PERSONAL NARRATIVE OF A PILGRIMAGE TO EL-MEDINAH AND MECCAH. VOL. III. PERSONAL NARRATIVE OF A PILGRIMAGE AND TO EL-MEDINAH MECCAH. BY BICHARD F, BURTON, LIEUTENANT BOMBAY ARMY. u Oui notions of Mecca must drawn from the Arabians ; as no unbeliever is permitted to enter the city, our travellers are silent.”— Gibbon, chap. 50. IN THREE VOLUMES. VOL. III. —MECCAH. LONDON: LONGMAN, BROWN, GREEN, AND LONGMANS. 18 S 6 . The A uthor reserves to himself the right of authorizing a Translation of this Wort J J (,/■ JO ^ctfio £ A^c V - w J \) t)s^ ' ✓ s’ S S O' 0 -^ j ✓ O O'^.-' J J 0^5 ' 0 -' j_ a * The hair on crown called “ Shushah.” 4. Shape of shaved head: firmness and self¬ esteem high. 1. This is the typical face. 2. i ‘ Ringlets called “ Dalik, * The Wahhabi tribe generally shave the head, whilst some amongst them still wear the hair long, which is the ancient Bedouin practice. TIIE ORIGINAL RACE. 29 The first race, indigens or autochthones, are those sub-Caucasian tribes which may still be met with in the province of Mahrah, and generally along the coast between Muscat and Hadramaut.* The Mahrah, the Jenabah, and the Gara especially show a low developement, for which hardship and priva- bibliologist who metamorphoses the quail of the wilderness into a “ruddy goose,”—detects “insidiousness” and “a spirit of restless and rancorous hostility ” against revealed religion. He proceeds on these sound grounds to attack the accuracy, the honesty and the learning of the mighty dead. This may be Christian zeal; it is not Christian charity. Of late years it has been the fashion for every aspirant to ecclesiastical honours to deal a blow at the ghost of Gibbon. And, as has before been remarked, Mr. Foster gratuitously attacked Burck- hardt, whose manes had long rested in the good will of man. This contrasts offensively with Lord Lindsay's happy compli¬ ment to the memory of the honest Swiss and the amiable eulogy quoted by Dr. Keith from the Quarterly (vol. xxiii.), and thus adopted as his own. It may seem folly to defend the historian of the Decline and Fall against the compiler of the Historical Geography of Arabia. But continental Orientalists have expressed their wonder at the appearance in this 19th century of the “ Voice of Israel from Mount Sinai” and the “India in Greece”: they should be informed that all our Eastern students are not votaries of such obsolete vagaries. * This is said without any theory. According to all his¬ torians of long inhabited lands, the advenas—whether migra¬ tory tribes or visitors—find indigens or uvflrytmc. 30 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. tion only will not satisfactorily account.* These are “Arab el Aribah,” for whose inferiority oriental fable accounts as usual by thaumaturgy. The principal race of advense are the Noachians, a great Chaldaean or Mesopotamian clan which entered Arabia about 2200 A.c., and by slow and gradual encroachments drove before them the ancient race and seized the happier lands of the Peninsula. The vast Anizah tribe and the Nejdi families are types of this race, which is purely Cau¬ casian and shows a highly nervous temperament, * They are described as having small heads, with low brows and ill-formed noses, (strongly contrasting with the Jewish feature,) irregular lines, black skins, and frames for the most part frail and slender. For a physiological description of this race, I must refer my readers to the writings of Dr. Carter of Bombay, the medical officer of the Palinurus, when engaged on the Survey of Eastern Arabia. With ample means of observa¬ tion he has not failed to remark the similarity between the lowest type of Bedouin and the Indigens of India, as repre¬ sented by the Bheels and other Jungle races. This, from a man of science who is not writing up to a theory, may be con¬ sidered strong evidence in favour of variety in the Arabian family. The fact has long been suspected, but few travellers have given their attention to the subject since the downfall of Sir William Jones’ Indian origin theory. I am convinced that there is not in Arabia “one Arab face, cast of features and expression,” as was formerly supposed to be the case, and I venture to recommend the subject for consideration to future observers. THE ISHMAELITES. 31 together with those signs of “ blood ” which dis¬ tinguish even the lower animals, the horse and camel, the greyhound, and the goat of Arabia. This race would correspond with the Arab el Muta- arrabah or Arabicised Arabs of the eastern histo¬ rians.* The third family, an ancient and a noble stock, dating from A.c. 1900, and typified in history by Ishmael, still occupies the Sinaitic Peninsula. These Arabs, however, do not, and never did, extend beyond the limits of the mountains, where, still dwelling in the presence of their brethren, they retain all the wild customs and the untameable spirit of their forefathers. They are distinguished from the pure stock by an admixture of Egyptian blood f, and by preserving the ancient characteris- * Of this Mesopotamian race there are now many local varieties. The subjects of the four Abyssinian and Christian sovereigns who succeeded Yusuf, the Jewish “ Lord of the Pit,” produced, in Yemen, the modern “ Akhdam ” or “ Serviles.” The “Hujur” of Yemen and Oman are a mixed race whose origin is still unknown. And to quote no more cases, the “ Ebna ” mentioned by Ibn Ishak were descended from the Persian soldiers of Anushirwan, who expelled the Abyssinian invader. ■f That the Copts, or ancient Egyptians, were “ Half-caste Arabs,” a mixed people like the Abyssinians, the Gallns, the Somal, and the Kafirs, an Arab graft upon an African 32 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAII AND MECCAII. tics of the Nilitic family. The Ishmaelites are sub- Caucasian, and are denoted in history as the “ Arab el Mustaarabah,” the insititious or half- caste Arab. stock, appears highly probable. Hence the old Nilitic race has been represented as woolly-headed and of negro feature. Thus Leo Africanus makes the Africans to be descendants of the Arabs. Hence the tradition that Egypt was peopled by Ethiopia, and has been gradually whitened by admixture of Persian and Median, Greek and Roman blood. Hence, too, the fancied connection of Ethiopia with Cush, Susiana, Khu- zistan or the lands about the Tigris. Thus learned Virgil, con¬ founding the Western with the Eastern Ethiopians, alludes to “ Usque coloratos Nilus devexus ad Indos.” And Strabo maintains the people of Mauritania to be Indians who had come with Hercules. We cannot but remark in Southern Arabia the footprints of the Hindu, whose superstitions, like the Phoenix which flew from India to expire in Egypt, passed over to Arabia with Dwipa Sukhutra (Socotra) for a resting place on its way to the regions of the remotest west. As regards the difference be¬ tween the Japhetic and Semitic tongues it may be remarked that though nothing can be more distinct than Sanscrit and Arabic, yet that Pahlavi and Hebrew (Prof. Bohlen on Ge¬ nesis) present some remarkable points of resemblance. I have attempted in a work on Sindh to collect words common to both families. And further research convinces me that such vocables as the Arabic Taur jp the Persian Tora \^yj and the Latin “ Taurus ” denote an ancient rapprochement , whose mysteries still invite the elucidation of modern science. THE BEDOUINS. 33 Oriental ethnography, which, like most Eastern sciences, luxuriates in nomenclative distinction, recognises a fourth race under the name of “ Arab el Mustaajamah.” These “ barbarised Arabs ” are now represented by such a population as that of Meccah. That Aus and Khazraj, the Himyaritic tribes which emigrated to El Hejaz, mixed with the Amalikah, the Jurham and the Katirah, also races from Yemen, and with the Jews, a northern branch of the Semitic family, we have ample historical evidence. And they who know how immutable is race in the desert, will scarcely doubt that the Bedouin of El Hejaz preserves in purity the blood transmitted to him by his ancestors.* I will not apologise for entering into details con- * The Sherif families affect marrying female slaves, thereby showing the intense pride which finds no Arab noble enough for them. Others take to wife Bedouin girls: their blood, therefore, is by no means pure. The worst feature of their system is the forced celibacy of their daughters: they are never married into any but Sherif families; consequently they often die in spinsterhood. The effects of this custom are most pernicious, for though celibacy exists in the East it is by no means synonymous with chastity. Here it springs from a morbid sense of honour, and arose, it is popularly said, from an affront taken by a Sherif against his daughter’s husband. But all Arabs condemn the practice. VOL. III. D 34 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. cerning the personale of the Bedouins * : a precise physical portrait of race, it has justly been re¬ marked, is the sole deficiency in the otherwise perfect pages of Bruce and Burckhardt. The temperament of the Hejazi is not unfre- quently the pure nervous, as the height of the forehead and the fine texture of the hair prove. Sometimes the bilious, and rarely the sanguine, elements predominate : the lymphatic I never saw. He has large nervous centres, and well-formed spine and brain, a conformation favourable to longevity. Bartema well describes his colour as a “ dark leonine : ” it varies from the deepest Spanish to a chocolate hue, and its varieties are attributed by the people to blood. The skin is hard, dry, and soon wrinkled by exposure. The xanthous com¬ plexion is rare, though not unknown in cities, but * I use this word as popular abuse has fixed it. Every Orientalist knows that Badawin (Bedouin) is the plural form of Badawi, an “ ism el nisbah,” or adjective derived from Badu, a desert. “ Some words notoriously corrupt,” says Gibbon, “ are fixed, and as it were naturalised, in the vulgar tongue.” The word “ Badawi ” is not insulting, like “ Turk ” applied to an TJsmanli, or “ Fellah ” to the Egyptian. But you affront the wild man by mistaking his clan for a lower one. “ Ya Hitaymi,” for instance, addressed to a Harb Bedouin, makes him finger his dagger. THE BEDOUINS. 35 the leucous does not exist. The crinal hair is fre¬ quently lightened by bleaching, and the pilar is generally browner than the crinal. The voice is strong and clear, but rather barytone than bass: in anger it becomes a shrill chattering like the cry of a wild animal. The look of a chief is dignified and grave even to pensiveness; the “ respectable man’s” is self-sufficient and fierce; the lower orders look ferocious or stupid and inquisitive. Yet there is not much difference in this point between men of the same tribe, who have similar pursuits which engender similar passions. “ Expression ” is the grand diversifier of appearance among civilised people: in the desert it knows few varieties. The Bedouin cranium is small, ooidal, long, high, narrow, and remarkable in the occiput for the development of Gall’s second propensity : the crown slopes upwards towards the region of firmness, which is elevated ; whilst the sides are flat to a fault. The hair, exposed to sun, wind, and rain, acquires a coarseness not natural to it * : worn in * This coarseness is not a little increased by a truly Bedouin habit of washing the locks with—* s not considered wholly impure, and is also used for the eyes, upon which its ammonia would act as a rude stimulant. The 36 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAII AND MECCAH. “ Kurun ” * — ragged elf-locks — hanging down to the breast, or shaved in the form “ Shusliah,” nothing can be wilder than its appearance. The face is made to be a long oval, but want of flesh detracts from its regularity. The forehead is high, broad and retreating : the upper portion is mode¬ rately developed ; but nothing can be finer than the lower brow, and the frontal sinuses stand out, indi¬ cating bodily strength and activity of character. The temporal fossa are deep, the cheek bones sali- ant, and the elevated zygoma combined with the “ lantern-jaw,” often gives a death’s-head appear¬ ance to the face. The eyebrows are long, bushy, and crooked, broken, as it were, at the angle where “ order” is supposed to be, and bent in sign of thoughtfulness. Most popular writers, following De Page f, describe the Arab eye as large, ardent, only cosmetic is clarified butter freely applied to the body as well as to the hair. * “Kurun” properly means “horns.” The Sherifs generally wear their hair in “ Haffah long locks hanging down both sides of the neck and shaved away about a finger’s breadth round the forehead and behind the neck. f This traveller describes the modern Mesopotamian and northern race, which, as its bushy beard—unusual feature in pure Arab blood—denotes, is mixed with central Asian. In the north, as might be expected, the camels are hairy; whereas THE BEDOUINS. 37 and black. The Bedouin of the Hejaz, and indeed the race generally, has a small eye, round, restless, deep-set and fiery, denoting keen inspection with an ardent temperament and an impassioned character. Its colour is dark brown or green brown, and the pupil is often speckled. The habit of pur¬ sing up the skin below the orbits and half closing the lids to prevent dazzle, plants the outer angles with premature crows’ feet. Another peculiarity is the sudden way in which the eye opens, especi¬ ally under excitement. This, combined with its fixity of glance, forms an expression now of lively fierceness, then of exceeding sternness; whilst the narrow space between the orbits impresses the countenance in repose with an intelligence, not destitute of cunning. As a general rule, however, the expression of the Bedouin’s face is rather dig¬ nity than that cunning for which the Semitic race is celebrated, and there are lines about the mouth in variance with the stern or the fierce look of the brow. The ears are like those of Arab horses, in El Hejaz and in the low parts of El Yemen, a whole animal does not give a handful fit for weaving. The Arabs attribute this, as we should, to heat, which causes the longer hairs to drop off. 38 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. small, well-cut, “ castey ” and elaborate, with many elevations and depressions. His nose is pronounced, generally aquiline, but sometimes straight like those Greek statues which have been treated as prodigious exaggerations of the facial angle. For the most part, it is a well-made feature with deli¬ cate nostrils below which the septum appears: in anger they swell and open like a perfectly bred mare’s. I have, however, seen, in not a few instances, pert and offensive “ pugs.” Deep furrows descend from the wings of the nose, showing an uncertain temper, now too grave, then too gay. The mouth is irregular. The lips are either hordes , denoting rudeness and want of taste, or they form a mere line. In the latter case there is an appear¬ ance of undue development in the upper portion of the countenance, especially when the jaws are as- cetically thin, and the chin weakly retreats. The latter feature, however, is generally well and strongly made. The teeth, as usual among Orientals, are white, even, short, and broad — indi¬ cations of strength. Some tribes trim their mous- tachios according to the “ Sunnat; ” the Shafei often shave them, and many allow them to hang Persian-like over the lips. The beard is repre¬ sented by two tangled tufts upon the chin; where THE BEDOUINS. 39 whisker should be, the place is either bare or thinly covered with straggling pile. The Bedouins of El Hejaz are short men, about the height of the Indians near Bombay, but weighing on an average a stone more. As usual in this stage of society, stature varies little; you rarely see a giant, and scarcely ever a dwarf. Deformity is checked by the Spartan restraint upon population, and no weakly infant can live through a Bedouin life. The figure, though spare, is square and well knit, fulness of limb never appears but about spring, when milk abounds: I have seen two or three muscular figures, but never a fat man. The neck is sinewy, the chest broad, the flank thin, and the stomach in-drawn; the legs, though fleshless, are well-made, especially when the knee and ancle are not bowed by too early riding. The shins seldom bend to the front as in the African race.* The arms are thin, with muscles like whip-cords, and the hands and feet are, in point of size and de- * “Magnum inter Arabes et Africanos discrimen efficit ij ovpn- Arabum parvula membra sicut nobilis aaqui. Afrieanum tamen flaccum, crassum longumque: ita quiescens, erectum tamen parum distenditur. Argumentum validissiraum est ad indagandam Egyptorum originem : Nilotica enim gens membrum habet Afrieanum.” 40 PILGKIMAGE TO EL MEDINA!! AND MECCAH. licacy, a link between Europe and India. As in the Celt, the Arab thumb is remarkably long, extending almost to the first joint of the index*, which, with its easy rotation, makes it a perfect prehensile instrument: the palm also is fleshless, small-boned, and elastic. With his small active figure it is not strange that the wildest Bedouin’s gait should be pleasing; he neither unfits himself for walking, nor distorts his ancles by turning out his toes according to the farcical rule of fashion, and his shoulders are not dressed like a drill sergeant’s, to throw all the weight of the body upon the heels. Yet there is no slouch in his walk; it is light and springy, and errs only in one point, sometimes becoming a kind of strut. Such is the Bedouin, and such he has been for ages. The national type has been preserved by systematic intermarriage. The wild men do not refuse their daughters to a stranger, but the son-in- law would be forced to settle among them, and this life, which has charms for a while, ends in becoming wearisome. Here no evil results are anticipated from the union of first cousins, and the experience of ages and of a nation may be trusted. Every * Whereas the Saxon thumb is thick, flat, and short, extend¬ ing scarcely half way to the middle joint of the index. THE BEDOUINS. 41 Bedouin has a right to marry his father’s brother’s daughter before she is given to a stranger; hence “ cousin” (bint Amm) in polite - phrase signifies a “ wife.” * Our physiologists f adduce the Sangre Azul of Spain and the case of the lower animals to prove that degeneracy inevitably follows “breeding- in.” J Either they have theorised from insufficient facts, or civilisation and artificial living exercise some peculiar influence, or Arabia is a solitary ex¬ ception to a general rule. The fact which I have mentioned is patent to every Eastern traveller. After this weary description, the reader will * A similar unwillingness to name the wife may be found in some parts of southern Europe, where probably jealousy or possibly Asiatic custom has given rise to it. Among the Maltese it appears in a truly ridiculous way, e.g., “dice la mia moglie, con rispetto parlando, &c.,” says the husband, adding to the word spouse a “ saving your presence,” as if he were speaking of something offensive. t Dr. Howe (Report on Idiotcy in Massachussetts, 1848,) asserts that “the law against the marriage of relations is made out as clearly as though it were written on tables of stone.” He proceeds to show that in seventeen households where the parents were connected by blood, of ninety-five children one was a dwarf, one deaf, twelve scrofulous, and forty-four idiots —total fifty-eight diseased! J Yet the celebrated “ Flying Childers ” and all his race were remarkably bred in. There is still, in my humble opinion, much mystery about the subject, to be cleared up only by the studies of physiologists. 42 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. perceive with pleasure that we are approaching an interesting theme, the first question of mankind to the wanderer — “what are the women like?” Truth compels me to state that the women of the Hejazi Bedouins are by no means comely. Al¬ though the Beni Amur boast of some pretty girls, yet they are far inferior to the high-bosomed beauties of Nejd. And I warn all men that if they run to El Hejaz in search of the charming face which appears in my sketch-book as “ a Bedouin girl,” they will be bitterly disappointed: the dress was Arab, but it was worn by a fairy of the West. The Hejazi woman’s eyes are fierce, her features harsh, and her face haggard ; like all people of the South, she soon fades, and in old age her appearance is truly witch-like. Withered crones abound in the camps, where old men are seldom seen. The sword and the sun are fatal to “ A green old age, unconscious of decay.” The manners of the Bedouins are free and simple: “vulgarity” and affectation, awkwardness and em¬ barrassment, are weeds of civilised growth,unknown to the people of the desert.* Yet their manners * This sounds in English like an “ Irish bull.” I translate “ Badu,” as the dictionaries do, “ a desert.” THE PRETTY BEDOUIN GIRL THE BEDOUINS. 43 are sometimes dashed with a strange ceremonious¬ ness. When two friends meet, they either embrace or both extend the right hands, clapping palm to palm ; their foreheads are either pressed together, or their heads are moved from side to side, whilst m for minutes together mutual inquiries are made and answered. It is a breach of decorum, even when eating, to turn the back upon a person, and when a Bedouin does it, he intends an insult. When a man prepares coffee he drinks the first cup: the “ Sharbat Kajari ” of the Persians, and the “ Sulaymani,” * of Egypt, render this precaution necessary. When a friend approaches the camp — it is not done to strangers for fear of startling them — those who catch sight of him shout out his name, and gallop up saluting with lances or firing matchlocks in the air. This is the well-known “ Laab el Barut,” or gunpowder play. As a ge- * The Sharbat Kajari is the “ Acquetta ” of Persia, and derives its name from the present royal family. It is said to be a mixture of verdigris with milk ; if so, it is a very clumsy engine of state policy. In Egypt and Mosul, Sulaymani (the common name for an Afghan) is used to signify “poisonbut I know not whether it be merely euphuistic or confined to some species. The banks of the Nile are infamous for these arts, and Mohammed Ali Pacha imported, it is said, professional poisoners from Europe. 44 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAII AND MECCAH. neral rule the Bedouins are polite in language, but in anger temper is soon shown, and, although life may not be in peril, the foulest epithets, dog, drunkard, liar and infidel, are discharged like pistol shots by both parties. The best character of the Bedouin is a truly noble compound of determination, gentleness, and generosity. Usually they are a mixture of worldly cunning and great simplicity, sensitive to touchi¬ ness, good-tempered souls, solemn and dignified withal, fond of a jest yet of a grave turn of mind, easily managed by a laugh and a soft word, and placable after passion, though madly revengeful after injury. It has been sarcastically said of the Beni Harb that there is not a man “ Que s’il ne violoit, voloit, tuoit, bruloit Ne fut assez bonne personne.” The reader will inquire, like the critics of a certain modern humourist, how the fabric of society can be supported by such material. In the first place, it is a kind of “ societe leonine ,” in which the fiercest, the strongest, and the craftiest obtains complete mastery over his fellows, and this gives a key-stone to the arch. Secondly, there is the terrible blood- feud, which even the most reckless fear for their THE BEDOUINS. 45 posterity. And, thirdly, though the revealed law of the Koran, being insufficient for the desert, is openly disregarded, the immemorial customs of the “ Kazi el Arab ” * form a system stringent in the extreme. The valour of the Bedouin is fitful and un¬ certain. Man is by nature an animal of prey, educated by the complicated relations of society, but readily relapsing into his old habits. Ra¬ venous and sanguinary propensities grow apace in the desert, but for the same reason the recklessness of civilisation is unknown there. Savages and semi-barbarians are always cautious, because they have nothing valuable but their lives and limbs. * Throughout the world the strictness of the Lex Scripta is in inverse ratio to that of custom : whenever the former is lax, the latter is stringent, and vice versa. Thus in England, where law leaves men comparatively free, they are slaves to a grinding despotism of conventionalities, unknown in the lands of tyrannical rule. This explains why many men, accustomed to live under despotic governments, feel fettered and enslaved in the so-called free countries. Hence, also, the reason why notably in a republic there is less private and practical liberty than under a despotism. The “ Kazi el Arab ” (Judge of the Arabs) was in distinction to the Kazi el Shara, or the Kazi of the Koran. The former was, almost always, some sharp-witted greybeard, with a minute knowledge of genealogy and precedents, a retentive memory and an eloquent tongue. 46 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. The civilised man, on the contrary, has a hundred wants or hopes or aims, without which life has for him no charms. Arab ideas of bravery do not pre¬ possess us. Their romances, full of foolhardy feats and impossible exploits, might charm for a time, but would not become the standard works of a really fighting people.* Nor would a truly valo¬ rous race admire the timid freebooters who safely fire down upon caravans from their eyries. Arab wars, too, are a succession of skirmishes, in which 500 men will retreat after losing a dozen of their number. In this partisan fighting the first charge secures a victory, and the vanquished fly till covered by the shades of night. Then come cries of women, deep oaths, wild poetry, excitement, and reprisals, which will probably end in the flight of * Thus the Arabs, being decidedly a parsimonious people, indulge in exaggerated praises and instances of liberality. Hatim Tai, whose generosity is unintelligible to Europeans, becomes the Arab model of the “ open hand.” Generally a high beau ideal is no proof of a people’s practical pre-eminence, and when exaggeration enters into it and suits the public taste, a low standard of actuality may be fairly suspected. But to convince the oriental mind you must dazzle it. Hence, in part, the superhuman courage of Antar, the liberality of Hatim, the justice of Umar, and the purity of Laila and Mejnun under circumstances more trying than aught chronicled in Matliilde, or in the newest American novel. THE BEDOUINS. 47 the former victor. When peace is to be made, both parties count up their dead, and the usual blood- money is paid for excess on either side. Generally, however, the feud endures till all becoming weary of it, some great man, as the sherif of Meccah, is called upon to settle the terms of a treaty, which is nothing but an armistice. After a few months’ peace, a glance or a word will draw blood, for these hates are old things, and new dissensions easily shoot up from them. But, contemptible though their battles be, the Bedouins are not cowards. The habit of danger in raids and blood-feuds, the continual uncertainty of existence, the desert, the chase, the hard life and exposure to the air, blunting the nervous system ; the presence and the practice of weapons of horse¬ manship, sharpshooting, and martial exercises, habituate them to look death in the face like men, and powerful motives will make them heroes. The English, it is said, fight willingly for liberty, our neighbours for glory; the Spaniard fights, or rather fought, for religion and the “Pun- donor,” and the Irishman fights for the fun of fighting. Gain and revenge draw the Arab’s sword : yet then he uses it fitfully enough, without the gay gallantry of the French or the persistency of the 48 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. Anglo-Saxon. To become desperate he must have the all powerful stimulants of honor and fanati¬ cism. Frenzied by the taunts of his women, or by the fear of being branded as a coward, he is ca¬ pable of any mad deed.* And the obstinacy pro¬ duced by strong religious impressions gives a stead¬ fastness to his spirit unknown to mere enthusiasm. The history of the Bedouin tells this plainly. Some unobserving travellers, indeed, have mistaken his exceeding cautiousness for stark cowardice. The incongruity is easily read by one who under¬ stands the principles of Bedouin warfare; as amongst the Red Indians, one death dims a victory. * At the battle of Bissel, when Mohammed Ali of Egypt broke the 40,000 guerillas of Faisal son of Saud the "Wahhabi, whole lines of the Beni Asir tribe were found dead and tied by the legs with ropes. This system of colligation dates from old times in Arabia as the “ Affair of Chains ” (Zat el Salasil) proves. It is alluded to by the late Sir Henry Elliot in his “ Appendix to the Arabs in Sind,” — a work of remarkable sagacity and research. According to the “ Beglar-Nameh,” it was a “custom of the people of Hind and Sind, whenever they devote them¬ selves to death, to bind themselves to each other by their mantles and waistbands.” It seems to have been an ancient practice in the West as in the East : the Cimbri, to quote no other instances, were tied together with cords when attacked by Marius. Tactic truly worthy of savages to prepare for victory by expecting a defeat! FEMALE INFLUENCE AMONGST THE BEDOUINS. 49 And though reckless when their passions are thoroughly aroused, though heedless of danger when the voice of honor calls them, the Bedouins will not sacrifice themselves for light motives. Besides, they have, as has been said, another and a potent incentive to cautiousness. Whenever peace is concluded, they have to pay for a victory. There are two things which tend to soften the fero¬ city of Bedouin life. These are, in the first place, in¬ tercourse with citizens, who frequently visit and en¬ trust their children to the people of the Black tents ; and, secondly, the social position of the women. The author of certain “ Lectures on Poetry, addressed to Working Men,” asserts that Passion became Love under the influence of Christianity, and that the idea of a virgin mother spread over the sex a sanctity unknown to the poetry or the philosophy of Greece and Rome.* Passing over * Though differing in opinion, upon one subject, with the lamented author of this little work, I cannot refrain from expressing the highest admiration of those noble thoughts, those exalted views, and those polished sentiments which, com¬ bining the delicacy of the present with the chivalry of a past age, appear in a style “ As smooth as woman and as strong as man.” Would that it were in my power to pay a more adequate tribute to his memory ! VOL. III. E 50 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. the objections of deified Eros and Immortal Psyche and of the virgin mother,— symbol of moral purity,—being common to all old and material faiths*, I believe that all the noble tribes of savages display the principle. Thus we might expect to find wherever the fancy, the imagination, and the ideality are strong, some traces of a sen¬ timent innate in the human organisation. It exists, says Mr. Catlin, amongst the North American Indians, and even the Gallas and the Somal of Africa are not wholly destitute of it. But when the barbarian becomes a semi-barbarian, as are the most polished Orientals, or as were the classical authors of Greece and Rome, then women fall from their proper place in society, become mere articles of luxury, and sink into the lowest * Even Juno, in the most meaningless of idolatries, became, according to Pausanias (lib. ii. cap. 38.), a virgin once every year. And be it observed that El Islam (the faith not the practice) popularly decided to debase the social state of womankind, exalts it by holding up to view no less than two examples of perfection in the Prophet’s household. Khadijab, his first wife, was a minor saint, and the Lady Fatimah is supposed to have been spiritually unspotted by sin, and ma¬ terially ever a virgin, even after giving birth to Hasan and Husayn. THE EFFECT OF “ CIVILISATION ” ON THE SEX. 51 moral condition.* In the next stage, “ civilisation,” they rise again to be “ highly accomplished,” and not a little frivolous. * Miss Martineau, when travelling through Egypt, once visited a harem, and there found, among many things, especially in their ignorance of books and book-making, materials for a heart-broken wail over the degradation of her sex. The learned lady indulges, too, in sundry strong and unsavoury com¬ parisons between the harem and certain haunts of vice in Europe. On the other hand, male travellers generally speak lovingly of the harem. Sonnini, no admirer of Egypt, expatiates on “the generous virtues, the examples of magnanimity and affectionate attachment, the sentiments ardent, yet gentle, forming a delightful unison with personal charms in the harems of the Mamelukes.” As usual, the truth lies somewhere between the two ex¬ tremes. Human nature, all the world over, differs but in degree. Every where women may be “ capricious, coy, and hard to please” in common conjunctures : in the hour of need they will display devoted heroism. Any chronicler of the Afghan war will bear witness that warm hearts, noble senti¬ ments, and an overflowing kindness to the poor, the weak, and the unhappy are found even in a harem. Europe now knows that the Moslem husband provides separate apartments and a dis¬ tinct establishment for each of his wives, unless, as sometimes happens, one be an old woman and the other a child. And, confessing that envy, hatred, and malice often flourish in poly¬ gamy, the Moslem asks, Is monogamy open to no objections ? As far as my limited observations go, polyandry is the only state of society in which jealousy and quarrels about the sex are the exception and not the rule of life. In quality of doctor I have seen a little and heard much of e 2 52 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. Were it not evident that the spiritualising of sexuality by imagination is universal among the highest orders of mankind, I should attribute the origin of love to the influence of the Arabs’ poetry and chivalry upon European ideas rather than to mediaeval Christianity. In pastoral life, tribes often meet for a time, live together whilst pasturage lasts, and then separate perhaps for a generation. Under such circumstances youths, who hold with the Italian that “ Perduto e tutto il tempo Che in amor non si spende,” will lose heart to maidens, whom possibly, by the laws of the clan, they may not marry*,and the light o’ love will fly her home. The fugitives must brave every danger, for revenge, at all times the Bedouin’s idol, now becomes the lode-star of his existence. But the Arab lover will dare all consequences. “Men have died and the worms the harem. It very much resembles a European home com¬ posed of a man, his wife, and his mother. And I have seen in the West many a “ happy fire-side ” fitter to make Miss Mar- tineau’s heart ache than any harem in Grand Cairo. * There is no objection to intermarriage between equal clans, but the higher will not give their daughters to the lower in dignity. STYLE OF THE ARAB TOETS. 53 have eaten them, but not for love,” may be true in the West; it is false in the East. This is attested in every tale where love, and not ambition, is the groundwork of the narrative.* And nothing can be more tender, more pathetic than the use made of these separations and long absences by the old Arab poets. Whoever peruses the Suspended Poem of Lebid, will find thoughts at once so plaintive and so noble, that even Dr. Carlyle’s learned verse cannot wholly deface their charm. The author re¬ turns from afar. He looks upon the traces of hearth and home still furrowing the desert ground. In bitterness of spirit he checks himself from calling aloud upon his lovers and his friends. He melts at the remembrance of their departure, and long indulges in the absorbing theme. Then he * For instance: “A certain religious man was so deeply affected with the love of a king’s daughter, that he was brought to the brink of the grave,” is a favourite inscriptive formula. Usually the hero “sickens in consequence of the heroine’s absence, and continues to the hour of his death in the utmost grief and anxiety.” He rarely kills himself, but sometimes, when in love with a pretty infidel, he drinks wine and he burns the Koran. The “hated rival” is not a formidable person; but there are for good reasons great jealousy of female friends, and not a little fear of the beloved’s kinsmen. Such are the material sentiments; the spiritual part is a thread of mysticism, upon which all the pearls of adventure and accident are strung. 54 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. strengthens himself by the thought of Nawara’s inconstancy, how she left him and never thought of him again. He impatiently dwells upon the charms of the places which detain her, advocates flight from the changing lover and the false friend, and, in the exultation with which he feels his swift dromedary start under him upon her rapid course, he seems to find some consolation for woman’s perfidy and forgetfulness. Yet he cannot abandon Nawara’s name or memory. Again he dwells with yearning upon scenes of past felicity, and he boasts of his prowess,—a fresh reproach to her,— of his gentle birth, and of his hospitality. He ends with an encomium upon his clan, to which he attributes, as a noble Arab should, all the virtues of man. This is Goldsmith’s deserted village in El Hejaz. But the Arab, with equal simplicity and pathos, has a fire, a force of language, and a depth of feeling, which the Irishman, admirable as his verse is, could never rival. As the author of the Peninsular War well re¬ marks, women in troublous times, throwing off their accustomed feebleness and frivolity, become help¬ mates meet for man. The same is true of pastoral life.* Here, between the extremes of fierceness * It is curious that these pastoral races, which supply poetry with nambv-Dambv Colinades, figure as the great tragedians of AN AUABIAN HEROINE. 55 and sensibility, the weaker sex, remedying its great want, power, raises itself by courage, physical as well as moral. In the early days of El Islam, if history be credible, Arabia had a race of heroines. Within the last century, Ghaliyah, the wife of a Wahhabi chief, opposed Mohammed Ali himself in many a bloody field. A few years ago, when Ibn Asm, popularly called Ibn Rumi, chief of the Zubayd clan about Rabigh, was treacherously slain by the Turkish general, Kurdi Usman, his sister, a fair young girl, determined to revenge him. She fixed upon the “ Arafat-day ” of pilgrimage for the accomplishment of her designs, disguised her¬ self in male attire, drew her kerchief in the form “ lisam ” over the lower part of her face, and with lighted match awaited her enemy. The Turk, how¬ ever, was not present, and the girl was arrested to win for herself a local reputation equal to the maid history. The Scythians, the Huns, the Arabs, and the Tartars were all shepherds. They first armed themselves with clubs to defend their flocks from wild beasts. Then they learned warfare, and improved means of destruction by petty quarrels about pastures; and, finally, united by the commanding genius of some skin-clad Caesar or Napoleon, they fell like avalanches upon those valleys of the world—Mesopotamia, India, and Egypt — whose enervate races offered them at once temptations to attack, and certainty of success. 56 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. of Salamanca. Thus it is that the Arab has learned to swear that great oath “ by the honor of my women.” The Bedouins are not without a certain Platonic affection, which they call “ Hawa (or Ishk) uzri,” —pardonable love.* They draw the fine line be¬ tween amant and amoureux : this is derided by the townspeople, little suspecting how much such a custom says in favour of the wild men. In the cities, however, it could not prevail.f Arabs, like other Orientals, hold that, in such matters, man is saved, not by faith, but by want of faith. They have also a saying not unlike ours — “ She partly is to blame who has been tried. He comes too near who comes to be denied.” The evil of this system is that they, like certain southerns, pensano sempre al male —always suspect, which may be worldly wise, and also always show their suspicions, which is assuredly foolish. For * Even amongst the Indians, as a race the least chivalrous of men, there is an oath which binds two persons of different sex in the tie of friendship, by making them brother and sister to each other. ■f I have been told that it is found in the towns of Eastern Arabia; but the circumstance appears highly improbable. THE SONGS OF ANTAR. 57 thus they demoralize their women, who might be kept in the way of right by self-respect and a sense of duty. To raise our fellow-creatures, we have only to show that we think better of them than they deserve—disapprobation and suspicion draw forth the worst traits of character and conduct. From ancient periods of the Arab’s history we find him practising “ knight-errantry,” the wildest form of chivalry.* “ The Songs of Antar,” says the author of the “Crescent and the Cross,” “ show little of the true chivalric spirit.” What thinks the reader of sentiments like these ?f “This valiant man,” remarks Antar, (who was “ ever interested for the weaker sex,”) “hath defended the honor of women.” We read in another place, “Mercy, my lord, is the noblest quality of the noble. ” Again, “It is the most ignominious of deeds to take free-born women prisoners. ” “ Bear not malice, O Shibub,” quoth the hero, “ for of malice good * Richardson derives our “ knight ” from Nikht, a tilter with spears, and “Caitiff” from Khattaf, (_jl]aA-, a snatcher or ravisher. ■(• I am not ignorant that the greater part of “ Antar ” is of modern and disputed origin. Still it accurately expresses Arab sentiment. 58 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAII. never came.” Is there no true greatness in this sentiment ?—“ Birth is the boast of the faineant; noble is the youth who beareth every ill, who clotheth himself in mail during the noon-tide heat, and who wandereth through the outer darkness of night.” And why does the “ knight of knights ” love Ibla ? Because “ she is blooming as the sun at dawn, with hair black as the midnight shades, with Paradise in her eye, her bosom an enchantment, and a form waving like the tamarisk when the soft wind blows from the hills of Nejd?” Yes, but his chest expands also with the thoughts of her “faith, purity, and affection,”—it is her moral as well as her material excellence that makes her the hero’s “ hope, and hearing, and sight.” Briefly, in An tar I discern “ — A love exalted high, By all the glow of chivalry; ” and I lament to see so many intelligent travellers misjudging the Arab after a superficial experience of a few debased Syrians or Sinaites. The true chil¬ dren of Antar have not “ ceased to be gentlemen.” In the days of ignorance, it was the custom for Bedouins, when tormented by the tender passion, which seems to have attacked them in the form of INSTANCE OF ARABIAN CHIVALRY. 59 “ possession,” for long years to sigh and wail and wander, doing the most truculent deeds to melt the obdurate fair. When Arabia Islamized, the practice changed its element for proselytism. The Fourth Caliph is fabled to have travelled far, redressing the injured, punishing the injurer, preaching to the infidel, and especially protecting women—the chief end and aim of knighthood. The Caliph El Mutasem heard in the assembly of his courtiers that a woman of Sayyid family had been taken prisoner by a “ Greek barbarian ” of Ammoria. The man on one occasion struck her, when she cried “ Help me, 0 Mutasem! ” and the clown said derisively, “ Wait till he cometh upon his pied steed! ” The chivalrous prince arose, sealed up the wine cup which he held in his hand, took oath to do his knightly devoir , and on the morrow started for Ammoria, with 70,000 men, each mounted on a piebald charger. Having taken the place, he entered it, exclaiming, “ Labbayki, Labbayki! ”—Here am I at thy call. He struck off the caitiff’s head, released the lady with his own hands, ordered the cupbearer to bring the sealed bowl, and drank from it, exclaiming, “ Now, indeed, wine is good ! ” To conclude this part of the sub¬ ject with another far-famed instance. When El 60 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEP1NAH AND MECCAH. Mutanabbi, the poet, prophet, and warrior of Hams (a. h, 354) started together with his son on their last journey, the father proposed to seek a place of safety for the night. “ Art thou the Mutanabbi,” exclaimed his slave, “ who wrote these lines,— “ ‘ I am known to the night, and the wild, and the steed, To the guest, and the sword, to the paper and reed ? ’ ” The poet, in reply, lay down to sleep on Tigris’ bank, in a place haunted by thieves, and, disdaining flight, lost his life during the hours of darkness. It is the existence of this chivalry among the “ Children of Antar ” which makes the society of Bedouins (“damned saints,” perchance, and “ho¬ norable villains,”) so delightful to the traveller who, like the late Haji Wali (Dr. Wallin), under¬ stands and is understood by them. Nothing more naive than his lamentations at finding himself in the “ loathsome company of Persians,” or among Arab townpeople, whose “filthy and cowardly minds ” he contrasts with the “ high and chivalrous spirit of the true Sons of the Desert.” Your guide will protect you with blade and spear, even against his kindred, and he expects you to do the same for him. You may give a man the lie, but you must lose no time in baring your sword. If involved in dispute with overwhelming numbers, BEYS PIjLN or THE PROPHET’S MOSQUE AT MECCAT' Makanx, Ibrahim, BEDOUIN POETRY. 61 you address some elder, “ Dakhilak ya Shaykh ! ”— (I am) thy protected, 0 Sir,—and he will espouse your quarrel, and, indeed, with greater heat and energy than if it were his own.* But why multiply instances ? The language of love and war and all excite¬ ment is poetry, and here, again, the Bedouin excels. Travellers complain that the wild men have ceased to sing. This is true if “ poet ” be limited to a few authors whose existence everywhere depends upon the accidents of patronage or political occurrences. A far stronger evidence of poetic feeling is afforded by the phraseology of the Arab, and the highly imaginative turn of his commonest expres¬ sions. Destitute of the poetic taste, as we define it, he certainly is: as in the Milesian, wit and fancy, vivacity and passion, are too strong for reason and judgment, the reins which guide Apollo’s car.f * The subject of “Dakhl” has been thoroughly exhausted by Burckhardt and Layard. It only remains to be said that the Turks, by ignorance of the custom, have in some cases made themselves contemptible by claiming the protection of women. j- It is by no means intended to push this comparison of the Arab’s with the Hibernian’s poetry. The former has an intensity which prevents our feeling that “ there are too many flowers for the fruit; ” the latter is too often a mere blaze of 62 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAII AND MECCAH. And although the Bedouins no longer boast a Lebid or a Maisunah, yet they are passionately fond of their ancient bards.* A man skilful in reading El Mutanabbi and the Suspended Poems would be received by them with the honors paid by civilisa¬ tion to the travelling millionnaire.f And their ■words, which dazzle and startle, but which, decomposed by re¬ flection, are found to mean nothing. Witness “ The diamond turrets of Shadukiam, And the fragrant bowers of Amberabad! ” * I am informed that the Beni Kahtan still improvise, but 1 never heard them. The traveller in Arabia will always be told that some remote elan still produces mighty bards, and uses in conversation the terminal vowels of the classic tongue, but he will not believe these assertions till personally convinced of their truth. The Bedouin dialect, however, though debased, is still, as of yore, purer than the language of the citizens. During the days when philology was a passion in the East, those Stephens and Johnsons of Semitic lore, Firuzabadi and El Zamakhshari, wandered from tribe to tribe and tent to tent, collecting words and elucidating disputed significations. Their grammatical adventures are still remembered, and are favourite stories with scholars. f I say “ skilful in reading,” because the Arabs, like the Spaniards, hate to hear their language mangled by mispro¬ nunciation. When Burckhardt, who spoke badly, began to read verse to the Bedouins, they could not refrain from a movement of impatience, and used to snatch the book out of his hands. ARAB POETRY IN THE DESERT. 63 elders have a goodly store of ancient and modern war songs, legends, and love ditties which all enjoy. I cannot well explain the effect of Arab poetry to one who has not visited the Desert.* Apart from the pomp of words, and the music of the sound f, there is a dreaminess of idea and a haze thrown over the object, infinitely attractive, but indescribable. Description, indeed, would rob the song of indistinctness, its essence. To borrow a * The civilised poets of the Arab cities throw the charm of the Desert over their verse, by images borrowed from its scenery—the dromedary, the mirage, and the well—as naturally as certain of our songsters, confessedly haters of the country, babble of distant kine, shady groves, spring showers, and purling rills. t Some will object to this expression; Arabic being a harsh and guttural tongue. But the sound of language, in the first place, depends chiefly upon the articulator. Who thinks German rough in the mouth of a woman, with a suspicion of a lisp, or that English is the dialect of birds, when spoken by an Italian ? Secondly, there is a music far more spirit-stirring in harshness than in softness: the dialects of Castile and of Tuscany are equally beautiful, yet who does not prefer the sound of the former ? The gutturality of Arabia is less offensive than that of the highlands of Barbary. Professor Willis, of Cambridge, attri¬ butes the broad sounds and the guttural consonants of moun¬ taineers and the people of elevated plains to the physical action of cold. Conceding this to be a partial cause, I would rather refer the phenomenon to the habit of loud speaking, acquired by the dwellers in tents, and those who live much in 64 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAII. simile from a sister art. The Arab poet sets before the mental eye, the dim grand outlines of picture,— which must be filled up by the reader, guided only by a few glorious touches, powerfully standing out, and the sentiment which the scene is intended to express ;—whereas, we Europeans and moderns, by stippling and minute touches, produce a minia¬ ture on a large scale so objective as to exhaust rather than to arouse reflection. As the poet is a creator, the Arab’s is poetiy, the European’s ver- the open air. The Todas of the Neilgherry Hills have given the soft Tamul all the harshness of Arabic, and he who hears them calling to each other from the neighbouring peaks, can remark the process of broadening vowel and gutturalising con¬ sonant. On the other hand, the Gallas and the Persians, also a mountain-people, but inhabiting houses, speak comparatively soft tongues. The Cairenes actually omit some of the harshest sounds of Arabia, turning Makass into Ma’as, and Sakka into Sa’a. It is impossible to help remarking the bellow of the Bedouin when he first enters a dwelling-place, and the soften¬ ing of the sound when he has become accustomed to speak within walls. Moreover, it is to be observed there is a great difference of articulation, not pronunciation, among the several Bedouin clans. The Beni Auf are recognised by their sharp, loud, and sudden speech, which the citizens compare to the barking of dogs. The Beni Amr, on the contrary, speak with a soft and drawl¬ ing sound. The Hutaym, in addition to other peculiarities, add a pleonastic “ ah,’’ to soften the termination of words, as A’atini lmwajiya^, (for haw&iji), “ Give me my clothes.” ARABIC LANGUAGE SUITED TO POETS. 65 sical description.* The language, “like a faithful wife, following the mind and giving birth to its offspring,” and free from that “ luggage of parti¬ cles,” which clogs our modern tongues, leaves a mysterious vagueness between the relation of word to word, which materially assists the sentiment, not the sense, of the poem. When verbs and nouns have—each one—many different significations, only the radical or general idea suggests itself, f Rich and varied synonyms, illustrating the finest shades of meaning, are artfully used; now scattered to startle us by distinctness, now to form as it * The Germans have returned for inspiration to the old Eastern source. Riickert was guided by Jelal el din to the fountains of Sufyism. And even the French have of late made an inroad into Teutonic mysticism successfully enough to have astonished Racine and horrified La Harpe. t This, however, does not prevent the language becom¬ ing optionally most precise in meaning; hence its high philoso¬ phical character. The word “ farz,” for instance, means, radi¬ cally “ cutting,” secondarily “ ordering,” or “ paying a debt,” after which come numerous meanings foreign to the radical sense, such as a shield, part of a tinder-box, an unfeathered arrow, and a particular kind of date. In divinity it is limited to a single signification, namely, a divine command revealed in the Koran. Under these circumstances, the Arabic becomes, in grammar, logic, rhetoric, and mathematics, as perfect and pre¬ cise as Greek. I have heard Europeans complain that it is unfit for mercantile transactions_Perhaps. VOL. III. F 66 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. were a star about which dimly seen satellites revolve. And, to cut short a disquisition which might be prolonged indefinitely, there is in the Semitic dialect a copiousness of rhyme which leaves the poet almost unfettered to choose the desired expression.* Hence it is that a stranger speaking Arabic becomes poetical as naturally as he would be witty in French and philosophic in German. Truly spake Mohammed el Damiri, “ Wisdom hath alighted upon three things — the brain of the Franks, the hands of the Chinese, and the tongues of the Arabs.” The name of “harami”—brigand—is still honorable among the Hejazi Bedouins. Slain in raid or foray, a man is said to die “ ghandiir,” or a brave. He, on the other hand, who is luckj enough, * As a general rule there is a rhyme at the end of every second line, and the unison is a mere fringe—a long a, for instance, throughout the poem sufficing for the delicate ear of the Arab. In this they were imitated by the old Spaniards, who, neglecting the consonants, merely required the termina¬ ting vowels to be alike. We speak of the “sort of harmonious simple flow which atones for the imperfect nature of the rhyme.” But the fine organs of some races would be hurt by that ponderous unison which a people of blunter senses find necessary to produce an impression. The reader will feel this after perusing in “Percy’s Reliques ” Rio Verde ! Rio Verde ! and its translation. BONDAGE HONORABLE AMONG THE BEDOUINS. 67 as we should express it, to die in his bed, is called “ fatis ” (carrion, the corps crh'e of the Klephts) ; his weeping mother will exclaim, “ 0 that my son had perished of a cut throat! ” and her attendant crones will suggest, with deference, that such evil came of the will of Allah. It is told of the La- habah, a sub-family of the Auf near Rabigh, that a girl will refuse even her cousin unless, in the absence of other opportunities, he plunder some article from the Hajj caravan in front of the Pacha’s links. Detected twenty years ago, the delinquent would have been impaled; now he escapes with a rib-roasting. Fear of the blood- feud, and the certainty of a shut road to future travellers, prevent the Turks proceeding to ex¬ tremes. They conceal their weakness by pretend¬ ing that the Sultan hesitates to wage a war of ex¬ termination with the thieves of the Holy Land. Hence, petty pilfering has re-appeared in El Hejaz. It is easy to understand the respect for brigands. Whoso revolts against society requires an iron mind in an iron body, and this mankind instinctively admires, however mis-directed be its energies. Thus, in all imaginative countries, the brigand is a hero; even the assassin who shoots his victim from behind a hedge appeals to the fancy in 68 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. Tipperary or the Abruzzian hills. Romance invests his loneliness with grandeur; if he hath a wife or a friend’s wife, romance becomes doubly romantic, and a tithe of the superfluity robbed from the rich and bestowed upon the poor will win to Gasperini the hearts of a people. The true Bedouin style of plundering, with its numerous niceties of honor and gentlemanly manners, gives the robber a con¬ sciousness of moral rectitude. “ Strip off that coat, 0 certain person! and that turban,” exclaims the highwayman, “ they are wanted by my lady- cousin.” You will (of course if necessary) lend ready ear to an order thus politely attributed to the wants of the fair sex. If you will add a few obliging expressions to the bundle, and offer Lairo a cup of coffee and a pipe, you will talk half your toilette back to your person ; and if you can quote a little poetry, you will part the best of friends, leaving perhaps only a pair of sandals behind you. But should you hesitate, Latro , la¬ menting the painful necessity, touches up your back with the heel of his spear. If this hint suffice not, he will make things plain by the lance’s point, and when blood shows, the tiger-part of humanity ap¬ pears. Between Bedouins, to be tamely plundered, PRICE OF BLOOD AMONG BEDOUINS. 69 especially of the mare*, is a lasting disgrace ; a man of family lays down his life rather than yield even to overpowering numbers. This desperation has raised the courage of the Bedouins to high repute amongst the settled Arabs, who talk of single braves capable, like the Homeric heroes, of overpowering 300 men. I omit general details about the often described Sar (Thar), or Vendetta. The price of blood is 800 dollars (=200Z.), or rather that sum imper¬ fectly expressed by live-stock. All the Khamsah or Aamam, blood relations of the slayer, assist to make up the required amount, rating each animal at three or four times its proper value. On such occasions violent scenes arise from the conflict of the Arab’s two pet passions, avarice and revenge. The “ avenger of blood ” longs to cut the foe’s throat. On the other hand, how let slip an oppor¬ tunity of enriching himself ? His covetousness is intense, as are all his passions. He has always a project of buying a new dromedary, or of invest¬ ing capital in some marvellous colt; the conse- » In our knightly ages the mare was ridden only by jugglers and charlatans. Did this custom arise from the hatred of and contempt for the habits of the Arabs, imported into Europe by the Crusaders ? Certainly the popular Eastern idea of a Frank was formed in those days, and survives to these. 70 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. quence is, that he is insatiable. Still he receives blood money with a feeling of shame, and if it be offered to an old woman—the most revengeful variety of our species, be it remarked,—she will dash it to the ground, and clutch her knife, and fiercely swear by Allah that she will not eat her son’s blood. The Bedouin considers himself a man only when mounted on horseback, lance in hand, bound for a foray or a fray, and carolling some such gaiety as— “ A steede! a steede of matchlesse speede! A sword of metal keene ! All else to noble minds is drosse, All else on earth is meane.” Even in his sports he affects those that imitate war. Preserving the instinctive qualities which lie dormant in civilisation, he is an admirable “ Venator.” The children, men in miniature, begin a rude system of gymnastics when they can walk. “ My young ones play upon the backs of camels,” was the reply made to me by a Jehayni Bedouin when offered some Egyptian plaything. The men pass their time principally in hawking, shooting, and riding. The “ Sakr,”* I am told, is the only * Baron Von Hammer-Purgstall, in the “ Falkner-Klee,” calls this bird the “ Saker-falke.” Hence the French and English names sacre and saker. FALCONRY. 71 falcon in general use; they train it to pursue the gazelle, which greyhounds pull down when fatigued. The learned John Beckmann (History of Inventions, Dis¬ coveries, and Origins: sub voce ) derives falconry from India, where, “ as early as the time of Ctesias, hares and foxes were hunted by means of rapacious birds.” I believe, however, that no trace of this sport is found in the writings of the Hindus. Beckmann agrees with Giraldus, against other literati, that the ancient Greeks knew the art of hawking, and proves from Aristotle, that, in Thrace men trained falcons. But Aristotle alludes to the use of the bird as an owl is employed in Italy : the falcon is described as frightening, not catching, the birds. (Elian corroborates Aristotle’s testimony. Pliny, however, dis¬ tinctly asserts that the hawks strike their prey down. “ In Italy it was very common,” says the learned Beckmann, “ for Martial and Apuleius speak of it as a thing everywhere known. Hence the science spread over Europe, and reached perfection at the principal courts in the twelfth century.” The Emperor Frederic H. wrote “De Arte Yenandi cum Avibus,” and the royal author was followed by a host of imita¬ tors in the vulgar tongue. Though I am not aware that the Hindus ever cultivated the art, (Elian, it must be confessed, describes their style of training falcons exactly similar to that in use among the modern Per¬ sians, Sindhians, and Arabs. The Emperor Frederic owes the “capella,” or hood, to the Bedouins, and talks of the “most expert falconers ” sent to him with various kinds of birds by some of the kings of Arabia. The origin of falconry is ascribed by El Masudi, on the authority of Adham bin Muhriz, to the king El Haris bin Muawiyah, and in Dr. Sprenger’s admirable translation the reader will find (pp. 426. 428.), much information upon the subject. The Persians claim the invention for their Just King, Anushirawan, contemporary 72 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAII AND MECCAH. I have heard much of their excellent marksmanship, but saw only moderate practice with a long match¬ lock rested and fired at standing objects. Double- barreled guns are rare amongst them.* Their principal weapons are matchlocks and firelocks, pistols, javelins, spears, swords and the dagger called “Jambiyah;” the sling and the bow have long been given up. The guns come from Egypt, Syria, and Turkey ; for the Bedouin cannot make, although he can repair, this arm. He particularly values a good old barrel seven spans long, and would rather keep it than his coat; consequently, a family often boasts of four or five guns, which de¬ scend from generation to generation. The price of a gun varies from two to sixty dollars. The Bedouins collect nitre in the country, make excel¬ lent charcoal, and import sulphur from Egypt and India; their powder, however, is coarse and weak. with Mohammed. Thence the sport passed into Turkey, where it is said the sultan9 maintained a body of 6000 falconers. And Frederic Barbarossa, in the twelfth century, brought falcons to Italy. We may fairly give the honor of the invention to Central Asia. * Here called “bandukiyah bi ruhayn,”or the two¬ mouthed gun. The leathern cover is termed “ gushatit is a bag with a long-fringed tassel at the top of the barrel, and a strap by which it is slung to the owner’s back. WEAPONS USED BY BEDOUINS. 73 For hares and birds they cut up into slugs a bar of lead hammered out to a convenient size, and they cast bullets in moulds. They are fond of ball- practice, firing, as every sensible man does, at short distances, and striving at extreme precision. They are fond of backing themselves with wagers, and will shoot for a sheep, the loser inviting his friends to a feast. On festivals they boil a sheep’s head, and use it as mark and prize. Those who affect excellence are said to fire at a bullet hang¬ ing by a thread; curious, however, to relate, the Bedouins of El Hejaz have but just learned the art, general in Persia and Barbary, of shooting from horseback at speed. Pistols have been lately introduced into the Hejaz, and are not common amongst the Bedouins. The citizens are fond of this weapon, as it is derived from Constantinople. In the Desert a tolerable pair with flint locks may be worth thirty dollars, ten times their price in England. The spears*, called Kanat, or reeds, are made of male bamboos imported from India. They are about twelve feet long, iron shod, with a long tapering point, beneath which are one or two tufts * I have described elsewhere the Mirzak, or javelin. 74 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. of black ostrich feathers. * Besides the Mirzak, or javelin, they have a spear called “ Shalfah,” a bamboo or a palm stick garnished with a head about the breadth of a man’s hand. No good swords are fabricated in El Hejaz. The Khelawiyah and other Desert clans have made some poor attempts at blades. They are brought from Persia, India, and Egypt; but I never saw anything of value. The Darakah, or shield, also comes from India. It is the common Cutch article, supposed to be made of rhinoceros hide, and displaying as much brass knob and gold wash as possible. The Bedouins still use in the remoter parts Diraa, or coats of mail, worn by horsemen over buff jackets. * Ostriches are found in El Hejaz, where the Bedouins shoot after coursing them. The young ones are caught and tamed, and the eggs may be bought in the Medinah bazaar. ■ Throughout Arabia there is a belief that the ostrich throws stones at the hunter. The superstition may have arisen from the pebbles being flung up behind by the bird’s large feet in his rapid flight, or it may be a mere “ foolery of fancy.” Even in lands which have long given up animal-worship, wherever a beast is conspicuous or terrible, it becomes the subject of some marvellous tale. So the bear in Persia imitates a moolah’s dress ; the wolf in France is a human being transformed, and the beaver of N. America, also a metamorphosis, belts trees so as to fell them in the direction most suitable to his after purpose. SWORD PLAY AMONG BEDOUINS. 75 The dagger is made in Yemen and other places: it has a vast variety of shapes, each of which, as usual, has its proper names. Generally they are but little curved (whereas the gadaymi of Yemen and Hazramaut is almost a semicircle), with tapering blade, wooden handle, and scabbard of the same material overlaid with brass. At the point of the scabbard is a round knob, and the weapon is so long, that a man when walking cannot swing his right arm. In narrow places he must enter side¬ ways. But it is the mode always to appear in dagger, and the weapon, like the French soldier’s coupe-choux, is really useful for such bloodless pur¬ poses as cutting wood and gathering grass. In price they vary from one to thirty dollars. The Bedouins boast greatly of sword play; but it is apparently confined to delivering a tremendous slash, and to jumping away from a return cut instead of parrying either with sword or shield. The citizens have learned the Turkish scimitar play, which, in grotesqueness and general absurdity, rivals the Indian school. None of these Orientals know the use of the point which characterises the highest school of swordsmanship; their intellects could never reach it. The Hejazi Bedouins have no game of chance, 76 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. and dare not, I am told, ferment the juice of the Daum palm, as proximity to Aden has taught the wild men of Yemen.* Their music is in a rude state. The principal instrument is the tabl or kettle-drum, which is of two kinds; one, the smaller, used at festivals; the other a large copper “ tom¬ tom,” for martial purposes, covered with leather, and played upon, pulpit-like, with fist and not with stick. Besides which, they have the one¬ stringed Rubabah, or guitar, that “ monotonous, but charming instrument of the Desert.” In an¬ other place I have described their dancing, which is an ignoble spectacle. The Bedouins of El Hejaz have all the know¬ ledge necessary for procuring and protecting the riches of savage life. They are perfect in the breeding, the training, and the selling of cattle. They know sufficient of astronomy to guide them¬ selves by night, and are acquainted with the names * Not that the “ Agrebi ” of Bir Hamed and other parts have much to learn of us in vice. The land of Yemen is, I believe, the most demoralised country, and Senaa the most depraved city in Arabia. The fair sex distinguishes itself by a peculiar laxity of conduct, which is looked upon with an indulgent eye. And the men drink and gamble, to say nothing of other pecca¬ dilloes, with perfect impunity. SURGERY AMONG THE BEDOUINS. 77 of the principal stars. Their local memory is wonderful. And such is their instinct in the art of Asar, or tracking, that it is popularly said of the Zubayd clan, which lives between Meccah and El Medinah, a man will lose a she camel and know her four-year-old colt by its foot. Always engaged in rough exercises and perilous journeys, they have learned a kind of farriery and a simple system of surgery. In cases of fracture they bind on splints with cloth bands, and the patient drinks camel’s milk and clarified butter till he is cured. Cut-wounds are washed carefully, sprinkled with meal gunpowder, and sewn up. They dress gun¬ shot wounds with raw camels’ flesh, and rely en¬ tirely upon nature and diet. When bitten by snakes or stung by scorpions they scarify the wound with a razor, recite a charm, and apply to it a dressing of garlic.* The wealthy have “fiss,” or ring-stones, brought from India, and used with a formula of prayer to extract venom. Some few possess the “Teriyak” (Theriack) of El Irak— the great counter-poison, internal as well as * In Yemen it is believed, that if a man eat three heads of garlic in good mountain-samn (or clarified butter) for forty days, his blood will kill the snake that draws it. 78 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCA H. external, of the East. The poorer classes all wear the “ hibas ” of Yemen; two yarns of black sheep’s wool tied round the leg, under the knee and above the ankle. When bitten, the sufferer tightens these cords above the injured part, which he im¬ mediately scarifies; thus they act as tourniquets. The Bedouin’s knowledge of medicine is unusually limited in this part of Arabia, where even simples are not required by a people who rise with dawn, eat little, always breathe desert air, and “ at night make the camels their curfew.” The great tonic is clarified butter, and the “kay,” or actual cautery, is used even for rheumatism. This counter-irritant, together with a curious and artful phlebotomy, blood being taken, as by the Italians, from the toes, the fingers, and other parts of the body, are the Arab panaceas. They treat scald-head with grease and sulphur. Ulcers, which here abound, without, however, assuming the fearful type of the “ Helcoma Yemenense,” are cauterised and stimulated by verdigris. The evil of which Fra- castorius sang is cured by sudorifies, by unguents of oil and sulphur, and especially by the sand bath. The patient, buried up to the neck, remains in the sun fasting all day; in the evening he is allowed a little food. This rude course of “ packing ” lasts RELIGION OF THE BEDOUINS. 79 for about a month. It suits some constitutions; but others, especially Europeans, have tried the sand bath and died of fever. Mules’ teeth, roasted and imperfectly pounded, cure cataract. Teeth are extracted by the farrier’s pincers, and the worm which throughout the East is supposed to produce tooth-ache, falls by fumigation. And, finally, after great fatigue, or when suffering from cold, the body is copiously greased with clarified butter and exposed to a blazing fire. Mohammed and his followers conquered only the more civilised Bedouins; and there is even to this day little or no religion amongst the wild people, except amongst those on the coast or in the vicinity of cities. The faith of the Bedouin comes from El Islam, whose hold is weak. But his customs and institutions, the growth of his climate, his nature, and his wants, are still those of his an¬ cestors, cherished ere Meccah had sent forth a Prophet, and likely to survive the day when every vestige of the Kaabah shall have disappeared. Of this nature are the Hejazi’s pagan oaths, their hea¬ thenish names (few being Moslem except “ Mo¬ hammed”), their ordeal of licking red-hot iron, their Salkh, or scarification, proof of manliness, their blood revenge, their eating carrion ( i.e . the 80 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. body of an animal killed without the usual for¬ mula), and their lending wives to strangers. All these I hold to be remnants of some old creed; nor should I despair of finding among the Bedouins bordering upon the Great Desert some lingering system of idolatry. The Bedouins of El Hejaz call themselves Shafei; but what is put into the mouths of their brethren in the West applies equally well here. “ We pray not, because we must drink the water of ablution ; we give no alms, because we ask them ; we fast not the Ramazan month, because we starve throughout the year; and we do no pil¬ grimage because the world is the House of Allah.” Their blunders in religious matters supply the citizens with many droll stories. And it is to be observed that they do not, like the Greek pirates or the Italian bandits, preserve a religious element in their plunderings: they make no vows and carefully avoid offerings. The ceremonies of Bedouin life are few and simple — circumcisions, marriages, and funerals. Of the former rite there are two forms, “ Taharah,” as usual in El Islam, and “ Salkh,”* an Arab in- * Circumcisioni s causa apud Arabos raanifestissima, ulceratio enim endemica, abrasionem glandis aut praeputii, maxima cum THE CEREMONIES OF BEDOUIN LIFE. 81 vention, derived from the times of Paganism. During Wahhabi rule it was forbidden under pain of death, but now the people have returned to it. The usual age for Taharah is between five and six : among some classes, however, it is performed ten years later. On such occasions feastings and merry-makings take place as at our christenings. Women being a marketable commodity in bar¬ barism as in civilisation, youths in El Hejaz are not married till the father can afford to pay for a bride. There is little pomp or ceremony save firing of guns, dancing, singing, and eating mut- facilitate insequitur. Mos autem quern voeant Arabes El Salkh t/C/- *’• e. scarifieatio) virilitatem animumque ostendendi modus esse videtur. Exeunt amici paterque, et juvenem subdio sedentem circumstant. Capit tunc pugionem tonsor et praeputio abscisso detrabit pellem rdv alSolwv cal rwv koiXiiov ab umbilico incipiens aut parum infra, ventreroque usque ad femora nudat. Juvenis autem dextra pugionem super tergum tonsoris vibrans magna clamat voce . i. e., csede sine timore. Vae si haesitet tonsor aut si tremeat manus ! Pater etiam filium si dolore ululet statim occidit. Re confecta surgit juvenis et jS\ dJJl “Gloria Deo” intonans, ad tentoria tendit, statim nefando oppressus dolore humi procumbit. Remedia Sal, et (turmerica); cibus lac cameli. Nonnullos occidit in¬ gens suppuratio, decern autem excoriatis supersunt plerumque octo: hi pecten habent nullum, ventremque pallida tegit cutis. VOL. III. G 82 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAII AND MECCAII. ton. The “settlement” is usually about thirty sound Spanish dollars *, half paid down, and the other half owed by the bridegroom to the fathers, the brothers, or the kindred of his spouse. Some tribes will take animals in lieu of ready money. A man of wrath not contented with his bride, puts her away at once. If,peaceably inclined, by a short delay he avoids scandal. Divorces are very frequent among Bedouins, and if the settlement money be duly paid, no evil comes of them.f * The Spanish dollar is most prized in El Hejaz ; in Yemen the Maria Theresa. The Spanish government has refused to perpetuate its Pillar-dollar, which at one time was so great a favourite in the East. The traveller wonders how “ Maria Theresas” still supply both shores of the Red Sea. The marvel is easily explained: the Austrians receive silver at Milan, and stamp it for a certain per-centage. This coin was doubtless preferred by the Bedouins for its superiority to the currency of the day : they make from it ornaments for their womeD and decorations for their weapons. The generic term for dollars is “ Riyal Fransah.” f Torale, sicut est mos Judaicus et Persicus, non inspiciunt. Novas nuptse tamen maritus mappam manu capit: mane autem puellae mater virginitatis signa viris mulieribusque domi ostendit eosque jubilare jubet quod calamitas domestica, sc. iilia, intacta abiit. Si non ostendeant mappam, mseret domus, “ prima enim Venus”in Arabia “debet esse cruenta.” Maritus autem humanior, etiamsi absit sanguis, cruore palumbino mappam tingit et gaudium fingens cognatis parentibusque FUNERAL RITES OF THE BEDOUINS. 83 The funerals of the wild men resemble those of the citizens, only they are more simple; the dead are buried where they die. The corpse, after being washed, is shrouded in any rags procurable, and, women and hired weepers not being permitted to attend, is carried to the grave by men only. A hole is dug, according to Moslem custom; dry wood, which everywhere abounds, is disposed to cover the corpse, and an oval of stones sur¬ rounding a mound of earth keeps out jackals and denotes the spot. These Bedouins have not, like the wild Sindhis and Belochis, favourite ceme¬ teries, to which they transport their dead from afar. The traveller will find no difficulty in living amongst the Hejazi Bedouins. “ Trust to their honor and you are safe,” as was said of the Crow Indians, “ to their honesty, and they will steal the hair off your head.” Only the wanderer must adopt the wild man’s motto, “ omnia mea mecum porto,” he must have good nerves, be capable of fatigue and hardship, possess some knowledge of drugs, shoot and ride well, speak Arabic and ostendit; paululum postea puellse nonnulla causa dat divortium. Hie urbis et ruris mos idem est. 84 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCA H. Turkish, know by reading the customs, and avoid offending against local prejudices, by causing himself, for instance, to be called “ Taggaa." The payment of a small sum secures to him a “ Rafik and this “ friend,” after once engaging in the task, will be faithful. “We have eaten salt together” (Nahnu Malihin) is still a bond of friendship: there are, however, some, tribes who require to renew the bond every twenty-four hours, as otherwise, to use their own phrase, “ the salt is not in their stomachs.” Caution must be exercised in choosing a companion who has not too many blood feuds. There is no objection to carrying a copper watch and a pocket compass, and a Koran could be fitted with secret pockets for notes and pencil. Strangers should especially avoid hand¬ some weapons: these tempt the Bedouins’ cupidity more than gold. The other extreme, defenceless¬ ness, is equally objectionable. It is needless to say that the traveller must never be seen writing anything but charms, and on no account sketch in public. He should be careful in questioning, and rather lead up to information than ask directly. It offends some Bedouins, besides denoting ig¬ norance and curiosity, to be asked their names * An explanation of this term will be found below. INSUBORDINATION AMONG BEDOUINS. 85 or those of their elans: a man may be living in¬ cognito, and the tribes distinguish themselves when they desire to do so by dress, personal appearance, voice, dialect, and accentuation, points of difference plain to the initiated. A few dollars suffice for the road, and if you would be “ respectable,” a taste which I dare not deprecate, some such pre¬ sents as razors and Tarbushes are required for the chiefs. The government of the Arabs may be called almost an autonomy. The tribes never obey their shaykhs, unless for personal considera¬ tions, and, as in a civilised army, there gene¬ rally is some sharp-witted and brazen-faced individual whose voice is louder than the general’s. In their leonine society the sword is the great administrator of law. Relations between the Bedouin tribes of El Hejaz are of a threefold character: they are either “ Ashab,” “Riman,” or “ Akhwan.” “Ashab,” or “comrades,” are those who are bound by oath to an alliance offensive and defen¬ sive : they intermarry, and are therefore closely connected. “Kiman or foes, are tribes between whom a * It is the plural of “Kaum,” which means “rising up in n 3 86 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. blood feud, the cause and the effect of deadly enmity, exists. “ Akhawat,” or “ brotherhood,” denotes the tie between the stranger and the Bedouin, who asserts an immemorial and inalienable right to the soil upon which his forefathers fed their flocks. Trespass by a neighbour instantly causes war. Territorial increase is rarely attempted, for if of a whole clan but a single boy escape he will one day assert his claim to the land, and be as¬ sisted by all the Ashab, or allies of the slain. By paying a small sum, varying, according to your means, from a few pence worth of trinkets, ac¬ cepted by man, woman, or child, to a couple of dollars, you share bread and salt with the tribe, you and your horse become “ dakhil” (protected), and every one must afford you brother-help. If traveller or trader attempt to pass through the land without paying El Akhawah or El Rifkah, as it is termed, he must expect to be plundered, and, resisting, to be slain : it is no dishonor to pay it, and he clearly is in the wrong who refuses to conform to custom. The “ Rafik,” rebellion or enmity against,” as well as the popular signification a ‘‘ people.” In some parts of Arabia it is used for a “ plunder¬ ing party.” “BLACK MAIL,” OB TRANSIT DUES. 87 under different names, exists throughout this part of the world; at Sinai he was called a “ Ghafir,” a “ Rabia ” in Eastern Arabia, amongst the Soma¬ lis an “ Abban,” and by the Gallas “ Mogasa.” I have called the tax “ black mail; ” it deserves a better name, being clearly the rudest form of those transit dues and octrois which are in nowise improved by “ progress.” The Ahl Bait*, or dwellers in the Black tents, levy the tax from the Ahl Hait, or the people of walls; that is to say, townsmen and villagers who have forfeited right to be held Bedouins. It is demanded from bastard Arabs and from tribes which, like the Hutaym and the Khelawiyah, have been born basely or have become “ nidering.” And these people are obliged to pay it at home as well as abroad. Then it becomes a sign of disgrace, and the pure clans, like the Beni Harb, will not give their damsels in marriage to “ brothers.” Besides this Akhawat-tax and the pensions by the Porte to chiefs of clans, the wealth of the Bedouins * Bait (in the plural Buyut) is used in this sense to denote the tents of the nomades. “ Bait ” radically means a « nighting-place; ” thence a tent, a house, a lair, &c. &c. 88 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. consists in his flocks and herds, his mare, and his weapons. Some clans are rich in horses; others are celebrated for camels; and not a few for their sheep, asses, or greyhounds. The Ahamidah tribe, as has been mentioned, possesses few animals; it subsists by plunder and by presents from pilgrims. The principal wants of the country are sulphur, lead, cloths of all kinds, sugar, spices, coffee, corn, and rice. Arms are valued by the men, and it is advisable to carry a stock of Birmingham jewellery for the purpose of conciliating woman¬ kind. In exchange the Bedouins give sheep *, cattle, clarified butter, milk, wool, and hides, which they use for water-bags, as the Egyptians and other Easterns do potteries. But as there is now a fair store of dollars in the country it is rarely necessary to barter. The Arab’s dress marks his simplicity; it gives him a nationality, as, according to John Evelyn, “ prodigious breeches ” did to the Swiss. It is remarkably picturesque, and with sorrow we see it now confined to the wildest Bedouins and a few Sherifs. To the practised eye, a Hejazi in Tarbush and caftan is ridiculous as a Basque or a Catalonian * Some tribes will not sell their sheep, keeping them for guests or feasts. THE DRESS OF THE BEDOUINS. 89 girl in a cachemire and a little chip. The neces¬ sary dress of a man is his Saub (Tobe), a blue calico shirt, reaching from neck to ankles, tight or loose-sleeved, opening at the chest in front, and rather narrow below; so that the wearer, when running, must either hold it up or tuck it into his belt. The latter article, called Hakw, is a plaited leathern thong, twisted round the waist very tightly, so as to support the back. The trowsers and the “Futah,” or loin cloth of cities, are looked upon as signs of effeminacy. In cold weather the chiefs wear over the shirt an Aba, or cloak. These garments are made in Nejd and the eastern dis¬ tricts ; they are of four colours, white, black, red, and brown-striped. The best are of camels’-hair, and may cost fifteen dollars} the worst, of sheep’s wool, are worth only three; both are cheap, as they last for years. The Mahramah (head-cloth) comes from Syria; which, with Nejd, supplies also the Kufiyah, or head-kerchief. The “ Ukal *,” fillets bound over the kerchief, are of many kinds } the Bisher tribe near Meccah make a kind of crown like the gloria round a saint’s head, with bits of * So the word is pronounced at Meccah. The dictiona¬ ries give “Aakal,” which in Eastern Arabia is corrupted to “Igal.” 90 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. wood, in which are set pieces of mother-o’-pearl. Sandals, too, are of every description, from the simple sole of leather tied on with thongs, to the handsome and elaborate chaussure of Meccah; the price varies from a piastre to a dollar, and the very poor walk bare-footed. A leathern bandoleer, called Majdal, passed over the left shoulder, and, reaching to the right hip, supports a line of brass cylinders for cartridges.* The other cross-belt (El Masdar), made of leather, ornamented with brass rings, hangs down at the left side, and carries a Kharizah, or hide-case for bullets. And finally, the Hizam, or waist-belt, holds the dagger and extra cartridge cases. A Bedouin never appears in public unarmed. The women wear, like their masters, dark blue cotton Tobes, but larger and looser. When abroad they cover the head with a yashmak of black stuff, or a poppy-coloured Burka of the Egyptian shape. They wear no pantaloons, and rarely slippers or sandals. The hair is twisted into “ Majdul,” little pig-tails, an'd copiously anointed with clarified butter. The rich perfume the skin with rose and cinnamon-scented oils, and wear in their * Called “ Tatarif,” plural of Tatrifah, a cartridge. THE FOOD OF THE BEDOUINS. 91 hair El Shayh*, sweetest herb of the desert; their ornaments are bracelets, collars, ear and nose¬ rings of gold, silver, or silver-gilt. The poorer classes wear strings of silver coins hung round the neck. The true Bedouin is an abstemious man, capable of living for six months on ten ounces of food per diem ; the milk of a single camel, and a handful of dates dry, or fried in clarified butter, suffice for his wants. He despises the obese and all who require regular and plentiful meals, sleeps on a mat, and knows neither luxury nor comfort, freezing during one quarter and frying three quarters of the year. But though he can endure hunger like all savages, he will gorge when an opportunity offers. I never saw the man who could refrain from water upon the line of march, and in this point they contrast disadvantageously with the hardy Wahhabis of the East, and the rugged mountaineers of Jebel Shamar. They are still “ acridophagi,-” and even the citizens far prefer a dish of locusts to the “ fasikh,” which act as anchovies, sardines, and herrings in Egypt. They light a fire at night, and as the insects fall dead they quote this couplet to justify their being eaten — * A hind of absinthian herb. 92 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. “ We are allowed two carrions and two bloods. The fish and locusts, the liver and the spleen.” * Where they have no crops to lose, the people are thankful for a fall of locusts. In El Hejaz the flights are uncertain; during the last five years El Medinah has seen but few. They are prepared for eating by boiling in salt water and drying four or five days in the sun : a “wet” locust to an Arab is as a snail to a Briton. The head is plucked off, the stomach drawn, the wings and the prickly part of the legs are plucked, and the insect is ready for the table. Locusts are never eaten with sweet things, which would be nauseous: the dish is always “ hot ” with salt and pepper, or onions fried in clarified butter, when it tastes nearly as well as a plate of stale shrimps. The favourite food on journeys is meat cut into strips and sun-dried. This, with a bag of milk- balls f and a little coffee, must suffice for journey * The liver and the spleen are both supposed to be “ con¬ gealed blood.” Niebuhr has exhausted the names and the description of the locust. In El Hejaz they have many local and fantastic terms: the smallest kind, for instance, is called “ Jerad Iblis,” Satan’s locust. t This is the Kurut of Sindh and the Kashk of Persia. The butter-milk separated from the butter by a little water is AKABS AND NORTH-AMKRICAN INDIANS. 93 or campaign. The Bedouins know neither fer¬ mented nor distilled liquors, although “ ikhs ya ’1 khammar I ” fie upon thee, drunkard! is a popular phrase, preserving the memory of a better state of things. Some clans, though not all, smoke tobacco. It is generally the growth of the country called Hejazi or Kazimiyah ; a green weed, very strong, with a foul smell, and costing about one piastre per pound. The Bedouins do not relish Persian tobacco, and cannot procure Latakia: it is pro¬ bably the pungency of the native growth offending the delicate organs of the Desert-men, that caused nicotiana to be proscribed by the Wahhabis, who revived against its origin a senseless and obsolete calumny. The almost absolute independence of the Arabs, and of that noble race the North American Indians of a former generation, has produced a similarity between them worthy of note, because it may warn the anthropologist not always to detect in coinci¬ dence of custom identity of origin. Both have the simmered over a slow fire,-thickened with wheaten flour, about a handful to a gallon, well mixed, so that no knots remain in it, and allowed to cool. The mixture is then put into a bag and strained, after which salt is sprinkled over it. The mass begins to harden after a few hours, when it is made up into balls and dried in the sun. 94 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. same wild chivalry, the same fiery sense of honor, and the same boundless hospitality: love elopements from tribe to tribe, the blood feud, and the ven¬ detta are common to the two. Both are grave and cautious in demeanour, and formal in manner, —princes in rags or paint. The Arabs plunder pilgrims, the Indians, bands of trappers; both glory in forays, raids, and cattle-lifting; and both rob according to certain rules. Both are alternately brave to desperation, and shy of danger. Both are remarkable for nervous and powerful eloquence, dry humour, satire, whimsical tales, frequent tropes, boasts, and ruffling style, pithy proverbs, extempore songs, and languages won¬ drous in their complexity. Both, recognising no other occupation but war and the chase, despise artifices and the effeminate people of cities, as the game-cock spurns the vulgar roosters of the poultry- yard.* The chivalry of the western wolds, like that of the eastern wilds, salutes the visitor by a charge of cavalry, by discharging guns, and by wheeling around him with shouts and yells. The “ brave ” stamps a red hand upon his mouth to * The North American trappers adopted this natural pre¬ judice: the “ free trapper ” called his more civilised confrere, “ mangeur de lard.” BEDOUINS SUPERIOR TO N.-AMERICAN INDIANS. 95 show that he has drunk the blood of a foe. Of the Utaybah “ Harami ” it is similarly related, that after mortal combat he tastes the dead man’s gore. Of these two chivalrous races of savages, the Bedouin claims our preference on account of his treatment of women, his superior development of intellect, and the glorious page of history which he has filled. The tribes of El Hejaz are tediously numerous : it will be sufficient to enumerate the principal branches of the Bedouin tree, without detailing the hundred little offshoots which it has put forth in the course of ages.* Those ancient clans the Abs and Adnan have almost died out. The latter, it is said, still exists in the neighbourhood of Taif; and the Abs, I am * Burckhardt shrank from the intricate pedigree of the Meccan Sherifs. I have seen a work upon the subject in four folio volumes in point of matter equivalent to treble the number in Europe. The best known genealogical works are El Kalkashandi (originally in seventy-five books, extended to one hundred); the Umdat el Tullab by Ibn Khaldun; the “ Tohfat el Arab fi Ansar el Arab,” a well-known volume by El Siyuti; and, lastly, the Sirat el Halabi, in six vols. 8vo. Of the latter work there is an abridgment by Mohammed el Banna el Dimyati in two vols. 8vo.; but both are rare, and con¬ sequently expensive. 96 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. informed, are to be found near Kusayr (Cosseir), on the African coast, but not in El Hejaz. Of the Aus, Khazraj, and Nazir details have been given in a previous chapter. The Beni Harb is now the ruling clan in the Holy Land. It is divided by genealogists into two great bodies, first, the Beni Salim, and, secondly, the Masruh *, or “ roaming tribes.” The Beni Salim, again, have eight subdivisions, viz.: — 1. Ahamidah (Ahmadi)f: this clan owns for chief Shaykh Saad of the mountains. It is said to contain about 3500 men. Its principal sub-clan is the Hadari. 2. Hawazim (Hazimi), the rival tribe 3000 in number: it is again divided into Muzayni and Zahiri. 3. Sobh (Sobhi), 3500, habitat near El Badr. 4. Salaymah (Salimi), also called Aulad Selim. 5. Saadin (Saadani). 6. Mahamid (Mahmadi), 8000. 7. Rahalah (Rihayli), 1000. 8. Timam (Tamimi). The Masruh tree splits into two great branches, Beni Auf and Beni Amur4 The former is a large clan, extending from * I give the following details of the Harb upon the authority of my friend Umar Effendi, who is great in matters of genealogy. t The first word is the plural, the second the singular form of the word. $ In the singular Aufi and Amri. BEDOUIN TRIBES. 97 Wady Nakia .jy nearNejd, to Rabigh and El Medinah. They have few horses, but many dromedaries, camels, and sheep, and are much feared by the people, on account of their warlike and savage character. They separate into ten sub-divisions, viz: — 1. Sihliyah (Sihli), about 2000 in number. 2. Sawaid (Saidi), 1000. 3. Rukhasah (Rakhis). 4. Kassanin (Kassan): this sub-clan claims origin from the old “ Gassan ” stock, and is found in considerable numbers at Wady Nakia and other places near El Medinah. 5. Rubaah (Rabai). 6. Khazarah (Khuzayri). 7. Lahabah (Lahaybi), 1500 in number. 8. Faradah (Faradi). 9. Beni Ali (Alawi). 10. Zubayd (Zubaydi), near Meccah, a numerous clan of fighting thieves. Also under the Beni Amur—as the word is popularly pro¬ nounced—are ten sub-families. 1. Marabitah (Murabti). 2. Hussar (Hasir). 3. Beni Jabir (Jabiri). 4. Rabaykah (Rubayki). They principally inhabit the lands about El Fara a collection of settlements four marches south of El Medinah, number about 10,000 men, and have droves of sheep and camels, but few horses. 5. Hisnan (Hasuui). 6. Bizan (Bayzani). 7. Badarin (Badrani). 8. Biladiyah (Biladi). 9. Jaliam (the singular and plural forms are the same). VOL. III. H 98 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 10. Shatarali (Shitayri).* The great Anizah clan now, I was told, inhabits Khaybar, and it must not visit El Medinah without a Rafik or protector. Properly speaking there are no outcasts in El TIejaz, as in Yemen and the Somali country. But the Hitman (pi. of Hu- taym or Hitaym), inhabiting the sea-board about Yambu, are taxed by other Bedouins as low and vile of origin. The un¬ chastity of the women is connived at by the men, who, however, are brave and celebrated as marksmen : they make, eat, and sell cheese, for which reason that food is despised by the Harb. And the Khelawiyah (pi. of Khalawi) are equally despised: they are generally blacksmiths, have a fine breed of greyhounds, and give asses as a dowry, which secures for them the derision of their fellows. Mr. C. Cole, H. B. M.’s vice-consul at Jeddah, was kind enough to collect for me notices of the different tribes in central and southern Hejaz. His informants divide the great clan Juhaynah living about Yambu and Yambu el Nakhl into five branches, viz.: — 1. Beni Ibrahimah, in number about 5000. 2. Ishran, 700. 3. Beni Malik, 6000 * To these Mr. Cole adds seven other sub-divisions, viz.: — 1. Ahali el Kura (“ the people of Kura P ”), 5000. 2. Kadadah, 800. 3. Hijlah, 600. 4. Dubayah, 1500. 5. Beni Kalb, 2000. 6. Bayzanah, 800. 7. Beni Yahya, 800. And he makes the total of the Beni Harb about El Jedaydah amount to 35,000 men. I had no means of personally ascer¬ taining the correctness of this information. BEDOUIN TRIBES. 99 4. Arwah, 5000. 5. Kaunah, 3000. Thus giving a total of 19,700 men capable of carrying arms.* The same gentleman, whose labours in Eastern Arabia during the coast survey of the “ Palinurus ” are well-known to the Indian world, gives the following names of the tribes under allegiance to the Sherif of Meccah. 1. Sakif (Thakif) el Yemen, 2000. 2. Sakif el Sham |, 1000. 3. Beni Malik, 6000. 4. Nasirah, 3000. 5. Beni Saad, 4000. 6. Huz ayh (Hudhayh), 5000. 7. Bakum (Begoum), 5000. 8. Adudah, 500. 9. Bashar, 1000. 10. Said, 1500. 11. Zubayd, 4000. 12. Aydah, 1000. The following is a list of the southern Hejazi tribes, kindly forwarded to me by the Abbe Hamilton, after his return from a visit to the Sherif at Taif. * The reader will remember that nothing like exactitude in numbers can be expected from an Arab. Some rate the Beni Harb at 6000 ; others, equally well informed, at 15,000; others, again, at 80,000. The reason of this is that, whilst one is speaking of the whole race, another may be limiting it to his own tribe and its immediate allies. f t: Sham ” which, properly speaking, means Damascus or Syria, in Southern Arabia and Eastern Africa is universally applied to El Hejaz. 100 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 1 . 2 . 3. 4. 5. 6 . 7 . 8 . 9. 10 . 11 . 12 . 13. 14. Ghamid el Badawy (“ of the nomades ”), 30,000. Ghamid el Hazar (“ the settled ”), 40,000. Zahran, 38,000. Beni Malik, 30,000. Nasirah, 15,000. Asir, 40,000. Tamum, •» , _ BiIkarn ) } t °S ether ’ 80 ’ 00a Beni Ahraar, 10,000. Utaybah, living north of Meecali : no number given. Shuabin. Deraysh, 2000. Beni Sufyan, 15,000. El Hullad, 3000. It is evident that the numbers given by this traveller include the women, and probably the children of the tribes. Some ex¬ aggeration will also be suspected. The principal clans which practise the pagan Salkh, or exco¬ riation, are, in El Hejaz, the Huzayl and the Beni Sufyan, together with the following families in El Tehamah : — 1. Juhadilab. 2. Kabakah. 3. Beni Fahm. 4. Beni Mahmud. 5. Saramu (?) 6. Majarish. 7. Beni Yezid. I now take leave of a subject which cannot but be most un¬ interesting to English readers. THE VILLAGE EL S U WAY R K IYA H . 101 CHAP. XXV. FROM EL SUWAYRKIYAU TO MECCAH. We have now left the territory of El Medinah. El Suwayrkiyah, which belongs to the Sherif of Meccah, is about twenty-eight miles distant from Hijriyah, and by dead reckoning ninety-nine miles along the road from the Prophet’s burial-place. Its bearing from the last station was S.W. 11°. The town, consisting of about 100 houses, is built at the base and on the sides of a basaltic mass, which rises abruptly from the hard clayey plain. The summit is converted into a rude fortalice — without one no settlement can exist in El Hejaz — by a bul¬ wark of uncut stone, piled up so as to make a parapet. The lower part of the town is protected by a mud wall, with the usual semicircular towers. Inside there is a bazaar, well supplied with meat (principally mutton) by the neighbouring Be¬ douins, and wheat, barley, and dates are grown near the town. There is little to describe in the narrow streets and the mud houses, which are esseu- H 3 102 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. tially Arab. The fields around are divided into little square plots by earthen ridges and stone walls; some of the palms are fine grown trees, and the wells appeared numerous. The water is near the surface and plentiful, but it has a brackish taste, highly disagreeable after a few days’ use, and the effects are the reverse of chalybeate. The town belongs to the Beni Husayn, a race of schismatics mentioned in the foregoing pages. They claim the allegiance of the Bedouin tribes around, principally Mutayr, and I was informed that their fealty to the Prince of Meccah is merely nominal. The morning after our arrival at El Suwayr- kiyah witnessed a commotion in our little party: hitherto they had kept together in fear of the road. Among the number was one Ali bin Ya Sin, a perfect “ old man of the sea.” By profes¬ sion he was a “ Zem Zemi,” or dispenser of water from the Holy Well*, and he had a handsome * There are certain officers called Zem Zemi, who distribute the holy water. In the case of a respectable pilgrim they have a large jar of the shape described in Chap. IV., marked with his names and titles, and sent every morning to his lodgings. If he be generous, cne or more will be placed in the Haram, that men may drink in his honor. The Zem Zemi expects a present varying from five to eleven dollars. A TYPE OP THE ARAB OLD MAN. 103 “ palazzo ” at the foot of Abu Kubays in Meccah, which he periodically converted into a boarding house. Though past sixty, very decrepit, bent by age, white-bearded, and toothless, he still acted cicerone to pilgrims, and for that purpose travelled once every year to El Medinah. These trips had given’him the cunning of a veteran voyager. He lived well and cheaply ; his home-made shugduf, the model of comfort, was garnished with soft cushions and pillars, whilst from the pockets protruded select bottles of pickled limes and similar luxuries ; he had his travelling shishah*, and at the halting-place, disdaining the crowded, reeking tent, he had a contrivance for converting his vehicle into a habitation. He was a type of the Arab old man. He mumbled all day and three-quarters of the night, for he had des insom- nies. His nerves were so fine, that if any one mounted his shugduf, the unfortunate was con¬ demned to lie like a statue. Fidgetty and prig- gishly neat, nothing annoyed him so much as a moment’s delay or an article out of place, a rag * The shishah, smoked on the camel, is a tin canister divided into two compartments, the lower half for the water, the upper one for the tobacco. The cover is pierced with holes to feed the fire, and a short hooka-snake projects from one side. 104 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAII AND MECCAH. removed from his water-gugglet, or a cooking pot imperfectly free from soot; and I judged his avarice by observing that he made a point of picking up and eating the grains scattered from our pomegranates, exclaiming that the heavenly seed (located there by Arab superstition) might be one of those so wantonly wasted. Ali bin Ya Sin, returning to his native city, had not been happy in his choice of a companion this time. The other occupant of the handsome shugduf was an ignoble-faced Egyptian from El Medinah. This ill-suited pair clave together for awhile, but at El Suwayrkiyah some dispute about a copper coin made them permanent foes. With threats and abuse such as none but an Egyptian could tamely hear, Ali kicked his quondam friend out of the vehicle. But terrified, after reflection by the possibility that the man now his enemy might combine with two or three Syrians of our party to do him a harm, and frightened by*a few black looks, the senior determined to fortify himself by a friend. Connected with the boy Mohammed’s family, he easily obtained an intro¬ duction to me; he kissed my hand with great servility, declared that his servant had behaved disgracefully, and begged my protection, together with the occasional attendance of my “ slave.” A SMALL FEAST. 105 This was readily granted in pity for the old man, who became immensely grateful. He offered at once to take Shaykh Nur into his shugduf. The Indian boy had already reduced to ruins the frail structure of his shibriyah, by lying upon it lengthways, whereas prudent travellers sit in it cross-legged and facing the camel. Moreover, he had been laughed to scorn by the Bedouins, who seeing him pull up his dromedary to mount and dismount, had questioned his sex, and determined him to be a woman of the “ Miyan.” * I could not rebuke them; the poor fellow’s timidity was a ridiculous contrast to the Bedouin’s style of mounting; a pull at the camel’s head, the left foot placed on the neck, an agile spring, and a scramble into the saddle. Shaykh Nur, elated by ths sight of old Ali’s luxuries, promised himself some joyous hours; but next morning he owned with a sigh that he had purchased splendour at the extravagant price of happiness—the senior’s tongue never rested throughout the livelong night. During one half-halt at El Sawayrkiyah we de¬ termined to have a small feast; we bought some * The Hindostani word for “sir.” Bedouins address it slightingly to Indians, Chapter XII. 106 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. fresh dates, and paid a dollar and a half for a sheep. Hungry travellers consider “ liver and fry ” a dish to set before a shaykh. On this oc¬ casion, however, our enjoyment was marred by the water; even Soyer’s dinners would scarcely charm if washed down with cups of a certain mi¬ neral-spring found at Epsom. We started at 10 a.m. in a south-easterly direc¬ tion, and travelled over a flat, thinly dotted with desert vegetation. At 1 p.m. we passed a basaltic ridge, and then, entering a long depressed line of country, a kind of valley, paced down it five tedious hours. The simoom as usual was blowing hard, and it seemed to affect the traveller’s temper. In one place I saw a Turk, who could not speak a word of Arabic, violently disputing with an Arab who could not speak a word of Turkish. The pilgrim insisted upon adding to the camel’s load a few dry sticks, such as are picked up for cooking. The camel man as perseveringly threw off the extra burden. They screamed with rage, hustled each other, and at last the Turk dealt the Arab a heavy blow. I afterwards heard that the pilgrim was mortally wounded that night, his stomach being ripped open with a dagger. On inquiring what had become of him, I was assured that he had been THE BAGHDAD CAKAVAN. 107 comfortably wrapped up in his shroud and placed in a half-dug grave. This is the general practice in the case of the poor and solitary, whom illness or accident incapacitates from proceeding. It is impossible to contemplate such a fate without horror: the torturing thirst of a wound *, the burning sun heating the brain to madness, and — worst of all, for they do not wait till death — the attacks of the jackal, the vulture, and the raven of the wild. At 6 p. m., before the light of day had faded, we traversed a rough and troublesome ridge. De¬ scending it, our course lay in a southerly direction along a road flanked on the left by low hills of red sandstone and bright porphyry. About an hour afterwards we came to a basalt field, through whose blocks we threaded our way painfully and slowly, for it was then dark. At 8 p.m. the camels began to stumble over the dwarf dykes of the wheat and barley fields, and presently we arrived at our halting-place, a large village called El Sufayna. The plain was already dotted with tents and lights. We found the Baghdad caravan, whose route here falls into the Darb el Sharki. It con- * When Indians would say “ he was killed upon the spot,” they use the picturesque phrase, “ he asked not for water.” 108 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAII. sists of a few Persians and Kurds, and collects the people of north-eastern Arabia, Wahhabis and others. They are escorted by the Agayl tribe and the fierce mountaineers of Jebel Shamar. Scarcely was our tent pitched when the distant pattering of musketry and an ominous tapping of the kettle-drum sent all my companions in different directions to inquire what was the cause of quarrel. The Baghdad Cafila, though not more than 2000 in number, men, women and children, had been proving to the Damascus caravan, that, being per¬ fectly ready to fight, they were not going to yield any point of precedence. From that time the two bodies encamped in different places. I never saw a more pugnacious assembly: a look sufficed for a quarrel. Once a Wahhabi stood in front of us, and by pointing with his finger and other insulting gestures, showed his hatred to the chibouque, in which I was peaceably indulging. It was im¬ possible to refrain from chastising his insolence by a polite and smiling offer of the offending pipe. This made him draw his dagger without a thought; but it was sheathed again, for we all cocked our pistols, and these gentry prefer steel to lead. We had travelled about seventeen miles, and the di¬ rection of El Sufayna from our last halting-place THE PILGRIM INTRODUCED TO A NAMESAKE. 109 was S. E. 5°. Though it was night when we encamped, Shaykh Masud set out to water his moaning camels: they had not quenched their thirst for three days. He returned in a depressed state, having been bled by the soldiery at the well to the extent of forty piastres, or about eight shillings. After supper we spread our rugs and prepared to rest. And here I first remarked the coolness of the nights, proving at this season of the year a considerable altitude above the sea. As a general rule the atmosphere stagnated between sunrise and 10 a. m., when a light wind rose. During the forenoon the breeze strengthened, and it gradually diminished through the afternoon. Often about sunset there was a gale accompanied by dry storms of dust. At El Sufayna, though there was no night-breeze and little dew, a blanket was neces¬ sary, and the hours of darkness were invigorating enough to mitigate the effect of the sand and simoom-ridden day. Before sleeping I was intro¬ duced to a namesake, one Shaykh Abdullah of Meccah. Having committed his shugduf to his son, a lad of fourteen, he had ridden forward on a dromedary, and had suddenly fallen ill. His objects in meeting me were to ask for some 110 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINA!! AND MECCAH. medicine, and a temporary seat in my shugduf; the latter I offered with pleasure, as the boy Mohammed was longing to mount a camel. The shaykh’s illness was nothing but weakness brought on by the hardships of the journey : he attributed it to the hot wind, and the weight of a bag of dollars, which he had attached to his waist belt. He was a man about forty, long, thin, pale, and of a purely nervous temperament: and a few questions elicited the fact, that he had lately and suddenly given up his daily opium pill. I prepared one for him, placed him in my litter, and persuaded him to stow away his burden in some place where it would be less troublesome. He was my companion for two marches at the end of which he found his own shugduf, and I never met amongst the Arab citizens a better bred or better informed man. At Constantinople he had learned a little French, Italian, and Greek; and from the properties of a shrub to the varieties of honey *, he was full of * The Arabs are curious in and fond of honey : Meccali alone affords eight or nine different varieties. The best, and in Arab parlance the “ coldest,” is the green kind, produced by bees that feed upon a thorny plant called “ sihhah.” The white and red honeys rank next. The worst is the Asal Asmar (brown honey), which sells for something under a piastre per pound. DESCRIPTION OF A DESERT IN ARABIA. Ill “ useful knowledge,” and open as a dictionary. We parted near Meccah, where I met him only once, and then accidentally, in the Valley of Muna. At half-past 5 a. m., on the 5th of September, we arose refreshed by the cool, comfortable night, and loaded the camels. I had an opportunity of inspecting El Sufayna. It is a village of fifty or sixty mud-walled, flat-roofed houses, surrounded by the usual rampart. Around it lie ample date- grounds, and fields of wheat, barley and maize. Its bazar at this season of the year is well sup¬ plied : even fowls can be procured. We travelled towards the south-east, and entered a country destitute of the low ranges of hill, which from El Medinah southwards had bounded the horizon. After two miles’ march, our camels climbed up a precipitous ridge, and then descended into a broad gravel plain. From 10 to 11 A. m. our course was southerly, over a high table-land, and we afterwards traversed for five hours and a half a plain which bore signs of standing water. This day’s march was peculiarly Arabia. It was a desert peopled only with echoes,— a place of death for what little there is to die in it,—a wilderness, where, to use my companion’s phrase, there is The Abyssinian mead is unknown in El Hejaz, but honey enters into a variety of dishes. _ 112 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. nothing but He.* Nature, scalped, flayed, dis¬ covered her anatomy to the gazer’s eye. The horizon was a sea of mirage; gigantic sand- columns whirled over the plain; and on both sides of our road were huge piles of bare rock, standing detached upon the surface of sand and clay. Here they appeared in oval lumps, heaped up with a semblance of symmetry; there a single boulder stood, with its narrow foundation based upon a pedestal of low, dome-shaped rock. All are of a pink coarse-grained granite, which flakes off in large crusts under the influence of the atmosphere. I remarked one block which could not measure less than thirty feet in height. Through these scenes we travelled till about half¬ past 4 p.m., when the guns suddenly roared a halt. There was not a trace of human habitation around us: a few parched shrubs and the granite heaps were the only objects diversifying the hard clayey plain. Shaykh Masud correctly guessed the cause of our detention at the inhospitable “ halting-place of the Mutayr” (Bedouins). “Cook your bread and boil your coffee,” said the old man; “ the camels will rest for awhile and the gun sound at nightfall.” * “ La Siwa Hu,” i. e. where there is none but Allah. A NIGHT JOURNEY DESCRIBED. 1 1S We had passed over about eighteen miles of ground ; and our present direction was S. W. 20° of El Sufayna. At half-past ten that evening we heard the signal for departure, and, as the moon was still young, we prepared for a hard night’s work. We took a south-westerly course through what is called a Waar — rough ground covered with thicket. Darkness fell upon us like a pall. The camels tripped and stumbled, tossing their litters like cock¬ boats in a short sea; at times the shiigdufs were well nigh torn off their backs. When we came to a ridge worse than usual, old Masud would seize my camel’s halter, and, accompanied by his son and nephew bearing lights, encouraged the animals with gesture and voice. It was a strange, wild scene. The black basaltic field was dotted with the huge and doubtful forms of spongy-footed camels with silent tread, looming like phantoms in the midnight air; the hot wind moaned, and whirled from the torches sheets of flame and fiery smoke, whilst ever and anon a swift-travelling Takhtrawan, drawn by mules, and surrounded by runners bearing gigantic mashals *, threw a pass- * This article, an iron cylinder with bands, mounted on a long pole, corresponds with the European cresset of the fifteenth century. VOL. III. I 114 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. ing glow of red light upon the dark road and the dusky multitude. On this occasion the rule was “ every man for himself.” Each pressed for¬ ward into the best path, thinking only of pre¬ ceding others. The Syrians, amongst whom our little party had become entangled, proved most un¬ pleasant companions: they often stopped the way, insisting upon their right to precedence. On one occasion a horseman had the audacity to untie the halter of my dromedary, and thus to cast us adrift, as it were, in order to make room for some ex¬ cluded friend. I seized my sword; but Shaykh Abdullah stayed my hand, and addressed the in¬ truder in terms sufficiently violent to make him slink away. Nor was this the only occasion on which my companion was successful with the Syri¬ ans. He would begin with a mild “ Move a little, 0 my father! ” followed, if fruitless, by “ Out of the way, 0 father of Syria*! ” and if still ineffectual, The Pacha’s cressets are known by their smell, a little in¬ cense being mingled with the wood. By this means the fierce Bedouins discover the dignitary’s place. * “ Abu Sham,” a familiar address in El Hejaz to Syrians. They are called “ abusers of the salt,” from their treachery, and “ offspring of Shimr ” (the execrated murderer of the Imam Husayn), because he was a native of that country. Such is the detestation in which the Shiah sect, especially THE EASTERN AND WESTERN MAN. 115 concluding with a “ Begone, 0 he ! ” This ranged between civility and sternness. If without effect, it was followed by revilings to the “ Abusers of the Salt,” the “ Yezid,” the “ Offspring of Shimr.” Ano¬ ther remark which I made about my companion’s conduct well illustrates the difference between the Eastern and the Western man. When traversing a dangerous place, Shaykh Abdullah the European attended to his camel with loud cries of “ Hai! Hai! ” * and an occasional switching. Shaykh the Persians, hold Syria and the Syrians, that I hardly ever met with a truly religious man who did not desire a general massacre of the polluted race. And history informs us that the plains of Syria have repeatedly been drenched with innocent blood shed by sectarian animosity. Yet Jelal el Din (Hist, of Jerusalem) says, “as to Damascus, all learned men fully agree that it is the most eminent of cities after Meccah and El Medinah.” Hence its many titles, “ the Smile of the Prophet,” the “Great Gate of Pilgrimage,” “ Sham Sherif,” the “Right Hand of the Cities of Syria,” &c. &c. And many sayings of Mohammed in honor of Syria are recorded. He was fond of using such Syriac words as “Bakh un ! Bakh un !” to Ali, and “ Kakh un ! Kakh un I ” to Hosayn. I will not enter into the curious history of the latter word, which spread to Egypt and, slightly altered, passed through Latin mythology into French, English, German, Italian, and other modern European tongues. * There is a regular language to camels. “Ikh! ikh!” makes them kneel; “ Yahh I Yahh! ” urges them on ; “ Hai! Hai! ” induces caution, and so on. 116 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAlf. Abdullah the Asiatic commended himself to Allah by repeated ejaculations of “ Ya S&tir! Ya Sattdr! ” * The morning of Wednesday (Sept. 6th) broke as we entered a wide plain. In many places were signs of water: lines of basalt here and there seamed the surface, and wide sheets of the tufa- ceous gypsum called by the Arabs “ sabkhah ” shone like mirrors set in the russet frame-work of the flat. This substance is found in cakes, often a foot long by an inch in depth, curled by the sun’s rays and overlying clay into which water had sunk. After our harassing night, day came on with a sad feeling of oppression, greatly in¬ creased by the unnatural glare; — “ In vain the sight, dejected to the ground. Stoop’d for relief: thence hot ascending streams And keen reflection pain’d.” We were disappointed in our expectations of water, which usually abounds near this station, as its name, “El Ghadir,” denotes. At 10a.m. we pitched the tent in the first convenient spot, * Both these names of the Almighty are of kindred origin. The former is generally used when a woman is in danger of exposing her face by accident, or an animal of falling. ANOTHER NIGIIT MARCH. 117 and lost no time in stretching our cramped limbs upon the bosom of mother Earth. From the halting place of the Mutayr to El Ghadir is a march of about twenty miles, and the direction S.W. 21°. El Ghadir is an extensive plain, which probably presents the appearance of a lake after heavy rains. It is overgrown in parts with desert vegetation, and requires nothing but a regular supply of water to make it useful to man. On the east it is bounded by a wall of rock, at whose base are three wells, said to have been dug by the Caliph Harun. They are guarded by a burj, or tower, which betrays symptoms of decay. In our anxiety to rest we had strayed from the Damascus caravan into the mountaineers of Shamar. Our Shaykh Masud manifestly did not like the company; for shortly after 3 p. m. he insisted upon our striking the tent, and rejoining the Hajj, which lay encamped about two miles distant in the western part of the basin. We loaded therefore, and half an hour before sunset found ourselves in more congenial society. To my great disappointment a stir was observable in the caravan. I at once understood that another night-march was in store for us. 118 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. At 6 p.m. we again mounted and turned towards tiie eastern plain. A heavy shower was falling upon the western hills, whence came damp and dangerous blasts. Between 9 p.m. and the dawn of the next day we had a repetition of the last night’s scenes, over a road so rugged and dangerous, that I wondered how men could prefer to travel in the darkness. But the camels of Damascus were now worn out with fatigue; they could not endure the sun, and our time was too precious for a halt. My night was spent perched upon the front bar of my shugduf, encouraging the dro¬ medary, and that we had not one fall excited my extreme astonishment. At 5 a.m. we entered a wide plain thickly clothed with the usual thorny trees, in whose strong grasp many a shugduf lost its covering and not a few were dragged with their screaming inmates to the ground. About five hours afterwards we crossed a high ridge, and saw below us the camp of the caravan not more than two miles distant. As we approached it a figure came running out to meet us. It was the boy. Mohammed, who, heartily tired of riding a dromedary with his friend, and possibly hungry, hastened to inform my companion Abdullah that he would lead him to his shugduf and his son. A FEROCIOUS CLAN OF BEDOUINS. 119 The shaykh, a little offended by the fact that for two days not a friend nor an acquaintance had taken the trouble to see or to inquire about him, received Mphammed roughly; but the youth, guess¬ ing the grievance, explained it away by swearing that he and all the party had tried to find us in vain. This wore the semblance of truth: it is almost impossible to come upon any one who strays from his place in so large and motley a body. At 11a.m. we had reached our station. It is about twenty-four miles from El Ghadir, and its direction is S. E. 10°. It is called El Birkat (the Tank), from a large and now ruinous cistern built of hewn stone by the Caliph Harun.* The land belongs to the Utaybah Bedouins, the bravest and most ferocious clan in El Hejaz; and the citizens denote their dread of these banditti by asserting, * A “birkat” in this part of Arabia may be an artificial cistern or a natural basin; in the latter case it is smaller than a “ ghadir.” This road was a favourite with Harun el Rashid, the pious tyrant who boasted that every year he performed either a pilgrimage or a crusade. The reader will find in d’Herbelot an account of the celebrated pedestrian visit of Harun to the Holy Cities. Nor less known in Oriental history is the pilgrimage of Zubaydah Khatun (wife of Harun and mother of Amin) by this route. 120 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. that to increase their courage they drink their enemy’s blood.* My companions shook their heads when questioned upon the subject, and prayed that we might not become too well acquainted with them — an ill-omened speech. The Pacha allowed us a rest of five hours at El Birkat: we spent them in my tent, which was crowded with Shaykh Abdullah’s friends. To requite me for this inconvenience, he prepared for me an excellent water-pipe, a cup of coffee, which, untainted by cloves and cinnamon, would have been delicious, and a dish of dry fruits. As we were now near the Holy City, all the Meccans were busy canvassing for lodgers and offering their services to pilgrims. Quarrels, too, were of hourly occurrence. In our party was an Arnaut, a white bearded old man, so decrepit that he could scarcely stand, and yet so violent that no one could manage * Some believe this literally, others consider it a phrase expressive of blood-thirstiness. It is the only suspicion of cannibalism, if I may use the word, now attaching to El Hejnz. Possibly the disgusting act may occasionally have taken place after a stern fight of more than usual rancour. Who does not remember the account of the Turkish officer licking his blood after having sabred the corpse of a Russian spy ? It is said that the Mutayr and the Utaybah clans are not allowed to enter Meccah, even during the pilgrimage season. JOURNEY FROM EL BIRKAT. 121 himbuthis African slave, a brazen-faced little wretch about fourteen years of age. Words were bandied between this angry senior and Shaykh Masud, when the latter insinuated sarcastically, that if the former had teeth he would be more intelligible. The Arnaut in his rage seized a pole, raised it, and delivered a blow which missed the camel man, but brought the striker headlong to the ground. Masud exclaimed, with shrieks of rage, “ Have we come to this, that every old dastard Turk smites us ?” Our party had the greatest trouble to quiet the quarrelers. The Arab listened to us when we threatened him with the Pacha. But the Arnaut, whose rage was “ like red-hot steel,” would hear nothing but our repeated declarations, that unless he behaved more like a pilgrim, we should be compelled to leave him and his slave behind. On the 7th September, at 4 p. m., we left El Birkat, and travelled eastwards over rolling ground thickly wooded. There was a network of foot¬ paths through the thickets, and clouds obscured the moon ; the consequence was inevitable loss of way. About 2 p. m. we began ascending hills in a south¬ westerly direction, and presently fell into the bed of a large rock-girt fiumara, which runs from east to west. The sands were overgrown with saline 122 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINA!! AND MECCAII. and salsolaceous plants; the coloquintida, which, having no support, spreads along the ground *; the senna, with its small green leaf; the Rhazya stricta f; and a large luxuriant variety of the Asclepias gigantea J, cottoned over with mist and dew. At 6 A. M. we left the fiumara, and, turning * Coloquintida is here used, as in most parts of the East, medicinally. The pulp and the seeds of the ripe fruit are scooped out, and the rind is filled with milk, which is exposed to the night air, and drunk in the morning. + Used in Arabian medicine as a refrigerant and tonic. It abounds in Sindh and AfiTghanistan, where, according to that most practical of botanists, the lamented Dr. Stocks, it is called “ishwarg.” | Here called ashr. According to Seetzen it bears the long- sought apple of Sodom. Tet, if truth be told, the soft green bag is as unlike an apple as can be imagined; nor is the hard and brittle yellow rind of the ripe fruit a whit more resembling. The Arabs use the thick and acrid milk of the green bag with steel filings as a tonic, and speak highly of its effects; they employ it also to intoxicate or narcotise monkeys and other animals which they wish to catch. It is esteemed in Hindu medicine. The Nubians and Indians use the filaments of the fruit as tinder : they become white and shining as floss-silk. The Bedouins also have applied it to a similar purpose. Our Egyptian travellers call it the “silk-tree;” and in Northern Africa, where it abounds, Europeans make of it stuffing for matrasses, which are expensive, and highly esteemed for their coolness and cleanliness. In Bengal a kind of gutta percha is made by boiling the juice. This weed, so common in the East, may one day become in the West an important article of commerce. EL ZAKIBAH. 12 a to the west, arrived about an hour afterwards at the station. El Zaribah, “thevalley,” is an undu¬ lating plain amongst high granite hills. In many parts it was faintly green ; water was close to the surface, and rain stood upon the ground. During the night we had travelled about twenty-three miles, and our present station was S. E. 56° from our last. Having pitched the tent and eaten and slept, we prepared to perform the ceremony of El Ihram (assuming the pilgrim-garb), as El Zaribah is the mikat, or the appointed place.* Between the noonday and the afternoon prayers a barber attended to shave our heads, cut our nails, and trim our mustachios. Then, having bathed and perfumed ourselves — the latter is a questionable point, — we donned the attire, which is nothing but two new cotton cloths, each six feet long by three * “El Ihram” literally meaning “prohibition” or “making unlawful,” equivalent to our “ mortification,” is applied to the ceremony of the toilette, and also to the dress itself. The vulgar pronounce the word “ heram,” or “ l’ehram.” It is opposed to “ihlal,” “making lawful” or “returning to laical life.” The further from Meccah it is assumed, provided that it be during the three months of Hajj, the greater is the religious merit of the pilgrim; consequently some come from India and Egypt in the dangerous attire. 124 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. and-a-half broad, white, with narrow red stripes and fringes; in fact, the costume called “El Eddeh” in the baths at Cairo.* One of these sheets, technically termed the “ Rida,” is thrown Over the back, and, exposing the arm and shoulder, is knotted at the right side in the style “ Wishah.” The “ Izar,” is wrapped round the loins from waist to knee, and, knotted or tucked in at the middle, supports itself. Our heads were bare, and nothing was allowed upon the instep.f It is said that some classes of Arabs still preserve this religious but most uncomfortable costume: it is doubtless of ancient date, and to this day, in the regions lying west of the Red Sea, it continues to be the common dress of the people. After the toilet we were placed with our faces in the direction of Meccah, and ordered to say aloud J, “ I vow this ihram of hajj (the pilgrimage) * These sheets are not positively necessary ; any clean cotton cloth not sewn in any part will serve equally well. Servants and attendants expect the master to present them with an “ ihram.” ■f Sandals are made at Meccah expressly for the pilgrimage: the poorer classes cut off the upper leathers of an old pair of shoes. $ This Niyat, as it is technically called, is preferably per¬ formed aloud. Some authorities, however, direct it to be meditated sotto-voce. 125 THE “ TALBIYAT.” and the umrah (the little pilgrimage) to Allah Almighty ! ” Having thus performed a two-pro¬ stration prayer, we repeated, without rising from the sitting position, these words, “ 0 Allah! verily I purpose the hajj and the umrah, then enable me to accomplish the two, and accept them both of me, and make both blessed to me! ” Followed the “ Talbiyat,” or exclaiming, — “ Here I am! O Allah ! here am I — No partner hast thou, here am I: Verily the praise and the beneficence are thine, and the kingdom— No partner hast thou, here am I!”* And we were warned to repeat these words as often as possible, until the conclusion of the ce¬ remonies. Then Shaykh Abdullah, who acted as * “ Talbiyat ” is from the word Labbayka (“ here I am ”) in the cry — “ Labbayk’ Allahumma, Labbayk! (Labbayka) La Sharika laka, Labbayk! Inna 1 hamda wa ’n ’niamata laka w ’al mulk La Sharika laka, Labbayk! ” Some add, “ Here I am, and I honor thee, I the son of thy two slaves : beneficence and good are all between thy hands.” The “Talbiyat” is allowed in any language, but is preferred in Arabic. It has a few varieties; the form above given is the most common. 126 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. director of our consciences, bade us be good pil¬ grims, avoiding quarrels, bad language, immorality, and light conversation. We must so reverence life that we should avoid killing game, causing an animal to fly, and even pointing it out for de¬ struction * ; nor should we scratch ourselves, save with the open palm, lest vermin be destroyed, or a hair uprooted by the nail. We were to respect the sanctuary by sparing the trees, and not to pluck a single blade of grass. As regards personal considerations, we were to abstain from all oils, perfumes, and unguents; from washing the head with mallow or lote leaves; from dyeing, shaving, cutting, or vellicating a single pile or hair; and though we might take advantage of shade, and even form it with upraised hands, we must by no means cover our sconces. For each infraction of these ordinances we must sacrifice a sheep f; and it is commonly said by Moslems, that none but the Prophet could be perfect in the intricacies of pil- * The object of these ordinances is clearly to inculcate the strictest observance of the “ truce of God.” Pilgrims, however, are allowed to slay, if necessary “ the five noxious,” viz., a crow, a kite, a scorpion, a rat, and a biting dog. t The victim is sacrificed as a confession that the offender deems himself worthy of death : the offerer is not allowed to taste any portion of his offering. A PICTURESQUE SCENE. 127 grimage. Old Ali began with an irregularity : he declared that age prevented his assuming the garb, but that, arrived at Meccah, he would clear him¬ self by an offering. The wife and daughters of a Turkish pilgrim of our party assumed the ihram at the same time as ourselves. They appeared dressed in white garments; and they had exchanged the lisam, that coquettish fold of muslin which veils without con¬ cealing the lower part of the face, for a hideous mask, made of split, dried, and plaited palm leaves, with two “ bulls’-eyes,” for light.* I could not help laughing when these strange figures met my sight, and, to judge from the shaking of their shoulders, they were not less susceptible to the merriment which they had caused. At 3 p. m. we left El Zaribah, travelling to¬ wards the S. W., and a wondrously picturesque scene met the eye. Crowds hurried along, habited in the pilgrim garb, whose whiteness contrasted strangely with their black skins, their newly shaven heads glistening in the sun, and their long black hair streaming in the wind. The rocks rang * The reason why this “ ugly ” must be worn, is, that a woman’s veil during the pilgrimage ceremonies is not allowed to touch her face. 128 PILGRIMAGE TO EL ME DINAH AND MHCCAH. with shouts of “ Labbayk! Labbayk! ” At a pass we fell in with the Wahhabis, accompanying the Bagh¬ dad caravan, screaming “ here am Iand, guided by a large loud kettle-drum, they followed in double file the camel of a standard-bearer, whose green flag bore in huge white letters the formula of the Moslem creed. They were wild-looking moun¬ taineers, dark and fierce, with hair twisted into thin dalik or plaits: each was armed with a long spear, a matchlock, or a dagger. They were seated upon coarse wooden saddles, without cushions or stirrups, a fine saddle-cloth alone denoting a chief. The women emulated the men ; they either guided their own dromedaries, or, sitting in pillion, they clung to their husbands ; veils they disdained, and their countenances certainly belonged not to a “ soft sex.” These Wahhabis were by no means pleasant companions. Most of them were fol¬ lowed by spare dromedaries, either unladen or carrying water-skins, fodder, fuel, and other neces¬ saries for the march. The beasts delighted in dash¬ ing furiously through one file, which being col¬ ligated, was thrown each time into the greatest confusion. And whenever we were observed smoking, we were cursed aloud for infidels and idolaters. Looking back at El Zaribah, soon after our de- A SUSPICIOUS-LOOKING PLACE. 129 parture, I saw a heavy nimbus settle upon the hill tops, a sheet of rain being stretched between it and the plain. The low grumbling of thunder sounded joyfully in our ears. We hoped for a shower, but were disappointed by a dust-storm, which ended with a few heavy drops. There arose a report that the Bedouins had attacked a party of Meccans with stones—classical Arabian missiles, —and the news caused men to look exceeding grave. At 5 p. m. we entered the wide bed of the fiumara, down which we were to travel all night. Here the country falls rapidly towards the sea, as the in¬ creasing heat of the air, the direction of the water¬ courses, and signs of violence in the torrent-bed show. The fiumara varies in breadth from 150 feet to three-quarters of a mile; its course, I was told, is towards the south-west, and it enters the sea near Jeddah. The channel is a coarse sand, with here and there masses of sheet rock and patches of thin vegetation. At about half-past 5 p. m. we entered a sus¬ picious-looking place. On the right was a stony buttress, along whose base the stream, when there is one, flows ; and to this depression was our road limited by the rocks and thorn trees, which filled VOL. III. K 130 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. the other half of the channel. The left side was a precipice, grim and barren, but not so abrupt as its brother. Opposite us the way seemed barred by piles of hills, crest rising above crest into the far blue distance. Day still smiled upon the upper peaks, but the lower slopes and the fiumara bed were already curtained with gray sombre shade. A damp seemed to fall upon our spirits as we approached this Valley Perilous. I remarked with wonder that the voices of the women and children sank into silence, and loud Labbaykas of the pil¬ grims were gradually stilled. Whilst still specu¬ lating upon the cause of this phenomenon it became apparent. A small, curl of the smoke, like a lady’s ringlet, on the summit of the right-hand precipice, caught my eye, and simultaneous with the echoing crack of the matchlock a high-trotting dromedary in front of me rolled over upon the sands, — a bullet had split his heart,— throwing his rider a goodly somerset of five or six yards. Ensued terrible confusion; women screamed, children shrieked, and men vociferated, each one striving with might and main to urge his animal out of the place of death. But the road being narrow, they only managed to jam the vehicles in a solid immoveable mass. At every match-lock THE BBAVERY OF THE WAHHABIS. 131 shot a shudder ran through the huge body, as when the surgeon’s scalpel touches some more sensitive nerve. The irregular horsemen, perfectly useless, galloped up and down over the stones, shouting to and ordering one another. The Pacha of the army had his carpet spread at the foot of the left-hand precipice, and debated over his pipe with the officers what ought to be done. No good genius whispered “ crown the heights.” Then it was that the conduct of the Wahhabis found favour in my eyes. They came up, gallop¬ ing their camels, — “ Torrents less rapid, and less rash,—” with their elf-locks tossing in the wind, and their flaring matches casting a strange lurid light over their features. Taking up a position, one body began to fire upon the Utaybah robbers, whilst two or three hundred, dismounting, swarmed up the hill under the guidance of the Sherif Zayd. I had remarked this nobleman at El Medinah as a model specimen of the pure Arab. Like all Sherifs, he is celebrated for bravery, and has killed many with his own hand.* When urged * The Sherifs are born and bred to fighting: the peculiar privileges of their caste favour their development of pugnacity. 132 PILGBIMAGE TO EL MED1NAH AND MECCAH. at El Zaribah to ride into Meeeah, he swore that he would not leave the caravan till in sight of the walls; and, fortunately for the pilgrims, he kept his word. Presently the firing was heard far in our rear — the robbers having fled; the head of the column advanced, and the dense body of pilgrims opened out. Our forced halt was now exchanged for a flight. It required much management to steer our desert-craft clear of danger; but Shaykh Masud was equal to the occasion. That many were lost was evident by the boxes and baggage that strewed the shingles. I had no means of ascertaining the number of men killed and wounded: reports were contradic¬ tory, and exaggeration unanimous. The robbers were said to be 150 in number; their object was Thus, the modern diyah, or price of blood, being 800 dollars for a common Moslem, the chiefs demand for one of their number double that sum, with a sword, a camel, a female slave, and other items; and, if one of their slaves or servants be slain, a fourfold price. The rigorous way in which this custom is carried out gives the Sherif and his retainer great power among the Arabs. As a general rule, they are at the bottom of all mischief. It was a Sherif (Husayn bin Ali) who tore down and trampled upon the British flag at Mocha; a Sherif (Abd el Rahman of Walit) who murdered Captain Mylne near Laliedge. A page might be filled with the names of the distin¬ guished ruffians. A NOT ILL CONTRIVED BRAVADO. 133 plunder, and they would eat the shot camels. But their principal ambition was the boast “ We, the Utaybah, on such and such a night stopped the Sultan’s mahmal one whole hour in the pass.” At the beginning of the skirmish I had primed my pistols, and sat with them ready for use. But soon seeing that there was nothing to be done, and, wishing to make an impression, — nowhere does Bobadil now “go down” but in the East, — I called aloud for my supper. Shaykh Nur, exanimate with fear, could not move. The boy Mohammed ejaculated only an “ Oh, sir! ” and the people around exclaimed in disgust, “ By Allah! he eats! ” Shaykh Abdullah, the Meccan, being a man of spirit, was amused by the spectacle. “ Are these Afghan manners, Effendim ? ” he inquired from the shugduf behind me. “ Yes, ” I re¬ plied aloud, “in my country we always dine before an attack of robbers, because that gentry is in the habit of sending men to bed supperless. ” The Shaykh laughed aloud, but those around him looked offended. I thought the bravado this time mal place; but a little event which took place on my way to Jeddah proved that it was not quite a failure. As we advanced our escort took care to fire 134 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. every large dry asclepias, to disperse the shades which buried us. Again the scene became won¬ drous wild: — “ Full many a waste I’ve wander’d o’er, Clomb many a crag, cross’d many a shore, But, by my halidome, A scene so rude, so wild as this, Yet so sublime in barrenness, Ne’er did my wandering footsteps press, Where’er I chanced to roam.” On either side were ribbed precipices, dark, angry, and towering above, till their summits mingled with the glooms of night; and between them formidable looked the chasm, down which our host hurried with shouts and discharges of match¬ locks. The torch-smoke and the night-fires of flaming asclepias formed a canopy, sable above and livid red below, which hung over our heads like a sheet, and divided the cliffs into two equal parts. Here the fire flashed fiercely from a tall thorn, that crackled and shot up showers of sparks into the air; there it died away in lurid gleams, which lit up a truly Stygian scene. As usual, however, the picturesque had its inconveniences. There was no path. Rocks, stone-banks, and trees obstructed our passage. The camels, now blind in darkness, then dazzled by a flood of light, stumbled frequently; AN ACCIDENT ON CAMEL-BACK. 135 in some places slipping down a steep descent, in others sliding over a sheet of- mud. There were furious quarrels and fierce language between camel-men and their hirers, and threats to fellow- travellers ; in fact, we were united in discord. I passed that night crying, “Hai! Hai!” switching the camel, and fruitlessly endeavouring to fusti¬ gate Masud’s nephew, who resolutely slept upon the water-bags. During the hours of darkness we made four or five halts, when we boiled coffee and smoked pipes, but man and beasts were beginning to suffer from a deadly fatigue. Dawn found us still travelling down the fiumara, which here is about 100 yards broad. The granite hills on both sides were less precipitous, and the borders of the torrent-bed became natural quays of stiff clay, which showed a water-mark of from twelve to fifteen feet in height. In many parts the bed was muddy, and the moist places, as usual, caused accidents. I happened to be looking back at Shaykh Abdullah, who was then riding in old Ali bin Ya Sin’s fine shugduf; suddenly the camel’s four legs disappeared from under him, his right side flattening the ground, and the two riders were pitched severally out of the smashed vehicle. 136 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. Abdullah started up furious, and abused the Bedouins, who were absent, with great zest. “Feed these Arabs,” he exclaimed, quoting a Turkish proverb, “ and they will fire at Heaven ! ” But I observed that, when Shaykh Masud came up, the citizen was only gruff. We then turned northward, and sighted El Mazik, more generally known as Wady Laymun, the Yalley of Limes. On the right bank of the fiu- mara stood the Meccan Sherif’s state pavilion, green and gold : it was surrounded by his attend¬ ants, and prepared to receive the Pacha of the caravan. We advanced half a mile, and encamped temporarily in a hill-girt bulge of the fiumara bed. At 8 A. m. we had travelled about twenty-four miles from El Zaribah, and the direction of our present station was S. W. 50°. Shaykh Masud allowed us only four hour’s halt; he wished to precede the main body. After break¬ ing our fast joyously upon limes, pomegranates, and fresh dates, we sallied forth to admire the beauties of the place. We are once more on classic ground—the ground of the ancient Arab poets,— “ Deserted is the village — waste the halting place and home At Mina, o’er Rijam and Ghul wild beasts unheeded roam, WADY LAYMUN. 137 On Rayyan hill the channel lines have left a naked trace, Time-worn, as primal Writ that dints the mountain's flinty face*;”- and this wady, celebrated for the purity of its air, has from remote ages been a favourite resort of the Meccans. Nothing can be more soothing to the brain than the dark-green foliage of the limes and pomegranates; and from the base of the southern hill bursts a bubbling stream, whose “ Chiare, fresche e dolci acque ” flow through the garden, filling them with the most delicious of melodies, and the gladdest sound which nature in these regions knows. Exactly at noon Masud seized the halter of the foremost camel, and we started down the fiumara. * In these lines of Lebid, the “ Mina ” alluded to must not, we are warned by the scholiast, be confounded with “ Mina ” {vulff. “ Muna”), the Valley of Victims. Ghul and Rayyan are hills close to the Wady Laymun. The passage made me suspect that inscriptions would be found among the rocks, as the scholiast informs us that “ men used to write upon rocks in order that their writing might remain.” (De Sacy’s Moallaka de Lelid, p. 289.) I neither saw nor heard of any. But some months afterwards I was delighted to hear from the Abbe Hamilton that he had disco¬ vered in one of the rock monuments a “ lithographed proof ” of the presence of Sesostris (Rhameses II.). 138 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. Troops of Bedouin girls looked over the orchard walls laughingly, and children came out to offer us fresh fruit and sweet water. At 2 p. m., travelling south-west, we arrived at a point where the torrent-bed turns to the right, and, quitting it, we climbed with difficulty over a steep ridge of granite. Before three o’clock we entered a hill-girt plain, which my companions Galled “ Sola.” In some places were clumps of trees, and scattered villages warned us that we were approaching a city. Far to the left rose the blue peaks of Taif, and the moun¬ tain road, a white thread upon the nearer heights, was pointed out to me. Here I first saw the tree, or rather shrub, which bears the balm of Gilead, erst so celebrated for its tonic and stomachic properties.* I * The “balsamon” of Theophrastus and Dioscorides, a cor¬ ruption of the Arabic “ balisan ” or “ basham,” by which name the Bedouins know it. In the valley of the Jordan it was worth its weight in silver, and kings warred for what is now a weed. Cleopatra by a commission brought it to Egypt. It was grown at Heliopolis. The last tree died there, we are told by Niebuhr, in the early part of the seventeenth century (according to others, in a. d. 1502) ; a circumstance the more curious, as it was used by the Copts in chrisome, and by Europe for anointing kings. From Egypt it was carried to El Hejaz, where it now grows wild on sandy and stony grounds; but I could not discover the date of its naturalisation. Moslems generally believe it to have been presented to Solomon by THE BALM OF GILEAD. 139 told Shaykh Masud to break off a twig, which he did heedlessly. The act was witnessed by our party with a roar of laughter, and the astounded shaykh Bilkis, Queen of Sheba. In the Gospel of Infancy (book i. ch. 8.) we read,— “ 9. Hence they (Joseph and Mary) went out to that syca¬ more, which is now called Matarea (the modern and Arabic name for Heliopolis). 10. And in Matarea the Lord Jesus caused a well to spring forth, in which St. Mary washed his coat; “ 11. And a balsam is produced or grows in that country from the sweat which ran down there from the Lord Jesus.” The sycamore is still shown, and the learned recognise in this ridiculous old legend the “ hiero-sykaminon,” of pagan Egypt, under which Isis and Horus sat. Hence Sir J. Maun- deville and an old writer allude reverently to the sovereign virtues of “ bawme.” I believe its qualities to have been sadly exaggerated, but have found it useful in dressing wounds. Burckhardt (vol. ii. p. 124.) alludes to, but appears not to have seen it. The best balsam is produced upon stony hills like Arafat and Muna. In hot weather incisions are made in the bark, and the soft gum which exudes is collected in bottles. The best kind is of the consistence of honey, and yellowish-brown, like treacle. It is frequently adulterated witii water, when, if my informant Shaykh Abdullah speak truth, it becomes much lighter in weight. I never heard of the vipers which Pliny mentions as abounding in these trees, and which Bruce declares were shown to him alive at Jeddah and Yambu. Dr. Carter found the balm, under the name of Luban Dukah, among the Gara tribe of Eastern Arabia, and botanists have seen it at Aden. We may fairly question its being originally from the banks of the Jordan. 140 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAII AND MECCAH. was warned that he had become subject to an atoning sacrifice.* Of course he denounced me as the instigator, and I could not fairly refuse assist¬ ance. The tree has of late years been carefully described by many botanists ; I will only say that the bark resembled in colour a cherry-stick pipe, the inside was a light yellow, and the juice made my fingers stick together. At 4 p. m. we came to a steep and rocky pass, up which we toiled with difficulty. The face of the country was rising once more, and again pre¬ sented the aspect of numerous small basins divided and surrounded by hills. As we jogged on we were passed by the cavalcade of no less a personage than the Sherif of Meccah. Abd el Muttalib bin Ghalib is a dark, beardless, old man with African features, derived from his mother. He was plainly dressed in white garments and a white muslin turban f, which made him look jet black ; he rode an ambling mule, and the only emblem of his dignity was the large green satin * This being one of the “ Mubarrimat,” or actions forbidden to a pilgrim. At all times, say the Moslems, there are three vile trades, viz., those of the Harik el Hajar (stone-burner), the Kati el Shajar (tree-cutter), and the Bayi el Bashar (man- seller). f This attire was customary even in El Idrisi’s time. THE SHERIF OF MECCAH. 141 umbrella borne by an attendant on foot.* Scat¬ tered around him were about forty matchlock-men, mostly slaves. At long intervals, after their father, came his four sons, Riza Bey, Abdullah, Ali and Ahmed, the latter still a child. The three elder brothers rode splendid dromedaries at speed ; they were young men of light complexion, with the true Meccan cast of features, showily dressed in bright- coloured silks, and armed, to denote their rank, with sword and gold-hilted dagger.-}- * From India to Abyssinia the umbrella is the sign of royalty: the Arabs of Meccah and Senaa probably derived the custom from the Hindus. t I purposely omit long descriptions of the Sherif, my fellow- travellers, Messrs. Didier and Hamilton, being far more com¬ petent to lay the subject before the public. A few political remarks may not be deemed out of place. The present Sherif, despite his civilised training at Constan¬ tinople, is, and must be a fanatic, bigotted man. He applied for the expulsion of the British vice-consul at Jeddah, on the grounds that an infidel should not hold position in the Holy Land. His pride and reserve have made him few friends, although the Meccans, with their enthusiastic nationality, extol his bravery to the skies, and praise him for conduct as well as courage. His position at present is anomalous. Ahmed Pacha of El Hejaz rules politically as representative of the Sultan. The Sherif, who, like the Pope, claims temporal as well as spiritual dominion, attempts to command the authorities by force of position. The Pacha heads the Turkish, now the ruling party. The Sherif has in his interest the Arabs and the Bedouins. 142 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. We halted as evening aproached, and strained our eyes, but all in vain, to catch sight of Meccah, which lies in a winding valley. By Shaykh Abdullah’s direction I recited, after the usual Both thwart each other on all possible occasions; quarrels are bitter and endless; there is no government, and the vessel of the state is in danger of being water-logged, in consequence of the squabbling between her two captains. When I was at Meccah all were in a ferment, the Sherif having, it is said, insisted upon the Pacha leaving Taif. The position of the Turks in El Hejaz becomes every day more dangerous. Want of money presses upon them, and reduces them to degrading measures. In February, 1853, the Pacha hired a forced loan from the merchants, and but for Mr. Cole’s spirit and firmness, the English proteges would have been com¬ pelled to contribute their share. After a long and animated discussion, the Pacha yielded the point by imprisoning his re¬ cusant subjects, who insisted upon Indians paying, like them¬ selves . He waited in person with an apology upon Mr. Cole. Though established at Jeddah since 1838, the French and En¬ glish consuls, contented with a proxy, never required a return of visit from the governor. If the Turks be frequently reduced to such expedients for the payment of their troops, they will soon be swept from the land. On the other hand, the Sherif approaches a crisis. His salary, paid by the Sultan, may be roughly estimated at 15,000?. per annum. If the Turks maintain their footing in Arabia, it will probably be found that an honorable retreat at Stamboul is better for the 31st descendant of the Prophet than the tur¬ bulent life of Meccah; or that a reduced allowance of 500 1. per annum would place him in a higher spiritual, though in a lower temporal position. THE PILGRIM SIGHTS MECCAH. 143 devotions, the following prayer. The reader is forewarned that it is difficult to preserve the flowers of Oriental rhetoric in a European tongue. “ 0 Allah ! verily this is thy safeguard (Amn) and thy Sanctuary (Haram)! Into it whoso en- tereth becometh safe (Amin). So deny (Harrim) my flesh and blood, my bones and skin, to hell- fire. 0 Allah! Save me from thy wrath on the day when thy servants shall be raised from the dead. I conjure thee by this that thou art Allah, besides whom is none (thou only), the mer¬ ciful, the compassionate. And have mercy upon our lord Mohammed, and upon the progeny of our lord Mohammed, and upon his followers, one and all! ” This was concluded with the “ Talbiyat,” and with an especial prayer for myself. We again mounted, and night completed our disappointment. About 1a.m. I was aroused by general excitement. “ Meccah! Meccah ! ” cried some voices; “ The Sanctuary! 0 the Sanc¬ tuary ! ” exclaimed others; and all burst into loud “ Labbayk,” not unfrequently broken by sobs. I looked out from my litter, and saw by the light of the southern stars the dim outlines of a large city, a shade darker than the surrounding plain. We were passing over the last ridge by an 144 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. artificial cut, called the Saniyat Kudaa.* The “ winding path ” is flanked on both sides by watch- towers, which command the “ Darb el Maala,” or road leading from the north into Meeeah. Thence we passed into the Maabidah (northern suburb), where the Sherif’s palace is built.f After this, on the left hand, came the deserted abode of the Sherif bin Aun, now said to be a “ haunted house.” J Opposite to it lies the Jannat el Maala, * Saniyat means a “ winding path,” and Kudaa, “the cut.” Formerly Meccah had three gates; 1. Bab el Maala, north-east; 2. Bab el Umrah, or Bab el Zahir, on the Jeddah road, west ; and, 3. Bab el Masfal on the Yemen road. These were still standing in the twelfth century, but the walls were destroyed. It is better to enter Meccah by day and on foot; but this is not a matter of vital consequence in pilgrimage. f It is a large whitewashed building, with extensive wooden balconied windows, but no pretensions to architectural’splen- dour. Around it trees grow, and amongst them I remarked a young cocoa. El Idrisi (a. d. 1154) calls the palace El Marbaah. This may be a clerical error, for to the present day all know it as El Maabidah (pronounced El Mab’da). The Nubian describes it as a “ stone castle, three miles from the town, in a palm gar¬ den.” The word “ Maabidah,” says Kutb el Din, means a “ body of servants,” and is applied generally to this suburb because here was a body of Bedouins in charge of the Masjid el Ijabah, a mosque now not existing. $ I cannot conceive what made the accurate Niebuhr fall into the strange error that “ apparitions are unknown in Arabia.” Arabs fear to sleep alone, to enter the bath at night, to pass TIIE SYRIAN WARD OF MECCAH. 145 the holy cemetery of Meccah. Thence, turning to the right, we entered the Sulaymaniyah or Afghan quarter. Here the boy Mohammed, being an in¬ habitant of the Shamiyah or Syrian ward, thought proper to display some apprehension. These two are on bad terms ; children never meet without ex¬ changing volleys of stones, and men fight furiously with quarter-staves. Sometimes, despite the terrors of religion, the knife and sabre are drawn. But these hostilities have their code. If a citizen be killed, there is a subscription for blood money. An inhabitant of one quarter, passing singly through another, becomes a guest; once beyond the walls, he is likely to be beaten to insensibility by his hospitable foes. At the Sulaymaniyah we turned off the main road into a bye-way, and ascended by 7 narrow lanes the rough heights of Jebel Hindi, upon which stands a small whitewashed and crenellated building called a “ fort.” Thence descending, we threaded dark streets, in places crowded with rude by cemeteries during dark, and to sit amongst ruins, simply for fear of apparitions. And Arabia, together with Persia, has supplied half the Western world—Southern Europe_with its ghost stories and tales of angels, demons, and fairies. To quote Milton, the land is struck “ with superstition as with a planet.” VOL. III. L 146 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. cots and dusky figures, and finally at 2 A. m. we found ourselves at the door of the boy Moham¬ med’s house. From Wady Laymun to Meccah the distance, according to my calculation, was about twenty- three miles, the direction S. E. 45°. We arrived on the morning of Sunday the 7th Zu’l Hijjah (11th September, 1853), and had one day before the beginning of the pilgrimage to repose and visit the Haram. I conclude this chapter with a few remarks upon the watershed of El Hejaz. The country, in my humble opinion, has a compound slope, southwards and westwards. I have, however, little but the conviction of the modern Arabs to support the assertion that this part of Arabia declines from the north. All declare the course of water to be southerly, and believe the fountain of Arafat to pass underground from Baghdad. The slope, as geographers know, is still a disputed point. Ritter, Jomard, and some old Arab authors make the country rise towards the south, whilst Wallin and others express an opposite opinion. From the sea to El Musahhal is a gentle rise. The water-marks of the fiumaras show that El Medinah is consider¬ ably above the coast, though geographers may not THE WATERSHED OF EL HEJAZ. 147 be correct in claiming for Jebel Radhwa a height of 6000 feet; yet that elevation is not perhaps too great for the plateau upon which stands the Prophet’s burial-place. From El Medinah to El Suwayrkiyah is another gentle rise, and from the latter to El Zaribah stagnating water denotes a level. I believe the report of a perennial lake on the eastern boundary of El Hejaz as little as the river placed by Ptolemy between Yambu and Meccah. No Bedouins could tell me of this fea¬ ture, which, had it existed, would have changed the whole conditions and history of the country: we know the Greek’s river to be a fiumara, and the lake probably owes its existence to a similar cause, a heavy fall of rain. Beginning at El Zaribah is a decided fall, which continues to the sea. The Arafat torrent sweeps from east to west with great force, sometimes carrying away the habita¬ tions, and even injuring the sanctuary.* * This is a synopsis of our marches, which, protracted on Burckhardt’s map, gives an error of ten miles. Miles. 1. From El Medinah, to Ja El Sharifah, S. E. 50° - 22 2. From Ja el Sharifah to Ghurab, - S.W. 10° - 24 3. From Ghurab to El Hijriyah, - S.E. 22° - 25 4. From El Hijriyah, to El Suwayrkiyah, S. W. 11° - 28 = 99 148 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAII AND MECCAH. Miles. Brought forward - - - - 99 5. From El Suwayrkiyah to El Sufayna, S.E. 5° - 17 6. From El Sufayna to the “ Beni Mutayr,” - - - S.W. 20° - 18 7- From the “ Beni Mutayr ” to El Ghadir,- - - - S.W. 21° - 20 8. From El Ghadir to El Birkat, - S.E. 10° - 24 9. From El Birkat to El Zaribah, - S.E. 56° - 23 10. From El Zaribah to Wady Laymun, S.W. 50° - 24 11. From Wady Laymun to Meccah, - S.E. 45° - 23=149 Total English miles 248 149 CHAP. XXVI. THE BAIT ULLAH. The House of Allah * has been so fully described by my predecessors, that there is little inducement to attempt a new portrait. Readers, however, may desire a view of the great sanctuary, and, indeed, without a plan and its explanation, the ceremonies of the Harara would be scarcely intelligible. I will do homage to the memory of the accurate Burckhardt, and extract from his pages a descrip¬ tion which may be illustrated by a few notes. “ The Kaabah stands in an oblong square (en¬ closed by a great wall) 250 paces long, and 200 broad f, none of the sides of which run quite in a straight line, though at first sight the whole appears to be of a regular shape. This open square * “ Bait Ullah ” (House of Allah) and “ Kaabah,” i. e. cube (house), “ la maison carree,” are synonymous. t Ali Bey gives 536 feet 9 inches by 356 feet: my mea¬ surement 257 paces by 210. Most Moslem authors, reckoning by cubits, make the parallelogram 404 by 310. x. 3 150 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAII AND MECCAII. is enclosed on the eastern side by a colonnade. The pillars stand in a quadruple row; they are three deep on the other sides, and united by pointed arches, every four of which support a small dome plastered and whitened on the outside. These domes, according to Kotobeddyn, are 152 in number.* The pillars are above twenty feet in height, and generally from one foot and a half to one foot and three quarters in diameter; but little regularity has been observed in regard to them. Some are of white marble, granite or porphyry; but the greater number are of common stone of the Meccah mountains.! El Fasy states the whole * On each short side I counted 24 domes; on the long, 35. This would give a total of 118 along the cloisters. The Arabs reckon in all 152; viz., 24 on the east side, on the north 36, on the south 36 ; one on the mosque corner, near the Zarurah minaret; 16 at the porch of the Bab el Ziyadah; and 15 at the Bab Ibrahim. The shape of these domes is the usual “ Media- Naranja,” and the superstition of the Meccans informs the pilgrim that they cannot be counted. Books reckon 1352 pinnacles or battlements on the temple wall. ■f The “ common stone of the Meccah mountains ” is a fine grey granite, quarried principally from a hill near the Bab el Shebayki, which furnished material for the Kaabah. Eastern authors describe the pillars as consisting of three different substances, viz.: Rukham, white marble, not “ alabaster,” its general sense; Suwan, or granite (syenite?); and “Hajar Shumaysi,” a kind of yellow sandstone, so called from “ Bir Shumays,” a place on the Jeddah road near Haddah, the half¬ way station. THE MOSQUE AT MECCAH. 151 at 589, and says they are all of marble excepting 126, which are of common stone, and three of com¬ position. Kotobeddyn reckons 555, of which, ac¬ cording to him, 311 are of marble, and the rest of the stone taken from the neighbouring mountains ; but neither of these authors lived to see the latest repairs of the mosque, after the destruction occa¬ sioned by a torrent in a. d. 1626.* Between every three or four columns stands an octagonal one, about four feet in thickness. On the east side are two shafts of reddish grey granite in one piece, and one fine grey porphyry with slabs of white felds- path. On the north side is one red granite column, and one of fine-grained red porphyry; these are probably the columns which Kotobeddyn states to have been brought from Egypt, and prin¬ cipally from Akhmim (Panopolis), when the chief (Caliph) El Mohdy enlarged the mosque in A. h. 163. Among the 450 or 500 columns which form the enclosure I found not any two capitals or bases * I counted in the temple 554 pillars. It is, however, difficult to be accurate, as the four colonnades and the porticos about the two great gates are irregular ; topographical observations, moreover, must here be much under difficulties. Ali Bey numbers them roughly at “ plus de 500 colonnes et pilastres.” 152 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. exactly alike. The capitals are of coarse Saracen workmanship; some of them, which had served for former buildings, by the ignorance of the workmen, have been placed upside down upon the shafts. I observed about half a dozen marble bases of good Grecian workmanship. A few of the marble columns bear Arabic or Cufic inscriptions, in which I read the dates 863 and 762 (a. h.).* A column on the east side exhibits a very ancient Cufic inscription, somewhat defaced, which I could neither read nor copy. Some of the columns are strengthened with broad iron rings or bands f, as in many other Saracen buildings of the East. They were first employed by Ibn Dhaher Berkouk, king of Egypt, in rebuilding the mosque, which had been destroyed by fire in a. h. 802.” J * The author afterwards informs us. that “ the temple has been so often ruined and repaired, that no traces of remote antiquity are to be found about it.” He mentions some modern and unimportant inscriptions upon the walls and over the gates. Knowing that many of the pillars were sent in ships from Syria and Egypt by the Caliph El Malidi, a traveller would have expected better things. f The reason being, that “ those shafts formed of the Meccan stone are mostly in three pieces; but the marble shafts are in one piece.” $ To this may be added, that the facades of the cloisters are twenty-four along the short walls, and thirty-six along the THE MOSQUE AT MECCA1I. 153 “ Some parts of the walls and arches are gau¬ dily painted in stripes of yellow, red, and blue, as are also the minarets. Paintings of flowers, in the usual Muselman style, are nowhere seen; the floors of the colonnades are paved with large stones badly cemented together. ” “ Some paved causeways lead from the colon¬ nades towards the Kaabah, or Holy House, in the centre.* They are of sufficient breadth to admit four or five persons to walk abreast, and they are elevated about nine inches above the ground. Between these causeways, which are covered with fine gravel or sand, grass appears growing in several places, produced by the Zern Zem water oozing out of the jars which are placed in (ora) the ground in long rows during others ; they have stone ornaments, not inaptly compared to the French “ fleur de lis.” The capital and bases of the outer pillars are grander and more regular than the inner ; they sup¬ port pointed arches, and the Arab secures his beloved variety by placing at every fourth arch a square pilaster. Of these there are on the long sides ten, on the short seven. * I counted eight, not including the broad pavement which leads from the Bab el Ziyadah to the Kaabah, or the four cross branches which connect the main lines. These “ Firash el Hajar,” as they are called, also serve to partition off the area. One space for instance is called “ Ilaswat el Ilarim,” or the “ women’s sanded place,” because appropriated to female de¬ votees. 154 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. the day.* There is a descent of eight or ten steps from the gates on the north side into the platform of the colonnade, and of three or four steps from the gates on the south side.” “ Towards the middle of this area stands the Kaabah ; it is 115 paces from the north colon¬ nade, and 88 from the south. For this want of symmetry we may readily account, the Kaabah having existed prior to the mosque, which was built around it, and enlarged at different periods. The Kaabah is an oblong massive structure, 18 paces in length, 14 in breadth, and from 35 to 40 feet in height, f It is constructed of the grey Mekka stone, in large blocks of different sizes joined together, in a very rough manner, with bad cement. J It was entirely rebuilt, as it now * The jars are little amphoraa, each inscribed with the name of the donor and a peculiar cypher. t My measurements give 22 paces or 55 feet in length by 18 (45), of breadth, and the height appeared greater than the length. Ali Bey makes the eastern side 37 French feet, 2 inches and 6 lines, the western 38° 4' 6" the northern 29 feet, the southern 31° 6' and the height 34° 4'. He therefore calls it a “ veritable trapezium.” In El Idrisi’s time it was 25 cubits by 24, and 27 cubits high. J I would alter this sentence thus :—“ It is built of fine grey granite in horizontal courses of masonry of irregular depth ; the stones are tolerably fitted together, and held by excellent mortar like Roman cement.” The lines are also straight. THE KAABAH, OR BAIT ULLAH. 155 stands, in a.d. 1627. The torrent in the preced¬ ing year had thrown down three of its sides, and, preparatory to its re-erection, the fourth side was, according to Asamy, pulled down, after the Olemas, or learned divines, had been consulted on the question whether mortals might be per¬ mitted to destroy any part of the holy edifice without incurring the charge of sacrilege and infidelity.” “ The Kaabah stands upon a base two feet in height, which presents a sharp inclined plane.* Its roof being flat, it has at a distance the appearance of a perfect cube.f The only door * This base is called El Shazarwan, from the Persian Sha- darwan, a cornice, eaves, or canopy. It is in pent-house shape, projecting about a foot beyond the wall, and composed of fine white marble slabs, polished like glass; there are two breaks in it, one opposite and under the doorway, and another in front of Ishmael’s tomb. Pilgrims are directed, during cireumam- bulation, to keep their bodies outside of the Shazarwan ; this would imply it to be part of the building, but its only use appears in the large brass rings welded into it, for the purpose of holding down the Kaabah covering. t Ali Bey also errs in describing the roof as “plat en- dessus.” Were such the case, rain would not pour off with violence through the spout. Most Oriental authors allow a cubit of depression from south-west to north-west. In El Idrisi’s day the Kaabah had a double roof. Some say this is the case in the present building, which has not been materially altered in shape since its restoration by El Hajjaj a. h. 83. The roof was then eighteen cubits long by fifteen broad. 156 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. which affords entrance, and which is opened but two or three times in the year *, is on the north side and about seven feet above the ground, f In the first periods of Islam, however, when it was rebuilt in A. h. 64 by Ibn Zebeyr (Zubayr), chief of Mecca, it had two doors even with the * In Ibn Jubair’s time the Kaabah was opened every day in Rajab, and in other months on every Monday and Friday. The house may now be entered ten or twelve times a year gratis; and by pilgrims as often as they can collect, amongst parties, a sum sufficient to tempt the guardians’ cupidity. * f This mistake, in which Burckbardt is followed by all our popular authors, is the more extraordinary, as all Arabic authors call the door-wall Janib el Mashrik—the eastern side — or Wajh el Bait, the front of the house, opposed to Zahr el Bait, the back. Niebuhr is equally in error when he as¬ serts that the door fronts to the south. Arabs always hold the “ Rokn el Iraki,” or Irak angle, to face the polar star, and so it appears in Ali Bey’s plan. The Kaabah, therefore, has no northern side. And it must be observed that Moslem writers make the length of the Kaabah from east to west, whereas our travellers mark it from north to south. Ali Bey makes the door only six feet from the pavement, but he calculates distances by the old French measure. It is about seven feet "from the ground, and six from the corner of the Black Stone. Between the two the space of wall is called El Multazem (in Burckhardt, by a clerical error, “ El Metzem,” vol. i. p. 173.). It derives its name, the “ attached-to,” because here the circumambulator should apply his bosom, and beg pardon for his sins. El Multazem, says M. de Percival, fol¬ lowing d’Ohsson, was formerly “le lieu des engagements,” vt hence, according to him, its name. THE KAABAH. 157 ground-floor of the mosque. * The present door (which, according to Azraky, was brought hither * From the Bab el Ziyadah, or gate in the northern colon¬ nade, you descend by two flights of steps, in all about twenty- fire. This depression manifestly arises from the level of the town having been raised, like Rome, by successive layers of ruins ; the most populous and substantial quarters (as the Sha- miyah to the north) would, we might expect, be the highest, and this is actually the case. But I am unable to account satis¬ factorily for the second hollow within the temple, and imme¬ diately around the House of Allah, where the door formerly, according to all historians, on a level with the pavement, and now ’about seven feet above it, shows the exact amount of depression, which cannot be accounted for simply by cal- cation. Some chroniclers assert, that when the Kuraysh re¬ built the house they raised the door to prevent devotees enter¬ ing without their permission. But seven feet would scarcely oppose an entrance, and how will this account for the floor of the building being also raised to that height above the pavement ? It is curious to observe the similarity between this inner hollow of the Meccan fane and the artificial depression of the Hindu pagoda where it is intended to be flooded. The Hindus would also revere the form of the Meccan fane, exactly resembling their square temples, at whose corners are placed Brahma, Vishnu, Shiwa and Ganesha, who adore the great universal generator in the centre. The second door anciently stood on the side of the temple opposite the present entrance; inside its place can still be traced. Ali Bey suspects its having existed in the modern building, and declares that the exterior surface of the wall shows the tracery of a blocked-up door, similar to that still open. Some historians declare that it was closed by the Kuraysh when they rebuilt the house in Mohammed’s day, and that subsequent erections have had only one. The general opinion is, that 158 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. from Constantinople in A. D. 1633), is whollj coated with silver, and has several gilt ornaments upon its threshold are placed every night various small lighted wax candles, and perfuming pans filled with musk, aloe-wood, &e. ” * “At the north-eastf corner of the Kaabah near the door, is the famous ‘Black Stone J;’ il El Hajjaj finally closed up the western entrance. Doctor; also differ as to its size; the popular measurement is three cubits broad and a little more than five in length. * Pilgrims and ignorant devotees collect the drippings oi wax, the ashes of the aloe-wood, and the dust from the “ Atabah,” or threshold of the Kaabah, either to rub upon theii foreheads or to preserve as relics. These superstitious practices are sternly rebuked by the Ulema. f For north-east read south-east. $ I will not enter into the fabulous origin of the Hajar el Aswad. Some of the traditions connected with it are truly absurd. “ When Allah,” says Ali, “ made covenant with the sons of Adam on the Day of Fealty, he placed the paper inside the stone;” it will, therefore, appear at the judgment, and beat witness to all who have touched it. Moslems agree that it was originally white, and became black by reason of men’s sins. It appeared to me a common aerolite covered with a thick shaggy coating, glossy and pitch-like, worn and polished. Dr. Wilson of Bombay showed me a specimen in his possession, which exter¬ nally appeared to be a black slag, with the inside of a bright and sparkling greyish-white, the result of admixture of nickel with the iron. This might possibly, as the learned Orientalist jhen sug¬ gested, account for the mythic change of colour, its appearance on earth after a thunderstorm, and its being originally a material THE FAMOUS “ BLACK STONE,” OR “ HA JAR.” 159 forms a part of the sharp angle of the build- part of the heavens. Kutb el Din expressly declares that, when the Karamitah restored it after twenty-two years to the Meccans, men kissed it and rubbed it upon their brows; and remarked, that the blackness was only superficial, the inside being white. Some Greek philosophers, it will be remembered, believed the heavens to be composed of stones (Cosmos, “ Shooting Stars ”). And Sanconiathon, ascribing the aerolite-worship to the god Ccelus, declares them to be living or animated stoses. “ The Arabians,” says Maximus of Tyre (Dissert. 38. p. 455.), “ pay homage to I know not what god, which they represent by a quadrangular stone.” The gross fetishism of the Hindus, it is well known, introduced them to litholatry. At Jagannath they worship a pyramidal black stone, fabled to have fallen from heaven, or miraculously to have presented itself on the place where the temple now stands. Moreover, they revere the Salagram, as the emblem of Vishnu, the second person in their triad. The rudest emblem of the “ Bonus Deus ” was a round stone. It was succeeded in India by the cone and triangle; in Egypt by the pyramid ; in Greece it was represented by cones of terra-cotta about three inches and a half long. Without going deep into theory, it may be said that the Kaabah and the Hajar are the only two idols which have survived the 360 composing the heavenly host of the Arab pantheon. Thus the Hindu poet exclaims : — “ Behold the marvels of my idol-temple, 0 Moslem ! That when its idols are destroy’d, it becomes Allah’s House.” Wilford (As. Soc. vols. iii. and iv.) makes the Hindus declare that the Black Stone at Mokshesha, or Moksha-sthana (Meccah) was an incarnation of Moksheshwara, an incarnation of Shiwa, who witii his consort visited El Hejaz. When the Kaabah was rebuilt, this emblem was placed in the outer wall for con¬ tempt, but the people still respected it. In the Dabistan the 160 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. ing *, at four or five feet above the ground.t It is an irregular oval, about seven inches in diameter, Black Stone is said to be an image of Kaywan or Saturn; and El Sliahristani also declares the temple to have been dedi¬ cated to the same planet Zuhal, whose genius is represented in the Puranas as fierce, hideous, four-armed, and habited in a black cloak, with a loose dark turban. Moslem historians are unanimous in asserting that Sasan, son of Babegan, and other Persian monarohs, gave rich presents to the Kaabah; they especially mention two golden crescent moons, a significant offering. The Guebers assert that, among the images and relics left by Mahabad and his successors in the Kaabah, was the Black Stone, an emblem of Saturn. They also call the city Mahgah—moon’s place—from an exceedingly beautiful image of the moon; whence they say the Arabs derived “ Meccali.” And the Sabaeans equally respect the Kaabah and the pyramids, which they assert to be the tombs of Seth, Enoch (or Hermes), and Sabi the son of Enoch. Meccali, then, is claimed as a sacred place, and the Hajar el Aswad, as well as the Kaabah, are revered as holy emblems by four different faiths—the Hindu, Sabaean, Gueber, and Moslem. I have little doubt, and hope to prove at another time, that the Jews connected it with traditions about Abraham. This would be the fifth religion that looked towards the Kaabah — a rare meeting-place of devotion. * Presenting this appearance in profile. The Hajar has suffered from the iconoclastic principle of Islam, having once narrowly escaped destruction by order of El Hakim of Egypt. In these days the metal rim serves as a protection as well as an ornament. f The height of the Hajar from the ground, according to my measurement, is four feet nine inches ; Ali Bey places it forty- two inches above the pavement. EL HAJAK, “ TIIE FAMOUS BLACK STONE.” 161 with an undulating surface, composed of about a dozen smaller stones of different sizes and shapes, well joined together with a small quantity of cement, and perfectly well smoothed: it looks as if the whole had been broken into many pieces by a violent blow, and then united again. It is very difficult to determine accurately the quality of this stone, which has been worn to its present surface by the millions of touches and kisses it has received. It appeared to me like a lava, containing several small extraneous particles of a whitish and of a yellowish substance. Its colour is now a deep reddish brown, approaching to black. It is surrounded on all sides by a border composed of a substance which I took to be a close cement of pitch and gravel of a similar, but not quite the same, brownish colour.* This border * The colour appeared to me black and metallic, and the centre of the stone was sunk about two inches below the metal circle. Round the sides was a reddish brown cement, almost level with the metal, and sloping down to the middle of the stone. Ibn Jubair declares the depth of the stone unknown, but that most people believe it to extend two cubits into the wall, In his day it was three “Shibr” (the large span from the thumb to the little finger tip) broad, and one span long, with knobs, and a joining of four pieces, which the Karamitah had broken. The stone was set in a silver band. Its softness and VOL. III. M 162 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. serves to support its detached pieces; it is two or three inches in breadth, and rises a little above the surface of the stone. Both the border and the stone itself are encircled by a silver band *, broader below than above, and on the two sides, with a considerable swelling below, as if a part of the stone were hidden under it. The lower part of the border is studded with silver nails.” “ In the south-east corner of the Kaabah f, or, as the Arabs call it, Rokn el Yemany, there is another stone about five feet from the ground ; it is one foot and a half in length, and two inches in breadth, placed upright, and of the common Meccah stone. This the people walking moisture were such, says Ibn Jubair, “that the sinner never would remove his mouth from it, which phenomenon made the Prophet declare it to be the covenant of Allah on earth.” * The band is now a massive arch of gold or silver gilt. I found the aperture in which the stone is, one span and three fingers broad. t The “Rukn el Yemani” is the corner facing the south. The part alluded to in the text is the wall of the Kaabah, between the Shami and Yemani angles, distant about three feet from the latter, and near the site of the old western door, long since closed. The stone is darker and redder than the rest of the wall. It is called El Mustajab (or Mustajab min el Zunub or Mustajab el Dua, “ where prayer is granted ”). Pilgrims here extend their arms, press their bodies against the building, and beg pardon for their sins. EL MAAJAN, “THE PLACE OE MIXING.” 163 round the Kaabah touch only with the right hand; they do not kiss it. * “ On the north side of the Kaabah, just by its door f, and close to the wall, is a slight hollow in the ground, lined with marble, and sufficiently large to admit of three persons sitting. Here it is thought meritorious to pray: the spot is called El Maajan, and supposed to be where Abraham and his son Ismail kneaded the chalk and mud which they used in building the Kaabah; and near this Maajan the former is said to have placed the large * I have frequently seen it kissed by men and women, f El Maajan, the place of mixing or kneading, because the patriarchs here kneaded the mud used as cement in the holy building. Some call it El Hufrah (the digging), and it is generally known as Makam Jibrail (the place of Gabriel), because here descended the inspired order for the five daily prayers, and at this spot the archangel and the Prophet per¬ formed their devotions, making it a most auspicious spot. It is on the north of the door, from which it is distant about two feet; its length is seven spans and seven fingers ; breadth five spans three fingers ; and depth one span four fingers. The following sentence from Herklet’s “ Qanoon e Islam ” (ch. xii. sec. 5.) may serve to show the extent of error still popular. The author, after separating the Bait Ullah from the Kaabah, erroneously making the former the name of the whole temple, proceeds to say, “ the rain water which falls on its (the Kaabah’s) terrace runs off through a golden spout on a stone near it, called Rookn-e- Yemeni, or alabaster-stone, and stands over the grave of Ismaeel ”-! M 2 164 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. stone upon which he stood while working at the masonry. On the basis of the Kaabah, just over the Maajan, is an ancient Cufic inscription; but this I was unable to decipher, and had no opportunity of copying it.” “ On the west (north-west) side of the Kaabah, about two feet below its summit, is the famous Myzab, or water-spout*, through which the rain¬ water collected on the roof of the building is discharged, so as to fall upon the ground; it is about four feet in length, and six inches in breadth, as well as I could judge from below, with borders equal in height to its breadth. At the mouth hangs what is called the beard of the Myzab ; a gilt board, over which the water flows. This spout was sent hither from Constantinople in A. h. 981, and is reported to be of pure gold. The pavement round the Kaabah, below the Myzab, was laid down in a. h. 826, and consists of various coloured stones, forming a very handsome specimen of mosaic. There are two large slabs of fine verde antico f in the centre, which, according to Makrizi, * Generally called Myzab el Rahmah (of mercy). It carries rain from the roof, and discharges it upon Isbmael’s grave, where pilgrims stand fighting to catch it. In El Edrisi’s time it was of wood; now it is said to be gold, but it looks very dingy. | Usually called the Hajar el Akhzar, or green stone. El THE TOMB OF ISMAYL. 165 were sent thither, as presents from Cairo, in A. H. 241. This is the spot where, according to Moham¬ medan tradition, Ismayl the son of Ibrahim, and his mother Hajirah are buried; and here it is meritorious for the pilgrim to recite a prayer of two Rikats. On this side is a semicircular wall, the two extremities of which are in a line with the sides of the Kaabah, and distant from it three or four feet*, leaving an opening, which leads to the burial-place of Ismayl. The wall bears the name of El Hatym f; and the area which it encloses Idrisi speaks of a white stone covering IshmaeFs remains, Ibn Jubair of “green marble, longish, in form of a Milirab arch, and near it a white round slab, in both of which are spots that make them appear yellow.” Near them, we are told, and towards the Iraki corner, is the tomb of Hagar, under a green slab one span and a half broad, and pilgrims used to pray at both places. Ali Bey erroneously applies the words El Hajar Ismail to the parapet about the slab. * My measurements give five feet six inches. In El Idrisi’s day the wall was fifty cubits long. f El Hatim ( lit. the “broken ”). Burckhardt asserts that the Mekkawi no longer apply the word, as some historians do, to the space bounded by the Kaabah, the Partition, the Zem Zem, and the Makam of Ibrahim. I heard it, how¬ ever, so used by learned Meccans, and they gave as the meaning of the name the break of this part in the oval pavement which surrounds the Kaabah. Historians relate that all who rebuilt the “ House of Allah ” followed Abraham’s plan till the Kuraysh, and after them El Hajjaj, curtailed it in the direction 166 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. is called Hedjer or Hedjer Ismayl*, on account of its being separated from the Kaabah: the wall itself also is sometimes so called.” “ Tradition says that the Kaabah once extended as far as the Hatym, and that this side having fallen down just at the time of the Hadj, the expenses of repairing it were demanded from the pilgrims, under a pretence that the revenues of government were not acquired in a manner sufficiently pure to admit of their application towards a purpose so sacred. The sum, however, obtained proved very inadequate; all that could be done, therefore, was to raise a wall, which marked the space formerly occupied by the Kaabah. This tradition, although current among the Metowefs (cicerones), is at variance with history; which declares that the Hedjer was built by the Beni Koreish, who con¬ tracted the dimensions of the Kaabah; that it was of El Hatim, which part was then first broken off, and ever since remained so. * El Hijr ( ) is the space separated, as the name denotes, from the Kaabah. Some suppose that Abraham here penned his sheep. Possibly Ali Bey means this part of the Temple when he speaks of El Hajar ) Ismail—les pierres d’lsmail. LIMITS OF THE KAABAH. 167 united to the building by Hadjadj *, and again se¬ parated from it by Ibn Zebeyr. It is asserted by Fasy, that a part of the Hedjer as it now stands was never comprehended within the Kaabah. The law regards it as a portion of the Kaabah, inas¬ much as it is esteemed equally meritorious to pray in the Hedjer as in the Kaabah itself; and the pilgrims who have not an opportunity of entering the latter are permitted to affirm upon oath that they have prayed in the Kaabah, although they have only prostrated themselves within the en¬ closure of the Hatym. The wall is built of solid stone, about five feet in height, and four in thick¬ ness, cased all over with white marble, and inscribed with prayers and invocations neatly sculptured upon the stone in modern characters.f These and the casing, are the work of El Ghoury, the Egyptian sultan, in a. h. 917. The walk round the Kaabah is performed on the outside of the wall — the nearer to it the better.” “ Round the Kaabah is a good pavement of * “ El Hajjaj ; ” this, as will afterwards be seen, is a mistake. He excluded the Hatim. f As well as memory serves me, for I have preserved no note, the inscriptions are in the marble casing, and indeed no other stone meets the eye. 168 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. marble * about eight inches below the level of the great square ; it was laid in a. h. 981, by order of the sultan, and describes an irregular oval; it is surrounded by thirty-two slender gilt pillars, or father poles, between every two of which are sus¬ pended seven glass lamps, always lighted after sunset.f Beyond the poles is a second pavement, about eight paces broad, somewhat elevated above the first, but of coarser work ; then another six inches higher, and eighteen paces broad, upon which stand several small buildings; beyond this is the gravelled ground; so that two broad steps may be said to lead from the square down to the Kaabah. The small buildings just mentioned which surround the Kaabah are the five MakamsJ, with * It is a fine, close, grey granite, polished like glass by the feet of the faithful; the walk is called El Mataf, or the place of circumambulation. f These are now iron posts, very numerous, supporting cross rods, and of tolerably elegant shape. In Ali Bey’s time there were “trente-une colonnes minces en piliers en bronze.” Some native works say thirty-three, including two marble columns. Between each two hang several white or green glass globe-lamps, with wicks and oil floating on water; their light is faint and dismal. The whole of the lamps in the Haram is said to be more than 1000, yet they serve but to “ make darkness visible.” $ There are only four “ Makams,” the Hanafi, Maliki, Han- bali, and the Makam Ibrahim ; and there is some error of dic¬ tion below, for in these it is that the Imams stand before their THE FOUR MAKAMS, OR STATIONS FOR PRAYER. IG9 the well of Zem Zem, the arch called Bab es Salam, and the Mambar.” “ Opposite the four sides of the Kaabah stand four other small buildings, where the Imaums of the orthodox Mohammedan sects, the Hanefy, Shafey, Hanbaly, and Maleky take their station, and guide the congregation in their prayers. The Makam el Maleky on the south, and that of Han¬ baly opposite the Black Stone, are small pavilions open on all sides, and supported by four slender pillars, with a light sloping roof, terminating in a point, exactly in the style of Indian pagodas.* The Makam el Hanafy, which is the largest, being fifteen paces by eight, is open on all sides, and supported by twelve small pillars; it has an upper story, also open, where the Mueddin who calls to prayers takes his stand. This was first built in a. h. 923, by Sultan Selim I.; it was afterwards rebuilt by Khoshgeldy, governor of Djidda, in 947; congregations, and nearest the Kaabah. In Ibn Jubair’s time the Zaydi sect was allowed an Imam, though known to be schismatics and abusers of the caliphs. Now, not being per¬ mitted to have a separate station for prayer, they suppose theirs to be suspended from heaven above the Kaabah roof. * The Makam el Maliki is on the west of, and thirty-seven cubits from, the Kaabah ; that of the Hanbali forty-seven paces distant. 170 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH, but all the four Makams, as they now stand, were built in A. h. 1074. The Makam-es’-Shafey is over the well Zem Zem, to which it serves as an upper chamber.* “ Near their respective Makams the adherents of the four different sects seat themselves for prayers. During my stay at Meccah the Hanefys always began their prayer first; but, according to Muselman custom, the Shafeys should pi*ay first in the mosque; then the Hamefys, Malekys, and Hanbalys. The prayer of the Maghreb is an exception, which they are all enjoined to utter together.f The Makam el Hanbaly is the place * Only the Muezzin takes his stand here, and the Shafeis pray behind their Imam on the pavement round the Kaabah, between the corner of the well Zem Zem, and the Makam Ibrahim. This place is forty cubits from the Kaabah, that is say, eight cubits nearer than the northern and southern “ Ma¬ kams.” Thus the pavement forms an irregular oval ring round the house. f In Burckhardt’s time the schools prayed according to the seniority of their founders, and they uttered the Azan of El Maghrib together, because that is a peculiarly delicate hour, which easily passes by unnoticed. In the twelfth century, at all times but the evening, the Shafei began, then came the Maliki and Hanbali simultaneously, and, lastly, the Hanafi. Now the Shaykh el Muezzin begins the call, which is taken up by the others. He is a Hanafi; as indeed are all the principal people at Meccah, only a few wild Sherifs of the hills being Shafei. THE ZEM ZEM OB WELL. 171 where the officers of government and other great people are seated during prayers; here the Pacha and the sheriff are placed, and in their absence the eunuchs of the temple. These fill the space under this Makam in front, and behind it the female Hadjys who visit the temple have their places assigned, to which they repair principally for the two evening prayers, few of them being seen in the mosque at the three other daily prayers: they also perform the Towaf, or walk round the Kaabah, but generally at night, though it is not uncommon to see them walking in the day-time among the men.” “ The present building which encloses Zem Zem stands close by the Makam Hanbaly, and was erected in a.h. 1072 : it is of a square shape, and of massive construction, with an entrance to the north *, opening into the room which contains the well. This room is beautifully ornamented with marbles of various colours; and adjoining to it, but having a separate door, is a small room with a stone reservoir, which is always full of Zem Zem water. This the Hadjys get to drink by passing their hand with a cup through an iron grated opening, * The door of the Zem Zem building opens to the south-east. 172 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. which serves as a window, into the reservoir, with¬ out entering the room. The mouth of the well is surrounded by a wall five feet in height and about ten feet in diameter. Upon this the people stand who draw up the water in leathern buckets, an iron railing being so placed as to prevent their falling in. In El Fasy’s time there were eight marble basins in this room, for the purpose of ablution. “ On the north-east (south-east) side of Zem Zem stand two small buildings, one behind the other*, called El Kobbateyn ; they are covered by domes painted in the same manner as the mosque, and in them are kept water-jars, lamps, carpets, mats, brooms, and other articles used in the very mosque.f These two ugly buildings are * This is not exactly correct. As the plan will show, the angle of one building touches the angle of its neigh¬ bour. f Their names and offices are now changed. One is called the Kubbat el Saat, and contains the clocks and chronometers (two of them English) sent as presents to the mosque by the Sultan. The other, known as the Kubbat el Kutub, is used as a store-room for manuscripts bequeathed to the mosque. They still are open to Burckhardt’s just criticism, being nothing but the common dome springing from four walls, and vulgarly painted with bands of red, yellow and green. In Ibn Jubair’s time the two domes contained bequests of books and candles. The Kubbat Abbas, or that further from the Kaabah than its EL DARAJ, OR THE LAUDER. 173 injurious to the interior appearance of the building, their heavy forms and structure being very disadvantageously contrasted with the light and airy shape of the Makams. I heard some Hadjys from Greece, men of better taste than the Arabs, express their regret that the Kobbateyn should be allowed to disfigure the mosque. They were built by Khoshgeldy, governor of Djidda a.h. 947 ; one is called Kobbert el Abbas, from having been placed on the site of a small tank said to have been formed by Abbas, the uncle of Mohammed.” “ A few paces west (north-west) of Zem Zem, and directly opposite to the door of the Kaabah, stands a ladder or staircase *, which is moved up to the wall of the Kaabah on days when that building is opened, and by which the visitors ascend to the door. It is of wood, with some carved ornaments, neighbour, was also called Kubbat el Sherab (the Dome of Drink), because Zem Zem water was here kept cooling for the use of pilgrims in Daurak, or earthern jars. The nearer was termed Kubbat el Yahudi; and the tradition they told me was, that a Jew having refused to sell his house upon this spot, it was permitted to remain in loco by the prophet, as a lasting testimony to his regard for justice. A similar tale is told of an old woman’s hut, which was allowed to stand in the corner of the Great Nushirawan’s royal halls. * Called “ El Daraj.” A correct drawing of it may be found in Ali Bey’s work. 174 riLGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. moves on low wheels, and is sufficiently broad to admit of four persons ascending abreast. The first ladder was sent hither from Cairo in a.h. 818 by Moyaed Abou el Naser, king of Egypt.” “ In the same line with the ladder and close by it stands a lightly built insulated and circular arch, about fifteen feet wide, and eighteen feet high, called Bab es’ Salam, which must not be con¬ founded with the great gate of the mosque, bear¬ ing the same name. Those who enter the Bait Ullah for the first time are enjoined to do so by the outer and inner Bab-es-Salam; in passing under the latter they are to exclaim, ‘0 God, may it be a happy entrance.’ I do not know by whom this arch was built, but it appears to be modern.” * “ Nearly in front of the Bab-es-Salam and nearer than the Kaabah than any of the other sur¬ rounding buildings, stands the Makam Ibrahim.f This is a small building supported by six pillars about eight feet high, four of which are surrounded * The Bab el Salam, or Bab el Naby, or Bab beni Shaybah, resembles in its isolation a triumphal arch, and is built of cut stone. t “ The (praying) place of Abraham.” Readers will remem¬ ber that the Meccan Mosque is peculiarly connected with Ibra¬ him, whom Moslems prefer to all prophets except Mohammed. STONE ON WHICH ABRAHAM STOOD. 175 from top to bottom by a fine iron railing, while they leave the space beyond the two hind pillars open ; within the railing is a frame about five feet square, terminating in a pyramidal top, and said to contain the sacred stone upon which Ibrahim stood when he built the Kaabah, and which with the help of his son Ismayl he had removed from hence to the place called Maajen, already men¬ tioned. The stone is said to have yielded under the weight of the Patriarch, and to preserve the impression of his foot still visible upon it; but no hadjy has ever seen it *, as the frame is always * This I believe to be incorrect. I was asked five dollars for permission to enter; but the sum was too high for my finances. Learned men told me that the stone shows the im¬ press of two feet, especially the big toes, and devout pilgrims fill the cavities with water, which they rub over their eyes and faces. When the Caliph el Mahdi visited Meccah, one Abdullah bin Usman presented himself at the unusual hour of noon, and in¬ forming the prince that he had brought him a relic which no man but himself had yet seen, produced this celebrated stone. El Mahdi, rejoicing greatly, kissed it, rubbed his face against it, and pouring water upon it, drank the draught. Kutb el Din, one of the Meccan historians, says that it was visited in his day. In Ali Bey’s time it was covered with “un magni- fique drap noir brode en or et en argent avec de gros glands en or ; ” he does not say, however, that he saw the stone. Its veils, called Sitr Ibrahim el Khalil, are a green “ ibrisham,” or silk mixed with cotton and embroidered with gold. They are 176 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCATi. entirely covered with a brocade of red silk richly embroidered. Persons are constantly seen before the railing invoking the good offices of Ibrahim; and a short prayer must be uttered by the side of the Makam after the walk round the Kaabah is completed. It is said that many of the Sahaba, or first adherents of Mohammed, were interred in the open space between this Makam and Zem Zem * ; from which circumstance it is one of the most favourite places of prayers in the mosque. In this part of the area the Khalif Soleyman I bn Abd el Melek, brother of Wolyd (El Walid), built a fine reservoir in a.h. 97, which was filled from a spring made at Cairo of three different colours, black, red, and green; and one is devoted to each year. The gold embroidery is in the Sulsi character, and expresses the Throne-verse, the Chapter of the Cave, and the name of the reigning Sultan ; on the top is “ Allah,” below it Mohammed ; beneath this is “ Ibrahim el Khalil; ” and at each corner is the name of one of the four ca¬ liphs. In a note to the “ Dahistan ” (vol. ii. p. 410.) we find two learned Orientalists confounding the Black Stone with Abra¬ ham’s Platform. “The Prophet honoured the Black Stone, upon which Abraham conversed with Hagar, to which he tied his camels, and upon which the traces of his feet are still seen.” * Not only here, I was told by learned Meccans, but under all the oval pavements surrounding the Kaabah, THE MAMBAR, OR PULPIT OP THE MOSQUE. 177 east of Arafat *; but the Mekkawys destroyed it after his death, on the pretence that the water of Zem Zem was preferable.” “ On the side of Makam Ibrahim, facing the middle part of the front of the Kaabah, stands the Mambar, or pulpit of the mosque; it is elegantly formed of fine white marble, with many sculptured ornaments; and was sent as a present to the mosque in A. H. 969 by Sultan Soleyman Ibn Selym.f A straight, narrow staircase leads up to the post of the Khatyb, or preacher, which is surmounted by a gilt polygonal pointed steeple, resembling an obelisk. Here a sermon is preached on Fridays and on certain festivals. These, like the Friday sermons of all mosques in the Mohammedan countries, are usually of the same turn, with some slight alterations upon extraordinary occasions.” J “I have now described all the buildings within the inclosure of the temple.” * The spring gushes from the southern base of Mount Arafat, as will afterwards be noticed. It is exceedingly pure. ■f The author informs us that “ the first pulpit was sent from Cairo in a. h. 818, together with the staircase, both being the gifts of Moayed, caliph of Egypt.” Ali Bey accurately describes the present Mambar. | The curious will find a specimen of a Moslem sermon in Lane’s Mod. Egypt, vol. i. ch. 3. VOL. III. N 178 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAII AND MECCAH. “ The gates of the mosque are nineteen in num¬ ber, and are distributed about it without any order - or symmetry.” * * Burckhardt “ subjoins their names as they are usually written upon small cards by the Metowefs; in another column are the names by which they were known in more ancient times, principally taken from Azraky and Kotoby.” I have added a few remarks in brackets. Modern names. Arches. 1. Bab el Salam, composed of smaller gates or arches - 3 2. Bab el Neby - - - 2 3. Bab el Abbas, opposite to this the house of Abbas once stood - 3 4. Bab Aly - - 3 5. Bab el Zayt "1 Bab el Ashra J - 2 6. Bab el Baghlah - 2 7. Bab el Szafa (Safa) - 5 8. Bab Sherif - 2 9. Bab Medjahed - - 2 10. Bab Zoleykha - - . 2 11. Bab Om Hany, so called from the daughter of Aby Taleb ... 2 12. Bab el Wodaa (El Widaa) through -which the pilgrim passes when taking his final leave of the temple - 2 13. Bab Ibrahim, so called from a tailor who had a shop near it - - - - 1 Ancient names. Bab Beni Shaybah (this is properly applied to the inner, not the outer Salam Gate). Bab el Jenaiz, Gate of Biers, the dead being carried through it to the mosque. Bab Sertakat (some Moslem authors confound this Bab el Abbas with the Gate of Biers). Bab Beni Hashem. Bab Bazan (so called from a neigh¬ bouring hill). Bab Beni Makhzoum. Bab el Djyad (so called because leading to the hill Jiyad) Bab el Dokhmah. Bab Sherif Adjelan, who built it. Bab el Hazoura (some write this Bab el Zarurah). Bab el Kheyatyn or Bab Djomah. Carry forward 31 THE EASTERN GATES OF THE MOSQUE. 179 Burckhardt’s description of the gates is short and imperfect. On the eastern side of the mosque there are four principal entrances, seven on the southern side, three in the western, and five in the northern wall. The eastern gates are the Greater Bab el Salam, through which the pilgrim enters the mosque; it is close to the north-east angle. Next to it the Lesser Bab el Salam, with two small arches ; thirdly, the Bab el Nabi, where the Prophet used to pass through from Khadijah’s house ; and, lastly, near the south-east corner, the Bab All, or of the Modern names. Arches. Brought forward - - 31 14. Bah el Omra, through which pilgrims issue to visit the Omra. Also called Beni Saham - - 1 15. Bab A tech - 1 16. Bab el Bastye - - 1 17. Bab el Kotoby, so called from an historian of Mekka who lived in an adjoining lane and opened this small gate into the mosque • 1 18. Bab Zyade - - - 3 19. Bah Dereyhe - - - 1 Total 39 Ancient names. Bah Amer Ibn el Aas, or Bab el Sedra. Bab el Adjale. Bab Zyade Dar el Nedoua. (It is called Bab Ziyadah — Gate of Excess—because it is a new struc¬ ture thrown out into the Shamiyah, or Syrian quarter.) Bab Medrese. n 2 180 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MED1NAH AND MECCAH. Beni Hashem, opening upon the street between Safa and Marwah. Beyond the north-eastern corner, in the northern wall, is the Bab Duraybah, a small entrance with one arch. Next to it, almost fronting the Kaabah, is the grand adit, “ Bab el Ziyadah,” also known as Bab el Nadwah. Here the colonnade, projecting far beyond the normal line, forms a small square or hall supported by pillars, and a false colonnade of sixty-one columns leads to the true cloister of the mosque. This portion of the building being cool and shady, is crowded by the poor, the dis¬ eased, and the dying, during divine worship, and at other times by idlers, schoolboys, and mer¬ chants. Passing through three external arches, pilgrims descend by a flight of steps into the hall, where they deposit their slippers, it not being considered decorous to hold them when circum¬ ambulating the Kaabah.* A broad pavement, in the shape of an irregular triangle, whose base is the cloister, leads to the circuit of the house. Next to the Ziyadah Gate is a small, single-arched * An old pair of slippers is here what the “ shocking bad hat ” is at a crowded house in Europe, a self-preserver. Burck- hardt lost three pair. I, more fortunate or less wealthy, only one. THE WESTERN GATES OF THE MOSQUE. 181 entrance, “ Bab Kutubi,” and beyond it one similar, the Bab el Ajlah ( ), also named El Basitiyah, from its proximity to the college of Abd el Basitah. Close to the north-west angle of the cloister is the Bab el Nadwah, anciently called Bab el Umrah, and now Bab el Atib, the Old Gate. Near this place and opening into the Kaabah, stood the “Town Hall” (Dar el Nadwah), built by Kusay, for containing the oriflamme “ El Liwa,” and as a council-chamber for the ancients of the city.* In the western wall are three entrances. The single-arched gate nearest to the north angle is called Bab Beni Saham or Bab el Umrah, because pilgrims pass through it to the Tanim and the ceremony El Umrah (Little Pilgrimage). In the centre of the wall is the Bab Ibrahim, or Bab el Khayyatin (the Tailors’ Gate); a single arch leading into a large projecting square, like that of the Ziyadah entrance, but somewhat smaller. Near the south-west corner is a double-arched adit, the Bab el Widaa (“of Farewell”): hence departing pilgrims issue forth from the temple. At the western end of the southern wall is the * Many authorities place this building upon the site of the modern Makam Hanaii. 182 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINA!! AND MECCAH. two-arched Bab Umm Hani, so called after the lady’s residence, when included in the mosque. Next to it is a similar building, “ Bab Ujlan” ^^ which derives its name from the large college “ Madrasat Ujlan; ” some call it Bab el Sherif, because it is opposite one of the palaces. After which, and also pierced with two arches, is the Bab el Jiyad (some erroneously spell it El Jihad, “ of War ”), the gate leading to Jebel Jiyad. The next is also double arched, and called the Bab el Mujahid or El Rahmah ( “of Mercy ” ). Nearly opposite the Kaabah, and connected -with the pavement by a raised line of stone, is the Bab el Safa, through which pilgrims now issue to perform the ceremony “ El Sai; ” it is a small and uncon- spicuous erection. Next to it is the Bab el Baghlah with two arches, and close to the south-east angle of the mosque the Bab Yunus, alias Bab Bazan, alias Bab el Zayt, alias Bab el Asharah, “ of the ten,” because a favourite with the ten first Sahabah, or Companions of the Prophet. “ Most of these gates,” says Burekhardt, “ have high pointed arches; but a few round arches are seen among them, which, like all arches of this kind in the Hejar, are nearly semicircular. They arc EXPENSES DURING “SEASON” AT MECCAH. 183 without ornament, except the inscription on the exterior, which commemorates the name of the builder, and they are all posterior in date to the fourteenth century. As each gate consists of two or three arches, or divisions, separated by narrow walls, these divisions are counted in the enu¬ meration of the gates leading into the Kaabah, and they make up the number thirty-nine. There being no doors to the gates, the mosque is con¬ sequently open at all times. I have crossed at every hour of the night, and always found people there, either at prayers or walking about.” * “ The outside walls of the mosques are those of the houses which surround it on all sides. These houses belonged originally to the mosque; the greater part are now the property of individuals. They are let out to the richest Hadjys, at very high prices, as much as 500 piastres being given during the pilgrimage for a good apartment with windows opening into the mosque, f Windows have in con- * The Meccans love to boast that at no hour of the day or night is the Kaabah ever seen without a devotee to perform “ Tawaf.” f This would be about 50 dollars, whereas 25 is a fair sum for a single apartment. Like English lodging-house-keepers, the Meccans make the season pay for the year. In Burck- hardt’s time the colonnato was worth from 9 to 12 piastres: 184 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAII AND MECCAII. sequence been opened in many parts of the walls on a level with the street, and above that of the floor of the colonnades. Hadjys living in these apart¬ ments are allowed to perform the Friday’s prayers at home; because, having the Kaabah in view from the windows, they are supposed to be in the mosque itself, and to join in prayer those assembled within the temple. Upon a level with the ground floor of the colonnades and opening into them are small apartments formed in the walls, having the appear¬ ance of dungeons; these have remained theproperty of the mosque while the houses above them belong to private individuals. They are let out to water¬ men, who deposit in them the Zem Zem jars, or to less opulent Hadjys who wish to live in the mosque.* Some of the surrounding houses still belong to the mosque, and were originally in¬ tended for public schools, as their names of Me- dresa implies ; they are now all let out to Hadjys.” “The exterior of the mosque is adorned with seven minarets irregularly distributed : — 1. Mi- tbe value of the latter coin is now greatly decreased, for 28 go to the Spanish dollar all over El Hejaz. * I entered one of these caves, and never experienced such .a sense of suffocation even in that famous spot for Britons to asphixiate themselves— the Baths of Nero. THE VICE-INTENDANT OF THE MOSQUE. 185 naret of Bab el Omra (Umrah); 2. of Bab el Salam; 3. of Bab Aly; 4. of Bab elWodaa (Widaa); 5. of Medesa Kail (Kait) Bey ; 6. of Bab el Zyadi; 7. of Medreset Sultan Soleyman.* They are quad¬ rangular or round steeples, in no way differing from other minarets. The entrance to them is from the different buildings round the mosque, which they adjoin, f A beautiful view of the busy crowd below is attained by ascending the most northern one.” % Having described at length the establishment attached to the mosque of El Medinah, I spare my readers a detailed account of the crowd of idlers that hang about the Meccan temple. The Naib el Haram, or vice-intendant, is one Sayyid Ali, * The Magnificent (son of Selim L), who built at El Medinah the minaret bearing his name. The minarets at Meccah are far inferior to those of her rival, and their bands of gaudy colours give them an appearance of tawdry vulgarity. f Two minarets, namely, those of the Bab el Salam and the Bab el Safa, are separated from the mosque by private dwelling- houses, a plan neither common nor regular. | A stranger must be careful how he appears at a minaret window, unless ho would have a bullet whizzing past his head. Arabs are especially jealous of being overlooked, and have no fellow-feeling for votaries of “ beautiful views.” For tin's reason here, as in Egypt, a blind Muezzin is preferred, and many ridiculous stories are told about men who for years have coun¬ terfeited cecity to live in idleness. 186 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINA!! AND MECCAH. said to be of Indian extraction; he is superior to” all the attendants. There are about eighty eunuchs, whose chief, Serur Agha, was a slave of Mohammed Ali Pacha. Their pay varies from 100 to 1000 piastres per mensem; it is, however, inferior to the Medinah salaries. The Imams, Muezzins, Khatibs, Zem Zemis, &c. &c., are under their respective Shaykhs who are of the Ulema. * Briefly to relate the history of the Kaabah. The “House of Allah” is supposed to have been built and rebuilt ten times. 1. The first origin of the idea is manifestly a symbolical allusion to the angels standing before the Almighty and praising his name. When Allah, it is said, informed the celestial throng that he was * I have illustrated this chapter, which otherwise might be unintelligible to many, by a plan of the Kaabah (taken from Ali Bey el Abbasi), which Burckhardt pronounced to be “ perfectly correct.” This author has not been duly appreciated* In the first place, his disguise was against him; and, secondly, he was a spy of the French government. According to Mr. Bankes, who had access to the original papers at Constantinople, Ali Bey was a Catalonian named Badia, and suspected to have been of Jewish extraction. He claimed from Napoleon a reward for his services, returned to the East, and died, it is supposed, of poison in or near Damascus. In the edition which I have consulted -(Paris, 1814) the author labours to persuade the world by marking the days with their planetary signs, &c. &c., that he is a real Oriental, but he perpetually betrays himself. LEGEND OF TIIE SECOND HOUSE. 187 about to send a vicegerent on earth, they depre¬ cated the design. Being reproved with these words, “ God knoweth what ye know not,” and dreading eternal anger, they compassed the Arsh, or throne, in adoration. Upon this Allah created the Bait el Maamur, four jasper pillars with a ruby roof, and the angels circumambulated it, crying, “ Praise to Allah, and exalted be Allah, and there is no Allah but Allah, and Allah is omnipotent! ” The Crea¬ tor then ordered them to build a similar house for man on earth. This, according to Ali, took place 40, according to Abu Horayrah, 2000 years before the creation; both authorities, however, are agreed that the firmaments were spread above and the seven earths beneath this Bait el Maamur. 2. There is considerable contradiction concern¬ ing the second house. Kaab related that Allah sent down with Adam* a Khaymah, or tabernacle of hollow ruby, which the angels raised on stone pillars. This was also called Bait el Maamur. Adam received an order to compass it about; after * It must be remembered that the Moslems, like many of the .lews, hold that Paradise was not on earth, but in the lowest firmament, which is, as it were, a reflection of earth. I have borrowed the greater part of these historical remarks from a MS. of “ Kutb el Din ” in my possession. 188 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. which, he begged a reward for obedience, and was promised a pardon to himself and to all his progeny who repent. Others declare that Adam, expelled from Para¬ dise, and lamenting that he no longer heard the prayers of the angels, was ordered by Allah to take the stones of five hills, Lebanon, Sinai, Tur Zayt, Ararat, and Hira, which afforded the first stone. Gabriel, smiting his wing upon earth, opened a foundation to the seventh layer, and the position of the building is exactly below the heavenly Bait el Maamur,— a Moslem corruption of the legends con¬ cerning the heavenly and the earthly Jerusalem. Our first father compassed it as he had seen the angels, and was by them taught the formula of prayer and the number of circuits. According to others, again, this second house was not erected till after the “ angelic foundation ” was destroyed by time. 3. The history of the third house is also some¬ what confused. When the Bait el Maamur, or, as others say, the tabernacle, was removed to heaven after Adam’s death, a stone-and-mud building was placed in its stead by his son Shays (Seth). For this reason it is respected by the Sabaeans, or Christians of St. John, as well as the Moslems. This ABRAHAM LEARNS TIIE RITES OF PILGRIMAGE. 189 Kaabah, according to some, was destroyed by the deluge, which materially altered its site. Others believe that it was raised to heaven. Others, again, declared that only the pillars supporting the heavenly tabernacle were allowed to remain. Most authorities agree in asserting that the Black Stone was stored up in Abu Kubays, whence that “ first created of mountains ” is called El Amin, “ the Honest.” 4. Abraham and his son were ordered to build the fourth house upon the old foundations: its materials, according to some, were taken from the five hills which supplied the second; others give the names Ohod, Kuds, Warka, Sinai, Hira, and a sixth, Abu Kubays. It was of irregular shape; 32 cubits from the eastern to the northern corner; 32 from north to west; 31 from west to south; 20 from south to east; and only 9 cubits high. There was no roof; two doors, level with the ground, were pierced in the eastern and west¬ ern walls; and inside, on the right hand, near the present entrance, a hole for treasure was dug. Gabriel restored the Black Stone, which Abraham, by his direction, placed in its present corner, as a sign where circumambulation is to begin; and the patriarch then learned all the complicated rites of 190 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAII. pilgrimage. When this house was completed, Abraham, by Allah’s order, ascended Jebel Sabir, and called the world to visit the sanctified spot; and all earth’s sons heard him, even those “ in their father’s loins or in their mother’s womb, from that day unto the day of resurrection.” 5. The Amalikah (descended from Imlik, great grandson of Sam, son of Noah), who first settled near Meccah, founded the fifth house. El Tabari and the Moslem historians generally made the erection of the Amalikah to precede that of the Jurham; these, according to others, repaired the house which Abraham built. 6. The sixth Kaabah was built about the be¬ ginning of the Christian era by the Beni Jurham, the children of Kahtan, fifth descendant from Noah. Ismail married, according to the Moslems, a daughter of this tribe, Daalah bint Muzaz bin Umar, and abandoning Hebrew, he began to speak Arabic (Ta arraba). Hence his descendants are called Ara- bicised Arabs. After Ismail’s death, which happened when he was 180 years old, Sabit, the eldest of his twelve sons, became “ lord of the house.” He was succeeded by his maternal grandfather Muzaz, and afterwards by his children. The Jurham in¬ habited the higher parts of Meccah, especially Jebel LEGEND OP THE EIGHTH HOUSE. 191 Kaakaan, so called from their clashing arms; whereas the Amalikah dwelt in the lower grounds, which obtained the name of Jiyad, from their generous horses. 7. Kusay bin Kilab, governor of Meccah and fifth forefather of the Prophet, built the seventh house, according to Abraham’s plan. He roofed it over with palm leaves, stocked it with idols, and persuaded his tribe to settle near the Haram. 8. Kusay’s house was burnt down by a woman’s censer, which accidentally set fire to the Kiswat, or covering, and the walls were destroyed by a torrent. A merchant-ship belonging to a Greek trader, called “ Bakum ” (^U), being wrecked at Jeddah, afforded material for the roof, and the crew were employed as masons. The Kuraysh tribe, who rebuilt the house, failing in funds of pure money, curtailed its proportions by nearly seven cubits, and called the omitted portion El Hatim. In digging the foundation they came to a green stone, like a camel’s hunch, which, struck with a pickaxe, sent forth blinding lightning, and prevented further excavation. The Kuraysh, amongst other alterations, raised the walls from nine to eighteen cubits, built a staircase in the northern breadth, closed the western dooi; and 192 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAII AND MECCAII. placed the eastern entrance above the ground, to prevent men entering without their leave. When the eighth house was being built Moham¬ med was in his twenty-fifth year. His surname of El Amin, the Honest, probably induced the tribes to make him their umpire for the decision of a dispute about the position of the Black Stone, and who should have the honor of raising it to its place. * He decided for the corner chosen by Abraham, and distributed the “ Kudos ” amongst the clans. The Beni Zahrah and Beni Abd Manaf took the front wall and the door; to the Beni Jama and the Beni Sahm was allotted the back wall; the Beni Makhzum and their Kuraysh relations stood at the southern wall; and at the “Stone” corner were posted the Beni Abd el Dar, the Beni Asad, and the Beni Ada. 9. Abdullah bin Zubayr, nephew of Ayisha, re¬ built the Kaabah in A.n. 64. It had been weak¬ ened by fire, which burnt the covering, besides splitting the Black Stone into three pieces, and by the Manjanik (catapults) of Husayn bin Numayr, general of Yezid, who obstinately besieged Meccah till he heard of his sovereign’s * Others derive the surname from this decision. ABDULLAII BUILDS THE NINTH HOUSE. 193 death. Abdullah, hoping to fulfil a prophecy *, and seeing that the people of Meccah fled in alarm, pulled down the building by means of “ thin-calved Abyssinian slaves; ” and when they came to Abra¬ ham’s foundation he saw that it included El Hijr, which part the Kuraysh had been unable to build. The building was made of cut stone and fine lime brought from Yemen. Abdullah, taking in the Hatim, lengthened the building by seven cubits, and added to its former height nine cubits, thus making a total of twenty-seven. He roofed over the whole, or a part; re-opened the western door, to serve as an exit; and, following the advice of his aunt, who quoted the Prophet’s words, he supported the interior with a single row of three columns, in¬ stead of the double row of six placed there by the Kuraysh. Finally, he paved the Mataf, or cir¬ cuit, ten cubits round with the remaining slabs, and increased the Haram by taking in the nearer houses. During the building, a curtain was stretched round the walls, and pilgrims compassed them outside. When finished, it was perfumed inside and outside, * As will afterwards be mentioned, almost every Meccan knows the prophecy of Mohammed that the birthplace of his fate will be destroyed by an army from Abyssinia. Such things bring their own fulfilment. VOL. III. O / 194 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. and invested with brocade. Then Abdullah and all the citizens went forth to Tanim in procession, returned to perform Umrah, slew 100 victims, and rejoiced with great festivities. The Caliph Abd el Malik bin Marwan besieged Abdullah bin Zubayr, who, after a brave defence, was slain. In A. h. 74 Hajjaj bin Yusuf, general of Abd el Malik’s troops, wrote to the prince, inform¬ ing him that Abdullah had made unauthorised additions to and changes in the Haram: the reply brought an order to rebuild the house. Hajjaj again excluded the Hatim and retired the northern wall six cubits and a span, making it twenty-five cubits long by twenty-four broad; the other three sides were allowed to remain as built by the son of Zubayr. He gave the house a double roof, closed the western door, and raised the eastern four cubits and a span above the Mataf, or circuit, which he paved over. The Haram was enlarged and beau¬ tified by the Abbasides, especially by el Mehdi, El Mutamid, and El Mutazid. Some authors reckon, as an eleventh house, the repairs made by Sultan Murad Khan. On the night of Tuesday 20th Shaaban, a. h. 1030, a violent torrent swept the Haram; it rose one cubit above the threshold of the Kaabah, carried away the lamp-posts and the PROOFS OF THE KAABAH’S SANCTITY. 195 Makam Ibrahim, all the northern wall of the house, half of the eastern, and one-third of the western side. It subsided on Wednesday night. The re¬ pairs were not finished till a.h. 1040. The greater part, however, of the building dates from the time of El Hajjaj ; and Moslems, who never mention his name without a curse, knowingly circumambulate his work. The Ulema indeed have insisted upon its remaining untouched, lest kings in wantonness should change its form: Harun el Rashid desired to rebuild it, but was forbidden by the Imam Malik. The present proof of the Eaabah’s sanctity, as adduced by the learned, are puerile enough, but cu¬ rious. The Ulema have made much of the verse- let: “Verily the first house built for mankind (to worship in) is that in Beccah (Meccah), blessed and a salvation to the three worlds. Therein (fihi) are manifest signs, the standing-place of Abraham, which whoso entereth shall be safe ” (Kor. ch. 3.). The word “ therein ” is interpreted to mean Meccah, and the “ manifest signs ” the Kaabah, which contains such marvels as the foot-prints on Abraham’s platform and the spiritual safeguard of all who enter the Sanctuary.* The other “signs,” * Abu Hanifah made it a temporal sanctuary, and would not allow even a murderer to be dragged from the walls. 196 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. historical, psychical, and physical, are briefly these: The preservation of the Hajar el Aswad and the Makam Ibrahim from many foes, and the miracles put forth (as in the War of the Elephant), to defend the house; the violent and terrible deaths of the sacrilegious; and the fact that, in the Deluge, the large fish did not eat the little fish in the Haram. A wonderful desire and love impel men from distant regions to visit the holy spot, and the first sight of the Kaabah causes awe and fear, horripilation and tears. Furthermore,ravenous beastswill not destroy their prey in the Sanctuary land, and the pigeons and other birds never perch upon the house, except to be cured of sickness, for fear of defiling the roof. The Kaabah, though small, can contain any number of devotees; no one is ever hurt in it *, and invalids recover their health by rubbing themselves against the Kiswah and the Black Stone. Finally, it is observed that every day 100,000 mercies descend upon the house, and especially that if rain come up from the northern corner there is plenty in Irak; if from the south, there is plenty in Yemen; if from the east, plenty in India ; if from the western, there is plenty in Syria; and if from all four angles, general plenty is presignified. * This is an audacious falsehood; the Kaabah is scarcely ever opened without some accident happening. CHAP. XXYJI. THE FIRST VISIT TO THE HOUSE OF ALLAH. The boy Mohammed left me in the street, and having at last persuaded the sleepy and tired In dian porter, by violent kicks and testy answers to twenty cautious queries, to swing open the huge gate of his fortress, he rushed up stairs to embrace his mother. After a minute I heard the Zagh- ritah *, or shrill cry which in these lands welcomes the wanderer home; the sound so gladdening to the returner sent a chill to the stranger’s heart. Presently the youth returned. His manner had * The Egyptian word is generally pronounced “ Zaghrutah,” the plural is Zagharit, corrupted to Ziraleet. The classical Arabic term is “ Tahlil; ” the Persians call the cry “ Kil.” It is peculiar to women, and is formed by raising the voice to its highest pitch, vibrating it at the same time by rolling the tongue, whose modulations express now joy, now grief. To my ear it always resembled the brain-piercing notes of a fife. Dr. Buchanan likens it to a serpent uttering human sounds. The “ unsavoury comparison,” however, may owe its origin to the circumstance that Dr. Buchanan heard it at the orgies of Ja- gannath. 198 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. changed from a boisterous and jaunty demeanour to one of grave and attentive courtesy — I had become his guest. He led me into the gloomy hall, seated me upon a large carpeted Mastabah, or platform, and told his “ bara Miyan the porter, to bring a light. Meanwhile a certain shuffling of slippered feet above informed my hungry ears that the “ Kabirahf,” the lady of the house, was intent on hospitable toil. When the camels were unloaded appeared a dish of fine vermicilli browned and powdered with loaf-sugar. The boy Moham¬ med, I, and Shaykh Nur lost no time in exerting our right hands; and truly, after our hungry journey, we found the “ kunafah” delicious. After the meal we procured cots from a neighbouring coffee-house, and lay down, weary, and anxious to snatch an hour or two of repose, for at dawn we should be expected to perform our “ Tawaf el Kudum,” or “ Circum- ambulation of Arrival,” at the Haram. Scarcely had the first smile of morning beamed upon the rugged head of Abu Kubays J when we * As an Indian is called “Miyan,” sir, an elderly Indian becomes “ bara Miyan,” great or ancient sir. I shall have occasion to speak at a future period of these Indians at Meccah. t “ Sitt el Kabirah,” or simply “ El Kabirali,” the Great Lady, is the title given to the mistress of the house. $ This hill bounds Meccah on the east. According to many THE “PILGRIM’s” PEELINGS AT THE SHRINE. 199 arose, bathed, and proceeded in our pilgrim garb to the Sanctuary. We entered by the Bab el Ziyadah, or principal northern door, descended two long flights of steps, traversed the cloister, and stood in sight of the Bait Allah. There at last it lay, the bourn of my long and weary pilgrimage, realising the plans and hopes of many and many a year. The mirage medium of Fancy invested the huge catafalque and its gloomy pall with peculiar charms. There were no giant fragments of hoar antiquity as in Egypt, no remains of graceful and harmonious beauty as in Greece and Italy, no barbaric gorgeousness as in the buildings of India; yet the view was strange, unique, and how few have looked upon the cele¬ brated shrine! I may truly say that, of all the wor- Moslems, Adam, with his wife and his son Seth, lie buried in a cave here. Others place his tomb at Muna; the majority at Najaf. The early Christians had a tradition that our first parents were interred under Mount Calvary; the Jews place their grave near Hebron. Habil (Abel), it is well known, is supposed to be entombed at Damascus; and Kabil (Cain) rests at last under Jebel Shamsan, the highest wall of the Aden crater, where he and his progeny, tempted by Iblis, erected the first fire-temple. It certainly deserves to be the sepulchre of the first murderer. The worship however, was probably imported from India, where Agni (the fire god) was, as the Vedas prove, the object of man’s earliest adoration. 200 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. shippers who clung weeping to the curtain, or who pressed their beating hearts to the stone, none felt for the moment a deeper emotion than did the Haji from the far north. It was as if the poetical legends of the Arab spoke truth, and that the waving wings of angels, not the sweet breeze of morning, were agitating and swelling the black covering of the shrine. But, to confess humbling truth, theirs was the high feeling of religious enthusiasm, mine was the ecstasy of gratified pride. Few Moslems contemplate for the first time the Kaabah without fear and awe; there is a popular jest against new comers, that they generally inquire the direction of prayer.* The boy Mohammed therefore left me for a few minutes to myself, but presently he warned me that it was time to begin. Advancing, we entered through the Bab Beni Shay- bah, the “ Gate of the Sons of the Old Woman.” f * This being the Kiblah, or fronting place, Moslems can pray all around it; a circumstance which of course cannot take place in any spot of El Islam but the Haram. t The popular legend of this gate is, that when Abraham and his son were ordered to rebuild the Kaabah, they found the spot occupied by an old woman. She consented to remove her house on condition that the key of the new temple should be entrusted to her and to her descendants for ever and ever. The origin of this is, that Beni Shaybah means the “ sons of an old woman ” as well as “ descendants of Shaybah.” And CEREMONIES ON APPROACHING TIIE IIAABAII. 201 There we raised our hands, repeated the Labbayk, the Takhir, and the Tahlil; after which we uttered certain supplications, and drew our hands down our faces. Then we proceeded to the Shafei’s place of prayer — the open pavement between the Makam Ibrahim and the well Zem Zem, — where we per¬ formed the usual two prostrations in honor of the mosque. This was followed by a cup of holy water * and a present to the Sakkas, or carriers, who history tells us that the Beni Shaybah are derived from one Shaybah (bin Usman, bin Talhah, bin Shaybah, bin Talhnh, bin Abd el Dar), who was sent by Muawiyah to make some alterations in the Kaabah. According to others, the Kaabah key was committed to the charge of Usman bin Talhah by the Prophet. * The word Zem Zem has a doubtful origin. Some derive it from the Zam Zam, or murmuring of its waters, others from Zam! Zam ! (fill ! fill! i. e. the bottle), Hagar’s exclamation when she saw the stream. Sale translates it stay ! stay! and says, that Hagar called out in the Egyptian language, to prevent her son wandering. The Hukama, or Rationalists of El Tslnm , who invariably connect their faith with the worship of Venus especially, and the heavenly bodies generally, derive Zem Zem from the Persian, and make it signify the “great luminary.” Hence they say the Zem Zem, as well as the Kaabah, denoting the Chutliite or Ammonian worship of sun and fire, deserve man’s reverence. So the Persian poet Khakani addresses these two buildings : — “ 0 Kaabah, thou traveller of the heavens! ” “ 0 Venus, thou fire of the world! ” 202 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. for the consideration distributed a large earthen vaseful in my name to poor pilgrims. We then Thus Wahid Mohammed, founder of the Waliidiyah sect, identifies the Kiblah and the sun; wherefore he says the door fronts the east. By the names Yemen (“right-hand ”), Sham (“left hand”), Kubul, or the east wind (“fronting”), and Dubur, or the west wind (“from the back”), it is evident that worshippers fronted the rising sun. According to the Hukama, the Black Stone represents Venus, “which in the border of the heavens is a star of the planets,” and sym¬ bolical of the generative power of nature, “ by whose pas¬ sive energy the universe was warmed into life and motion.” The Hindus accuse the Moslems of adoring the Bait Ullah. “ O Moslem, if thou worship the Kaabah, Why reproach the worshippers of idols ? ” Says Rai Manshar. And Musaylimah, who in his attempt to found a fresh faith, gained but the historic epithet of “ liar, ” allowed his followers to turn their faces in any direction, men¬ tally ejaculating, “ I address myself to thee, who hast neither side nor figure; ” a doctrine which might be sensible in the abstract, but certainly not material enough and pride-flattering to win him many converts in Arabia. The produce of Zem Zem is held in great esteem. It is used for drinking and ablution, but for no baser purposes; and the Meccans advise pilgrims always to break their fast with it. It is apt to cause diarrhoea and boils, and I never saw a stranger drink it without a wry face. Sale is decidedly correct in his assertion: the flavour is a salt-bitter, much resembling an infusion of a tea-spoonful of Epsom salts in a large tumbler of tepid water. Moreover, it is exceedingly “ heavy ” to the taste. For this reason Turks and other strangers prefer rain-water collected in cisterns and sold for five farthings a gugglet. It was a favourite amusement with me to watch them whilst they THE PILGRIM APPROACHES “ TIIE ” STONE. 203 advanced towards the eastern angle of the Kaabah, in which is inserted the Black Stone, and standing about ten yards from it, repeated with upraised hands, “ There is no god but Allah alone, whose covenant is truth, and whose servant is victorious. There is no god but Allah, without sharer, his is the kingdom ; to him be praise, and he over all things is potent.” After which we approached as close as we could to the stone. A crowd of pilgrims preventing our touching it that time, we raised our hands to our ears in the first position of prayer, and then lowering them, exclaimed, “ 0 Allah (I do this), in thy belief, and in verification of thy book, and in drank the holy water, and to taunt their scant and irreverent potations. The strictures of the Calcutta Review (No. 41. art. 1.) based upon the taste of Zem Zem, are unfounded. Jn these days a critic cannot be excused for such hasty judgments; at Calcutta or Bombay he would easily find a jar of Zem Zem water, which he might taste for himself. The water is transmitted to distant regions in glazed earthen jars covered with basket work, and sealed by the Zem Zemis. Religious men break their lenten fast with it, apply it to their eyes to brighten vision, and imbibe a few drops at the hour of death, when Satan stands by holding a bowl of purest water, the price of the departing soul. Of course modern supersti¬ tion is not idle about the waters of Zem Zem. The copious supply of the well is considered at Meccali miraculous ; in distant countries it facilitates the pronunciation of Arabic to the student; and everywhere the nauseous draught is highly meritorious in a religious point of view. 204 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. pursuance of thy Prophet’s example — may Allah bless him and preserve ! 0 Allah, I extend my hand to thee, and great is my desire to thee! 0 accept thou my supplication, and diminish my obstacles, and pity my humiliation, and graciously grant me thy pardon.” After which, as we were still un¬ able to reach the stone, we raised our hands to our ears, the palms facing the stone, as if touching it, recited the Takbir, the Tahlil, and the Hamdilah, blessed the Prophet, and kissed the finger-tips of the right hand.* Then commenced the ceremony of “ Tawaf,” or circumainbulation f, our route being the “ Mataf,” * Lucian mentions adoration of the sun by kissing the hand. The Prophet used to weep when he touched the Black Stone, and said that it was the place for the pouring forth of tears. According to most authors, the second caliph also used to kiss it. For this reason most Moslems, except the Shafei school, must touch the stone with both hands and apply their lips to it, or touch it with the fingers, which should be kissed, or rub the palms upon it, and afterwards draw them down the face. Under circumstances of difficulty it is sufficient to stand before the stone, but the Prophet’s Sunnat, or practice, was to touch it. f The Moslem in circumambulation presents his left shoulder; the Hindu’s Pradakshina consists in w’alking round with the right side towards the fane or idol; Possibly the former may be a modification of the latter, which would appear to be the original form of the rite. Its conjectural significance is an THE “tawaf,” or circumambulation. 205 or low oval of polished granite immediately surrounding the Kaabah. I repeated, after my Mutawwif, or cicerone *, “ In the name of Allah, and Allah is omnipotent! I purpose to circuit seven circuits unto almighty Allah, glorified and imitation of the procession of the heavenly bodies, the motions of the spheres, and the dances of the angels. These are also imitated in the circular whirlings of the Dervishes. And El Shahristani informs us that the Arab philosophers believed this sevenfold circumambulation to be symbolical of the motion of the planets round the sun. It was adopted by the Greeks and Romans, whose Ambarvalia and Amburbalia appear to be eastern superstitions, introduced by Numa, or the priestly line of princes, into their pantheism. And our processions round the parish preserve the form of the ancient rite, whose life is long since fled. Moslem moralists have not failed to draw spiritual food from this mass of materialism. “ To circuit the Bait TJllah,” said the Pir Raukhan (As. Soc. vol. xi. and Dabistan, vol. iii. “ Miyan Bayezid ”), “ and to be free from wickedness, and crime, and quarrels, i3 the duty enjoined by religion. But to circuit the house of the friend of Allah (i. e. the heart), to combat bodily propensities, and to worship the aDgels, is the business of the (mystic) path.” Thus Saadi, in his sermons,—which remind the Englishman of “ poor Yorick,” — “ He who travels to the Eaabah on foot makes a circuit of the Kaabah, but he who per¬ forms the pilgrimage of the Kaabah in his heart is encircled by the Kaabah.” And the greatest Moslem divines sanction this visible representation of an invisible and heavenly shrine, by declaring that, without a material medium, it is impossible for man to worship the Eternal Spirit. * The Mutawwif, or Dalil, is the guide at Meccali. 206 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. exalted ! ” This is technically called the Niyat of Tawaf. Then we began the prayer, “ 0 Allah (I do this), in thy belief, and in verification of thy book, and in faithfulness to thy covenant, and in persever¬ ance of the example of the Prophet Mohammed— may Allah bless him and preserve! ” till we reached the place El Multazem, between the corner of the Black Stone and the Kaabah door. Here we ej aculated “ 0 Allah, thou hast rights, so pardon my transgressing them.” Opposite the door we re¬ peated, “ 0 Allah, verily the house is thy house and the Sanctuary thy Sanctuary, and the safeguard thy safeguard, and this is the place of him who flies to thee from (hell) fire! ” At the little building called Makam Ibrahim we said, “ 0 Allah, verily this is the place of Abraham, who took refuge with and fled to thee from the fire! — 0 deny my flesh and blood, my skin and bones to the (eternal) flames! ” As we paced slowly round the north or Irak corner of the Kaabah we exclaimed, “ 0 Allah, verily I take refuge with thee from polytheism, and disobedience, and hypocrisy, and evil conversation, and evil thoughts concerning family, and property, and progeny ! ” When front¬ ing the Mizab, or spout, we repeated the words, “ 0 Allah, verily I beg of thee faith which shall not THE PRAYER. 207 decline and a certainty which shall not perish, and the good aid of thy Prophet Mohammed—may Allah bless him and preserve! 0 Allah, shadow me in thy shadow on that day when there is no shade but thy shadow, and cause me to drink from the cup of thy Prophet Mohammed—may Allah," &c.! — “ that pleasant draught after which is no thirst to all eternity, 0 Lord of honor and glory! ” Turning the west corner, or the Rukn el Shami, we ex¬ claimed, “ 0 Allah, make it an acceptable pilgrimage, and a forgiveness of sins, and a laudable endeavour, and a pleasant action (in thy sight), and a store which perisheth not, 0 thou glorious! 0 thou pardoner! ” This was repeated thrice, till we arrived at the Yemani, or southern corner, where, the crowd being less importunate, we touched the wall with the right hand, after the example of the Prophet, and kissed the finger-tips. Between the south angle and that of the Black Stone, where our circuit would be completed, we said “ 0 Allah, verily I take refuge with thee from infidelity, and I take refuge with thee from want, and from the tortures of the tomb, and from the troubles of life and death. And I fly to thee from ignominy in this world and the next, and implore thy pardon for the present and for the future. 0 Lord, grant 208 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAII AND MECCAH. to me in this life prosperity, and in the next life prosperity, and save me from the punishment of fire.” Thus finished a Shaut, or single course round the house. Of these we performed the three first at the pace called Harwalah, very similar to the French “pas gymnastique," or Tarammul, that is to say, “ moving the shoulders as if walking in sand.” * The four latter are performed in Taammul, slowly and leisurely; the reverse of the Sai, or running. The Moslem origin of this custom is too well known to require mention. After each Taufah, or circuit, we being unable to kiss or even to touch the Black Stone, fronted towards it, raised our hands to our ears, exclaimed “In the name of Allah, and Allah is omnipotent! ” kissed our fingers, and resumed the ceremony of circumambulation, as before, with “ Allah, in thy belief,” &c.! At the conclusion of the Tawaf it vtas deemed advisable to attempt to kiss the stone. For a time I stood looking in despair at the swarming crowd of Bedouin and other pilgrims that besieged it. But the boy Mohammed was equal to the occasion. * These seven Ashwat, or courses, are called collectively one Usbu ( ). THE PILGKIM ATTEMPTS TO KISS THE STONE. 209 During our circuit he had displayed a fiery zeal against heresy and schism, by foully abusing every Persian in his path * ; and the inopportune introduc¬ tion of hard words into his prayers made the latter a strange patchwork; as “ Ave Maria purissima — arrah, don’t ye be letting the pig at the pot — sanctissima,” and so forth. He might, for instance, be repeating “ and I take refuge with thee from ignominy in this world,” when “ 0 thou rejected * In A. d. 1674 some wretch smeared the Black Stone with impurity, and every one who kissed it retired with a sullied beard. The Persians, says Burckhardt, were suspected of this sacrilege, and now their ill fame has spread far; at Alexandria they were described to me as a people who defile the Kaabali. It is scarcely necessary to say, that a Shiah as well as a Sunni would look upon such an action with lively horror. The people of Meccab, however, like the Madani, have turned the circumstance to their own advantage, and make an occasional “avanie.” Thus, nine or ten years ago, on the testimony of a boy who swore that he saw the inside of the Kaabah defiled by a Persian, they rose up, cruelly beat the schismatics, and carried them off to their peculiar quarter the Shamiyah, for¬ bidding their ingress to the Kaabah. Indeed, till Mohammed Ali’s time, the Persians rarely ventured upon a pilgrimage, and now that man is happy who gets over it without a beating. The defilement of the Black Stone was probably the work of some Jew or Greek, who risked his life to gratify a furious bigotry. The Turcomaniacs of Europe are now beginning to know how their eastern co-religionists, and with ample reason, feel towards the Moslems. VOL. III. P 210 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. one, son of the rejected! ” would be the interpolation addressed to some long-bearded Khorasani,—“and in that to come —0 hog and brother of a hoggess! ” And so he continued till I wondered that no one dared to turn and rend him. After vainly address¬ ing the pilgrims, of whom nothing could be seen but a mosaic of occiputs and shoulder-blades, the boy Mohammed collected about half a dozen stalwart Meccans, with whose assistance, by sheer strength, we wedged our way into the thin and light-legged crowd. The Bedouins turned round upon us like wild cats, but they had no daggers. The season being autumn, they had not swelled themselves with milk for six months *, and they had become such living mummies, that I could have managed single-handed half a dozen of them. After thus reaching the stone, despite popular indignation, testified by impatient shouts, we mono¬ polised the use of it for at least ten minutes. Whilst kissing it and rubbing hands and forehead upon it I narrowly observed it, and came away persuaded that it is a big aerolite.* * It is curious that almost all travellers agree upon one point, namely, that the stone is volcanic. Ali Bey calls it “ mineralogically " a “ block of volcanic basalt, whose circum¬ ference is sprinkled with little crystals, pointed and straw-like, THE PILGRIM PRAYS FOR ALL HE WANTS. 211 Having kissed the stone, we fought our way through the crowd to the place called El Multa- zem. Here we pressed our stomachs, chests, and right cheeks to the Kaabah, raising our arms high above our heads, and exclaiming, “0 Allah! 0 Lord of the ancient house, freejny neck from hell- fire, and preserve me from every ill deed, and make me contented with that daily bread which thou hast given to me, and bless me in all thou hast granted! ” Then came the Istighfar, or begging of pardon : “ I beg pardon of Allah the most high, who, there is no other Allah but he, the living, the eternal, and to him I repent myself! ” After which we blessed the Prophet, and then asked for ourselves all that our souls desired most.* with rhombs of tile-red feldspath upon a dark background, like velvet or charcoal, except one of its protuberances, which is reddish.” Burckhardt thought it was “a lava containing several small extraneous particles of a whitish and of a yellowish substance.” * Prayer is granted at fourteen places besides El Multazem, viz.:— 1. At the place of circumambulation. 2. Under the Mizab, or spout of the Kaabah. 3. Inside the Kaabah. 4. At the well Zem Zem. 5. Behind Abraham’s place of prayer. 6. and 7. On Mounts Safa and Marwah. 8. During the ceremony called “ El Sai.” 212 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. After embracing the Multazem we repaired to the Shafei’s place of prayer near the Makam Ibrahim, and there recited two prostrations, tech¬ nically called “ Sunnat el Tawaf,” or the (Pro¬ phet’s) practice of circumambulation. The chapter repeated in the first was “Say thou, 0 ye infidels:” in the second, “ Say thou he is the one God.” * We then went to the door of the building in which is Zem Zem: there I was condemned to another nauseous draught, and was deluged with two or three skinfuls of water dashed over my head en douche. This ablution causes sins to fall from the spirit like dust.f During the potation we prayed, “ 0 Allah, verily I beg of thee plentiful daily bread, and profitable learning, and the healing of every disease! ” Then we returned towards the Black Stone, stood far away opposite, because unable to touch it, ejaculated the Tekbir, the Tahlil, and the 9. Upon Mount Arafat. 10. At Muzdalifali. 11. In Muna. 12. During the devil-stoning. 13. On first seeing the Kaabah. 14. At the Hatim or Hijr. * The former is the 109th, the latter the 112th chapter of the Koran (I have translated it in a previous volume). f These superstitions, I must remark in fairness, belong only to the vulgar. the pilgrim puts up with a bad lodging. 213 Hamdilah, and thoroughly worn out with scorched feet and a burning head — both extremities, it must be remembered, were bare, and various delays had detained us till ten a.m., —I left the mosque.* The boy Mohammed had miscalculated the amount of lodging in his mother’s house. She, being a widow and a lone woman, had made over for the season all the apartments to her brother, a lean old Meccan, of true ancient type, vulture-faced, kite- clawed, with a laugh like a hyaena, and a mere shell of body. He regarded me with no favouring eye when I insisted as a guest upon having some place of retirement; but he promised that, after our return from Arafat, a little store-room should be cleared out for me. With this I was obliged to be con¬ tent and pass that day in the common male-draw¬ ing room of the house, a vestibule on the ground- floor, called in Egypt a “ Takhta-bush.” f Enter¬ ing, to the left (a) was a large Mastabah, or * Strictly speaking we ought, after this, to have performed the ceremony called El Sai, or the running seven times between Mounts Safa and Marwah. Fatigue put this fresh trial com¬ pletely out of the question. f I have been diffuse in my description of this vestibule, as it is the general way of laying out a ground-floor at Meccah. During the pilgrimage time the lower hall is usually converted into a shop for the display of goods, especially when situated in a populous quarter. 214 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AJSD MECCAH. platform, and at the bottom (b) a second, of smaller dimensions and foully dirty. Behind this was a dark and unclean store-room (c) containing the Hajis’ bag¬ gage. Opposite the Mastabah was a firepan for pipes and coffee (d), superintended by a family of lean Indians ; and by the side (e) a doorless passage led to a bathing- room (f) and stair-case (g). I had scarcely composed myself upon the com¬ fortably carpeted Mastabah, when the remainder of it was suddenly invaded by the Turkish pilgrims inhabiting the house, and a host of their visitors. They were large, hairy men with gruff voices and square figures ; they did not take the least notice of me, although feeling the intrusion, I stretched out my legs with a provoking non-chalance.* At last one of them addressed me in Turkish, to which I replied by shaking my head. His question being interpreted to me in Arabic, I drawled out lf My native place is the land of Khorasan.” This pro¬ voked a stern and stony stare from the Turks, and an “ ugh,” which said plainly enough, “ Then * This is equivalent to throwing oneself upon the sofa in Europe. Only in the East it asserts a decided claim to supe¬ riority ; the West would scarcely view it in that light. THE PILGRIM RETURNS TO THE KAABAH. 215 you are a pestilent heretic.” I surveyed them with a self-satisfied simper, stretched my legs a trifle farther, and conversed with my water-pipe. Presently, when they all departed for a time, the boy Mohammed raised, by request, my green box of medicines, and deposited it upon the Mastabah; thus defining, as it were, a line of demarcation, and asserting my privilege to it before the Turks. Most of these men were of one party, headed by a colonel in the army, whom they called a bey. My acquaintance with them began roughly enough, but afterwards, with some exceptions, who were gruff as an English butcher when accosted by a lean foreigner, they proved to be kind-hearted and not unsociable men. It often happens to the traveller, as the charming Mrs. Malapi’op observes, to find it all the better by beginning with a little aversion. In the evening, accompanied by the boy Mohammed, and followed by Shaykh Mur, who carried a lantern and a praying-rug, I again re¬ paired to the “ Navel of the World ; ” * this time * Ibn Haukal begins his cosmography with Meccah “ because the temple of the Lord is situated there, and the holy Kaabah is the navel of the earth, and Meccah is styled in sacred writ the parent city, or the mother of towns.” Unfortunately, Ibn Haukal, like most other Mohammedan travellers and geogra¬ phers, says no more about Meccah. 216 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. aesthetically, to enjoy the delights of the hour after the “ gaudy, babbling and remorseful day.” The moon, now approaching the full, tipped the brow of Abu Kubays, and lit up the spectacle with a more solemn light. In the midst stood the huge bier-like erection, — “ Black as the wings Which some spirit of ill o’er a sepulchre flings,”— except where the moonbeams streaked it like jets of silver falling upon the darkest marble. It formed the point of rest for the eye ; the little pagoda-like buildings and domes around it, with all their gilding and fretwork, vanished. One object, unique in appearance, stood in view — the temple of the one Allah, the God of Abraham, of Ish- mael, and of his posterity. Sublime it was, and expressing by all the eloquence of fancy the grandeur of the One Idea which vitalised El Islam, and the sternness and stedfastness of its votaries. The oval pavement around the Kaabah was crowded with men, women, and children, mostly divided into parties, which followed a Mutawwif; some walking staidly, and others running, whilst many stood in groups to prayer. What a scene of contrast! Here stalked the Bedouin woman, in her long black robe like a nun’s serge, and poppy- coloured face-veil, pierced to show two fiercely MECCAH RESEMBLES BATH OR FLORENCE. 217 flashing orbs. There an Indian woman, with her semi-Tartar features, nakedly hideous, and her thin parenthetical legs, encased in wrinkled tights, hurried round the fane. Every now and then a corpse, borne upon its wooden shell, circuited the shrine by means of four bearers, whom other Moslems, as is the custom, occasionally relieved. A few fair-skinned Turks lounged about, looking cold and repulsive, as their wont is. In one place a fast Calcutta “ Khitmugar ” stood, with turban awry and arms akimbo, contemplating the view jauntily, as those gentlemen’s gentlemen will do. In another, some poor wretch, with arms thrown on high, so that every part of his person might touch the Kaabah, was clinging to the curtain and sobbing as though his heart would break. From this spectacle my eyes turned towards Abu Kubays. The city extends in that direction half way up the grim hill: the site might be compared, at an humble distance, to Bath. Some writers liken it to Florence; but conceive a Florence without beauty ! To the south lay Jebel Jiyad the greater *, * To distinguish it from the Jiyad (above the cemetery El Maala) over which Khalid entered Meccah. Some topographers call the Jiyad upon which the fort is built “ the lesser,” and apply “ greater ” to Jiyad Amir, the hill north of Meccah. 218 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. also partly built over and crowned with a fort, which at a distance looks less useful than romantic*: a flood of pale light was sparkling upon its stony surface. Below, the minarets became pillars of silver, and the cloisters, dimly streaked by oil lamps, bounded the view of the temple with horizontal lines of shade. Before nightfall the boy Mohammed rose to feed the pigeons f, for whom he had brought a pocket- * The Meccans, however, do not fail to boast of its strength; and it has stood some sieges. f The Hindu Pandits assert that Shiwa and his spouse, under the forms and names of Kapot-Eshwara (pigeon god) and Kapotesi, dwelt at Meccah. The dove was the device of the old Assyrian Empire, because it is supposed Semiramiswas preserved by that bird. The Meccan pigeons — large blue rocks—are held sacred probably in consequence of the wild traditions of the Arabs about Noah’s dove. Some authors de¬ clare that, in Mohammed’s time, among the idols of the Meccan Pantheon, was a pigeon carved in wood, and above it another, which Ali, mounting upon the Prophet’s shoulder, pulled down. This might have been a Hindu, a Jewish, or a Christian symbol. The Moslems connect the pigeon on two occasions with their faith; first, when that bird appeared to whisper in Mohammed’s ear, and, secondly, during the flight to El Medinah. Moreover, in many countries they are called “Allah’s pro- claimers,” because their movement when cooing resembles prostration. Almost everywhere the pigeon has entered into the history of religion; which probably induced Mr. Lascelles to incur the derision of our grandfathers by pronouncing it a “ holy bird.” A FANATIC NEGRO. 219 ful of barley. He went to the place where these birds flock; the line of pavement leading from the isolated arch to the eastern cloisters. During the day women and children are to be seen sitting here, with small piles of grain upon little plaited trays of basket-work. For each they demand a copper piece; and religious pilgrims consider it their duty to provide the revered blue rocks with a plentiful meal. Late in the evening I saw a negro in the state called Malbus — religious phrenzy. To all ap¬ pearance a Takruri, he was a fine and a powerful man, as the numbers required to hold him testified. He threw his arms widely about him, uttering shrill cries, which sounded like 16! 16! 16! 16! and when held, he swayed his body, and waved his head from side to side, like a chained and furious elephant, straining out the deepest groans. The Africans appear unusually subject to this nervous state, which, seen by the ignorant, and the imagi¬ nation, would at once suggest a “ demoniacal At Meccah they are called the doves of the Kaabah, and never appear at table. They are remarkable for propriety when sitting upon the holy building. This may be a minor miracle: I would rather believe that there is some contrivance on the roof. 220 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. possession.” * Either their organisation is more impressionable, or more probably the hardships, privations, and fatigues endured whilst wearily traversing inhospitable wilds and perilous seas have exalted their imaginations to a pitch bor¬ dering upon frenzy. Often they are seen prostrate on the pavement, or clinging to the curtain, or rubbing their foreheads upon the stones, weeping bitterly, and pouring forth the wildest ejacu¬ lations. That night I stayed in the Hararn till 2 A. m., wishing to see if it would be empty. But the morrow was to witness the egress to Arafat; many, therefore, passed the hours of darkness in the Haram. Numerous parties of pilgrims sat upon their rugs, with lanterns in front of them, con¬ versing, praying, and contemplating the Kaabah. The cloisters were full of merchants, who resorted there to “ talk shop ” and vend such holy goods as combs, tooth-sticks, and rosaries. Before 10 p. m. I found no opportunity of praying the usual two prostrations over the grave of Ishmael. After * In the Mandal, or palm-divination, a black slave is con- sidered the best subject. European travellers have frequently remarked their nervous sensibility. In Abyssinia the maladies called “bouda” and ‘‘tigritiya” appear to depend upon some obscure connection between a weak impressionable brain and the strong will of a feared and hated race — the blacksmiths. THE PILGRIM MEASURES THE KAABAH. 221 waiting long and patiently, at last I was stepping into the vacant place, when another pilgrim rushed forward ; the boy Mohammed, assisted by me, instantly seized him, and, despite his cries and struggles, taught him to wait. Till midnight we sat chatting with the different ciceroni, who came up to offer their services. I could not help re¬ marking their shabby and dirty clothes, and was informed that, during pilgrimage, when splendour is liable to be spoiled, they wear out old dresses, and appear endimanches for the Muharram fete, when most travellers have left the city. Presently my two companions, exhausted with fatigue, fell asleep; I went up to the Kaabah, with the in¬ tention of “ obtaining ” a bit of the torn, old Kiswat or curtain, but too many eyes were looking on.* The opportunity, however, was favourable * At this season of the year the Kiswat is much tattered at the base, partly by pilgrims’ fingers, and partly by the strain of the cord which confines it when the wind is blowing. It is considered a mere peccadillo to purloiu a bit of the venerable stuff; but as the officers of the temple make money by selling it, they certainly would visit detection with an unmerciful application of the quarter-staff. The piece in my possession was given to me by the boy Mohammed before I left Meccah. Waistcoats made of the Kiswat still make the combatant invulnerable in battle, and are considered presents fit for princes. The Moslems generally try to secure a strip of this cloth as a mark for the Koran, &c. &c. 222 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. for a survey, and with a piece of tape, and the simple processes of stepping and spanning, I managed to measure all the objects concerning which I was curious. At last sleep began to weigh heavily upon my eyelids. I awoke my companions, and in the dizziness of slumber they walked with me through the tall, narrow street from the Bab el Ziyadah to our home in the Shamiyah. The brilliant moonshine prevented our complaining, as other travellers have had reason to do, of the darkness and the difficulty of Meccah’s streets. The town, too, appeared safe; there were no watch¬ men, and yet people slept everywhere upon cots placed opposite their open doors. Arrived at the house, we made some brief preparations for snatching a few hours’ sleep upon the Mastabah — a place so stifling, that nothing but utter ex¬ haustion could induce lethargy there. 223 CHAP. XXVIII. OF HAJJj OK PILGKIMAGE. The word Hajj is explained by Moslem divines to mean “ Kasd,” or aspiration, and to express man’s sentiment that he is but a wayfarer on earth wending towards another and a nobler world. This explains the origin and the belief that the greater the hardships the higher will be the reward of the pious wanderer. He is urged by the voice of his soul: “ 0 thou who toilest so hard for worldly pleasures and perishable profit, wilt thou endure nothing to win a more lasting reward ? ” Hence it.is that pilgrimage is common to all old faiths. The Hindus still wander to Egypt, to Tibet, and to the inhospitable Caucasus; the classic philosophers visited Egypt; the Jews annually flocked to Jerusalem; and the Tartars and Mongols — Buddhists —journey to distant Lamaserais. The spirit of pilgrimage was predominant in me¬ diaeval Europe, and the processions of the Roman 224 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. Catholic Church are, according to her votaries *, modern memorials of the effete rite. Every Moslem is bound, under certain condi¬ tions!, t° pay at least one visit to the Holy City. This constitutes the Hajjat el Farz (the one obli- * M. Hue’s “Travels in Tartary.” f The two extremes, between which lie many gradations, are these. Abu Hanifah directs every Moslem and Moslemah to perform the pilgrimage if they have health and money for the road and the support of their families ; moreover, he allows a deputy-pilgrim, whose expenses must be paid by the prin¬ cipal. Ibn Malik, on the contrary, enjoins every follower to visit Meccah, if able to walk, and to earn his bread on the way. As a general rule, in El Islam there are four Shurut el Wujub, or necessary conditions, viz.: — 1. Islam, the being a Moslem. 2. B ulugh, adolescence. 3. Hurriyat, the being a free man. 4. Akl, or mental sanity. Other authorities increase the conditions to eight, viz.:_ 5. Wujud el Zad, sufficiency of provision. 6. El Rahlah, having a beast of burthen, if living two days’ journey from Meccah. * 7. Takhliyat el Tarik, the road being open ; and 8. Imkan el Masir, the being able to walk two stages, if the pilgrim hath no beast. Others, again, include all conditions under two heads:_ 1. Sihhat, health. 2. Istitaat, ability. These subjects have exercised jiot a little the casuistic talents of the Arab doctors: a folio volume might be filled with differ¬ ences of opinion on the subject “ Is a blind man sound ? ” THE THREE KINDS OF PILGRIMAGE. 225 gatory pilgrimage), or Hajjat el Islam, of the Mohammedan faith. Repetitions become mere Sunnats, or practices of the Prophet, and are there¬ fore supererogatory. Some European writers have of late years laboured to represent the Meccan pilgrimage as a fair, a pretext to collect merchants and to afford Arabia the benefits of purchase and barter. It would be vain to speculate whether the secular or the spiritual element originally prevailed; most probably each had its portion. But those who peruse this volume will see that, despite the comparatively lukewarm piety of the age, the Meccan pilgrimage is religious essentially, acci¬ dentally an affair of commerce. Moslem pilgrimage is of three kinds. 1. El Mukarinah (the uniting) is when the votary performs the Hajj and the Umrah * together, as was done by the Prophet in his last visit to Meccah. 2. El Ifrad (singulation) is when either the Hajj or the Umrah is performed singularly, the former preceding the latter. The pilgrim may be either El Mufrid b’il Hajj (one who is performing only the Hajj), or vice versa, El Mufrid b’il Umrah. * The technical meaning of these words will be explained below. VOL. III. 0 226 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. According to Abu Hanifah, this form is more efficacious than the following. 3. El Tamattu (“ possession ”) is when the pilgrim assumes the Ihram, and preserves it throughout the months of Shawwal, Z’ul Kaadah, and nine days (ten nights) in Z’ul Hijjah *, per¬ forming Hajj and Umrah the while. There is another threefold division of pil¬ grimage : — 1. Umrah (the little pilgrimage), performed at any time except the pilgrimage season. It differs in some of its forms from Hajj, as will afterwards appear. 2. Hajj (or simple pilgrimage), performed at the proper season. 3. Hajj el Akbar (the great pilgrimage) is when the “ day of Arafat ” happens to fall upon a Friday. This is a most auspicious occasion. M. Caussin de Perceval and other writers, departing from the practice of (modern ? ) Islam, make “ Hajj el Akbar” to mean the simple pilgrimage, in opposition to the Umrah, which they call “ Hajj el Asghar.” The following compendium of the Shafei pilgrirn- * At any other time of the year Ihram is considered Makruh, or objectionable, without being absolutely sinful. THE SHAFEI PILGRIM RITES. 227 rites is translated from a little treatise by Mo¬ hammed of Shirbin, surnamed El Khatib, a learned doctor, whose work is generally read in Egypt and the countries adjoining. Chap. I. — Op Pilgrimage.* “ Know,” says the theologist, with scant preamble, “that the acts of El Hajj, or pilgrimage, are of three kinds: — * In other books the following directions are given to the intended pilgrim:—Before leaving home he must pray two prostrations, concluding the orisons with a long supplication and blessings upon relatives, friends, and neighbours, and he must distribute not less than seven silver pieces to the poor. The day should be either a Thursday or a Saturday; some, however, say “ Allah hath honored the Monday and the Thursday.” If possible, the first of the month should be chosen, and the hour early dawn. Moreover, the pilgrim should not start without a Rafik, or companion, who should be a pious as well as a travelled man. The other Mukaddamat el Safar, or preambles to journeying, are the following. Istikharah, consulting the rosary and friends. Khulus el Niyat, vowing pilgrimage to the Lord (not for lucre or revenge). Settling worldly affairs, paying debts, drawing up a will, and making arrangements for the support of one’s family. Hiring animals from a pious person. The best monture is a camel, because preferred by the Prophet; an ass is not commendable; a man should not walk if he can afford to ride; and the palanquin or litter is, according to some doctors, limited to invalids. Reciting long prayers when H2 228 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAII AND MECCAH. “ 1. El Arkan or Faraiz; those made obligatory by Koranic precepts, and therefore essentially necessary, and not admitting expiatory or vicarious atonement, either in Hajj or Umrah. “ 2. El Wajibat (requisites); the omission of which may, a.cording to some schools *, be compensated for the Fidyat, or atoning sacrifice: and — “ 3. El Sunan (pi. of Sunnat), the practice of the' Pro¬ phet, which may be departed from without positive sin. “ Now, the Arkan, the ‘ pillars ’ upon which the rite stands, are six in number f, viz.: — “ 1. El Ihram (‘rendering unlawful’), or the wearing pilgrim garb and avoiding certain actions. “ 2. El Wukuf, the ‘ standing ’ upon Mount Arafat. mounting, halting, dismounting, and at nightfal. On hills the Takbir should be used: the Tasbih is properest for vales and plains ; and Meccah should be blessed when first sighted. Avoiding abuse, curses, or quarrels. Sleeping like the Prophet, namely, in early night (when prayer hour is distant), with “ Iftirash,” or lying at length with the right cheek on the palm of the dexter hand ; and near dawn with “ Ittaka,” i.e. propping the head upon the hand, with the arm resting upon the elbow. And, lastly, travelling with collyrium-pot, looking-glass and comb, needle and thread for sewing, scissors and tooth-stick, staff and razor. * In the Shafei school there is little difference between El Farz and El Wajib. In the Hanafi the former is a superior obligation to the latter. f The Hanafi, Maliki, and even some Shafei doctors, reduce the number from six to four, viz.: — 1. Ihram, with “ Niyat.” 3. Wukuf. 2. Tawaf. 4. Sai. PILGRIM RITES. 229 “ 3. The Tawaf el Ifazah, or circumambulation of im¬ petuosity.* “ 4. The Sai, or course between Mounts Safa and Mar- wah. “ 5. El Halk ; tonsure (of the whole or part) of the head for men ; or taksir, cutting the hair (for men and \vomen).f “ 6. El Tartib, or the due order of the ceremonies, as above enumerated. “ But El Sai (4), may either precede or follow El Wukuf (2), provided that the Tawaf el Kudum, or the circumam¬ bulation of arrival, has previously been performed. And Halk (5) may be done before as well as after the Tawaf el Ifazah (3). “Now, the Wajibat (requisites of pilgrimage, also called ‘ Nusuk ’) are five in number, viz.: — “1. El Ihram, or assuming pilgrim garb, from the Mikat, or fixed limits “2. The Mabit, or nighting at Muzdalifah: for this a short portion, generally in the latter watch, preceding the Yaum el Nahr, or victim day, suffices. “3. The spending at Muna the three nights of the * The Ifazah is the impetuous descent from Mount Arafat. Its Tawaf, generally called Tawaf el Ziyarat, les3 commonly Tawaf el Sadr or Tawaf elNuzul, is that performed immediately after throwing the stones and resuming the laical dress on the victim day at Mount Muna. t Shaving is better for man, cutting for women. A razor must be passed over the bald head ; but it is sufficient to burn, pluck, shave, or clip three hairs when the chevelure is long. $ The known Mikat are: north, Zu’l Halifah; north-east, Karn el Manazil; north-west, El Juhfah ( ) ; south, Yalaml in ; east, Zat Irk. 230 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. ‘ Ayyan el Tashrik,’ or days of drying flesh: of these, the first is the most important. “4. The Ramy el Jimar, or casting stones at the devil: and — “ 5. The avoiding all things forbidden to the pilgrim when in a state of Ihram. “ Some writers reduce these requisites by omitting the second and third. The Tawaf el Widaa, or the circumam- bulation of farewell, is a ‘ Wajib Mustakill,’ or particular requisite, which may, however, be omitted without preju¬ dice to pilgrimage. “ Finally, the Sunnat of pilgrimage are many in number. Of these I enumerate but a few. ‘ Hajj ’ should precede * Umrah.’ The ‘ Talbiyat ’ should be frequently ejacu¬ lated. The ‘ Tawaf el Kudum ’ must be performed on arrival at Meccah, before proceeding to Mount Arafat.* The two-prostration prayer should follow Tawaf. A whole night should be passed at Muzdalifah and Muna.f The circumambulation of farewell must not be forgotten f, and the pilgrim should avoid all sewn clothes, even slippers.” * This Tawaf is described in Chap. V. f Generallyspeaking,as will afterwards be shown, thepilgrims pass straight through Muzdalifah, and spend the night at Muna. J The “ Tawaf el Widaa ” is considered a solemn occasion. The pilgrim first performs circumambulation. He drinks the waters of Zem Zem, kisses the Kaabah threshold, and stands for some time with his face and body pressed against the Multazem. There, on clinging to the curtain of the Kaabah, he performs Takbir, Tahlil, Tahmid, and blesses the Prophet, weeping, if possible, but certainly groaning. He then leaves PILGRIM RITES. 231 Section I. — Of Ikram. “ Before doffing his laical garment, the pilgrim performs a total ablution, shaves, and perfumes himself. He then puts on a ‘ Rida ’ and an ‘ Izar both new, clean, and of a white colour: after which he performs a two-prostra¬ tion prayer (the ‘ Sunnat ’ of El Ihram), with a sotto voce Niyat, specifying which rite he intends.| “ When Muhrim (*. e. in Ihram), the Moslem is forbid¬ den (unless in case of sickness, necessity, over-heat, or unendurable cold, when a victim must expiate the trans¬ gression),— “ 1. To cover his head with aught which may be deemed a covering, as a cap or turban; but he may carry an umbrella, dive under water, stand in the shade, and even place his hands upon his head. A woman may wear sewn clothes, white or light blue (not black), but her face-veil should be kept at a distance from her face. “2. To wear anything sewn or with seams, as shirt, trowsers, or slippers, any tiling knotted or woven, as chain armour; but the pilgrim may use, for instance, a torn-up shirt or trowsers bound round his loins or thrown over his shoulders, he may knot his ‘ Izar,’ and tie it with a cord, and he may gird his waist. the mosque, backing out of it with tears and lamentations, till he reaches the “ Bab el Widaa,” whence, with a parting glanco at the Bait Ullab, he wends bis way home. * See Chap. V. f Many pronounce this Niyat. If intending to perform pil¬ grimage, the devotee, standing, before prayer says, “ I vow this intention of Hajj to Allah the most high.” 232 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. “ 3. To knot the Rida, or shoulder-cloth.* “4. To deviate from absolute chastity, even kissing being forbidden to the Muhrim. Marriage cannot be con¬ tracted during the pilgrimage season. “ 5. To use perfumes, oil, curling the locks, or removing the nails and hair by paring, cutting, plucking, or burning. The nails may be employed to remove pediculi from the hair and clothes, but with care, that no pile fall off. “ 6. To hunt wild animals, or to kill those which were such originally. But he may destroy the ‘five noxious,’ a kite, a crow, a rat, a scorpion, and a dog given to biting. He must not cut down a treef, or pluck up a self-growing plant; but he is permitted to reap and to cut grass. “ It is meritorious for the pilgrim often to raise the ‘ Talbiyat ’ cry,— “ ‘Labbayk ’Allaliumma Labbayk ! La Sharika laka Labbayk ! Inna ’1 hamda wa ’n niamata laka w’al mulk La Sharika laka, Labbayk.’ f “ When assuming the pilgrim garb, and before entering Meccah, ‘ Ghusl,’ or total ablution, should be performed; but * In spite of this interdiction, pilgrims generally, for conveni¬ ence, knot their shoulder-clothes under the right arm. f Hunting, killing, or maiming beasts in Sanctuary land and cutting down trees are acts equally forbidden to the Muhrim and the Muhill (the Moslem in his normal state). For a large tree a camel, for a small one a sheep must be sacrificed. | See Chap. V. A single Talbiyat is a “ Shart,” or positive condition ; to repeat the cry often is a Sunnat, or practice. After the “ Talbiyat ” the pilgrim should bless the Prophet, and beg from Allah paradise and protection from hell, saying, “ 0 Allah, by thy mercy spare us from the pains of hell-fire ! ” PILGKIM KITES. 233 if water be not procurable, the Tayammum, or sand ablution, suffices. The pilgrim should enter the Holy City by day and on foot. When his glance falls upon the Kaabah he should say, ‘ O Allah, increase this (thy) house in degree, and greatness, and honor, and awfulness, and increase all those who have honored it and glorified it, the Hajis and the Mutatnirs (Umrah-performers), with degree, and greatness, and honor, and dignity! ’ En¬ tering the outer Bab el Salam, he must exclaim, e O Allah, thou art the safety, and from thee is the safety ! ’ And then passing into the mosque, he should repair to the ‘ Black Stone,’ touch it with his right hand, kiss it, and commence his cireumambulation.* “ Now, the victims of El Ihram are five in number, viz.: — “ 1. The ‘Victim of Requisites,’ when a pilgrim acci¬ dentally or willingly omits to perform a requisite, such as the assumption of the pilgrim garb at the proper place. This victim is a sheep, sacrificed at the Eed el Kurban (in addition to the usual offering f), or, in lieu of it, ten days’ fast — three of them in the Hajj season (viz. on the 6th, 7th, and 8th days of Zu’l Hijjah) and seven after returning home. “ 2. The ‘ Victim of Luxuries,’ (Turfah), such as shav¬ ing the head or using perfumes. This is a sheep, or a three days’ fast, or alms, consisting of three saa measures of grain, distributed among six paupers. “ 3. The * Victim of suddenly returning to Laical Life;’ * Most of these injunctions are “meritorious,” and may therefore be omitted without prejudice to tiie ceremony. f Namely, the victim sacrificed on the great festival day at Muna. 234 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. that is to say, before the proper time. It is also a sheep, after the sacrifice of which the pilgrim shaves his head. “ 4. The e Victim of killing Game.’ If the animal slain be one for which the tame equivalents be procurable (a camel for an ostrich, a cow for a wild ass or cow, and a goat for a gazelle), the pilgrim should sacrifice it, or distri¬ bute its value, or purchase with it grain for the poor, or fast one day for each f Mudd ’ measure. If the equivalent be not procurable, the offender must buy its value of grain for alms-deeds, or fast a day for every measure. “ 5. The ‘ Victim of Incontinence.’ This offering is either a male or a female camel*; these failing, a cow or seven sheep, or the value of a camel in grain distributed to the poor, or a day’s fast for each measure.” Section II. — Of Tawaf, or Circumambulation. “ Of this ceremony there are five Wajibat, or requisites, viz.:—Concealing ‘ the shame f,’ as in prayer. Ceremonial purity of body, garments, and place. Circumambulation inside the mosque. Seven circuits of the house. Com¬ mencement of circuit from the Black Stone. Circumam¬ bulating the house with the left shoulder presented to it. Circuiting the house outside its Shazarwan, or marble basement4 And, lastly, the Niyat, or intention of Tawaf, specifying whether it be for Hajj or for Umrah. * So the commentators explain “Badanah.” •f A man’s “ Aurat ” is from the navel to the knee; in the case of a free woman the whole of her face and person are “shame.” J If the pilgrim place but his hand upon the Shazarwan, or on the Hijr, the Tawaf is nullified. PILGRIM RITES. 235 “ Of the same ceremony the principal Sunnat, or practices, are to walk on foot; to touch, kiss, and place his forehead upon the Black Stone, if possible after each circuit to place the hand upon the Rukn el Yemani (south corner), but not to kiss it; to pray during each circuit for what is best for man (pardon of sins); to quote lengthily from the Koran *, and often to say ‘ Subhan Allah!’ and to mention none but Allah; to walk slowly during the three first circuits, and trotting the last four f, all the while maintain¬ ing an humble and contrite demeanour with downcast eyes. “ The following are the prayers which have descended to us by tradition : — “ When touching the Black Stone the pilgrim says J, after Niyat, c In the name of Allah, and Allah is omnipo¬ tent ! O Allah (I do this) in thy belief and in verification of thy book, and in faithfulness to thy covenant, and in pursuance of the example of thy Prophet Mohammed — may Allah bless him and preserve! ’ “ Opposite the door of the house : * O Allah, verily the house is thy house, and the Sanctuary thy Sanctuary, and the safeguard thy safeguard, and this is the place of the fugitive to flee from hell-fire! ’ “ Arrived at the Rukn el Iraki (north corner): *0 Allah, verily I take refuge with thee from polytheism (Shirk), * This is a purely Shafei practice ; the Hanafi school rejects it on the grounds that the Word of God should not be repeated when walking and running. f The reader will observe (Chap. V.), that the Mutawwif made me reverse this order of things. J It is better to recite these prayers mentally; but as few pilgrims know them by heart, they are obliged to repeat the words of the cicerone. 236 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. and disobedience, and hypocrisy, and evil conversation, and evil thoughts concerning family (Ahl, ‘ a wife ’), and pro¬ perty, and progeny ! ’ “ Parallel with the Mizab, or rain-spout: * O Allah, shadow me in thy shadow that day when there is no shade but thy shadow, and cause me to drink from the cup of thy Prophet Mohammed — may Allah bless him and preserve ! — that pleasant draught after which is no thirst to all eter¬ nity, O Lord of honor and glory ! ’ “At the corners El Shami and El Yemani (west and south angles): ‘ O Allah, make it an acceptable pilgrimage, and the forgiveness of sins, and a laudable endeavour, and a pleasant action in thy sight, and a store that perisheth not, O thou glorious ! O thou pardoner ! ’ * “ And between the southern and eastern corners: ‘ 0 Lord, grant to us in this world prosperity, and in the next world prosperity, and save us from the punishment of fire! ’ “After the sevenfold circumambulation the pilgrim should recite a two-prostration prayer, the ‘ Sunnat of Tawaf,’ behind the Makam Ibrahim. If unable to pray there, he may take any other part of the mosque. These devotions are performed silently by day and aloud by night. And after prayer the pilgrim should return to the Black Stone, and kiss it.” Section IIT.— Of Sai, or Course between Mounts Safa and Manoah. “ After performing Tawaf, the pilgrim should issue from the gate ‘ El Safa ’ (or another, if necessary), and ascend * This portion is to be recited twice. PILGRIM RITES. 237 the steps of Mount to Safa, about a man’s height from the street.* There he raises the cry Tekbir, and implores pardon for his sins. He then descends, and turns towards Mount Marw ah at a slow pace. Arrived within six cubits of the Mil el Akhzar (the ‘ green pillars,’ planted in the corner of the temple on the left hand), he runs swiftly till he reaches the 4 two green pillars,’ the left one of which is fixed in the corner of the temple, and the other close to the Dar el Abbas.f Thence he again walks slowly up to Marwah, and ascends it as he did Safa. This concludes a single course. The pilgrim then starts from Marwah, and walks, runs, and walks again through the same limits, till the seventh course is concluded. “ There are four requisites of Sai. The pilgrim must pass over all the space between Safa and Marwah; he must begin with Safa, and end with Marwah; he must traverse the distance seven times; and he must perform the rite after some important Tawaf, as that of arrival, or that of return from Arafat. “ The practices of Sai are, briefly, to walk, if possible, to be in a state of ceremonial purity, to quote lengthily from the Koran, and to be abundant in praise of Allah. “ The prayer of Sai is, e O my Lord, pardon and pity, and pass over that (sin) which thou knowest. Verily thou knowest what is not known, and verily thou art the most glorious, the most generous! O, our Lord, grant us in * A woman, or a hermaphrodite, is enjoined to stand below the steps and in the street. I Women and hermaphrodites should not run here, but walk the whole way. I have frequently, however, seen the former imitating the men. 238 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. this world prosperity, and in the future prosperity, and save us from the punishment of fire! ’ “ When Sai is concluded, the pilgrim, if performing only Umrah, shaves his head, or clips his hair, and becomes ‘ Muhill,’ returning to the Moslem’s normal state. If he purpose Hajj, or pilgrimage after Umrah, he reassumes the lhram. And if he be engaged in pilgrimage, he continues * Muhrim,’ i. e. in lhram, as before.” Section IV. — Of Wukuf, or standing upon Mount Arafat. “ The days of pilgrimage are three in number; namely, the 8th, the 9th, and the 10th of the month Zu’l Hijjah. * * The Arab legend is, that the angels asking the Almighty why Ibrahim was called El Khalil (or God’s friend) ; they were told that all his thoughts were fixed on heaven; and when they called to mind that he had a wife and children, Allah convinced them of the Patriarch’s sanctity by a trial. One night Ibrahim saw, in a vision, a speaker, who said to him, “ Allah orders thee to draw near him with a victim! ” He awoke, and not compre¬ hending the scope of the dream, took especial notice of it (lJjj) ; hence the first day of pilgrimage is called Yaum el Tar- wiyah. The same speaker visited him on the next night, say¬ ing, “ Sacrifice what is dearest to thee! ” From the Patriarch’s knowing (^» what the first vision meant, the second day is called Yaum Arafat. On the third night he was ordered to sacrifice Ismail; hence that day is called Yaum Nahr (of “ throat-cutting ”). The English reader will bear in mind that the Moslem day begins at sunset. I believe that the origin of “ Tarwiyat ” (which may mean “ carrying water ”) dates from the time of pagan Arabs, who spent that day in providing themselves with the necessary. Yaum Arafat derives its name from the hill, and Yaum el Nahr from the victims offered to the idols in the Muna valley. riLGRIM RITES. 239 “ On the first day (8th), called Yaum el Tarwiyah, the pilgrim should start from Meccah after the dawn-prayer and sunrise, perform his noontide, afternoon, and evening devotions at Muna, where it is a Sunnat that he should sleep.* * * § “ On the second day (9th), the * Yaum Arafat,’ after performing the early prayer at ‘ Ghalas ’ (i. e. when a man cannot see his neighbour’s face) on Mount Sabir, near Muna, the pilgrim should start when the sun is risen, proceed to the ‘Mountain of Mercy,’ encamp there, and after performing the noontide and afternoon devotions at the Masjid Ibrahim f, joining and shortening them }, he should take his station upon the mountain, which is all standing ground. But the best position is that preferred by the Prophet, near the great rocks lying at the lower slope of Arafat. He must be present at the sermon §, and * The present generation of pilgrims, finding the delay in¬ convenient, always pass on to Arafat without halting, and generally arrive at the mountain late in the afternoon of the 8th, that is to say, the first day of pilgrimage. Consequently, they pray the morning prayer of the 9th at Arafat. f This place will be described afterwards. J The Shafei when engaged on a journey which takes up a night and day, is allowed to shorten his prayers, and to “join” the noon with the afternoon, and the evening with the night devotions; thus reducing the number of times from five to three per diem. The Hanafi school allows this on one day and on one occasion only, namely, on the ninth of Zu’l Hijjah (arriving at Muzdalifah), when at the “ Isha ” hour it prays the Maghib and the Isha prayers together. § If the pilgrim be too late for the sermon, his labour is irretrievably lost. M. Caussin de Perceval (vol. iii. pp. 301—305.) makes the 240 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINA!! AND MECCAH. be abundant in Talbiyat (supplication), Tahlil (recitations of the chapter ‘ Say he is the one God! ’ *), and weeping, for that is the place for the outpouring of tears. There he should stay till sunset, and then decamp and return hastily to Muzdalifah, where he should pass a portion of the night.f After a visit to the mosque * Mashar el Haram,’ he should collect seven pebbles, and proceed to Muna.f “ Yaum el Nalir, the third day of pilgrimage (10th Zu’l Hijjah), is the great festival of the Moslem year. Amongst its many names §, ‘ Eed el Kurban ’ is the best known, as Prophet to have preached from his camel El Kaswa on a plat¬ form at Mount Arafat before noon, and again to have ad¬ dressed the people after the post-meridian prayers at the station El Sakharat. Mohammed’s last pilgrimage, called by Moslems Hajjat el Bilagh (“of perfection,” as completing the faith), Hajjat el Islam, or Hajjat el Widaa (“of farewell”), is minutely described by historians as the type and pattern of pilgrimage to all generations. * Ibn Abbas relates a tradition, that whoever recites this short chapter 11,000 times on the Arafat day, shall obtain from Allah all he desires. f Most schools prefer to sleep, as the Prophet did, at Muzda¬ lifah, pray the night devotions there, and when the yellowness of the next dawn appears, collect the seven pebbles and proceed to Muna. The Shafei, however, generally leave Muzdalifah about midnight. X These places will be minutely described in a future chapter. § Eed el Kurban, or the Festival of Victims (known to the Turks as Kurban Bayram, to the Indians as Bakar-eed, the Kine Fete), Eed el Zuha, “ of forenoon,” or Eed el Azha, “ of serene night.” The day is called Yaum el Nalir, “ of throat-cutting.” 1TLGRIM RITES. 241 expressive of Abraham’s sacrifice in lieu [of Ismail. Most pilgrims, after casting stones at the Akabah, or ‘ Great Devil,’ hurry to Meccah. Some enter the Kaabah, whilst others content themselves with performing the Tawaf el Ifazah, or circumambulation of impetuosity, round the house.* * * § The pilgrim should then return to Muna, sacri¬ fice a sheep, and sleep there. Strictly speaking, this day concludes the pilgrimage. “ The second set of ‘ trois jours,’ namely, the 1 lthf, the 12th, and the 13th of Zu’l Hijjah, are called Ayyam el Tashrik, or the ‘ days of drying flesh in the sun.’ The pilgrim should spend that time at Muna J, and each day throw seven pebbles at each of the three pillars.§ “When throwing the stones, it is desirable that the pilgrim should cast them far from himself, although he is allowed to place them upon the pillar. The act also * If the ceremony of “ Sai ” has not been performed by the pilgrim after the circuit of arrival, he generally proceeds to it on this occasion. f This day is known in books as “ Yaum el Karr,” because the pilgrims pass it in repose at Muna. J “ The days of drying flesh,” because at this period pil¬ grims prepare provisions for their return, by cutting up their victims, and exposing to the sun large slices slung upon long lines of cord. The schools have introduced many modifications into the ceremonies of these three days. Some spend the whole time at Muna, and return to Meccah on the morning of the 13th. Others return on the 12th, especially when that day happens to fall upon a Friday. § As will afterwards appear, the number of stones and the way of throwing them vary greatly in the various schools. VOL. III. R 242 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. should be performed after the Zawal, or declension of the sun. The pilgrim should begin with the pillar near the Masjid el Khayf, proceed to the Wusta, or central column, and end with the Akabah. If unable to cast the stones during the daytime, he is allowed to do it at night. “ The ‘ throwing ’ over: — the pilgrim returns to Meccah, and when his journey is fixed, performs the Tawaf el Widaa (‘of farewell’). On this occasion it is a Sunnat to drink the water of Zem Zem, to enter the temple with more than usual respect and reverence, and bidding it adieu, to depart from the Holy City. “ The Moslem is especially forbidden to take with him cakes made of the earth or dust of the Haram, and similar mementos, as they savour of idolatry.” Chap. II. — Of Umrah, or the Little Pilgrimage. “ The word ‘ Umrah,’ denotes a pilgrimage performed at any time except the pilgrim season (the 8th, 9th, and 10th of Zu’l Hijjah). “The Arkan or pillars upon which the Umrah rite rests, are five in number, viz: “1. El Ihram. “ 2. El Tawaf. “ 3. El Sai (between Safa and Marwah). “4. El Halk (tonsure), or El Taksir, (cutting the hair). “ 5. El Tartib, or the due order of ceremonies, as above enumerated.* * The difference in the pillars of Umrah and Hajj, is that in the former the standing on Arafat and the Tawaf el Ifazah are necessarily omitted. PILGRIM RITES. 243 “ The Wajibat, or requisites of Umrah, are but two in number. “ 1. El Ihram, or assuming the pilgrim garb, from the Mikat, or fixed limit; and “ 2. The avoiding all things forbidden to the pilgrim when in state of Ihram. “ In the Sunnat and Mustahabb portions of the cere¬ mony there is no difference between Umrah and Hajj.” Chap. III. — Op Ziyarat, or the Visit to the Prophet’s Tomb. “ El Ziyarat is a practice of the faith, and the most effectual way of drawing near to Allah through his Prophet Mohammed. “ As the Zair arrives at El Medinah, when his eyes fall upon the trees of the city, he must bless the Prophet with a loud voice. Then he should enter the mosque, and sit in the Holy Garden, which is between the pulpit and the tomb, and pray a two-prostration prayer in honor of the Masjid. After this he should supplicate pardon for his sins. Then, approaching the sepulchre, and standing four cubits away from it, recite this prayer: — “‘Peace be with thee, O thou T. H. and Y. S.*, peace be with thee, and upon thy descendants, and thy companions, one and all, and upon all the prophets, and those inspired to instruct mankind. And I bear witness that thou hast de¬ livered thy message, and performed thy trust, and advised thy followers, and swept away darkness, and fought in Allah’s path the good fight; may Allah requite thee from * The 20th and 36th chapters of the Koran. 244 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MED1NAH AND MECCAH. us the best with which he ever requited prophet from his followers! ’ “ Let the visitor stand the while before the tomb with respect, and reverence, and singleness of mind, and fear, and awe. After which, let him retreat one cubit, and salute Abubekr the Truthful in these words: — “ ‘Peace be with thee, O Caliph of Allah’s Prophet over his people, and aider in the defence of his faith! ’ “After this, again retreating another cubit, let him bless in the same way Umar the Just. After which, re¬ turning to his former station opposite the Prophet’s tomb, he should implore intercession for himself and all dearest to him. He should not neglect to visit the Bakia Cemetery and the Kuba Mosque, where he should pray for himself and his brethren of the Muslimin, and the Muslimat, the Muminin and the Muminat *, the quick of them and the dead. When ready to depart, let the Zair take leave of the mosque with a two-prostration prayer, and visit the tomb, and salute it, and again beg intercession for himself and for those he loves. And the Zair is forbidden to cir¬ cumambulate the tomb, or to carry away the cakes of clay made by the ignorant with the earth and dust of the Haram.” * These second words are the feminines of the first; they prove that the Moslem is not above praying for what Europe supposed he did not believe in, namely, the souls of women. 245 CHAP. XXIX. THE CEREMONIES OF THE YAUM EL TARWIYAIt. At 10 a.m. on Monday the 8th Zu’l Hijjah, a.h. 1269 (12th Sept. 1853), habited in our Ihram, or pilgrim garbs, we mounted the litter. Shaykh Masud had been standing at the door from dawn¬ time, impatient to start before the Damascus and the Egyptian caravans made the road dangerous. Our delay arose from the tyrannical conduct of the boy Mohammed, who insisted upon leaving his little nephew behind. It was long before he yielded. I then placed the poor child, who was crying bitterly, in the litter between us, and started. We followed the road by which we entered Meccah. It was covered with white-robed pil¬ grims, some few wending their way on foot *, others riding, and all men barefooted and bare¬ headed. Most of the wealthier classes mounted asses. The scene was, as usual, one of strange * Pilgrims who would win the heavenly reward promised to those who walk, start at an early hour. b 3 246 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. contrasts: Bedouins bestriding swift dromedaries ; Turkish dignitaries on fine horses; the most pic¬ turesque beggars, and the most uninteresting looking Nizam. Not a little wrangling, mingled with the loud bursts of “ Talbiyat.” Dead ani¬ mals dotted the ground, and carcasses had been cast into a dry tank, the “ Birkat el Shami,” which caused every Bedouin to hold his nose, and show disgust. * Here, on the right of the road, the poorer pilgrims, who could not find houses, had erected huts, and pitched their ragged tents. Traversing the suburb El Mab’ da, in a valley between the two barren prolongations of Kaykaan and Khandamah, we turned to the north-east, leaving on the left certain barracks of Turkish soldiery, and the negro inilitia here stationed, with the “Saniyat Kudaa” in the background. Advancing about 3,000 paces over rising ground, we passed by the conical head of Jebel Nurf, * The true Bedouin, when in the tainted atmosphere of towns, is always known by bits of cotton in his nostrils, or his kerchief tightly drawn over his nose, a heavy frown marking extreme disgust. + Anciently called Hira. It is still visited as the place of the Prophet’s early lucubrations, and because here the first verse of the Koran descended. As I did not ascend the hill, I must refer readers for a description of it to Burckhardt, vol. i. p, 320. MUNA, A HOLY PLACE. 247 and entered the plain of many names. * It con¬ tained nothing but a few whitewashed walls, sur¬ rounding places of prayer, and a number of stone cisterns, some well preserved, others in ruins. All, however, were dry, and water venders crowded the roadside. Gravel and lumps of granite there grew like grass, and from under every large stone, as Shaykh Masud took a delight in show¬ ing, a small scorpion, with tail curled over his back, fled, Parthian-like, from the invaders of his home. At 11 a.m. ascending a Mudarraj, or flight of stone steps, about thirty yards broad, we passed without difficulty, for we were in advance of the caravans, over the Akabah, or steeps f, and the narrow, hill-girt entrance, to the low gravel basin in which Muna lies. Muna, more classically called Mina J, is a place of * El Abtah, “low ground,” El Khayf, “the declivity;” Fina Makkah, the “ court of Meccah; ” El Muhassib (from Hasba, a shining white pebble), corrupted by our authors to Mihsab and Mohsab. f The spot where Kusay fought and Mohammed made bis covenant. t If Ptolemy’s “Minoei” be rightly located in this valley, the present name and derivation “ Muna ” (desire), because Adam here desired Paradise of Allah, must be modern. Sale, following Pococke, makes “ Mina ” (from Mana) allude to the flowing of victims’ blood. Possibly it may be the plural of 248 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. considerable sanctity. Its three standing miracles are these: — The pebbles thrown at “ the devil ” return by angelic agency to whence they came; during the three days of drying meat rapacious beasts and birds cannot prey there; and flies do not settle upon the articles of food exposed so abundantly in the bazars.* During pilgrimage houses are let for an exorbitant sum, and it becomes a “world’s fair” of Moslem merchants. At all other seasons it is almost deserted, in consequence, says popular superstition, of the Rajm or diabo¬ lical lapidation.f Distant about three miles from Meccah, it is a long, narrow, straggling village, composed of mud and stone houses of one or two stories, built in the common Arab style. Tra¬ versing a narrow street, we passed on the left the Great Devil, which shall be described at a future time. After a quarter of an hour’s halt, spent Minyat, which in many Arabic dialects means a village. This basin was doubtless thickly populated in ancient times, and Moslem historians mention its seven idols, representing the seven planets. * According to Mohammed the pebbles of the accepted are removed by angels; as, however, each man and woman must throw 49 or 70 stones, it is fair to suspect the intervention of something more material. Animals are frightened away by the bustling crowd, and flies are found in myriads. f This demoniacal practice is still as firmly believed in Arabia as it formerly was in Europe. PLACE DEDICATED TO RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES. 249 over pipes and coffee, we came to an open space, where stands the mosque “ El Khayf.” Here, according to some Arabs, Adam lies, his head being at one end of the long wall, and his feet at another, whilst the dome covers his om¬ phalic region. Grand preparations for fireworks were being made in this square ; I especially re¬ marked a fire-ship, which savoured strongly of Stamboul. After passing through the town, we came to Batn el Muhassir, “the Basin of the Troubler at the beginning of a descent leading to Muzdalifah (the approacher), where the road falls into the course of the Arafat torrent. At noon we reached the mosque Muzdalifah, also called Mashar el Haram, the “ Place dedicated to Religious Ceremonies.” f It is known in El * Probably because here Satan appeared to tempt Adam, Abraham, and Ishmael. The Qanoon e Islam erroneously calls it the “Valley of Muhasurah,” and corrupts Mashar el Haram into “ Muzar el Haram ’’ (the holy shrine). t Many, even since Sale corrected the error, have con¬ founded this Mashar el Haram with Masjid el Haram of Meccah. According to El Fasi, quoted by Burckhardt, it is the name of a little eminence at the end of the Muzdalifah valley, and anciently called Jebel Kuzah ; it is also, he says, applied to “an elevated platform inclosing the mosque of Muzdalifah.” Ibn Jubair makes Mashar el Haram synony¬ mous with Muzdalifah, to which he gives a third name “Jami.” 250 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. Islam as “ the minaret without the mosque, ” opposed to Masjid Nimrah, which is the “ mosque without the minaret. ” Half way between Muna and Arafat—about three miles from both—there is something peculiarly striking in the distant ap¬ pearance of the tall, solitary tower, rising abruptly from the desolate valley of gravel, flanked with buttresses of yellow rock. No wonder that the ancient Arabs loved to give the high-sounding name of this oratory to distant places in their giant empire. Here, as we halted to perform the mid-day prayer, we were overtaken by the Damascus caravan. It was a grand spectacle. The Mahmal, no longer naked, as upon the line of march, flashed in the sun all green and gold. Around the moving host of white-robed pilgrims hovered a crowd of Bedouins, male and female, all mounted on swift dromedaries, and many of them armed to the teeth. As their drapery floated in the wind, and their faces were veiled with the “lisam,” it was fre¬ quently difficult to distinguish the sex of the wild being flogging its animal to speed, as they passed. These people, as has been said, often resort to Arafat for blood-revenge, in hopes of finding the victim unprepared. Nothing can be THE PLAIN OF ARAFAT. 251 more sinful in El Islam than such deed, — it is murder “made sicker” by sacrilege; yet the prevalence of the practice proves how feeble is the religion’s hold upon the race. The women are as unscrupulous: I remarked many of them emulating the men in reckless riding, and striking with their sticks every animal in the way. Travelling eastwards up the Arafat fiumara, after about half an hour we came to a narrow pass called El Akhshabayn*, or the “ two rugged hills.” Here the spurs of the hill limit the road to about 100 paces, and it is generally a scene of great con¬ fusion. After this we arrived at El Bazan (the Basin), a widening of the plain y; and another half- hour broughtus to the Alamain (the “ Twin Signs”), two whitewashed pillars, or rather thin, narrow walls, surmounted with pinnacles, which denote the precincts of the Arafat plain. Here, in full sight of the Holy Hill, standing quietly out from * Burckhardt calls it “ Mazoumeyn," or El Mazik, the pass. “ Akhshab” may mean wooded or rugged; in which latter sense it is frequently applied to hills. Kaykaan and Abu Eubays at Meccah are called El Aksbshabayn in some books. The left hill, in Ibn Jubair’s time, was celebrated as a meet¬ ing-place for brigands. ■f Kutb el Din makes another Bazan the southern limit of Mcccah. 252 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. the fair blue sky, the host of pilgrims broke into loud Labbayks. A little beyond, and to our right, was the simple enclosure called the Masjid Nimrah.* We then turned from our eastern course northwards, and began threading our way down the main street of the town of tents which clustered about the southern fort of Arafat. At last, about 3 p.m., we found a vacant space near the Matbakh, or kitchen, formerly belonging to a Sheriffs palace, but now a ruin, with a few shells of arches. Arafat is about a six hours’ march, or twelve miles f, on the Taif road, due east of Meccah. We arrived there in a shorter time, but our weary camels, during the last third of the way, frequently threw themselves upon the ground. Human beings suffered more. Between Muna and Arafat I saw no less than five men fall down and die upon the * Burckhardt calls this building, which he confounds with the “ Jami Ibrahim,” the Jami Nimre; others Namirah, Nimrah, Namrah, and Namurah. It was erected, he says, by Kait Bey of Egypt, and had fallen into decay. It has now been repaired, and is generally considered neutral, and not Sanctuary ground, between the Haram of Meccah and the Holy Hill. f The Calcutta Review (art. 1. Sept. 1853) notably errs in making Arafat eighteen miles east of Meccah. Ibn Jubair reckons five miles from Meccah to Muzdalifah, and five from this to Arafat. DEATH EASY IN THE EAST. 253 highway; exhausted and moribund, they had dragged themselves out to give up the ghost where it departs to instant beatitude* The spectacle showed how easy it is to die in these latitudes f; each man suddenly staggered, fell as if shot, and after a brief convulsion, lay still as marble. The corpses were carefully taken up, and carelessly buried that same evening, in a vacant space amongst the crowds encamped upon the Arafat plain. J The boy Mohammed, who had long chafed at my pertinacious claim to dervishhood, resolved on this occasion to be grand. To swell the party, he had invited Umar Effendi, whom we accidentally met in the streets of Meccah, to join us; but failing therein, he brought with him two cousins, fat youths of sixteen and seventeen, and his mother’s ground-floor servants. These were four Indians; an old man; his wife, a middle-aged woman of the most ordinary appearance; their son, a sharp * Those who die on a pilgrimage become martyrs. f I cannot help believing that some unknown cause renders death easier to man in hot than in cold climates; certain it is that in Europe rare are the quiet and painless deathbeds so common in the East. t We bury our dead, to preserve them as it were; the Mos¬ lem tries to secure rapid decomposition, and makes the grave¬ yard a dangerous as well as a disagreeable place. 254 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. boy, who spoke excellent Arabic*; and a family friend, a stout fellow about thirty years old. They were Panjabis, and the bachelor’s history was in¬ structive. He was gaining an honest livelihood in his own country, when suddenly one night Hazrat Ali, dressed in green, and mounted upon his charger Duldulf—at least, so said the nar¬ rator—appeared, crying in a terrible voice, “How long wilt thou toil for this world, and be idle about the life to come ?” From that moment, like an English murderer, he knew no peace, conscience and Hazrat Ali haunted him. J Finding life un- * Arabs observe that Indians, unless brought young into the country, never learn its language well. They have a word to express the vicious pronunciation of a slave or an Indian, “ Barbarat el Hunud.” This root Barbara (jiy ), like the Greek “Barbaras,” appears to be derived from the Sanscrit Varvvaraha, an outcast, a barbarian, a man with curly hair. f Ali’s charger was named Maymun, or, according to others, Zul Jenah (the winged). Indians generally confound it with “ Duldul,” Mohammed’s mule. t These visions are common in history. Ali appeared to the Imam Shafei, saluted him,—an omen of eternal felicity,— placed a ring upon his finger, as a sign that his fame should extend wide as the donor’s, and sent him to the Holy Land. Ibrahim bin Adhem, the saint-poet, hearing, when hunting, a voice exclaim, “Man! it is not for this that Allah made thee!” answered, “It is Allah who speaks, his servant will obey! ” He changed clothes with an attendant, and wandered THE RECKLESS PILGRIMAGE FROM INDIA. 235 endurable at home, he sold everything, raised the sum of 20 1 ., and started for the Holy Land. He reached Jeddah with a few rupees in his pocket, and came to Meccah, where, everything being ex¬ orbitantly dear, and charity all but unknown, he might have starved, had he not been Received by his old friend. The married pair and their son had been taken as house-servants by the boy Mo¬ hammed’s mother, who generously allowed them shelter and a pound of rice per diem to each, but not a farthing of pay. They were even expected to provide their own turmeric and onions. Yet these poor people were anxiously awaiting the opportunity to visit El Medinah, without which their pilgrim¬ age would not, they believed, be complete. They would beg their way through the terrible desert and its Bedouins—an old man, a boy, and a woman! What were their chances of returning to their homes ? Such, I believe, is too often the history of those wretches whom a fit of religious enthusiasm, likest to insanity, hurries away to the Holy Land. forth upon a pilgrimage, celebrated in El Islam. He performed it alone, and making 1100 genuflexions each mile, prolonged it to twelve years. The history of Colonel Gardiner, and of many others amongst ourselves, prove that these visions are not confined to the Arabs. 256 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAII. I strongly recommend the subject to the consider¬ ation of our Indian government as one that calls loudly for their interference. No Eastern ruler parts, as we do, with his subjects ; all object to lose productive power. To an “ Empire of Opinion ” this emigration is fraught with evils. It sends forth a horde of malcontents that ripen into bigots ; it teaches foreign nations to despise our rule; and unveils the nakedness of once wealthy India. And, we have both prevention and cure in our own hands.* * As no Moslem except the Maliki is bound to pilgrimage without a sum sufficient to support himself and his family, all who embark at the different ports of India should be obliged to prove their solvency before being provided with a permit. Arrived at Jeddah, they should present the certificate at the British vice-consulate, where they would become entitled to as¬ sistance in case of necessity. The vice-consul at Jeddah ought also to be instructed to assist our Indian pilgrims. Mr. Cole (now holding that appointment) informed me that, though men die of starvation in the streets, he is unable to relieve them. The streets of Meccah abound jn pathetic Indian beggars, who affect lank bodies, shrinking frames, whining voices, and all the circumstance of misery, because it supports them in idleness. There are no less than 1500 Indians at Meccah and Jeddah, besides 700 or 800 in Yemen. Such a body requires a consul. By the representation of a vice-consul when other powers send an officer of superior rank to El Hejaz, we voluntarily place ourselves in an inferior position. And although the Meccan MOUNT ARAFAT. 257 With the Indians’ assistance the boy Mohammed removed the handsome Persian rugs with which he had covered the shugduf, pitched the tent, carpeted the ground, disposed a diwan of silk and satin cushions round the interior, and strewed the centre with new chibouques and highly polished shishas. At the doorway was placed a Mankal, a large copper fire-pan, with coffee pots singing a welcome to visitors. In front of us were the litters, and by divers similar arrangements our establishment was made to look grand. The youth also insisted upon my removing the Rida, or upper cotton cloth, which had become way-soiled, and he supplied its place by a fine cashmere, left with him, some years before, by a son of the king of Delhi. Little thought I that this bravery of attire would lose me every word of the Arafat sermon next day. Arafat, anciently called Jebel Hal the Mount of Wrestling in Prayer, and now Jebel el Rahmah, the “Mount of Mercy,” is a mass of coarse granite split into large blocks, with a thin Sherif might for a time object to establishing a Moslem agent at the Holy City with orders to report to the consul at Jeddah, his opposition would soon fall to the ground. VOL. III. S 258 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. coat of withered thorns, about one mile in cir¬ cumference and rising abruptly from the low gravelly plain — a dwarf wall at the southern base forming the line of demarcation — to the height of 180 or 200 feet- It is separated by Batn Arnah (tjjc.) *, a sandy vale, from the spurs of the Taif hills. Nothing can be more pic¬ turesque than the view it affords of the blue peaks behind, and the vast encampment scattered over the barren yellow plain below, f On the north lay the regularly pitched camp of the guards that defend the unarmed pilgrims. To the eastward was the Sherifs encampment with the bright mahmals and the gilt knobs of the grander pavilions; whilst, on the southern and western sides, the tents of the vulgar crowded the ground, disposed in dowars, or circles, for penning cattle. After many calculations, I esti- * This vale is not considered “ standing-ground,” because Satan once appeared to the Prophet as he was traversing it. f According to Kutb el Din, the Arafat plain was once highly cultivated. Stone-lined cisterns abound, and ruins of buildings are frequent. At the eastern foot of the mountain was a broad canal, beginning at a spur of the Taif hills, and conveying water to Meccali; it is now destroyed beyond Arafat. The plain is cut with torrents, which at times sweep with desolating violence into the Holy City, and a thick desert vegetation shows that water is not deep below the surface. LEGEND OF ADAM AND EVE. 259 mated the number to be not less then 50,000, of all ages and sexes; a sad falling off, it is true, but still considerable. * The Holy Hill owes its name f and honors to a well-known legend. When our first parents forfeited heaven by eating wheat, which deprived them of their primeval purity, they were cast down upon earth. The serpent descended at Ispahan, the peacock at Cabul, Satan at Bilbays * Ali Bey (a.d. 1807) calculates 83,000 pilgrims; Burck- hardt (1814), 70,000. I reduce it, in 1853, to 50,000, and in A. d. 1854, owing to political causes, it fell to about 25,000. Of these at least 10,000 are Meccans, as every one who can leave the city does so at pilgrimage-time. The Arabs have a superstition that the numbers at Arafat cannot be counted, and that if less than 600,000 mortals stand upon the hill to hear the sermon, the angels descend and complete the number. Even this year my Arab friends declared that 150,000 spirits! were present in human shape. It may be observed, that when the good old Bertrander de la Brocquiere, esquire carver to Philip of Burgundy, declares that the yearly caravan from Damascus to El Medinah must always be composed of 700,000 persons, and that this number being incomplete, Allah sends some of his angels to make it up, he probably confounds the caravan with the Arafat multitude. t The word is explained in many ways. One derivation has already been mentioned. Others assert that when Gabriel taught Abraham the ceremonies, he ended by saying “ A ’arafta manasik’ak? ”—hast thou learned thy pilgrim rites ? To which the Friend of Allah replied, “ Araftu ! ”—I have learned them s 2 260 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. (others say Semnan and Seistan), Eve upon Arafat, and Adam at Ceylon. The latter, de¬ termining to seek his wife, began a journey, to which earth owes its present mottled appearance. Wherever our first father placed his foot — which was large — a town afterwards arose ; between the strides will always be “ country. ” Wandering for many years, he came to the Mountain of Mercy, where our common mother was continually calling upon his name, and their recognition gave the place the name of Arafat. Upon its summit Adam, in¬ structed by the archangel, erected a “ Madaa,” or place of prayer; and between this spot and the Nimrah mosque the pair abode till death. * From the Holy Hill I walked down to look at the camp arrangements. The main street of tents and booths, huts and shops, was bright with lanterns, and the bazaars were crowded with people and stocked with all manner of eastern delicacies. Some anomalous spectacles met the eye. Many pilgrims, especially the soldiers, were in laical costume. In one place a half-drunken Arnaut stalked down the road, elbowing peaceful passengers and frowning fiercely in hopes of a quarrel. In * Others declare that, after recognition, the first pair re¬ turned to India, whence for forty-four years in succession they visited the Holy City at pilgrimage-time. SUPERSTITIOUS RITE ON BEHALF OF WOMEN. 261 another, a huge dimly lit tent, reeking hot, and gar¬ nished with cane-seats, contained knots of Egyptians, as their red tarbushes, white turbans, and black zaabuts showed, noisily intoxicating themselves with forbidden hemp. - There were frequent brawls and great confusion ; many men had lost their parties, and, mixed with loud Labbayks, rose the shouted names of women as well as men. I was surprised at the disproportion of female nomen¬ clature,—the missing number of fair ones seemed to double that of the other sex,—and at a practice so opposed to the customs of the Moslem world. At length the boy Mohammed enlightened me. Egyptian and other bold women, when unable to join the pilgrimage, will pay or persuade a friend to shout their names in hearing of the Holy Hill, with a view of ensuring a real presence at the desired spot next year. So the welkin rang with the indecent sounds of 0 Fatimah! 0 Zaynab! 0 Khayzaran ! * Plunderers too, were, abroad. * The latter name, “Ratan,” is servile. Respectable women are never publicly addressed by Moslems except as “daughter,” “ female pilgrim,” after some male relation, “ O mother of Mohammed,” “0 sister of Umar,” or, tout bonnement, by a man’s name. It would be ill-omened and dangerous were the true name known. So most women, when travelling, adopt an alias. Whoever knew an Afghan fair who was not “Nur Jan,” or “Sahib Jan?” 262 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH As we returned to the tent we found a crowd assembled near it; a woman had seized a thief as he was beginning operations, and had the courage to hold his beard till men ran to her assistance. And we were obliged to defend by force our position against a knot of grave-diggers, who would bury a little heap of bodies within a yard or two of our tent. One point struck me at once, the difference in point of cleanliness between an encampment of citizens and Bedouins. Poor Masud sat holding his nose in ineffable disgust; for which he was derided by the Meccans. I consoled him with quoting the celebrated song of May sun ah.* “ O take these purple robes away, Give back my cloak of camel’s hair, And bear me from this tow’ring pile To where the Black Tents flap i’ the air. The camel’s colt with falt’ring tread, The dog that bays at all but me, Delight me more than ambling mules— Than every art of minstrelsy. And any cousin, poor but free. Might take me, fatted ass! from thee.” f * The beautiful Bedouin wife of the Caliph Muawiyah. Nothing can be more charming in its own Arabic than this little song: the Bedouins never heard it without screams of joy. t The British reader will be shocked to hear that by the term A 1’RAYEKFUL OLD GENTLEMAN. 263 The old man, delighted, clapped my shoulder, and exclaimed “ Verily, 0 Father of Mustachios, I will show thee the black tents of my tribe this year! ” At length night came, and we threw ourselves upon our rugs, but not to sleep. Close by, to our bane, was a prayerful old gentleman, who began his devotions at a late hour and concluded them not before dawn. He reminded me of the undergra¬ duate my neighbour at Trinity College, who would spout iEschylus at 2 a.m. Sometimes the chaunt would grow drowsy, and my ears would hear a dull retreating sound; presently, as if in self-reproach, “fatted ass ” the intellectual lady alluded to her husband. The story is, that Muawiyah, overhearing the song, sent back the singer to her cousins and beloved wilds. Maysunah departed, with her son Yezid, and did not return to Damascus till the “fatted ass” had joined his forefathers. Yezid inherited, with his mother's talents, all her contempt for his father; at least the following quatrain, addressed to Muawiyah, and generally known in El Islam, would appear to argue anything but reverence: — “ I drank the water of the vine—that draught had power to rouse Thy wrath, grim father! now, indeed, ’tis joyous to carouse! I’ll drink!—Be wrath!—I reck not!—Ah! dear to this heart of mine It is to scoff a sire’s command — to quaff forbidden wine.” 264 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. it would rise to a sharp treble, and proceed at a rate perfectly appalling. The coffee-houses, too, were by no means silent; deep into the night I heard the clapping of hands accompanying merry Arab songs, and the loud shouts of laughter of the Egyptian hemp-drinkers. And the guards and protectors of the camp were not “ Charleys” or night-nurses. 265 CHAP. XXX. THE CEREMONIES OP THE DAT OP ARAPAT. The morning of the ninth Zu’l Hijjah (13th Sept.) was ushered in by military sounds: a loud dis¬ charge of cannon warned us to arise and to prepare for the ceremonies of this eventful day. After ablution and prayer, I proceeded with the boy Mohammed to inspect the numerous conse¬ crated sites on the “ Mountain of Mercy.” In the first place, we repaired to a spot on rising ground to the south-east, and within a hundred yards of the hill. It is called “ Jami el Sakhrah ” *— the assembling place of the rock—from two granite boulders upon which the Prophet stood to perform “ Talbiyat.” There is nothing but a small in¬ closure of dwarf and white-washed stone walls, divided into halves by a similar partition, and provided with a niche to direct prayer towards Meccah. Entering by steps we found crowds of devotees and guardians, who for a consideration * Ali Bey calls it “Jami el Bahmah” — of mercy. 266 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. offered mats and praying carpets. After two pros¬ trations and a long supplication opposite the niche, we retired to the inner compartment, stood upon a boulder and shouted the Labbayk. Thence, threading our way through many obsta¬ cles of tents and stone, we ascended the broad flight of rugged steps which winds up the southern face of the rocky hill. Even at this early hour it was crowded with pilgrims, principally Bedouins and Wahhabis *, who had secured favourable posi¬ tions for hearing the sermon. Already their green flag was planted upon the summit close to Adam’s place of prayer. About half-way up I counted sixty-six steps, and remarked that they became narrower and steeper. Crowds of beggars instantly seized the pilgrims’ robes and strove to prevent our entering a second enclosure. This place, which resembles the former, except that it has but one compartment and no boulders, is that whence Mo¬ hammed used to address his followers, and here, to the present day, the Khatib, or preacher, in imita- * The wilder Arabs insist that “ wukuf” (standing) should take place upon the Hill. This is not done by the more civilised, who hold that all the plain within the Alamain ranks as Arafat. According to Ali Bey, the Maliki school is not allowed to stand upon the mountain. THE PILGRIMS REACH THE PLAIN. 267 tion of the “ Last of Prophets,” sitting upon a dromedary, recites the Arafat sermon. Here, also, we prayed a two-prostration prayer, and gave a small sum to the guardian. Thence ascending with increased difficulty to the hill-top, we arrived at a large stuccoed plat¬ form*, with prayer-niche and a kind of obelisk, mean and badly built of lime and granite stone, whitewashed, and conspicuous from afar. It is called the Makam, or Madaa Sayyidna Adam.f Here we performed the customary ceremonies amongst a crowd of pilgrims, and then descended the little hill. Close to the plain we saw the place where the Egyptian and Damascus Mahmals stand during the sermon; and descending the wall that surrounds Arafat by a steep and narrow flight of coarse stone steps on my right was the fountain which supplies the place with water. It bubbles from the rock, and is exceedingly pure, as such water generally is in El Hejaz. Our excursion employed us longer than the de- * Here was a small chapel, which the Wahhabis were demolish¬ ing when Ali Bey was at Meccah. It has not been rebuilt. Upon this spot the Prophet, according to Burckhardt, used to stand during the ceremonies. t Burckhardt gives this name to a place a little way on the left, and about forty steps up the mountain. 268 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. scription requires,— nine o’clock had struck before we reached the plain. All were in a state of ex¬ citement. Guns fired furiously. Horsemen and camel-riders galloped about without apparent object. Even the women and the children stood and walked, too restless even to sleep. Arrived at the tent, I was unpleasantly surprised to find a new visitor in an old acquaintance, Ali ibn Ya Sin the Zem Zemi. He had lost his mule, and, wandering in search of its keeper, he unfortunately fell in with our party. I had solid reasons to regret the mishap — he was far too curious and observant to suit my tastes. On the present occasion he, being uncomfortable, made us equally so. Accustomed to all the terrible “ neatness ” of an elderly damsel in Great Britain, a few specks of dirt upon the rugs, and half-a-dozen bits of cinder upon the ground, sufficed to give him attacks of 11 nerves.” That day we breakfasted late, for night must come before we could eat again. After midday prayer we performed ablutions, some the greater, others the less, in preparation for the “wukuf,” or standing. From noon onwards the hum and murmur of the multitude increased, and people were seen swarming about in all directions. THE BEST BREED OF ARAB HORSES AT NEDJ. 269 A second discharge of cannon (about?. M. 3 15) announced the approach of El Asr, the afternoon prayer, and almost immediately we heard the Naubat, or band preceding the Sherif’s procession as he wended his way towards the mountain. Fortunately my tent was pitched close to the road, so that without trouble I had a perfect view of the scene. First came a cloud of mace-bearers, who, as usual on such occasions, cleared the path with scant ceremony. They were followed by the horsemen of the desert, wielding long and tufted spears. Immediately behind them came the led horses of the Sherif, upon which I fixed a curious eye. All were highly bred, and one, a brown Nejdi with black points, struck me as the perfection of an Arab. They were small, and apparently of the northern race.* Of their old crimson-velvet caparisons the less * In Solomon’s time the Eygptian horse cost 150 silver shekels, which, if the greater shekel be meant, would still be about the average price, 18/. Abbas, the late Pacha, did his best to buy first-rate Arab stallions: on one occasion he sent a mission to El Medinah for the sole purpose of fetching a rare work on farriery. Yet it is doubted whether he ever had a first-rate Nejdi. A Bedouin sent to Cairo by one of the chiefs of Nejd, being shown by the viceroy’s order over the stables, on being asked his opinion of the blood, replied bluntly, to the great man’s disgust, that they did not contain a single thorough¬ bred. He added an apology on the part of his laird for the 270 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. said the better; no little Indian Nawab would show aught so shabby on state occasions. After animals he had brought from Arabia, saying, that neither Sultan nor shaykh could procure colts of the best strain. For none of these horses would a staunch admirer of the long-legged monster called in England a thorough-bred give twenty pounds. They are mere “ rats,” short and stunted, ragged and fleshless, with rough coats ; and a slouching walk. But the experienced glance notes at once the fine snake-like head, ears like reeds, wide and projecting nostrils, large eyes, fiery and soft alternately, broad brow, deep base of skull, wide chest, crooked tail, limbs padded with muscle, and long elastic pasterns. And the animal put out to speed soon displays the wondrous force of blood. In fact, when buying Arabs, there are only three things to be considered, — blood, blood, and again blood. In Marco Polo’s time Aden supplied the Indian market. The state of the tribes round the “ Eye of Yemen ” has effectually closed the road against horse-caravans for many years past. It is said that the Zu Mohammed and the Zu Husayn, sub-families of the Beni Yam, a large tribe living around and north of Sanaa, in Yemen, have a fine large breed called El Jaufi, and the clan El Aulaki, (^ajy0> rear animals celebrated for swiftness and endurance. The other races are stunted, and some Arabs declare that the air of Yemen causes a degeneracy in the first generation. The Bedouins, on the contrary, uphold their superiority, and talk with the utmost contempt of the African horse. In India we now depend for Arab blood upon the Persian Gulf, and the consequences of monopoly display themselves in an increased price for inferior animals. Our studs are generally believed to be sinks for rupees. The governments of THE PKELIMINAKIES OF THE SERMON. 271 the chargers came a band of black slaves on foot, bearing huge matchlocks; and immediately preceded by three green and two red flags, was the Sherif, riding in front of bis family and courtiers. The prince, habited in a simple white Ihram, and bare¬ headed, mounted a mule; the only sign of his rank was a large green and gold-embroidered umbrella, held over him by a slave. The rear was brought up by another troop of Bedouins on horses and camels. Behind this procession were the tents, whose doors and walls were scarcely visible for the crowd; and the picturesque background was the granite hill covered wherever standing-room was to be found with white-robed pilgrims shouting Lab- bayks and waving the skirts of their glistening garments violently over their heads. Slowly the procession advanced towards the hill. Exactly at the hour El Asr the two Mahmals had taken their station side by side on a platform India now object, it is said, to rearing, at a great cost, animals distinguished by nothing but ferocity. It is evident that El Hejaz never can stock the Indian mar¬ ket. Whether Nejd will supply us when the transit becomes safer, is a consideration which time only can decide. Mean¬ while it would be highly advisable to take steps for restoring the Aden trade by entering into closer relations with the Imam of Sanaa and the Bedouin chiefs in the north of Yemen. 272 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINA!! AND MECCAH. in the lower slope. That of Damascus could be distinguished as the narrower and the more orna¬ mented of the pair. The Sherif placed himself with his standard-bearers and retinue a little above the Mahmals, within hearing of the preacher. The pilgrims crowded up to the foot of the mountain; the loud Labbayks of the Bedouins and Wahhabis* fell to a solemn silence, and the waving of white robes ceased—a sign that the preacher had begun the Khutbat el Wakfah.f From my tent I could distinguish the form of the old man upon his camel, but the distance was too great for ear to reach. But how came I to be at the tent ? A short confession will explain. They will shrive me who believe in inspired Spenser’s lines:— * I obtained the following note upon the ceremonies of Wahhabi pilgrimage from one of their princes, Khalid Bey. The WahhalS (who, it must be borne in mind, calls himself a Muwahhid, or Unitarian, in opposition to Mushrik — Polytheist — any other sect but his own) at Meccah follows out his two principal tenets, public prayer for men daily, for women on Fridays, and rejection of the Prophet’s mediation. Imitating Mohammed, he spends the first night of pilgrimage at Muna, stands upon the hill Arafat, and, returning to Muna, passes three whole days there. He derides other Moslems, abridges and simplifies the Kaabah ceremonies, and, if possible, is guided in his devotions by one of his own sect. f The “ Sermon of the Standing ” (upon Arafat). THE PILGRIM’S INATTENTION TO THE SERMON. 273 “ And every spirit, as it is more pure, And hath in it the more of heavenly light, So it the fairer body doth procure To habit in.”- The evil came of a “ fairer body.” I had prepared en cachette a slip of paper, and had hid in my Ihram a pencil destined to put down the heads of this rarely heard discourse. But unhappily that red cashmere shawl was upon my shoulders. Close to us sat a party of fair Meccans, apparently belonging to the higher classes, and one of these I had already several times remarked. She was a tall girl, about eighteen years old, with regular features, a skin somewhat citrine-coloured, but soft and clear, symmetrical eyebrows, the most beautiful eyes, and a figure all grace. There was no head thrown back, no straightened neck, no flat shoulders, nor toes turned out—in fact, no elegant barbarisms; but the shape was what the Arabs love, — soft, bending, and relaxed, as a woman’s figure ought to be. Unhappily she wore, instead of the usual veil, a “ Yashmak ” of transparent muslin, bound round the face; and the chaperone, mother, or duenna, by whose side she stood, was apparently a very unsuspicious or compliant old person. Flirtilla fixed a glance of admiration upon my cash- mere. I directed a reply with interest at her eyes. VOL. III. T 274 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MED1NAH AND MECCAH. She then, by the usual coquettish gesture, threw back an inch or two of head-veil, disclosing broad bands of jetty hair, crowning a lovely oval. My palpable admiration of the new charm was rewarded by a partial removal of the Yashmak; when a dimpled mouth and a rounded chin stood out from the envious muslin. Seeing that my companions were safely employed, I ventured upon the dan¬ gerous ground of raising hand to forehead. She smiled almost imperceptibly, and turned away. The pilgrim was in ecstasy. The sermon was then half over. I resolved to stay upon the plain and see what Flirtilla would do. Grace to the cashmere, we came to a good understanding. The next page, will record my dis¬ appointment ; — that evening the pilgrim resumed his soiled cotton cloth, and testily returned the red shawl to the boy Mohammed. The sermon always lasts till near sunset, or about three hours. At first it was spoken amid profound silence. Then loud, scattered “ Amins ” (Amen) and volleys of Labbayks exploded at uncertain intervals. At last the breeze brought to our ears a purgatorial chorus of cries, sobs, and shrieks. Even my party thought proper to be affected : old Ali rubbed his eyes, which in no case unconnected with dollars could by any amount of THE PILGRIMS PERMITTED TO DEPART. 275 straining be made to shed even a crocodile’s tear; and the boy Mohammed wisely hid his face in the skirt of his Rida. Presently the people, exhausted by emotion, began to descend the hill in small parties ; and those below struck their tents and com¬ menced loading their camels, although at least an hour’s sermon remained. On this occasion, how¬ ever, all hurry to be foremost, as the race from Arafat is enjoyed by none but the Bedouins. Although we worked with a will, our animals were not ready to move before sunset, when the preacher gave the signal of “ israf,” or permission to depart. The pilgrims, “-swaying to and fro, Like waves of a great sea, that in mid shock Confound each other, white with foam and fear,” rushed down the hill with a Labbayk, sounding like a blast, and took the road to Muna. Then I saw the scene -which has given to the part of the ceremonies the name of El Dafa min Arafat, — the “ Hurry from Arafat.” Every man urged his beast with might and main: it was sunset; the plain bristled with tent-pegs, litters were crushed, pe¬ destrians trampled, and camels overthrown : single combats with sticks and other weapons took place; —here a woman, there a child, and there an animal 276 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAII AND MECCAH. were lost; briefly, it was a state of chaotic con- fusion. To my disgust, old Ali insisted upon bestowing his company upon me. He gave over his newly found mule to the boy Mohammed, bidding him take care of the beast, and mounted with me in the shugduf. I had persuaded Shaykh Masud, with a dollar, to keep close in rear of the pretty Meccan; and I wanted to sketch the Holy Hill. The Senior began to give orders about the camel — I, counter orders. The camel was halted. I urged it on, old Ali directed it to be stopped. Mean¬ while the charming face that smiled at me from the litter grew dimmer and dimmer; the more I stormed, the less I was listened to — a string of camels crossed our path — I lost sight of the beauty. Then we began to advance. Now my determination to sketch seemed likely to fail before the Zem Zemi’s little snake’s eye. After a few minutes’ angry search for expedients, one suggested itself. “ Effendi! ” said old Ali, “ sit quiet; there is danger here.” I tossed about like one suffering from evil conscience or the colic. “ Effendi!” shrieked the Senior, “ what are you doing ? You will be the death of us.” “ Wallah! ” I replied, with a violent plunge, “it is all your fault! THE riLGRIM’S COMPANION, OLD ALI. 277 There! (another plunge) — put your beard out of the other opening, and Allah will make it easy to us.” In the ecstacy of fear my tormentor turned his face, as he was bidden, towards the camel’s head. A second halt ensued, when I looked out of the aperture in rear, and made a rough drawing of the Mountain of Mercy. At the Akhshabayn, double lines of camels, bris¬ tling with litters, clashed, and gave a shock more noisy than the meeting of torrents. It was already dark: no man knew what he was doing. The guns roared their brazen notes, re-echoed far and wide by the voices of the stony hills. A shower of rockets bursting in the air threw into still greater confusion the timorous mob of women and children. At the same time martial music rose from the masses of Nizam, and the stouter- hearted pilgrims were not sparing of their Lab- bayks *, and “ Eed kum Mubarak ” f — may your festival be happy! After the pass of the two rugged hills, the road widened, and old Ali, who, during the bumping, * This cry is repeated till the pilgrim reaches Muna; not afterwards. f Another phrase is “ Antum min al aidin ” — “ May you be of the keepers of festival!’ 278 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. had been in a silent convulsion of terror, recovered speech and spirits. This change he evidenced by beginning to be troublesome once more. Again I resolved to be his equal. Exclaiming, “ My eyes are yellow with hunger! ” I seized a pot full of savoury meat which the old man had previously stored for supper, and, without further preamble, began to eat it greedily, at the same time ready to shout with laughter at the mumbling and grum¬ bling sounds that proceeded from the darkness of the litter. We were at least three hours on the road before reaching Muzdalifah, and, being fatigued, we resolved to pass the night there.* The Mosque was brilliantly illuminated, but my hungry com¬ panions f apparently thought more of supper and sleep than devotion. J Whilst the tent was raised, the Indians prepared our food, boiled our coffee, filled pipes, and spread the rugs. Before sleeping, * Hanafis usually follow the Prophet’s example in nigliting at Muzdalifah; in the evening after prayers they attend at the Mosque, listen to the discourse, and shed plentiful tears. Most Shafeis spend only a few hours at Muzdalifah. f We failed to buy meat at Arafat, after noon, although the bazar was large and we,ll stocked.; it is usual to eat flesh there, consequently it is greedily bought up at an exorbitant price. $ Some sects consider the prayer at Muzdalifah a matter of vital importance. SERMON LESS THOUGHT OF THAN BAGGAGE. 279 each man collected for himself seven bits of granite, the size of a small bean. * Then, weary with emo¬ tion and exertion, all lay down except the boy Mohammed, who preceded us to find encamping ground at Muna. Old Ali, in lending his mule, made the most stringent arrangements with the youth about the exact place and the exact hour of meeting — an act of simplicity at which I could not but smile. The night was by no means peace¬ ful or silent. Lines of camels passed us every ten minutes, and the shouting of travellers continued till near dawn. Pilgrims ought to have nighted at the Mosque, but, as in Burckhardt’s time, so in mine, baggage was considered to be in danger hereabouts, and consequently most of the devotees spent the sermon hours in brooding over their boxes. * Jamrah is a “ small pebble ; ” it is also called “ Hasa,” in the plural, " Hasayat.” 280 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH CHAP. XXXI. THE CEREMONIES OF THE DAY OF VICTIMS. At dawn, on the Eed el Kurban (10th Zu’l Hijjah, or Wednesday, 14t.h Sept.) a gun warned us to lose no time; we arose hurriedly, and started up the Batn Muhassir to Muna. By this means we lost at Muzdalifah the “ Salat el Eed,” or “ Festival Prayers,” the great solemnity of the Moslem year, performed by all the community at day-break. My companion was so anxious to reach Meccah, that he would not hear of devotions. About 8 A. M. we entered the village, and looked for the boy Moham¬ med in vain. Old Ali was dreadfully perplexed: a host of high-born Turkish pilgrims were, he said, expecting him; his mule was missing,—could never appear,—he must be late, — should probably never reach Meccah, — what would become of him ? I began by administering admonition to the mind diseased ; but signally failing in a cure, amused my¬ self with contemplating the world from my shug- OLD ALl’S IRRITATION AND ALARM. 281 duf, leaving the office of directing it to the old Zem Zemi. Now he stopped, then he pressed for¬ ward; here he thought he saw Mohammed, there he discovered our tent; at one time he would “nakh” the camel to await, in patience, his supreme hour; at another, half mad with nervousness, he would urge the excellent Masud to hopeless inquiries. Finally, by good fortune, we found one of the boy Moham¬ med’s cousins, who led us to an enclosure called Hosh el Uzem, in the southern portion of the Muna Basin, at the base of Mount Sabir.* There we pitched the tent, refreshed ourselves, and awaited the truant’s return. Old Ali, failing to disturb my equanimity, attempted, as those who consort with philosophers often will do, to quarrel with me. But, finding no material wherewith to build a dis¬ pute in such fragments as “Ah!” — “Hem!” _ “Wallah!” he hinted desperate intentions against the boy Mohammed. When, however, the youth appeared, with even more jauntiness of mien than usual, Ali bin Ya Sin lost heart, brushed by him, mounted his mule, and, doubtless cursing us “ under the tongue,” rode away, frowning viciously, with his heels playing upon the beast’s sides. * Even pitching ground here is charged to pilgrims. 282 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. Mohammed had been delayed, he said, by the difficulty of finding asses. We were now to mount for “ the throwing,”*—as a preliminary to which, we washed “with seven waters” the seven pebbles brought from Muzdalifah, and bound them in our Ihrams. Our first destination was the entrance to the western end of the long line which composes the Muna village. We found a swarming crowd in the narrow road opposite the “ Jamrat el Aka- bah”f, or, as it is vulgarly called, the Shay tan el Kabir—the “Great Devil.” These names distin¬ guish it from another pillar, the “ Wusta,” or “ central place,” (of stoning), built in the middle of Muna, and a third at the eastern end, “ El Ula,” or the “ first place.” J The “ Shaytan el Kabir ” is a dwarf buttress of rude masonry, about eight feet high by two and a half broad, placed against a rough wall of stones, at the Meccan entrance to Muna. As the * Some authorities advise that this rite of “ Ramy ” be per¬ formed on foot. ■f The word “ Jamrat ” is applied to the place of stoning, as well as to the stones. J These numbers mark the successive spots where the Devil, in the shape of an old Shaykli, appeared to Adam, Abraham, and Ishmael, and was driven back by the simple process taught by Gabriel, of throwing stones about the size of a bean. DANGEROUS STRUGGLE TO APPROACH THE DEVIL. 283 ceremony of “ Ramy,” or Lapidation, must be per¬ formed on the first day by all pilgrims between sunrise and sunset, and as the fiend was malicious enough to appear in a rugged pass*, the crowd makes the place dangerous. On one side of the road, which is not forty feet broad, stood a row of shops belonging principally to barbers. On the other side is the rugged wall of the pillar, with a chevaux de frise of Bedouins and naked boys. The narrow space was crowded with pilgrims, all struggling like drowning men to approach as near as possible to the Devil;— it would have been easy to run over the heads of the mass. Amongst them were horsemen with rearing chargers. Bedouins on wild camels, and grandees on mules and asses, with outrunners, were breaking a way by assault and battery. I had read Ali Bey’s self-felicitations upon escaping this place with “ only two wounds in the left leg,” and had duly provided myself with a hidden dagger. The precaution was not useless. Scarcely had my donkey entered the crowd than * I borrow this phrase from Ali Bey, who, however, speaks more like an ignorant Spaniard, than a learned Abbaside when he calls the pillar “ La maison du Diable,” and facetiously asserts that “ le diable a eu la malice de placer sa maison dans un lieu fort etroit qui n’a peut-etre pas 34 pieds de large.” 284 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. he was overthrown by a dromedary, and I found myself under the stamping and roaring beast’s stomach. By a judicious use of the knife, I avoided being trampled upon, and lost no time in escaping from a place so ignobly dangerous. Some Moslem travellers assert, in proof of the sanctity of the spot, that no Moslem is ever killed here : I was assured by Meccans that accidents are by no means rare. Presently the boy Mohammed fought his way out of the crowd with a bleeding nose. We both sat down upon a bench before a barber’s booth, and, schooled by adversity, awaited with patience an opportunity. Finding an opening, we approached within about five cubits of the place, and holding each stone between the thumb and the forefinger * of the right hand, cast it at the pillar, exclaiming, “ In the name of Allah, and Allah is Almighty! (I do this) in hatred of the Fiend and to his shame.” After which came the Tahlil and the “ Sana,” or praise to Allah. The seven stones being duly thrown, we retired, and entering the barber’s booth, took our places upon one of the earthen benches * Some hold the pebble as a schoolboy does a marble, others between the thumb and forefinger extended, others shoot them from the thumb knuckle, and most men consult their own con¬ venience. CHANGE FROM IHRAM TO IHLAD. 285 around it. This was the time to remove the Ihram or pilgrim’s garb, and to return to Ihlal, the normal state of El Islam. The barber shaved our heads*, and, after trimming our beards and cutting our nails, made us repeat these words : “ I purpose • loosening my Ihram according to the practice of the Prophet, whom may Allah bless and preserve! 0 Allah, make unto me in every hair, a light, a purity, and a generous reward ! In the name of Allah, and Allah is Almighty!” At the conclusion of his labour the barber politely addressed to us a “ Naiman ” — Pleasure to you ! To which we as ceremoniously replied, “Allah give thee pleasure ! ” We had no clothes with us, but we could use our cloths to cover our heads and defend our feet from the fiery sun ; and we now could safely twirl our mustachios and stroke our beards,—placid enjoyments of which we had been deprived by the * The barber removed all my hair. Hanifis shave at least a quarter of the head, Shafeis a few hairs on the right side. The prayer is, as usual, differently worded, some saying, “ O Allah this my forelock is in thy hand, then grant me for every hair a light on Resurrection-day, by thy mercy O most Merciful of the Merciful! ” I remarked that the hair was allowed to lie upen the ground, whereas strict Moslems, with that reverence for man’s body — the Temple of the Supreme — which charac¬ terises their creed, carefully bury it in the earth. 286 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. laws of pilgrimage. After resting about an hour in the booth, which, though crowded with sitting customers, was delightfully cool compared with the burning glare of the road, we mounted our asses, and at eleven a. m. started Meccah-wards. This return from Muna to Meccah is called El . Nafr, or the Flight * : we did not fail to keep our asses at speed, with a few halts to refresh ourselves with gogglets of water. There was nothing remark¬ able in the scene: our ride in was a repetition of our ride out. In about half an hour we entered the city, passing through that classical locality called “ Batn Kuraysh,” which was crowded with people, and then repaired to the boy Mohammed’s house for the purpose of bathing and preparing to enter the Kaabah. Shortly after our arrival, the youth returned home in a state of excitement, exclaiming “ Rise, Effendi! bathe, dress, and follow me! ” The Kaabah, though open, would for a time be empty, so that we should escape the crowd. My pilgrim’s garb, which had not been removed, was made to look neat * This word is confounded with “ Dafa ” by many Moslem au¬ thors. Some speak of the Nafr from Arafat to Muzdalifah and the Dafa from Muzdalifah to Mima. I have used the words as my Mutawwif used them. THE PILGRIM ENTERS THE KAABAH. 287 and somewhat Indian, and we sallied forth together without loss of time. A crowd had gathered round the Kaabah, and I had no wish to stand bareheaded and barefooted in the midday September sun. At the cry of “ Open a path for the Haji who would enter the House,” the gazers made way. Two stout Meccans, who stood below the door, raised me in their arms, whilst a third drew me from above into the building. At the entrance I was accosted by several officials, dark-looking Meccans, of whom the darkest and plainest was a youth of the Beni Shaybah family *, the true sangre azul of El Hejaz. He held in his hand the huge silver-gilt padlock of the Kaabah f, and presently taking his seat upon a kind of wooden press in the left corner of the hall, he officially inquired my name, nation, and other particulars. The replies were satisfactory, and the boy Mohammed was authoritatively ordered to conduct me round the building, and recite the * They keep the keys of the House. In my day the head of the family was “ Shaykh Ahmed.” t In Ibn Jubair’s time this large padlock was of gold. It is said popularly that none but the Beni Shaybah can open it; a minor miracle, doubtless proceeding from the art of some Eastern Hobbs or Bramah. 288 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. prayers. I will not deny that, looking at the win¬ dowless walls, the officials at the door, and the crowd below — “ And the place death, considering who I was,” * my feelings were of the trapped-rat description acknowledged by the immortal nephew of his uncle Perez. This did not, however, prevent my care¬ fully observing the scene during our long prayers, and making a rough plan with a pencil upon my white Ih- ram. Nothing is more simple than the in¬ terior of this cele¬ brated building. The PLAN OF KA AHA FT. pavement, which is level with the ground, is composed of slabs of fine and various 1. Black Stone (exterior.) 2. Wooden safe, in which key is kept 3. Yemani corner. 4. Shami corner. 5. Bab el Taubah, dwarf door, leading to stair* case by which men ascend to the roof. 6. Iraki corner. 7. Door. 8. Rafters. 9, 9, 9. Columns. A. First place of prayer, B. Second place. C. Third place. D. Fourth place. coloured marbles, mostly however white, disposed chequer-wise. The walls, as far as they can be * However safe a Christian might be at Meccah, nothing could preserve him from the ready knives of enraged fanatics if detected in the House. The very idea is pollution to a Moslem. THE INTERIOR OF THE ICAABAH. 289 seen, are of the same material, but the pieces are irregularly shaped, and many of them are en¬ graved with long inscriptions in the suls and other modern characters. The upper part of tin.' walls, together with the ceiling, at which it is con¬ sidered disrespectful to look* * * § , are covered with handsome red damask, flowered over with gold f, and tucked up about six feet high, so as to be removed from pilgrims’ hands. The ceiling is upheld by three cross-beams, whose shapes appear under the arras; they rest upon the eastern and western walls, and are supported in the centre by three columns J about twenty inches in diameter, covered with carved and ornamented aloe wood. § * I do not know the origin of this superstition ; but it would be unsafe for a pilgrim to look fixedly at the Kaabah ceiling. Under the arras I was told is a strong planking of Saj, or Indian teak, and above it a stuccoed Sath, or flat roof. f Exactly realising the description of our English bard : — “ Goodly arras of great majesty, Woven with gold and silk so close and nere, That the rich metal lurked privily, As feigning to be hid from envious eye.” J Ibn Jubair mentions three columns of teak. Burckhardt and Ali Bey, two. In El Fasy’s day there were four. The Kuraysh erected six columns in double row. Generally the pillars have been three in number. § This wood, which has been used of old to ornament sacred VOL. III. U 290 PILGRIMAGE TO MECCAH AND EL MEDINAH. At the Iraki corner there is a dwarf door, called Bab el Taubah (of repentance*), leading into a narrow passage built for the staircase by which the servants ascend to the roof: it is never opened except for working purposes. The “ Aswad ” or “ As’ad ” f corner is occupied by a flat-topped and quadrant-shaped press or safe % in which at times is placed the key of the Kaabah. § Both door and safe are of aloe wood. Between the columns and about nine feet from the ground ran bars of a metal which I could not distinguish, and hanging to them were many lamps said to be of gold. This completes the upholstery work of the hall. Although there were in the Kaabah but a few attendants engaged in preparing it for the en¬ trance of pilgrims ||, the windowless stone walls buildings in the East, is brought to Meccah in great quantities by Malay and Java pilgrims. The best kind is known by its oily appearance and a “fizzing ” sound in fire; the cunning vendors easily supply it with these desiderata. * Ibn Jubair calls it Bab el Bahmah. f The Hajar el Aswad is also called El As’ad, or the Pro¬ pitious. $ Here, in Ibn Jubair’s time, stood two boxes full of Korans. § The key is sometimes placed in the hands of a child of the house of Shaybah, who sits in state, with black slaves on both sides. || In Ibn Jubair’s day the Kaabah was opened with more THE FEES ON VISITING THE KAABAH. 291 and the choked-up door made it worse than the Piombi of Venice; the perspiration trickled in large drops, and I thought with horror what it must be when filled with a mass of jostling and crushing fanatics. Our devotions consisted of a two-prostration prayer*, followed by long sup¬ plications at the Shami (west) corner, the Iraki (north) angle, the Yemani (south), and, lastly, opposite the southern third of the back wall, f These concluded, I returned to the door, where payment is made. The boy Mohammed told me that the total expense would be seven dollars. At the same time he had been indulging aloud in his favourite rhodomontade, boasting of my greatness, and had declared me to be an Indian pilgrim, a race still supposed at Meccah to be made of gold. J ceremony. The ladder was rolled up to the door, and the chief of the Beni Shaybab, ascending it, was covered by at¬ tendants with a black veil from head to foot, whilst he opened the padlock. Then, having kissed the threshold, he entered, shut the door behind him, and prayed two Rukats; after which, all the Beni Shaybah, and, lastly, the vulgar were admitted. In these days the veil is obsolete. The Shaykh enters the Kaabah alone, perfumes it and prays; the pilgrims are then admitted en masse; and the style in which the eunuchs handle their quarter-staves forms a scene more animated than decorous. * Some pray four instead of two prostrations. f Burckhardt erroneously says, “ in every corner.” I These Indians are ever in extremes, paupers or million- 292 PILGBIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. When seven dollars were tendered they were re¬ jected with instance. Expecting something of the kind, I had been careful to bring no more than eight. Being pulled and interpellated by half a dozen at¬ tendants, my course was to look stupid, and to pretend ignorance of the language. Presently the Shaybah youth bethought him of a contrivance. Drawing forth from the press the key Qf the Kaabah, he partly bared it of its green-silk gold- lettered etui *, and rubbed a golden knob quatre- foil shaped upon my eyes, in order to brighten them. I submitted to the operation with good grace, and added a dollar — my last — to the former offering. The Sherif received it with a hopeless glance, and, aires, and, like all Moslems, the more they pay at Meccali the higher becomes their character and religious titles. A Turkish Pacha seldom squanders so much money as does a Moslem merchant from the far East. Khudabakhsh, the Lahore shawl- dealer, owned to having spent 800/. in feastings and presents. He appeared to consider that sum a trifle, although, had a debtor carried off one tithe of it, his health would have been seriously affected. * The cover of the key is made, like Abraham’s veil, of three colours, red, black, or green. It is of silk, embroidered with golden letters, and upon it are written the Bismillah, the name of the reigning Sultan, “Bag of the key of the holy Kaabah,” and a verselet from the “ Family of Amran ” (Koran, ch. 3.). It is made, like the Kiswah, at Khurunfish; a place that will be noticed below. REASONS FOR NOT ENTERING THE ICAABAII. 293 to my satisfaction, would not put forth his hand to be kissed. Then the attendants began to demand vails. I replied by opening my empty pouch. When let down from the door by the two brawny Meccans 1 was expected to pay them, and ac¬ cordingly appointed to meet them at the boy Mo¬ hammed’s house; an arrangement to which they grumblingly assented. When delivered from these troubles, I was congratulated by my sharp com¬ panion thus : “ Wallah Effendi! thou hast escaped well! some men have left their skins behind.” * All pilgrims do not enter the Kaabah f; and many refuse to do so for religious reasons. Umar Effendi, for instance, who never missed a pilgrim¬ age, had never seen the interior. | Those who tread * “ Ecorches ” —“ pelati; ” the idea is common to most ima¬ ginative nations. ■(• The same is the case at El Medinah ; many religious men object on conscientious grounds to enter the Prophet’s mosque. The poet quoted below made many visitations to El Medinah, but never could persuade himself to approach the tomb. The Esquire Carver saw two young Turks who had voluntarily had their eyes thrust out at Meccah as soon as they had seen the glory and visible sanctity of the tomb of Mohammed. I « doubt the fact,” which thus appears ushered in by a fiction. \ I have not thought it necessary to go deep into the list of “ Muharrimat,” or actions forbidden to the pilgrim who has en¬ tered the Kaabah. They are numerous and meaningless. 294 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. the hallowed floor are bound, among many other things, never again to walk barefooted, to take up fire with the fingers, or to tell lies. Most really con¬ scientious men cannot afford the luxuries of slippers, tongs, and truth. So thought Thomas, when offered the apple which would give him the tongue that cannot lie. “ ‘My tongue is mine ain,’ true Thomas said. ‘ A gudely gift ye wad gie to me! I neither dought to buy nor sell At fair or tryst, where I may be, I dought neither speak to prince or peer, Nor ask of grace from fair ladye! ’ ” Amongst the Hindoos I have met with men who have proceeded upon a pilgrimage to Dwarka, and yet would not receive the brand of the god, because lying would then be forbidden to them. A con¬ fidential servant of a friend in Bombay naively declared that he had not been marked, as the act would have ruined him. There is a sad truth in what he said. Lying to the Oriental is meat and drink, and the roof that covers him. The Kaabah had been dressed in her new attire when we entered.* The covering, however, instead * The use of the feminine pronoun is explained below. When unclothed, the Kaabah is called Uryanah (naked), in THE FIRST COVERING OF THE TEMPLE. 295 of being secured at the bottom to the metal rings in the basement, was tucked up by ropes from the roof and depended over each face in two long tongues. It was of a brilliant black, and the Hizam—the zone or golden band running round the upper portion of the building, — as well as the Burka (face-veil) *, were of dazzling brightness. The origin of this custom must be sought in the ancient practice of typifying the church visible by a virgin or bride. The poet Abd el Rahim el Burai, in one of his Gnostic effusions, has em¬ bodied the idea: — “ And Meccah’s bride (i. e. the Kaabah) appearetli decked with (miraculous) signs.” This idea doubtless led to the face-veil, the covering, and the guardianship of eunuchs. The Meccan temple was first dressed as a mark of honor by Tubba the Himyarite when he Ju- opposition to its normal state, “ Muhramah,” or clad in Ihram. In Burckhardt’s time the house remained naked for fifteen days ; now the investiture is effected in a few hours. * The gold-embroidered curtain covering the Kaabah door is called by the learned “Burkat el Kaabah” (the Kaabah’s face-veil), by the vulgar Burkat Fatimah ; they connect it in idea with the Prophet’s daughter. 296 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. daised.* If we accept this fact, which is vouched for by oriental history, we are led to the conclusion that the children of Israel settled at Meccah had connected the temple with their own faith, and, as a corollary, that the prophet of El Islam introduced their apocryphal traditions into his creed. The pagan Arabs did not remove the coverings: the old and torn Kiswah was covered with a new cloth, and the weight threatened to crush the building, f From the time of Kusay, the Kaabah was veiled by subscription, till Abu Rabiat el Mughayrah bin Abdullah, who, having acquired great wealth by commerce, offered to provide the Kiswah on alternate years, and thereby gained the name of El Adi. The Prophet preferred a covering of fine Yemen cloth, and directed the expense to be defrayed by the Bait el Mai, or public treasury. Umar chose Egyptian linen, ordering the Kiswah to be renewed every year, and the old covering to be distributed among the pilgrims. In the reign of Usman the Kaabah was twice clothed, in winter and summer. For the former season it received a Kamis, or Tobe (shirt of brocade), with an Izar, or * The pyramids, it is said, were covered from base to summit with yellow silk or satin. 1" present the Kiswah, it need scarcely be said, does not cover the flat roof. CHANGES IN STYLE AND MAKE OF KISWAH. 297 veil; for the latter a suit of fine linen. Muawiyah at first supplied linen and brocade; he afterwards exchanged the former for striped Yemen stuff, and ordered Shaybah bin Usman to strip the Kaabah, and perfume the walls with Khaluk. Shaybah divided the old Kiswah among the pilgrims, and Abdullah bin Abbas did not object to this dis¬ tribution.* Ihe Caliph Maamun (9th century) ordered the dress to be changed three times a year. In his day it was red brocade on the 10th Muharran; fine linen on the 1st Rajab; and white brocade on the 1st Shawwal. At last he was informed that the veil applied on the 10th of Muharram was too closely followed by the red brocade in the next month, and that it required renewing on the 1st of Shawwal. This he ordered to be done. El Muta- * Ayisha also, when Shaybah proposed to bury the old Kiswah, that it might not be worn by the impure, directed him to sell it, and to distribute the proceeds to the poor. The Meccans still follow the first half, but neglect the other part of the order given by the “ Mother of the Moslems.” Kazi Khan advises the proceeds of the sale being devoted to the repairs of the temple. The “ Si raj el Wahhaj” positively forbids, as sinful, the cutting, transporting, selling, buying, and placing it between the leaves of the Koran. Kutb el Din (from whom I borrow these particulars) introduces some fine and casuistic distinctions. In his day, however, the Beni Shaybah claimed the old, after the arrival of the new Kiswah ; and their right to it was admitted. To the present day they continue to sell it. 298 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINA!! AND MECCAH. wakkil (9th century), when informed that the dress was spoiled by pilgrims, at first ordered two to be given, and the brocade shirt to be let down as far as the pavement: at last he sent a new veil every two months. During the Caliphat of the Abassides this investiture came to signify sovereignty in El Hejaz, which passed alternately from Baghdad to Egypt and Yemen. When the Holy Land fell under the power of the Usmanli, Sultan Selim ordered the Kis- wah to be black, and his son, Sultan Sulayman the magnificent (10th century), devoted considerable sums to the purpose. In El Idrisi’stime (12th cen¬ tury) the Kiswah was composed of black silk, and renewed every year by the Caliph of Baghdad. Ibn Jubair writes that it was green and gold. The Kiswah remained with Egypt when Sultan Kalaun (13th century) conveyed the rents of two villages, “ Baysus ” and “ Sindbus to the expense of providing an outer black and inner red curtain for the Kaabah f, and hangings for the Prophet’s tomb at El Medinah. The Kiswah was afterwards renewed at the accession of each Sultan, And the Wahhabi, * Burckliardt says “ Bysous ” and “ Sandabeir.” f Some authors also mention a green Kiswah, applied by this monarch. Embroidered on it were certain verselets of the Koran, the formula of the Moslem faith, and the names of the Prophet’s companions. INSCRIPTIONS ON KISWAH. 299 during the first year of their conquest, covered the Kaabah with a red Kiswah of the same stuff as the fine Arabian Aba or cloak, and made at El Hasa. The Kiswah is now worked at a cotton manu¬ factory called El Khurunfish, of the Tumn Bab el Shaariyah, Cairo. It is made by a hereditary family, called the Bait el Sadi, and, as the specimen in my possession proves, it is a coarse tissue of silk and cotton mixed. The Kiswah is composed of eight pieces — two for each face of the Kaabah, — the seams being concealed by the Hizam, a broad band, which at a distance looks like gold; it is lined with white calico, and supplied with cotton ropes. Anciently it is said all the Koran was in¬ terwoven into it. Now, it is inscribed, “ Verily, the first of houses founded for mankind (to worship in) is that at Bekkah*j blessed and a direction to all creatures : ” together with seven chapters, namely, the Cave, Mariam, the Family of Amran, Repentance, T. H. with Y. S. and Tabarak. The character is that called Tumar, the largest style of Eastern calligraphy, legible from a considerable * From the “ Family of Amran ” (chap. 3.). “ Bekkah ” j s “a place of crowding;’’ hence applied to. Meccah generally. Some writers, however, limit it to the part of the city round the Haram. 300 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. distance.* The Hizam is a band about two feet broad, and surrounding the Kaabah at two-thirds of its height. It is divided into four pieces, which are sewn together. On the first and second is inscribed the “ Throne verselet,” and on the third and fourth the titles of the reigning Sultan. These inscriptions are, like the Burka, or door curtain, gold worked into red silk, by the Bait el Sadi. When the Kiswah is ready at Khurunfish, it is carried in procession to the Mosque El Hasanayn, where it is lined, sewn, and prepared for the journey.f After quitting the Kaabah, I returned home ex¬ hausted, and washed with henna and warm water, to mitigate the pain of the sun-scalds upon my arms, shoulders, and breast. The house was empty, all the Turkish pilgrims being still at Muna, and the Kabirah — the old lady — received me with peculiar attention. I was ushered into an upper room, whose teak wainscotings, covered with * It is larger than the suls. Admirers of Eastern calli¬ graphy may see a “ Bismillah,” beautifully written in Tumar, on the wall of Sultan Muayyad’s mosque at Cairo. f Mr. Lane (Mod. Egypt, vol. iii. chap. 25.) has given an ample and accurate description of the Kiswah. I have added a few details, derived from “ Khalil Effendi ” of Cairo, a professor of Arabic, and an excellent French scholar. THE PILGRIM ASSISTED IN HIS ABLUTIONS. 301 Cufic and other inscriptions, large carpets, and ample diwans still showed a ragged splendour. The family had “ seen better days,” the Sherif Ghalib having confiscated three of its houses ; but it is still proud, and cannot merge the past into the present. In the “drawing-room,” which the Turkish colonel occupied when at Meccah, the Kabirah supplied me with a pipe, coffee, cold water, and breakfast. I won her heart by praising the graceless boy Mohammed ; like all mothers, she dearly loved the scamp of the family. When he entered, and saw his maternal parent standing near me, with only the end of her veil drawn over her mouth, he began to scold her with divers insinu¬ ations. “ Soon thou wilt sit amongst the men in the hall! ” he exclaimed. “ 0, my son,” rejoined the Kabirah, “ fear Allah, thy mother is in years! ” — and truly she was so, being at least fifty. “ A-a-h ! ” sneered the youth, who had formed, as boys of the world must do, or appear to do, a very low estimate of the sex. The old lady understood the drift of the exclamation, and departed with a half-laughing “ may Allah disappoint thee! ” She soon, however, returned, bringing me water for ablution ; and having heard that I had not yet 302 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. sacrificed a sheep at Muna, enjoined me to return and perform without delay that important rite. After resuming our laical toilette, and dressing gaily for the great festival, we mounted our asses about the cool of the afternoon, and, returning to Muna, found the tent full of visitors. Ali ibn Ya Sin, the Zem Zemi, had sent me an amphora of holy water, and the carrier was awaiting the cus¬ tomary dollar. With him were several Meccans, one of whom spoke excellent Persian. We sat down, and chatted together for an hour ; and I afterwards learned from the boy Mohammed, that all had pro¬ nounced me to be an “ Ajemi.” After their de¬ parture we debated about the victim, which is only a Sunnat, or Practice of the Prophet.* It is generally sacrificed immediately after the first lapidation, and we had already been guilty of delay. Under these circumstances, and considering the meagre condition of my purse, I would not buy a sheep, but contented myself with watching my neighbours. They gave themselves great trouble, especially a large party of Indians pitched near us, to buy the victim cheap; but the Bedouins were * Those who omit the rite fast ten days; three during the pilgrimage season, and the remaining seven at some other time. SACRIFICES AT MUNA. 303 not less acute, and he was happy who paid less than a dollar and a quarter. Some preferred contri¬ buting to buy a lean ox. None but the Sherif and the principal dignitaries slaughtered camels. The pilgrims dragged their victims to a smooth rock near the Akabah, above which stands a small open pavilion, whose sides, red with fresh blood, showed that the prince and his attendants had been busy at sacrifice.* Others stood before their tents, and, directing the victim’s face towards the Kaabah, cut its throat, ejaculating, “ Bismillah! Allahu Akbar ! ” f The boy Mohammed sneer- ingly directed my attention to the Indians, who, being a mild race, had hired an Arab butcher to do the deed of blood ; and he aroused all Shaykh Nur’s ire by his taunting comments upon the chicken-heartedness of the men of Hind. It is considered a meritorious act to give away the victim without eating any portion of its flesh. * The camel is sacrificed by thrusting a pointed instrument into the interval between the sternum and the neck. This anomaly may be accounted for by the thickness and hardness of the muscles of the throat. f It is strange that Burckhardt should make the Moslem say, when slaughtering or sacrificing, “ In the name of the most merciful God!” As Mr. Lane justly observes, the attribute of mercy is omitted on these occasions. 304 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. Parties of Takruri might be seen, sitting vulture- like, contemplating the sheep and goats; and no sooner was the signal given, than they fell upon the bodies, and cut them up without removing them. The surface of the valley soon came to resemble the dirtiest slaughter-house, and my prescient soul drew bad auguries for the future. We had spent a sultry afternoon in the basin of Muna, which is not unlike a volcanic crater, an Aden closed up at the sea-side. Towards night the occasional puffs of simoom ceased, and through the air of deadly stillness a mass of purple nimbus, bisected by a thin grey line of mist-cloud, rolled down upon us from the Taif hills. When darkness gave the signal, most of the pilgrims pressed towards the square in front of the Muna mosque, to enjoy the pyrotechnics and the discharge of cannon. But during the spectacle came on a windy storm, whose lightnings, flashing their fire from pole to pole, paled the rockets, and whose thunderings, re-echoed by the rocky hills, drowned the puny artillery of man. We were disappointed in our hopes of rain. A few huge drops pattered upon the plain and sank into its thirsty entrails ; all the rest was thunder and lightning, dust-clouds and whirlwind. 305 CHAP. XXXII. THE DAYS OF DRYING FLESH. All was dull after the excitement of the Great Festival. The heat of the night succeeding it ren¬ dered every effort to sleep abortive; and as our little camp required a guard in a place so cele¬ brated for plunderers, I spent the great part of the time sitting in the clear pure moonlight. After midnight* we again repaired to the Devils, and, beginning with the Ula, or first pillar, at the eastern extremity of Muna, threw at each 7 stones (making a total of 21), with the ceremonies before described. On Thursday we arose before dawn, and prepared * It is not safe to perform this ceremony at an early hour, although the ritual forbids it being deferred after sunset. A crowd of women, however, assembled at the Devils in the earlier part of the 11th night (our 10th); and these dames, despite the oriental modesty of face-veils, attack a stranger with hands and stones as heartily as English hop-gatherers hasten to duck the Acteon who falls in their way. Hence, popular usage allows stones to be thrown by men until the morning prayers of the 1 Jth Zu’l Hijjah. VOL. III. X 306 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINA!! AND MECCAH. with a light breakfast for the fatigues of a climbing walk. After half an hour spent in hopping from boulder to boulder, we arrived at a place situated on the lower declivity of Jebel Sabir, the northern wall of the Muna basin. Here is the Majarr el Kabsh, “the Dragging-place of the Earn;” a small, white-washed square, divided into two compartments. The first is entered by a few rag¬ ged steps in the S.E. angle, which lead to an enclosure 30 feet by 15. In the N.E. corner is a block of granite (a), in which a huge gash, several inches broad, some feet deep, and completely splitting the stone in knife-shape, notes the spot where Ibra¬ him’s blade fell when the archangel Gabriel forbade him to slay Ismail his son. The second compartment contains a diminutive hypogeum (b). In this cave the patriarch sacrificed the victim, which gives the place a name. We descended by a flight of steps, and under the stifling ledge of rock found mats and praying rugs, which, at this early hour, were not overcrowded. We followed the example of the patriarchs, and prayed a two-prostration prayer in each of the enclosures. After distributing the usual gratification, we left the place, and proceeded THE HEJAZI APES. 307 to mount the hill, in hope of seeing some of the apes said still to haunt the heights. These animals are supposed by the Meccans to have been Jews, thus transformed for having broken the Sabbath by hunting.* They abound in the elevated regions about Arafat and Taif, where they are caught by mixing the juice of the asclepias and narcotics with dates and other sweet bait.f The Hejazi ape is a hideous cynocephalus, with small eyes placed close together, and almost hidden by a dispropor¬ tionate snout; a greenish-brown coat, long arms, and a stem of lively pink, like fresh meat. They are docile, and are said to be fond of spirituous liquors, and to display an inordinate affection for women. El Masud tells about them a variety of anecdotes. According to him, their principal use in Hind and Chin was to protect kings from poison, by eating suspected dishes. The Bedouins have many tales concerning them. It is universally * Traditions about these animals vary in the different part 3 of Arabia. At Aden, for instance, they are supposed to be a remnant of the rebellious tribe of Ad. It is curious that the popular Arabic, like the Persian names, Saadan, Maymun, Shadi, &c. &c., are all expressive of (a probably euphuistic) “ propitiousness. ” f The Egyptians generally catch, train, and take them to the banks of the Nile, where the “ Kuraydati ” ( ape-leader) is a popular character. 308 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. believed that they catch and kill kites, by exposing the pink portion of their persons and concealing the rest: the bird pounces upon what appears to be raw meat, and presently finds himself viciously plucked alive. Throughout Arabia an old story is told of them. A merchant was once plundered during his absence by a troop of these apes: they tore open his bales, and, charmed with the scarlet hue of the tarbushes, began applying those articles of dress to uses quite opposite to their normal pur¬ pose/ The merchant was in despair, when his slave offered for a consideration to recover the goods. Placing himself in the front, like a fugleman to the ape-company, he went through a variety of man¬ oeuvres with a tarbush, and concluded with throw¬ ing it far away. The recruits carefully imitated him, and the drill concluded with his firing a shot: the plunderers decamped and the caps were regained. Failing to see any apes, we retired to the tent ere the sun waxed hot, in anticipation of a terrible day. Nor were we far wrong. In addition to the heat, we had swarms of flies, and the blood-stained earth began to reek with noisome vapours. Nought moved in the air except kites and vultures, speck¬ ling the deep blue sky: the denizens of earth seemed paralysed by the sun. I spent the time between breakfast and nightfal lying half-dressed upon a COFFEE-HOUSES AT ML'NA. 309 mat, moving round the tent-pole to escape the glare, and watching my numerous neighbours, male and female. The Indians were particularly kind, fill¬ ing my pipe, offering cooled water, and performing similar little offices. I repaid them with a supply of provisions, which, at the Muna market-prices, these unfortunates could ill afford. When the moon arose the boy Mohammed and I walked out into the town, performed our second day’s lapidation *, and visited the coffee-houses. * This ceremony, as the reader will have perceived, is performed by the Shafei on the 10th, the 11th, and the 12th of Zu’l IIijja.li. The Hanafis conclude their stoning on the 13th. The times vary with each day, and differ considerably in religious efficacy. On the night of the 10th (our 9th), for in¬ stance, lapidation, according to some authorities, cannot take place; others permit it, with a sufficient reason. Between the dawn and sunrise it is Makruh, or disapproved of. Between sunrise and the declination is the Sunnat-time, and therefore the best. From noon to sunset it is Mubah, or permissible: the same is the case with the night, if a cause exist. On the 11th and 12th of Zu’l Hijjah lapidation is disap¬ proved of from sunset to sunrise. The Sunnat is from noon to sunset, and it is permissible at all other hours. The number of stones thrown by the Shafeis, is 49, viz., 7 on the 10th day, 7 at each pillar (total 21) on the 11th day, and the same on the 12th Zu’l Hijjah. The Hanafis also throw 21 stones on the 13th, which raises their number of 70. The 7 first bits of granite must be collected at Muzdalifah; x 3 310 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINA!! AND MECCAH. I The shops were closed early, but business was transacted in places of public resort till midnight. We entered the houses of numerous acquaintances, who accosted my companion, and were hospitably welcomed with pipes and coffee. The first ques¬ tion always was “ Who is this pilgrim ? ” and more than once the reply, “ An Afghan,” elicited the lan¬ guage of my own country, which I could no longer speak. Of this phenomenon, however, nothing was thought: many Afghans settled in India know not a word of Pushtu, and even above the Passes many of the townspeople are imperfectly ac¬ quainted with it. The Meccans, in consequence of their extensive intercourse with strangers and habits of travelling, are admirable conversational linguists. They speak Arabic remarkably well, and with a volubility surpassing the most lively of our continental nations. Persian, Turkish, and Hin- dostani are generally known ; and the Mutawwifs, who devote themselves to particular races of pil¬ grims, soon become masters of the language. Returning homewards, we were called to a spot the rest may be taken from the Muna valley ; and all must be washed 7 times before being thrown. In throwing, the Hanafis attempt to approach the pillar, if possible, standing within reach of it. Skafeis may stand at a greater distance, which should not, however, pass the limits of 5 cubits. A BEDOUIN SONG. 31L by the clapping of hands* and the loud sound of song. We found a crowd of Bedouins surrounding a group engaged in their favourite occupation of dancing. The performance is wild in the extreme, resembling rather the hopping of bears than the inspirations of Terpsichore. The bystanders joined in the song; an interminable recitative, as usual, in the minor key, and as Orientals are admirable tim- ists, it sounded like one voice. The refrain appeared to be— “La Yayha! La Yayha! ’’ to which no one could assign a meaning. At other times they sang something intelligible. For in¬ stance : — j\^\ * Here called Safk. It is mentioned by Herodotus, and known to almost every oriental people. The Bedouins some¬ times, though rarely, use a table or kettledrum. Yet, amongst the “ Pardah,” or musical modes of the East, we find the Hejazi ranking with the Isfahani and the Iraki. Southern Arabia has never been celebrated for producing-musicians, like the banks of the Tigris to which we owe, besides castanets and cymbals, the guitar, the drum, and the lute, father of the modern harp. The name of this instrument is a corruption of the Arabic “ El Ud'’ through liuto and luth, into lute. ■f That is to say,— “ On the Great Festival-day at Muna I saw my lord. I am a stranger amongst you, therefore pity me I ” 312 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. This couplet may have, like the puerilities of certain modern and European poets, an abstruse and mystical meaning, to be discovered when the Arabs learn to write erudite essays upon nursery rhymes. The style of the saltation, called Ru- fayhah, rivalled the song. The dancers raised both arms high above their heads, brandishing a dagger, pistol, or some other small weapon. They followed each other by hops, on one or both feet, sometimes indulging in the most demented leaps; whilst the bystanders clapped with their palms a more enliv¬ ening measure. This I was told is especially their war-dance. They have other forms, which my eyes were not fated to see. Amongst the Bedouins of El Hejaz, unlike the Somali and other African races, the sexes never mingle : the girls may dance together, but it would be disgraceful to perform in the company of men. After so much excitement we retired to rest, and slept soundly. On Friday, the 12th Zu’l Hijjah, the camels ap¬ peared, according to order, at early dawn, and they were loaded with little delay. We were anxious to enter Meccah in time for the sermon, and I for one was eager to escape the now pestilential air of Muna. A REVOLTING SCENE. 313 Literally, the land stank. Five or six thousand animals had been slain and cut up in this Devil’s Punch-bowl. I leave the reader to imagine the rest. The evil might be avoided by building “ abattoirs,” or, more easily still, by digging long trenches, and by ordering all pilgrims, under pain of mulct, to sacrifice in the same place. Unhappily, the spirit of El Islam is opposed to these pre¬ cautions of common sense. “Inshallah” and “Kismat” take the place of prevention and cure. And at Meccah, the head-quarters of the faith, a desolating attack of cholera is preferred to the impiety of “flying in the face of Providence,” and the folly of endeavouring to avert inevitable decrees. Mounting our camels, and led by Masud, we entered Muna by the eastern end, and from the litter threw the remaining twenty-one stones. I could now see the principal lines of shops, and, having been led to expect a grand display of mer¬ chandise, was surprised to find only mat-booths and sheds, stocked chiefly with provisions. The exit from Muna was crowded, for many, like our¬ selves, had fled from the revolting scene. I could not think without pity of those whom religious 314 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. scruples detained another day and a half in this foul spot. After entering Meccah we bathed, and when the noon drew nigh we repaired to the Haram for the purpose of hearing the sermon. Descending to the cloisters below the Bab el Ziyadah, I stood wonder- struck by the scene before me. The vast quad¬ rangle was crowded with worshippers sitting in long rows, and everywhere facing the central black tower: the showy colours of their dresses were not to be surpassed by a garden of the most brilliant flowers, and such diversity of detail would proba¬ bly not be seen massed together in any other build¬ ing upon earth. The women, a dull and sombre- looking group, sat apart in their peculiar place. The Pacha stood on the roof of Zem Zem, sur¬ rounded by guards in Nizam uniform. Where the principal ulema stationed themselves the crowd was thicker; and in the more auspicious spots nought was to be seen but a pavement of heads and shoulders. Nothing seemed to move but a few dervishes, who, censer in hand, sidled through the rows and received the unsolicited alms of the faithful. Apparently in the midst, and raised above the crowd by the tall, pointed pulpit, whose gilt spire flamed in the sun, sat the preacher, an THE SERMON AT MECCAH. 315 old man with snowy beard. The style of head¬ dress called “ Taylasan ” * covered his turban, which was white as his robes f, and a short staff supported his left hand.J Presently he arose, took the staff in his right hand, pronounced a few in¬ audible words §, and sat down again on one of the lower steps, whilst a Muezzin, at the foot of the pulpit, recited the call to sermon. Then the old man stood up and began to preach. As the ma¬ jestic figure began to exert itself there was a deep * A scarf thrown over the head, with one end brought round under the chin and passed over the left shoulder composes the “ Taylasan.” t As late as Ibn Jubair’s time the preacher was habited from head to foot in black; and two Muezzins held black flags fixed in rings on both sides of the pulpit, with the staves propped upon the first step. J Mr. Lane remarks, that the wooden sword is never held by the preacher but in a country that has been won from infidels by Moslems. Burckhardt more correctly traces the origin of the custom to the early days of El Islam, when the preachers found it necessary to be prepared for surprises. And all au¬ thors who, like Ibn Jubair, described the Meccan ceremonies, mention the sword or staff. The curious reader will consult this most accurate of Moslem travellers; and a perusal of the pages will show that anciently the sermon differed consider¬ ably from, and was far more ceremonious than, the present Ehutbah. § The words were “ Peace be with ye! and the mercy of Allah and his blessings 1 ” 316 PILGBIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND JIECCAH. silence. Presently a general “ Amin ” was intoned by the crowd at the conclusion of some long sen¬ tence. And at last, towards the end of the sermon, every third or fourth word was followed by the simultaneous rise and fall of thousands of voices. I have seen the religious ceremonies of many lands, but never — nowhere — aught so solemn, so impressive as this spectacle. 317 CHAP. XXXIII. LIFE AT MECCAH, AND THE LITTLE PILGRIMAGE. My few remaining days at Meccah sped pleasantly enough. Umar Effendi visited me regularly, and arranged to accompany me furtively to Cairo. I had already consulted Mohammed Shiklibha,—who suddenly appeared at Muna, having dropped down from Suez to Jeddah, and reached Meccah in time for pilgrimage,—about the possibility of proceeding eastward. The honest fellow’s eyebrows rose till they almost touched his turban, and he exclaimed in a roaring voice, “ Wallah! Effendi! thou art surely mad.” Every day he brought me news of the different caravans. The Bedouins of El Hejaz were, he said, in a ferment caused by reports of the Holy War, want of money, and rumours of quarrels between the Sherif and the Pacha : already they spoke of an attack upon Jeddah. Shaykh Masud, the camel-man, with whom I parted on the best of terms, seriously advised my remaining at Meccah for some months even before proceeding to 318 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. Sanaa. Others gave the same counsel. Briefly I saw that my star was not then in the ascendant, and resolved to reserve myself for a more pro¬ pitious conjuncture by returning to Egypt. The Turkish colonel and I had become as friendly as two men ignoring each other’s speech could be. He had derived benefit from some pre¬ scription ; but, like all his countrymen, he was pining to leave Meccah.* Whilst the pilgrimage lasted, said they, no mal de pays came to trouble them; but, its excitement over, they could think of nothing but their wives and children. Long-drawn faces and continual sighs evidenced nostalgia. At last the house became a scene of preparation. Blue china-ware and basketed bottles of Zem Zem water appeared standing in solid columns, and pilgrims occupied themselves in hunting for mementos of Meccah, drawings, combs, balm, henna, tooth-sticks, aloe-wood, turquoises, coral, and mother-o’-pearl rosaries, shreds of Kiswah-cloth and fine Abas, or cloaks of camels’-wool. It was not safe to mount * Not more than one-quarter of the pilgrims who appear at Arafat go on to El Medinah: the expense, the hardships, and the dangers of the journey account for the smallness of the number. In theology it is “ Jaiz,” or admissible, to begin with the Prophet’s place of burial. But those performing the “ Haj- jat el Islam ” are enjoined to commence at Meccah. THE HEAT AT MECCAH UNBEARABLE. 319 the stairs without shouting “ Tarik ” — out of the way! — at every step, or peril of meeting face to face some excited fair.* The lower floor was crowded with provision-vendors; and the staple article of conversation seemed to be the chance of a steamer from Jeddah to Suez. Weary of the wrangling and chaffering of the hall below, I had persuaded my kind hostess, in spite of the surly skeleton her brother, partially to clear out a small store-room in the first floor, and to abandon it to me between the hours of ten and four. During the heat of the day clothing is un¬ endurable at Meccah. The city is so “ compacted together” by hills, that even the simoom can scarcely sweep it, the heat reverberated by the bare rocks is intense, and the normal atmosphere of an eastern town communicates a faint lassitude to the body and irritability to the mind. The houses being unusually strong and well-built, might by some art of thermantidote be rendered cool enough in the hottest weather: they are now ovens.f It * When respectable married men live together in the same house, a rare occurrence, except on journeys, this most un¬ gallant practice of clearing the way is and must be kept up in the East. j- I offer no lengthened description of the town of Meccah : Ali Bey and Burckhardt have already said all that requires 320 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAII AND MECCAH. was my habit to retire immediately after the late breakfast to the little room upstairs, to sprinkle it with water, and lie down upon a mat. In the few precious moments of privacy notes were committed to paper, but one eye was ever fixed on the door. Sometimes a patient would interrupt me, but a doctor is far less popular in El Hejaz than in Egypt. The people, being more healthy, have less faith in physic: Shaykh Masud and his son had saying. Although the origin of the Bait Ullah be lost in the glooms of past time, the city is a comparatively modern place, built about a. d. 450, by Kusay and the Kuraysh. It contains about 30,000 inhabitants, with lodging room for at least treble that number ; and the material of the houses is brick, granite, and sandstone from the neighbouring hills. The site is a winding valley, on a small plateau, half-way “ below the Ghauts.” Its utmost length is two miles and a half from the Mab’dah (north) to the southern mount Jiyad ; and three-quar¬ ters of a mile would be the extreme breadth between Abu Ku- bays eastward,—upon whose western slope the most solid mass of the town clusters,—and Jebel Hindi westward of the city. In the centre of this line stands the Kaabah. I regret being unable to offer the reader a sketch of Meccah, or of the Great Temple. The stranger who would do this should visit the city out of the pilgrimage season, and hire a room looking into the quadrangle of the Haram. This addition to our knowledge is the more required, as our popular sketches (generally taken from D’Ohsson) are utterly incorrect. The Kaabah is always a recognisable building -, but the “ View of Meccah ” known to Europe is not more like Meccah than like Cairo or Bombay. A SAUDAWI OR MELANCHOLIST. 321 never tasted in their lives aught more medicinal than green dates and camels’ milk. Occasionally the black slave-girls came into the room, asking if the pilgrim wanted a pipe or a cup of coffee : they generally retired in a state of delight, attempting vainly to conceal with a corner of tattered veil a grand display of ivory consequent upon some small and innocent facetiousness. The most frequent of my visitors was Abdullah, the Kabirah’s eldest son. This melancholy Jacques had joined our caravan at El Hamra, on the Yambu road, accompanied us to El Medinah, lived there, and journeyed to Meccah with the Syrian pilgrimage; yet he had not once come to visit me or to see his brother, the boy Mohammed. When gently reproached for this omission he declared it to be his way — that he never called upon strangers until sent for. He was a perfect Saudawi (melancholist) in mind, manners, and personal appearance, and this class of humanity in the East is almost as uncomfortable to the household as the idiot of Europe. I was fre¬ quently obliged to share my meals with him, as his mother — though most filially and reverentially entreated — would not supply him with breakfast two hours after the proper time, or with a dinner served up forty minutes before the rest of the VOL. in. y 322 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. household. Often, too, I had to curb, by polite de¬ precation, the impetuosity of the fiery old Kabirah’s tongue. Thus Abdullah and I became friends, after a fashion. He purchased several little articles re¬ quired, and never failed to pass hours in my closet, giving me much information about the country, deploring the laxity of Meccan morals, and lament¬ ing that in these evil days his countrymen had forfeited their name at Cairo and Constantinople. His curiosity about the English in India was great, and I satisfied it by praising, as a Moslem would, their “politike,” their even-handed justice, and their good star. Then he would inquire into the truth of a fable extensively known on the shores of the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. The English, it is said, sent a mission to Mohammed, inquiring into his doctrines, and begging that Khalid bin Walid * might be sent to proselytise them. Un- * It is curious that the Afghans should claim this Kuraysh noble as their compatriot. “ On one occasion, when Khalid bin Walid was saying something in his native tongue (the Pushtu or Afghani), Mohammed remarked that assuredly that language was the peculiar dialect of the damned. As Khalid appeared to suffer from the observation, and to betray certain symptoms of insubordination, the Prophet condescended to comfort him by graciously pronouncing the words “ Ghashe linda raora, ». e. bring me my bow and arrows. (Remarks DESTRUCTION OF THE KAABAH PROPHESIED. 323 fortunately, the envoys arrived too late — the Pro¬ phet’s soul had winged its way to Paradise. An abstract of the Moslem scheme was, however, sent to the “ Ingreez,” who declined, as the founder of the new faith was no more, to abandon their own religion; but the refusal was accompanied with expressions of regard. For this reason many Mos¬ lems in Barbary and other countries hold the En¬ glish to be of all “ People of the Books ” the best inclined towards them. As regards the Prophet’s tradition concerning the fall of his birthplace “ and the* thin-calved from the Habash (Abyssinians) shall destroy the Kaabah,” I was informed that towards the end of time a host will pass over from Africa in such multitudes that a stone shall be conveyed from hand to hand between Jeddah and Meccah. This latter condition might easily be ac¬ complished by 60,000 men, the distance being only 44 miles, but the citizens consider it to express a countless horde. Some pious Moslems have hoped that in Abdullah bin Zubayr’s re-erection of the Kaabah the prophecy was fulfilled *: the popular belief, however, remains, that the fatal event is still on Dr. Dorn’s Chrestomathy of the Pushtu or Afghan Language. Trans. Bombay As. Society, 1848.) * See the 9th building of the Kaabah, described in Chap. IV 324 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAII AND MECCAH. in the womb of time. In a previous part of thes volumes I have alluded to similar evil present; ments which haunt the mind of El Islam ; and th Christian, zealous for the propagation of his faitl may see in them an earnest of its still wider dii fusion in future ages. Late in the afternoon I used to rise, perforr ablution, and repair to the Haram, or wande about the bazaars till sunset. After this it wa necessary to return home and prepare for supper- dinner it would be called in the West. The mea concluded, I used to sit for a time outside the street door in great dignity, upon a broken-backed black wood chair, traditionally said to have been left i: the house by one of the princes of Delhi, smoking hookah, and drinking sundry cups of strong gree; tea with a slice of lime, a fair substitute for milt At this hour the seat was as in a theatre, but th words of the actors were of a nature somewhat to Fescennine for a British public. After nightfa we either returned to the Haram or retired to resi Our common dormitory was the flat roof of th house; under each cot stood a water-gugglet; an all slept, as must be done in the torrid lands, on an not in bed. I sojourned at Meccah but a short time, and, a FAMILIARITY BREEDS CONTEMPT. 325 usual with travellers, did not see the best specimens of the population. The citizens appeared to me more civilised and more vicious than those of El Medinah. They often leave — “ Home, where small experience grows,” and —“qui multum peregrinating raro santijicatur ”— become a worldly-wise, God-forgetting, and Mam¬ monish sort of folk. “Tuf w’ asaa, w’ aamil el Saba ” — “ Circumambulate and run (i. e. between Safa and Marwah) and do the seven (deadly sins)”— is a satire pppularly levied against them. Hence, too, the proverb “ El Haram f’ il Haramain ” — “ Evil (dwelleth) in the two Holy (Cities) ; ” and no wonder, since plenary indulgence is so easily se¬ cured.* The pilgrim is forbidden, or rather dis¬ suaded, from abiding at Meccah after the rites, and wisely. Great emotions must be followed by a reaction. And he who stands struck by the first aspect of Allah’s house, after a few months, the marvel becoming stale, sweeps past it with indif¬ ference or something worse. * Good acts done at Meccah are rewarded a hundred-thou¬ sand-fold in heaven; yet it is not auspicious to dwell there. Umar informs us that an evil deed receives the punishment of seventy. 326 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. There is, however, little at Meccah to offend the eye. Like certain other nations further west, a layer of ashes overspreads the fire: the mine is concealed by a green turf fair to look upon. It is only when wandering by starlight through the northern outskirts of the town that men may be seen with light complexions and delicate limbs, coarse turbans and Egyptian woollen robes, speaking disguise and the purpose of disguise. No one within the memory of man has suffered the penalty of immorality. Spirituous liquors are no longer sold, as in Burckhardt’s day *, in shop?; and some Arnaut officers assured me that they found con¬ siderable difficulty in smuggling flasks of “ raki ” from Jeddah. The Meccan is a darker man than the Medinite. The people explain this by the heat of the climate. I rather believe it to be caused by the number of female slaves that find their way into the market. Galias, Sawahilis, a few Somalis, and Abyssinians are embarked at Suakin, Zayla, Tajurrah, and Ber- bera, carried in thousands to Jeddah, and the Holy City has the pick of each batch. Thence the * It must be remembered that my predecessor visited Mec¬ cah when the Egyptian army, commanded by Mohammed Ali, held the town. “ BEAUTY-MASKS ” IN VOGUE. 327 stream sets northwards, a small current towards El Medinah, and the main line to Egypt and Turkey.* Most Meccans have black concubines, and, as has been said, the appearance of the Sherif is almost that of a negro. I did not see one hand¬ some man in the Holy City, although some of the women appeared to me beautiful. The male pro file is high and bony, the forehead recedes, and the head rises unpleasantly towards the region of firm¬ ness. In most families male children, when forty days old, are taken to the Kaabah, prayed over, and carried home, where the barber draws with a razor three parallel gashes down the fleshy portion of each cheek, from the exterior angles of the eyes almost to the corners of the mouth. These “ ma- shali,” as they are called f, may be of modern date: * In another place I have ventured a few observations con¬ cerning the easy suppression of this traffic. f The act is called “ Tashrit,” or gashing. The body is also marked, but with smaller cuts, so that the child is covered with blood. Ali bey was told by some Meccans that the face-gashes served for the purpose of phlebotomy, by others that they were signs that the scarred was the servant of Allah’s house. He attributes this male-gashing, like female tattooing, to coquetry. The citizens told me that the custom arose from the necessity of preserving children from the kidnapping Persians, and that it is preserved as a mark of the Holy City. But its wide diffu¬ sion denotes an earlier origin. Mohammed expressly forbad his followers to mark the skin with scars. These “ beauty-marks ” x 4 328 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. the citizens declare that the custom was unknown to their ancestors. I am tempted to assign to it a high antiquity.* In point of figure the Meccan is somewhat coarse and lymphatic. The ludicrous leanness of the outward man, as described by Ali Bey, survives only in the remnants of themselves belonging to a bygone century. The young men are rather stout and athletic, but in middle age — when man “ swills and swells ” — they are apt to degenerate into corpulence. The Meccan is a covetous spendthrift. His wealth, lightly won, is lightly prized. Pay, pen¬ sion, stipends, presents, and the “ Ikram ” here, as at El Medinah, supply the citizen with the means of idleness. With him everything is on the most expensive scale, his marriage, his religious cere¬ monies, and his household expenses. His house is are common to the nations in the regions to the west of the Red Sea. The Barabarah of Upper Egypt adorn their faces with scars exactly like the Meccans. The Abyssinians moxa themselves in hecatombs for fashion’s sake. I have seen cheeks gashed, as in the Holy City, among the Gallas. Certain races of the Sawahil trace around the head a corona of little cuts, like those of a cupping instrument. And, to quote no other in¬ stances, some Somalis raise ghastly seams upon their chocolate- coloured skins. * I cannot but suspect a pagan origin of high antiquity to a custom still prevailing, despite all the interdictions of the Ulema. PRIDE AND COARSENESS OF THE MECCANS. 329 luxuriously furnished, entertainments are frequent, and the junketings of the women make up a heavy bill at the end of the year. It is a common prac¬ tice for the citizen to anticipate the pilgrimage season by falling into the hands of the usurer. If he be in luck, he catches and “ skins ” one or more of the richest Hajis. On the other hand, should fortune fail him, he will feel for life the effect of interest running on at the rate of at least 50 per cent., the simple and the compound forms of which are equally familiar to the wily Sarraf.* The most unpleasant peculiarities of the Mec¬ cans f are their pride and coarseness of language. They look upon themselves as the cream of earth’s sons, and resent with extreme asperity the least slighting word concerning the Holy City and its denizens. They plume themselves upon their holy descent, their exclusion of infidels J, their * The Indian “Shroff 1 ”—banker, money-changer, and usu¬ rer. •f When speaking of the Meccans I allude only to the section of society which fell under my observation, and that more ex¬ tensive division concerning which I obtained notices that could be depended upon. | The editor of Burckhardt’s “Travels in Arabia” supposes that his author’s “ sect of light extinguishers ” were probably Parsees from Surat or Bombay. The mistake is truly ludi¬ crous, for no pious Parsee will extinguish a light. Moreover, 330 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. strict fastings, their learned men, and their purity of language.* In fact, their pride shows itself at every moment; but it is not the pride which makes a man too proud to do a dirty action. My pre¬ decessor did not remark their scurrility: he seems, on the contrary, rather to commend them for re¬ spectability in this point. If he be correct, the present generation has degenerated. The Meccans infidels are not allowed by law to pass the frontiers of the Sanctuary. The sect alluded to is an obscure heresy in Central Asia; and concerning it the most improbable scandals have been propagated by the orthodox. * It is strange how travellers and linguists differ upon the subject of Arabic and its dialects. Niebuhr compares their relation to that of Provencal, Spanish, and Italian, whereas Lane declares the dialects to resemble each other more than those of some different counties in England. Herbin (Gram¬ mar) draws a broad line between ancient and modern Arabic; but Hochst (Nachrichten, Yon Marokos und Fez) asserts that the difference is not so great as is imagined. Perhaps the soundest opinion is that proposed by ClodiuS, in his “ Arabic Grammar : ” “ dialectus Arabum vulgaris tantum differt ab erudita, quantum Isocrates dictio ab hodierna lingua Graeca.” But it must be remembered that the Arabs divide their spoken and even written language into two orders, the “ Kalam Wati,” or vulgar tongue, sometimes employed in epistolary corre¬ spondence, and the “ Nahwi,” or grammatical and classical lan¬ guage. Every man of education uses the former, and can use the latter. And the Koran is no more a model of Arabic (as it is often assumed to be) than “Paradise Lost” is of English. Inimitable, no man imitates them. GOOD POINTS IN THE MECCAN CHARACTER. 331 appeared to me distinguished, even in this foul- mouthed East, by the superior licentiousness of their language. Abuse was bad enough in the streets, but in the house it became intolerable. The Turkish pilgrims remarked, but they were too proud to take notice of it. The boy Mohammed and one of his tall cousins at last transgressed the limits of my endurance. They had been abusing each other vilely one day at the house-door about dawn, when I administered the most open repri¬ mand : “ In my country (Afghanistan) we hold this to be the hour of prayer, the season of good thoughts, when men remember Allah; even the Kafir doth not begin the day with curses and abuse.” The people around approved, and even the offenders could not refrain from saying, “ Thou hast spoken truth, 0 Effendi! ” Then the by¬ standers began, as usual, to “improve the occasion.” “See,” they exclaimed, “this Sulaymani gentleman, he is not the son of a Holy City, and yet he teacheth you — ye, the children of the Prophet!— repent and fear Allah! ” They replied, “ Verily we do repent, and Allah is a pardoner and the mer¬ ciful ! ” — were silent for an hour, and then abused each other more foully than before. Yet it is a good point in the Meccan character, that it is open 332 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. to reason, can confess itself in error, and. displays none of that doggedness of vice which distinguishes the sinner of a more stolid race. Like the people of Southern Europe, the Semite is easily managed by a jest: though grave and thoughtful, he is by no means deficient in the sly wit which we call humour, and the solemn gravity of his words con¬ tracts amusingly with his ideas. He particularly excels in the Cervantic art, the spirit of which, says Sterne, is to clothe low subjects in sublime language. In Mohammed’s life we find that he by no means disdained a joke, sometimes a little hasardd, as in the case of the Paradise-coveting old woman. The other redeeming qualities of the Meccan are his courage, his bonhomie , his manly suavity of manners, his fiery sense of honor, his strong family affections, his near approach to what we call patriotism, and his general knowledge: the reproach of extreme ignorance which Burck- hardt directs against the Holy City has long ago sped to the limbo of things that were. The dark half of the picture is pride, bigotry, irreligion, greed of gain, immorality, and prodigal ostentation. Of the pilgrimage ceremonies I cannot speak harshly. It may be true that “ the rites of the Ka- abah, emasculated of every idolatrous tendency, still MECCAN AND CHKISTIAN SUPERSTITIONS. 333 hang a strange unmeaning shroud around the living theism of Islam.” But what nation, either in the West or the East, has been able to cast out from its ceremonies every suspicion of its old idolatry ? What are the English mistletoe, the Irish wake, the Pardon of Brittany, the Carnival and the Wor¬ ship at Iserna? Better far to consider the Meccan pilgrimage rites in the light of Evil-worship turned into lessons of Good than to philosophise about their strangeness, and to err in asserting them to be insignificant. Even the Bedouin circumambu¬ lating the Kaabali fortifies his wild belief by the fond thought that he treads the path of “ Allah’s friend.” At Arafat the good Moslem worships in imitation of the “ Pure of Allah *; ” and when hurling stones and curses at the three senseless little buttresses which commemorate the appearance of the fiend, the materialism of the action gives to its sentiment all the strength and endurance of reality. The supernatural agencies of pilgrimage are carefully and sparingly distributed. The angels who restore the stones from Muna to Muz- dalifah, the heavenly host whose pinions cause the Kaabah’s veil to rise and wave, and the mysterious complement of the pilgrims’ total at the Arafat ser- * Safi Ullah — Adam. 334 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. mon, all belong to the category of spiritual crea¬ tures walking earth unseen,— a poetical tenet, not condemned by Christianity. The Meccans are, it is true, to be reproached with their open Mammon- worship, at times and at places the most sacred and venerable; but this has no other effect upon the pilgrims than to excite disgust and open repre¬ hension. Here, however, we see no such silly frauds as heavenly fire drawn from a phosphor- match ; nor do two rival churches fight in the flesh with teeth and nails, requiring the contemptuous interference of an infidel power to keep around order. Here we see no fair dames staring with their glasses “ braquds ” at the Head of the Church, or supporting exhausted nature with the furtive sandwich, or carrying pampered curs who, too often, will not be silent, or scrambling and squeezing to hear theatrical music, reckless of the fate of the old lady who — on such occasions there is always one—has been “ thrown down and cruelly trampled upon by the crowd.” If the Meccan citizens are disposed to scoff at the wild Takruri, they do it not so publicly or shamelessly as the Roman jeering with ribald jest at the fanaticism of strangers from the bogs of Ireland. Finally, at Meccah there is nothing theatrical, nothing that suggests the opera; SUPPOSED EXISTENCE OF TWO ABRAHAMS. 335 but all is simple and impressive, filling the mind with — “ A weight of awe not easy to be borne,’’ and tending, I believe, after its fashion, to good. As regards the Meccan and Moslem belief that Abraham and his son built the Kaabah, it may be observed that the Genesitic account of the Great Patriarch has suggested to learned men the idea of two Abrahams, one the son of Terah, another the son of Azar (tire), a Prometheus, who imported civilisation and knowledge into Arabia from Har- ran, the sacred centre of Sabaean learning.* Mos- * The legend that Abraham was the “ Son of Fire ” might have arisen from his birthplace, Ur of the Chaldees. This Ur (whence the Latin uro) becomes in Persian Hir; in Arabic Irr or Arr. It explains the origin of “ Orotalt ” better than by means of “ Allahu Taala.” This word, variously spelt Ouro- talt, Orotalt, and Orotal (the latter would be the masculine form in Arabic), is Urrat-ilat, or the goddess of fire, most pro¬ bably the Sun (El Shams) which the Semites make a feminine. Forbiggen translates it Sonnen-gott, an error of gender, as the final consonant proves. The other deity of pagan Arabia, Ali- lat, is clearly A1 Lat. May not the Phoenicians have supplied the word “ Irr,” which still survives in Erin and Ireland ? even so they gave to the world the name of Britain, Brettanike, Barrat et Tanuki ^ , * ii. 332. Shame, a passion with Eastern na¬ tions, i, 53. Shami, Bab el, or Syrian gate, of El Medinah, ii. 185. 189. Shami pomegranates, of El Medinah, ii. 206. Shamiyah, or Syrian, ward of Mec- cah, iii. 145. Quarrels of the, with the Sulaymaniyah quarter, i45. Shammas bin Usman, bis tomb at Ohod, ii. 242. Shamsan, Jehel, the burial-place of Cain, iii. 199. n. Shamud tribe, the, of tradition, i. I 326. | Sharai and Be-Sharai, the two or¬ ders of Dervishes, i. 22. Shararif, or trefoiled crenelles in the walls of El Medinah, ii. 186. Sharbat Kajari, the poison of the Persians, iii. 43. Sharh, El, ii. 4. Explanation of the name, 4. n. Sharki, the Darb el, ii. 168. Sharzawan, El, or base of the Kaa- bah, iii. 155. Shaub el Haj, (the pilgrim’s pass), scene in the, ii. 15. Shaving in the East, ii. 274. Shaw, Dr. Norton, i. 1. 7. Shawarib, Abu, the father of mus- tachios, ii. $33. Shaybah, generally called Abd el Mutalleb, grandfather of the Pro¬ phet, ii. 125. n. Shaybah, Ibn, his account of the burial-place of Aaron, ii. 117. Shaybah, Bab Beni, legend of the, of the Kaabah, iii. 200. n. The true sangre azul of El Hejaz, 287. Keepers of the keys of the Kaa¬ bah, 287. The chief, Sbaykh Ahmed, 287. n. Shaykh, explanation of the term, i. 16. Description of an Arab, fully equipped for travelling, 345. His method of releasing the pilgrim from a difficulty, 189. Shaykhain, the “two shaykhs,” Abubekr and Osman, ii. 255. Shay tan el Kabir (the Great Devil), ceremony of throwing stones at, iii. 282—284. Sheep, the three breeds of, in El Hejaz, ii. 278. n. The milk of the ewe, 278. n. Shems el Din Yusuf, El Muzaffar, chief of Yemen, his contribution to the fifth mosque of the Pro¬ phet, ii. 150. Sherifs, or descendants of Moham¬ med, ii. 90. Great numbers of, at El Medinah, 257. Their origin, 257. n. Their intense pride, iii. 33. «. Forced celibacy of their daughters, 33. n. Their bravery, 131. Causes of their pugnacity, 132. n. INDEX. 439 Sherifi, El, the grape so called, ii. 205. Shiahs, their defilement of the tombs of Abubekr and Omar, ii. 81. n. Their antipathy to the Sunnis, 81. n. Their aversion for Abu¬ bekr, 129. n. Their detestation of Syria and the Syrians, iii. 114, 115. n. Shiba Katt, i. 43. Shibriyah, or cot, for travelling, iii. 12. Ship-building on the Red Sea, i. 262. Ships. The toui or Indian canoe, i. 277. ». The “ catamaran ” of Madras and Aden, 277. w. Shiraz, boasts of the Shiahs at, ii. 81 . n. Shisha, or Egyptian water-pipe, l. 117. Shishah, or travelling pipe, iii. 103. Shopping in Alexandria, i. 16. Shuab Ali, valley of, ii. 25. n. Shugduf, difference between the Syrian and Hejazi shugduf, ii. 225. Dangers to, in “ acacia- barrens,” iii. 17. Shuhada (the Martyrs), ii. 17. Re¬ marks on, 17. Its past and future honours, 17. n. Visit to the graves of the, at Mount Ohod, ii. 234. Shumays, Bir, yellow sandstone of, iii. 150 n. Shurafa, pi of Sherif, a descendant of Mohammed, ii. 91. Shurum, the, i. 213. Shushah, the, or tuft of hair on the poll, i. 239. Sicard, Father, i. 288. Sidr or Lote tree of the Prophet’s mosque, ii. 105. Sie-fa of the Bokte, in Tartary, i. 85 . Siesta, the, ii. 49. n. The Kaylu- lah, or noon siesta, 49. n. The Aylulah, 49. n. The Ghaylulah, 49. ru 'The Eaylulah, 49. n. The Faylulah, 49. Sikander El-Rumi, tomb of, i. 17. Sikanjebin (oxymel), used as a re¬ medy in fevers in Arabia, ii. 179. r f Silk-tree, the, of Arabia. See As- clepias gigantea. Simoom wind, the, i. 218. ii, 2. n. Its effects on the skin, iii. 18. And on the traveller’s temper, 106. The, on the road between El Medinah and Meccah, 109. Sinai, Mount, i. 299. Sinaitie tribes of Arabs, modern, ob¬ servations on, i. 212. et seq. Chief clans of, 212. Impurity of the race, 214. Their ferocity, 215. How manageable, 216. Sindh, dry storms of, i. 364.; ii. 2. Singapore, pilgrims from, to Meccah, i. 265. Silat el Rasul, referred to, ii. 175. ». Sittna Zaynab (our Lady Zaynab), mosque of, at Cairo, i. 143. Siyuti, El, his theological works, i. 155. «. Sketching, dangerous among the Be¬ douins, i. 353. Slaves, trade in, at Jeddah and in Egypt, i. 69. Reform in our slave laws throughout the East much needed, 72. Abyssinian slave style of courting, 87 . Slave- hunting in Africa, 88. Condition of slaves in the East, 89. The black slave-girls of El Medinah, ii, 271. Value of slave-boys and eunuchs, 272. Value of the Galla girls, 272. Price of a Jariyah Bayza, or white slave-girl, 272. Female slaves at Meccah, iii. 326. The slave-market of Meccah, 355. The pilgrim’s resolve, if permitted, to destroy the slave-trade, 355. Ease with which the slave-trade may be destroyed in the Red Sea, 356. Small-pox in Arabia. See Judari. Smith, Sir L., his defeat of the Beni Bu Ali Arabs, i. 366. n. Smoking the weed «• hashish,” i. 64. Soap, tafl or bole earth used by the Arabs as, ii. 221. Sobh Bedouins, their plundering propensities, iii. 1. Societies, secret, in Egypt, i. 165. Sodom, the long-sought, iii. 122. n. Sola, plain of, near Meccah, iii, 138. 4 440 INDEX. Soldier-travellers, fatalities which have befallen them lately, i. 2. Soldiers in Egypt, i. 171* Solomon, king, i. 312. Mosque of, at Jerusalem, connected with, ii. 57. Somalis, the, dislike of, to tobacco, i. 286. n. Foundation of the, ii. 115. n. Songs of the Bedouin Arabs, i. 211. Of Maysunah, the, iii. 262. Spe¬ cimen of one, 311. Sonnini, his description of the “ Kaif,” i. 13. n. Reference to, ii. 48. His testimony to the vir¬ tues of the harem, iii. 51. n. Sophia's, St., at Constantinople, the largest cathedral in the world, ii. 145. n. Spanish cathedrals, oriental origin of, ii. 60. Spears (Kanat), the, of the Be¬ douins, iii. 73. Sports of the Bedouins, iii. 70. Springs, the, of Mount Ohod, ii. 233. n. Stanhope, Lady Hester, her faith in magic mirrors, ii. 180. n. Statuary and pictures forbidden in mosques, i. 137. Stimulants, effect of drinking, in the East, ii. 3. n. Stoa, or Academia, of El Medinab, ii. 107. Stocks, Dr., of Bombay, reference to, i. 363. n. Stone, the, obtained near Meccah, iii. 150. n. That of Panopolis, 151. Stone-worship, iii. 159. ». Storm, description of one at Muna, iii. 304. Dry storms of Arabia, i. 364. Streets, the, of El Medinah, ii. 187. Students, Moslem, 152. n. Wretch¬ ed prospects, 159. Sudan (Blacksland), i. 261. Suez (Suways), a place of obstacle to pilgrims, i. 186. Safety of the Desert road to, 229. Its want of sweet water, 231. n. Its brackish wells, 231. n. No hammam (or bath) at, 231. n. Number of cara¬ vanserais of, 233. n. Want of com¬ fort in them all, 23S. n. The faz- zeh, or system of rotation, in the port of, 251. 263. Exorbitant rate of freight at, 251. ». The George Inn at {see George Inn), 254. et seq. Decrease in the num¬ ber of pilgrims passing through Suez to Meccah, 260. The ship¬ builders of Suez, 262. Kinds of ships used at, 262. Number of ships at, 263. Imports and ex¬ ports, 264, 265. Average annual temperature of the year at, 266. Population of, 267. State of the walls, gates, and defences of, 268. Food of the inhabitants of, 268, 269. Their fondness for quarrels, 274. A ** pronunciamento H at, 271. Scene on the beach on a July morning at, 273. Sufayna, El, the village of, iii. 107- Halt of the Baghdad caravan at, 108. Description of the place, 111 . Sufat (half-caste Turk), the, the present ruling race at El Medi¬ nah, ii. 261. SufFah, or sofa, companions of the, ii. 143. Sufiyan, Abu, his battle with Mo¬ hammed at Mount Ohod, ii. 233. 236. Sufrah, the, i. 111. “ Sufra hazir,” 111. n. Suhayl, sells ground at El Medinah to Mohammed, it 134. Sujdah, the, or single-prostration prayer, ii. 67. Suk el Khuzayriyah, or greengrocers* market of El Medinah, ii. 186. Duk el Habbabah, or grain mar¬ ket of El Medinah, 186. Sula, or Sawab, Jebel, near El Me¬ dinah, ii. 327. Sulaman the Magnificent, the Sultan, his donations to the shrines of Meccah and El Medinah, ii. 64. *. Sulaymani, the poison so called, iii. 43. Sulaymaniyah, or Afghan quarter of Meccah, ii. 99.; iii. 145. Quarrels of the, with the Shamiyah ward, 145. INDEX, 441 Suls character of Arabic, ii, 82. n. A Koran in the library of the Pro¬ phet’s mosque written in the, 107. n. Sumayat, a sub-family of the Beni- Harb, i. 378. Sun, his fierce heat on the Red Sea, i. 306. Effects of, on the mind and body, 306. Majesty of the sunset hour, 307. Heat of the, in the Deserts of Arabia, 370. Re¬ marks on sun-strokes, in the East, ii. 2, 3. ». Hour at which it is most dangerous, 18. Adoration of, by kissing the hand, iii. 204.». Sunnat, or practice or custom of the Prophet, ii. 108, 109. a. Sunnat el Tawaf, or practice of cir- cumambulation, iii. 212. Sunnis, their antipathy to the Shiahs, ii. 81. n. Their reverence for the memory of Abubekr, 129. Superstitions of the Arabs, ii. 240. Error of Niebuhr respecting, iii. 144. a. That respecting the ceil¬ ing of the Kaabah, 289. The su¬ perstitions of Meccans and Chris¬ tians compared, 333. Those of Arabs and Africans respecting the aloe, 3.50. ' Supplication, efficacy of the, at the Masjid el Ahzab, ii. 325. Surat, tobacco of, i. 265. Surgery among the Bedouins, iii. 77. Suri (Syrian), Shami, or Suryani, tobacco, i. 96. a. Surrah, the, or financier of the caravan, ii. 161. Suwan (granite), the, of Meccah, iii. 150. n. Suwaykah, celebrated in the history of the Arabs, ii. 19. Origin of its name, 19. a. Suwayrkiyah, head-quarters of the Beni Hosayn, ii. 257. Confines of, iii. 23. The town of, 101. The inhabitants of, 102. Swords of the Arabs, i.’S65.; iii. 74. Their sword-play, 75. Suyah in Arabia, i. 367. Syria, expedition of Tobba el Asghar against, ii. 123. Abhorrence in which it is held by the Shiah sect, iii. 114, 115. n. Wars in, caused by sectarian animosity, 1 1 5. n. Syrians on the Red Sea, i. 298. Detestation in which Syria and the Syrians are held by the Shiahs, iii. 114, 115. n. Called “abusers of the salt,” 114. n. Tabrani, El, his account of the building of the Prophet’s mosque, ii. 140. Tafarruj, or lionising, ii. 62. Tafl, or bole earth, eaten by Arab women, ii. 222. Tafsir (exposition of the Koran), study of, in schools, i. 152. Taharah, the kind of circumcision among the Bedouins so called, iii. 80. Tahlil, or cry of welcome, iii. 197. Taif, Population of, ii. 189. «. Pears of, 206. n. The “ Rubb Rumman ” of, 207. The blue peaks of, iii. 138, Takat el Kashf (niche of disclosure), of the mosque of El Kuba, ii. 213. Takiyah, or dervishes' dwelling- place, in Cairo, i. 124. The Takiyah erected at El Medinah by Mohammed Ali, ii. £ 9 . Takruri pilgrims, i. 201. j iii. 7. 13. Their wretched poverty, 8. Takhtrawan, or gorgeous letters, ii. 225. Expenses of one, from Damascus and back, iii. 12. n. Talbiyat, or exclaiming, the, when approaching Meccab, iii. 125. Derivation of the term, 125. n. Talhah, friend of Mohammed, sent forward by the Prophet to El Medinah, ii. 128. Tamarisk tree, the, ii. 203. Tamattu, El (possession), the pil¬ grimage so called, iii. 226. Tanzimat, the, folly of, i. 380. Tarawih prayers, i. 116. Tarbush and fez, the, ii. 275, Tarik el Ghabir, the road from El Medinah to Meccah, iii. 1. Tarikh Tabari, the, referred to, ii. 119. 442 INDEX, Tarikeh ben Himyariah, wife of Amr ben Amin, ii. 121. Tarsb ish, i. 277. Tarwiyat, origin of the ceremony of, iii. 238. ». Taslim, to say “ salam,” ii. 93. Tashrih, the Madani children’s bo¬ dies marked with, ii. 273. Tashrit (gashing), the ceremony at Meccah so called, iii. 327. n. Tatarif, or cartridges of the Be¬ douins, iii. 90. Taun (the plague), never in El Hejaz, ii. 174. Tawaf, or circumambulation of the House of Allah at Meccah, ii. 58. Ceremonies of, at the Kaabah, iii. 204, 205. Its probable origin, 204, 205. n. The Sunnat el Tawaf, or practice of circumam¬ bulation, 212. Sketch of the ceremony of Tawaf, 234. Tawarah tribes of Arabs. See Arabs, and Sinaitic tribes. Taw&shi, the generic name of the eunuchs of the mosque, ii. 155. n. Taxation in Egypt, i. 163. n. Capi¬ tation tax levied on infidels, 343. n. No taxes paid by the Madani, ii. 262. Tayammum, the sand-bath, i. 385. Tayfur Agha, chief of the college of eunuchs at El Medinah, ii. 156. Tayr Ababil, the, ii. 175. n. Tayyarah, or “ flying caravan,” the, ii. 329. Theology, Moslem, observations on, i. 154. et seq. Poverty of an Alim, or theologian, 192. Thieves in the Desert, i. 367. Thirst, difficulty with which it is borne by the Bedouins, iii. 18. How to allay, 19. n. Tehamat El Hejaz, or the sea coast of El Hejaz, ii. 166* Teriyak (Theriack) of El Irak, the counter-poison so called, iii. 77. Testification, the prayer so called, ii. 77. 79. n. Tezkireh. See Passports. Tigritiya, the Abyssinian malady so called, iii. 220. n. Timbak (tobacco), from Persia or Surat, i. 265. Tinder, Nubian and Indian, iii* 122. n. Tippo Sahib, his treatment of his French employes, i. 57. n. Tobacco, the, of Egypt, i. 95. La- takia, 95. n . Suri (Syrian), Shami, or Suryani, 96. n. Tum- bak, 96. n. Hummi, 97. n. The Shisha, or Egyptian water-pipe, 117. Pipes of the Bedouins and Arab townspeople, 211. n. The old Turkish meerschaum, 211. n. Aversion of the barbarous tribes of Africa to the smell of, 286. n. The shisha (hooka) of Arabia, ii. 45. Syrian tobacco generally used in El Medinah, 48. Its soothing influence, iii. 9. Water- pipes, 9. Salary of a pipe-bearer, 9. n. Smoking among the Be¬ douins, iii. 93. The shisha, or travelling pipe, 103. Instance of the Wahhabi hatred of, 108. 128. Tobba Abu Karb, the, it 123. n. Tobba el Asghar, his expedition to El Medinah, ii. 123. And to Sy¬ ria and El Irak, 123. Abolishes idolatry, 124. Tobba, “the Great,”or “the Chief,” ii. 123. n. Tombs; that of El-nabi Daniyal (Daniel the Prophet), i. 16. Of Sikander El-Rumi, 17. Of Ma- hommed El-Busiri, 17. Of Abu Abbas El-Andalusi, 17. Of the martyred grandsons of Moham¬ med, Hasan, and Hosayn, 142. n. Of Kaid Bey and the other Ma¬ meluke Kings, 143. Peculiar form of the sepulchre now com¬ mon in El Hejaz, Egypt, and the Red Sea, 227. The tomb of Abu Zulaymah, 293. Of Shaykh Ha¬ san el Marabit, on the Red Sea, 321. Distant view of the Pro¬ phet’s tomb at El Medinah, ii. 30. Account of a visit to it, 56 —112. The Lady Fatimah’s at El Medi¬ nah, 62. n. 89, 90. Exact place of the Prophet’s tomb, 82. The tombs of Abubekr and Omar, 85, 86. INDEX. 443 The future tomb of Sayyidna Isa, 89. Tombs of the father and mo¬ ther of the Prophet, 125. n. Tomb of Mohammed, 136. 142. At¬ tempted robbery of the tombs of Mohammed and his two compa¬ nions, 148, 149. The tombs in the Hujrah visited by El Saman- hudi, 151. n. The tomb of Aaron on Mount Ohod, 233. Hamzah’s tomb, 236, 237. That of Abdul¬ lah bin Jaish at Ohod, 242. Vi¬ sit to the tombs of the saints of El Bakia, 300. et seq. Tombs of Hagarand Ishmael at Meccah, iii. 165. Burial-places of Adam, Abel, and Cain, 198, 199. ». Tombs of celebrity at the ceme¬ tery of Meccah, 351. et seq. Eve’s tomb near Jeddah, 386. Tott, inspector-general, i. 164. n. Trade and commerce, condition of, at El Medinah, ii. 265. The three vile trades of Moslems, iii. 140. n. Trafalgar, Cape, i. 9* Remarks on the meaning of the word, 9. n. Travellers, idiosyncrasy of, L 23. “ Trees of El Medinah,” the cele¬ brated, ii. SO. Tripoli, i. 279. Tumar character, the, of Arabic, iii 299, 300. Tumbak tobacco, i. 96. n. Tunis, i. 279. Tur, the old Phoenician colony on the Red Sea, i 297. Terrible stories about the Bedouins of, 297. The modern town, 298. The inhabitants of, 298. The delicious dates of, 301. Tur, Jebel (Mount Sinai), i. 299. Turki pomegranates of El Medinah, ii. 206. Turks on the pilgrimage, i. 281. Turkish Irregular Cavalry in the Deserts of Arabia, 367. Imbeci¬ lity of their rule in Arabia, 379. Delenda est marked by Fate upon the Ottoman empire, 382. n. Pro¬ bable end of its authority in El Hejaz, 382. Douceurs given by them to the Arab shaykhs of El Hejaz, ii. 4. Their pride in ignor¬ ing all points of Arab prejudices, 56. Their difficulties in Arabia, 137. One killed on the march by an Arab, iii. 105. Their danger¬ ous position in El Hejaz, 142. n. Turkish pilgrims at Meccah, au¬ thor’s acquaintance with, 214, 215. Tussun Bey, defeat of, by the Be¬ douins, i. 387. Conclude a peace with Abdullah the Wahhabi, ii. 153. Tutty (Tutiyah), used in El Hejaz for the cure of ulcers, ii. 184. Uhayhah, of the Aus tribe, ii. 125. n. Ukab, the bird so called, iii. 7. Ukayl bin Abi Talib, brother of Ali, his tomb, ii. 811. 319. Ulael Din, Shaykh, of El Medinah, ii. 267. Ulcers (Nasur) common in El He¬ jaz, ii. 183. Antiquity of the disease in Arabia, 183. Death of Am el Kays, the warrior and poet, 183. Mandate of Mohammed Abu, (see Mohammed,) 183. The Hejaz ** Nasur,” and the Yemen ulcer the “ Jurh el Yemani,” 183. Popular treatment of, 184. Ulema, their regulation respecting the prostration prayer, ii. 67. Their opinion respecting the death of Moslem saints, &c. 110., n. One of the five orders of pensioners at the Prophet’s mosques, 161. Urdu, or camp of soldiers in El Hejaz, ii. 190. n. Urtah, or battalion of soldiers, ii. 190. n. Utaybah Bedouins, ferocity of the, iii. 119. Charged with drinking their enemies’ blood, 120. Umar ibn Fariz, poems of, i. 157. n. Umbrella, the sign of royalty, iii. 141. n. 271. Umrah (the little pilgrimage), iii. 226. The ceremonies of, 242. 338. 341—347. Its situation, 341. Usbu, the, or seven courses round the Kaabah, iii. 208. n. Usman EfFendi, the Scotchman, ii. 181. n. 444 INDEX, Ustuwanat el As-hab, or the Com¬ panions' column, at the mosque of the Prophet, ii. 88. n. Ustuwa¬ nat el M ukhallak, or the perfumed pillar, 102. Ustuwanat el Han- ranah, or weeping pillar, at the Prophet’s mosque, 102. Ustu¬ wanat el Ayisha, or pillar of Ayisha, 102. Ustuwanat el Ku- rah, or pillar of Lots, 102. Ustu¬ wanat el Muhajirin, or pillar of Fugitives, 103. Ustuwanat el Abu Lubabah, or pillar of Luba- bah or of repentance, 103. Ustu¬ wanat Sarir, or pillar of the Cot, 104. Ustuwanat Ali, or column of Ali the fourth caliph, 104. Ustuwanat el Wufud, 104. Us¬ tuwanat el Tahajjud, where the Prophet passed the night in prayer, 104. Ustuwanat el Han- nanab, or “weeping-post,” 141. n, Utaybah Bedouins. Their stoppage of the Damascus caravan, iii. 131. Dispersed by Sherif Zayd, 131. Utbah bin Abi Wakkas, the infidel, ii. 244. Utum, or square, flat roofed, stone castles in Arabia, ii. 118, 119, Valleys in Arabia, longitudinal, transversal, and diagonal, i. 371. Vasco de Gama, his voyage to Cali¬ cut, i. 275. n. Vegetables, the, of the plain of El Medinah, ii. 204. Vena, common at Yambu, ii. 182. Treatment of, 182. Venus, worship of, by the Hukama, iii. 201. n . Verdigris used in Arabia for the cure of ulcers, ii. 184. Vertomannus Ludovicus, his pilgri¬ mages to Meccah and El Me- dinah, ii. 347. Victims, ceremonies of the day of, iii. 280. et seq. Villages frequently changing their names, i. 360. Vincent, on the Moors of Africa, i. 275. n. Vine, the, of El Medinah, ii. 205. Visions in the East, iii. 254. n. Visits of ceremony after the Rama¬ zan, i. 169. Of the middle classes in Egypt, 198. n. After a jour¬ ney, ii. 36, 37. Volcanoes, traces of extinct, near El Medinah, iii. 5. Wady, the Arabian, i. 219. «. The Wady el Ward (the Vale of Flowers), 220. Wady el Kura, town of, founded by the Jews, ii. 119. The route from El Medinah to Meccah so called, iii. 1. Wady el Subu, town of, founded by the Jews, ii. 119. Wady, the Masjid El, ii. 328. Wahhabis, the, aversion of to tobacco, i. 286. n. Ruinous effect of the wars between the, and the Egyp¬ tians, 375. Their defeat of Tussun Bey and 8000 Turks, 387. Tenets of the, ii. 59. Their opposition to Ali Bey, 59. n. Their rejection of the doctrine of the Prophet’s in¬ tercession, 77. n. Their dislike to onions, 134. And of Turkish rule in El Hejaz, 138. Their siege of El Medinah, 151, 152. Defeated by Mohammed Ali at the battle of Bissel, iii. 48. Instance of their hatred of tobacco, 108. 128. De¬ scription of their march on the pilgrimage, 128. Their bravery, 131. Their taxation of the Ma- dani, 262. Their appearance at the ceremonies of the day of Ara¬ fat, 266. Their destruction of the chapel on Arafat, 267. n. Note on the ceremonies of the Wahhabi pilgrimage, 272. n. Their unsuc¬ cessful attack on Jeddah, 374. n. Wahshi, the slave, slays Hamzab, ii. 248. Wahshi, El, the date so called, ii. 200 . Wahy, the, or Inspiration brought by the Archangel Gabriel from heaven, ii. 98. n. Waiz, the, in the mosque, i. 147. Wakdlah, the, or inn of Egypt, de¬ scription of the, i. 60. The Wa- INDEX. 445 kalah Khan Khalil of Cairo, 61. The Wakalah Jemaliyah, 62. Those of El Medinah, ii. 187. The Wakalat Bab Salara, 187. The Wakalat Jebarti, 187. The, of Jeddah, ii|. $75. Wakf, “ bequeathed, w written in books, ii. 110. Bought up by Mohammed Ali Pacha, 137. n. Abolished in Turkey, 137. *. Established by the Sultan Kaid Bey, 151. Wakil (or substitute), in pilgrimage, iii. 342. Wakin, El, or El Zahrah, the Har- rat so called, ii. 230. n. Walid, El, the Caliph, ii. 89. n. Inventor of the mihrab and mi¬ naret, ii. 140. n. His magnificent buildings at El Medinah, 145. Visits the mosque in state, 148. Mosques built by him at El Me¬ dinah, 326. Walis, the (holy men),of Alexandria, L 17. Wallin, Dr. George, of Finland, his visit to Meccah, i. 6. n. His death, 7. n. His Eastern name, Wali el din, 64. n. His remarks on the Arab tribes referred to, 212. n. His admiration of Be¬ douin life, iii. 60. Walls, the, of El Medinah, ii. 186. “ War of the Meal sacks” ii. 19. n. War-dance, (Arzah), the, of the Arabs, ii. 226. Wardan and the Wardanenses, i, 43, 44. ». Warkan, Jebel, one of the mountains of Paradise, ii. 17. ru Wasitah, El. See Hamra, El. Watches worn in Arabia, L 245, Water-bags in the East, i. 35. 183. Value of water in the Desert, 218. Carried across the Desert to Suez, 231. Water-courses (Misyal) of Arabia, 368. 374. The water found in the Deserts of Arabia, 374. “Eight” water, ii. 106. Oriental curiosity respecting, 106. Manner of providing, at El Medi¬ nah, 169. Music of the water¬ wheels, 198. Quantity of, in the palm-gardens of El Medinah, 203. Purity of the, throughout El Hejaz, iii. 267. Water-spout (Myzab), the, of the Kaabah, iii. 164. Weapons, the, of the Bedouins, iii. 72. Weeping pillar in Mohammed’s mosque, ii. 102. Weights, the, of El Medinah, ii. 201. n. Welcome, the Oriental cry of, (Tahlil, or Ziraleet), iii. 197. Well, Moses’, at Sinai, i. 302. An¬ cient wells at Aden, 302. n. Wells of the Indians in Arabia, ii. 18. n. The Bir el Aris at Kuba, 217. The pilgrim’s “ Kaif” on the brink of, 218. Former and present number of wells of El Kuba, 219. The Saba Abar, or seven wells, 220. The Bir el Nabi, 220. n. The Bir el Ghur- bal, 220. n. The Bir el Fukay- yir, 220. n. The Bir el Ghars, 220. n. The Bir Rumah, or Kalib Mazni, 220. n. The Bir Buzaat, 220. n. The Bir Busat, 221. n. The Bir Bayruha, 221. n. The Bir Ibn, 221. n. The three wells of the Caliph Harun at El Ghadir, iii. 117. Wellington, Duke of, his remark on the means of preserving health in India, ii. 3. ». West, Mr., sub-vice-consul at Suez, his kindness to the pilgrim, i. 249. Wijh Harbour, on the Red Sea, i. 316- The town, 316. Wilkinson, Sir Gardner, his obser¬ vations on Egyptian passports, i. 26. Wind, the Simoom, i. 218. The Sarsar, 221. n. The “ poison- wind,” ii. 2, 3. n. The eastern wintry winds of El Medinah, 172. Wishah, the style of dress so called, iii. 124. Wives of the Prophet, tombs of the, ii. 311, His fifteen wives, 311. n. Wolf’s tail (Dum i Gurg), the grey dawn, i. 226. 446 INDEX. Women, shrill cries of joy with which Arab women receive their husbands after returning from a journey, i. 1S3.; iii. 197. Flirtation and love-making at festivals, i. 168. The public amusements allowed to Oriental women, 171, 172. The death wail, 171. An Armenian marriage, 179. Faults of Moslem ladies’ dressing, 179. n. Condition of, in Egypt, at the present day, 258. The opprobrious term Mis- riyah, 258. Dress of the women of Yambu, 337. The face-veil, Ssi. The lisam of Constantinople, 337. n. Retired habits of the women at El Medinah, ii. 47. Soft and delicate voices of the So¬ mali women, 47. The Gynaconi- tis of Arab women, 47. Ablu¬ tion necessary after touching the skin of a strange woman, 47. «. A Persian lady’s contempt for boys, 55. The Bab el Nisa, or women’s gate at El Medinah, 62. Disgrace of making a Mosiemah expose her face, *146. n. The women of the farmer race of Arabs, 208. Tafl, or bole earth, eaten by them, 222. Women de¬ votees at the Haram, 249. Wo¬ men sometimes not allowed to join a congregation in El Islam, 249. n. Dress and customs of the Indian women settled at El Me¬ dinah, 261. Value of black slave- girls, 271. Price of a Jariyah Bayza, or white slave-girl, 272. Dress of the women of El Medi¬ nah, 275, 276. Their mourning dress, 277. Decency of the women of El Medinah, 281. Their plea¬ sures, 282. Their bad language, 283. Arab marriages, 285. et seq. Unwillingness to name the wife among the Arabs, iii. -41. And in other countries, 41. n. Un¬ comeliness of the women of El Hejaz, 42. Softening influence of the social position of the women among the Bedouins, 49. Poly¬ gamy and monogamy compared, 51. n. The daughters of a higher clan of Arabs not allowed to marry into a lower, 52. Heroism of women, 55. The Arab oath, “by the honour of my women,” 56. Marriage ceremonies of the Bedouins, 81. Frequency of di¬ vorces among them, 82. Dress of the Bedouin women of El Hejaz, 90. Unchastity of the women of the Hitman tribe of Arabs, 98. Ejaculations of women when in danger of exposing their faces, 116. Strange dress of pilgrim women, 127. Wahhabi women on the pilgrimage, 128. Place for the female pilgrims in the Kaabah, 171. The Kabirah, or mistress of a house, 198. How directed to perform the Sai, 237. Moslem prayers for the souls of women, 244. Superstitious rite on be¬ half of women at Arafat, iii. 261. Manner of addressing respectable Moslem women, 261. n. An ad¬ venture with a fair Meccan, 273 — 27 6. The slave market of Meccah, 55. Appearance of the slaves, 55. “ Wormwood of Pontus,” i. 228. Wounds, Bedouin method of treat¬ ing, ii. 12. n. 183. Writing, Oriental, remarks on, i. 151. Skilful penmanship but little valued at the present day, 151. n. The Turkish ornamental charac¬ ter called “ Suls,” 151. n. The Persian character, 151. n. The Egyptian and Arab coarse and clumsy hand, 151. n. The Mirza Sanglakh, 151. n. Writing and drawing generally disliked by Arabs, 354. Writing on noted spots, the practice both classical and Oriental, ii. 246. Wuzu (the lesser ablution), i. 9. 112. 339. Wukuf, or standing upon Mount Arafat, Arab legend respecting, iii. 238. n. The pilgrim rites of, 238. Y. S., the chapter of the Koran, ii. 147. n. 243. INDEX. 447 Yambu, tribes inhabiting the deserts about, i. 213. Yambu El Bahr (or Yambu of the Sea), SSI. The Jambia of Ptolemy, SSI. The Sherif of Yambu, SS2. Descrip¬ tion of the town, SSS. Varieties of the population at, S35. An evening party at, 341. Strength of the walls and turrets of, 356. Attacked by Saud the Wahhabi, 356. Jews settled in, ii. 118. n. Diseases of, 182. Population of, 189. n. Yanbua of the palace-grounds, i. SSI. Yarab ben Kahtan ben Shalik ben Arfakhshad ben Sam ben Nuh, descendants of, ii. 120. Yasir ben Akhtah, plots against Mo¬ hammed, ii. 135. Yathreb (now El Medinah), settled by fugitive Jews, ii. 119. Yaum el Tarwiyah, the, iii. 238. n. Description of the, 245. The Yaum el Nahr (the day of throat¬ cutting), 238. Yemen, tamarinds from, i. 265. Mountains of, ii. 3. n. The coffee of, 37. n. The birth-place of the Aus and Kharaj, 120. Sufferings of the people of, from ulcers, 183. Mandate of the conqueror Mo¬ hammed Abu. See Mohammed, 183. Demoralisation of the Arabs of, 76. Former horse-trade of, 270. n. Yezid, El, cursed by the disciples of the Shafei school, ii. 309. Yezid, son of the Caliph Muawiyah and bis Bedouin wife Maysunah, iii. 263. n. His contempt for his father, 263. n. Yorke, Colonel P., i. 1. Yusuf, the Jewish “ Lord of the Pit,” iii. 31. n. Zaabut, the, i. 24. n. Zabit, or Egyptian police magistrate, i. 28. Zabit, or police magistrate, scenes before, i. 173. The “ Pasha of the night,” 175. Zafar, the Masjid Beni, also called Masjid el Baghlah, ii. 321. Zafaran Point, i. 288. «. Zaghritah, or cry of welcome, iii. 197. Zahra, or “ bright blooming Fati- mah,” ii. 90. n. Zabrah, El, or El Wakin, the Harrat so called, ii. 230. n. “ Zair,” the, or the visitors to the sepulchre of the Prophet, ii. 58. n. Dress and perfumes of the Zair, 63. n. Zakariya el Ansari, his theological work, i. 155. n. Zamakhshari, El, his grammatical adventures, iii. 62. n. Zananire, Anton, visit to his hareem, i. 178. Zarb el Mandal, the magical science so called in Egypt, ii. 180. n. Zaribah, El, description of the plain of, iii. 123. Zarka, of Yemama, story of, referred to, ii. 170. n. Zat el Rikaa, the expedition so called, i. 227. n. Zat el Salasil (the “ Affair of Chains”), iii. 48. n. Zat Nakhl, or ** place of palm trees,” (El Medinah), ii. 118. Zawiyat, or oratory, the, of Moham¬ med el Samman, ii. 238. Zawwar, or visitors to the tomb of the Prophet, ii. 92. n. Zayd, Sherif, his bravery, iii. 131. Disperses the Utaybah robbers, 131. Zaydi sect, the, iii. 169. n. Zayn-el-Abidin, prayers for, ii. 92. Tomb of the, 313. Zaynab, wife of the Prophet, ii. 146. «. Zem-zem (the Holy Well), i. 9. 103. Zemzem, the well of the mosque of the Prophet, ii. 95- Its supposed subterranean connection with the great Zemzem at Meccah, 106. Rows of jars of the water at the mosque of Meccah, iii. 153, 154. Description of the building enclos¬ ing the well, 171. The Daurak, 448 INDEX. or earthen jars, for cooling the water, 173. a. , t Doubtful origin of the word, 201. a. Esteem in which the water is held, 202. a. Its qualities, 202. a. How trans¬ mitted to distant regions, 203. a. Superstitions respecting it, 203. a. 212 . Zem-Zemi, or dispensers of the water of the holy well at Meccah, iii. 102. Ali bin Ya Sin, the 2 em-zemi, 102. Zemzemiyah, or goat-skin water-bag, i. 35. Zikrs, or dervish forms of worship, in Egypt, i. 125. Ziyad ben Abihi, his destruction of robbery in Basrah, i. 381. a. Ziyafah, Bab el, or gate of Hospi¬ tality, of El Medinah, ii. 185. Ziyarat,or visitation, of the Prophet’s mosque, ii. 58. 77, Distinction between Ziyarat and the Hajj pilgrimage, 58. Where the cere¬ mony begins, 60. How regarded by the Maliki school, 66. a. The visitation to Kuba on the 17th Ramazan, 210. a. Ziy&rat el Widaa, or “ Farewell Visitation," 337. The ceremony of the visit to the Prophet’s tomb, iii. 243. “ Ziyaratak Mubarak," or “ blessed be thy visitation,” the benediction, ii. 95. Zubaydah Khatun, wife of Harun el Rashid, iii. 2. Her celebrated pilgrimage, 119. a. Zu'l Halifab, the Mosque, ii. 25. a. Also called the “ Mosque of the Tree,” 25. a. 144, Its distance from El Medinah, 167. 3uyud schismatics, the, ii. 262. THE END. London: Printed by Spottiswoodz and Co., New-itreftt-Square.