Part 26

I estimated the number of persons assembled here at about seventy thousand. The camp was from three to four miles long, and between one and two in breadth. There is, perhaps, no spot on earth where, in so small a place, such a diversity of languages are heard; I reckoned about forty, and have no doubt that there were many more. It appeared to me as if I were here placed in a holy temple of travellers only; and never did I at any time feel a more ardent wish to be able to penetrate once into the inmost recesses of the countries of many of those persons whom I now saw before me, fondly imagining that I might have no more difficulty in reaching their homes, than what they had experienced in their journey to this spot.

When the attention is engrossed by such a multitude of new objects, time passes rapidly away. I had only descended from Mount

[p.270] Arafat, and had walked for some time about the camp, here and there entering into conversation with pilgrims; inquiring at the Syrian camp after some of my friends; and among the Syrian Bedouins, for news from their deserts, when mid-day had already passed. The prayers of this period of the day ought to be performed either within, or in the immediate neighbourhood of, the mosque of Nimre, whither the two Pashas had repaired for that purpose. The far greater number of hadjys, however, dispense with this observance, and many of them with the mid- day prayers altogether; for no one concerns himself whether his neighbour is punctual or not in the performance of the prescribed rites. After mid-day, the pilgrims are to wash and purify the body, by means of the entire ablution prescribed by the law, and called Ghossel, for which purpose chiefly, the numerous tents in the plain have been constructed; but the weather was cloudy, and rather cold, which induced nine-tenths of the pilgrims, shivering as they were already under the thin covering of the ihram, to omit the rite also, and to content themselves with the ordinary ablution. The time of Aszer (or about three o’clock, P.M.) approached, when that ceremony of the Hadj takes place, for which the whole assembly had come hither. The pilgrims now pressed forward towards the mountain of Arafat, and covered its sides from top to bottom. At the precise time of Aszer, the preacher took his stand upon the platform on the mountain, and began to address the multitude. This sermon, which lasts till sun-set, constitutes the holy ceremony of the Hadj called Khotbet el Wakfe; and no pilgrim, although he may have visited all the holy places of Mekka, is entitled to the name of hadjy, unless he has been present on this occasion. As Aszer approached, therefore, all the tents were struck, every thing was packed up, the caravans began to load, and the pilgrims belonging to them mounted their camels, and crowded round the mountain, to be within sight of the preacher, which is sufficient, as the greater part of the multitude is necessarily too distant to hear him. The two Pashas, with their whole cavalry drawn up in two squadrons behind them, took their post in the rear of the deep lines of camels of the hadjys, to which those of the people of the Hedjaz were also joined; and here they waited in solemn and respectful

[p.271] silence the conclusion of the sermon. Further removed from the preacher, was the Sherif Yahya, with his small body of soldiers, distinguished by several green standards carried before him. The two Mahmals, or holy camels, which carry on their back the high structure that serves as the banner of their respective caravans, made way with difficulty through the ranks of camels that encircled the southern and eastern sides of the hill, opposite to the preacher, and took their station, surrounded by their guards, directly under the platform in front of him. [The Mahmal (an exact representation of which is given by D’Ohsson,) is a high, hollow, wooden frame, in the form of a cone, with a pyramidal top, covered with a fine silk brocade adorned with ostrich feathers, and having a small book of prayers and charms placed in the midst of it, wrapped up in a piece of silk. (My description is taken from the Egyptian Mahmal.) When on the road, it serves as a holy banner to the caravan; and on the return of the Egyptian caravan, the book of prayers is exposed in the mosque El Hassaneyn, at Cairo, where men and women of the lower classes go to kiss it, and obtain a blessing by rubbing their foreheads upon it. No copy of the Koran, nor any thing but the book of prayers, is placed in the Cairo Mahmal. The Wahabys declared this ceremony of the Hadj to be a vain pomp, of idolatrous origin, and contrary to the spirit of true religion; and its use was one of the principal reasons which they assigned for interdicting the caravans from repairing to Mekka. In the first centuries of Islam, neither the Omeyades nor the Abassides ever had a Mahmal. Makrisi, in his treatise “On those Khalifes and Sultans who performed the pilgrimage in person,” says that Dhaher Bybars el Bondokdary, Sultan of Egypt, was the first who introduced the Mahmal, about A.H. 670. Since his time, all the Sultans who sent their caravans to Mekka, have considered it as a privilege to send one with each, as a sign of their own royalty. The first Mahmal from Yemen came in A.H. 960; and in A.H.1049, El Moayed Billah, king, and Imam of Yemen, who publicly professed the creed of Zeyd, came with one to Arafat; and the caravans of Baghdad, Damascus, and Cairo, have always carried it with them. In A.H. 730, the Baghdad caravan brought it to Arafat upon an elephant (vide Asamy). I believe the custom to have arisen in the battle-banner of the Bedouins, called Merkeb and Otfe, which I have mentioned in my remarks on the Bedouins, and which resemble the Mahmal, inasmuch as they are high wooden frames placed upon camels.]

The preacher, or Khatyb, who is usually the Kadhy of Mekka, was mounted upon a finely-caparisoned camel, which had been led up the steps; it being traditionally said that Mohammed was always seated when he here addressed his followers, a practice in which he was imitated by all the Khalifes who came to the Hadj, and who from

[p.272] hence addressed their subjects in person. The Turkish gentleman of Constantinople, however, unused to camel-riding, could not keep his seat so well as the hardy Bedouin prophet; and the camel becoming unruly, he was soon obliged to alight from it. He read his sermon from a book in Arabic, which he held in his hands. At intervals of every four or five minutes he paused, and stretched forth his arms to implore blessings from above; while the assembled multitudes around and before him, waved the skirts of their ihrams over their heads, and rent the air with shouts of “Lebeyk, Allahuma Lebeyk,” (i.e. Here we are, at thy commands, O God!) During the wavings of the ihrams, the side of the mountain, thickly crowded as it was by the people in their white garments, had the appearance, of a cataract of water; while the green umbrellas, with which several thousand hadjys, sitting on their camels below, were provided, bore some resemblance to a verdant plain.

During his sermon, which lasted almost three hours, the Kadhy was seen constantly to wipe his eyes with a handkerchief; for the law enjoins the Khatyb or preacher to be moved with feeling and compunction; and adds that, whenever tears appear on his face, it is a sign that the Almighty enlightens him, and is ready to listen to his prayers. The pilgrims who stood near me, upon the large blocks of granite which cover the sides of Arafat, appeared under various aspects. Some of them, mostly foreigners, were crying loudly and weeping, beating their breasts, and denouncing themselves to be great sinners before the Lord; others (but by far the smaller number,) stood in silent reflexion and adoration, with tears in their eyes. Many natives of the Hedjaz, and many soldiers of the Turkish army, were meanwhile conversing and joking; and whenever the others were waving the ihram, made violent gesticulations, as if to ridicule that ceremony. Behind, on the hill, I observed several parties of Arabs and soldiers, who were quietly smoking their nargyles; and in a cavern just by sat a common woman, who sold coffee, and whose visiters, by their loud laughter and riotous conduct, often interrupted the fervent devotions of the hadjys near them. Numbers of people were present in their ordinary clothes. Towards the conclusion of the sermon, the far greater part of the

[p.273] assembly seemed to be wearied, and many descended the mountain before the preacher had finished his discourse. It must be observed, however, that the crowds assembled on the mountain were, for the greater part, of the lower classes; the pilgrims of respectability being mounted upon their camels or horses in the plain.

At length the sun began to descend behind the western mountains; upon which the Kadhy, having shut his book, received a last greeting of “Lebeyk;” and the crowds rushed down the mountain, in order to quit Arafat. It is thought meritorious to accelerate the pace on this occasion; and many persons make it a complete race, called by the Arabs, Ad’dafa min Arafat. In former times, when the strength of the Syrian and Egyptian caravans happened to be nearly balanced, bloody affrays took place here almost every year between them, each party endeavouring to out-run and to carry its mahmal in advance of the other. The same happened when the mahmals approached the platform at the commencement of the sermon; and two hundred lives have on some occasions been lost in supporting what was thought the honour of the respective caravans. At present the power of Mohammed Aly preponderates, and the Syrian hadjys display great humility.

The united caravans and the whole mass of pilgrims now moved forward over the plain; every tent had been previously packed up, to be ready for the occasion. The pilgrims pressed through the Aalameyn, which they must repass on their return; and night came on before they reached the defile called El Mazoumeyn. Innumerable torches were now lighted, twenty-four being carried before each Pasha; and the sparks of fire from them flew far over the plain. There were continual discharges of artillery; the soldiers fired their muskets; the martial bands of both the Pashas played; sky-rockets were thrown as well by the Pashas’ officers, as by many private pilgrims; while the Hadj passed at a quick pace in the greatest disorder, amidst a deafening clamour, through the pass of Mazoumeyn, leading towards Mezdelfe, where all alighted, after a two hours’ march. No order was observed here in encamping; and every one lay down on the spot that first presented itself, no tents being pitched except those of the Pashas and their

[p.274] suites; before which was an illumination of lamps in the form of high arches, which continued to blaze the whole night, while the firing of the artillery was kept up without intermission.

In the indescribable confusion attending the departure of the Hadj from Arafat, many pilgrims had lost their camels, and were now heard calling loudly for their drivers, as they sought them over the plain: I myself was among their number. When I went to the mountain of Arafat, I ordered my camel-driver and my slave to remain in readiness upon the spot where they then were, till I should return to them after sun-set; but seeing, soon after I quitted them, that the other loaded camels pressed forward towards the mountain, they followed the example; and when I returned to the place where I left them, they were not to be found. I was therefore obliged to walk to Mezdelfe, where I slept on the sand, covered only by my ihram, after having searched for my people during several hours[.]

On the 10th of the month of Zul Hadj, or the day of the feast called Nehar el Dhahye, or Nehar el Nahher, the morning gun awoke the pilgrims before dawn. At the first appearance of day-break, the Kadhy took his station upon the elevated platform which encloses the mosque of Mezdelfe, usually called Moshar el Harám, and began a sermon similar to that which he had preached the day before. The Hadj surrounded the mosque on all sides with lighted torches, and accompanied the sermon with the same exclamations of “Lebeyk Allah huma Lebeyk;” but though this sermon forms one of the principal duties of the pilgrimage, by far the greater number of the hadjys remained with their baggage, and did not attend it. The sermon is not very long, lasting only from the first dawn till sun-rise; a space of time much shorter of course in this latitude, than in our northern countries. The Salat el Ayd, or the prayer of the feast, is performed at the same time by the whole community according to its rites. When the first rays of the sun shot athwart the cloudy sky, the pilgrims moved on at a slow march towards Wady Muna, one hour distant from hence.

On arriving at Wady Muna, each nation encamped upon the spot which custom has assigned to it, at every returning Hadj. After

[p.275] disposing of the baggage, the hadjys hastened to the ceremony of throwing stones at the devil. It is said that, when Abraham or Ibrahim returned from the pilgrimage to Arafat, and arrived at Wady Muna, the devil Eblys presented himself before him at the entrance of the valley, to obstruct his passage; when the angel Gabriel, who accompanied the Patriarch, advised him to throw stones at him, which he did, and after pelting him seven times, Eblys retired. When Abraham reached the middle of the valley, he again appeared before him, and, for the last time, at its western extremity, and was both times repulsed by the same number of stones. According to Azraky, the Pagan Arabs, in commemoration of this tradition, used to cast stones in this valley as they returned from the pilgrimage; and set up seven idols at Muna, of which there was one in each of the three spots where the devil appeared, at each of which they cast three stones. Mohammed, who made this ceremony one of the chief duties of the hadjys, increased the number of stones to seven. At the entrance of the valley, towards Mezdelfe, stands a rude stone pillar, or rather altar, between six and seven feet high, in the midst of the street, against which the first seven stones are thrown, as the place where the devil made his first stand: towards the middle of the valley is a similar pillar, and at its western end a wall of stones, which is made to serve the same purpose. The hadjys crowded in rapid succession round the first pillar, called “Djamrat el Awla;” and every one threw seven small stones successively upon it: they then passed to the second and third spots, (called “Djamrat el Owsat,” and “Djamrat el Sofaly,” or “el Akaba,” or “el Aksa,”) where the same ceremony was repeated. In throwing the stones, they are to exclaim, “In the name of God; God is great (we do this) to secure ourselves from the devil and his troops.” The stones used for this purpose are to be of the size of a horse-bean, or thereabouts; and the pilgrims are advised to collect them in the plain of Mezdelfe, but they may likewise take them from Muna; and many people, contrary to the law, collect those that have already been thrown.

Having performed the ceremony of casting stones, the pilgrims kill the animals which they bring with them for sacrifice; and all Mohammedans, in whatever part of the world they may be, are bound, at this

[p.276] time, to perform the same rite. Between six and eight thousand sheep and goats, under the care of Bedouins, (who demanded high prices for them,) were ready on this occasion. The act of sacrifice itself is subject to no other ceremonies than that of turning the victim’s face towards the Kebly or the Kaaba, and to say, during the act of cutting its throat, “In the name of the most merciful God! O supreme God!” (Bismillah! irrahman irrahhym, Allahou akbar!) Any place may be chosen for these sacrifices, which are performed in every corner of Wady Muna; but the favourite spot is a smooth rock on its western extremity, where several thousand sheep were killed in the space of a quarter of an hour. [Kotobeddyn relates that, when the Khalife Mokteder performed the pilgrimage about A.H. 350, he sacrificed on this day forty thousand camels and cows, and fifty thousand sheep. Even now, persons of wealth kill camels. The slaughtering may be performed by proxy.]

As soon as the sacrifices were completed, the pilgrims sent for barbers, or repaired to their shops, of which a row of thirty or forty had been set up near the favourite place of sacrifice. They had their heads shaved, except those who were of the Shafey sect, who shave only one- fourth of the head here, reserving the other three-fourths till they have visited the Kaaba, after returning to Mekka. They threw off the ihram, and resumed their ordinary clothes; those who could afford it putting on new dresses, this being now the day of the feast. So far the Hadj was completed, and all the pilgrims joined in mutual congratulations, and wishes that the performance of this Hadj might be acceptable to the Deity. “Tekabbel Allah!” was heard on all sides, and everybody appeared contented. But this was not quite the case with myself; for all endeavours to find my camels had hitherto proved vain, such were the immense crowds that filled the valley; and while the other hadjys were dressed in their clothes, I was obliged to walk about in my ihram. Fortunately, my purse, which I had hung about my neck according to the pilgrim custom, (the ihram having no pockets,) enabled me to buy a sheep for sacrifice, and pay a barber. It was not till after sun-set that I found out my people, who had encamped on the northern mountain, and had been all the while under great anxiety about me.

The pilgrims remain two days more at Muna. Exactly at mid-day,

[p.277] on the 11th of Zul Hadj, seven small stones are again thrown against each of the three places where the devil appeared; and the same is done on the 12th of Zul Hadj, so that by the three repeated throwings, each time of twenty-one stones, the number of sixty-three is cast during the three days. Many pilgrims are ignorant of the precise tenor of the law in this respect, as they are of several other points in the ceremonies of the pilgrimage, and either throw early in the morning the stones they should throw at mid-day, or do not throw the number enjoined. After the last throwing on the 12th, the Hadj returns to Mekka in the afternoon.

Muna [This name is said to be derived from Adam, who, during his stay in the valley, when God told him to ask a favour, replied, “I ask (ytemuna) for paradise;” and this place received its appellation from the answer. Others say it derived its name from the flowing of blood in the day of sacrifice.] is a narrow valley, extending in a right line from west to east, about fifteen hundred paces in length, and varying in breadth, enclosed on both sides by steep and barren cliffs of granite. Along the middle, on both sides of the way, is a row of buildings, the far greater part in ruins: they belong to Mekkans or Bedouins of the Koreysh, by whom they are either let out, or occupied during the three days of the Hadj, and left empty the rest of the year, when Muna is never inhabited. Some of these are tolerable stone buildings, two stories high; but not more than a dozen of them are kept in complete repair. On the farthest eastern extremity of the valley, stands a good house, belonging to the reigning Sherif of Mekka, in which he usually lives during those days. It was now occupied by the ladies of Mohammed Aly; Sherif Yahya, after throwing off the ihram, having returned to Mekka, where many hadjys also repair immediately after that ceremony; but it is their duty to revisit Muna at noon on the 11th or 12th of this month, in order to throw the stones, as the neglect of this ceremony would render their pilgrimage imperfect. The remainder of those two days they may spend where they please. In the evening of the day of sacrifice, the merchant hadjys usually go to Mekka, that they may unpack whatever merchandize they have brought there.

[p.278]In the open space between the Sherif’s house and the habitations of the Mekkans, is situated the mosque called Mesdjed el Kheyf; it is a good solid building, the open square of which is surrounded by a high and strong wall. In the midst of it is a public fountain, with a small dome; and the west side, where the pulpit is placed, is occupied by a colonnade with a triple row of pillars. The mosque is very ancient; it was newly constructed in A.H. 559, by the celebrated Salaheddyn; but it was rebuilt in its present form by Kayd Beg, Sultan of Egypt, in A.H. 874. It is reported, according to Fasy, that at the foot of the mountain behind it, Mohammed received many revelations from heaven, and that Adam was buried in the mosque. Close by it is a reservoir of water, also founded, according to Kotobeddyn, by Kayd Beg; it was now completely dry, as was a similar one where the Syrian Hadj encamped. The want of water at Muna subjected the poorer hadjys to great hardships. Some was brought either from Mezdelife, or from the tank situated beyond Muna, on the road to Mekka, and the skin-full was sold for four piastres. In Fasy’s time, there were fifteen wells of brackish water at Muna: it seems that water may be found at a certain depth in all the country round Mekka.

The annexed ground-plan [not included] shows whatever is worthy of notice in the town or village of Muna. [not included] The house of Djeylany, the best that it contained, was constantly crowded by visitors, whom he treated

[p.279] sumptuously. The houses of the Kadhy and the rich families of Sakkat, were next to it; and, on the same side of the way, a long, narrow hall had been lately repaired and fitted up, where about fifty Mekkan and Turkish shopkeepers exhibited their wares. The houses of the northern row are almost totally in ruins: the row of shops (No. 16.) on that side were open without any doors. There were, besides, many sheds constructed in the midst of the street, where victuals might be purchased in great abundance, but at exorbitant prices.