The Arabs are a very superstitious people; and none of them are more so than those of Egypt. Many of their superstitions form a part of their religion; being sanctioned by the Kur-án; and the most prominent of these is the belief in “Ginn,” or Genii—in the singular, “Ginnee.”
The Ginn are said to be of preadamite origin, and, in their general properties, an intermediate class of beings between angels and men, but inferior in dignity to both, created of fire, and capable of assuming the forms and material fabric of men, brutes, and monsters, and of becoming invisible at pleasure. They eat and drink, propagate their species (like, or in conjunction with, human beings), and are subject to death; though they generally live many centuries. Their principal abode is in the chain of mountains called “Káf,” which are believed to encompass the whole earth: as mentioned near the close of the preceding chapter. Some are believers in El-Islám: others are infidels: the latter are what are also called “Sheytáns,” or devils; of whom Iblees (that is, Satan, or the devil) is the chief: for it is the general and best-supported opinion, that he (like the other devils) is a ginnee, as he was created of fire; whereas the angels are created of light, and are impeccable. Of both the classes of genii, good and evil, the Arabs stand in great awe; and for the former they entertain a high degree of respect. It is a common custom of this people, on pouring water, etc., on the ground, to exclaim, or mutter, “Destoor;” that is, to ask the permission, or crave the pardon, of any ginnee that may chance to be there: for the ginn are supposed to pervade the solid matter of the earth, as well as the firmament, where, approaching the confines of the lowest heaven, they often listen to the conversation of the angels respecting future things, thus enabling themselves to assist diviners and magicians. They are also believed to inhabit rivers, ruined houses, wells, baths, ovens, and even the latrina: hence, persons, when they enter the latter place, and when they let down a bucket into a well, or light a fire, and on other occasions, say, “Permission!” or “Permission, ye blessed!”—which words, in the case of entering the latrina, they sometimes preface with a prayer for God’s protection against all evil spirits; but in doing this, some persons are careful not to mention the name of God after they have entered (deeming it improper in such a place), and only say, “I seek refuge with Thee from the male and female devils.” These customs present a commentary on the story in the “Thousand and One Nights,” in which a merchant is described as having killed a ginnee by throwing aside the stone of a date which he had just eaten. In the same story, and in others of the same collection, a ginnee is represented as approaching in a whirlwind of sand or dust; and it is the general belief of the Arabs of Egypt, that the “zóba’ah,” or whirlwind which raises the sand or dust in the form of a pillar of prodigious height, and which is so often seen sweeping across the fields and deserts of this country, is caused by the flight of one of these beings; or, in other words, that the ginnee “rides in the whirlwind.”[346] A charm is usually uttered by the Egyptians to avert the zóba’ah, when it seems to be approaching them: some of them exclaim, “Iron, thou unlucky!”—as genii are supposed to have a great dread of that metal: others endeavour to drive away the monster by exclaiming, “God is most great!” What we call a “falling star” (and which the Arabs term “shilháb”) is commonly believed to be a dart thrown by God at an evil ginnee; and the Egyptians, when they see it, exclaim, “May God transfix the enemy of the faith!” The evil ginnees are commonly termed “’Efreets;” and one of this class is mentioned in the Kur-án in these words, “An ’efreet of the ginn answered” (chap. xxvii. ver. 39): which words Sale translates, “A terrible genius answered.” They are generally believed to differ from the other ginn in being very powerful, and always malicious; but to be, in other respects, of a similar nature. An evil ginnee of the most powerful class is called a “Márid.”
Connected with the history of the ginn are many fables not acknowledged by the Kur-án, and therefore not credited by the more sober Muslims, but only by the less instructed. All agree that the ginn were created before mankind; but some distinguish another class of preadamite beings of a similar nature. It is commonly believed that the earth was inhabited, before the time of Adam, by a race of beings differing from ourselves in form, and much more powerful; and that forty (or, according to some, seventy-two) preadamite kings, each of whom bore the name of Suleymán (or Solomon), successively governed this people. The last of these Suleymáns was named Gánn Ibn-Gánn; and from him, some think, the ginn (who are also called “gánn”)[347] derive their name. Hence, some believe the ginn to be the same with the preadamite race here mentioned: but others assert that they (the ginn) were a distinct class of beings, and brought into subjection by the other race.
Ginnees are believed often to assume, or perpetually to wear, the shapes of cats, dogs, and other brute animals. The sheykh Khaleel El-Medábighee, one of the most celebrated of the ′ulama of Egypt, and author of several works on various sciences, who died, at a very advanced age, during the period of my former visit to this country, used to relate the following anecdote.—He had, he said, a favourite black cat, which always slept at the foot of his musquito-curtain. Once, at midnight, he heard a knocking at the door of his house; and his cat went, and opened the hanging shutter of his window, and called, “Who is there?” A voice replied, “I am such a one” (mentioning a strange name) “the ginnee: open the door.” “The lock,” said the sheykh′s cat, “has had the name [of God] pronounced upon it.”[348] “Then throw me down,” said the other, “two cakes of bread.” “The bread-basket,” answered the cat at the window, “has had the name pronounced upon it” “Well,” said the stranger, “at least give me a draught of water.” But he was answered that the water-jar had been secured in the same manner; and asked what he was to do, seeing that he was likely to die of hunger and thirst: the sheykh′s cat told him to go to the door of the next house; and went there also himself, and opened the door, and soon after returned. Next morning the sheykh deviated from a habit which he had constantly observed: he gave, to the cat, half of the fateereh upon which he breakfasted, instead of a little morsel, which he was wont to give; and afterwards said, “O my cat, thou knowest that I am a poor man: bring me, then, a little gold:” upon which words, the cat immediately disappeared, and he saw it no more.—Ridiculous as stories of this kind really are, it is impossible, without relating one or more, to convey a just notion of the opinions of the people whom I am attempting to describe.
It is commonly affirmed, that malicious or disturbed genii very often station themselves on the roofs, or at the windows, of houses in Cairo, and other towns of Egypt, and throw bricks and stones down into the streets and courts. A few days ago, I was told of a case of this kind, which had alarmed the people in the main street of the metropolis for a whole week; many bricks having been thrown down from some of the houses every day during this period, but nobody killed or wounded. I went to the scene of these pretended pranks of the genii, to witness them, and to make inquiries on the subject; but on my arrival there, I was told that the “regm” (that is, the throwing) had ceased. I found no one who denied the throwing down of the bricks, or doubted that it was the work of genii; and the general remark, on mentioning the subject, was, “God preserve us from their evil doings!”
One of my friends observed to me, on this occasion, that he had met with some Englishmen who disbelieved in the existence of genii; but he concluded that they had never witnessed a public performance, though common in their country, of which he had since heard, called “kumedyeh” (or comedy); by which term he meant to include all theatrical performances. Addressing one of his countrymen, and appealing to me for the confirmation of his words, he then said—“An Algerine, a short time ago, gave me an account of a spectacle of this kind which he had seen in London.”—Here his countryman interrupted him, by asking, “Is not England in London? or is London a town in England?”—My friend, with diffidence, and looking to me, answered that London was the metropolis of England; and then resumed the subject of the theatre.—“The house,” said he, “in which the spectacle was exhibited cannot be described: it was of a round form, with many benches on the floor, and closets all round, in rows, one above another, in which people of the higher classes sat; and there was a large square aperture, closed with a curtain. When the house was full of people, who paid large sums of money to be admitted, it suddenly became very dark: it was night; and the house had been lighted up with a great many lamps; but these became almost entirely extinguished, all at the same time, without being touched by anybody. Then the great curtain was drawn up: they heard the roaring of the sea and wind; and indistinctly perceived, through the gloom, the waves rising and foaming, and lashing the shore. Presently a tremendous peal of thunder was heard,heard, after a flash of lightning had clearly shown to the spectators the agitated sea: and then there fell a heavy shower of real rain. Soon after, the day broke; the sea became more plainly visible; and two ships were seen in the distance: they approached, and fought each other, firing their cannons; and a variety of other extraordinary scenes were afterwards exhibited. Now it is evident,” added my friend, “that such wonders must have been the works of genii, or at least performed by their assistance.”—He could not be convinced of his error by my explanations of these phenomena.
During the month of Ramadán, the genii, it is said, are confined in prison; and hence, on the eve of the festival which follows that month, some of the women of Egypt, with the view of preventing these objects of dread from entering their houses, sprinkle salt upon the floors of the apartments; saying, as they do it, “In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful.”
A curious relic of ancient Egyptian superstition must here be mentioned. It is believed that each quarter in Cairo has its peculiar guardian-genius, or Agathodæmon, which has the form of a serpent.
The ancient tombs of Egypt, and the dark recesses of the temples, are commonly believed, by the people of this country, to be inhabited by ′efreets. I found it impossible to persuade one of my servants to enter the Great Pyramid with me, from his having this idea. Many of the Arabs ascribe the erection of the Pyramids, and all the most stupendous remains of antiquity in Egypt, to Gánn Ibn-Gánn, and his servants, the ginn; conceiving it impossible that they could have been raised by human hands.
The term ′efreet is commonly applied rather to an evil ginnee than any other being; but the ghosts of dead persons are also called by this name; and many absurd stories are related of them; and great are the fears which they inspire. There are some persons, however, who hold them in no degree of dread.—I had once a humorous cook, who was somewhat addicted to the intoxicating hasheesh: soon after he had entered my service, I heard him, one evening, muttering and exclaiming on the stairs, as if in surprise at some event; and then politely saying, “But why are you sitting here in the draught?—Do me the favour to come up into the kitchen, and amuse me with your conversation a little.” The civil address, not being answered, was repeated and varied several times; till I called out to the man, and asked him to whom he was speaking. “The ′efreet of a Turkish soldier,” he replied, “is sitting on the stairs, smoking his pipe, and refuses to move: he came up from the well below: pray step and see him.” On my going to the stairs, and telling the servant that I could see nothing, he only remarked that it was because I had a clear conscience. He was told, afterwards, that the house had long been haunted; but asserted that he had not been previously informed of the supposed cause; which was the fact of a Turkish soldier having been murdered there. My cook professed to see this ′efreet frequently after.
The existence of “Ghools” likewise obtains almost universal credence among the modern Egyptians, in common with several other Eastern nations. These beings are generally believed to be a class of evil ginnees, and are said to appear in the forms of various animals, and in many monstrous shapes; to haunt burial-grounds, and other sequestered spots; to feed upon dead bodies; and to kill and devour every human creature who has the misfortune to fall in their way. Hence, the term “ghool” is applied, in general, to any cannibal.
That fancies such as these should exist in the minds of a people so ignorant as those who are the subject of these pages cannot reasonably excite our surprise. But the Egyptians pay a superstitious reverence not to imaginary beings alone: they extend it to certain individuals of their own species; and often to those who are justly the least entitled to such respect.[349] An idiot or a fool is vulgarly regarded by them as a being whose mind is in heaven, while his grosser part mingles among ordinary mortals; consequently, he is considered an especial favourite of heaven. Whatever enormities a reputed saint may commit (and there are many who are constantly infringing precepts of their religion), such acts do not affect his fame for sanctity: for they are considered as the results of the abstraction of his mind from worldly things; his soul, or reasoning faculties, being wholly absorbed in devotion; so that his passions are left without control. Lunatics who are dangerous to society are kept in confinement; but those who are harmless are generally regarded as saints. Most of the reputed saints of Egypt are either lunatics, or idiots, or impostors. Some of them go about perfectly naked, and are so highly venerated, that the women, instead of avoiding them, sometimes suffer these wretches to take any liberty with them in the public street; and, by the lower orders, are not considered as disgraced by such actions, which, however, are of very rare occurrence. Others are seen clad in a cloak or long coat composed of patches of various coloured cloths, which is called a “dilk,”[350] adorned with numerous strings of beads, wearing a ragged turban, and bearing a staff with shreds of cloth of various colours attached to the top. Some of them eat straw, or a mixture of chopped straw and broken glass; and attract observation by a variety of absurd actions. During my first visit to this country, I often met, in the streets of Cairo, a deformed man, almost naked, with long matted hair, and riding upon an ass, led by another man. On these occasions, he always stopped his beast directly before me, so as to intercept my way, recited the Fat′hah (or opening chapter of the Kur-án), and then held out his hand for an alms. The first time that he thus crossed me, I endeavoured to avoid him; but a person passing by remonstrated with me, observing that the man before me was a saint, and that I ought to respect him, and comply with his demand, lest some misfortune should befall me. Men of this class are supported by alms, which they often receive without asking for them. A reputed saint is commonly called “sheykh,” “murábit,” or “welee.” If affected with lunacy or idiotcy, or of weak intellect, he is also, and more properly, termed “megzoob,” or “mesloob.” “Welee” is an appellation correctly given only to an eminent and very devout saint; and signifies “a favourite of heaven;” but it is so commonly applied to real or pretended idiots, that some wit has given it a new interpretation, as equivalent to “beleed,” which means “a fool” or “simpleton;” remarking that these two terms are equivalent both in sense and in the numerical value of the letters composing them: for “welee” is written with the letters “wä′w,” “lám,” and “yé,” of which the numerical values are 6, 30, and 10, or, together, 46; and “beleed” is written with “bé,” “lám,” “yé,” and “dál,” which are 2, 30, 10, and 4, or, added together, 46. A simpleton is often jestingly called a welee.
The Muslims of Egypt, in common with those of other countries, entertain very curious superstitions respecting the persons whom they call welees. I have often endeavoured to obtain information on the most mysterious of these superstitions; and have generally been answered, “You are meddling with the matters of the ‘tareekah,’” or the religious course of the darweeshes; but I have been freely acquainted with general opinions on these subjects, and such are perhaps all that may be required to be stated in a work like the present: I shall, however, also relate what I have been told by learned persons, and by darweeshes, in elucidation of the popular belief.
In the first place, if a person were to express a doubt as to the existence of true welees, he would be branded with infidelity; and the following passage of the Kur-án would be adduced to condemn him: “Verily, on the favourites[351] of God no fear shall come, nor shall they grieve.”[352] This is considered as sufficient to prove that there is a class of persons distinguished above ordinary human beings. The question then suggests itself, “Who, or of what description are these persons?” and we are answered, “They are persons wholly devoted to God, and possessed of extraordinary faith; and, according to their degree of faith, endowed with the power of performing miracles.”[353]
The most holy of the welees is termed the Kutb; or, according to some persons, there are two who have this title; and again, according to others, four. The term “kutb” signifies an axis; and hence is applied to a welee who rules over others: they depending upon him, and being subservient to him. For the same reason it is applied to temporal rulers, or any person of high authority. The opinion that there are four kutbs, I am told, is a vulgar error, originating from the frequent mention of “the four kutbs,” by which expression are meant the founders of the four most celebrated orders of darweeshes (the Rifá’eeyeh, Kádireeyeh, Ahmedeeyeh, and Baráhimeh); each of whom is believed to have been the kutb of his time. I have also generally been told, that the opinion of there being two kutbs is a vulgar error, founded upon two names, “Kutb el-Hakeekah” (or the Kutb of Truth), and “Kutb el-Ghós” (or the Kutb of Invocation for help), which properly belong to but one person. The term “el-Kutb el-Mutawellee” is applied, by those who believe in but one kutb, to the one ruling at the present time; and by those who believe in two, to the acting kutb. The kutb who exercises a superintendence over all other welees (whether or not there be another kutb—for if there be, he is inferior to the former) has, under his authority, welees of different ranks, to perform different offices; “Nakeebs,” “Negeebs,” “Bedeels,”[354] etc.; who are known only to each other, and perhaps to the rest of the welees, as holding such offices.
The Kutb, it is said, is often seen, but not known as such; and the same is said of all who hold authority under him. He always has a humble demeanour, and mean dress; and mildly reproves those whom he finds acting impiously; particularly such as have a false reputation for sanctity. Though he is unknown to the world, his favourite stations are well known; yet at these places he is seldom visible. It is asserted that he is almost constantly seated at Mekkeh, on the roof of the Kaabeh; and, though never seen there, is always heard at midnight to call twice, “O thou most merciful of those who show mercy!” which cry is then repeated from the mád’nehs of the temple, by the muëddins: but a respectable pilgrim, whom I have just questioned upon this matter, has confessed to me that he himself has witnessed that this cry is made by a regular minister of the mosque; yet that few pilgrims know this: he believes, however, that the roof of the Kaabeh is the chief “markaz” (or station) of the Kutb. Another favourite station of this revered and unknown person is the gate of Cairo called Báb Zuweyleh, which is at the southern extremity of that part of the metropolis which constituted the old city; though now in the heart of the town; for the capital has greatly increased towards the south, as it has also towards the west. From its being a supposed station of this mysterious being, the Báb Zuweyleh is commonly called “El-Mutawellee.”[355] One leaf of its great wooden door (which is never shut), turned back against the eastern side of the interior of the gateway, conceals a small vacant space, which is said to be the place of the Kutb. Many persons, on passing by it, recite the Fát’hah; and some give alms to a beggar who is generally seated there, and who is regarded by the vulgar as one of the servants of the Kutb. Numbers of persons afflicted with head-ache drive a nail into the door, to charm away the pain; and many sufferers from the tooth-ache extract a tooth, and insert it in a crevice of the door, or fix it in some other way, to insure their not being attacked again by the same malady. Some curious individuals often try to peep behind the door, in the vain hope of catching a glimpse of the Kutb, should he happen to be there, and not at the moment invisible. He has also many other stations, but of inferior celebrity, in Cairo; as well as one at the tomb of the seyyid Ahmad El-Bedawee, at Tanta; another at El-Mahalleh (which, as well as Tanta, is in the Delta); and others in other places. He is believed to transport himself from Mekkeh to Cairo in an instant; and so also from any one place to another. Though he has a number of favourite stations, he does not abide solely at these; but wanders throughout the whole world, among persons of every religion, whose appearance, dress, and language he assumes; and distributes to mankind, chiefly through the agency of the subordinate welees, evils and blessings, the awards of destiny. When a Kutb dies, he is immediately succeeded in his office by another.
Many of the Muslims say that Elijah, or Elias, whom the vulgar confound with El-Khidr,[356] was the Kutb of his time; and that he invests the successive kutbs: for they acknowledge that he has never died; asserting him to have drunk of the Fountain of Life. This particular in their superstitious notions respecting the kutbs, combined with some others which I have before mentioned, is very curious when compared with what we are told, in the Bible, of Elijah, of his being transported from place to place by the spirit of God; of his investing Elisha with his miraculous powers, and his offices; and of the subjection of the other prophets to him and to his immediate successor.[357] Some welees renounce the pleasures of the world, and the society of mankind; and, in a desert place, give themselves up to meditation upon heaven, and prayer; depending upon Divine Providence for their support; but their retreat becomes known; and the Arabs daily bring them food. This, again, reminds us of the history of Elijah: for, in the opinion of some critics, we should read, for the word “ravens,” in the fourth and sixth verses of the seventeenth chapter of the second book of Kings, “Arabs:” “I have commanded the Arabs to feed thee”—“And the Arabs brought him bread,” etc.
Certain welees are said to be commissioned by the Kutb to perform offices which, according to the accounts of my informants here, are far from being easy. These are termed “As-háb ed-Darak,” which is interpreted as signifying “watchmen,” or “overseers.” In illustration of their employments, the following anecdote was related to me a few days ago.—A devout tradesman in this city, who was ardently desirous of becoming a welee, applied to a person who was generally believed to belong to this holy class, and implored the latter to assist him to obtain the honour of an interview with the Kutb. The applicant, after having undergone a strict examination as to his motives, was desired to perform the ordinary ablution (el-wudoó), very early the next morning; then to repair to the mosque of El-Mu-eiyad (at an angle of which is the Báb Zuweyleh, or El-Mutawellee, before mentioned), and to lay hold of the first person whom he should see coming out of the great door of this mosque. He did so. The first person who came out was an old, venerable-looking man; but meanly clad; wearing a brown woollen gown (or zaaboot); and this proved to be the Kutb. The candidate kissed his hand, and entreated to be admitted among the As-háb ed-Darak. After much hesitation, the prayer was granted: the Kutb said, “Take charge of the district which consists of the Darb el-Ahmar[358] and its immediate neighbourhood;” and immediately the person thus addressed found himself to be a welee; and perceived that he was acquainted with things concealed from ordinary mortals: for a welee is said to be acquainted by God with all secrets necessary for him to know.—It is commonly said of a welee, that he knows what is secret, or not discoverable by the senses; which seems plainly contradictory to what we read in several places in the Kur-án,—that none knoweth what is secret (or hidden from the senses) but God: the Muslims, however, who are seldom at a loss in a discussion, argue that the passages above alluded to, in the Kur-án, imply the knowledge of secrets in an unrestricted sense; and that God imparts to welees such secrets only as He thinks fit.
The welee above mentioned, as soon as he had entered upon his office, walked through his district; and seeing a man at a shop with a jar full of boiled beans before him, from which he was about to serve his customers as usual, took up a large piece of stone, and with it broke the jar. The bean-seller immediately jumped up, seized hold of a palm stick that lay by his side, and gave the welee a severe beating; but the holy man complained not; nor did he utter a cry: as soon as he was allowed, he walked away. When he was gone, the bean-seller began to try if he could gather up some of the scattered contents of the jar. A portion of the jar remained in its place; and on looking into this, he saw a venomous serpent in it, coiled round, and dead. In horror at what he had done, he exclaimed, “There is no strength or power but in God! I implore forgiveness of God, the Great! What have I done! This man is a welee; and has prevented my selling what would have poisoned my customers.”—He looked at every passenger all that day, in the hope of seeing again the saint whom he had thus injured, that he might implore his forgiveness; but he saw him not; for he was too much bruised to be able to walk. On the following day, however, with his limbs still swollen from the blows he had received, the welee limped through his district, and broke a great jar of milk at a shop not far from that of the bean-seller; and the owner treated him as the bean-seller had done the day before; but while he was beating him, some persons ran up, and stopped his hand, informing him that the person whom he was thus punishing was a welee, and relating to him the affair of the serpent that was found in the jar of beans. “Go, and look,” said they, “in your jar of milk, and you will find, at the bottom of it, something either poisonous or unclean.” He looked; and found, in the remains of the jar, a dead dog.—On the third day, the welee, with the help of a staff, hobbled painfully up the Darb el-Ahmar, and saw a servant carrying, upon his head, a supper-tray covered with dishes of meat, vegetables, and fruit, for a party who were going to take a repast in the country; whereupon he put his staff between the man’s legs, and overthrew him; and the contents of the dishes were scattered in the street. With a mouth full of curses, the servant immediately began to give the saint as severe a thrashing as he himself expected to receive from his disappointed master for this accident; but several persons soon collected around him; and one of these bystanders observed a dog eat a part of the contents of one of the dishes, and, a moment after, fall down dead: he therefore instantly seized the hand of the servant and informed him of this circumstance, which proved that the man whom he had been beating was a welee. Every apology was made to the injured saint, with many prayers for his forgiveness: but he was so disgusted with his new office, that he implored God and the Kutb to release him from it; and, in answer to his solicitations, his supernatural powers were withdrawn, and he returned to his shop, more contented than before.—This story is received as true by the people of Cairo; and therefore I have inserted it: for, in treating of superstitions, we have more to do with opinions than with facts. I am not sure, indeed, that it is altogether false: the supposed saint might have employed persons to introduce the dead serpent and dog into the vessels which he broke. I am told that many a person has obtained the reputation of being a welee by artifices of the kind just mentioned.
There have been many instances, in Egypt, of welees afflicting themselves by austerities similar to those which are often practised by devotees in India. At the present time there is living, in Cairo, a welee who has placed an iron collar round his neck, and chained himself to a wall of his chamber; and it is said that he has been in this state more than thirty years: but some personspersons assert that he has often been seen to cover himself over with a blanket, as if to sleep, and that the blanket has been removed immediately after, and nobody found beneath it! Stories of this kind are related and believed by persons who, in many respects, are endowed by good sense; and to laugh, or express discredit, on hearing them, would give great offence. I was lately told that a certain welee being beheaded, for a crime of which he was not guilty, his head spoke after it was cut off;[359] and, of another decapitated under similar circumstances, that his blood traced upon the ground, in Arabic characters, the following declaration of his innocence—“I am a welee of God; and have died a martyr.”
It is a very remarkable trait in the character of the people of Egypt and other countries of the East, that Muslims, Christians, and Jews adopt each other’s superstitions, while they abhor the more rational doctrines of each other’s faiths. In sickness, the Muslim sometimes employs Christian and Jewish priests to pray for him: the Christians and Jews, in the same predicament, often called in Muslim saints for the like purpose. Many Christians are in the frequent habit of visiting certain Muslim saints here; kissing their hands; begging their prayers, counsels, or prophecies; and giving them money and other presents.
Though their prophet disclaimed the power of performing miracles, the Muslims attribute to him many; and several miracles are still, they say, constantly or occasionally performed for his sake, as marks of the Divine favour and honour. The pilgrims who have visited El-Medeeneh relate that there is seen every night, a ray or column of faint light rising from the cupola over the grave of the Prophet to a considerable height, apparently to the clouds, or, as some say, to Paradise; but that the observer loses sight of it when he approaches very near the tomb.[360] This is one of the most remarkable of the miracles which are related as being still witnessed. On my asking one of the most grave and sensible of all my Muslim friends here, who had been on a pilgrimage, and visited El-Medeeneh, whether this assertion were true, he averred that it was; that he had seen it every night of his stay in that city; and he remarked that it was a most striking and impressive proof of God’s favour and honour for “our lord Mohammad.” I did not presume to question the truth of what he asserted himself to have seen; nor to suggest that the great number of lights kept burning every night in the mosque might produce this effect; but to judge whether this might be the case, I asked my friend to describe to me the construction of the apartment of the tomb, its cupola, etc. He replied that he did not enter it, nor the Kaabah at Mekkeh, partly from his being in a state of excessive nervous excitement (from his veneration for those holy buildings, but particularly for the former, which almost affected him with a kind of hysteric fit), and partly because, being of the sect of the Hanafees, he held it improper, after he should have stepped upon such sacred ground, ever again to run the risk of defiling his feet by walking barefooted: consequently, he would have been obliged always to wear leather socks, or mezz, within his outer shoes; which, he said, he could not afford to do. The pilgrims also assert that, in approaching El-Medeeneh, from the distance of three days’ journey, or more, they always see a flickering lightning in the direction of the sacred city, which they believe to proceed from the Prophet’s tomb. They say that however they turn, they always see this lightning in the direction of El-Medeeneh. There is something strikingly poetical in this and in the former statement.
A superstitious veneration, and honours unauthorized by the Kur-án or any of the Traditions, are paid by all sects of Muslims, excepting the Wahhábees, to deceased saints, even more than to those who are living; and more particularly by the Muslims of Egypt.[361] Over the graves of most of the more celebrated saints are erected large and handsome mosques; over that of a saint of less note (one who, by a life of sanctity or hypocrisy, has acquired the reputation of being a welee, or devout sheykh) is constructed a small, square, white-washed building, crowned with a cupola. There is generally, directly over the vault in which the corpse is deposited, an oblong monument of stone or brick (called “tarkeebeh”) or wood (in which case it is called “táboot”); and this is usually covered with silk or linen, with some words from the Kur-án worked upon it, and surrounded by a railing or screen, of wood or bronze, called “maksoorah.” Most of the sanctuaries of saints in Egypt are tombs; but there are several which only contain some inconsiderable relic of the person to whom they are dedicated, and there are a few which are mere cenotaphs. The most sacred of all these sanctuaries is the mosque of the Hasaneyn, in which the head of the martyr El-Hoseyn, the son of the Imám ’Alee, and grandson of the Prophet, is said to be buried. Among others but little inferior in sanctity, are the mosques of the seyyideh Zeyneb (daughter of the ImámImám ’Alee, and grand-daughter of the Prophet), the seyyideh Sekeeneh (daughter of the ImámImám El-Hoseyn), the seyyideh Nefeeseh (great grand-daughter of the Imám El-Hasan), and the Imám Esh-Sháfe’ee, already mentioned as the author of one of the four great Muslim sects, that to which most of the people of Cairo belong. The buildings above mentioned, with the exception of the last two, are within the metropolis; the last but one is within a southern suburb of Cairo, and the last, in the great southern cemetery.
The Egyptians occasionally visit these and other sanctuaries of their saints, either merely with the view of paying honour to the deceased, and performing meritorious acts for the sake of these venerated persons, which they believe will call down a blessing on themselves, or for the purpose of urging some special petition, as for the restoration of health, or for the gift of offspring, etc.; in the persuasion that the merits of the deceased will insure a favourable reception of the prayers which they offer up in such consecrated places. The generality of the Muslims regard their deceased saints as intercessors with the Deity, and make votive offerings to them. The visitor, on arriving at the tomb, should greet the deceased with the salutation of peace, and should utter the same salutation on entering the burial-ground; but I believe that few persons observe this latter custom. In the former case, the visitor should front the face of the dead, and consequently turn his back to the kibleh. He walks round the maksoorah or monument from left to right, and recites the Fát’hah, inaudibly, or in a very low voice, before its door, or before each of its four sides. Sometimes a longer chapter of the Kur-án than the first (or Fát’hah) is recited afterwards, and sometimes a “khatmeh” (or recitation of the whole of the Kur-án) is performed on such an occasion. These acts of devotion are generally performed for the sake of the saint, though merit is likewise believed to reflect upon the visitor who makes a recitation. He usually says at the close of this, “[Extol] the perfection of thy Lord, the Lord of Might, exempting Him from that which they [that is, the unbelievers] ascribe to Him” (namely, the having a son, or a partaker of his godhead); and adds, “And peace be on the Apostles, and praise be to God, the Lord of all creatures. O God, I have transferred the merit of what I have recited from the excellent Kur-án to the person to whom this place is dedicated,” or—“to the soul of this welee.” Without such a declaration, or an intention to the same effect, the merit of the recital belongs solely to the person who performs it. After this recital, the visitor, if it be his desire, offers up any prayer for temporal or spiritual blessings, generally using some such form as this—“O God, I conjure Thee by the Prophet, and by him to whom this place is dedicated, to grant me such and such blessings;” or “My burdens be on God and on thee, O thou to whom this place is dedicated.” In doing this, some persons face any side of the maksoorah. It is said to be more proper to face the maksoorah and the kibleh; but I believe that the same rule should be observed in this case as in the salutation. During the prayer the hands are held as in the private supplications after the ordinary prayers of every day, and afterwards they are drawn down the face. Many of the visitors kiss the threshold of the building, and the walls, windows, maksoorah, etc. This, however, the more strict disapprove, asserting it to be an imitation of a custom of the Christians. The rich, and persons in easy circumstances, when they visit the tomb of a saint, distribute money or bread to the poor, and often give money to one or more water-carriers to distribute water to the poor and thirsty, for the sake of the saint.[362] There are particular days of the week on which certain tombs are more generally visited; thus, the mosque of Hasaneyn is mostly visited by men on Tuesday, and by women on Saturday; that of the seyyideh Zeyneb, on Wednesday; that of the Imám Esh-Sháfe’ee, on Friday. On these occasions it is a common custom for the male visitors to take with them sprigs of myrtle. They place some of these on the monument, or on the floor within the maksoorah, and take back the remainder, which they distribute to their friends. The poor sometimes place “khoos” (or palm leaves), as most persons do upon the tombs of their friends and relations. The women of Cairo, instead of the myrtle or palm-leaves, often place roses, flowers of the henna-tree, jasmine, etc.
At almost every village in Egypt is the tomb of some favourite or patron saint, which is generally visited on a particular day of the week by many of the inhabitants, chiefly women, some of whom bring thither bread, which they leave there for poor travellers, or any other persons. Some also place small pieces of money in these tombs. These gifts are offerings to the sheykh, or given for his sake. Another custom common among the peasants is, to make votive sacrifices at the tombs of their sheykhs. For instance, a man makes a vow (“nedr”) that if he recover from a sickness, or obtain a son, or any other specific object of desire, he will give to a certain sheykh (deceased), a goat, or a lamb, or a sheep, etc. If he attain his object, he sacrifices the animal which he has vowed at the tomb of the sheykh, and makes a feast with its meat for any persons who may choose to attend. Having given the animal to the saint, he thus gives to the latter the merit of feeding the poor. Little kids are often vowed as future sacrifices, and have the right ear slit, or are marked in some other way. It is not uncommon, too, without any definite view but that of obtaining general blessings, to make these vows; and sometimes a peasant vows that he will sacrifice, for the sake of a saint, a calf which he possesses, as soon as it is full-grown and fatted. It is let loose, by consent of all his neighbours, to pasture where it will, even in fields of young wheat; and at last, after it has been sacrificed, a public feast is made with its meat. Many a large bull is thus given away.
Almost every celebrated saint, deceased, is honoured by an anniversary birth-day festival, which is called “moolid,” or, more properly, “mólid.” On the occasions of such festivals, many persons visit the tomb, both as a duty and as a supposed means of obtaining a special blessing; fikees are hired to recite the Kur-án, for the sake of the saint; fakeers often perform zikrs; and the people living in the neighbourhood of the tomb hang lamps before their doors, and devote half the night to such pleasures as those of smoking, sipping coffee, and listening to story-tellers at the coffee-shops, or to the recitals of the Kur-án and the zikrs. I have now a cluster of lamps hanging before my door, in honour of the moolid of a sheykh who is buried near the house in which I am living. Even the native Christians often hang up lamps on these occasions. The festivities often continue several days. The most famous moolids celebrated in Cairo, next to that of the Prophet, are those of the Hasaneyn and the seyyideh Zeyneb, accounts of which will be found in a subsequent chapter on the periodical public festivals, etc., of the people of Egypt. Most of the Egyptians not only expect a blessing to follow their visiting the tomb of a celebrated saint, but they also dread that some misfortune will befall them if they neglect this act. Thus, while I am writing these lines, an acquaintance of mine is suffering from an illness which he attributes to his having neglected, for the last two years, to attend the festivals of the seyyid Ahmad El-Bedawee, at Tanta, this being the period of one of these festivals. The tomb of this saint attracts almost as many visitors, at the periods of the great annual festivals, from the metropolis, and from various parts of Lower Egypt, as Mekkeh does pilgrims from the whole of the Muslim world. Three moolids are celebrated in honour of him every year—one, about the tenth of the Coptic month of Toobeh (17th or 18th of January); the second, at or about the Vernal Equinox;[363] and the third, or great moolid, about a month after the Summer Solstice (or about the middle of the Coptic month of Ebeeb), when the Nile has risen considerably, but the dams of the canals are not yet cut. Each lasts one week and a day, beginning on a Friday, and ending on the afternoon of the next Friday; and on each night there is a display of fireworks. One week after each of these, is celebrated the moolid of the seyyid Ibráheem Ed-Dasookee, at the town of Dasook, on the east bank of the western branch of the Nile. The seyyid Ibráheem was a very famous saint, next in rank to the seyyid El-Bedawee. These moolids, both of the seyyid El-Bedawee and of the seyyid Ibráheem, are great fairs, as well as religious festivals. At the latter, most of the visitors remain in their boats; and some of the Saadeeyeh darweeshes of Rasheed exhibit their feats with serpents—some carrying serpents with silver rings in their mouths, to prevent their biting; others partly devouring these reptiles alive. The religious ceremonies at both are merely zikrs,[364] and recitals of the Kur-án.—It is customary among the Muslims, as it was among the Jews, to rebuild, whitewash, and decorate the tombs of their saints, and occasionally to put a new covering over the tarkeebeh or táboot; and many of them do this from the same pharisaic motives which actuated the Jews.[365]
“Darweeshes” are very numerous in Egypt; and some of them who confine themselves to religious exercises, and subsist by alms, are much respected in this country, particularly by the lower orders. Various artifices are employed by persons of this class to obtain the reputation of superior sanctity, and of being endowed with the power of performing miracles. Many of them are regarded as welees.
A direct descendant of Aboo-Bekr, the first Khaleefeh, having the title of “Esh-Sheykh el-Bekree,” and regarded as the representative of that prince, holds authority over all orders of darweeshes in Egypt. The present Sheykh el-Bekree, who is also descended from the Prophet, is Nakeeb el-Ashráf, or chief of the Shereefs.—I may here add that the second Khaleefeh, ’Omar, has likewise his representative, who is the sheykh of the ’Enáneeyeh, or Owlád ’Enán, an order of darweeshes so named from one of their celebrated sheykhs, Ibn-’Enán. ’Osmán has no representative, having left no issue. The representative of ’Alee is called Sheykh es-Sádát,[366] or Sheykh of the Seyyids, or Shereefs, a title of less importance than that of Nakeeb of the Shereefs. Each of these three sheykhs is termed the occupant of the “seggádeh” (or prayer carpet) of his great ancestor. So also the sheykh of an order of darweeshes is called the occupant of the seggádeh of the founder of the order.[367] The seggádeh is considered as the spiritual throne. There are four great seggádehs of darweeshes in Egypt, which are those of four great orders about to be mentioned.
The most celebrated orders of darweeshes in Egypt are the following:—1. The “Rifá’eeyeh” (in the singular “Rifá’ee”). This order was founded by the seyyid Ahmad Rifá’ah El-Kebeer. Its banners and the turbans of its members are black; or the latter are of a very deep blue woollen stuff, or muslin of a very dark greenish hue. The Rifá’ee darweeshes are celebrated for the performance of many wonderful feats.[368] The “’Ilwáneeyeh,” or “Owlád ’Ilwán,” who are a sect of the Rifá’ees, pretend to thrust iron spikes into their eyes and bodies without sustaining any injury; and in appearance they do this, in such a manner as to deceive any person who can believe it possible for a man to do such things in reality. They also break large masses of stone on their chests, eat live coals, glass, etc.; and are said to pass swords completely through their bodies, and packing-needles through both their cheeks, without suffering any pain, or leaving any wound; but such performances are now seldom witnessed. I am told that it was a common practice for a darweesh of this order to hollow out a piece of the trunk of a palm-tree, fill it with rags soaked with oil and tar, then set fire to these contents, and carry the burning mass under his arm in a religious procession (wearing only drawers), the flames curling over his bare chest, back, and head, and apparently doing him no injury. The “Saadeeyeh,” an order founded by the sheykh Saad-ed-Deen El-Gibáwee, are another and more celebrated sect of the Rifá’ees. Their banners are green, and their turbans of the same colour, or of the dark hue of the Rifá’ees in general. There are many darweeshes of this order who handle with impunity live, venomous serpents, and scorpions, and partly devour them. The serpents, however, they render incapable of doing any injury by extracting their venomous fangs; and doubtless they also deprive the scorpions of their poison. On certain occasions (as, for instance, on that of the festival of the birth of the Prophet), the Sheykh of the Saadeeyeh rides on horseback over the bodies of a number of his darweeshes and other persons, who throw themselves on the ground for the purpose; and all assert that they are not injured by the tread of the horse. This ceremony is called the “dóseh.” Many Rifá’ee and Saadee darweeshes obtain their livelihood by going about to charm away serpents from houses. Of the feats of these modern Psylli, an account will be given in another chapter. 2. The “Kádireeyeh,” an order founded by the famous seyyid ’Abd-El-Kádir El-Geelánee. Their banners and turbans are white. Most of the Kádireeyeh of Egypt are fishermen; these, in religious processions, carry upon poles nets of various colours (green, yellow, red, white, etc.), as the banners of their order. 3. The “Ahmedeeyeh,” or order of the seyyid Ahmad El-Bedawee, whom I have lately mentioned. This is a very numerous and highly respected order. Their banners and turbans are red. The “Beiyoomeeyeh” (founded by the seyyid ’Alee El-Beiyoomee), the “Shaaráweeyeh” (founded by the sheykh Esh-Shaaráwee[369]), the “Shinnáweeyeh” (founded by the seyyid ’Alee Esh-Shinnáwee), and many other orders, are sects of the Ahmedeeyeh. The Shinnáweeyeh train an ass to perform a strange part in the ceremonies of the last day of the moolid of their great patron saint, the seyyid Ahmad El-Bedawee, at Tanta. The ass, of its own accord, enters the mosque of the seyyid, proceeds to the tomb, and there stands, while multitudes crowd around it, and each person who can approach near enough to it plucks off some of its hair, to use as a charm, until the skin of the poor beast is as bare as the palm of a man’s hand. There is another sect of the Ahmedeeyeh, called “Owlád Nooh,” all young men, who wear “tartoors” (or high caps), with a tuft of pieces of various coloured cloth on the top, wooden swords, and numerous strings of beads, and carry a kind of whip (called “firkilleh”), a thick twist of cords. 4. The “Baráhimeh,” or “Burhámeeyeh,” the order of the seyyid Ibráheem Ed-Dasookee, whose moolid has been mentioned above. Their banners and turbans are green. There are many other classes of darweeshes, some of whom are sects of one or other of the above orders. Among the more celebrated of them are the “Hefnáweeyeh,” the “’Afeefeeyeh,” the “Demirdásheeyeh,” the “Nakshibendeeyeh,” the “Bekreeyeh,” and the “Leyseeyeh.”
It is impossible to become acquainted with all the tenets, rules, and ceremonies of the darweeshes, as many of them, like those of the freemasons, are not to be divulged to the uninitiated. A darweesh with whom I am acquainted thus described to me his taking the “’ahd,” or initiatory covenant, which is nearly the same in all the orders. He was admitted by the sheykh of the Demirdásheeyeh. Having first performed the ablution preparatory to prayer (the wudoó), he seated himself upon the ground before the sheykh, who was seated in like manner. The sheykh and he (the “mureed,” or candidate) then clasped their right hands together in the manner which I have described as practised in making the marriage-contract: in this attitude, and with their hands covered by the sleeve of the sheykh, the candidate took the covenant; repeating after the sheykh, the following words, commencing with the form of a common oath of repentance. “I beg forgiveness of God, the Great” (three times); “than whom there is no other deity; the Living, the Everlasting: I turn to Him with repentance, and beg his grace, and forgiveness, and exemption from the fire.” The sheykh then said to him, “Dost thou turn to God with repentance?” He replied, “I do turn to God with repentance; and I return unto God; and I am grieved for what I have done [amiss], and I determine not to relapse”—and then repeated, after the sheykh, “I beg for the favour of God, the Great, and the noble Prophet; and I take as my sheykh, and my guide unto God (whose name be exalted), my master ’Abd Er-Raheem Ed-Demirdáshee El-Khalwet′ee Er-Rifá’ee En-Nebawee; not to change, nor to separate; and God is our witness: by God, the Great!” (this oath was repeated three times): “there is no deity but God” (this also was repeated three times). The sheykh and the mureed then recited the Fát’hah together, and the latter concluded the ceremony by kissing the sheykh’s hand.
The religious exercises of the darweeshes chiefly consist in the performance of “zikrs.” Sometimes standing in the form of a circular or oblong ring, or in two rows, facing each other, and sometimes sitting, they exclaim, or chant, “Lá iláha illa-lláh” (There is no deity but God), or “Alláh! Alláh! Alláh!” (God! God! God!), or repeat other invocations, etc., over and over again, until their strength is almost exhausted; accompanying their ejaculations or chants with a motion of the head, or of the whole body, or of the arms. From long habit they are able to continue these exercises for a surprising length of time without intermission. They are often accompanied, at intervals, by one or more players upon a kind of flute called a “náy,” or a double reed-pipe, called “arghool,” and by persons singing religious odes; and some darweeshes use a little drum, called “báz,” or a tambourine, during their zikrs: some, also, perform a peculiar dance; the description of which, as well as of several different zikrs, I reserve for future chapters.
Some of the rites of darweeshes (as forms of prayer, modes of zikr, etc.), are observed only by particular orders: others, by members of various orders. Among the latter may be mentioned the rites of the “Khalwet′ees” and “Sházilees”; two great classes, each of which has its sheykh. The chief difference between these is that each has its particular form of prayer to repeat every morning; and that the former distinguish themselves by occasional seclusion; whence their appellation of “Khalwet′ees[370]:” the prayer of this class is repeated before daybreak; and is called “wird es-sahar:” that of the Sházilees, which is called “hezb esh-Sházilee,” after day-break. Sometimes, a Khalwet′ee enters a solitary cell, and remains in it forty days and nights, fasting from day-break till sunset the whole of this period. Sometimes also a number of the same class confine themselves, each in a separate cell, in the sepulchral mosque of the sheykh Ed-Demirdáshee, on the north of Cairo, and remain there three days and nights, on the occasion of the moolid of that saint, and only eat a little rice, and drink a cup of sherbet, in the evening: they employ themselves in repeating certain forms of prayer, etc. not imparted to the uninitiated; only coming out of their cells to unite in the five daily prayers in the mosque; and never answering any one who speaks to them but by saying, “There is no deity but God.” Those who observe the forty days’ fast, and seclude themselves during that long period, practise nearly the same rules; and employ their time in repeating the testimony of the faith, imploring forgiveness, praising God, etc.
Almost all the darweeshes of Egypt are tradesmen or artisans or agriculturists; and only occasionally assist in the rites and ceremonies of their respective orders: but there are some who have no other occupations than those of performing zikrs at the festivals of saints and at private entertainments, and of chanting in funeral processions. These are termed “fukara,” or “fakeers”; which is an appellation given also to the poor in general, but especially to poor devotees. Some obtain their livelihood as water-carriers, by supplying the passengers in the streets of Cairo, and the visitors at religious festivals, with water, which they carry in an earthen vessel, or a goat’s skin on the back. A few lead a wandering life, and subsist on alms; which they often demand with great importunacy and effrontery. Some of these distinguish themselves in the same manner as certain reputed saints before mentioned, by the “dilk,” or coat of patches, and the staff with shreds of cloth of different colours attached to the top: others wear fantastic dresses of various descriptions.
Some Rifá’ee darweeshes (besides those who follow the occupation of charming away serpents from houses) pursue a wandering life; travelling about Egypt, and profiting by a ridiculous superstition which I must here mention. A venerated saint called See[371] Dá-ood El-’Azab (or Master David the Bachelor), who lived at Tefáhineh, a village in Lower Egypt, had a calf, which always attended him, brought him water, etc. Since his death, some Rifá’ee darweeshes have been in the habit of rearing a number of calves at his native place, or burial place, above named; teaching them to walk upstairs, to lie down at command, etc.; and then going about the country, each with his calf, to obtain alms. The calf is called “′Egl El-’Azab” (the Calf of El-’Azab, or,—of the Bachelor). I once called into my house one of these darweeshes, with his calf, the only one I have seen: it was a buffalo calf; and had two bells suspended to it; one attached to a collar round his neck, and the other to a girth round its body. It walked up the stairs very well; but showed that it had not been very well trained in every respect. The ’Egl El-’Azab is vulgarly believed to bring into the house a blessing from the saint after whom it is called.
There are numerous wandering Turkish and Persian darweeshes in Egypt; and to these, more than to the few Egyptian darweeshes who lead a similar life, must the character for impudence and importunacy be ascribed. Very often, particularly in Ramadán, a foreign darweesh goes to the mosque of the Hasaneyn, which is that most frequented by the Turks and Persians, at the time of the Friday-prayers; and, when the Khateeb is reciting the first khutbeh passes between the ranks of persons who are sitting upon the floor, and places before each a little slip of paper upon which are written a few words, generally exhortative to charity (as “He who giveth alms will be provided for”—“The poor darweesh asketh an alms,” etc.); by which proceeding he usually obtains from each, or almost every person, a piece of five or ten faddahs, or more. Many of the Persian darweeshes in Egypt carry an oblong bowl of cocoa-nut or wood or metal, in which they receive their alms, and put their food; and a wooden spoon; and most of the foreign darweeshes wear dresses peculiar to their respective orders: they are chiefly distinguished by the cap: the most common description of cap is of a sugar-loaf, or conical shape, and made of felt: the other articles of dress are generally a vest and full drawers, or trousers, or a shirt and belt, and a coarse cloak, or long coat. The Persians here all affect to be Sunnees. The Turks are the more intrusive of the two classes.
Here I may mention another superstition of the Egyptians, and of the Arabs in general; namely, their belief that birds and beasts have a language by which they communicate their thoughts to each other, and celebrate the praises of God.