Chapter XXIV: Periodical Public Festivals, Etc (2)

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.

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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.”

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