeshes
here mentioned.
Footnote 546:
“Seyyidna” signifies “our lord.”
Footnote 547:
About this time, the Turkish pilgrims, on their way to Mekkeh, begin
to arrive in Egypt.
Footnote 548:
This mosque was commenced shortly before the invasion of Egypt by the
French, and completed soon after they had quitted the country.
Footnote 549:
This tale applies to the Khaleefeh El-Hákim. I have heard it related
with some trifling differences.
Footnote 550:
In the Commentary of the Geláleyn, “Sidrat el-Muntah′a,” or the
Lote-tree of the Extremity (Kur-án, chap. liii., verse 14), is
interpreted as signifying “The Lote-tree beyond which neither angels
nor others can pass.”
Footnote 551:
The Preserved Tablet, on which are said to be written the original of
the Kur-án, and all God’s decrees, is here commonly understood; but I
am informed that the “Original” (or, literally, the “Mother”) “of the
Book” is God’s knowledge or prescience.
Footnote 552:
Kur-án, chap. xiii., verse 39.
Footnote 553:
Kur-án, chap. xliv., verse 3.—By some persons these words are supposed
to apply to the Night of el-Kadr, which will hereafter be mentioned.
Footnote 554:
Mohammad gloried in his illiteracy, as a proof of his being inspired:
it had the same effect upon his followers as the words of our Saviour
had upon the Jews, who remarked, “How knoweth this man letters, having
never learned?”—John vii. 15.
Footnote 555:
“The best of the Creation” is an appellation of the Prophet.
Footnote 556:
It is from this latter office that the crier is called “Musahhir.”
Footnote 557:
Described in the chapter on music.
Footnote 558:
Young ladies in Egypt are often called “brides.”
Footnote 559:
The fifth and four following verses of the Soorat el-Insán, or 76th
chapter.
Footnote 560:
Not the night supposed by Sale, which is that between the 23rd and
24th days. See one of his notes on the 97th chapter of the Kur-án.
Footnote 561:
Kur-án, ibid.
Footnote 562:
It is also called “’Eed el-Fitr” (or the Festival of the Breaking of
the Fast); and, by the Turks, “Ramazán Beyrám.”
Footnote 563:
The salutation of peace should be pronounced on entering the
burial-ground and on arriving at the tomb, in the manner described in
Chap. x., in my account of visits to the tombs and cenotaphs of
saints. In the former case it is general; and in the latter,
particular.
Footnote 564:
This was denied by several of my Muslim friends, before whom I
casually mentioned it; but, by producing a piece of the Kisweh, I
proved the truth of my assertion. I state this to show that a writer
may often be charged with committing an error on authority which any
person would consider perfectly convincing.
Footnote 565:
The Kaabeh is a building in the centre of the Temple of Mekkeh, most
highly respected by the Muslims. It is nearly in the form of a cube.
Its height is somewhat more than thirty feet; and each side is about
the same, or a little more, in width. It is not exactly rectangular,
nor exactly equilateral. The black covering, after having remained
upon it nearly a year, is taken off on the 25th of Zu-l-Kaadeh, cut
up, and sold to the pilgrims; and the building is left without a
covering for the period of fifteen days: on the 10th of Zu-l-Heggeh,
the first day of the Great Festival, the new Kisweh is put on. The
interior is also hung with a covering, which is renewed each time that
a new Sultán ascends the Turkish throne. It is necessary to renew the
_outer_ covering every year, in consequence of its exposure to the
rain, etc. As the use of stuffs entirely composed of silk is
prohibited, the Kisweh of the Kaabeh is lined with cotton to render it
allowable.
Footnote 566:
This is often called, by the vulgar, “the veil of sitna Fát’meh;”
because it is said that Fátimeh Shegeret ed-Durr, the wife of the
Sultán Es-Sáleh, was the first person who sent a veil of this kind to
cover the door of the Kaabeh.
Footnote 567:
I went to the mosque of the Hasaneyn a few days after, to examine the
Kisweh and the other objects above described, that I might be able to
make my account of them more accurate and complete. I was permitted to
handle them all at my leisure; and gave a small present for this
privilege, and for a superfluous piece of the Kisweh, for which I
asked, a span in length, and nearly the same in breadth.
Footnote 568:
These are described in the chapter on music.
Footnote 569:
“’Arafát” is the name of the mountain which is one of the principal
objects of pilgrimage.
Footnote 570:
Thus is properly pronounced the name of the town which we commonly
call _Suez_.
Footnote 571:
It is also called “’Eed el-Kurbán” (or the Festival of the Sacrifice),
and by the Turks, “Kurbán Beyrám.”
----------------------------
CHAPTER XXVI.
PERIODICAL PUBLIC FESTIVALS, ETC.—_continued_.
It is remarkable that the Muslims of Egypt observe certain customs of a
religious or superstitious nature at particular periods of the religious
almanac of the Copts; and even, according to the same system, calculate
the times of certain changes of the weather. Thus they calculate the
period of the “Khamáseen,” when hot southerly winds are of frequent
occurrence, to commence on the day immediately following the Coptic
festival of Easter Sunday, and to terminate on the Day of Pentecost (or
Whitsunday); an interval of forty-nine days.[572]
The Wednesday next before this period is called “Arba’′a Eiyoob,” or
Job’s Wednesday. Many persons, on this day, wash themselves with cold
water, and rub themselves with the creeping plant called “raaráa
Eiyoob,” or “ghubeyra” (inula Arabica, and inula undulata), on account
of a tradition which relates that Job did so to obtain restoration to
health. This and other customs about to be mentioned were peculiar to
the Copts; but are now observed by many Muslims in the towns, and by
more in the villages. The other customs just alluded to are that of
eating eggs, dyed externally red or yellow or blue, or some other
colour, on the next day (Thursday); and, on the Friday (Good Friday), a
dish of khaltah, composed of kishk,[573] with fool nábit,[574] lentils,
rice, onions, etc. On the Saturday, also, it is a common custom of men
and women to adorn their eyes with kohl. This day is called “Sebt
en-Noor” (Saturday of the Light); because a light, said to be
miraculous, appears during the festival then celebrated in the Holy
Sepulchre in Jerusalem.
A custom termed “Shemm en-Neseem” (or the Smelling of the Zephyr) is
observed on the first day of the Khamáseen. Early in the morning of this
day, many persons, especially women, break an onion, and smell it; and
in the course of the forenoon, many of the citizens of Cairo ride or
walk a little way into the country, or go in boats, generally
northwards, to take the air, or, as they term it, _smell_ the air,
which, on that day, they believe to have a wonderfully beneficial
effect. The greater number dine in the country, or on the river. This
year (1834), they were treated with a violent hot wind, accompanied by
clouds of dust, instead of the neseem: but considerable numbers,
notwithstanding, went out to “smell” it.—The ’ulama have their “shemm
en-neseem” at a fixed period of the solar year; the first three days of
the spring-quarter, corresponding with the Persian “Now-róz,” called by
the Arabs “Nórooz.”
The night of the 17th of June, which corresponds with the 11th of the
Coptic month of Ba-ooneh, is called “Leylet en-Nuktah” (or the Night of
the Drop); as it is believed that a miraculous drop then falls into the
Nile, and causes it to rise. Astrologers calculate the precise moment
when the “drop” is to fall; which is always in the course of the night
above mentioned. Many of the inhabitants of Cairo and its neighbourhood,
and of other parts of Egypt, spend this night on the banks of the Nile;
some, in houses of their friends; others, in the open air. Many also,
and especially the women, observe a singular custom on the Leylet
en-Nuktah; placing, upon the terrace of the house, after sunset, as many
lumps of dough as there are inmates in the house, a lump for each
person, who puts his, or her, mark upon it: at day-break, on the
following morning, they look at each of these lumps; and if they find it
cracked, they infer that the life of the person for whom it was placed
will be long, or not terminate that year; but if they find it not
cracked, they infer the reverse. Some say that this is also done to
discover whether the Nile will rise high in the ensuing season. Another
absurd custom is observed on the fourth following night, “Leylet
es-Saratán,” when the sun enters the sign of Cancer: it is the writing a
charm to exterminate, or drive away, bugs. This charm consists of the
following words from the Kur-án,[575] written in separate letters—“‘Hast
thou not considered those who left their habitations, and they were
thousands, for fear of death? and God said unto them die:’ die: die.”
The last word of the text is thus written three times. The above charm,
it is said, should be written on three pieces of paper, which are to be
hung upon the walls of the room which is to be cleared of the bugs; one
upon each wall, excepting that at the end where is the entrance, or that
in which is the entrance.
The Nile, as I have mentioned in the Introduction to this work, begins
to rise about, or soon after, the period of the summer solstice. From,
or about, the 27th of the Coptic month Ba-ooneh (3rd of July) its rise
is daily proclaimed in the streets of the metropolis. There are several
criers to perform this office; each for a particular district of the
town. The Crier of the Nile (“Munádee en-Neel”) generally goes about his
district early in the morning; but sometimes later; accompanied by a
boy. On the day immediately preceding that on which he commences his
daily announcement of the rise of the Nile, he proclaims,—“God hath been
propitious to the lands! The day of good news! To-morrow, the
announcement, with good fortune!”—The daily announcement is as follows:—
_Munádee._ “Mohammad is the Prophet of guidance!” _Boy._ “The Mahmals
journey to him!”[576] _M._ “The guide: peace be on him!” _B._ “He will
prosper who blesseth him!” [The Munádee and boy then continue, or
sometimes they omit the preceding form, and begin thus.] _M._ “O Thou
whose government is excellent!” _B._ “My Lord! I have none beside Thee!”
[After this, they proceed, in many cases, thus.] _M._ “The treasuries of
the Bountiful are full!” _B._ “And at the gate there is no scarcity!”
_M._ “I extol the perfection of Him who spread out the earth!” _B._ “And
hath given running rivers!” _M._ “Through whom the fields become green!”
_B._ “After death He causeth them to live!” _M._ “God hath given
abundance, and increased [the river] and watered the high lands!” _B._
“And the mountains and the sands and the fields!” _M._ “O Alternator of
the day and night!” _B._ “My Lord! There is none beside Thee!” _M._ “O
Guide of the wandering! O God!” _B._ “Guide me to the path of
prosperity!” [They then continue, or, sometimes omitting all that here
precedes, commence as follows.] _M._ “O Amiable! O Living! O
Self-subsisting!” _B._ “O Great in power! O Almighty!” _M._ “O Aider!
regard me with favour!” _B._ “O Bountiful! withdraw not Thy protection!”
_M._ “God preserve to me my master [or my master the “emeer”] such a one
[naming the master of the house], and the good people of his house! O
Bountiful! O God!” _B._ “Ay! please God!” _M._ “God give them a happy
morning, from Himself; and increase their prosperity, from Himself!”
_B._ “Ay! please God!” _M._ “God preserve to me my master [etc.] such a
one [naming again the master of the house]; and increase to him the
favours of God! O Bountiful! O God!” _B._ “Ay! please God!” [Then
brothers, sons, and unmarried daughters, if there be any, however young,
are mentioned in the same manner, as follows.] _M._ “God preserve to me
my master [etc.] such a one, for a long period! O Bountiful! O God!”
_B._ “Ay! please God!” _M._ “God preserve to me my mistress, the chief
lady among brides, such a one, for a long period! O Bountiful! O God!”
_B._ “Ay! please God!” _M._ “May He abundantly bless them with His
perfect abundance; and pour abundantly the Nile over the country! O
Bountiful! O God!” _B._ “Ay! please God!” _M._ “Five [or six, etc.,
digits] to-day: and the Lord is bountiful!” _B._ “Bless ye
Mohammad!”—These last words are added in the fear lest the rising of the
river should be affected by a malicious wish, or evil eye, which is
supposed to be rendered ineffectual if the malicious person bless the
Prophet.[577]
Sometimes, the people of a house before which the Munádee makes his cry
give him daily a piece of bread: this is a common custom among the
middle orders: but most persons give him nothing until the day before
the opening of the Canal of Cairo. Very little reliance is to be placed
upon the announcement which he makes of the height which the river has
attained; for he is generally uninformed or misinformed by the persons
whose duty it is to acquaint him upon this subject: but the people
mostly listen with interest to his proclamation. He and his boy repeat
this cry every day, until the day next before that on which the dam that
closes the mouth of the Canal of Cairo is cut.
On this day (that is, the former of those just mentioned), the Munádee
goes about his district, accompanied by a number of little boys, each of
whom bears a small coloured flag, called “ráyeh;” and announces the
“Wefa en-Neel” (the Completion, or Abundance, of the Nile); for thus is
termed the state of the river when it has risen sufficiently high for
the government to proclaim that it has attained the sixteenth cubit of
the Nilometer. In this, however, the people are always deceived: for
there is an old law, that the land-tax cannot be exacted unless the Nile
rises to the height of sixteen cubits of the Nilometer; and the
government thinks it proper to make the people believe, as early as
possible, that it has attained this height. The period when the Wefa
en-Neel is proclaimed is when the river has actually risen about twenty
or twenty-one feet in the neighbourhood of the metropolis; which is
generally between the 6th and 16th of August (or the 1st and 11th of the
Coptic month of Misra):[578] this is when there yet remain, of the
measure of a moderately good rise, in the neighbourhood of the
metropolis, four or three feet. On the day above mentioned (the next
before that on which the canal is to be opened), the Munádee and the
boys who accompany him with the little “ráyát” (or flags) make the
following announcement:—
_Munádee._ “The river hath given abundance, and completed [its
measure]!” _Boys._ “God hath given abundance!”[579] _M._ “And Dár
en-Nahás[580] is filled!” _B._ “God, etc.” _M._ “And the canals flow!”
_B._ “God, etc.” _M._ “And the vessels are afloat!” _B._ “God, etc.”
_M._ “And the hoarder [of grain] has failed!” _B._ “God, etc.” _M._ “By
permission of the Mighty, the Requiter!” _B._ “God, etc.” _M._ “And
there remains nothing—” _B._ “God, etc.” _M._ “To the perfect
completion!” _B._ “God, etc.” _M._ “This is an annual custom.” _B._
“God, etc.” _M._ “And may you live to every year!” _B._ “God, etc.” _M._
“And if the hoarder wish for a scarcity.” _B._ “God, etc.” _M._ “May God
visit him, before death, with blindness and affliction!” _B._ “God,
etc.” _M._ “This generous person[581] loveth the generous.” _B._ “God,
etc.” _M._ “And an admirable palace is built for him.”[582] _B._ “God,
etc.” _M._ “And its columns are incomparable jewels.” _B._ “God, etc.”
_M._ “Instead of palm-sticks and timber:” _B._ “God, etc.” _M._ “And it
has a thousand windows that open:” _B._ “God, etc.” _M._ “And before
every window is Selsebeel.”[583] _B._ “God, etc.” _M._ “Paradise is the
abode of the generous.” _B._ “God, etc.” _M._ “And Hell is the abode of
the avaricious.” _B._ “God, etc.” _M._ “May God not cause me to stop
before the door of an avaricious woman, nor of an avaricious man:” _B._
“God, etc.” _M._ “Nor of one who measures the water in the jar:” _B._
“God, etc.” _M._ “Nor who counts the bread while it is yet dough:” _B._
“God, etc.” _M._ “And if a cake be wanting, orders a fast:” _B._ “God,
etc.” _M._ “Nor who shuts up the cats at supper-time:” _B._ “God, etc.”
_M._ “Nor who drives away the dogs upon the walls.” _B._ “God, etc.”
_M._ “The world is brightened.” _B._ “God, etc.” _M._ “And the damsels
have adorned themselves.” _B._ “God, etc.” _M._ “And the old women
tumble about.” _B._ “God, etc.” _M._ “And the married man hath added to
his wife eight others.” _B._ “ God, etc.” _M._ “And the bachelor hath
married eighteen.”—This cry is continued until somebody in the house
gives a present to the Munádee; the amount of which is generally from
ten faddahs to a piaster; but many persons give two piasters; and
grandees, a kheyreeyeh, or nine piasters.
During this day, preparations are made for cutting the dam of the canal.
This operation attracts a great crowd of spectators, partly from the
political importance attached to it; but, being always prematurely
performed, it is now without much reason made an occasion of public
festivity.
The dam is constructed before, or soon after, the commencement of the
Nile’s increase. The “Khaleeg,” or Canal, at the distance of about four
hundred feet within its entrance, is crossed by an old stone bridge of
one arch. About sixty feet in front of this bridge is the dam; which is
of earth; very broad at the bottom, and diminishing in breadth towards
the top, which is flat, and about three yards broad. The top of the dam
rises to the height of about twenty-two or twenty-three feet above the
level of the Nile when at the lowest; but not so high above the bed of
the canal: for this is several feet above the low-water mark of the
river; and consequently dry for some months, when the river is low. The
banks of the canal are a few feet higher than the top of the dam. Nearly
the same distance in front of the dam that the latter is distant from
the bridge, is raised a round pillar of earth, diminishing towards the
top, in the form of a truncated cone, and not quite so high as the dam.
This is called the “’arooseh” (or bride), for a reason which will
presently be stated. Upon its flat top, and upon that of the dam, a
little maize or millet is generally sown. The ’arooseh is always washed
down by the rising tide before the river has attained to its summit, and
generally more than a week or fortnight before the dam is cut.
It is believed that the custom of forming this ’arooseh originated from
an ancient superstitious usage, which is mentioned by Arab authors, and,
among them, by El-Makreezee. This historian relates, that, in the year
of the conquest of Egypt by the Arabs, ’Amr Ibn-El-’A′s, the Arab
general, was told, that the Egyptians were accustomed, at the period
when the Nile began to rise, to deck a young virgin in gay apparel, and
throw her into the river as a sacrifice, to obtain a plentiful
inundation. This barbarous custom, it is said, he abolished; and the
Nile, in consequence, did not rise in the least degree during the space
of nearly three months after the usual period of the commencement of its
increase. The people were greatly alarmed; thinking that a famine would
certainly ensue: ’Amr, therefore, wrote to the Khaleefeh, to inform him
of what he had done, and of the calamity with which Egypt was, in
consequence, threatened. ’Omar returned a brief answer, expressing his
approbation of ’Amr’s conduct, and desiring him, upon the receipt of the
letter, to throw a note, which it enclosed, into the Nile. The purport
of this note was as follows:—“From ’Abd-Allah ’Omar, Prince of the
Faithful, to the Nile of Egypt. If thou flow of thine own accord, flow
not: but if it be God, the One, the Mighty, who causeth thee to flow, we
implore God, the One, the Mighty, to make thee flow.”—’Amr did as he was
commanded; and the Nile, we are told, rose sixteen cubits in the
following night.—This tale is, indeed, hard to be believed, even
divested of the miracle.
On the north side of the Canal, overlooking the dam, and almost close to
the bridge, was a small building of stone, from which the grandees of
Cairo used to witness the operation of cutting the dam. This building
has become a ruin; and upon its remains is erected a large tent for the
reception of those officers who have to witness and superintend the
cutting. Some other tents are also erected for other visitors; and the
government supplies a great number of fire-works, chiefly rockets, to
honour the festival, and to amuse the populace during the night
preceding the day when the dam is cut, and during the operation itself,
which is performed early in the morning. Many small tents, for the sale
of sweet-meats, fruits, and other eatables, and coffee, etc., are
likewise pitched along the bank of the isle of Er-Ródah, opposite the
entrance of the Canal. The day of the cutting of the dam of the Canal is
called “Yóm Gebr el-Báhr,” which is said to signify “the Day of the
Breaking of the River;” though the word “gebr,” which is thus
interpreted “breaking,” has really the reverse signification. The term
“Yóm Wefa el-Báhr,” or “Wefa en-Neel,” before explained, is also, and
more properly, applied to this day. The festival of the Canal is also
called “Mósim el-Khaleeg.”
In the afternoon of the day preceding that on which the dam is cut,
numerous boats, hired by private parties, for pleasure, repair to the
neighbourhood of the entrance of the Canal. Among these is a very large
boat, called the “’Akabeh.”[584] It is painted for the occasion, in a
gaudy, but rude, manner; and has two or more small cannons on board, and
numerous lamps attached to the ropes, forming various devices, such as a
large star, etc.: it has also, over the cabin, a large kind of close
awning, composed of pieces of silk, and other stuffs; and is adorned
with two pennants. It is vulgarly believed that this boat represents a
magnificent vessel, in which the Egyptians used, before the conquest of
their country by the Arabs, to convey the virgin, whom, it is said, they
threw into the Nile. It sails from Boolák about three hours after noon;
taking passengers for hire, men and women; the latter being usually
placed, if they prefer it, in the large awning above mentioned. It is
made fast to the bank of the isle of Er-Ródah, immediately opposite the
entrance of the Canal. Most of the other boats also remain near it
during the night, along the bank of the island; but some, all the
evening and night, are constantly sailing up or rowing down the river.
In many boats, the crews amuse themselves and their passengers by
singing, often accompanied by the darabukkeh and zummárah; and some
private parties hire professional musicians to add to their diversion on
the river. The festival is highly enjoyed by the crowds who attend it;
though there is little that a stranger would think could minister to
their amusement: they seem to require nothing more to enliven them than
crowds and bustle, with a pipe and a cup of coffee. In former years, the
festival was always attended by dancing girls (who are now forbidden to
perform), and by singers, instrumental musicians, and reciters of
romances. In the evening, before it is dark, the exhibition of
fire-works commences; and this is continued, together with the firing of
guns from the ’akabeh and two or more gun-boats, every quarter of an
hour during the night. About twelve guns are fired on each of these
occasions: the whole number fired at the night’s festival of the present
year was about six hundred. The fire-works which are displayed during
the night consist of little else than rockets and a few blue lights: the
best are kept till morning; and exhibited in broad day-light, during the
cutting of the dam. At night, the river and its banks present a
remarkably picturesque scene. Numerous boats are constantly passing up
and down; and the lamps upon the rigging of the ’akabeh, and in other
boats, as well as on the shore, where there are also many mesh’als stuck
in the ground (several upon the dam and its vicinity, and many more upon
the bank of the island), have a striking effect, which is occasionally
rendered more lively by the firing of the guns, and the ascent of a
number of rockets. The most crowded part of the scene of the festival at
night is the bank of the island; where almost every person is too happy
to sleep, even if the noise of the guns, etc., did not prevent him.
Before sunrise, a great number of workmen begin to cut the dam. This
labour devolves, in alternate years, upon the Muslim grave-diggers and
on the Jews; both of whom are paid by the government: but when it falls
to the Jews, and on a Saturday, they are under the necessity of paying a
handsome sum of money to escape the sin of profaning their sabbath by
doing what the government requires of them. With a kind of hoe, the dam
is cut thinner and thinner, from the back (the earth being removed in
baskets, and thrown upon the bank), until, at the top, it remains about
a foot thick: this is accomplished by about an hour after sunrise.
Shortly before this time, when dense crowds have assembled in the
neighbourhood of the dam, on each bank of the Canal, the Governor of the
metropolis arrives, and alights at the large tent before mentioned, by
the dam: some other great officers are also present; and the Kádee
attends, and writes a document to attest the fact of the river’s having
risen to the height sufficient for the opening of the Canal, and of this
operation having been performed; which important document is despatched
with speed to Constantinople. Meanwhile, the firing of guns, and the
display of the fire-works, continue; and towards the close of the
operation, the best of the fire-works are exhibited; when, in the
glaring sunshine, they can hardly be seen. When the dam has been cut
away to the degree above mentioned, and all the great officers whose
presence is required have arrived, the Governor of the metropolis throws
a purse of small gold coins to the labourers. A boat, on board of which
is an officer of the late Wálee, is then propelled against the narrow
ridge of earth, and, breaking the slight barrier, passes through it, and
descends with the cataract thus formed. The person here mentioned is an
old man, named Hammoodeh, who was “sarrág báshee” of the Wálee: it was
his office to walk immediately before his master when the latter took
his ordinary rides, preceded by a long train of officers, through the
streets and environs of the metropolis. Just as his boat approaches the
dam, the Governor of Cairo throws into it a purse of gold, as a present
for him. The remains of the dam are quickly washed away, by the influx
of the water into the bed of the Canal; and numerous other boats enter;
pass along the Canal throughout the whole length of the city, and, some
of them, several miles farther; and return.
Formerly, the Sheykh el-Beled, or the Básha, with other great officers,
presided at this fête, which was celebrated with much pomp; and money
was thrown into the Canal, and caught by the populace; some of whom
plunged into the water with nets; but several lives were generally lost
in the scramble. This present year (1834), three persons were drowned on
the day of the opening of the Canal; one in the Canal itself, and two in
the lake of the Ezbekeeyeh. A few minutes after I had entered my house,
on my return from witnessing the cutting of the dam, and the festivities
of the preceding night (which I passed partly on the river, and partly
on the isle of Er-Ródah), a woman, having part of her dress, and her
face, which was uncovered, besmeared with mud, passed by my door,
screaming for the loss of her son, who was one of the three persons
drowned on this occasion. The water entered the Ezbekeeyeh by a new
Canal, on the day preceding that on which the dam was cut. Crowds
collected round it on this day, and will for many following days (I am
writing a few days after the opening of the Canal), to enjoy the view of
the large expanse of water, which, though very turbid, is refreshing to
the sight in so dry and dusty a place as Cairo, and at this hot season
of the year. Several tents are pitched by it, at which visitors are
supplied with coffee; and one for the sale of brandy, wine, etc.; and
numerous stools and benches of palm-sticks are set there. The favourite
time of resort to this place is the evening; and many persons remain
there for several hours after sunset: some, all night. There are
generally two or three story-tellers there. At all hours of the day, and
sometimes even at midnight, persons are seen bathing in the lake;
chiefly men and boys, but also some young girls, and even women; the
latter of whom expose their persons before the passengers and idlers on
the banks in a manner surprising in a place where women in general so
carefully conceal even their faces; though most of these bathers are
usually covered from the waist downwards. It often happens that persons
are drowned here.
On the day after the cutting of the dam, the Munádee continues to repeat
his first cry; but uses a different form of expression in stating the
height of the river; saying, for instance, “four from sixteen;” meaning,
that the river has increased four “keeráts” (or digits) from sixteen
cubits. This cry he continues until the day of the Nórooz, or a little
earlier.
On the “Nórooz,” or Coptic new-year’s-day (10th or 11th of September),
or two or three days before, he comes to each house in his district,
with his boy dressed in his best clothes, and a drummer and a
hautboy-player; repeats the same cry as on the Wefa; and again receives
a present. Afterwards he continues his former cry.
On the day of the “Saleeb” (or the Discovery of the Cross), which is the
17th of the Coptic month of Toot, or 26th or 27th of September, at which
period the river has risen to its greatest height, or nearly so, he
comes again to each house in his district, and repeats the following
cry:—“In uncertainty,[585] thou wilt not rest: nor in comparing[586]
wilt thou rest. O my reproacher,[587] rest! There is nothing that
endureth! There remaineth nothing [uncovered by the water] but the
shemmám[588] and lemmám[589] and the sown fields and the anemone and
safflower and flax: and may my master, such a one [naming the master of
the house], live, and see that the river has increased; and give, to the
bringer of good news, according to a just judgment. Aboo-Raddád[590] is
entitled to a fee from the government; a fee of a shereefee[591] for
every digit of the river’s increase; and _we_ are entitled to a fee from
the people of generosity; we come to take it with good behaviour. The
fortunate Nile of Egypt hath taken leave of us in prosperity: in its
increase, it hath irrigated all the country.”—The Munádee, on this
occasion, presents a few limes, and other fruit, to the rich, or persons
of middle rank, and some lumps of dry mud of the Nile, which is eaten by
the women, in many families. He generally receives a present of two or
three or more piasters. His occupation then ceases until the next year.
-----
Footnote 572:
I believe that this period has been called by all European writers who
have mentioned it, excepting myself, “El-Khamseen,” or by the same
term differently expressed, signifying _the Fifty_; i.e. _the Fifty
days_; but it is always termed by the Arabs “el-Khamáseen,” which
signifies _the Fifties_, being a vulgar _plural_ of Khamseen. In like
manner, the Arabs call the corresponding period of the Jewish calendar
by a term exactly agreeing with “el-Khamáseen;” namely
“el-Khamseenát;” only its _last day_ being termed “el-Khamseen.” See
De Sacy’s “Chrestomathie Arabe,” 2nde éd., tome i., p. 98 of the
Arabic text, and pp. 292 and 320 of his translation and notes. This
eminent scholar, however, appears to have had no authority but that of
Europeans for the name of the above-mentioned period of the Coptic
calendar; for he has followed the travellers, and written it
“Khamsin.”
Footnote 573:
“Kishk” (as the word is commonly pronounced, but properly “keshik”) is
prepared from wheat, first moistened, then dried, trodden in a vessel
to separate the husks, and coarsely ground with a hand-mill: the meal
is mixed with milk, and about six hours afterwards is spooned out upon
a little straw or bran, and then left for two or three days to dry.
When required for use, it is either soaked or pounded, and put into a
sieve, over a vessel; and then boiling water is poured on it. What
remains in the sieve is thrown away; what passes through is generally
poured into a saucepan of boiled meat or fowl, over the fire. Some
leaves of white beet, fried in butter, are usually added to each plate
of it.
Footnote 574:
Beans soaked in water until they begin to sprout, and then boiled.
Footnote 575:
Chap. ii., ver. 244.
Footnote 576:
That is, to his tomb.
Footnote 577:
He would be guilty of a sin if he did not do this when desired.
Footnote 578:
This present year (1834), the river having risen with unusual
rapidity, the dam was cut on the 5th of August. Fears were entertained
lest it should overflow the dam before it was cut: which would have
been regarded as an evil omen.
Footnote 579:
The words thus translated, the boys pronounce “O′fa-lléh,” for
“Owfa-lláh.”
Footnote 580:
This is an old building between the aqueduct and Masr el-’Ateekah,
where the Sultáns and Governors of Egypt used to alight, and inspect
the state of the river, previously to the cutting of the dam of the
canal.
Footnote 581:
The person before whose house the announcement is made.
Footnote 582:
In Paradise.
Footnote 583:
A Fountain of Paradise.
Footnote 584:
“’Akab” is the _general_ name of the largest kind of the boats which
navigate the Nile; and “’akabeh” (plural “’akabát”), the name of a
single boat of this kind.
Footnote 585:
Doubting whether the Nile will rise sufficiently high.
Footnote 586:
That is, in comparing the height of the river at a particular period
in the present year with its height at the same period in preceding
years.
Footnote 587:
O thou who hast said to me, “Why dost thou not bring better news?”
Footnote 588:
Cucumis dudaim.
Footnote 589:
Mentha Kahirina.
Footnote 590:
The Sheykh of the Mikyás, or Nilometer.
Footnote 591:
A gold coin, now become scarce. Its value, I am informed, is about a
third of a pound sterling, or rather less.
----------------------------
CHAPTER XXVII.
PRIVATE FESTIVITIES, ETC.
As the modern Egyptian does not become a housekeeper until he is married
(and not of necessity _then_; for he may live with his wife in the house
of his or her parents), his first marriage is generally the first event
which affords him and his wife an occasion of calling together their
respective friends to a private entertainment. Whenever a great
entertainment is given on any occasion of rejoicing, it is customary,
for the persons invited, to send presents (such as I have mentioned in
describing the ceremonies attendant upon a marriage), a day or two
before. The husband always has his separate party, generally in the
lower apartment or apartments of the house; and the wife entertains her
female relations and friends in the hareem, or upper apartments. It is
also the usual custom for the wife to entertain her guests (among whom
no males are ever admitted, excepting very young boys) during the six
middle hours of the day; and for the husband to receive his guests
afterwards; after sunset, or after the ’eshë prayers: but sometimes his
guests assemble while the wife is engaged with her own party in the
hareem.
On these occasions, the female singers who are called “’Awálim” (or
“’A’l’mehs”) are often hired to amuse the company. They sit in one of
the apartments of the hareem; generally at a window looking into the
court. The wooden lattice-work of the window, though too close to
allow them to be seen by persons without, is sufficiently open to let
them be distinctly heard by the male guests sitting in the court or in
one of the apartments which look into it. In many houses, there is a
small elevated apartment, or closet, for the ’Awálim, which I have
before described, adjoining the apartment in which the male guests
assemble (as well as another adjoining the principal saloon of the
hareem), screened in front by wooden lattice-work, to conceal these
singers from the view of the men.—The dancing-girls (“Ghawázee,” or
“Gházeeyehs”) are also frequently hired to attend on the occasions of
private festivities. They dance (with unveiled face) before the men,
in the court; so that they may be seen also by the women from the
windows of the hareem: or perform in an apartment in which the men are
assembled; or in the street, before the house, for the amusement only
of the women. When they or the ’Awálim perform for the entertainment
of a party, one of the friends of the host usually collects for them
small sums of money upon the tambourine, or in a handkerchief, from
the guests: but sometimes, the host will not allow this custom to be
observed. The contributions are called “nukoot.” It is the general
practice for the person who gives the entertainment to engage the
Ghawázee for a certain sum: he receives the nukoot; which may fall
short of, or exceed, the promised sum: in the former case, he pays the
difference from his own purse: in the latter case, he often pockets
the surplus. Or he agrees that they shall receive all the nukoot,
with, or without, an additional sum from himself. In some parties,
where little decorum is observed, the guests dally and sport with
these dancing-girls in a very licentious manner. I have before
mentioned (in a former chapter), that, on these occasions, they are
usually indulged with brandy, or some other intoxicating liquor, which
most of them drink to excess. It is a common custom for a man to wet,
with his tongue, small gold coins, and stick them upon the forehead,
cheeks, chin, and lips, of a Gházeeyeh. When money is collected for
the ’Awálim, their servant, who is called “khalboos,” and who often
acts the part of a buffoon, generally calls out, at each contribution,
“Shóbash ’aleyk yá sáheb el-farah!” that is, “A present is due from
thee, O giver of the entertainment [on a similar occasion, and in the
same way],”[592] and adds, “Such a one has given so many ‘mahboobs,’
or ‘kheyreeyehs’”—turning a few piasters into a much larger number of
gold coins of considerably greater value; or, if gold be given,
exaggerating the sum in the same manner. This he does to compliment
the donor, and to stimulate the generosity of others. His mistress, or
another of the ’Awálim, replies, “’Okba le-’anduh!” (“May he have the
like [rejoicing]!”[593]—or “May he have a recompense!”)—The guests are
also often entertained with a concert of instrumental and vocal music,
by male performers (“A′láteeyeh”), who sit in the court, or in the
apartment in which the guests are assembled. Two “dikkehs” (or high
wooden sofas) are often put together, front to front, in the court,
and furnished with cushions, etc., to form an orchestra for the
musicians; and a lantern is usually placed in the middle. The
A′láteeyeh generally receive contributions from the assembly for whose
entertainment they perform, like the ’Awálim; their khalboos calling
out to them in the same manner after each gift.
But performances of a different kind from those above mentioned are more
common, and are considered more proper, on the occasions of private
festivities. These are the recitations of a “khatmeh” (or of the whole
of the Kur-án), by three or more fikees, who are hired for the purpose;
or of a “zikr,” by a small party of fakeers.[594] That the khatmeh may
not be too fatiguing to the performers, the fikees relieve one another
by turns; one only chanting at a time; and each, usually, chanting a
ruba. They generally come to the house a little after the ’asr, and get
through the greater part of their task before the guests assemble: one
of them then chants more leisurely, and in a more musical manner: after
him, in the same manner, another; and so on. Sometimes a khatmeh is
performed in the day-time, and after it, in the evening, a zikr. It is a
rule that the zikr should always be performed after sunset.
In Egypt, persons who habitually live with the utmost frugality prepare
a great variety and profusion of dishes for the entertainment of their
friends. But very little time is devoted to eating. The period of
conviviality is mostly passed in smoking, sipping coffee, drinking
sherbet, and conversing: the Turks, however, generally abstain from
smoking during the recitation of the Kur-án; and the honour which they
pay to the sacred book on every occasion has given rise to a saying,
that “God has exalted A′l-’Osmán [_i.e._ the race of ’Osmán, or the
’Osmánlees] above other Muslims, because they exalt the Kur-án more than
do others.” In these parties, none of the guests ever attempts to amuse
his companions, except by facetious conversation, or sometimes by
telling a story; though all of them take great delight in the
performances of the hired dancers, musicians, and singers. The Egyptians
seldom play at any game, unless when only two or three persons meet
together; or in the privacy of their own families. They are a social
people; and yet they but rarely give great entertainments. Festivities
such as I have described above are very unfrequent: they occur only on
particular occasions which really call for rejoicing. Excepting on such
occasions, it is considered improper to hire dancing-girls to perform in
a house.
The marriage festivities I have described in a former chapter; I
therefore proceed to give an account of the festivities which _follow_ a
marriage; and shall do so in the order of their occurrence.
On the seventh day (“Yóm es-Subooa”[595]) after a marriage, the wife
receives her female relations and friends during the morning and
afternoon; and sometimes, the husband entertains his own friends in the
evening; generally hiring persons to perform a khatmeh or a zikr. It is
a custom of husbands in Egypt to deny themselves their conjugal rights
during the first week after the conclusion of the marriage with a virgin
bride; and the termination of this period is a due cause for
rejoicing.[596]—On the fortieth day (“Yóm el-Arba’een”) after the
marriage, the wife goes, with a party of her female friends, to the
bath. Her companions return with her to her house, about the ’asr;
partake of a repast, and go away. The husband, also, sometimes receives
visitors in the evening of this day, and again causes a khatmeh or zikr
to be performed.
The next festivities in a family are generally those consequent on the
birth of a child.—Two or three or more days before the expected time of
delivery, the “dáyeh” (or midwife) conveys, to the house of the woman
who requires her assistance, the “kursee el-wiládeh,” a chair of a
peculiar form, upon which the patient is to be seated during the
birth.[597] This chair is covered with a shawl, or an embroidered
napkin; and some flowers of the henna-tree, or some roses, are tied,
with an embroidered hand-kerchief, to each of the upper corners of the
back. Thus ornamented, the chair (which is the property of the dáyeh) is
conveyed before her to the house.—In the houses of the rich, and of
those in easy circumstances, the mother, after delivery, is placed on a
bed, and usually remains on it from three to six days: but poor women,
in the same case, seldom take to a bed at all; and after a day or two,
resume their ordinary occupations, if not requiring great exertion.
On the morning after the birth, two or three of the dancing-men called
Khäwals, or two or three Gházeeyehs, dance in front of the house, or in
the court.—The festivities occasioned by the birth of a son are always
greater than those on account of a daughter. The Arabs still show relics
of that feeling which often induced their ancient ancestors to destroy
their female offspring.
A few days after the birth, generally on the fourth or fifth day, the
women of the house, if the family be of the middle or wealthy classes,
usually prepare dishes of “mufattak′ah,” “kishk,” “libábeh,” and
“hilbeh;” which they send to the female relations and friends. The first
of these consists of honey with a little clarified butter and oil of
sesame, and a variety of aromatics and spices pounded together: roasted
hazel-nuts are also added to it.[598] The kishk has been described in a
former page.[599] The libábeh is composed of broken or crumbled bread,
honey, clarified butter, and a little rose-water: the butter is first
put into a saucepan over the fire; then, the broken bread; and next, the
honey. The dish of hilbeh (or fenugreek) is prepared from the dry grain
boiled, and then sweetened with honey over the fire.
On the “Yóm es-Subooa” (or Seventh Day) after the birth of a child, the
female friends of its mother pay her a visit. In the families of the
higher classes, ’Awálim are hired to sing in the hareem; or A′láteeyeh
perform, or fikees recite a khatmeh, below. The mother, attended by the
dáyeh, sits on the kursee el-wiládeh, in the hope that she may soon have
occasion for it again; for her doing this is considered propitious. The
child is brought, wrapped in a handsome shawl, or something costly; and,
to accustom it to noise, that it may not be frightened afterwards by the
music, and other sounds of mirth, one of the women takes a brass mortar,
and strikes it repeatedly with the pestle, as if pounding. After this,
the child is put into a sieve, and shaken; it being supposed that this
operation is beneficial to its stomach. Next, it is carried through all
the apartments of the hareem, accompanied by several women or girls;
each of whom bears a number of wax candles, sometimes of various
colours, cut in two, lighted, and stuck into small lumps of paste of
henna, upon a small round tray. At the same time, the dáyeh, or another
female, sprinkles, upon the floor of each room, a mixture of salt and
seed of the fennel-flower, or salt alone, which has been placed during
the preceding night at the infant’s head; saying, as she does this, “The
salt be in the eye of the person who doth not bless the Prophet!” or,
“The foul salt be in the eye of the envier!” This ceremony of the
sprinkling of salt is considered a preservative, for the child and
mother, from the evil eye: and each person present should say, “O God,
favour our lord Mohammad!” The child, wrapped up, and placed on a fine
mattress, which is sometimes laid on a silver tray, is shown to each of
the women present, who looks at its face, says, “O God, favour our lord
Mohammad! God give thee long life!” etc., and usually puts an
embroidered handkerchief, with a gold coin (if pretty or old, the more
esteemed) tied up in one of the corners, on the child’s head, or by its
side. This giving of handkerchiefs is considered as imposing a debt, to
be repaid by the mother, if the donor should give her the same occasion;
or as the discharge of a debt for a similar offering. The coins are
generally used, for some years, to decorate the head-dress of the child.
After these nukoot for the child, others are given for the dáyeh. During
the night before the subooa, a water-bottle full of water (a dórak in
the case of a boy, or a kulleh in that of a girl), with an embroidered
handkerchief tied round the neck, is placed at the child’s head, while
it sleeps. This, with the water it contains, the dáyeh takes, and puts
upon a tray, and presents to each of the women; who put their nukoot for
her (merely money) into the tray.—In the evening, the husband generally
entertains a party of his friends, in the manner usual on other
occasions of private festivity.
During a certain period after childbirth (in most cases, among the
people of Cairo, forty days, but differing according to circumstances,
and according to the doctrines of the different sects), the mother is
regarded as religiously impure.[600] The period here mentioned is called
“Nifás.” At the expiration of it, the woman goes to the bath.
The ceremonies and festivities attendant upon the _circumcision_ of a
boy are the next that I shall describe.—In most cases, the boy about to
be circumcised (who is called “muttáhir”) is paraded through the streets
in the manner which has been related in a former chapter; that is, if
his parents be of the middle or higher class of citizens: but most of
the learned, people of religious professions, fikees, and some rich men,
in Cairo, prefer performing a ceremony called “Siráfeh,” of which the
following account will convey a sufficient notion.
The schoolfellows of the muttáhir, all dressed in their best clothes, or
in borrowed clothes if they have none of their own good enough, which is
generally the case, repair, a little before noon, to one of the
principal mosques, as that of the Hasaneyn, or the Azhar, or that of the
seyyideh Zeyneb. Thither also go the men and the women and many of the
female friends of the family of the muttáhir, with the muttáhir himself;
and sometimes about six sháweeshes (or sergeants) of the Nakeeb
el-Ashráf. The barber who is to perform the operation also attends, with
a servant bearing his “heml” (or sign), which has been described in the
account of the more common ceremonies of circumcision. All these
persons, with some others who will presently be mentioned, having
assembled in the mosque, wait there until after the noon-prayers, and
then depart in procession through the streets to the house of the
muttáhir’s parents. The first person in the procession is the barber’s
servant, with his heml. He is sometimes followed by five or six fikees,
chanting a lyric ode (“muweshshah”) in praise of the Prophet. Then
follow the schoolboys, two, three, or four abreast. The foremost of
these boys, or half their number, chant, as they pass along,—“O nights
of pleasure! O nights of joy!”—The other boys then take up the strain,
adding,—“Pleasure and desire, with friends assembled!”—Then, again, the
former,—“Favour, O our Lord, the Perspicuous Light!”—then the latter,
“Ahmad,[601] the Elect, the chief of Apostles!”—Thus the boys continue
to chant the whole of the way. Behind them walk the male relations of
the muttáhir. These are followed by about six boys; three of them
bearing each a silver scent-bottle (“kumkum”) full of rose-water or
orange-flower-water, which they occasionally sprinkle on some of the
spectators; and each of the others bearing a silver perfuming-vessel
(“mibkhar′ah”) in which benzoin, frankincense, or some other odoriferous
substance, is burning. With these boys walks a sakka, bearing, on his
back, a skin of water covered with an embroidered napkin: he gives
water, now and then, in brass cups, to passengers in the street. Next
follow three servants: one of these carries a silver pot of coffee, in a
silver “’áz’kee” (or chafing-dish suspended by three chains): another
bears a silver tray, with ten or eleven coffee-cups, and “zarfs” of
silver: the third carries nothing; it is his office, when the procession
passes by a well-dressed person (one sitting at a shop, for instance),
to fill, and present to him, a cup of coffee: the person thus honoured
gives the servant something in return: half a piaster is considered
amply sufficient. The sháweeshes occupy the next place in the order of
the procession. Sometimes they are followed by another group of boys
with kumkums and mibkhar′ahs. Next follows a boy bearing the writing
tablet of the muttáhir, hung to his neck by a handkerchief: it is
ornamented for the occasion by the school-master. Behind the boy who
bears it walks the muttáhir, between two others. He is dressed either as
in the zeffeh before described (that is, in girl’s clothes, with the
exception of the turban, and decked with women’s ornaments), or simply
as a boy; and holds a folded embroidered handkerchief to his mouth. The
women follow him, raising their shrill cries of joy (the “zagháreet”);
and one of them is constantly employed in sprinkling salt behind him, to
prevent any ill effects from an evil eye, which, it is thought, some
person may cast at the lad from envy. In this order and manner, the
procession arrives at the house.—On halting before the door, the
foremost of the schoolboys sing,—“Thou art a sun! Thou art a moon! Thou
art a light above light!”—The others add,—“O Mohammad! O my friend! O
thou with black eyes!”—They enter the house repeating this address to
the Prophet; and repeat it again after entering. The young boys go
upstairs: the others remain below. The former, as they go up, repeat,—“O
thou his paternal aunt! O thou his maternal aunt! Come! prepare his
siráfeh.”—On entering the “ká’ah,” or principal apartment of the hareem,
a Kashmeer shawl is given them to hold: they hold it all round; and the
ornamented writing-tablet is placed in the middle of it. The “’areef,”
or head boy of the school, who (together with the muttáhir and the
women) stands by while they do this, then recites what is termed
“khutbet es-siráfeh:” each clause of this is chanted by him first, and
then repeated by the other boys. It is in unmeasured rhyme; and to the
following effect:—
“Praise be to God, the Mighty Creator!—the Sole, the Forgiver, the
Conservator!—He knoweth the past and futurity,—and veileth things in
obscurity.—He knoweth the tread of the black ant,—and its work when in
darkness vigilant.—He formed and exalted heaven’s vault,—and spread the
earth o’er the ocean salt.—May He grant this boy long life and
happiness,—to read the Kur-án with attentiveness;—to read the Kur-án,
and history’s pages,—the stories of ancient and modern ages.—This youth
has learned to write and read,—to spell, and cast up accounts with
speed:—his father, therefore, should not withhold—a reward of money,
silver and gold.—Of my learning, O father, thou hast paid the price:—God
give thee a place in Paradise:—and thou, my mother, my thanks
receive—for thine anxious care of me, morn and eve:—God grant I may see
thee in Paradise seated,—and by Maryam[602] and Zeyneb[603] and
Fátimeh[604] greeted.—Our fakeeh[605] has taught us the alphabet:—may he
have every grateful epithet.—Our fakeeh has taught us as far as ‘The
News:’[606]—may he never his present blessings lose.—Our fakeeh has
taught us as far as ‘The Dominion:’—may he ever be blest with the
world’s good opinion.—Our fakeeh has taught us as far as ‘The
Compassionate:’—may he ever enjoy rewards proportionate.—Our fakeeh has
taught us as far as ‘Yá-Seen:’—may his days and years be ever
serene.—Our fakeeh has taught as far as ‘The Cave:’—may he ever the
blessings of Providence have.—Our fakeeh has taught us as far as ‘The
Cattle:’—may he ne’er be the subject of scandalous tattle.—Our fakeeh
has taught us as far as ‘The Cow:’—may he ever be honoured, in future
and now.—Our fakeeh amply merits of you—a coat of green, and a turban
too.—O ye surrounding virgin lasses!—I commend you to God’s care by the
eye-paint and the glasses![607]—O ye married ladies here collected!—I
pray, by the Chapter of ‘The Ranks,’[608] that ye be protected!—O ye old
women standing about!—Ye ought to be beaten with old shoes, and turned
out!—To old women, however, we should rather say—Take the basin and
ewer; wash and pray.”
During the chanting of these absurd expressions, the women drop, upon
the ornamented writing-tablet, their nukoot; which are afterwards
collected in a handkerchief. The boys then go down, and give the nukoot
to the fikee below.[609]—Here, the muttáhir is now placed on a seat. The
barber stands on one side of him, and the servant who holds the heml on
the other. The heml is rested on the floor; and on the top of it is
placed a cup, into which the guests put their nukoot for the barber.—The
female visitors dine in the hareem; and then leave the house. The boys
dine below; and go to their homes. The men also dine; and all of them,
excepting those of the family, and the barber and his servant, take
their leave. The barber then conducts the muttáhir, with one or two of
his male relations, to a private apartment; and there performs the
operation; or sometimes this is done on the following day. About a week
after, he takes the boy to the bath.
The next occasion of festivity in a family (if not the marriage of a son
or daughter) is generally when a son is admitted a member of some body
of tradesmen or artisans. On this occasion, a ceremony which I am about
to describe is performed in certain cases; but not on admission to every
trade: it is customary only among carpenters, turners, barbers, tailors,
book-binders, and a few others. The young man having become an adept in
the business of his intended trade, his father goes to the sheykh of
that trade, and signifies his wish that his son should be admitted a
member. The sheykh sends an officer, called the “nakeeb,” to invite the
masters of the trade, and sometimes a few friends of the candidate, to
be present at the admission. The nakeeb, taking in his hand a bunch of
sprigs of any green herb, or flowers, goes to each of these persons,
hands to him a sprig or little piece of green, or a flower, or leaf, and
says—“For the Prophet, the Fát’hah:”—that is “Repeat the Fát’hah for the
Prophet.” Both having done this together, the nakeeb adds,—“On such a
day and hour, come to such a house or place, and drink a cup of
coffee.”—The guests thus invited meet (generally at the house of the
father of the young man, but sometimes in the country), take coffee, and
dine. After this, the nakeeb leads the young man before the sheykh:
states his qualifications; and then desires the persons present to
recite the Fát’hah for the Prophet; which done, he girds the young man
with a shawl over his outer coat; and ties a knot with the ends of this
girdle. The Fát’hah is then recited again, generally for the seyyid
El-Bedawee, or some other great saint; and a second knot is tied. Then,
a third time the Fát’hah is recited; and a bow is tied. The young man is
thus completely admitted. He kisses the hand of the sheykh, and that of
his fellow-tradesmen; and gives the nakeeb a small fee.—This ceremony is
called “shedd el-weled” (the binding of the youth), and the person thus
admitted is termed “meshdood,” or bound.
There remain only to be described the ceremonies occasioned by a death.
These will be the subject of a separate chapter, here following, and
concluding my account of the manners and customs of the Muslims of
Egypt.
-----
Footnote 592:
“Shóbash” is synonymous with “nukoot,” being an Arabic corruption of
the Persian “shábásh,” which also signifies “well done!” “excellent!”
Footnote 593:
The phrase was thus written and explained to me by a sheykh; but I
suspect it should be, “Ikbál le-’anduh,” which is an expression
vulgarly used to signify, “access to him,” and would mean, in this
case, “[May we have] access to him!”
Footnote 594:
These customs remind us of St. Paul’s advice to the Ephesians, chap.
v., ver. 19; which shows the antiquity of social pastimes of this
kind. The Egyptians highly enjoy the religious love-songs of the
munshids at zikrs.
Footnote 595:
The Subooa after the birth of a child is celebrated with more
rejoicing; and therefore, in speaking of the Yóm es-Subooa, the
seventh day after childbirth is generally understood.
Footnote 596:
It was not such a festival as this alone that is alluded to in Genesis
xxix. 27, and in Judges xiv. 12. It was, and I believe is still, the
custom of wealthy Bedawees (and such was Laban) to feast their friends
seven days after marriage (as also after the birth of a male child);
and every respectable Muslim, after marriage, if disappointed in the
expectations he has been led to form of his wife, abstains from
putting her away for about a week, that she may not be disgraced by
suspicion; particularly if it be her first marriage.
Footnote 597:
See Exodus i. 16.
Footnote 598:
Some women add another ingredient; not when it is to be sent to
friends; but for a particular purpose, which is, to make them fat:
they broil and mash up a number of beetles in the butter; and then add
the honey, etc. This has been alluded to in the chapter on the
Domestic Life of the Women.
Footnote 599:
In a note to the second paragraph of the preceding chapter.
Footnote 600:
In like manner, the Jewish law pronounces a woman unclean during forty
days after the birth of a male child; but double that time after
bearing a female child. See Leviticus xii. 2, 4, 5.
Footnote 601:
A name of the Arabian Prophet.
Footnote 602:
The Virgin Mary.
Footnote 603:
The daughter of the Imám ’Alee.
Footnote 604:
The daughter of the Prophet.
Footnote 605:
Vulgo “fikee.”
Footnote 606:
This and the following words distinguished by inverted commas are the
titles of chapters of the Kur-án, which the boys, as I have mentioned
on a former occasion, learn in the reverse order of their arrangement,
after having learned the first chapter. The chapter of “The News,” is
the 78th: the others, afterwards named, are the 67th, 55th, 36th,
18th, 6th, and 2nd.
Footnote 607:
The looking-glasses. This is said to amuse the ladies.
Footnote 608:
The 37th chapter of the Kur-án.
Footnote 609:
What follows this describes the ceremonies which are performed both
after the siráfeh and after the more common zeffeh, of which I have
given an account in a former chapter.
----------------------------
CHAPTER XXVIII.
DEATH, AND FUNERAL RITES.
When a learned or pious Muslim feels that he is about to die, he
sometimes performs the ordinary ablution, as before prayer, that he may
depart from life in a state of bodily purity; and generally he repeats
the profession of the faith, “There is no deity but God: Mohammad is
God’s Apostle.” It is common, also, for a Muslim, on a military
expedition, or during a long journey, especially in the desert, to carry
his grave-linen with him. Not unfrequently does it happen that a
traveller, in such circumstances, has even to make his own grave:
completely overcome by fatigue or privation, or sinking under a fatal
disease, in the desert, when his companions, if he have any, cannot wait
for his recovery or death, he performs the ablution (with water, if
possible, or, if not, with sand or dust, which is allowable in such
case), and then, having made a trench in the sand, as his grave, lies
down in it, wrapped in his grave-clothes, and covers himself, with the
exception of his face, with the sand taken up in making the trench; thus
he waits for death to relieve him, trusting to the wind to complete his
burial.
When any one of the eminent ’Ulama of Cairo dies, the muëddins of the
Azhar, and those of several other mosques, announce the event by
chanting from the mád’nehs the cry called the “Abrár;” the words of
which I have given in the account of the customs observed during
Ramadán, in the second of the chapters on periodical public festivals,
etc.
The ceremonies attendant upon death and burial are nearly the same in
the cases of men and women. When the rattles in the throat, or other
symptoms, show that a man is at the point of death, an attendant (his
wife, or some other person) turns him round to place his face in the
direction of Mekkeh,[610] and closes his eyes. Even before the spirit
has departed, or the moment after, the male attendants generally
exclaim, “Alláh! There is no strength nor power but in God! To God we
belong; and to Him we must return! God have mercy on him!” while the
women of the family raise the cries of lamentation called “welwel’eh” or
“wilwál;” uttering the most piercing shrieks, and calling upon the name
of the deceased. The most common cries that are heard on the death of
the master of a family, from the lips of his wife, or wives, and
children, are “O my master!” “O my camel!” (that is, “O thou who
broughtest my provisions, and hast carried my burdens,”) “O my lion!” “O
camel of the house!” “O my glory!” “O my resource!” “O my father!” “O my
misfortune!”—The clothes of the deceased are taken off as soon as he has
ceased to breathe; and he is attired in another suit, placed on his bed
or mattress, and covered over with a sheet. The women continue their
lamentations; and many of the females of the neighbourhood, hearing the
conclamation, come to unite with them in this melancholy task.
Generally, also, the family of the deceased send for two or more
“neddábehs” (or public wailing women[611]); but some persons disapprove
of this custom; and many, to avoid unnecessary expense, do not conform
with it. Each neddábeh brings with her a “tár” (or tambourine), which is
without the tinkling plates of metal which are attached to the hoop of
the common tár. The neddábehs, beating their társ, exclaim, several
times, “Alas for him!”—and praise his turban, his handsome person, etc.;
and the female relations, domestics, and friends of the deceased (with
their tresses dishevelled, and sometimes with rent clothes), beating
their own faces, cry in like manner, “Alas for him!”—This wailing is
generally continued at least an hour.
If the death took place in the morning, the corpse is buried the same
day;[612] but if it happened in the afternoon, or at night, the deceased
is not buried until the following day: in this case, the neddábehs
remain all the night, and continue the lamentation with the other women;
and a fikee is brought to the house to recite chapters of the Kur-án
during the night; or several fikees are employed to perform a complete
khatmeh.
The “mughassil” (or washer of the dead) soon comes, with a bench, upon
which he places the corpse, and a bier.[613] The fikees who are to take
part in the funeral procession (if the deceased were a person of
respectable rank, or of the middle order) are also now brought to the
house. These, during the process of washing, sit in an apartment
adjoining that in which the corpse is placed, or without the door of the
latter apartment; and some of them recite, or rather chant, the “Soorat
el-An’ám” (or 6th chapter of the Kur-án): others of them chant part of
the “Burdeh,” a celebrated poem in praise of the Prophet. The washer
takes off the clothes of the deceased, which are his perquisite. The jaw
is bound up; and the eyes are closed. The ordinary ablution preparatory
to prayer having been performed upon the corpse, with the exception of
the washing of the mouth and nose, the whole body is well washed, from
head to foot, with warm water and soap, and with “leef” (or fibres of
the palm-tree); or, more properly, with water in which some leaves of
the lote-tree (“nabk,” or “sidr”) have been boiled.[614] The nostrils,
ears, etc., are stuffed with cotton; and the corpse is sprinkled with a
mixture of water, pounded camphor, and dried and pounded leaves of the
nabk, and with rose-water. Sometimes, other dried and pounded leaves are
added to those of the nabk. The ankles are bound together, and the hands
placed upon the breast.
The “kefen,” or grave-clothing, of a poor man consists of a piece or two
of cotton;[615] or is merely a kind of bag. The corpse of a man of
wealth is generally wrapped first in muslin, then in cotton cloth of
thicker texture; next, in a piece of striped stuff of silk and cotton
intermixed, or in a kuftán of similar stuff, merely stitched together;
and over these is wrapped a Kashmeer shawl. The corpse of a woman of
middling rank is usually clothed with a yelek. The colours most approved
for the grave-clothes are white and green; but any colour is used,
excepting blue, or what approaches to blue.—The body, prepared for
interment, as above described, is placed in the bier, which is usually
covered over with a red or other Kashmeer shawl. The persons who are to
compose the funeral-procession then arrange themselves in order.—The
more common funeral-processions may be thus described.
The first persons are about six or more poor men, called “Yemeneeyeh;”
mostly blind, who proceed two and two, or three and three, together.
Walking at a moderate pace, or rather slowly, they chant incessantly, in
a melancholy tone, the profession of faith (“There is no deity but God:
Mohammad is God’s Apostle: God favour and preserve him!”); as follows:—
[Stanza]
[Stanza]
[Stanza]
Lá i - lá - ha il - la-l láh: Mo - ham - ma-
dur ra - - soo - lu-l - láh: Sal - la-l-
lá - hu ’a - ley - hi wa - sel -lem!
-------------------------------------------
[Illustration: FUNERAL PROCESSION.]
_Lane’s Modern Egyptians_] [_Page 477_
-------------------------------------------
or sometimes other words. They are followed by some male relations and
friends of the deceased, and, in many cases, by two or more persons of
some sect of darweeshes, bearing the flags of their order. This is a
general custom at the funeral of a darweesh. Next follow three or four
or more schoolboys; one of whom carries a “mus-haf” (or copy of the
Kur-án), or a volume consisting of one of the thirty sections of the
Kur-án, placed upon a kind of desk formed of palm-sticks, and covered
over, generally with an embroidered kerchief. These boys chant, in a
higher and livelier voice than the Yemeneeyeh, usually some words of a
poem called the “Hashreeyeh,” descriptive of the events of the last day,
the judgment, etc.; to the air here noted.
[Stanza]
Sub - há - na men an - sha-s - su - war Wa-
’a-l - ’e - bád[616] bi-l - mót ka - har.
The following is a translation of the commencement of this poem:—
“[I extol] the perfection of Him who hath created whatever hath form;
And subdued His servants by death:
Who bringeth to nought [all] His creatures, with mankind:
They shall all lie in the graves:
The perfection of the Lord of the east:[617]
The perfection of the Lord of the west:[618]
The perfection of the illuminator of the two lights;
The sun, to wit, and the moon:
His perfection: how bountiful is He!
His perfection: how clement is He!
His perfection: how great is He!
When a servant rebelleth against Him, He protecteth.”
The school-boys immediately precede the bier, which is borne
head-foremost. Three or four friends of the deceased usually carry it
for a short distance: then three or four other friends bear it a little
farther; and then these are in like manner relieved. Casual passengers
also often take part in this service, which is esteemed highly
meritorious. Behind the bier walk the female mourners; sometimes a group
of more than a dozen, or twenty; with their hair dishevelled, though
generally concealed by the head-veil; crying and shrieking, as before
described; and often the hired mourners accompany them, celebrating the
praises of the deceased. Among the women, the relations and domestics of
the deceased are each distinguished by a strip of linen or cotton stuff
or muslin, generally blue, bound round the head, and tied in a single
knot behind, the ends hanging down a few inches.[619] Each of these also
carries a handkerchief, usually dyed blue; which she sometimes holds
over her shoulders, and at other times twirls with both hands over her
head, or before her face. The cries of the women, the lively chanting of
the youths, and the deep tones uttered by the Yemeneeyeh, compose a
strange discord.
The wailing of women at funerals was forbidden by the Prophet; and so,
also, was the celebration of the virtues of the deceased. Mohammad
declared, that the virtues thus ascribed to a dead person would be
subjects of reproach to him, if he did not possess them, in a future
state. It is astonishing to see how some of the precepts of the Prophet
are every day violated by all classes of the modern Muslims; the
Wahhábees alone excepted.—I have sometimes seen mourning women of the
lower classes, following a bier, having their faces (which were bare),
and their head-coverings and bosoms, besmeared with mud.[620]
The funeral-procession of a man of wealth, or of a person of the middle
classes, is sometimes preceded by three or four or more camels, bearing
bread and water to give to the poor at the tomb; and is composed of a
more numerous and varied assemblage of persons. The foremost of these
are the Yemeneeyeh, who chant the profession of the faith, as described
above. They are generally followed by some male friends of the deceased,
and some learned and devout persons who have been invited to attend the
funeral. Next follows a group of four or more fikees, chanting the
“Soorat el-Anám” (the 6th chapter of the Kur-án); and sometimes, another
group, chanting the “Soorat Yá-Seen” (the 36th chapter); another,
chanting the “Soorat el-Kahf” (the 18th chapter); and another, chanting
the “Soorat ed-Dukhán” (the 44th chapter). These are followed by some
munshids, singing the “Burdeh;” and these by certain persons called
“As-háb el-Ahzáb,” who are members of religious orders founded by
celebrated sheykhs. There are generally four or more of the order of the
Hezb es-Sádát; a similar group of the Hezb Esh-Sházilee; and another of
the Hezb Esh-Shaaráwee: each group chants a particular form of prayer.
After them are generally borne two or more half-furled flags, the
banners of one or other of the principal orders of darweeshes. Then
follow the schoolboys, the bier, and the female mourners, as in the
procession before described; and, perhaps, the led horses of the
bearers, if these be men of rank. A buffalo, to be sacrificed at the
tomb, where its flesh is to be distributed to the poor, sometimes closes
the procession.
The funeral of a devout sheykh, or of one of the great Ulama, is still
more numerously attended; and the bier of such a person is not covered
with a shawl. A “welee” is further honoured in his funeral by a
remarkable custom. Women follow his bier; but, instead of wailing, as
they would after the corpse of an ordinary mortal, they rend the air
with the shrill and quavering cries of joy called “zagháreet;” and if
these cries are discontinued but for a minute, the bearers of the bier
protest that they cannot proceed; that a supernatural power rivets them
to the spot on which they stand. Very often, it is said, a welee impels
the bearers of his corpse to a particular spot.—The following anecdote,
describing an ingenious mode of puzzling a dead saint in a case of this
kind, was related to me by one of my friends.—Some men were lately
bearing the corpse of a welee to a tomb prepared for it in the great
cemetery on the north of the metropolis; but, on arriving at the gate
called Báb en-Nasr, which leads to this cemetery, they found themselves
unable to proceed farther from the cause above mentioned. “It seems,”
said one of the bearers, “that the sheykh is determined not to be buried
in the cemetery of Báb en-Nasr: and what shall we do?” They were all
much perplexed: but being as obstinate as the saint himself, they did
not immediately yield to his caprice. Retreating a few paces, and then
advancing with a quick step, they thought, by such an impetus, to force
the corpse through the gateway; but their efforts were unsuccessful; and
the same experiment they repeated in vain several times. They then
placed the bier on the ground to rest and consult; and one of them,
beckoning away his comrades to a distance beyond the hearing of the dead
saint, said to them, “Let us take up the bier again, and turn it round
quickly several times till the sheykh becomes giddy; he then will not
know in what direction we are going, and we may take him easily through
the gate.” This they did; the saint was puzzled as they expected; and
quietly buried in the place which he had so striven to avoid.
The biers used for the conveyance of the corpses of females and boys are
different from those of men. They are furnished with a cover of wood,
over which a shawl is spread, as over the bier of a man; and at the head
is an upright piece of wood, called a “sháhid.” The sháhid is covered
with a shawl; and to the upper part of it, when the bier is used to
convey the body of a female of the middle or higher class, several
ornaments of female head-dress are attached: on the top, which is flat
and circular, is often placed a “kurs” (the round ornament of gold or
silver set with diamonds, or of embossed gold, which is worn on the
crown of the head-dress): to the back is suspended the “safa” (or a
number of braids of black silk with gold ornaments along each, which are
worn by the ladies, in addition to their plaits of hair, hanging down
the back). The bier of a boy is distinguished by a turban, generally
formed of a red Kashmeer shawl, wound round the top of the sháhid;
which, in the case of a young boy, is also often decorated with the kurs
and safa. The corpse of a very young child is carried to the tomb in the
arms of a man, and merely covered with a shawl; or, in a very small bier
borne on a mans head.
In the funerals of females and boys, the bier is usually only preceded
by the Yemeneeyeh, chanting the profession of faith, and by some male
relations of the deceased; and followed by the female mourners; unless
the deceased were of a family of wealth, or of considerable station in
the world; in which case, the funeral-procession is distinguished by
some additional display. I shall give a short description of one of the
most genteel and decorous funerals of this kind that I have witnessed:
it was that of a young, unmarried lady.—Two men, each bearing a large,
furled, green flag, headed the procession, preceding the Yemeneeyeh, who
chanted in an unusually low and solemn manner. These fakeers, who were
in number about eight, were followed by a group of fikees, chanting a
chapter of the Kur-án. Next after the latter was a man bearing a large
branch of “nabk” (or lote-tree), an emblem of the deceased.[621] On each
side of him walked a person bearing a tall staff or cane, to the top of
which were attached several hoops ornamented with strips of
various-coloured paper. These were followed by two Turkish soldiers,
side by side; one bearing, on a small round tray, a gilt silver “kumkum”
of rose-water; and the other bearing, on a similar tray, a “mibkhar′ah”
of gilt silver, in which some odoriferous substance (as benzoin, or
frankincense) was burning. These vessels diffused the odour of their
contents on the way; and were afterwards used to perfume the sepulchral
vault. Passengers were occasionally sprinkled with the rose-water. Next
followed four men, each of whom bore, upon a small tray, several small
lighted tapers of wax, stuck in lumps of paste of “henna.” The bier was
covered with rich shawls; and its sháhid was decorated with handsome
ornaments of the head; having, besides the safa, a “kussah almás” (a
long ornament of gold and diamonds, worn over the forehead), and, upon
its flat top, a rich diamond kurs. These were the jewels of the
deceased; or were perhaps, as is often the case, borrowed for the
occasion. The female mourners, in number about seven or eight, clad in
the usual manner of the ladies of Egypt (with the black silk covering,
etc.), followed the bier, not on foot, as is the common custom in
funerals in this country, but mounted on high-saddled asses; and only
the last two or three of them were wailing; these being, probably, hired
mourners.—In another funeral-procession of a female, the daughter of a
Turk of high rank, the Yemeneeyeh were followed by six black slaves,
walking two by two. The first two slaves bore each a silver kumkum of
rose-water, which they sprinkled on the passengers; and one of them
honoured me so profusely as to wet my dress very uncomfortably; after
which, he poured a small quantity into my hands; and I wetted my face
with it, according to custom. Each of the next two bore a silver
mibkhar′ah, with perfume; and the other two carried each a silver ázkee
(or hanging censer), with burning charcoal and frankincense. The jewels
on the sháhid of the bier were of a costly description. Eleven ladies,
mounted on high-saddled asses, together with several neddábehs,
followed.
The rites and ceremonies performed in the mosque, and at the tomb, and
after the funeral, remain to be described.—If the deceased died in any
of the northern quarters of the metropolis, the body is usually carried,
in preference, to the mosque of the Hasaneyn; unless he were a poor man,
not residing near to that venerated sanctuary; in which case, his
friends generally carry his corpse to any neighbouring mosque, to save
time, and avoid unnecessary expense. If he were one of the ulama (that
is, of a learned profession, however humble), his corpse is usually
taken to the great mosque El-Azhar. The people of the southern parts of
the metropolis generally carry their dead to the mosque of the seyyideh
Zeyneb, or to that of any other celebrated saint. The reason of choosing
such mosques in preference to others, is the belief that the prayers
offered up at the tombs of very holy persons are especially successful.
The bier, being brought into the mosque, is laid upon the floor, in the
usual place of prayer, with the right side towards the kibleh, or the
direction of Mekkeh. The “Imám” of the mosque stands before the left
side of the bier, facing it and the kibleh; and a servant of the mosque,
as a “muballigh” (to repeat the words of the Imám), at the feet. The
attendants of the funeral range themselves behind the Imám; the women
standing apart, behind the men; for on this occasion they are seldom
excluded from the mosque. The congregation being thus disposed, the Imám
commences the prayer over the dead; prefacing it with these
words:[622]—“I purpose reciting the prayer of four ‘tekbeers,’[623] the
funeral-prayer, over the deceased Muslim here present:”—or—“the deceased
Muslims here present:” for two or more corpses are often prayed over at
the same time. Having said this, he exclaims (raising his open hands on
each side of his head, and touching the lobes of his ears with the
extremities of his thumbs), “God is most great!” The muballigh repeats
this exclamation; and each individual of the congregation behind the
Imám does the same; as they also do after the subsequent tekbeers. The
Imám then recites the Fát’hah; and a second time exclaims, “God is most
great!” after which he adds, “O God, favour our lord Mohammad, the
Illiterate Prophet, and his Family and Companions, and preserve
them”—and the third time exclaims, “God is most great!” He then says, “O
God, verily this is thy servant and son of Thy servant: he hath departed
from the repose of the world, and from its amplitude,[624] and from
whatever he loved, and from those by whom he was loved in it, to the
darkness of the grave, and to what he experienceth. He did testify that
there is no deity but Thou alone: that Thou hast no companion: and that
Mohammad is thy servant and thine apostle; and Thou art all-knowing
respecting him. O God, he hath gone to abide with Thee; and Thou art the
best with whom to abide. He hath become in need of Thy mercy; and Thou
hast no need of his punishment. We have come to Thee, supplicating that
we may intercede for him. O God, if he were a doer of good, over-reckon
his good deeds; and if he were an evil-doer, pass over his evil doings;
and of Thy mercy grant that he may experience Thine acceptance; and
spare him the trial of the grave, and its torment; and make his grave
wide to him; and keep back the earth from his sides;[625] and of Thy
mercy grant that he may experience security from Thy torment, until Thou
send him safely to Thy Paradise, O Thou most merciful of those who show
mercy!” Then, for the fourth and last time, the Imám exclaims, “God is
most great!”—adding,—“O God, deny us not our reward for him [for the
service we have done him]; and lead us not into trial after him: pardon
us and him and all the Muslims, O Lord of all creatures!”—Thus he
finishes his prayer; greeting the angels on his right and left with the
salutation of “Peace be on you, and the mercy of God;” as is done at the
close of the ordinary prayers. Then, addressing the persons present, he
says, “Give your testimony respecting him.” They reply, “He was of the
virtuous.”—The bier is now taken up; and if it be in the mosque of the
Hasaneyn, or in that of any other celebrated saint, that the prayer has
been performed, it is placed before the “maksoorah” (the screen or
railing that surrounds the sepulchral monument or cenotaph). Here, some
of the fikees and others who have attended the funeral recite the
Fát’hah, and the last three verses of the “Soorat el-Bakarah” (or 2nd
chapter of the Kur-án); beginning, “Whatever is in heaven and on earth
is God’s.”—These rites performed, the funeral-train proceeds with the
corpse, in the same order as before, to the burial-ground.[626]
Here I must give a short description of a tomb.—It is an oblong vault,
having an arched roof; and is generally constructed of brick, and
plastered. It is made hollow, in order that the person or persons buried
in it may be able with ease to sit up when visited and examined by the
two angels, “Munkar” (vulgarly “Nákir”) and “Nekeer.” One side faces the
direction of Mekkeh; that is, the south-east. At the foot, which is to
the north-east, is the entrance; before which is constructed a small
square cell, roofed with stones extending from side to side, to prevent
the earth from entering the vault. This is covered over with earth. The
vault is generally made large enough to contain four or more bodies. If
males and females be buried in the same vault, which is not commonly the
case, a partition is built to separate the corpses of one sex from those
of the other. Over the vault is constructed an oblong monument (called
“tarkeebeh”), of stone or brick, with a stela, or upright stone (called
a “sháhid”), at the head and foot. The stelæ are mostly plain; but some
of them are ornamented; and that at the head is often inscribed with a
text from the Kur-án,[627] and the name of the deceased, with the date
of his death. A turban, cap, or other head-dress, is also sometimes
carved on the top of the head-stone; showing the rank or class of the
person or persons buried in the tomb.—Over the grave of an eminent
sheykh, or other person of note, a small square building, crowned with a
cupola, is generally erected.[628] Many of the tombs of Turkish and
Memlook grandees have marble tarkeebehs, which are canopied by cupolas
supported by four columns of marble; and have inscriptions in gilt
letters upon a ground of azure on the head-stone. There are numerous
tombs of this description in the great southern cemetery of Cairo. The
tombs of the Sultáns are mostly handsome mosques: some of these are
within the metropolis; and some, in the cemeteries in its environs.—I
now resume the description of the funeral.
-------------------------------------------
[Illustration: SKETCH OF A TOMB WITH THE ENTRANCE UNCOVERED.]
_Lane’s Modern Egyptians_] [_Page 484_
-------------------------------------------
The tomb having been opened before the arrival of the corpse, no delay
takes place in the burial. The sexton and two assistants take the corpse
out of the bier, and deposit it in the vault. Its bandages are untied;
and it is laid upon its right side, or so inclined that the face is
towards Mekkeh. It is supported in this position by a few crude bricks.
If the outer wrapper be a Kashmeer shawl, this is rent; lest its value
should tempt any profane person to violate the tomb. A little earth is
gently placed by and upon the corpse, by one or more persons: and the
entrance is closed by replacing the roofing-stones and earth over the
small cell before it. But one singular ceremony remains to be performed,
excepting in the case of a young child, who is not held responsible for
his actions: a fikee is employed to perform the office of a “mulakkin”
(or instructor of the dead):[629] sitting before the tomb, he says
generally as follows:—“O servant of God! O son of a handmaid of God!
know that, at this time, there will come down to thee two angels
commissioned respecting thee and the like of thee: when they say to
thee, ‘Who is thy Lord,’ answer them,‘God is my Lord,’ in truth; and
when they ask thee concerning thy Prophet, or the man who hath been sent
unto you, say to them, ‘Mohammad is the Apostle of God,’ with veracity;
and when they ask thee concerning thy religion, say to them, ‘El-Islám
is my religion;’ and when they ask thee concerning thy book of
direction, say to them, ‘The Kurán is my book of direction, and the
Muslims are my brothers;’ and when they ask thee concerning thy Kibleh,
say to them, ‘The Kaabeh is my Kibleh; and I have lived and died in the
assertion, that there is no deity but God, and Mohammad is God’s
Apostle:’ and they will say, ‘Sleep, O servant of God, in the protection
of God.’”—The soul is believed to remain with the body during the first
night after the burial; and on this night to be visited and examined,
and perhaps the body tortured, by the two angels above mentioned.—The
Yemeneeyeh and other persons hired to attend the funeral are paid at the
tomb: the former usually receive a piaster each. If the funeral be that
of a person of rank or wealth, two or three skins of water, and as many
camel-loads of bread, being conveyed to the burial ground, as before
mentioned, are there distributed, after the burial, to the poor, who
flock thither in great numbers, on such an occasion. It has also been
mentioned that a buffalo is sometimes slaughtered, and its flesh in like
manner distributed. This custom is called “el-kaffárah” (or the
expiation): being supposed to expiate some of the minor sins of the
deceased; but not great sins. The funeral ended, each of the near
relations of the deceased is greeted with a prayer that he may be
happily compensated for his loss; or is congratulated that his life is
prolonged.
The first night after the burial is called “Leylet el-Wahsheh” (or the
Night of Desolation); the place of the deceased being then left
desolate. On this night the following custom is observed:—At sunset, two
or three fikees are brought to the house: they take a repast of bread
and milk in the place where the deceased died; and then recite the
“Soorat el-Mulk” (or 67th chapter of the Kur-án). As the soul is
believed to remain with the body during the first night after the
burial, and then to depart to the place appointed for the residence of
good souls until the last day, or to the appointed prison in which
wicked souls await their final doom, this night is also called “Leylet
el-Wahdeh” (or the Night of Solitude).[630]
Another ceremony, called that of the “Sebhah” (or Rosary), is performed
on this occasion, to facilitate the entrance of the deceased into a
state of happiness: it usually occupies three or four hours. After the
“’eshë” (or nightfall), some fikees, sometimes as many as fifty,
assemble in the house; or, if there be not a court, or large apartment,
for their reception, some matting is spread for them to sit upon in
front of the house. One of them brings a sebhah composed of a thousand
beads; each about the size of a pigeon’s egg. They commence the ceremony
by reciting the “Soorat el-Mulk” (mentioned above); then say three
times, “God is one.” After this they recite the “Soorat el-Falak” (or
last chapter but one of the Kur-án), and the opening chapter (the
“Fát’hah”); and then three times say, “O God, favour, with the most
excellent favour, the most happy of thy creatures, our lord Mohammad,
and his Family and Companions, and preserve them:” to which they add,
“All who commemorate Thee are the mindful; and those who omit
commemorating Thee are the negligent.” They next repeat, thrice one
thousand times, “There is no deity but God;” one of them holding the
sebhah, and counting each repetition of these words by passing a bead
through his fingers. After each thousand repetitions they sometimes rest
and take coffee. Having completed the last thousand, and rested, and
refreshed themselves, they say, a hundred times, “[I extol] the
perfection of God, with his praise:” then, the same number of times, “I
beg forgiveness of God, the Great:” after which they say, fifty times,
“[I extol] the perfection of the Lord, the Eternal—the perfection of
God, the Eternal:” they then repeat these words of the Kur-án—“[Extol]
the perfection of thy Lord, the Lord of Might; exempting Him from that
which they [namely, Christians and others] ascribe to Him [that is, from
the having a son, or partaker of his godhead]; and peace be on the
Apostles; and praise be to God, the Lord of all creatures!”[631] Two or
three or more of them then recite, each, an “’ashr,” or about two or
three verses of the Kur-án. This done, one of them asks his companions,
“Have ye transferred [the merit of] what ye have recited to the soul of
the deceased?” They reply, “We have transferred it;” and add, “And peace
be on the Apostles,” etc., as above. This concludes the ceremony of the
sebhah, which, in the houses of the rich, is also repeated on the second
and third nights. This ceremony is likewise performed in a family on
their receiving intelligence of the death of a near relation.
The men make no alteration in their dress in token of mourning; nor do
the women on the death of an elderly man; but they do for others. In the
latter cases, they dye their shirts, head-veils, face-veils, and
handkerchiefs, of a blue, or of an almost black, colour, with indigo;
and some of them, with the same dye, stain their hands and their arms as
high as the elbow; and smear the walls of the chambers. When the master
of the house, or the owner of the furniture, is dead, and sometimes in
other cases, they also turn upside-down the carpets, mats, cushions, and
covering of the deewáns. In general, the women, while in mourning, leave
their hair unbraided, cease to wear some of their ornaments, and, if
they smoke, use common reed pipes.
Towards the close of the first Thursday after the funeral, and often,
early in the morning of this day, the women of the family of the
deceased again commence a wailing, in their house, accompanied by some
of their female friends; and in the afternoon or evening of this day,
male friends of the deceased also visit the house; and three or four
fikees are employed to perform a khatmeh.—On the Friday morning the
women repair to the tomb; where they observe the same customs which I
have described in speaking of the ceremonies performed on the two grand
“’eeds,” in the second of the chapters on periodical public festivals,
etc.; generally taking a palm-branch, to break up, and place on the
tomb; and some cakes or bread, to distribute to the poor. These
ceremonies are repeated on the same days of the next two weeks; and
again, on the Thursday and Friday which complete, or next follow, the
first period of forty days[632] after the funeral: whence this Friday is
called “el-Arba’-een,” or “Gum’at el-Arba’-een.”
It is customary among the peasants of Upper Egypt for the female
relations and friends of a person deceased to meet together by his house
on each of the first three days after the funeral, and there to perform
a lamentation and a strange kind of dance. They daub their faces and
bosoms, and part of their dress, with mud; and tie a rope girdle,
generally made of the coarse grass called “halfa,” round the waist.[633]
Each flourishes in her hand a palm-stick, or a nebboot (a long staff),
or a spear, or a drawn sword; and dances with a slow movement, and in an
irregular manner; generally pacing about, and raising and depressing the
body. This dance is continued for an hour or more; and is performed
twice or three times in the course of the day. After the third day, the
women visit the tomb, and place upon it their rope-girdles; and usually
a lamb, or a goat, is slain there, as an expiatory sacrifice, and a
feast made, on this occasion.
Having now described the manners and customs of the Muslims of Egypt in
the various stages and circumstances of life, from the period of infancy
to the tomb, I close my account of them, as a writer of their own nation
would in a similar case, with “thanks and praise to Him who dieth not.”
-----
Footnote 610:
Some Muslims turn the _head_ of the corpse in the direction of Mekkeh;
others, the _right side_, inclining the _face_ in that direction: the
latter, I believe, is the general custom.
Footnote 611:
See 2 Chron. xxxv. 25; Jer. ix. 17; and Matt. ix. 23.
Footnote 612:
The Egyptians have a superstitious objection to keep a corpse in the
house during the night after the death, and to burying the dead after
sunset; but the latter is sometimes done: I have witnessed one
instance of it.
Footnote 613:
It is hardly necessary to state that the corpse of a female is always
washed by a woman.
Footnote 614:
The leaves of the lote-tree, dried and pulverized, are often used by
the poor instead of soap.
Footnote 615:
The kefen is often sprinkled with water from the well of Zemzem, in
the Temple of Mekkeh.
Footnote 616:
“’A-l-’ebád” is a vulgar contraction, for “’ala-l-’ebád.”—It will be
observed (from the specimen here given, in the first two lines) that
this poem is not in the _literary_ dialect of Arabic.
Footnote 617:
Literally, “the two easts,” or “the two places of sunrise:” the point
where the sun rises in summer, and that where it rises in winter.
Footnote 618:
Or, “the two places of sunset.”
Footnote 619:
In the funeral scenes represented on the walls of ancient Egyptian
tombs, we often see females with a similar bandage round the head.
Footnote 620:
This was a custom of the ancient Egyptians: it is described by
Herodotus, lib. ii., cap. 85.—Passengers in the streets and roads,
when a corpse is borne by to the tomb, often say,—“God is most great!
God is most great! That is what God and his Apostle have promised: and
God and his Apostle have spoken truth. O God, increase our faith and
submission!”—The women, pointing with the finger at the bier, say,—“I
testify that there is no deity but God.”
Footnote 621:
This is only borne in funerals of young persons.
Footnote 622:
I give the form of prayer used by the Sháfe’ees, as being the most
common in Cairo. Those of the other sects are nearly similar to this.
Footnote 623:
A “tekbeer” has been explained in a former chapter, as being the
exclamation of “Alláhu Akbar” or “God is most great!”
Footnote 624:
Or, according to one of my sheykhs, “its business.”
Footnote 625:
It is believed that the body of the wicked is painfully oppressed by
the earth against its sides in the grave; though this is always made
hollow.
Footnote 626:
The burial-grounds of Cairo are mostly outside the town, in the desert
tracts on the north, east, and south. Those within the town are few,
and not extensive.
Footnote 627:
The Prophet forbade engraving the name of God, or any words of the
Kur-án, upon a tomb. He also directed that tombs should be low, and
built only of crude bricks.
Footnote 628:
Like that seen in the distance in the engraving here inserted.
Footnote 629:
The Málikees disapprove of this custom, the “talkeen” of the dead.
Footnote 630:
The opinions of the Muslims respecting the state of souls in the
interval between death and the judgment are thus given by Sale
(“Preliminary Discourse,” sect. iv.):—“They distinguish the souls of
the faithful into three classes: the first, of prophets, whose souls
are admitted into paradise immediately; the second, of martyrs, whose
spirits, according to a tradition of Mohammad, rest in the crops of
green birds, which eat of the fruits and drink of the rivers of
paradise; and the third, of other believers, concerning the state of
whose souls before the resurrection there are various opinions. For,
1. Some say that they stay near the sepulchres, with liberty, however,
of going where-ever they please; which they confirm from Mohammad’s
manner of saluting them at their graves, and his affirming that the
dead heard those salutations as well as the living. Whence perhaps
proceeded the custom of visiting the tombs of relations, so common
among the Mohammadans. 2. Others imagine they are with Adam in the
lowest heaven, and also support their opinion by the authority of
their prophet, who gave out that in his return from the upper heavens
in his pretended night-journey, he saw there the souls of those who
were destined to paradise on the right hand of Adam, and those who
were condemned to hell on his left. 3. Others fancy the souls of
believers remain in the well Zemzem, and those of infidels in a
certain well in the province of Hadramót, called Barahoot [so in the
Kámoos, but by Sale written Borhût]; but this opinion is branded as
heretical. 4. Others say they stay near the graves for seven days; but
that whither they go afterwards is uncertain. 5. Others, that they are
all in the trumpet, whose sound is to raise the dead. And, 6. Others,
that the souls of the good dwell in the forms of white birds, under
the throne of God. As to the condition of the souls of the wicked,
besides the opinions that have been already mentioned, the more
orthodox hold that they are offered by the angels to heaven, from
whence being repulsed as stinking and filthy, they are offered to the
earth; and being also refused a place there, are carried down to the
seventh earth, and thrown into a dungeon, which they call Sijjeen,
under a green rock, or, according to a tradition of Mohammad, under
the devil’s jaw, to be there tormented till they are called up to be
joined again to their bodies.” I believe that the opinion respecting
the Well of Barahoot commonly prevails in the present day.
Footnote 631:
Chapter xxxvii., last three verses.
Footnote 632:
See Genesis 1. 3.
Footnote 633:
As the ancient Egyptian women did in the same case.—See a passage in
Herodotus, before referred to, lib. ii., cap. 85.
----------------------------
SUPPLEMENT.
I.—THE COPTS.
The fame of that great nation from which the Copts mainly derive their
origin renders this people objects of much interest, especially to one
who has examined the wonderful monuments of Ancient Egypt: but so great
is the aversion with which, like their illustrious ancestors, they
regard all persons who are not of their own race, and so reluctant are
they to admit such persons to any familiar intercourse with them, that I
had almost despaired of gaining an insight into their religious, moral,
and social state. At length, however, I had the good fortune to become
acquainted with a character of which I had doubted the existence—a Copt
of a liberal as well as an intelligent mind; and to his kindness I am
indebted for the knowledge of most of the facts related in the following
brief memoir.
The Copts, at present, compose less than one fourteenth part of the
population of Egypt; their number being not more than about one hundred
and fifty thousand. About ten thousand of them reside in the metropolis.
In some parts of Upper Egypt are villages exclusively inhabited by
persons of this race; and the district called the Feiyoom particularly
abounds with them. The vast number of ruined convents and churches
existing in various parts of Egypt shows that the Copts were very
numerous a few centuries ago; but every year many of them have embraced
the faith of El-Islám, and become intermixed by marriage with Muslims;
and thus the number of genuine and Christian Copts has been reduced to
its present small amount.
The Copts are undoubtedly descendants of the ancient Egyptians; but not
an unmixed race; their ancestors in the earlier ages of Christianity
having intermarried with Greeks, Nubians, Abyssinians, and other
foreigners. Their name is correctly pronounced either “Kubt” or “Kibt;”
but more commonly, “Gubt” or “Gibt,” and (in Cairo and its
neighbourhood, and in some other parts of Egypt), “’Ubt” or “’Ibt:” in
the singular it is pronounced “Kubtee, Kibtee, Gubtee, Gibtee, ’Ubtee,”
or “’Ibtee.” All of these sounds bear a great resemblance to the ancient
Greek name of Egypt (Αίγυπτος): but it is generally believed that the
name of “Kubt” is derived from “Coptos” (once a great city in Upper
Egypt), now called “Kuft,” or, more commonly, “Guft;” to which vast
numbers of the Christian Egyptians retired during the persecution with
which their sect was visited under several of the Roman Emperors. The
Copts have not altogether lost their ancient language; their liturgy and
several of their religious books being written in it: but the Coptic has
become a dead language, understood by very few persons; and the Arabic
has been adopted in its stead.
With respect to their personal characteristics, we observe some striking
points of resemblance, and yet, upon the whole, a considerable
difference, between the Copts and the ancient Egyptians, judging of the
latter from the paintings and sculptures in their tombs and temples. The
difference is, however, easily accounted for by the fact of the
intermarriages of the ancestors of the modern Copts with foreigners,
above mentioned. The people who bear the greatest resemblance to the
ancient Egyptians, at present, are the Noobeh (or more genuine Nubians);
and next to these, the Abyssinians and the Copts; who are,
notwithstanding, much unlike each other. The Copts differ but little
from the generality of their Muslim countrymen: the latter being chiefly
descended from Arabs and from Copts who have embraced the faith of the
Arabs, and having thus become assimilated to the Copts in features. I
find it difficult, sometimes, to perceive any difference between a Copt
and a Muslim Egyptian, beyond a certain downcast and sullen expression
of countenance which generally marks the former; and the Muslims
themselves are often deceived when they see a Copt in a white turban. We
observe, in the latter, the same shades of complexion, in different
latitudes of the country, as in the former; varying from a pale
yellowish colour to a deep bronze or brown. The eyes of the Copt are
generally large and elongated, slightly inclined from the nose upwards,
and always black: the nose is straight, excepting at the end, where it
is rounded, and wide: the lips are rather thick; and the hair is black
and curly. The Copts are, generally speaking, somewhat under the middle
size; and so, as it appears from the mummies, were the ancient
Egyptians. Their women, of the higher and middle classes in particular,
blacken the edges of their eyelids with kohl; and those of the lower
orders tattoo blue marks upon their faces, hands, etc., in the same
manner as other Egyptian females, but usually introduce the cross among
these ornaments. Most of the Copts circumcise their sons; and another
practice which prevailed among their pagan ancestors, mentioned by
Strabo, and alluded to in a note subjoined to page 48 of this work, is
observed among the Copts without exception.
The dress of the Copts is similar to that of the Muslim Egyptians;
excepting that the proper turban of the former is black or blue, or of a
greyish or light-brown colour; and such Copts as wear cloth generally
choose dull colours, and often wear a black cotton gown, or loose shirt,
over their cloth and silk dress. In the towns, they are usually careful
thus to distinguish themselves from the Muslims; but in the villages,
many of them wear the white or red turban. Other Christians, and Jews
who are subjects of the Turkish Sultán, are distinguished from the
Muslims in the same manner; but not all: many Armenians, Greeks, and
Syrian Christians wear the white turban. Subjects of European Christian
powers are allowed to do the same, and to adopt altogether the Turkish
dress. The occasions which originally caused the Copts to be
distinguished by the black and blue turbans will be mentioned in some
historical notes respecting this people hereafter.—The Copt women veil
their faces, not only in public, but also in the house, when any men,
excepting their near relations, are present. The unmarried ladies, and
females of the lower orders, in public, generally wear the white veil:
the black veil is worn by the more respectable of the married ladies;
but the white is adopted by many, from a desire to imitate the
Muslim′ehs.
The Copts, with the exception of a small proportion who profess the
Romish or the Greek faith, are Christians of the sect called Jacobites,
Eutychians, Monophysites, and Monothelites; whose creed was condemned by
the Council of Chalcedon, in the reign of the Emperor Marcion. They
received the appellation of “Jacobites” (“Ya’ákibeh,” or “Yaakoobees”),
by which they are generally known, from Jacobus Baradæus, a Syrian, who
was a chief propagator of the Eutychian doctrines. Those who adhered to
the Greek faith were distinguished from the former by the name of
“Melekites” (“Melekeeyeh,” or “Melekees”), that is to say, “Royalists,”
because they agreed in faith with the Emperor of Constantinople. The
secession of the great majority of the Copts from what was generally
considered the orthodox Church gave rise to an implacable enmity between
them and the Greeks, under whom they suffered much persecution, and with
whom they would no longer even contract marriages. This enmity was, of
course, more bitter on the part of the Copts: they gladly received the
Arab invaders of their country, and united with them to expel the
Greeks. Their revenge was gratified; but they were made to bow their
necks to a heavier yoke: yet the hatred with which even the modern Copts
regard the Greeks and all other Christians who are not of their own sect
is much greater than that which they bear towards the Muslims.—Saint
Mark, they assert, was the first who preached the Gospel in Egypt; and
they regard him as the first Patriarch of Alexandria. The Nubians and
Abyssinians embraced Christianity soon after the Egyptians; and,
following the same example, they adopted the Jacobite doctrines. The
Nubians, however, have become Muslims; and boast that there is not a
single Christian among their race, and that they will never allow one to
live among them; for, as they are more ignorant, so are they also more
bigoted, than the generality of Muslims. In Abyssinia, Jacobite
Christianity is still the prevailing religion.
The religious orders of the Coptic Church consist of a Patriarch, a
Metropolitan of the Abyssinians, Bishops, Archpriests, Priests, Deacons,
and Monks.
The Patriarch (“el-Batrak”) is the supreme head of the church; and
occupies the chair of Saint Mark. He generally resides in Cairo; but is
styled “Patriarch of Alexandria.” He is chosen from among the order of
monks; with whose regulations he continues to comply; and it is a point
of these regulations that he remains unmarried. He is obliged to wear
woollen garments next his body; but these are of the finest and softest
quality, like the shawls of Kashmeer; and are concealed by habits of
rich silks and cloth. So rigid are the rules with which he is obliged to
conform, that, whenever he sleeps, he is waked after every quarter of an
hour.[634] A patriarch may be appointed by his predecessor; but,
generally, he is chosen by lot; and always from among the monks of the
Convent of Saint Anthony (“Deyr Antooniyoos”), in the Eastern Desert of
Egypt, near the western Gulf of the Red Sea. The bishops and principal
priests, when a patriarch is to be elected, apply to the superior of the
convent above mentioned, who names about eight or nine monks whom he
considers qualified for the high office of head of the Church: the names
of these persons are written, each upon a separate slip of paper, which
pieces of paper are then rolled into the form of little balls, and put
into a drawer: a priest draws one, without looking; and the person whose
name is thus drawn is invested as patriarch. Formerly, a young child was
employed to draw the lot; being supposed to be more under the direction
of heaven.
The property at the disposal of the patriarch is very considerable: it
chiefly consists in houses; and can only be employed for pious uses.
Modern patriarchs have done little more than augment their property:
generally, when a Copt sells a house in Cairo, the patriarch bids for
it; and no one ventures to bid against him; so that the owner of the
house is obliged to part with it for considerably less than its just
value.
The patriarch and bishops wear a turban of a wider and rounder form than
those of other persons; much resembling the mukleh of the Muslim ’Ulama;
but of the same dark colour as those of the other Copts.
The Metropolitan of the Abyssinians (“el-Matrán”) is appointed by the
Patriarch. He retains his office for life; and resides in Abyssinia.
A bishop (“Uskuf”) is generally (or, I am told, always) chosen from
among the monks; and continues, like the patriarch, to conform with
their regulations. The canons of the Church do not require that bishops
should be monks; but unmarried men, or widowers, were formerly always
chosen for the episcopal office. The number of bishops is twelve.
An Archpriest (“Kummus”) is elevated from the order of common priests.
The archpriests are numerous.
A priest (“Kasees”) must have been a deacon: he must be without bodily
defect, at least thirty-three years of age, and a person who has never
married, or who has married but one wife, and taken that wife a virgin,
and married her before he became a priest; for he cannot marry after. If
a priest’s wife die, he cannot marry again; nor is the widow of a priest
allowed to marry a second husband. A priest may be of the order of
monks; and, consequently, unmarried. He is supported only by alms, and
by what he obtains through his own industry. Both priests and deacons
are ordained either by the Patriarch or by a bishop. The priests wear a
turban formed of a long narrow band. This was worn, a few years ago, by
all the Copts in Cairo: a desire to imitate the Muslims has made them
change the style.
A Deacon (“Shemmás”) must be either unmarried, or a person who has only
once married, to a virgin bride. If he take a second wife, or marry a
widow, he loses his office. He may be of the order of monks, as appears
from what has been said above.
A Monk (“Ráhib”) must have submitted to a long trial of his patience and
piety, and made a vow of celibacy, before his admission into the
monastic order. He usually performs menial and arduous services,
previously to his admission, for a year, or a year and a half, in some
sequestered convent in the desert. He is generally employed in fetching
wood and water, sweeping the convent, etc., and waiting upon the monks;
and expends all his property (if he have any) in the purchase of clothes
and other necessaries for the monks and the poor in general. If, after a
sufficient service, he persevere in his resolution, he is admitted. The
prayers of the dead are recited over him, to celebrate his death to the
world; and it has been said that, when he dies, he is buried without
prayer; but I am informed that this is not the case. The monks are very
numerous, and there are many nuns. They lead a life of great austerity;
and are obliged always to wear woollen garments next the body. Every
monk is distinguished by a strip of woollen stuff, of a deep blue or
black colour, about four inches wide, attached beneath the turban and
hanging down the back to the length of about a foot.[635] A woollen
shirt is generally the only article of dress worn by the monks, beside
the turban. They eat two meals in the course of the day, at noon and in
the evening; but, if living in a convent, seldom anything more than
lentils; as most of their convents are in the desert: on feast-days,
however, they eat flesh, if it be procurable. The number of convents and
churches is said to be a hundred and forty-six;[636] but the former are
few in comparison with the latter.
The Coptic Church recommends baptizing boys at the age of forty days,
and girls at the age of eighty days, if they continue so long well and
healthy; but earlier if they be ill, and in apparent danger of death:
for it is a prevailing belief among the Copts, that, if a child die
unbaptized, it will be blind in the next life, and the parents are held
guilty of a sin, for which they must do penance, either by repeating
many prayers, or by fasting: yet people of the lower orders, if living
at an inconvenient distance from a church, and even in other cases,
often neglect baptizing their children for a whole year. The child is
dipped three times in the water, in which a little holy oil, dropped on
the priest’s thumb, has been washed off; and prayers, entirely in
Coptic, are repeated over it. The Copts hold that the Holy Spirit
descends upon the child in baptism. No money is taken by the priest for
performing the baptismal service, unless voluntarily offered.
I have said that most of the Copts circumcise their sons. Not many of
them in Cairo, I am told, do so; but in other parts, all, or almost all,
observe this rite. The operation is generally performed when the child
is about seven or eight years of age; and always privately: there is no
fixed age for its performance: some of the Copts are circumcised at the
early age of two years; and some at the age of twenty years, or more.
The more enlightened of the Copts certainly regard circumcision as a
practice to be commended; but not as a religious rite; which the priests
declare it is not. It appears, however, from its being universal among
the peasantry, that these look upon it as something more than a mere
civil rite; for if they regarded it as being of no higher importance,
surely they would leave the more polished to comply with the custom.
Some say it is in imitation of Christ, who submitted to this rite, that
they perform it. It is a relic of ancient customs.
The Copts have numerous schools; but for boys only: very few females
among them can read; and those have been instructed at home. The boys
are taught the Psalms of David, the Gospels, and the Apostolical
Epistles, in Arabic; and then the Gospels and Epistles in Coptic. They
do not learn the Coptic language grammatically; and I am told that there
is not to be found, among the Copts, any person who can write or speak
that language with correctness or ease; and that there are very few
persons who can do more than repeat what they have committed to memory,
of the Scriptures and Liturgy. The Coptic language gradually fell into
disuse after the conquest of Egypt by the Arabs. For two centuries after
that event, it appears to have been the only language that the
generality of the Copts understood; but before the tenth century of our
era, most of the inhabitants of Lower Egypt had ceased to speak and
understand it;[637] though in the Sa’eed (or Upper Egypt), El-Makreezee
tells us, the women and children of the Copts, in his time (that is,
about the close of the fourteenth century of our era, or the early part
of the fifteenth), scarcely spoke any other language than the Sa’eedee
Coptic; and had a complete knowledge of the Greek. Soon after this
period, the Coptic language fell into disuse in Upper Egypt, as it had
done so long before in the Lower Provinces; and the Arabic was adopted
in its stead. All the Copts who have been instructed at a school still
pray, both in the church and in private, in Coptic; and the Scriptures
are still always read in the churches in that language; but they are
explained, from books, in Arabic. Many books for the use of priests and
other persons are written in the Coptic language, expressed in Arabic
characters.
The ordinary private prayers of the Copts are a subject particularly
worthy of notice. In these they seem to have imitated the Jews, and to
resemble the Muslims. I am informed that there are few of them in Cairo
who do not comply with a precept of their church which enjoins them to
pray seven times in the course of the day. The first prayer is said at
day-break; the second, at the third hour; the third, at the sixth hour;
the fourth, at the ninth hour; the fifth, at the eleventh hour; the
sixth, at the twelfth hour, which is sunset; and the seventh, at
midnight. In each of these prayers, those persons who have learned to
read, and are strict in the performance of their religious duties,
recite several of the Psalms of David (about a seventh part of the whole
book of Psalms) in Arabic, and a chapter of one of the four Gospels in
the same language; after which they say, either in Coptic or Arabic, “O
my Lord! have mercy!” forty-one times; some using a string of forty-one
beads; others counting by their fingers: they then add a short prayer in
Coptic. In the seven prayers of each day, altogether, they repeat the
whole book of Psalms. Such, I am assured, are the rigid practices of the
more strict and instructed classes in their daily worship. The
illiterate repeat, in each of the seven daily prayers, the Lord’s prayer
seven times, and “O my Lord! have mercy!” forty-one times. Previously to
private as well as public prayer, persons of the better and stricter
classes wash their hands and face; and some also wash their feet; and in
prayer they always face the east. Though in most of the rules above
mentioned they nearly resemble the Jews and the Muslims, they differ
from both these sects in holding that prayer, excepting with the
congregation in the church, is better performed in private than in
public. Their ordinary prayers, or at least the latter and shorter form,
they often repeat while walking or riding or otherwise actively
employed. I can hardly believe that the longer form is generally used by
the instructed classes; though I am positively assured that it is.
The larger churches are divided into four or five compartments. The
“Heykel,” or Chancel, containing the altar, occupies the central and
chief portion of the compartment at the upper end, which is screened
from the rest of the church by a close partition or wall of wooden
panel-work, having a door in the centre, the entrance of the Heykel,
before which is suspended a curtain, with a large cross worked upon it.
The compartment next before this is appropriated to the priests who read
the lessons, etc., and to boys who serve as acolytes and singers, and
the chief members of the congregation: this is separated from the
compartment next before it by a partition of wooden lattice-work, about
eight or nine feet high, with three doors, or a single door in the
centre. The inferior members of the congregation occupy the next
compartment, or next two compartments; and the lowest is appropriated to
the women, and is screened in front by a partition of wooden
lattice-work, to conceal them entirely from the men. Upon the walls of
the church are suspended ill-executed and gaudy pictures of various
saints; particularly of the patron saint; but no images are admitted.
The floor is covered with mats.
Every man takes off his shoes on entering the church; but he retains his
turban. He first goes to the door of the Heykel, prostrates himself
before it, and kisses the hem of its curtain. He then prostrates
himself, or makes a bow, and a salutation with the hand, before one or
more pictures of saints, and sometimes kisses the hand of one or more of
the officiating priests, in the compartment next before the Heykel.
Almost every member of the congregation has a crutch, about four feet
and a half or five feet long, to lean upon while he stands; which he
does during the greater part of the service. The full service (with the
celebration of the Eucharist) occupies between three and four hours;
generally commencing at day-break.
The priests who officiate in the Heykel are clad in handsome robes; but
the others wear only their ordinary dress. The whole of the service that
is performed in the Heykel is in the Coptic language; no other language
being allowed to be spoken within the sanctuary. The priests without,
standing opposite and facing the door of the Heykel, read and chant
explanations and lessons in Arabic and Coptic.[638] A priest is not
permitted to sit down while reading the service in the sanctuary; and as
this occupies so long a time, he pauses, in order that he may sit down,
several times, for a few minutes, and on these occasions, cymbals of
various sizes and notes are beaten as long as he remains sitting.
Several times, also, a priest comes out from the Heykel, waves a censer,
in which frankincense is burning, among the congregation, and blesses
each member, placing his hand upon the person’s head. Having done this
to the men, he proceeds to the apartment of the women. The Sacrament of
the Lord’s Supper is often performed in the Coptic Church. The bread,
which is made in the form of small round cakes, or buns, stamped upon
the top, is moistened with the wine, and in this state administered to
the congregation, and partaken of by the ministers in orders, who have
larger shares than the laymen, and are alone privileged to drink the
wine. Each member of the congregation advances to the door of the Heykel
to receive his portion.
The priests and others are often guilty of excessive indecorum in their
public worship. I heard a priest, standing before the door of the
sanctuary in the patriarchal church in Cairo, exclaim to a young acolyte
(who was assisting him, I suppose, rather awkwardly), “May a blow
corrode your heart!” and a friend of mine once witnessed, in the same
place, a complete uproar: a priest from a village, having taken a part
in the performance of the service, was loudly cursed, and forcibly
expelled, by the regular officiating ministers; and afterwards, many
members of the congregation, in pressing towards the door of the Heykel,
vociferated curses, and beat each other with their crutches. The form of
service in itself struck me as not much characterized by solemnity;
though probably it approaches very nearly to that of the earliest age of
the Christian Church.
Confession is required of all members of the Coptic Church; and is
indispensable before receiving the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. Each
person generally confesses to the same priest. The penance which the
confessor usually imposes is a certain number of crossings and
prostrations, with the repetition, during each prostration, of the
Lord’s Prayer, or, “O my Lord! have mercy!”
The Copts observe long and arduous _fasts_. A week before their Great
Fast, or Lent, commences a fast of three days, kept in commemoration of
that of Nineveh, which was occasioned by the preaching of Jonah. Some of
the Copts observe this fast by total abstinence during the whole period
of three days and three nights; others keep it in the same manner as the
other fasts, of which an account here follows.
Their principal fast, called “Ses-óm el-Kebeer” (or the Great Fast),
above alluded to, was originally limited to forty days; but it has been
gradually extended, by different patriarchs, to fifty-five days. During
this period, excepting on two days of festival, which will presently be
mentioned, they abstain from every kind of animal food, such as
flesh-meat, eggs, milk, butter, and cheese; and eat only bread and
vegetables (chiefly beans), with sweet oil, or the oil of sesame, and
dukkah. The churches are open, and service is performed in them, every
day during this fast; and the Copts eat nothing after their supper until
after the church-prayers of the next day, about noon: but they do not
thus on the other fasts.
They observe, however, with almost equal strictness, three other
fasts:—1st, the “Sóm el-Meelád” (or Fast of the Nativity); the period of
which is twenty-eight days immediately preceding the festival of the
Nativity, or Christmas-day; that is, all the month of Kiyahk excepting
the last two days:—2dly, the “Sóm er-Rusul” (or Fast of the Apostles),
which is the period between the Ascension and the fifth of Ebeeb; and is
observed in commemoration of the Apostles’ fasting after they were
deprived of their Lord:—3dly, the “Sóm el-’Adra” (or Fast of the
Virgin), a period of fifteen days previous to the Assumption of the
Virgin.
The Copts also fast every Wednesday and Friday in every other period of
the year; excepting during the fifty days immediately following their
Great Fast: that is, from the end of the Great Fast to the end of the
Khamáseen. On these Wednesdays and Fridays, they eat only fish,
vegetables, and oil.
Each fast is followed by a _festival_. The Copts observe seven great
festivals:—1st, the “’Eed el-Meelád” (or Festival of the Nativity), on
the 29th of Kiyahk (or 6th or 7th of January):—2dly, the “’Eed
el-Gheetás,” on the 11th of Toobeh (18th or 19th of January), in
commemoration of the baptism of Christ:—3dly, the “’Eed el-Bishárah”
(Annunciation of the Virgin, or Lady-day), on the 29th of Barmahát (or
6th of April):—4thly, the “’Eed esh-Sha’áneen” (Palm Sunday), the Sunday
next before Easter:—5thly, the “’Eed el-Kiyámeh” (the Resurrection, or
Easter), or “el-’Eed el-Kebeer” (the Great Festival):—6thly, the “’Eed
es-So’ood” (the Ascension):—7thly, the “’Eed el-’Ansar′ah” (Whitsunday).
On the first, second, and fifth of these, the church-prayers are
performed at night: that is, in the night preceding the day of festival.
On all these festivals, the Copts wear new clothes (or the best they
have), feast, and give alms.
On the “Leylet el-Gheetás” (or eve of the festival of the Gheetás), the
Copts, almost universally, used to perform a singular ceremony, which, I
am informed, is now observed by few of those residing in the metropolis,
but by almost all others; that is, by the men. To commemorate the
baptism of Christ, men, old as well as young, and boys, plunge into
water; and the Muslims say, that as each does this, another exclaims to
him, “Plunge, as thy father and grandfather plunged; and remove El-Islám
from thy heart.” Some churches have a large tank, which is used on this
occasion; the water having first been blessed by a priest: but it is a
more common practice of the Copts to perform this ceremony (which most
of them regard more as an amusement than a religious rite) in the river;
pouring in some holy water from the church before they plunge. This used
to be an occasion of great festivity among the Copts of the metropolis:
the Nile was crowded with boats; and numerous tents and mesh′als were
erected on its banks. Prayers are performed in the churches on the eve
of this festival: a priest blesses the water in the font, or the tank,
then ties on a napkin as an apron, and, wetting the corner of a
handkerchief with the holy water, washes (or rather, wipes or touches)
with it the feet of each member of the congregation. This latter
ceremony is also performed on the Thursday next before Easter, or
Maunday Thursday (“Khamees el-′Ahd”), and on the Festival of the
Apostles (“′Eed er-Rusul”), on the 5th of Ebeeb (or 11th of July).
On the Festivals of the “Bishárah” and the “Sha′áneen,” the Copts eat
fish; and on the latter of these two festivals the priests recite the
prayers of the dead over their congregations in the churches; and if any
die between that day and the end of the Khamáseen (which is the chief or
worse portion of the plague-season), his body is interred without the
prayer being repeated. This custom seems to have originated from the
fact of its being impossible to pray at the tomb over every victim of
the plague; and must have a very impressive effect upon people expecting
this dreadful scourge.
Among the minor festivals are the “Khamees el-′Ahd,” above mentioned;
“Sebt en-Noor” (or Saturday of the Light), the next Saturday, when a
light which is said to be miraculous appears in the Holy Sepulchre at
Jerusalem; the “′Eed er-Rusul” before mentioned; and the “′Eed
es-Saleeb” (or Festival of [the discovery of] the Cross), on the 17th of
Toot (or 26th or 27th of September).
Pilgrimage to Jerusalem the Copts hold to be incumbent on all who are
able to perform it; but few of the poorer classes acquit themselves of
this duty. The pilgrims compose a numerous caravan. They pass the
Passion-Week and Easter at Jerusalem; and, on the third day after the
Passion-Week, proceed to the Jordan, in which they bathe.
The Copts almost universally abstain from eating swine′s flesh; not
because they consider it unlawful, for they deny it to be so, but, as
they say, on account of the filthiness of the animal. I should think,
however, that this abstinence is rather to be attributed to a prejudice
derived from their heathen ancestors. The flesh of the wild boar is
often eaten by them. Camel′s flesh they consider unlawful; probably for
no better reason than that of its being eaten by the Muslims. They
abstain from the flesh of animals that have been strangled, and from
blood, in compliance with an injunction of the Apostles to the Gentile
converts,[639] which they hold is not abrogated.
The male adults among the Copts pay a tribute (called “gizyeh”), besides
the income-tax (or “firdeh”) which they pay in common with the Muslim
inhabitants of Egypt. There are three rates of the former: the richer
classes, in Cairo and other large towns, pay thirty-six piastres each;
the middling classes, eighteen; and the poorest, nine: but in the
country, this tax is levied upon families, instead of individuals. The
firdeh is the same for the Copts as for the Muslims; the twelfth part of
a man′s annual salary or gain, when this can be ascertained.
The Copts are not now despised and degraded by the government as they
were a few years ago. Some of them have even been raised to the rank of
Beys. Before the accession of Mohammad ′Alee, neither the Copts nor
other Eastern Christians, nor Jews, were generally allowed to ride
horses in Egypt; but this restriction has, of late years, been
withdrawn.—A short time since, the Muslims of Damascus, who are
notorious for their bigotry and intolerance, complained to the conqueror
Ibráheem Básha, of the Christians in their city being allowed to ride
horses; urging that the Muslims no longer had the privilege of
distinguishing themselves from the infidels. The Básha replied, “Let the
Muslims still be exalted above the Christians, if they wish it: let them
ride dromedaries in the streets: depend upon it the Christians will not
follow their example.”—The Copts enjoy an immunity for which they are
much envied by most of the Muslims: they are not liable to be taken for
military service; as no Muslim prince would _honour_ a Christian by
employing him to fight against a Muslim enemy.
The ordinary domestic habits of the Copts are perfectly Oriental, and
nearly the same as those of their Muslim fellow-countrymen. They pass
their hours of leisure chiefly in the same manner, enjoying their pipe
and coffee: their meals, also, are similar; and their manner of eating
is the same: but they indulge in drinking brandy at all hours of the
day; and often, to excess.
They are not allowed by their church to intermarry with persons of any
other sect; and few of them do so. When a Copt wishes to contract such a
marriage, which causes him to be regarded as a reprobate by the more
strict of his nation, he generally applies to a priest of the sect to
which his intended wife belongs; and if his request be denied, which is
commonly the case unless the man will consent to adopt his wife′s creed,
he is married by the Kádee, merely by a civil contract. As a marriage of
this kind is not acknowledged by the church, it may be dissolved at
pleasure.
When a Copt is desirous of marrying according to the approved custom, he
pursues the same course to obtain a wife as the Muslim; employing one or
more of his female relations or other women to seek for him a suitable
companion. Scarcely ever is he able to obtain a sight of the face of his
intended wife, unless she be of the lower orders; and not always even in
this case. If the female sought in marriage be under age, her father, or
mother, or nearest male relation, is her “wekeel” (or agent) to make the
necessary arrangements; but if she be of age, and have neither father
nor mother, she appoints her own wekeel. The bridegroom, also, has his
wekeel. The parties make a contract, in which various private domestic
matters are arranged, in the presence of a priest. Two-thirds of the
amount of the dowry is paid on this occasion: the remaining third is
held in reserve: if she survive her husband, she claims this from his
property: if she die before him, her relations claim it at her death.
The contract being concluded, the Lord′s Prayer is recited three times
by all persons present: the priest commencing it first.
The marriage-festivities, in the cases of persons of the higher and
middle classes, when the bride is a virgin, usually occupy a period of
eight days. Such is the length of what is termed a complete fête.
The night preceding Sunday (which the Copts, like the Muslims, call the
night _of_ Sunday) is the most approved for the performance of the
marriage service; and most of the Copts are married on this night. In
this case, the festivities commence on the preceding Tuesday, when the
bridegroom and the bride′s family entertain their respective friends. At
the feasts given on these occasions, and on subsequent days of the
marriage-festivities, a curious custom, which reminds us of the _alites_
or _præpetes_ of the Romans, is usually observed. The cook makes two
hollow balls of sugar; each with a hole at the bottom: then taking two
live pigeons, he attaches little round bells to their wings; and having
whirled the poor birds through the air till they are giddy, puts them
into the two balls before mentioned: each of these is placed upon a
dish; and they are put before the guests; some of whom, judging when the
birds have recovered from their giddiness, break the balls: the pigeons
generally fly about the room, ringing their little bells: if they do not
fly immediately, some person usually makes them rise; as the spectators
would draw an evil omen from their not flying.[640] The guests are
generally entertained with music on the evenings of these
feasts.—Wednesday is passed in preparations.
On Thursday, in the afternoon, the bride is conducted to the bath,
accompanied by several of her female relations and friends, and usually
with music; but not under a canopy.—Friday, again, is a day of
preparation; and the bride has the henna applied to her hands and feet,
etc.
Early on Saturday, two sets of articles of clothing, etc., one for the
bridegroom and the other for the bride, and each consisting of similar
things (namely, a shirt of silk and cotton, a pair of drawers, the
embroidered band of the drawers, and two handkerchiefs embroidered with
gold, together with a tobacco-purse, ornamented in the same manner), are
sent from the bride′s family to the house of the bridegroom. An old lady
of the family of the bride afterwards goes to the bridegroom’s house, to
see whether it be properly prepared; and the bridegroom’s “ashbeen” (or
brideman) takes him and several of his friends to the bath.
In the ensuing evening, about an hour and a half, or two hours, after
sunset, the bride, accompanied by a number of her female relations and
friends, preceded and followed by musicians, and attended by a number of
persons bearing mesh’als and candles, proceeds to the house of the
bridegroom. This “zeffeh” (or parade) much resembles that of a Muslim′eh
bride; but the Copt bride is not conducted under a canopy. She is
covered with a shawl, with several ornaments attached to that part which
conceals her face and head, and numerous coins and other ornaments upon
the part which covers her bosom. The procession moves very slowly; and
generally occupies about two hours. A lamb or sheep is killed for the
guests at the bridegroom’s house this night: it is slaughtered at the
door; and the bride steps over its blood. This ceremony, I am told, is
only observed in Cairo and other large towns.
The bride’s party having rested about two hours at the bridegroom’s
house, and there partaken of refreshments, proceed with her thence, in
the same manner, to the church. The bridegroom goes thither with his
friends, forming a separate party; and without music. In the church,
where the men and women place themselves apart, long prayers are
performed; and the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper is administered. The
priest receives and blesses and returns two rings, for the bridegroom
and bride; and places a kind of crown, or frontal diadem, of gold, upon
the head of each of them, and a sash over the shoulder of the
bridegroom. This ceremony is called the “tekleel” (or crowning). The two
crowns belong to the church: before the parties quit the church, they
are taken off; but the bridegroom often goes home with the sash; and it
is there taken off by a priest. At the weddings of the rich in the
metropolis, the Patriarch generally officiates. In most cases, the
ceremonies of the church are not concluded until near daybreak: the
parties then return to the house of the bridegroom. From respect to the
sacrament of which they have partaken, the bridegroom and bride maintain
a religious reserve towards each other until the following night (that
preceding Monday); or, generally, until after the close of this
night.[641]
The bride’s father gives a dinner at the bridegroom’s house on Monday,
at which the principal dishes are usually rice and milk, and boiled
fowls. In the evening, after this dinner, the bridegroom and his ashbeen
go about to invite his friends to a great feast to be given on the
evening following, which concludes the marriage-festivities.
Such are the ceremonies which are usually observed on the marriage of a
virgin-bride. Sometimes, the Patriarch, bishop, or priest, who is
employed to perform the marriage-service, dissuades the parties from
expending their money in zeffehs and repeated feasts; counselling them
rather to devote the sums which they had purposed to employ in so vain a
manner to the relief of the wants of the clergy and poor; and in
consequence, the marriage is conducted with more simplicity and privacy.
A widow is always married without ostentation, festivity, or zeffeh. A
virgin bride of the poorer class is sometimes honoured with a zeffeh;
but is generally conducted to the bath merely by a group of female
relations and friends, who, wanting the accompaniment of musical
instruments, only testify their joy by “zagháreet:” in the same manner,
also, she proceeds to the bridegroom’s house; and she is there married
by a priest; as the expenses of lighting and otherwise preparing the
church for a marriage fall upon the bridegroom. Many of the Copts in
Cairo, being possessed of little property, are married in a yet more
simple manner, before mentioned. To be married by one of their own
clergy, they must obtain a licence from the Patriarch; and this covetous
person will seldom give it for less than a hundred piasters (or a pound
sterling), and sometimes demands, from such persons, as many riyáls (of
two piasters and a quarter each): the parties, therefore, are married by
a licence from the Kádee; for which they usually pay not more than two
piasters, or a little less than five pence of our money.
The newly-married wife, if she observe the approved rules of etiquette,
does not go out of the house, even to pay a visit to her parents, until
delivered of her first child, or until the expiration of a year, if
there appear no signs of her becoming a mother. After this period of
imprisonment, her father or mother usually comes to visit her.
A divorce is obtained only for the cause of adultery on the part of the
wife. The husband and wife may be separated if she have committed a
theft, or other heinous crime; but in this case, neither he nor she is
at liberty to contract another marriage, though they may again be united
to each other.
One of the most remarkable traits in the character of the Copts is their
bigotry. They bear a bitter hatred to all other Christians; even
exceeding that with which the Muslims regard the unbelievers in
El-Islám. Yet they are considered, by the Muslims, as much more inclined
than any other Christian sect to the faith of El-Islám; and this opinion
has not been formed without reason; for vast numbers of them have, from
time to time, and not always in consequence of persecution, become
proselytes to this religion. They are, generally speaking, of a sullen
temper, extremely avaricious, and abominable dissemblers; cringing or
domineering according to circumstances. The respectable Copt, to whom I
have already acknowledged myself chiefly indebted for the notions which
I have obtained respecting the customs of his nation, gives me a most
unfavourable account of their character. He avows them to be generally
ignorant, deceitful, faithless, and abandoned to the pursuit of worldly
gain, and to indulgence in sensual pleasures: he declares the Patriarch
to be a tyrant, and a suborner of false witnesses; and assures me that
the priests and monks in Cairo are seen every evening begging, and
asking the loan of money, which they never repay, at the houses of their
parishioners and other acquaintances, and procuring brandy, if possible,
wherever they call.
Many of the Copts are employed as secretaries or accountants. In every
village of a moderate size is a “M’allim”[642] who keeps the register of
the taxes. The writing of the Copts differs considerably from that of
the Muslims, as well as from that of other Christians residing in Egypt.
Most of the Copts in Cairo are accountants or tradesmen: the former are
chiefly employed in government offices: among the latter are many
merchants, goldsmiths, silversmiths, jewellers, architects, builders,
and carpenters; all of whom are generally esteemed more skilful than the
Muslims. Those in the villages, like the Muslim peasants, occupy
themselves chiefly in the labours of agriculture.
The funeral-ceremonies of the Copts resemble, in many respects, those of
the Muslims. The corpse is carried in a bier, followed by women, wailing
in the same manner as the Muslim′ehs do on such an occasion; but is not
preceded by hired chanters. Hired wailing-women are employed to lament
in the house of the deceased for three days after the death (though this
custom is disapproved of by the clergy and many others; being only a
relic of ancient heathen usages): and they renew their lamentations
there on the seventh and fourteenth days after the death; and sometimes
several weeks after. The Copts, both men and women, pay regular visits
to the tombs of their relations three times in the year: on the ’Eed
el-Meelád, ’Eed el-Gheetás, and ’Eed el-Kiyámeh. They go to the
burial-ground on the eve of each of these ’eeds; and there pass the
night; having houses belonging to them in the cemeteries, for their
reception on these occasions: the women spend the night in the upper
apartments; and the men below. In the morning following, they kill a
buffalo, or a sheep, if they can afford either; and give its flesh, with
bread, to the poor who assemble there: or they give bread alone. This
ceremony, which resembles the “kaffárah” performed by the Muslims on the
burial of their dead, is not considered as any expiation of the sins of
the deceased; but probably originates from an ancient expiatory
sacrifice: it is only regarded as an alms. As soon as it is done, the
mourners return home. They say that they visit the tombs merely for the
sake of religious reflection. In doing so, they perpetuate an ancient
custom, which they find difficult to relinquish; though they can give no
good reason for observing it with such ceremonies.
I shall close this account of the Copts with a few notices of their
history under the Muslim domination, derived from El-Makreezee’s
celebrated work on Egypt and its Metropolis.[643]
About seventy years after the conquest of Egypt by the Arabs, the Copts
began to experience such exactions and persecutions, notwithstanding the
chartered favours and privileges which had at first been granted to
them, that many of them rose in arms, and attempted to defend their
rights; but they were reduced, after sustaining a great slaughter. The
monks, for the first time, had been subjected to an annual tribute of a
deenár[644] each. The collector of the tribute branded the hand of each
monk whom he could find with a stamp of iron; and afterwards cut off the
hand of every person of this order whom he detected without the mark;
and exacted ten deenárs from every other Christian who had not a billet
from the government to certify his having paid his tribute. Many Monks
were subsequently found without the mark: some of these were beheaded,
and the rest beaten until they died under the blows: their churches were
demolished; and their crosses and pictures destroyed. This took place in
the year of the Flight 104 (A.D. 722-3), at the close of the reign of
the Khaleefeh Yezeed Ibn-’Abd-El-Melik. A few years after, in the reign
of the successor of this prince (Hishám), Handhal′ah Ibn-Safwán, the
Governor of Egypt, caused the hand of every Copt to be branded with an
iron stamp bearing the figure of a lion, and greatly aggravated their
misery: so that many of those residing in the provinces again rebelled,
and had recourse to arms; but in vain; and a terrible persecution
followed.
From the period of the conquest until the reign of Hishám, the Jacobites
(or almost all the Copts) were in possession of all the churches in
Egypt; and sent their bishops to the Nubians, who consequently abandoned
the Melekite creed, and adopted that of the Jacobites; but in the reign
of this Khaleefeh, the Melekites, by means of a present, obtained the
restoration of those churches which had formerly belonged to them:
these, however, soon after returned to the possession of the Jacobites;
and in aftertimes, were now the property of one sect, and now of the
other, being purchased by presents or services to the government.
It would be tiresome to detail all the troubles of the Copts under the
tyranny of Muslim princes; but some particulars in the history of the
persecutions which they endured in the earlier ages of the Arab
domination may be here mentioned. The Copts are a people of indomitable
presumption and intrigue; which qualities render them very difficult to
be governed. They have often incurred severe oppression by their own
folly; though they have more frequently been victims of unmerited
persecution under tyrannical rulers, and through the influence of
private fanatics.[645]
In the year of the Flight 235 (A.D. 849-50), the Khaleefeh El-Mutawekkil
ordered several degrading distinctions to be adopted in the dress of the
Copts: the men were obliged to wear “honey-coloured” (or light brown)
hooded cloaks, with other peculiar articles of dress; and the women,
garments of the same colour: and they were compelled to place wooden
figures (or pictures) of devils at (or upon) the doors of their houses.
One of the bitterest persecutions that they ever endured, and one which
was attributed to their pride, and their display of wealth, and
contemptuous treatment of Muslims, befell them during the reign of that
impious wretch the Khaleefeh El-Hákim, who acceded to the throne in the
year of the Flight 386 (A.D. 996-7), and was killed in 411. Among the
minor grievances which he inflicted upon them, was that of compelling
them to wear a wooden cross, of the weight of five pounds, suspended to
the neck, and garments and turbans of a deep black colour. This seems to
have been the origin of the black turban worn by so many of the
Christians in the present day. As the distinguishing dress and banners
of the Khaleefehs of Egypt were white, black, which was the colour that
distinguished their rivals, the ’Abbásees, was, in their eyes, the most
hateful and ignominious hue that they could choose for the dresses of
the despised Copts. I find no earlier mention than this of the black
turban of the Christians of Egypt. At the same time that the Copts were
compelled thus to distinguish themselves, the Jews were ordered to wear
a round piece of wood, of the same weight as the crosses of the
Christians, and suspended in the same manner. All the churches were
given up to be destroyed and plundered, with all the property
appertaining to them; and many of them were replaced by mosques.
Finally, a sentence of banishment to Greece was pronounced against all
the Christians of Egypt, and the Jews; but so strong was the love which
they bore to their native country amid all their miseries, and so much
were they actuated by that common but absurd disposition, which most
sects possess, of hating most bitterly those differing least from them
in faith, that a multitude of Copts thronged round the great palace of
the Khaleefeh, and implored and obtained a revokement of this sentence.
Many Copts, during this and other persecutions, embraced the faith of
El-Islám.
In the month of Regeb, 700 (A.D. 1301), happened an event which, for the
first time, as well as I can learn, occasioned the Copts to be
distinguished by the _blue_ turban, as they mostly are at present. A
Maghrab′ee ambassador, approaching the Citadel (of Cairo), saw a man
handsomely attired, wearing a white turban, and riding a mare, with many
attendants walking by his stirrups, paying him great honours, asking
favours of him, and even kissing his feet; while he turned aside from
them, and repulsed them, calling to his servants to drive them away. The
Maghrab′ee, informed that this person was a Christian, was so enraged
that he was about to lay violent hands upon him; but he refrained, and,
ascending to the deewán in the Citadel, related to some of the Emeers
there present what he had just seen, with tears in his eyes, drawn by
his pity for the Muslims. In consequence of his complaint, the chief
persons among the Christians and Jews were summoned to the deewán: and
orders were given that the Christians should wear blue turbans, and
waist-belts; and the Jews, yellow turbans: and that no person of either
of these sects should ride horses or mules. Many Christians, it is
added, embraced El-Islám rather than wear the blue turban.
On Friday, the 9th of Rabeea el-A′khir, 721 (A.D. 1321), in the reign of
Mohammad Ibn-Kalaoon, all the principal churches throughout Egypt, from
Aswán to the Mediterranean, sixty in number, and twenty-one of these in
the metropolis and its neighbourhood, were destroyed through a plot
formed by some fanatic Muslims. This havoc was accomplished chiefly
during the period of the congregational prayers of the Muslims, at noon.
At the close of the prayers of the Sultán and his court, in the mosque
of the Citadel, a man, in a state of apparent frenzy, cried out in the
midst of the congregation, “Destroy ye the church which is in the
Citadel!” Another man, a fakeer, in the great mosque El-Azhar, before
the appearance of the Khateeb (or Preacher), seemed to be affected by an
involuntary trembling, and cried out, “Destroy ye the churches of the
presumptuous and infidels! Yea, God is most great! God give victory and
aid!” Then he shook himself, and cried, “To the foundations! To the
foundations!” Some members of the congregation said, “This is a madman:”
others said, “This is an indication of some event.” On their going out
of the mosque, they saw that the act which he had urged had been
commenced: numbers of persons were pressing along the streets with the
plunder of the churches, many of which were reduced to mere mounds of
rubbish. The Sultán threatened a general massacre of the people of
El-Káhireh (now Masr, or Cairo) and El-Fustát (or Old Masr) for this
outrage; but was diverted from his purpose by the revenge which the
Christians exacted. Refraining from the execution of their plot for the
space of a month, that they might be less liable to suspicion, they set
fire, on different days, to a vast number of mosques, houses of Emeers,
and private dwellings, both in El-Káhireh and El-Fustát. Several of the
incendiaries were detected; and some burnt alive; and a number of
Muslims also were put to death, most of them hanged, along the principal
street leading from the southern gate of the city of El-Káhireh to the
Citadel, ostensibly for insulting an Emeer, whom they accused of
favouring the Christians; though there was no proof that they were the
persons who committed this offence: they had been arrested without
discrimination, to atone for the injury, and to be made examples to
their fellow-citizens. The Sultán, however, alarmed by the clamours of a
tremendous mob, was afterwards constrained to grant licence to his
Muslim subjects to plunder and murder every Christian whom they might
chance to meet. The Christians at that time had reverted to the habit of
wearing the white turban; and the Sultán caused it to be proclaimed,
that every person of this sect, who was seen wearing a white turban, or
riding a horse, might be plundered and killed; that they should wear the
blue turban; that they should not ride horses nor mules, but only asses,
and with their face to the animal’s tail; and should not enter a bath
unless with a bell suspended to the neck. At the same time, the Emeers
were forbidden to take any Christians into their service; and all of
this sect who were in the service of the government were displaced.
After having suffered frequent and heavy exactions and other
oppressions, a vast number of the Christians both in Upper and Lower
Egypt, in the year of the Flight 755 (A.D. 1354-5), embraced the faith
of El-Islám. The number of proselytes in the town of Kalyoob alone, who
changed their faith in one day, was four hundred and fifty. Most of the
churches of Upper Egypt were destroyed at the same time; and mosques
were built in their places.
From the period just mentioned, the Copts continued subject to more or
less oppression, until the accession of the present Básha of Egypt,
under whose tolerant though severe sway nothing more is exacted from the
Christian than the Muslim, excepting an inconsiderable tribute, which is
more than balanced by a remarkable immunity, not conferred by favour (it
is true), but not on that account the less valued and envied; I mean the
exemption from military service.
II.—THE JEWS OF EGYPT.
The Jews, in every country in which they are dispersed (unlike any other
collective class of people residing in a country which is not their own
by inheritance from the original possessors, or by conquest achieved by
themselves or their ancestors), form permanent members of the community
among whom they dwell: a few words respecting the Jews in Egypt will
therefore be not inappropriate in the present work.
There are in this country about five thousand Jews (in Arabic, called
“Yahood;” singular, “Yahoodee”), most of whom reside in the metropolis,
in a miserable, close, and dirty quarter, intersected by lanes, many of
which are so narrow as hardly to admit of two persons passing each other
in them.
In features, and in the general expression of countenance, the Oriental
Jews differ less from other Eastern nations than do those in European
countries from the people among whom they live. Many of the Egyptian
Jews have sore eyes, and a bloated complexion; the result, it is
supposed, of their making an immoderate use of the oil of sesame in
their food. In their dress, as well as in their persons, they are
generally slovenly and dirty. The colours of their turbans are the same
as those of the Christian subjects. Their women veil themselves, and
dress in every respect, in public, like the other women of Egypt.
The Jews have eight synagogues in their quarter in Cairo; and not only
enjoy religious toleration, but are under a less oppressive government
in Egypt than in any other country of the Turkish empire. In Cairo, they
pay for the exemption of their quarter from the visits of the Mohtes′ib;
and they did the same also with respect to the Wálee, as long as his
office existed. Being consequently privileged to sell articles of
provision at higher prices than the other inhabitants of the metropolis,
they can afford to purchase such things at higher rates, and therefore
stock their shops with provisions, and especially fruits, of better
qualities than are to be found in other parts of the town. Like the
Copts, and for a like reason, the Jews pay tribute, and are exempted
from military service.
They are held in the utmost contempt and abhorrence by the Muslims in
general; and are said to bear a more inveterate hatred than any other
people to the Muslims and the Muslim religion. It is said, in the
Kur-án,[646] “Thou shall surely find the most violent of [all] men in
enmity to those who have believed [to be] the Jews, and those who have
attributed partners to God; and thou shall surely find the most
inclinable of them to [entertain] friendship to those who have believed
[to be] those who say, We are Christians.” On my mentioning to a Muslim
friend this trait in the character of the Jews, he related to me, in
proof of what I remarked, an event which had occurred a few days
before.—“A Jew,” said he, “early one morning last week, was passing by a
coffee-shop kept by a Muslim with whom he was acquainted, named
Mohammad. Seeing a person standing there, and supposing that it was the
master of the shop (for it was yet dusk), he said, ‘Good morning, sheykh
Mohammad;’ but the only answer he received to his salutation was a
furious rebuke for thus addressing a _Jew_, by a name the most odious,
to a person of that sect, of any that could be uttered. He (the
offender) was dragged before his high-priest, who caused him to receive
a severe bastinading for the alleged offence, in spite of his protesting
that it was unintentional.” It is a common saying among the Muslims in
this country, “Such a one hates me with the hate of the Jews.” We cannot
wonder, then, that the Jews are detested by the Muslims far more than
are the Christians. Not long ago, they used often to be jostled in the
streets of Cairo, and sometimes beaten merely for passing on the right
hand of a Muslim. At present, they are less oppressed; but still they
scarcely ever dare to utter a word of abuse when reviled or beaten
unjustly by the meanest Arab or Turk; for many a Jew has been put to
death upon a false and malicious accusation of uttering disrespectful
words against the Kur-án or the Prophet. It is common to hear an Arab
abuse his jaded ass, and, after applying to him various opprobrious
epithets, end by calling the beast a Jew.
A Jew has often been sacrificed to save a Muslim, as happened in the
following case.—A Turkish soldier, having occasion to change some money,
received from the seyrefee (or money-changer), who was a Muslim, some
Turkish coins called ’adleeyehs, reckoned at sixteen piasters each.
These he offered to a shopkeeper, in payment for some goods; but the
latter refused to allow him more than fifteen piasters to the ’adleeyeh;
telling him that the Básha had given orders, many days before, that this
coin should no longer pass for sixteen. The soldier took back the
’adleeyehs to the seyrefee, and demanded an additional piaster to each;
which was refused: he therefore complained to the Básha himself, who,
enraged that his orders had been disregarded, sent for the seyrefee.
This man confessed that he had been guilty of an offence; but
endeavoured to palliate it by asserting that almost every money-changer
in the city had done the same, and that he received ’adleeyehs at the
same rate. The Básha, however, disbelieving him, or thinking it
necessary to make a public example, gave a signal with his hand,
intimating that the delinquent should be beheaded. The interpreter of
the court, moved with compassion for the unfortunate man, begged the
Básha to spare his life. “This man,” said he, “has done no more than all
the money changers of the city: I, myself, no longer ago than yesterday,
received ’adleeyehs at the same rate.” “From whom?” exclaimed the Básha,
“From a Jew,” answered the interpreter, “with whom I have transacted
business for many years.” The Jew was brought, and sentenced to be
hanged; while the Muslim was pardoned. The interpreter, in the greatest
distress of mind, pleaded earnestly for the life of the poor Jew: but
the Básha was inexorable: it was necessary that an example should be
made; and it was deemed better to take the life of a Jew than that of a
more guilty Muslim. I saw the wretched man hanging at a window of a
public fountain which forms part of a mosque in the main street of the
city.[647] One end of the rope being passed over one of the upper bars
of the grated window, he was hauled up; and as he hung close against the
window, he was enabled, in some slight degree, to support himself by his
feet against the lower bars; by which his suffering was dreadfully
protracted. His relations offered large sums of money for his pardon;
but the only favour they could purchase was that of having his face
turned towards the window, so as not to be seen by the passengers. He
was a man much respected by all who knew him (Muslims, of course,
excepted); and he left a family in a very destitute state; but the
interpreter who was the unintending cause of his death contributed to
their support.
The Jews in Egypt generally lead a very quiet life: indeed, they find
few but persons of their own sect who will associate with them. Their
diet is extremely gross; but they are commonly regarded as a sober
people. The more wealthy among them dress handsomely at home; but put on
a plain or even shabby dress before they go out: and though their houses
have a mean and dirty appearance from without, many of them contain fine
and well-furnished rooms. In the house they are not so strict as most
other Orientals in concealing their women from strange men, or, at
least, from persons of their own nation, and from Franks: it often
happens that a European visitor is introduced into an apartment where
the women of the Jew’s family are sitting unveiled, and is waited upon
by these women. The same custom also prevails among many of the Syrian
Christians residing in Cairo. Intrigues are said to be common with the
Jewesses; but there are no avowed courtesans among them. The condition
of the lower orders is very wretched; many of them having no other means
of subsistence than alms bestowed upon them by their superiors of the
same sect.
Avarice is more particularly a characteristic of the Jews in Egypt than
of those in other countries where they are less oppressed. They are
careful, by every means in their power, to avoid the suspicion of being
possessed of much wealth. It is for this reason that they make so shabby
a figure in public, and neglect the exterior appearance of their houses.
They are generally strict in the performance of their religious
ordinances; and, though over-reaching in commercial transactions, are
honest in the fulfilment of their contracts.
Many of the Egyptian Jews are “sarráfs” (or bankers and money-lenders):
others are seyrefees, and are esteemed men of strict probity. Some are
goldsmiths or silversmiths; and others pursue the trades of retail
grocers or fruiterers, etc. A few of the more wealthy are general
merchants.
III.—OF LATE INNOVATIONS IN EGYPT.
THE exaggerated reports which have been spread in Europe respecting late
innovations, and the general advance of civilization, in Egypt, induce
me to add a few lines on these subjects. European customs have not yet
begun to spread among the Egyptians themselves; but they probably will
ere long; and in the expectation that this will soon be the case, I have
been most anxious to become well acquainted (before it be too late to
make the attempt) with a state of society which has existed, and excited
a high degree of interest, for many centuries, and which many persons
have deemed almost immutable.
The account which I have given of the present state of the government of
this country shows how absurd is the assertion, that Egypt possesses a
legislative assembly that can, with any degree of propriety, be called
representative of the people. The will of the Básha is almost absolute;
but he has certainly effected a great reform, by the introduction of
European military and naval tactics, the results of which have already
been considerable, and will be yet more extensive, and, in most
respects, desirable. Already it has removed a great portion of that
weight of prejudice which has so long prevented the Turks from
maintaining their relative rank among the nations of the civilized
world: by convincing them that one of our branches of science and
practice is so far superior to that to which they were accustomed, it
has made them in general willing, if not desirous, to learn what more we
are able to teach them. One of its effects already manifest might be
regarded by an unreflecting mind as of no importance; but is considered
by the philosophical Muslim as awfully portentous, and hailed by the
Christian as an omen of the brightest promise. The Turks have been led
to imitate us in our luxuries: several of the more wealthy began by
adopting the use of the knife and fork: the habit of openly drinking
wine immediately followed; and has become common among a great number of
the higher officers of the government. That a remarkable indifference to
religion is indicated by this innovation is evident; and the principles
of the dominant class will doubtless spread (though they have not yet
done so) among the inferior members of the community. The former have
begun to undermine the foundations of El-Islám: the latter as yet seem
to look on with apathy, or at least with resignation to the decrees of
Providence; but they will probably soon assist in the work; and the
overthrow of the whole fabric may reasonably be expected to ensue at a
period not very remote.
The acquisition of a powerful empire, independent of the Porte, appears
to have been the grand, and almost the sole, object of the present Básha
of Egypt. He has introduced many European sciences, arts, and
manufactures; but all in furtherance of this project; for his new
manufactures have impoverished his people. He has established a printing
office; but the works which have issued from it are almost solely
intended for the instruction of his military, naval, and civil
servants.[648] A newspaper is printed at another press, in the Citadel:
its paragraphs, however, are seldom on any other subject than the
affairs of the government. It is in Turkish and Arabic. Sometimes, three
numbers of it appear in a week: at other times, only one is published in
a month.[649]
I have candidly stated my opinion, that the policy of Mohammad ’Alee is
in several respects erroneous; and that his people are severely
oppressed: but the circumstances in which he has been placed offer large
excuses for his severity. To judge of his character fairly, we should
compare him with another Turkish reformer, his [late] nominal sovereign,
the Sultán Mahmood. In every point of view, he has shown his superiority
to the latter; and especially in the discipline of his forces. While the
Sultán was more closely imitating us in trivial matters (as, for
instance, in the new military dress which he introduced), Mohammad ’Alee
aimed at, and attained, more important objects.[650] When we would
estimate his character by the massacre of the Memlooks, a fact most
painful to reflect upon, we should admit that he had recourse to this
horrid expedient for a most desirable end; and may at the same time
place in the opposite scale the asylum which he granted to the Greek
refugees when the blood of their countrymen ran in the gutters of
Constantinople.
Since the publication of the previous editions of this work, events have
occurred which will doubtless occasion still more important changes in
Egypt. Many changes in its government have, indeed, already been made;
but the country is still in a state of transition; and under such
circumstances, I can only express a hope, that Mohammad ’Alee, knowing
his true interests, and acting upon those sentiments which he has
frequently avowed, of anxiety for the welfare of his people, and for the
general improvement of his territories, will fulfil those expectations
which his numerous admirers have so often and so strongly expressed. It
is difficult even to form a just estimate of the general conduct of
Mohammad ’Alee in _past_ times, since the commencement of his career in
Egypt, on account of the secrecy which is maintained in the East in the
most important political affairs: this, however, may be said with
certainty—the people whom he governs have been greatly impoverished
under his rule; but they have exchanged anarchy for tranquillity, and
undisguised fanaticism for an affected toleration; while many of them
have been instructed in sciences and arts which must eventually be
highly beneficial to the nation at large.
-----
Footnote 634:
Καθαριότητος εἵνεκεν. Compare the account given by Herodotus of the
habits of the priests of ancient Egypt: lib. ii., cap. 37.
Footnote 635:
I have neglected to write the name of this appendage; but if my memory
do not deceive me, I was told that it is termed “kalás’weh,” which
word seems to be a corruption of “kalensuweh.” Mengin calls it
“kaloucyeh” (“Hist. de l’Egypte sous Mohammed-Aly,” tome ii., p. 290).
Footnote 636:
Mengin, _ubi supra_, pp. 284-289.
Footnote 637:
This has been shown by Quatremère, in his “Researches on the Language
and Literature of Egypt.”
Footnote 638:
They chant nearly in the same manner as the Muslims reciting the
Kur-án.
Footnote 639:
Acts xv. 20 and 29.
Footnote 640:
The ball and bird are called “el-kubbeh wa-t-teyr.” It is said that
the Muslims of Egypt, on some occasions, as on the inauguration of a
Sultán, used to observe the custom here described; but this appears to
be an error, arising from a misunderstanding of the term “el-kubbeh
wa-t-teyr” applied by historians to an umbrella surmounted by the
figure of a bird, which was borne over the head of a Sultán in certain
pompous processions.
Footnote 641:
The custom mentioned by Burckhardt, in his Arabic Proverbs, page 117,
as prevailing “among the lower classes of Muslims at Cairo,” is
observed by the Copts.
Footnote 642:
Thus pronounced for “Mo’allim.” It signifies “teacher” or “master;”
and is a title given to all Copts but those of the poorer class, or
peasants. The registrar of the taxes of a village is simply called
“the M’allim of the village.”
Footnote 643:
If the reader desire further and fuller details on this subject, he
may consult Et. Quatremère’s ‘Mémoires Géogr. et Hist. sur l’Egypte,’
tome ii., pp. 220-266.
Footnote 644:
Equivalent (at that period) to about thirteen shillings, or, as some
say, a little more than half a guinea.
Footnote 645:
It should be observed here, that the cases alluded to form exceptions
to the general toleration exhibited by the Muslims; and that the Copts
who have been converted to El-Islám by oppression have been few in
comparison with those who have changed their religion voluntarily.
Many have done this through love of Muslim women.
Footnote 646:
Chap. v., ver. 85.
Footnote 647:
It is surprising that Muslims should hang a _Jew_ against a window of
a _mosque_, when they consider him so unclean a creature that his
blood would defile the sword. For this reason a Jew, in Egypt, is
never beheaded.
Footnote 648:
I have transmitted a list of these works to the Royal Asiatic Society.
Footnote 649:
One of the less important acts of Mohammad ’Alee I should mention, as
it is one which renders my description of the streets and shops of
Cairo not altogether applicable to their present state. He has lately
caused the mastab′ahs in most of the thoroughfare-streets to be pulled
down, and only allowed them to be rebuilt in the wider parts,
generally to the width of about two spans. At the same time, he has
obliged the tradesmen to paint their shops, and to remove the
unsightly “sakeefehs” (or coverings) of matting which shaded many of
the sooks; prohibiting the replacing of them unless by coverings of
wood. Cairo has, in consequence, lost much of its Arabian aspect.
Footnote 650:
The dress worn by the military and some other officers of the Básha of
Egypt is still quite Turkish in everything but the want of the turban,
which is now worn by few of those persons, and only in winter; the red
cap alone, over which the muslin or Kashmeer shawl used always to be
wound, being at present the regular head-dress. The trousers are very
full from the waist to a little below the knee, overhanging a pair of
tight leggings which form parts of them. A tight vest (the sleeves of
which are divided from the wrist nearly to the elbow, but generally
buttoned at this part), a girdle, a jacket with hanging sleeves,
socks, and a pair of red shoes, complete the outward dress generally
worn: but the jacket is sometimes made with sleeves like those of the
vest above described, and the vest without sleeves; and black European
shoes are worn by some persons. The sword is now hung in our manner,
by a waist-belt. The dress of the private soldiers consists of a vest
and trousers (the latter similar to those above described, but not so
full), of a kind of coarse red serge, or, in summer, of white cotton,
with the girdle, red cap, and red shoes.
----------------------------
APPENDIX A.
FEMALE ORNAMENTS.
The ornaments of the women of Egypt are so various, that a description
of them all would far exceed the limits which the nature of this work
allows, and would require a great number of engravings, or be useless. I
shall, however, describe all the principal kinds; and these will convey
some idea of the rest. If the subject be not interesting to general
readers, it may at least be of some use to artists, who are often left
almost entirely to their own imagination in representing Arabian
costumes and ornaments. I first describe those which are worn by
_ladies_, and females of the _middle orders_.
The head-dress has already been mentioned, as composed of a “tarboosh”
and “faroodeeyeh” (or kerchief), which latter, when wound round the
former, is called “rabtah.” The front part of the rabtah is often
ornamented with spangles of gilt or plain silver, disposed in fanciful
patterns; and in this case, the rabtah itself is generally of black or
rose-coloured muslin or crape, and always plain. The more common kinds
of rabtah have been described.
The “mizágee” is an ornament very generally worn. It is composed of a
strip of muslin, most commonly black or rose-coloured, folded together
several times, so as to form a narrow band, about the breadth of a
finger, or less. Its length is about five feet. The central part, for
the space of about twelve or thirteen inches, is ornamented with
spangles, which are placed close together, or in the form of diamonds,
etc., or of bosses; and at each end, for about the same length, are a
few other spangles, with an edging, and small tassels, of
various-coloured silks. Sometimes there is also a similar edging, with
spangles suspended to it, along the lower edge of the ornamented part in
the middle. The mizágee is bound round the head; the ornamented central
part being over the forehead, generally above the edge of the rabtah; it
is tied behind, at the upper part of the rabtah, and the ornamented
ends, drawn forward, hang over the bosom.
[Illustration: DIAMOND KURS.]
The “kurs” is a round, convex ornament, commonly about five inches in
diameter, which is very generally worn by ladies. It is sewed upon the
crown of the tarboosh. There are two kinds. The first that I shall
describe (the only kind that is worn by ladies, or by the wives of
tradesmen of moderate property) is the “kurs almás,” or diamond kurs.
This is composed of diamonds, set generally in gold; and is of open
work, representing roses, leaves, etc. The diamonds are commonly of a
very poor and shallow kind; and the gold of this and all other diamond
ornaments worn in Egypt is much alloyed with copper. The value of a
moderately handsome diamond kurs is about a hundred and twenty-five or a
hundred and fifty pounds sterling. It is very seldom made of silver; and
I think that those of gold, when attached to the deep-red tarboosh, have
a richer effect, though not in accordance with our general taste. The
wives even of petty tradesmen sometimes wear the diamond kurs: they are
extremely fond of diamonds, and generally endeavour to get some, however
bad. The kurs, being of considerable weight, is at first painful to
wear; and women who are in the habit of wearing it complain of headache
when they take it off: hence they retain it day and night; but some have
an inferior one for the bed. Some ladies have one for ordinary wearing;
another for particular occasions, a little larger and handsomer; and a
third merely to wear in bed.—The other kind of kurs, “kurs dahab” (or,
of gold), is a convex plate of very thin embossed gold, usually of the
form represented above; and almost always with a false emerald (a piece
of green glass), not cut with facets, set in the centre. Neither the
emerald nor the ruby is here cut with facets: if so cut, they would
generally be considered false. The simple gold kurs is lined with a
thick coat of wax, which is covered with a piece of paper. It is worn by
many women who cannot afford to purchase diamonds; and even by some
servants.
The kussah is an ornament generally from seven to eight inches in
length, composed of diamonds set in gold, and sometimes with emeralds,
rubies, and pearls; having drops of diamonds or emeralds, etc.,
suspended to it. It is worn on the front of the rabtah, attached by
little hooks at the back. I have seen several kussahs of diamonds, etc.,
set in silver instead of gold. The kussah is generally placed on the
head of a bride, outside her shawl covering, as also is the kurs; and
these ornaments are likewise employed to decorate the bier of a female.
The former, like the latter, is worn by females of the higher and middle
classes.
[Illustration: GOLD KURS.]
“’Enebeh” is another name for the same kind of ornament, worn in the
same manner. If of full size, it is fourteen or fifteen inches in
length, and rather more than half encircles the head-dress.
The “shawáteh” (in the singular, “sháteh”) are two ornaments, each
consisting of three or more strings of pearls, about the length of the
kussah, with a pierced emerald uniting them in the centre, like the
usual pearl necklace hereafter described: or they are composed of pearls
arranged in the manner of a narrow lace, and often with the addition of
a few small emeralds. They are attached to the rabtah in the form of two
festoons, one on each side of the head, from the extremity of the kussah
to the back part of the head-dress, or, sometimes, to the ear-ring.
Instead of the kussah and shawáteh, and sometimes in addition to them,
are worn some other ornaments which I proceed to describe.
The “reesheh” (literally, “feather”) is a sprig of diamonds set in gold
or silver. It is worn on the front or side of the head-dress.
The “hilál” is a crescent of diamonds set in gold or silver, and worn
like the reesheh. In form it resembles the phasis of the moon when
between two and three nights old; its width being small, and its outward
edge not more than half a circle.
[Illustration: 1. KUSSAH; 2. ’ENEBEH; the former, half, and the latter,
one-third, of the real size.]
The “kamarah” (or moon) is an ornament formed of a thin plate of gold,
embossed with fanciful work, and sometimes with Arabic words, and having
about seven little flat pieces of gold, called “bark,” attached to the
lower part; or it is composed of gold with diamonds, rubies, etc. Two
specimens of the former kind are here represented. One of these consists
of three kamarahs connected together, to be worn on the front of the
head-dress: the central contains the words “Yá Káfee Yá Sháfee” (O
Sufficient! O Restorer to health!): that on the left, “Yá Háfiz” (O
Preserver!): that on the right, “Yá Emeen” (O Trustworthy!): these,
therefore, are charms as well as ornaments.
[Illustration:
1 AND 2. KAMARAHS. 3. SÁKIYEH. 4. ’OOD ES-SALEEB. 5 AND 6. MISHTS.
7. ’AKEEK. 8. BELLOOR. Each, half the real size.
]
The “sákiyeh” (or water-wheel), so called from its form, is a circular
flat ornament of gold filigree-work, with small pearls, and with a
diamond or other precious stone in the centre, and bark and emeralds
suspended from the lower part. It is worn in the same manner as the
kamarah, or with the latter ornament.
The “’ood es-saleeb” (or wood of the cross) is a kind of ornament
undoubtedly borrowed from the Christians; and it is surprising that
Mohammadan women should wear it, and give it this appellation. It is a
little round and slender piece of wood, rather smaller towards the
extremities than in the middle, enclosed in a case of gold, of the same
form, composed of two pieces which unite in the middle, having two
chains and a hook by which to suspend it, and a row of bark along the
bottom. It is worn in the place of, or with, the two ornaments just
before described.
The “misht” (or comb) is a little comb of gold, worn in the same manner
as the three kinds of ornament described next before this, and generally
with one or more of those ornaments. It is suspended by small chains and
a hook, having four or five bark attached.
There is also an ornament somewhat similar to those just mentioned,
composed of a carnelian, or a piece of crystal or of colourless glass,
set in gold, suspended by two chains and a hook, and having bark
attached to the bottom. The former kind is called “’akeek” (which
signifies “carnelian”), and the latter, “belloor” (“crystal”).
Several ornaments in the shapes of flowers, butterflies, etc., are also
worn upon the head-dress; but seldom alone.
Of ear-rings (“halak”) there is a great variety. Some of the more usual
kinds are here represented. The first is of diamonds set in silver. It
consists of a drop suspended within a wreath hanging from a sprig. The
back of the silver is gilt, to prevent its being tarnished by
perspiration. The specimen here given is that for the right ear: its
fellow is similar; but with the sprig reversed. This pair of ear-rings
is suited for a lady of wealth.—So also is the second, which resembles
the former, excepting that it has a large pearl in the place of the
diamond drop and wreath, and that the diamonds of the sprig are set in
gold. No. 3 is a side view of the same.—The next consists of gold, and
an emerald pierced through the middle, with a small diamond above the
emerald. Emeralds are generally pierced in Egypt, and spoiled by this
process as much as by not being cut with facets.—The last is of gold,
with a small ruby in the centre. The ruby is set in fine filigree-work,
which is surrounded by fifteen balls of gold. To the seven lower balls
are suspended as many circular bark.
[Illustration: EAR-RINGS—each, half the real size.]
The necklace (“’ekd”) is another description of ornament of which the
Egyptians have a great variety; but almost all of them are similar in
the following particulars. 1st. The beads, etc., of which they are
composed are, altogether, not more than ten inches in length; so that
they would not entirely encircle the neck if tied quite tight, which is
never done: the string extends about six or seven inches beyond each
extremity of the series of beads; and when the necklace is tied in the
usual manner, there is generally a space of three inches or more between
these extremities; but the plaits of hair conceal these parts of the
string. 2dly. There is generally, in the centre, one bead or other
ornament (and sometimes there are three, or five, or seven) differing in
size, form, material, or colour, from the others.—The necklaces mostly
worn by ladies are of diamonds or pearls.—In the annexed engraving, the
first necklace is of diamonds set in gold.—The second consists of
several strings of pearls, with a pierced flattish emerald in the
centre. Most of the pearl necklaces are of this description.—The third
is called “libbeh.” It is composed of hollow gold beads, with a bead of
a different kind (sometimes of a precious stone, and sometimes of coral)
in the centre. This and the following are seldom worn by any but females
of the middle and lower orders.—The fourth is called, from its peculiar
form, “sha’eer” (which signifies “barley”). It is composed of hollow
gold. I give a side view (A) and a back view (B) of one of the
appendages of this necklace.—There is also a long kind of necklace,
reaching to the girdle, and composed of diamonds or other precious
stones, which is called “kiládeh.” Some women form a long necklace of
this kind with Venetian sequins, or Turkish or Egyptian gold coins.
[Illustration: NECKLACES—each, half the real size.]
The finger-rings (“khátims”) differ so little from those common among
ourselves, excepting in the clumsiness of their workmanship, and the
badness of the jewels, that I need not describe them. A finger-ring
without a stone is called “debleh,” or “dibleh.”
[Illustration: BRACELETS—each, half the real size.]
Bracelets (“asáwir”) are of diamonds or other precious stones set in
gold, or of pearls, or of gold alone. The more common kinds are
represented in an engraving here inserted.—No. 1 is a side view of a
diamond bracelet, with a front view of a portion of the same.—No. 2 is
the most fashionable kind of gold bracelet, which is formed of a simple
twist.—No. 3 is a very common, but less fashionable kind of bracelet of
twisted gold.—No. 4 is also of gold.—These bracelets of gold are pulled
open a little to be put on the wrist. They are generally made of fine
Venetian gold, which is very flexible.
The ornaments of the _hair_ I shall next describe.—It has been
mentioned, that all the hair of the head, excepting a little over the
forehead and temples, is arranged in plaits, or braids, which hang down
the back. These plaits are generally from eleven to twenty-five in
number; but always of an uneven number: eleven is considered a scanty
number: thirteen and fifteen are more common. Three times the number of
black silk strings (three to each plait of hair, and each three united
at the top), from sixteen to eighteen inches in length, are braided with
the hair for about a quarter of their length; or they are attached to a
lace or band of black silk which is bound round the head, and in this
case hang entirely separate from the plaits of hair, which they almost
conceal. These strings are called “keytáns;” and together with certain
ornaments of gold, etc., the more common of which are here represented,
compose what is termed the “safa.”[651] Along each string, excepting
from the upper extremity to about a quarter or (at most) a third of its
length, are generally attached nine or more of the little flat ornaments
of gold called “bark.” These are commonly all of the same form, and
about an inch, or a little more, apart; but those of each string are
purposely placed so as not exactly to correspond with those of the
others. The most usual forms of bark are Nos. 1 and 2 of the specimens
given on p. 529. At the end of each string is a small gold tube, called
“másoorah,” about three-eighths of an inch long, or a kind of gold bead
in the form of a cube with a portion cut off from each angle, called
“habbeh.” Beneath the másoorah or habbeh is a little ring, to which is
most commonly suspended a Turkish gold coin called “Ruba Fenduklee,”
equivalent to nearly 1_s._ 8_d._ of our money, and a little more than
half an inch in diameter. Such is the most general description of safa;
but there are more genteel kinds, in which the habbeh is usually
preferred to the másoorah, and instead of the Ruba Fenduklee is a flat
ornament of gold, called, from its form, “kummetrë,” or “pear.” There
are also other and more approved substitutes for the gold coin; the most
usual of which is called “shiftish′eh,” composed of open gold work, with
a pearl in the centre. Some ladies substitute a little tassel of pearls
for the gold coin; or suspend alternately pearls and emeralds to the
bottom of the triple strings; and attach a pearl with each of the bark.
The safa thus composed with pearls is called “safa loolee.” Coral beads
are also sometimes attached in the same manner as the pearls.—From what
has been said above, it appears that a moderate safa of thirteen plaits
will consist of 39 strings, 351 bark, 39 másoorahs or habbehs, and 39
gold coins or other ornaments; and that a safa of twenty-five plaits,
with twelve bark to each string, will contain no fewer than 900 bark,
and seventy-five of each of the other appendages. The safa appears to me
the prettiest, as well as the most singular, of all the ornaments worn
by the ladies of Egypt. The glittering of the bark, etc., and their
chinking together as the wearer walks, have a peculiarly lively effect.
[Illustration:
1, 2, 3, 4. BARK. 5. MÁSOORAH. 6. HABBEH. 7. SHIFTISH′EH.
Each, half the real size.
]
Anklets (“khulkhál”), of solid gold or silver, and of the form here
sketched, are worn by some ladies; but are more uncommon than they
formerly were. They are of course very heavy, and, knocking together as
the wearer walks, make a ringing noise: hence it is said in a song, “The
ringing of thine anklets has deprived me of my reason.” Isaiah alludes
to this,[652] or perhaps to the sound produced by another kind of anklet
which will be mentioned hereafter.
[Illustration: ANKLETS—one-fourth the real size.]
The only description of ladies’ ornaments that I have yet to describe is
the “hegáb,” or amulet. This is a writing of one or other of the kinds
that I have described in the eleventh chapter, covered with waxed cloth,
to preserve it from accidental pollution, or injury by moisture, and
enclosed in a case of thin embossed gold, or silver, which is attached
to a silk string, or a chain, and generally hung on the right side,
above the girdle; the string or chain being passed over the left
shoulder. Sometimes these cases bear Arabic inscriptions; such as “Má
sháallah” (“What God willeth [cometh to pass]”) and “Yá kadi-l-hágát”
(“O decreer of the things that are needful!”). I insert an engraving of
three hegábs of gold attached to a string, to be worn together. The
central one is a thin, flat case, containing a folded paper: it is about
a third of an inch thick: the others are cylindrical cases, with
hemispherical ends, and contain scrolls: each has a row of bark along
the bottom. Hegábs such as these, or of a triangular form, are worn by
many children, as well as women; and those of the latter form are often
attached to a child’s head-dress.
The ornaments worn by females of the _lower orders_ must now be
described.
[Illustration: HEGÁBS—one-fourth the real size.]
It is necessary, perhaps, to remind the reader, that the head-dress of
these women, with the exception of some of the poor in the villages,
generally consists of an ’asbeh, which has been described in page 40;
and that some wear, instead of this, the tarboosh and faroodeeyeh.
Sometimes, a string of Venetian sequins (which is called “sheddeh
benád’kah”) is worn along the front of the ’asbeh or rabtah. The
tarboosh is also sometimes decorated with the gold kurs and the
faroodeeyeh, with some other ornaments before described, as the gold
kamarahs, sakiyeh, misht, etc.
The “halak,” or ear-rings, are of a great variety of forms. Some are of
gold and precious stones; but the more common, of brass; and many of the
latter have coloured beads attached to them. A few are of silver.
The “khizám,” or nose-ring, commonly called “khuzám,” is worn by a few
of the women of the lower orders in Cairo, and by many of those in the
country towns and villages both of Upper and Lower Egypt. It is most
commonly made of brass; is from an inch to an inch and a half in
diameter; and has usually three or more coloured glass beads, generally
red and blue, attached to it. It is almost always passed through the
right ala of the nose; and hangs partly before the mouth; so that the
wearer is obliged to hold it up with one hand when she puts anything
into her mouth. It is sometimes of gold. This ornament is as ancient as
the time of the patriarch Abraham;[653] and is mentioned by Isaiah[654]
and by Ezekiel.[655] To those who are unaccustomed to the sight of it,
the nose-ring is certainly the reverse of an ornament.
[Illustration: NOSE-RINGS—half the real size.]
The “’ekd,” or necklace, is generally of a style similar to those which
I have already described. I have before mentioned that the libbeh and
sha’eer are worn by some women of the lower orders; but their necklaces
are most commonly composed of coloured glass beads: sometimes, of a
single string; and sometimes, of several strings, with one or more
larger beads in the centre: or they are made in the form of net-work.
The Egyptian women, being excessively fond of ornaments, often wear two
or three necklaces of the value of a penny each, or less. Some necklaces
are composed of large beads of transparent amber.
Another ornament worn by many of them on the neck is a ring, called
“tók,” of silver or brass or pewter. Little girls, also, sometimes wear
this ornament. Some of the smaller tóks are made of iron.
Finger-rings of silver or of brass are almost universally worn. Brass
rings, with pieces of coloured glass set in them, may be purchased in
Cairo for scarcely more than a farthing each; and many women wear two,
three, or more, of these.
The “asáwir,” or bracelets, are of various kinds. Some are of silver;
and some, of brass or copper; and of the same form as those of gold
before described. Those of brass are the more common. There are also
bracelets composed of large amber beads, and others of bone; and there
is a very common kind, called “ghuweyshát,” of opaque, coloured glass,
generally blue or green, but sometimes variegated with other colours.
These, and the bone bracelets, are drawn over the hand.
Some of the women of the lower orders imitate their superiors in
arranging their hair in several plaits, and plaiting, with each of
these, the black silk strings which are worn by the ladies; but it is
the general practice of the women of these classes to divide their hair
into only two tresses behind, and to plait, with each of these tresses,
three red silk strings, each of which has a tassel at the end, and
reaches more than half-way towards the ground; so that they are usually
obliged to draw aside the tassels before they sit down. These appendages
are called “’okoos.”
“Khulkhál,” or anklets of solid silver, already described, are worn by
the wives of some of the richer peasants, and of the sheykhs of
villages; and small khulkháls of iron are worn by many children. It was
also a common custom among the Arabs, for girls or young women to wear a
string of bells on their feet. I have seen many little girls in Cairo
with small round bells attached to their anklets. Perhaps it is to the
sound of ornaments of this kind, rather than that of the more common
anklet, that Isaiah alludes in chapter iii., verse 16.
-----
Footnote 651:
See, again, the engraving on page 36.
Footnote 652:
Chap. iii. ver. 16.
Footnote 653:
See Genesis xxiv. 47, where in our common version, “ear-ring” is
improperly put for “nose-ring.”
Footnote 654:
Chap. iii. ver. 21.
Footnote 655:
Chap. xvi. ver. 12. Here, again, a mistake is made in our common
version, but corrected in the margin.
APPENDIX B.
EGYPTIAN MEASURES, WEIGHTS, AND MONEYS.
Of the measures and weights used in Egypt, I am not able to give an
exact account; for, after diligent search, I have not succeeded in
finding any two specimens of the same denomination perfectly agreeing
with each other, and generally the difference has been very
considerable: but in those cases in which I have given the _minimum_ and
_maximum_, the former may be received as approximating very nearly to
the just equivalent. The tradesmen in Egypt, from fear of the Mohtes′ib,
mostly have measures and weights a little exceeding the true standards,
though stamped by the government, which takes care to have such measures
and weights employed in the purchases which it makes, and equal care, no
doubt, to use those which are more true in selling.
MEASURES OF LENGTH AND LAND.
The “fitr” is the space measured by the extension of the thumb and first
finger.
The “shibr” is the common span, measured by the extension of the thumb
and little finger.
The “diráa beledee” (or “cubit of the country”—the common Egyptian
cubit), which is used for measuring the linen, etc., manufactured in
Egypt, is equal to 22 inches and two-thirds.
The “diráa hindázeh,” chiefly used for measuring Indian goods, is about
25 inches.
The “diráa Istamboolee” (or “cubit of Constantinople”), which is used
for measuring European cloth, etc., is about 26 inches and a half.
The “feddán,” the most common measure of land, was, a few years ago,
equal to about an English acre and one-tenth. It is now less than an
acre. It is divided into “keeráts” (or twenty-fourth parts); and
consists of 333 square “kasabahs” (or rods) and one-third. The kasabah
was 24 “kabdahs;” but is now 22. The kabdah is the measure of a man’s
fist with the thumb erect, or about 6 inches and a quarter.
The “malakah,” or Egyptian league, is a measure of which I have not been
able to obtain any better definition than this:—That it is the distance
between two villages. It is different in Upper and Lower Egypt; as was
the ancient schœnus, with which it nearly corresponds. In Lower Egypt it
is about an hour’s journey, or from 2½ to 3 miles: in Upper Egypt, about
an hour and a half or from 3¾ miles to 4½, or even more.
CORN MEASURES.
The “ardebb” is equivalent, very nearly, to five English bushels.
The “weybeh” is the sixth of an ardebb.
The “ruba” is the fourth of a weybeh.
WEIGHTS.
The “kamhah” (or grain of wheat) is the 64th part of a dirhem, or fourth
of a keerát; about three-quarters of an English grain.
The “habbeh” (or grain of barley) is the 48th part of a dirhem, or third
of a keerát; equal to 127୵128 of an English grain, or in commerce fully
equal to an English grain.
The “keerát” (or carat), which is 4 kamhahs, or 3 habbehs, as above
mentioned, is the 24th part of a mitkál or from 2123୵128 to three
English grains.
The “dirhem” (or drachm), the subdivisions of which have been mentioned
above, is from 476୵8 to 48 English grains.
The “mitkál” (or the weight of a “deenár”) is a dirhem and a half;—from
717୵16 to 72 English grains.
The “ukeeyeh,” or “wukeeyeh” (the ounce), is 12 dirhems, or the 12th
part of a ratl;—from 571½ to 576 English grains.
The “ratl” (or pound), being 144 dirhems, or 12 ukeeyehs, is from 1 lb.
2 oz. 5ã dwt. to about 1 lb. 2 oz. 8 dwt., Troy; or from 15 oz. 10 dr.
221୵16 grains to nearly 15 oz. 13 dr., Avoirdupois.
The “ukkah,” or “wukkah,” is 400 dirhems (or 2 ratls and
seven-ninths);—from 3 lb. 3 oz. 13¾ dwt. to 3 lb. 4 oz., Troy; or from 2
lb. 11 oz. 8 dr. 18¾ grains to about, or nearly, 2 lb. 12 oz., or 2 lb.
and three-quarters, Avoirdupois.
The “kantár” (or hundred-weight, _i.e._ 100 ratls) is from 98 lb.
_minus_ 200 grains to about 98 lb. and three-quarters, Avoirdupois.
MONEYS.
The pound sterling is now, and is likely to continue for some years,
equivalent to 100 Egyptian piasters: it has risen, in two years, from 72
piasters; which was the rate of exchange for several preceding years.
A “faddah” is the smallest Egyptian coin. It is called, in the singular,
“nuss” (a corruption of “nusf,” which signifies “half”) or “nuss
faddah:” it is also called “meyyedee,” or “meiyedee” (an abbreviation of
“mu-eiyadee”). These names were originally given to the half-dirhems
which were coined in the reign of the Sultán El-Mu-eiyad, in the early
part of the ninth century of the Flight, or of the fifteenth of our era.
The Turks call it “párah.” The faddah is made of a mixture of silver and
copper (its name signifies “silver”); and is the fortieth part of a
piaster; consequently equivalent to six twenty-fifths, or nearly a
quarter, of a farthing.
There are pieces of 5, 10, and 20 faddahs, “khamseh faddah,” “’asharah
faddah,” and “’eshreen faddah” (so called for “khamset ansáf faddah,”
etc.), or “kat’ah bi-khamseh,” “kat’ah bi-’asharah,” and “kat’ah
bi-’eshreen” (_i.e._ “pieces of five,” etc.): the last is also called
“nus kirsh” (or “half a piaster”). These pieces, which are equivalent
respectively to a farthing and one-fifth, two farthings and two-fifths,
and a penny and one-fifth, are of the same composition as the single
faddahs.
The “kirsh,” or Egyptian piaster, has already been shown to be
equivalent to the hundredth part of a pound sterling, or the fifth of a
shilling; that is, two pence and two-fifths. It is of the same
composition as the pieces above mentioned, and an inch and one-eighth in
diameter. On one face it bears the Sultán’s cypher; and on the other, in
Arabic, “duriba fee Misr” (“coined in Misr,” commonly called Masr,
_i.e._ Cairo), with the date of the present Básha’s accession to the
government below (1223 of the Flight, or 1808-9 of our era), and the
year of his government in which it was coined above. The inscriptions of
the other coins are almost exactly similar.
The “saadeeyeh,” commonly called “kheyreeyeh bi-arba’′ah” (_i.e._ “the
kheyreeyeh of four”), or the “small kheyreeyeh,” is a small gold coin,
of the value of four piasters, or nine pence and three-fifths.
The “kheyreeyeh” properly so called, or “kheyreeyeh bi-tis’ah” (_i.e._
“kheyreeyeh of nine”), is a gold coin of the value of nine piasters, or
twenty-one pence and three-fifths.
The above are the only Egyptian coins.
The coins of Constantinople are current in Egypt; but scarce.
European and American dollars are also current in Egypt: most of them
are equivalent to twenty Egyptian piasters: the Spanish pillared dollar,
to twenty-one. The name of “riyál faránsa” is given to every kind; but
the pillared dollar is called “aboo midfa’” (or, “having a cannon”); the
pillars being mistaken for cannons. The others have also distinguishing
names. The Spanish doubloon (called in Arabic “debloon”), the value of
which is sixteen dollars, is likewise current in this country: so also
are the Venetian sequin (called “benduk′ee,” for “bunduk′ee”), and the
English sovereign (which is called “ginyeh,” for guinea).
The “riyál” of Egypt is a nominal money, the value of ninety faddahs, or
five pence and two-fifths. In, or about, the year of the Flight 1185
(A.D. 1771-2), the Spanish dollar passed for ninety faddahs, by order of
’Alee Béy. The dollar was then simply called “riyál;” and from that
period, the above-mentioned number of faddahs has continued to be called
by this name.
The “kees,” or purse, is the sum of five hundred piasters, or five
pounds sterling.
The “khazneh,” or treasury, is a thousand purses, or five thousand
pounds sterling.
----------------------------
APPENDIX C.
PRAYER OF MUSLIM SCHOOL-BOYS.
My friend Mr. Burton (who, in the course of his long residence in Egypt,
has acquired an ample fund of valuable information respecting its modern
inhabitants, as well as other subjects) has kindly communicated to me an
Arabic paper containing the forms of imprecation to which I have alluded
in a note subjoined to page 255 of this work. They are expressed in a
“hezb” (or prayer) which the Muslim youths in many of the schools of
Cairo recite, before they return to their homes, every day of their
attendance, at the period of the “’asr,” excepting on Thursday, when
they recite it at noon; being allowed to leave the school, on this day,
at the early hour of the “duhr,” in consideration of the approach of
Friday, their sabbath and holiday. This prayer is not recited in the
schools that are held within mosques. It is similar to a portion of the
“khutbet en-naat.”[656] I here translate it.
“I seek refuge with God from Satan the accursed![657] In the name of
God, the Compassionate, the Merciful! O God! aid El-Islám, and exalt the
word of truth, and the faith, by the preservation of thy servant, and
the son of thy servant, the Sultán of the two continents,[658] and
Khákán[659] of the two seas,[660] the Sultán, son of the Sultán, the
Sultán [Mahmood[661]] Khán. O God! assist him, and assist his armies,
and all the forces of the Muslims! O Lord of all creatures! O God!
destroy the infidels and polytheists, thine enemies, the enemies of the
religion! O God! make their children orphans, and defile their abodes,
and cause their feet to slip, and give them and their families and their
households and their women and their children and their relations by
marriage and their brothers and their friends and their possessions and
their race and their wealth and their lands as booty to the Muslims! O
Lord of all creatures!”
Not to convey too harsh a censure of the Muslims of Egypt, by the
insertion of this prayer, I should add, that the excessive fanaticism
which it indicates is not to be imputed to this people universally.
-----
Footnote 656:
See p. 75.
Footnote 657:
Or “driven away with stones.”
Footnote 658:
Europe and Asia.
Footnote 659:
Emperor, or monarch.
Footnote 660:
The Mediterranean and Black Seas.
Footnote 661:
The reigning Sultán at the time when the above was written.
----------------------------
INDEX.
’Abáyeh, 25, 27, 289.
’Abbásees, their costume, 28.
’Abd-Er-Rahmán El-Gabartee, 197.
Abdál. _See_ Bedeel.
’Abdalláwee melon, 294, 298.
Ablutions. _See_ Wudoó, Tayemmum, Ghusl, and Death.
Aboo, 115;
-Farrág, 63;
-midfa’, 535;
-Ru-oos, the sheykh Isma’eel, 244;
-Zeyd, romance of, 361.
Abrár, 441, 474.
Adán, or adhán, 60, 72;
manner in which it is chanted, 343.
’A’dileeyeh (The), 370.
Admiration, proper and improper modes of expressing, 229, 230.
Adultery, law respecting, 95;
punishment of men who accuse women of this crime without the
testimony required by law, 96;
manner in which women guilty of this crime are sometimes punished,
107, 179, 279, 280.
’Afeefeeyeh darweeshes, 223.
Afiyoon, and Afiyoonee, 306.
’Agam, 72.
Agathodæmon, modern, 207.
Age, respect paid to, 180, 272.
A’gha of the Police. _See_ Zábit.
Agriculture, 309.
’Ahd, 223.
Ahl-Far’oon, 22.
Ahmad, a name of the Arabian Prophet, 387;
El-Bedawee, the seyyid, 63;
Moolids of, 220, 222.
Ahmar, significations of, 229.
Ahmedeeyeh darweeshes, or Ahmedees, 222.
’Akabeh, 459.
’Akd en-nikáh, 146.
’Akeek, 524.
’Akeekah, 44.
Akhdar, significations of, 229.
’Akkád, 294.
’A’isheh, the occasion of a singular law, 95.
A’látees, or áláteeyeh, 173, 325, 464.
Alchemy, 198, 243.
’Alee Bey, cruelty of a wretch of this name, 112.
’A’lim, 29, 106.
Alláh, or God, _passim_;
kereem, 262.
Alláhu akbar, 63.
Almanac, 201.
’A’l’mehs, or ’Awálim, 151, 173, 325, 463, 464.
Alms-giving, 56, 78;
of Moharram, or the ’Ashr, 392.
Aloe-plant used as a charm, 236.
Aloes-wood. _See_ ’Ood.
Alum, virtue of, 230.
Ambergris, used for fumigation, 185;
used to impart a perfume to coffee, 126.
Amsheer, 200.
Amulets. _See_ Hegábs, and Charms.
’Anátireh. _See_ ’Anter’ee.
Anatomy, 107, 198.
Angáb. _See_ Negeeb.
Angels, 54, 203, 242;
Attendant, 66.
Anklets, 160, 529.
’Annáb, 134.
’Antar, romance of, 380, 381.
’Anter’ee (a kind of vest), 35;
(a reciter of ’Antar), 380.
Antichrist, 53.
Apostasy punished with death, 96.
’Arab, 22.
’Arafát (Mount), 79.
’Arakeeyeh, 25.
Arba’’a Eiyoob, 452.
Arba’een (El-), 466, 488.
Architecture, 286.
Ardebb, 533.
’Areef, 50.
Arghool, 224, 335, 336.
Arithmetic, 50.
Armenians in Egypt, number of, 19.
’Arooseh, 128, 457.
Arts and manufactures, 286.
Asáwir, 527, 532.
’Asbeh, 40.
’Asha, 129.
As-háb el-Ahzáb, 478;
ed-Darak, 213;
el-Kahf, 228.
Ashbeen, 504.
’A’shoora, customs of, 231, 394.
’Ashr, 392, 487.
’Asr, 60, 200.
Ass, how equipped for riding, for use of men, 127;
for use of ladies, 173;
part performed by one, 222.
Assassin, origin of the word, 306, 379.
Astaghfir Alláh, 258.
Astrolabe, 198.
Astrology, 42, 198, 243.
Astronomy, 198.
’Attár, 294.
Auguration, 239, 453, 454.
A’yát el-hefz, 227;
esh-shifë, 233.
A’yet el-Kursee, 66.
Azhar (El-), Great Mosque, 71, 73, 188, 191;
students of, 191;
studies pursued there, 191;
sheykh of, 192, 193, 196;
professors of, 192, 194;
blind students of, 193.
’A’z’kee, 126.
Báb el-hareem, 9;
sirr, 16;
Zuweyleh, 211.
Bábeh, 199.
Báboog, 37, 39.
Bádingán, 133, 278.
Baghlet el-’Ashr, 393.
Bahluwáns, 356.
Bakhoor el-barr, 126.
Balance in which good and evil works are to be weighed, 54.
Bámiyeh, 133.
Ba-ooneh, 200.
Baráhimeh darweeshes, 223.
Barámikeh, 349, 356.
Bark, 40, 529.
Barmahát, 200.
Barmek’ees. _See_ Barámikeh.
Barmoodeh, 200.
Barrenness considered a curse and reproach, 45.
Barsh, 307.
Básh Kátib of the Kádee, 101;
Rusul, 101;
Turgumán, 101.
Bast, 306.
Bastinading, 95, 99, 164.
Bat, use made of its blood, 35.
Bath, 151, 157, 307.
Batrak, 492.
Batteekh, 134.
Báz, 224, 333.
Beard, mode of trimming the, 23;
few shave it off, 23;
shaven off as a punishment, 23;
respect paid to the, 24;
seldom dyed, 24.
Beasts and birds, language of, 226.
Bed, 139.
Bedawee and Bedaweeyeh, 27, 257.
Bedeel, 210.
Bedouins. _See_ Bedawee.
Beer. _See_ Boozeh.
Beer el-yarakán, 238.
Beetles, singular use made of them, 172, 467.
Beggars, 299.
Beiyoomeeyeh darweeshes, or Beiyoomees, 222, 420.
Bekreeyeh darweeshes, 223.
Bekreg, or bakrag, 125.
Belah meblool, 297.
Beleed, 209.
Belláneh, 149, 314.
Belloor, 524.
Benduk’ee, 535;
musháharah, 236.
Beng, 379.
Benish, or Beneesh, 25.
Benzoin. _See_ Gáwee.
Beshens, 200.
Beybars. _See_ Ez-Záhir.
Beyt, 315, 317;
el-mál, 92;
el-owwal, 310.
Biers, 476, 478, 480.
Bigotry inculcated into the minds of children, 48.
Bint el-Beled, 22;
el-Masr, 22.
Birds, charity to, 434;
and beasts, language of, 226.
Birgás, game of the, 365.
Bisháreen, strange custom of, 268.
Bi-smi-llah, 64, 131, 205.
Blasphemy, law respecting, 97.
Blind, asylum and college for the, 193.
Blindness prevalent in Egypt, 23.
Blood, unlawful food to Muslims, 82;
and to the Copts, 501.
Blood-revenge, 94, 178.
Boatmen and boats of the Nile, 302.
Books, 190;
copying of, 191.
Booksellers, 190.
Boozeh, a kind of beer, 82, 307.
Bowwáb, 70, 121.
Bread, 122;
respect paid to it, 269;
of the seyyid El-Bedawee, 399, 429, 430, 431.
Bribery practised at the Kádee’s court, 101, 103, 104.
Bugs, 3, 140;
charm to exterminate them, 453.
Bunn, 125.
Burckhardt referred to, 148, 153, 156, 159, 264, 268, 405, 504.
Burdeh, 228, 475, 478.
Burhámeeyeh. _See_ Baráhimeh.
Burko’, 38, 39, 41;
of the door of the Kaabeh, 446.
Burnus, or burnoos, 289.
Buying and selling, 293.
Cadi. _See_ Kádee.
Caftan. _See_ Kuftán.
Cairo, or El-Káhireh, now called Masr, 4, 19, 21;
population of, 4, 19;
streets of, 4, 290, 517;
quarters of, 5, 113;
districts of, 113;
private houses of, 5;
the best school of Arabic literature, 188.
Calf, feats performed by a, 225.
Camel, its flesh lawful food to Muslims, 82;
and considered unlawful by the Copts, 501;
its hump a provision against hunger, 400;
litters, 402.
Canal of Cairo, opening of the, 457.
Cats, endowment for the support of, 266.
Ceilings, decorations of, 11.
Chant of the water-carrier, 297;
muëddin, 343;
a shá’er, 361;
men and boys at funerals, 476, 477.
Chanting of the Kur-án, specimen of the, 346;
darweeshes in zikrs, 411, 414.
Character of the Muslim Egyptians, 255;
Copts, 506;
Jews of Egypt, 515.
Charity of the Egyptians, 263.
Charms, 198, 203, 211, 226, 243, 399, 453, 530.
Cheerfulness of the Egyptians, 267.
Chemistry, 198.
Chibook, 122.
Chicken-ovens, 287.
Children, education and general treatment of, 42-47;
how long the mother may retain them under her care, 88;
of foreigners in Egypt seldom live to mature age, 143.
Christians prior to the time of Mohammad held by the Muslims to be true
believers, 54.
Circumcision of the Muslim Egyptians, 47, 153, 469;
a similar custom to, prevailing among them and the Copts, 48, 491;
of the Copts, 491, 495.
Cleanliness of the Egyptians, 270;
practices observed for the sake of, 24, 56.
Climate of Egypt, 2.
Coffee, 122, 125, 304;
disallowed by some Muslims, 82, 304;
when first introduced into Egypt, 304.
Coffee-cups. _See_ Fingán.
Coffee-shops, 305.
Commerce, 289.
Compliments, 182, 186.
Concubinage, laws respecting, 85, 86, 88.
Concubines. _See_ Slaves.
Conscription, 177.
Copts, their number, etc., 19, 489;
political state, 113, 501;
dress, 491;
language, 489, 495, 497;
education, 495;
religion, 491, 496;
patriarch, etc., 113, 492, 506;
churches and church-service, 497;
fasts, etc., 498;
domestic habits, 502;
marriages, 502;
character, 506;
occupations, 506;
funeral ceremonies, 507;
notices of their history under the Muslim domination, 507.
Cosmetics, 171, 467.
Cotton, 20.
Councils of administration, 100.
Courtesy and affability of the Egyptians, 187, 266.
Courts of judicature, 99, 101.
Cowries, virtue of, 230.
Cries of watchmen in Cairo, 108, 262;
the hawkers of vegetables, etc., 294;
beggars, 299;
the persons who announce the daily rise of the Nile, 454, 456, 462;
joy. _See_ Zagháreet;
lamentation. _See_ Welwel’eh.
Cupidity of the Egyptians, 282.
Customs not particularized in this Index, 24, 183, 184, 186, 203, 205,
216, 232.
Dabbeh, 15.
Dakhákhinee, 294.
Dakk, 34.
Dámeh, 315.
Dancing Girls. _See_ Gházeeyehs;
Men and Boys. _See_ Khäwal, and Gink.
Dár, 318.
Darabukkeh, 173, 334.
Darb el-mendel, 243, 247;
er-ramal, 243.
Darweeshes, 209, 210, 220-226, 396, 397, 408, 409;
whirling, 398;
barking, or howling, 420;
dancing. _See_ ’Eesáweeyeh.
Dawáyeh, 26, 190.
Day, Mohammadan, 200.
Days, fortunate and unfortunate, 441.
Dáyeh, 149.
Death, and funeral-rites, 473.
Debleh, 527.
Debloon, 535.
Debtors, law respecting, 92.
Decrees of God, 56, 259, 436.
Deen, 52.
Deenár, 93, 95.
Deewán, 10;
el-Khideewee, 99;
et-Tuggár, 100.
Delhem’eh, romance of, 381.
Dellál, 293.
Delláleh, 144, 174.
Demeereh, 301.
Demirdásheyeh darweeshes, 223.
Depilatories, 35, 314.
Dervises. _See_ Darweeshes.
Destoor, 162, 203.
Devil, and devils in general, 54, 202.
Diet, 122, 133, 171, 174.
Diffeeyeh, 27.
Dikkeh, 24, 69, 464.
Dilk, 208, 225.
Diodorus Siculus referred to, 20, 45, 113.
Diráas, 533.
Dirhem, 78, 93, 534.
Divan. _See_ Deewán.
Divorce, 85, 87;
effects of the facility of, 166.
Dogs, opinions and conduct of Muslims with regard to, 83, 263, 265;
eaten by some Muslims, 270.
Domestic life of Muslim Egyptians of the higher and middle orders
(men), 120;
of women of the same classes, 159;
of the lower orders, 174.
Doors of houses, etc., 5, 11.
Dóraks, 135.
Dóseh, 416, 432, 433, 434.
Dowry, 86, 87, 88, 145, 147, 157, 175.
Dreams, faith in, 194, 241.
Dress, of men, 24;
of females, 35;
new military (or Nizámee), 517.
Drinking-cups, 135, 136, 137.
Drunkenness, how punished, 96.
Duhr, 60.
Dukkah, 122, 175, 499.
Dukkán, 291.
Durah, 301, 302.
Durrah, for Darrah, 167.
Dust, excessive quantity of, 3.
Dysentery, when most prevalent, 2.
Eating, manner and etiquette of, 129.
Ebed, 62, 441.
Ebeeb, 200.
’Eddeh, 87.
Education of boys, 42, 48;
of females, 51;
higher branches of, 191.
’Eed (El-) el-Kebeer, 80, 451;
es-Sugheiyir, 80, 442.
’Eeds of the Copts, 449, 507.
Eemán, 52.
’Eesa. _See_ Jesus Christ.
’Eesáweeyeh darweeshes, 424.
Eezár, 39.
Efendee, 128.
’Efreets, 204, 207.
’Eggeh, 320.
’Egl El-’Azab, 225.
Egypt, its physical character, 1, 20;
its population, 19.
Egyptians. _See_ Muslim Egyptians, and Copts.
Ehrám, 80.
Eiyám en-Nesee, 200.
’Ekd, 525, 531.
Elijah, allusions to, 211.
Embroidery, 172.
Emeer (El-), el-Hágg, 403, 449;
el-Kebeer, anecdote of, 194.
’Enáneeyeh darweeshes, 221.
’Enebeh, 521.
Envious disposition of the Egyptians, 282.
Epileptic fits induced by religious excitement, 415.
’Eree, 26, 140.
’Erk-soos, 297.
’Erk-soosee, 297.
’Eshë, 60, 200.
Eswed, used to signify dark blue, 252.
Eunuchs, 121, 161.
Europeans in Egypt. _See_ Franks.
Evil eye, and modes of counteracting or preventing its effects, 46, 47,
132.
Eyes, modern and ancient modes of ornamenting, with kohl, 30, 31.
’Eyn, 321.
’Eysh bi-lahm, 434.
Faddah, 534.
Fakeers, 225.
Fákihánee, 294.
Falakah, 95.
Fánoos, 138.
Farageeyeh, 25.
Farce-players, 357.
Fard, 59, 84, 294.
Faroodeeyeh, 36.
Farrán, 294.
Faskeeyeh. _See_ Fountain.
Fasting, 56, 75, 79, 394.
_See_ Ramadán.
Fatátiree, 294.
Fateereh, 122.
Fát’hah, 50, _et passim_;
specimen of the mode in which it is chanted, 346.
Fatoor, 122.
Fawátim, costume of the, 28.
Fedáwees, 379.
Feddán, 118, 533.
Fegr, 60.
Felláhah, 22.
Fellahs, or Felláheen, 19, 22;
political condition, 114, 117;
domestic life and occupations, 174, 300.
Fesahah, or Fes-hah, 15, 139.
Festivals, two Grand (or Minor and Great), 59, 79;
periodical public, 391, 421, 451.
_See_ ’Eed.
Festivities, private, 463.
Fetteh, 451.
Fetwa, 102.
Fida, 80.
Fikee, 48, 146, 471.
Fingán, 125.
Firdeh, 119, 501.
Fire, eating of, 221, 426.
Firkilleh, 223.
Fish without scales generally unwholesome in Egypt, 83.
Fitr, 533.
Fleas excessively numerous in Egypt, 3, 140.
Flies extremely annoying in Egypt, 3, 140.
Flight, era of the. _See_ Higreh.
Fool mudemmes, 122;
nábit, 452.
Foot, the right, more honoured than the left, 187.
Foot-rasps, 310.
Footah, 130.
Fornication, law respecting, 95;
manner in which women guilty of this crime are sometimes punished,
107, 179.
Fortune-telling, 355.
Fountains in private houses, 9;
in baths, 308, 311;
public. _See_ Sebeels.
Fowwál, 294.
Franks in Egypt, 113, 255.
Frankincense. _See_ Libán.
Friday, the Sabbath of the Muslims, 59, 67.
_See_ Gum’ah.
Fruits of Egypt, 134.
Fukara. _See_ Fakeers.
Funeral. _See_ Death;
ceremonies after a, 339.
Furn, 17.
Furniture of a room, 10, 15;
of a peasant’s dwelling, 17.
Gád El-Mowla, sermon of, 73.
Gaház, 147.
Galen referred to, 48.
Gambling forbidden, 84.
Gáme’, 61, 67.
Games, 315;
of chance forbidden, 84.
Gánn Ibn-Gánn, 204.
_See_ Ginn.
Gáriyeh, 169.
Garmash’ak, 122.
Gebr el-Bahr, 458.
Gellábs, 170.
Gelleh, 175, 288.
Gemb, 183.
Generosity of the Egyptians, 282.
Genii. _See_ Ginn.
Geography, 201.
Geomancy, 243.
Gereed, game of the, 322.
Geydee. _See_ Keydee.
Gezzár, 294.
Ghada, 129.
Ghagar, or Ghajar, 356.
Gháïsh, 351.
Gháwázee. _See_ Gházeeyehs.
Gházee, 347.
Gházeeyehs, or Gháwázee, 158, 173, 347, 395, 463, 467.
Gheyt el-kuttah, 266.
Ghools, 207.
Ghosts, 207.
Ghubeyra, 452.
Ghung, 171.
Ghusl, 59.
Ghuweyshát, 532.
Ghuzz, 98.
Gibbeh, or Jubbeh, 25.
Gink, 352, 423.
Ginn, Gánn, Ginnees, or Genii, 54, 202, 242;
good, how they pay their alms, 393.
Ginyeh, 535.
Gipsies. _See_ Ghagar.
Gizyeh (or tribute), 501, 512.
Glass, eating of, 221, 427.
God, his absolute unity, 52;
virtues of the fifty-seven names of, 227.
Góhargee, 293.
Gold ornaments disapproved of by Mohammad, 26;
and silver utensils disallowed by many Muslims, 125.
Government of Egypt, 20, 98, 515.
Gózeh, 125.
Gratitude wanting in the Egyptian character, 269.
Grave, torment of the, 55, 483, 485.
_See_ Tomb.
Greeks in Egypt, their number, 19.
Guards, military, in Cairo, 99, 107.
Gumád el-Owwal, 199;
et-Tánee, 199.
Gum’ah (El-), or Friday, 67;
prayers of, 67, 71, 72.
Habarah, 38.
Habbák, 294.
Habbeh, 529.
Hadd, 96.
Hágg, Hájj, or Hájjee, 80, 120, 399.
Hággeh, 120, 128.
Hair, women’s, mode of dressing and ornamenting, 37.
Haláweh, 295.
Halak, 524, 530.
Hamah, 159.
Hambel’ees, 52, 106.
Hamdu li-lláh (El-), 135.
Hammám, 307.
Hanafees, 52, 56, 106.
Hanafeeyeh, 57, 311.
Hand, right, honoured above the left, 187;
left, used for unclean purposes, 134, 187.
Harág, or Haráj, 293.
Harárah, 310.
Harem. _See_ Hareem.
Hareem, 9, 12, 16, 120, 159;
persons admissible into the apartments of the, 160, 162;
customs observed by men on approaching the hareems of others, 162;
generally necessary to qualify a man to be a tenant of a private
house in Cairo, 17, 142.
_See_ also Wives and Women.
Hâris, 313.
Hasa, 315.
Hasan El-’Attár, the sheykh, 196.
Hasaneyn (El-), mosque of, 217, 218, 395, 421, 429.
_See_ Moolid.
Hasheesh, 125, 305, 379.
Hashreeyeh, 477.
Hashshásh, 306.
Hasweh, 315.
Hatching of eggs in ovens, 287.
Hátoor, 200.
Háwees, 353.
Head, woman’s, the upper and back part of it most carefully veiled, 42;
man’s and boy’s, generally shaven, 24, 44.
Hefnáweeyeh darweeshes, 223.
Hegábs, 227, 529.
Hegira. _See_ Higreh.
Hekr, 266.
Hemalees, 296.
Heml of the barber, 47;
kanádeel, 148;
musattah. _See_ Musattah.
Hemp used to induce intoxication, 125, 305;
when first used for this purpose in Egypt, 305.
Heneeän, 132.
Henna, 32, 152, 446, 448, 503.
Herám, 80, 289.
Herodotus referred to, 23, 82, 135 (twice), 180, 478, 488, 492.
Heykel, 497.
Hezám, 445.
Hezbs, 224, 479.
Higreh, or Hijrah, era of the, 199.
Hilál, 522.
Hiláleeyeh, 361.
Hilbeh, 467.
Hoboob, 394.
Hods, 48.
Hogget el-bahr.
Homár ’álee, or —— mughattee, 173.
Hommus, 122.
Hooreeyehs, 55.
Horses, how equipped for riding, 127.
Hoseyn (El-), place of his head, 194.
_See_ Moolid, and ’A’shoora.
Hósh, 8.
Hospitality of the Egyptians, 267.
Houris. _See_ Hooreeyehs.
Hours, Mohammadan, 200.
Houses of Cairo, 417;
of the peasantry, 417.
Howáh. _See_ Háwees.
Hulaleeyeh, 41.
Huroobeh, 158.
Ibn el-beled, or Ibn-Masr, 22;
Hambal, his scrupulosity, 260.
Ibráheem, the patriarch Abraham, 76;
Básha, anecdote of, 501;
the eyyids, Ed-Dasookee, his moolids, 220.
Ibreek, 130, 296.
Idiots, respect paid to, 208.
Idolaters, law respecting, 81.
Ikámeh, 65, 78.
’Ilm en-nugoom, 243;
er-rukkeh, 235.
_See_ Astrology.
’Ilwáneeyeh darweeshes, 221.
’Ilwee, 242.
Images of things that have life forbidden, 84.
Imáms, 70, 84, 192.
Imsák, 439, 442.
Indolence of the Egyptians, 273.
Industry, 285.
Infancy, 42.
Inheritance, laws of, 90.
Ink, 190. _See_ Dawáyeh.
Innovations, late, in Egypt, 515.
Inquisitiveness of the Egyptians, 187.
Inscriptions on doors, etc., 5, 15, 232, 233.
Insha, 196.
Intrigues of Egyptian women, 275.
Irrigation, 300.
Irritable disposition of the Egyptians, 284.
Ishárah, 409, 422.
Islám (El-), 52.
Ism el-Aazam (El-), 243.
Isma’eel, or Ishmael, according to the Muslims, the son whom Ibráheem,
or Abraham, designed to sacrifice, 80.
Isráfeel, 55.
Istikhárah, 240.
Jesus Christ, opinions of the Muslims respecting, 53.
Jews of Egypt, their number, etc., 19, 512;
political state of, 113, 512;
domestic life of, 514;
character and occupations of, 515.
Jocular disposition of the Egyptians, 285.
Jubbeh. _See_ Gibbeh.
Jugglers, 355.
Juvenal referred to, 348.
Kaabeh, 80, 444. _See_ Kisweh.
Ká’ah, 12.
Kabdah, 533.
Kádee of Cairo, 101;
court of the, 101;
and bribery practised there, 102, 103.
Kádees in general, 106, 192.
Kádireeyeh darweeshes, or Kádirees, 222, 446.
Káf, mountains of, 201, 202.
Kafal-wood, 135.
Kaffárah, 485.
Kaftán. _See_ Kuftán.
Kahk, 438.
Kahweh, 125, 304, 305.
Kahweg’ee, 305.
Káïm, 408.
Káïm-makám, 114.
Kalás’weh, 494.
Kamarah, 522.
Kamareeyeh, 14.
Kamhah, 533.
Kandeel, 138.
Kánoon, 326, 328.
Kantár, 534.
Kara-gyooz, 359.
Kara-kól, and kárakón, 99.
Kara kooseh, 133.
Karámeh, 210.
Karrás, 190.
Kás, 334.
Kasabah, 533.
Kaseedeh, 156, 197, 412.
Kasees, 493.
Káshif, 114.
Kat’ah bi-khamseh, etc., 534.
Kawárë, 378.
Káwurmeh, 133.
Kebáb, 133, 294.
Keemiya (El-), 243.
Keerát, 92, 533, 534.
Kees, 535; el-hammám, 312.
Keeyem, and Keiyim, 152, 355.
Kefen, 475.
Kelb, 318, 320.
Kemengeh, 326.
Ketb el-kitáb, 146.
Ketkhud’a. _See_ Kikhya.
Keydee, 301.
Keyf, 303.
Keytán, 528.
Khalboos, 464.
Khaleefeh, 28.
Khaleeg, 457. _See_ Canal.
Khaleel El-Medábighee, anecdote of, 204.
Khaltah, 452.
Khalwet’ee, 224.
Khamáseen, 2, 452, 500;
winds, 2.
Khamees el-’Ahd, 552.
Khát’beh, 143.
Khateeb, 70.
Khátim, 25, 527;
Suleymán, 148.
Khatmeh, 113, 148, 217, 258, 427, 444, 464, 475, 488.
Khawágeh, 128.
Khäwals, 158, 351, 467.
Khazneh, 15, 139, 535.
Kheiyát, 293.
Kheyreeyeh, 535.
Khidr (El-), 211.
Khilweh, 314.
Khiyár, 133.
Khizám, 530.
Khoos, 218.
Khudaree, 293.
Khuff, 39.
Khulkhál, 529, 532.
Khurdagee, 293.
Khusháf, 134.
Khutbeh on Mount ’Arafát, 80;
of marriage, 174.
Khutbet el-waaz, 73;
en-naat, 75;
es-Siráfeh, 470.
Khutt, 439.
Khuzam, 530.
Kibleeyeh, 198.
Kibleh, 63, 198.
Kibt, 489.
Kikhya, 99.
Kiládeh, 527.
Kirbeh, 295.
Kirsh, 535.
Kishk, 452, 467.
Kisweh of the Kaabeh, 444;
procession of the, 445;
pieces of the, used as charms, 234.
Kiyahk and Kiyák, 200.
Kohl, 30, 403, 452, 491.
Kubbeh, 195;
wa-t-teyr (El-), 503.
Kubt, 489.
Kuftán, or Kaftán, 24.
Kullehs for water, 135;
for sherbet, 137.
Kulluk, 99.
Kumedyeh, 206.
Kumkum, 150, 184.
Kummetrë, 528.
Kummus, 493.
Kunáfeh, 134.
Kur-án, quoted, _passim_;
printed translations, etc., of the, 53, 234;
taught at schools, 48, 49;
recitation or chanting of the, 63, 155, 258, 434, 475, 478, 485;
specimen of the mode of chanting the, 346;
petition offered up before reciting the, 63, 64 (note);
the chief foundation of the laws, 84;
respect paid to the, 261;
sometimes quoted in jest, 258;
the whole and portions of it used as charms, 227, 233.
Kurbág, 95, 289.
Kureydátee, 357.
Kurs, 37, 519.
Kursee, 130;
el-wiládeh, 466.
Kussah, 521.
Kutb, 210.
Kuttáb, 48.
Kuweysinee (the Sheykh El-), 193, 195.
Labolanum, 172.
Lamps, 138, 149.
Language of the Modern Egyptians, 19, 188.
Lanterns, 138, 149.
Lattice-work of windows, 7.
Laws, 56, 84.
Láwingee, 310.
Leab el-kumár, 315.
Learned men in Egypt, 196.
Learning, decline of, 188, 198, 197;
respect paid to, 198.
Leef, 313, 403.
Leewán, 17, 110.
Leewángee. _See_ Láwingee.
Legacies, law respecting, 90, 91.
Leylet ed-Dukhleh, 147, 153;
el-Henna, 152;
el-Mearág. _See_ Mearág;
en-Nusf min Shaabán, 435;
er-Roo-yeh, 436;
el-Kadr, 442;
en-Nuktah, 453;
es-Saratán, 453;
el-Wahsheh, 485;
el-Wahdeh, 485;
el-Gheetás, 499.
Leymoonáteh, 137.
Leyseeyeh darweeshes, 223.
Libábeh, 467.
Libán, or frankincense, 30, 172, 403;
Shámee, 35.
Libás, 24.
Libbeh, 525.
Libraries, 190.
Lice, 3, 139, 427.
Litám or Lithám, 388.
Literature, 189, 197.
Lock, wooden, 15.
Lodging-houses, 16.
Love of the Egyptians for their country, 272.
Lunatics, 208.
Lute, 330.
Maagoon and Maagungee, 307.
Maamal el-firákh or Maamal el-farroog, 287.
Mád’neh or menaret, 60.
Maghrib, 60.
Maghsil es-Sultán, 237.
Maghtas, 311.
Magic and Magicians, 226, 242, 244.
Magnetic compasses, 198.
Mahdee (the sheykh El-), Muftee of Cairo, 103, 105.
Mahkem’eh, the Great, 101.
Mahkem’ehs, minor, 106.
Mahmal, or Mahmil, 403, 404, 447;
return of the, 403;
grand procession of the, 448.
Mahr, 145.
Mahrookee, the seyyid Mohammad, 103.
Mahshee, 133.
Mahshesh’eh, 307.
Mahzam, 310.
Mak’ad, 11.
Makhba, 16, 282.
Makra, 422.
Makra’′ah, 320.
Makreezee (El-), cited, 458, 496, 507.
Maksoorah, 71, 217.
Malakah, 533.
Málikees, 52, 106.
Malkaf, 15.
M’allim, 128, 308, 506.
M’allim’eh, 51.
Ma-moor, 114.
Mandar’ah, 9.
Mankal, 127.
Mankal’ah, game of the, 315.
Manufactures, 286.
Márid, 204.
Máristán, 278.
Markaz, 211.
Markets of Cairo, 110. _See_ Sooks.
Marriage, laws respecting, 84, 141, 164;
duty of, 141;
when contracted, 143;
how conducted in the case of a virgin, 143;
among the lower orders, 151, 157, 158;
of widows and divorced women, 157;
ceremonies and festivities after, 158, 466.
Martial referred to, 348.
Martyrs, 54.
Má-sháa-lláh, 229.
Másh’tah, 314.
Másoorah, 529.
Masr. _See_ Cairo.
Masree and Masreeyeh, 22.
Mastab’ah, 8, 291, 305, 310.
Mastic, 126, 135.
Mathematics, 198.
Matrán, 493.
Meals, 121, 129, 138.
Mearág, festival of the, 431.
Measures, 532.
Meats, lawful and unlawful, 82;
scrupulosity of Muslims respecting, 270.
Mecca. _See_ Mekkeh.
Meded, 414.
Medicine, 198.
Meglis, 411;
el-Meshwar’ah, 100;
el-Gihádeeyeh, 100.
Megzoob, 209.
Mehráb, 69.
Mekkeh and Mount ’Arafát, the objects of pilgrimage, 79.
Melboos, 415.
Melekees or Melekeeyeh, 491.
Memlooks, 19, 98, 121, 143, 155.
Memrak, 14.
Mendacity of the Egyptians, 283.
Menseg, 172.
Menwar, 409.
Mesh’al, 154.
Mesh-hed of El-Hoseyn. _See_ Hasaneyn.
Meshrebeeyeh, 8.
Meslakh, 308.
Mesloob, 209.
Mey’ah mubárakah, 231, 392.
Meydaäh, 56.
Meyyedee, or Meiyedee, 534.
Mezz, mezd, or mest, 37.
Mibkhar’ah, 135, 150, 184.
Mikattah, 190.
Miláyeh, 27, 40.
Mimbar, 69.
Mina (vulgò Muna), 80.
Ministers of Mosques, 70.
Miracles of saints and darweeshes, 210, 219, 220, 221, 416, 426, 428,
432, 447, 479;
of prophets, 209;
of Mohammad, 215.
Mirwed, 30.
Misht, 524.
Misned’eh, 190.
Misra, 200.
Mistar’ah, 190.
Miswák, 57, 403.
Mitkál, or Mithkál, 78, 534.
Mizágee, 519.
Moagiz’eh, 210.
Mohabbazeen, 357.
Mohaddits, 367.
Mohallil. _See_ Mustahall.
Mohammad, called by the Muslims “God’s Apostle,” and “the Prophet,”
etc., 53;
respect paid to, 53, 98, 259;
regarded and invoked as an intercessor, 78, 259;
appears to Muslims in their sleep, 194, 195;
his miracles, 215;
respect paid to his tomb, 216, 259;
virtues of his 99 names, 228;
virtues of the names of his relics, 228;
virtues of dust from his tomb, 234;
evils counteracted by blessing him, 229, 241;
sworn by, and imitated in trivial matters, 259;
his illiteracy, 436.
Mohammad ’Alee (present Básha of Egypt), his character, policy, etc.,
21, 97, 98, 99, 117, 202, 515;
his revenue, 117.
Mohammad Bey, Deftardár, anecdote of, 115.
Mohammad El-Baháee, anecdote of, 194.
Mohammad Shiháb, the sheykh, 197.
Moharram, 146, 198, 231, 392.
Mohtes’ib, 110;
anecdotes of a, 111.
Money, its value in Cairo, 290, 535.
Moneys of Egypt, 534.
Months, Mohammadan, 198;
Coptic, 199;
sacred, 73.
Moolids of saints, 219.
Moolid of the seyyid Ahmad El-Bedawee, 220;
Ibráheem Ed-Dasookee, 220;
en-Nebee (the Prophet’s Moolid), 408;
of the Sheykh Darweesh El-’Ashmáwee, 410;
El-Hasaneyn, 421, 429;
Es-Sáleh, 428;
of the seyyideh Zeyneb, 430;
of the Imám Esh-Sháfe’ee, 434.
Mooskee, 99.
Mósim el-Khaleeg, 459.
Mosques, 67, 70, 119, 191, 396;
eating, sleeping, etc., allowed in them, excepting at the times of
prayer, 70;
not entered by persons with their shoes on, 71;
ministers and inferior servants of, 70;
thefts committed in, 424.
Mourning, 487.
Móyet zahr, 296.
Muballigh, 72, 112.
Mudám, 137.
Mudnát, 150.
Muëddin, 60, 70.
Mufattak’ah, 467.
Muftee (supreme) of Cairo, 101, 103;
an honest, 106.
Muftees in general, 192.
Mugáwireen, or Mugáwirs, 191.
Mughassil, 475.
Mukeyyisátee, 311.
Mukhallafát en-Nebee, 228.
Muk-hul’ah, 30.
Mukleh, 28, 193.
Mulakkin, 484.
Mumezzezeh, 443.
Munádee en-Neel, 454, 456, 462.
Munkar and Nekeer, 56, 484.
Munshids at zikrs, 410.
Murábit, 209.
Murakkee, 72.
Murder, law respecting, 93.
Mureed, 223.
Muristán, 278.
Musáfir, 267.
Musahhir, his cry, etc., 439, 440, 442.
Musáre’, 322.
Musattah, 402.
Musellikátee, 298.
Mus-haf, 227.
Music, 323. _See_ Chant.
Musical Instruments, 326.
Musicians, 325.
_See_ A’látees.
Muslim, 319.
Muslim Egyptians, their number, origin, and personal characteristics,
19, 21, 22, 29.
For other particulars respecting them, see the Tables of Contents, or
the words, “Dress,” “Infancy,” “Education,” etc., in this Index.
Musquitoes, 3.
Musquito-curtain, 139.
Mustaches, 23.
Mustahall, or Mustahill, 165.
Mustaf’a, a name of the Arabian Prophet, 387;
Káshif, anecdotes of, 111.
Mutawellee (El-), 211.
Muwatwat’ah, 35.
Muweshshah, 155, 412, 469.
Nabk, 475, 480.
Nahhás, 293.
Náïb of the Kádee, 101.
Nakeeb, 210, 472;
el-Ashráf, 106, 221.
Nákir. _See_ Munkar.
Nakkárah, 333.
Nakshibendeeyeh darweeshes, 223.
Naming of children, 42.
Námooseeyeh, 139.
Nárgeeleh, 125.
Náring, 296.
Nasára and Nasránee, 319.
Náshizeh, 88, 157.
Náy, 224, 331.
Názir, 70, 114.
Nebboot, 321.
Nebeed, or Nebeedh, 82, 137.
Neddábeh, 474.
Nedr, 219.
Nefeeseh, the seyyiddeh, tomb of, 217.
Negeeb, 210.
Negefeh, 409.
Newspaper, Egyptian, 516.
Nezleh, feast of the, 403.
Nezlet el-Hágg, 399.
Nifás, 468.
Nile, 1;
its rise, 1, 453;
its fall, 1;
its fertilizing effect, 2;
rise of its bed, 1, 18;
navigation of the, 302.
Nizám troops, 99, 517.
Noorah, 314.
Nórooz, 462.
Nubians, 19, 140, 489, 492.
Nukalee, 294.
Nukl, 438.
Nukoot or largess, 152, 156, 158, 464, 468, 472.
Nuss, or nuss-faddah, 534.
Oath in law courts, 102;
various forms of, 256, 283.
Obstinacy of the Egyptians, 273.
’Okoos, 532.;
Omens. _See_ Auguration.
’Ood (or pipe), 122;
(or lute), 330;
es-saleeb, 524.
Oola, 61, 441.
Ophthalmia, 2, 3, 139;
charms for the cure of, 236.
Opium, use of, 82, 306.
’Orbán, 22.
Ornaments, female, 519.
’Osmánlees, or Turks, their number in Egypt, 19.
Owlád-Masr, or Owlád-el-beled, 22;
’Enán, darweeshes so called, 221;
’Ilwán, darweeshes so called, 221, 447;
Nooh, darweeshes so called, 223.
’Oyoon, 40.
Painters and sculptors of living beings, their future punishment, 84.
Paintings on the walls of rooms, etc., 14, 286.
Palm-trees, tax on, 117, 119.
Panel-work, 11.
Paradise. _See_ Genneh.
Párah, 534.
Parents, respect to, 45, 272.
Pavements, ornamental, 9.
Peasantry. _See_ Felláhs.
Perfumes, 126, 171, 184.
Piaster of Egypt, 535.
Pictures of living beings forbidden, 34.
Pigeon-houses, 17.
Piláv, 134.
Pilgrimage of the Muslims, 56, 79;
Copts, 501.
Pilgrims, return of the, 399;
mode of ornamenting the doors of their houses, 403;
Turkish, their arrival in Egypt, on their way to Mekkeh, 430;
procession of their officers and escort, with the Mahmal, departing
for Mekkeh, 448;
their journey, 450.
Pipe, 26, 122;
different names and kinds of, 122.
Plague, 171;
its ravages in 1835, 3, 4.
Police of Cairo, 107.
Pollution, scrupulosity of the Egyptians respecting, 270, 473.
Polygamy, 84, 121, 163, 165;
influence of, 84;
limited by Mohammad, 85.
Population of Egypt, its present amount, 18;
in ancient times, 19;
late decrease of, 18.
Population of Cairo, 4, 19.
Pottery employed in the construction of pigeon-houses, 17.
Prayer of Muslims, 56, 59, 108, 121, 138, 139, 299;
times of, 60, 200;
calls to, 60, 343;
postures and form of, 63;
of the night of the Middle of Shaabán, 435;
over the dead, 481.
Prayers of Friday, 67, 71, 72;
the marriage night, 154, 156;
at the tombs of saints, 217, 398;
of Ramádan, 439;
of the two grand festivals, 442, 451;
on other occasions, 78.
Prayer-carpet. _See_ Seggádeh.
Predestination, 56, 436;
its influence upon the character of the Muslims, 266.
Presents given on occasions of private festivities, etc., 148, 152,
156, 158, 185, 464, 468, 472;
by servants, 186, 443;
to servants, 140, 185, 443, 451.
Prices of articles of food, etc., in Cairo, 290.
Printing, scruples of the Muslims respecting, 260.
Printing Office at Boolák, 201, 516.
Professors. _See_ Azhar.
Prophets and apostles, 53.
Prostitutes. _See_ Gházeeyehs, 107.
Psylli, 352.
Punishments for various offences, 99;
of dishonest tradesmen, 11;
_See_ “Laws,” “Adultery,” “Fornication,” and “Apostasy.”
Puppets, 359.
Purifications. _See_ “Wudoo,” “Tayemmum,” and “Ghusl.”
Purse, sum of money so called, 103, 535.
Quarters of Cairo, 5, 113.
Quatremère, referred to, 495, 507.
Raaráa, Eiyoob, 452.
Raba, 17.
Rabáb, 332.
Rabeea el-Owwal; et-Tánee, 199.
Rabtah, 37, 519.
Ráhib, 494.
Rahmánee, 242.
Ramadán, 79, 206, 436.
Rasools of the Kádee, 101.
Ratl, 534.
Ráyeh, 455.
Reciters of Romances, 333, 359, 367-380.
Reesheh, 522.
Reffa, 294.
Regeb, 199.
Regm, 205.
Rei (water-skins), 295;
lands, 301.
Rek’ah, 63.
Reland referred to, 48, 56, 59.
Religion of the Muslims, 52;
present state of the, 262.
Religious education of the Muslim Egyptians, 48, 51;
character of the same, 255.
Remedies for diseases, etc., charms used as, 233, 399.
Retaliation for wounds and mutilations, 94.
Revelations, successive, 53.
Rifá’eeyeh darweeshes, or Rifá’ees, 221, 352, 447.
Rikk, 331.
Riwáks. _See_ Azhar.
Riyál, sum of money so called, 535;
Faránsa, 535.
Rope dancers, 356.
Rosary. _See_ Sebhah.
Róshan, 6.
Ruba, 533;
Fenduklee, 528.
Ruzz mufelfel, 134.
Saad and Harám, 178.
Saadeeyeh darweeshes, or Saadees, 220, 222, 352, 416, 419, 450;
(a coin), 535.
Sabáheeyeh, 158.
Sabbágh, 294.
Sabbath of the Muslims. _See_ Friday, and Gum’ah.
Sacrifice performed by the pilgrims, 80;
performed by others on the same day, 80, 81, 451;
at the tombs of saints, 44, 219;
on the burial of the dead, 479, 485;
at a Coptic marriage, 504;
by the Copts at the tombs of their relations, 507.
Sacy, De, 83, 188, 304, 306, 379.
Sadakah, 78.
Sadr, 183.
Sa’eed, 52.
Safa, 37, 528.
Safar, 198.
Ságát, 334.
Sáheb seggádeh, 221.
Sahhár, 246.
Sahlab, 298.
Sahoor, 439, 440.
Sáïgh, 293.
Saints, Muslim, 208, 432, 433;
respect paid to, 98, 208, 216;
regarded and invoked as intercessors, 78, 217;
tombs and cenotaphs of, 216, 220;
the visits to these, 217;
the prayers, sacrifices, votive offerings, and other ceremonies
performed on such visits, 44, 217, 296, 398.
_See_ also Moolids, and Miracles.
Sáïs, 121, 140.
Sakkas, 121, 295.
Sakka sharbeh, 295;
el-’ashr, 393.
Sakeefeh, 517.
Sákiyeh, 301, 524.
Salah, 59, 155.
_See_ Prayer.
Sale referred to, or quoted, 53, 69, 91, 95, 442;
his translation of the Kur-án, 53.
Saleeb, festival of the, 462.
Salk, 157.
Saltah, 36.
Salubrity of Egypt, 2.
Salutations, 179.
Samoom, 2.
Sáneeyeh. _See_ Seeneeyeh.
Santeer, 332.
Sáree, 408.
Sarráf, 515.
Sarrág báshee, 461.
Satreng, 315.
Schools of the Muslims, 48, 119;
Copts, 495;
for needle-work, 51.
Schoolmasters, 49, 56, 192.
Sciences, 191.
Scorpions, feats performed with, 222, 419.
Scripture, references to the following texts of:—
Gen. xvi. 4, 167;
xxiii. 11, 293;
xxiv., 143;
_ibid._ 47, 531;
_ibid._ 65, 39;
xxix. 26, 144;
_ibid._ 27, 466;
xli. 42, 26;
l. 3, 488.
Exod. i. 16, 466;
iii. 5, 10;
xxii. 26 and 27, 141;
xxxix. 30, 26.
Lev. xi. 9-12, 83;
_ibid._ 22, 172;
xii. 2-5, 468;
xix. 32, 272;
xx. 10, 95;
_ibid._ 13-15, 96.
Num. xi. 5, 174.
Deut. xix. 15, 102;
xxi. 17, 90;
xxiv. 1, 87.
Josh. v. 15, 10.
Judg. xiv. 12, 466.
Ruth ii. 14, 133.
2 Sam. x. 4, 23.
1 Kings xviii. 12, 212.
2 Kings ii. 9-16, 212;
ix. 30, 31;
xvii. 4-6, 212.
2 Chron. xxxv. 25, 474.
Ps. lviii. 4 and 5, 352.
Eccles. x. 11, 352.
S. Song, _passim_, 412.
Isa. iii. 16, 529, 532;
_ibid._ 21, 531;
_ibid._ 23, 39;
xlix. 22, 44.
Jer. viii. 17, 352;
ix. 17, 474;
xxii. 14, 11;
xxxvii. 21, 291.
Ezek. ix. 2, 3, and 11, 26;
xvi. 12, 531;
xxiii. 40, 31.
Matt. ix. 23, 474;
xiv. 6 and 7, 349;
xxiii. 29, 220;
xxvi. 23, 133.
Mark vi. 22 and 23, 349;
vii. 3, 130.
John iii. 33, 26;
vii. 15, 436;
viii. 4 and 5, 95;
xiii. 26, 133.
Acts xv. 20 and 29, 501.
1 Cor. xi. 10, 39.
Eph. v. 19, 465.
Rev., _passim_, 55.
Scriptures, Jewish and Christian, held, by the Muslims, to be almost
totally corrupted, 54.
Sculptors. _See_ Painters.
Seal-rings, 26.
Sebeels, or public fountains, 48, 119, 263.
Sebhah, 67, 403;
ceremony of the, 486.
Sebleh, 37.
Sebt en-Noor, 452, 500.
Sects of Muslims, four great, 52, 106.
Seega, 318, 320.
Seemiya, 242, 243.
Seeneeyeh, or sáneeyeh, 130.
Seeret Aboo-Zeyd, etc. _See_ Aboo-Zeyd, Ez-Záhir, ’Antar, and
Delhem’eh.
Seewán, 408.
Seggádeh, 59, 127, 173, 221, 289.
Sehr, 243.
Sekeeneh, the seyyideh, 217.
Selám to the Prophet, 71, 72, 441.
Selámát, 181.
Sensuality of the Egyptians, 274.
Sermon in a mosque, 73.
Serpents, eating of, 220, 222, 419.
Serpent-charmers, 222, 352.
Servants, 23, 113, 121, 140, 182, 183, 443;
female, 170.
Seven Sleepers, virtues of the names of the, 228.
Seyf Zu-l-Yezen, romance of, 381.
Seyfee, 301.
Seyrefee, 245.
Seyyib, 146.
Seyyid, or Seyd, 120;
Ahmad El-Bedawee. _See_ Ahmad; and for other seyyids, see their
proper names.
Seyyideh Zeyneb. _See_ Zeyneb; and for other seyyidehs, see their
proper names.
Seyyidna, 53.
Shaaban, 199;
Leylet en-Nusf min, 435.
Shaaráweeyeh darweeshes, 222.
Shádoof, 300.
Sha’eer, 525.
Sha’eereeyeh, 358.
Shá’ers, 333, 360.
Sháfe’ee, the Imam Esh-, his tomb, 217, 218;
his Moolid, 434.
Sháfe’ees, 52, 106.
Sháhad, use of this word, 272.
Sháh-bandar, 100.
Shahháteh, 237.
Sháhids of the Kádee’s court, 102;
of biers, and of tombs, 480, 484.
Sháleesh, 433.
Shara Allah, 164.
Sharákee, 301.
Sharbát, 137.
Sharbetlee, 294, 297.
Sháteh, 521.
Shaving the head, etc., 23, 44.
Shawáteh, 521.
Sháweesh, el-Hágg, 399.
Sházilees, 224.
Shealeg’ee, and Shealeh, 108.
Shedd el-weled, 473.
Sheddeh benád’kah, 530.
Sheeh, 231.
Sheehah, 380.
Sheera, 306.
Sheesheh, 124.
Shemm en-Neseem, 452, 453.
Shemmás, 494.
Shems el-Kebeereh (Esh-), 220.
Sherbet, 137;
cups, or kullehs, 137, 297.
Shereefs, 25, 120, 128, 221.
Sheykh, 29, 48, 120, 128, 209;
former and present condition of a literary, 193;
of each of the four great sects, 106;
el-Hárah, 113;
et-Tumn, 113;
of a trade or manufacture, 113;
of servants, 113;
of thieves, 113;
el-Beled, 114;
el-Bekree, 221;
es-Sádát, 221;
of darweeshes, 221, 223.
Sheytánee, 242.
Shibr, 533.
Shibreeyeh, 402.
Shibuk, 122.
Shibukshee, 294.
Shiftish’eh, 509.
Shiháb, 204.
Shinnáweeyeh darweeshes, 222.
Shintiyán, 35.
Shitawee, 301.
Shiya’ees, 52.
Shóbash, 464.
Shoes taken off before entering a mosque, or stepping on a mat or
carpet, etc., 10, 71, 292.
Shoosheh, 24.
Shops, 290, 291, 517.
Showwál, 199.
Shureyk, 443.
Sidr, 435, 475.
Silk clothing forbidden to men, 24.
Silver. _See_ Gold.
Siráfeh, 469.
Sirát (Es-), 54.
Sitt, 120.
Slaughtering of animals for food, how performed, 83.
Slaves, 19, 85, 88, 121, 141, 160, 161, 168, 177;
emancipation of, 89, 169;
rights of, 89, 170.
_See_ Memlooks.
Slave-traders. _See_ Gellábs.
Sleeping, 139.
Smoking, 121, 123, 171, 175.
Sneezing, custom observed on, 186.
Social usages, 179.
Soil of Egypt, 286, 300;
produce of the, 20, 301;
insufficient cultivation of the, 19, 20.
Sóms, or fasts, of the Copts, 499.
Songs, 257, 336;
at zikrs, 411.
Soobiya, 298.
Sooks, 291, 293, 517.
Soul, state of the, between death and the judgment, 485, 486.
Star, falling or shooting, superstition respecting, 204.
Strabo referred to, 48.
Strangled animals, their flesh unlawful as food to the Muslims, 82;
and to the Copts, 501.
Streets of Cairo, 4, 291, 517.
Students. _See_ Azhar.
Subh, 60.
Subooa after a birth, 362, 466, 467;
after a marriage, 466;
after return from pilgrimage, 403.
Sudeyree, 24.
Suffeh, 10.
Suflee, 242.
Sufrah, 130.
Suleymán, preadamite kings so named, 204;
A’gha, Silahdár, anecdote of, 114.
Sultán, a title given to some eminent saints, 399.
Sunnees, 52.
Sunneh, 60, 84.
Superstitions, 194, 202, 226, 453, 467, 471.
Surgery, 198.
Surnames, 43, 115.
Swearing by God, the Prophet, etc., 23, 37, 102, 256, 283.
Swine’s flesh forbidden to the Muslim, 82;
not eaten by the Copts, 501.
Sword used by the Khateeb on Friday, and why, 72, 73.
Syrians in Egypt, their number, 19.
Táb, game of, 317.
Tabbákh, 94.
Tabls, 333.
Tablat el-musahhir, 440.
Táboot, 216, 301.
Tafaddal, 131.
Tágir, 293.
Tá-Há, a name of the Arabian Prophet, 387.
Tákeeyeh, 25.
Takhtabósh, 11.
Takht’rawán, 402.
Talák reg’ee, 87.
Talkeen of the dead, 484.
Tamboor, 332.
Tár, 173, 334, 474.
Taráweeh prayers, 439.
Tarboosh, 25, 289.
Tareekah, 209.
Tarhah, 37, 39.
Tarkeebeh, 216, 484.
Tarskháneh, 100.
Tartoor, 223.
Tattooing, 24, 33, 491.
Táwulah, 315.
Taxes, 117, 119, 501.
Tayemmum, 59.
Tebweez, 316.
Teeb. _See_ Táb.
Teen meblool, 297.
Teiyibeen, 181, 183.
Tekbeer, 63, 482.
Tekleel, 504.
Tekyees, 301.
Temperance of the Egyptians, 269.
Temperature of the climate of Egypt, 2.
Tesbeel, 297.
Testimony. _See_ Witnesses.
Teymeeneh, 181.
Tezyeereh, 37.
Theatrical performances in London, described by an Algerine, 206.
_See_ Farce-players.
Theft, laws respecting, 94.
Thieves, 113.
Thousand and One Nights referred to, 109, 136, 203, 275, 303, 413;
recitations of the, 381.
Tikkeh. _See_ Dikkeh.
Tirmis, 94.
Tób, 37, 41.
Tobacco, 124, 175, 303;
disallowed by some Muslims, 82, 98;
when first introduced into the East, 303.
Tók, 531.
Tombs, 162, 443, 451, 483, 488.
Toobeh, 200.
Toot, 199.
Tooth-ache prevalent in Egypt, 23.
Trades, 293;
sheykhs of, 113;
customs on admission into, 472.
Tradesmen, 138, 292.
Traditions of the Prophet, 84.
Treasure, custom of hiding, 16, 282.
Tribes of Egyptian peasantry, 22, 178.
Tufeylees, 268.
Tukeyseh, 335.
Tumbák, 124.
Turban, 25, 28, 29;
different colours of, distinguishing different classes, 28, 491, 493,
509, 510, 512;
green, when first assumed by shereefs as distinctive of their race,
28;
black and blue, when first worn by Christians, 509;
of the ’Ulama, 28;
much respected, 28;
ladies’, 37.
Tureiya, 148.
Turks. _See_ ’Osmánlees.
Tyranny of officers of the government, 111, 112, 114, 115.
Ukeeyeh, 534.
Ukkah, 534.
’Ulama, 28, 106, 192, 196;
bribed in law proceedings, 104.
Unbelievers, Muslims ordered to wage war with, 81, 255;
Muslims in Egypt often taught to hate, 48, 255, 536;
general conduct of Muslims to, 99, 255.
Urquhart, Mr., referred to, 45, 81, 95, 140.
Uskuf, 493.
Usury forbidden, 84.
Veil, head-, 37, 39;
face, 37, 39, 159;
antiquity of the, 39;
importance and obligation of the, 42, 44, 160;
men in whose presence it is not required, 86, 160, 161, 162.
Vermin, 3, 140.
Villages, 18.
Visits, 182, 443, 451;
of women, 172, 173.
Wahhábees, or Wahabees, 97.
Wakf, 119.
Wálee, 107.
Wa-llah, or wa-lláhi, 256.
War against unbelievers, 81, 259.
Warak mahshee, 133.
Washing before and after meals, 130, 135;
clothes, 272.
Watchmen in Cairo, 108, 262.
Water of the Nile, 1, 135;
gratuitous distribution of, 297;
-bottles, 135;
-carriers. _See_ Sakkas.
Watwát, 35.
Wefa en-Neel, or Wefa el-Bahr, 455, 458.
Weights, 533.
Wekálehs, 17, 290.
Wekeel, 86, 145.
Welees, 63, 194, 209, 243, 479.
Weleeds, 55.
Welwel’eh, 474.
Weybeh, 533.
Wilád el-layálee, 155.
Wilwál, 474.
Winds, hot, 2.
Windows of lattice-work, 6-8;
of coloured glass, 14.
Wine forbidden to Muslims, 82;
drunk in secret by many persons, 82, 136;
by some openly, 82;
allowed in paradise, 55.
Wird es-sahar, 224.
Witnesses, 88, 102.
Wives, lawful number of, 85;
their rights to dowry, etc., 86;
with regard to the nurture of their children, 88;
rebellious, law respecting, 88;
their feelings with regard to the restraint or seclusion to which
they are subject, 163, 281.
_See_ Marriage, Divorce, and Adultery.
Women not destitute of souls, nor excluded from paradise, according to
the Muslims, 55;
not admitted into mosques during the regular times of prayer, 69;
seldom pray even at home, 69;
whom a man is allowed to see unveiled, 86, 160, 168;
guilty of capital crimes, how put to death, 94;
when marriageable, 143;
their domestic life, condition, and habits, 159, 175.
_See_ Wives, Hareem, and Veil.
Writing, manner of, and apparatus for, 49, 50, 190.
Wudoó, 51, 56.
Wukkah, and Wukeeyeh, 534.
Yaakoobes, or Ya’ákibeh, 491.
Yahood, 512.
Yakhnee, 133.
Yá Sátir, 162.
Yá-Seen, a name of the Arabian Prophet, 387.
Yawning, custom observed on, 186, 187.
Year, Mohammadan, 198;
Coptic, 199.
Yelek, 35.
Yemeneeyeh, 476.
Zaaboot, 26.
Zaatar, 122.
Zábit, 99, 107, 108.
Zaghábeh, 361.
Zagháreet, 150, 151, 156, 479.
Záhir (Ez-), romance of, 367.
Záhireeyeh, 367.
Záïrgeh, 239.
Zarf, 125.
Záwiyeh, 294.
Záwiyet el-’Omyán, 193.
Zebeeb, 137, 297.
Zeffehs (festive parades or processions), i. 78, 150, 151, 153, 155,
157, 158, 469, 504.
Zeiyát, 294.
Zekah, 78, 392.
Zemr, 333.
Zemzem, water of, 237, 403.
Zeyneb, seyyideh, mosque of, 217, 218, 430.
_See_ Moolid.
Zikkeer, 410.
Zikrs, i. 149, 220, 234, 258, 331, 336, 396, 423, 432, 439, 465;
particular descriptions of, 398, 409, 418, 420.
Zináteeyeh, 361.
Zóba’ah, 203.
Zughbeeyeh, 361.
Zu-l-Heggeh, 199.
Zu-l-Himmeh. _See_ Delhem’eh.
Zu-l-Kaadeh, 199.
Zummárah, 336.
--------------
Butler & Tanner, The Selwood Printing Works, Frome, and London.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Transcriber’s Note
The phrase ‘ground floor’ appears on occasion as ‘ground-floor’, with no
preponderance of either. Both are kept as found. ‘Daybreak’ and
‘day-break’ are used interchangeably as well.
The first complete footnote on p. 8 refers to styles of latticework.
However, the anchor in the text is missing. It has been added at the end
of the paragraph, presuming that the discussion is now about ‘inferior
houses’, but the placement is otherwise arbitrary.
Lapses of punctuation in the Index have been corrected without comment.
The index entries for ‘Paradise’ and ‘Benzoin’ cross-reference ‘Genneh’
and ‘Gáwee’, respectively. However, neither entry exists. The index
entry for ‘Hogget el-bahr’ has no page reference, nor does the phrase
appear in the text. The page reference for ‘Jugglers‘ was transposed
from ‘355’ to ‘553’. The page reference for ‘Copts’, under the
‘Pilgrimage’ item was incorrectly as ’561’, rather than ‘501’. An
apparently specious (because out-of-order) reference regarding printed
translations of the Ku-rán should be ‘234’ rather than ‘44’. The page
reference for the virtues of Mohammed’s ninety-nine names is missing,
and p. 228 has been provided as the most likely.
Other errors deemed most likely to be the printer’s have been corrected,
and are noted here. The references are to the page and line in the
original.
xi.19 to witness any Muslim ri[ght/te] Replaced.
xvi.11 said he, [“]the salutation Added.
17.21 are mere hovels[.] Added.
17.35 or of millet-stalks, etc.[,] Added.
52.33 called by the Arabs “El-Islám.[”] Added.
54.20 in the bridge “Es-Sirát[”] Added.
76.17 greet him with a salutation![”/’] Replaced.
77.1 ’A’[i/ï]sheh, the mother of the faithful Replaced.
80.36 [‘/“]el-’Eed el-Kebeer,” Replaced.
82.21 chiefly [a/o]n account of Replaced.
89.42 who is a Muslim’eh[./,] or a Christian Replaced.
93.40 the homicide is a member[.] Added.
100.18 The “Meglis el-Meshwar′ah[”] Added.
119.35 Mustaf[’]a Káshif Inserted.
127.10 (or prayer-carpet[)] Added.
137.16 as its name implies[;] Added.
149.6 the “belláneh[”] Added.
187.4 of the present company[;/,] Replaced.
189.17 the literary and vulga[r] Restored.
206.31 peal of thunder was heard[;/,] Replaced.
214.40 but some per[s]ons assert Inserted.
217.10 Imá[n/m] ’Alee Replaced.
217.11 Imá[n/m] El-Hoseyn Replaced.
228.19 [(]or the vessel Added.
229.22 “What God willeth [cometh to pass![”]]/[]”) Transposed.
229.25 “M[a/á] sháa-lláh!” Replaced.
230.37 are especially consid[er]ed preservatives Inserted.
235.28 the sheyk[h] Ibráheem Added.
244.23 in [in] this place Repeated.
245.2 took the latter[;/,] Replaced.
263.20 “God is all-knowing[”] Added.
295.7 and [to ]give them Removed.
309.2 a small kind of stall, for coffee[.] Added.
333.37 They are placed upon[ ]a camel Inserted.
369.32 The We[ez/ze]er Sháheen Transposed.
370.5 The We[ez/ze]er Sháheen Transposed.
370.9 ’Aláy-ed[./-]Deen Replaced.
370.21 The We[ez[ze]er said to him Transposed.
371.26 The King answered[./,] Replaced.
377.33 He exclaimed[,] Added.
379.12 The Sult[a/á]n answered, Replaced.
387.31 to the fortress of Esh[ /-]Shamta Replaced.
392.17 required[ by] their law Inserted.
398.40 relatively few persons collec[t]ed Inserted.
413.29 and not feared the watchmen?[’] Added.
415.19 Yá ’amme[e] ’Ashmáwee! Added.
432.33 have been carr[r]ied from Removed.
435.33 “Soorat Yá-Seen Yá-Seen[”] Added.”“
451.4 “El-’Eed el-Kebeer;[”] Added.
465.17 and so on[.] Added.
472.13 w[f/i]th one or two Replaced.
483.23 “Soorat el-Bakarah el-Bakarah[”] Added.
514.8 to spare his life[.] Added.
546.21 For other particulars [r]especting> them Added.
The errors below appear in footnotes and are referenced by page upon
which the note begins, the original note number, and the line within it.
x.2.24 There is one wor[d/k] Replaced.
27.1.1 (called “miláyeh”[)] Added.
28.1.1 or [‘/“]Khalif.” Replaced.
54.2.2 is, however, disputed[.] Added.
65.1.3 the “ikámeh[”] Added.
122.1.1 I believe it is maple[.] Added.
126.1.2 (for “’ázikee[”]) Added.
133.3.2 the same[.] Added.
150.1.1 [“]From the verb ‘adna,’ [“]he brought,” etc. Misplaced.
227.1.1 to return to E[u/n]gland Inverted.
229.2.1 “Yá selá[n/m],” Replaced.
312.1.1 “kees el-hammán el-hammán[,]” Added.
*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "An account of the manners and customs of the modern Egyptians" ***
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