An Account of the Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians

263. Baron Hammer-Purgstall has remarked, that two other vessels should have been mentioned here (in the first edition of this work), more especially because their names have been adopted in European languages: they are the “garrah” or “jarrah,” a water-jar or pitcher, and the “demigán” or “demiján,” a large bottle, “la dame-jeanne.”

264. “Allah yehenneek” (for “yuhenneek”).

265. “Nebeed” (more properly, “nebeedh”), or “mudám.”

266. Called simply “sharbát,” or “sharbát sukkar,” or only “sukkar.”

267. “Leymoonáteh,” or “sharáb el-leymoon.”

268. Called “zebeeb.” This name is also given to an intoxicating conserve.

269. A description of the shops, and a further account of the tradesmen of Cairo, will be given in another chapter, on Industry.

270. “Námooseeyeh.” It is composed of muslin, or linen of an open texture, or crape, and forms a close canopy.

271. In the Introduction to this work.

272. “The habit of irregular remuneration, in lieu of fixed, invariable, and actionable wages, produces a difference of mental habits, as regards servants and masters, that I am sure is not to be understood through description; and yet every day you see Europeans, those men who affect such comprehensive views and such powers of logic, reviling the habit of giving presents, not perceiving that this practice leads to the preservation of those interesting domestic relations which I conceive to be the greatest lesson, political and moral, that is presented to us by the Eastern world.”—Urquhart’s Spirit of the East, vol. ii. p. 402.

273. See Exodus, xxii. 26, 27.

274. The term “hareem” (which, as before mentioned, is applied both to the females of a family and to the apartments which they occupy) signifies prohibited, sacred, etc. The Turks, and many of the Arabs, use the synonymous Arabic term “haram,” which the former pronounce “harem.”

275. They are often betrothed two or three or more years earlier.

276. Abraham’s sending a messenger to his own country to seek a wife for his son Isaac (see Genesis xxiv.) was just such a measure as most modern Arabs would adopt under similar circumstances, if easily practicable.

277. See Genesis xxix. 26.

278. It is a common belief in Egypt, that, if any one makes a marriage-contract in the month of Moharram, the marriage will be unhappy, and soon dissolved: wherefore, few persons do so. The most propitious period is the month of Showwál.

279. This appellation is commonly given to a schoolmaster. See a note in page 48.

280. If the bride be not a virgin, a word importing this is substituted; namely, “seyyib,” or, more properly, “theyyib.”

281. Among the peasants, however, the father, or other lawful guardian of the bride, receives the dowry, and gives nothing in return but the girl, and sometimes a little corn, etc. The bridegroom, in this case, supplies everything; even the dress of the bride.

282. Burckhardt has erred in stating that Monday and Thursday are the days on which the ceremonies immediately previous to the marriage-night are performed, he should have said Sunday and Thursday. He has also fallen into some other errors in the account which he has given of the marriage ceremonies of the Egyptians, in the illustrations of his “Arabic Proverbs” (pp. 112-118). To mention this I feel to be a duty to myself; but one which I perform with reluctance, and not without the fear that Burckhardt’s just reputation for general accuracy may make my reader think that he is right in these cases, and that I am wrong. I write these words in Cairo, with his book before me, and after sufficient experience and inquiries.

283. The lantern here represented, which is constructed of wood, and painted green, red, white, and blue, is called “tureiya” (the Arabic name of the Pleiades), and, together with the frame above, from which six lamps are suspended, and which is termed “khátim Suleymán” (or Solomon’s seal), composes what is called a “heml kanádeel.”

284. These entertainments I do not here particularly describe, as it is my intention to devote the whole of a subsequent chapter to the subject of private festivities. The “khatmeh” is the recitation of the whole of the Kur-án; and the “zikr,” the repetition of the name of God, or of the profession of his unity, etc.; I shall have occasion to speak of both more fully in another chapter, on the periodical public festivals.

285. From the verb ‘adna,’ “he brought,”From the verb ‘adna,’ “he brought,” etc.

286. These cries of the women, which are heard on various occasions of rejoicing in Egypt and other Eastern countries, are produced by a sharp utterance of the voice, accompanied by a quick, tremulous motion of the tongue.

287. I have once seen this “zeffeh,” or procession, and a second which will be described hereafter, go forth much later, and return an hour after sunset.

288. The music is generally of a very rude kind; and the airs usually played are those of popular songs; specimens of which will be found in this work.

289. For a description of these ornaments, see the Appendix.

290. One of the most common of the feats witnessed on such an occasion is the performance of a laborious task by a water-carrier, termed a “keiyim,” who, for the sake of a present, and this empty title, carries a water-skin filled with sand and water, of greater weight, and for a longer period, than any of his brethren will venture to do; and this he must accomplish without ever sitting down, except in a crouching position, to rest. In the case of a bridal procession which I lately witnessed, the keiyim began to carry his burden, a skin of sand and water weighing about two hundred pounds, at sunset of the preceding day; bore it the whole night, and the ensuing day, before and during the procession, and continued to do so till sunset.

291. A correct description of this is given in Burckhardt’s “Arabic Proverbs,” pp. 115, 116.

292. Grand zeffehs are sometimes accompanied by a number of cars, each bearing a group of persons of some manufacture or trade performing the usual work of their craft; even such as builders, white-washers, etc.; including members of all, or almost all, the arts and manufactures practised in the metropolis.

293. Hence this kind of prayer is called “salah memáleekeeyeh,” or “the prayer of memlooks.”

294. Sometimes, when the parties are persons of wealth, the bride is displayed before the bridegroom in different dresses, to the number of seven.

295. I beg to refer the reader, if he desire further details on this subject, to page 117 of Burckhardt’s “Arabic Proverbs.” His account might have been more complete; but he seems to have studied to be particularly concise in this case.

296. Kur-án, chap. lxi., ver. 13.

297. A khäwal is also called “gháïsh”; plural, “gheeyásh.”

298. This performance is called the bride’s “sabáheeyeh.”

299. Among the peasants of Upper Egypt, the relations and acquaintances of the bridegroom and bride meet together on the day after the marriage; and while a number of the men clap their hands, as an accompaniment to a tambourine or two, and any other instruments that can be procured, the bride dances before them for a short time. She has a head-veil reaching to her heels, and a printed cotton handkerchief completely covering her face, and wears, externally, the most remarkable of her bridal garments (mentioned by Burckhardt, in the place before referred to, and, in some parts of Egypt, hung over the door of a peasant’s house after marriage). Other women, similarly veiled, and dressed in their best, or borrowed, clothes, continue the dance about two hours, or more.

300. Thus commonly pronounced, for “hamáh,” a word derived from the verb “hama,” “he protected, or guarded.”

301. Chap. xxiv. ver. 31.

302. See the chapter on Religion and Laws. Eunuchs are allowed to see the face of any woman; so also are young boys.

303. Commonly thus pronounced (or rather “durrah,” with a soft d) for “darrah”; originally, perhaps, by way of a pun; as “durrah” is a common name for a parrot.

304. The law enjoins a husband who has two or more wives, to be strictly impartial to them in every respect; but compliance with its dictates in this matter is rare.

305. See Genesis xvi. 4.

306. This has been explained in the 3rd chapter, page 88.

307. In general, the most beautiful of a man’s wives or slaves is, of course, for a time, his greatest favourite; but in many (if not most) cases, the lasting favourite is not the most handsome. The love of a Muslim, therefore, is not always merely sensual; nor does the relative condition and comfort of his wife, or of each of his wives, invariably depend so much on his caprice or her own personal charms, as on her general conduct and disposition.

308. A Muslim cannot take as a concubine a slave who is an idolatress.

309. The white female slave is called “Gáriyeh Beyda;” the Abyssinian, “Gáriyeh Habasheeyeh;” and the black, “Gáriyeh Sóda.”

310. The Gellábs generally convey their slaves partly over the desert and partly down the river.

311. The motion here described they term “ghung.”

312. The Egyptians (unlike the Maghrab′ees, and some other people of Africa and of the East) do not generally admire very fat women. In his love-songs, the Egyptian commonly describes the object of his affections as of slender figure and small waist.

313. I observed here,—“It would seem that these insects were eaten by the Jews (see Leviticus xi. 22); but we cannot suppose that they derived this custom from the Egyptians, who regarded the beetle as sacred.”—A learned friend, however, has informed me, that the word rendered “beetle” in our version of the passage of Scripture which occasioned this remark properly signifies a kind of locust.

314. It is also called “homár mughattee” (covered ass).

315. See Numbers xi. 5.

317. Like the “Keys” and “Yemen” of Syria.

318. “’Aleykumu-s selámu wa-rahmatu-lláhi wa-barakátuh,” or merely “’Aleykum es-selám” (On you be peace!); but the longer salutation is more commonly used, in accordance with an injunction in the Kur-án, chap. iv., ver. 88.

319. Very few Muslims in Egypt do so. A European traveller, not disguised by Turkish dress, often fancies that he is greeted with this salutation, when it is really intended for his Muslim attendant.

320. A Muslim, however, when he receives this salutation from a person of another religion, sometimes replies, “And on you” (Wa-’aleykum).

321. Herodotus speaks of the respect paid in Egypt to the aged, and of the polite salutations of the Egyptians to each other. (Lib. ii., cap. 80.)

322. Meaning, “I congratulate you on your safety,” and “I hope you are well.”

323. Chap. xxiv., ver. 27.

324. Chap. vi., p. 162.

325. That is, to those who are above him either in office, wealth, or religious or literary reputation.

326. The visitor, if superior, or not much inferior in rank to the master of the house, receives his pipe and coffee before the latter.

327. Mentioned in Chap. v., p. 136.

328. Acquaintances, and even strangers, often address each other as relations, by the terms “Father,” “Son,” “Paternal uncle,” “Son of my paternal uncle,” “Brother,” “Mother,” “Daughter,” “Maternal aunt,” “Daughter of my maternal aunt,” “Sister,” etc.

329. It seems probable that the Arabs of Egypt have retained, in this case, a pronunciation which was common, if not almost universal, with their ancestors in Asia.—See De Sacy’s Grammaire Arabe, 2nde ed., tome i., pp. 17 and 18.

330. The Arabs began to simplify their spoken language in the first century of the Flight, in consequence of their spreading among foreigners, who could not generally acquire the difficult language which their conquerors had hitherto used. For a proof of this, see “Abulfedæ Annales Muslemici, Arab. et Lat.” vol. i. pp. 432 and 434.

331. These are natives. There are also a few Turkish booksellers.

332. The Azhar is not called a “university” with strict propriety; but is regarded as such by the Muslims, as whatever they deem worthy of the name of science, or necessary to be known, is taught within its walls. Its name has been translated by European travellers, “the Mosque of Flowers,” as though it had been called “Gámë’ el-Azhár,” instead of “El-Gámë’ el-Azhar,” which is its proper appellation, and signifies “the Splendid Mosque.” It is the first, with respect to the period of its foundation, as well as in size, of all the mosques within the original limits of the city.—The preceding portion of this note (which was inserted in the first edition of the present work) appears to have escaped the notice of Baron Hammer-Purgstall, for he has remarked (in the Vienna “Jahrbücher der Literatur,” lxxxi. Bd., p. 71) that, instead of “Azhar,” I should have written, in this case, “Esher” [or “Ezher”]; the former, he says, signifying “flowers.” The name of the mosque in question (synonymous with “neiyir,” or “splendid,” etc.) is pronounced by almost all the natives of Egypt, and the Arabs in general, as I have written it, “Azhar,” with the accent on the first syllable; and the plural of “zahreh” (a flower), “azhár;” but by the Turks the former word is pronounced “ezher.”

333. In the singular, “mugáwir.”

334. Many persons say that their number is not less than three thousand; others, not more than one thousand. It varies very much at different times.

335. Since this was written he became Sheykh of the Azhar.

336. A celebrated compendious collection of the Traditions of the Prophet.

337. The saloon of the tomb.

338. That is, towards the niche which marks the direction of Mekkeh.

339. The twelfth century of the Flight commenced on the 16th or 17th of October, A.D. 1688.

340. It is the general opinion of our chronologers, that the first day of the Muslim era of “the Flight” (in Arabic, “el-Hijrah,” or, as it is pronounced by most of the Egyptians, “el-Higreh,” more correctly translated “the Emigration”) was Friday, the 16th of July, A.D. 622. It must be remarked, that the Arabs generally commence each month on the night on which the new moon is first actually seen; and this night is, in most cases, the second, but sometimes and in some places the third, after the true period of the new moon: if, however, the moon is not seen on the second or third night, the month is commenced on the latter. The new moon of July, A.D. 622, happened between five and six o’clock in the morning of the 14th: therefore the 16th was most probably the first day of the era. This era does not commence from the day on which the Prophet departed from Mekkeh (as supposed by most of our authors who have mentioned this subject), but from the first day of the moon or month of Moharram preceding that event. It is said that Mohammad, after he had remained three days concealed in a cave near Mekkeh, with Aboo-Bekr began his journey, or “the flight,” to El-Medeeneh, on the ninth day of the third month (Rabeea el-Owwal), sixty-eight days after the commencement of the era. Thus the first two months are made of thirty days each, which is often the case when the calculation from the actual sight of the new moon is followed; and the flight itself, from the cave, may be inferred to have commenced on the 22nd of September. It may be added, that this record, by showing that each of the first two months consisted of thirty days, strengthens the supposition that the era commenced on the 16th of July. On the eve of the 15th, the moon was not visible.

341. Consequently the time of noon according to Mohammadan reckoning, on any particular day, subtracted from twelve, gives the apparent time of sunset, on that day, according to European reckoning.

342. The periods of the ’eshë, daybreak, and ’asr, are here given according to the reckoning most commonly followed in Egypt. (See the chapter on religion and laws.) Mo. T. denotes Mohammadan Time: Eur. T., European Time.

343. More than a hundred books have been printed at this press: most of them for the use of the military, naval, and civil servants of the government.

344. As the Greeks believed in the age of Homer and Hesiod.

345. It has been justly remarked, by Baron Hammer-Purgstall, that the present chapter of this work is very deficient. I should gladly have made its contents more ample, had I not felt myself obliged to consult the taste of the general reader, upon whose patience I fear I have already trespassed to too great an extent by the insertion of much matter calculated to interest only Orientalists. With respect to recent innovations, I have made but few and brief remarks in this work, in consequence of my having found the lights of European science almost exclusively confined to those servants of the Government, who have been compelled to study under Frank instructors, and European customs adopted by scarcely any persons excepting a few Turks. Some Egyptians who had studied for a few years in France declared to me that they could not instil any of the notions which they had there acquired even into the minds of their most intimate friends.

346. I measured the height of a zóba’ah, with a sextant, at Thebes, under circumstances which insured a very near approximation to perfect accuracy (observing its altitude, from an elevated spot, at the precise moment when it passed through, and violently agitated, a distant group of palm-trees), and found it to be seven hundred and fifty feet. I think that several zóba’ahs which I have seen were of greater height. Others, which I measured at the same place, were between five hundred and seven hundred feet in height.

347. According to some writers, the Gánn are the least powerful class of Genii.

348. It is a custom of many “fukaha” (or learned and devout persons), and some others, to say, “In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful,” on locking a door, covering bread, laying down their clothes at night, and on other occasions; and this, they believe, protects their property from genii. The thing over which these words have been pronounced is termed “musemmee (for “musemma”) ’aleyh.”

349. As is the case also in Switzerland.

350. Also (and, I believe, more properly) written “dalik,” but commonly pronounced as above.

351. In the original, “owliya,” plural of “welee.”

352. Chap, x., ver. 63.

353. A miracle performed by a welee is termed “karámeh:” one performed by a prophet, “moagiz′eh.”

354. In the plural forms, “Nukaba,” “Angáb” or “Nugaba,” and “Abdál.”

355. For “Báb El-Mutawellee.”

356. This mysterious person, according to the more approved opinion of the learned, was not a prophet, but a just man, or saint, the Wezeer and counsellor of the first Zu-l-Karneyn, who was a universal conqueror, but an equally doubtful personage, contemporary with the patriarch Ibráheem, or Abraham. El-Khidr is said to have drunk of the Fountain of Life, in consequence of which he lives till the day of judgment, and to appear frequently to Muslims in perplexity. He is generally clad in green garments; whence, according to some, his name.

357. See 1 Kings xviii. 12, and 2 Kings ii. 9-16.

358. A street on the south of the Báb Zuweyleh.

359. Like that of the Sage Doobán, whose story is told in “The Thousand and One Nights.”

360. It is also said that similar phenomena, but not so brilliant, distinguish some other tombs at El-Medeeneh and elsewhere.

361. Several superstitious customs, observed in the performance of many ordinary actions, result from their extravagant respect for their prophet, and their saints in general. For instance, on lighting the lamp in the evening, more particularly at a shop, it is customary to say, “Commemorate Mohammad, and forget not the excellencies of ’Alee; the Fát’hah for the Prophet, and for every welee;” and then to repeat the Fát’hah. It is usual to say, on first seeing the new moon, “O God, favour our lord Mohammad! God make thee a blessed moon (or month);” and on looking at one’s face in a glass, “O God, favour our lord Mohammad!” This ejaculation being used to counteract the influence of the evil eye, it seems as if an Arab feared the effect even of his own admiring look.

362. See the account of the water-carriers in Chap. xiv.

363. Called the “Shems el-Kebeereh.”

364. The “zikr” will be fully described in another chapter, on the periodical public festivals, etc.

365. See St. Matthew xxiii. 29.

366. Often improperly called “esh-Sheykh es-Sádát.”

367. The title is “sáheb seggádeh.”

368. In most of their juggling performances the darweeshes of Egypt are inferior to the most expert of the Indians.

369. Thus commonly pronounced, for Esh-Shaaránee.

370. From “khalweh,” a cell, or closet.

371. “See” is a vulgar contraction of “Seedee,” which is itself a contraction of “Seyyidee,” signifying “My Master,” or “Mister.”

372. Called “áyát-el-hefz” (the verses of protection, or preservation).

373. Just before I quitted my house in Cairo to return to England England, a friend, who had been my sheykh (or tutor), wrote on a slip of paper, “There is no deity but God: Mohammad is God’s apostle:” then tore it in halves, gave me the latter half (on which was written “Mohammad is God’s apostle”), and concealed the other in a crack in the roof of a little cupboard in my usual sitting-room. This was to insure my coming back to Cairo: for it is believed that the profession of the faith cannot remain incomplete: so that by my keeping the latter half always upon my person, it would bring me back to the former half.

374. These, it is said, were Christian youths of Ephesus, who took refuge from the persecution of the emperor Decius in a cave, and slept there, guarded by their dog, for the space of 300 [solar] or 309 [lunar] years. (See the Kur-án, chap. xviii.)

375. Called “mukhallafát en-nebee.”

376. A shirt which is said to have been worn by the Prophet is preserved in the mosque of El-Ghóree, in Cairo. It is wrapped in a Kashmeer shawl; and not shown to any but persons of very high rank.

377. The “burdeh,” which is worn by some of the peasants in Egypt, is an oblong piece of thick woollen stuff, resembling the “herám,” excepting in colour, being generally brown or greyish. It appears to have been, in earlier times, always striped; but some modern burdehs are plain, and others have stripes so narrow and near together, that at a little distance the stuff appears to be of one colour. The Prophet’s is described as about seven feet and a half in length, and four and a half in width. It was used by him, as burdehs are at present, both to envelop the body by day, and as a night-covering.—I may be excused for remarking here (as it seems to be unknown to some Arabic scholars) that the terms “akhdar” and “ahmar,” which are applied by different historians to the Prophet’s burdeh, are used to signify respectively grey and brown, as well as green and red.