BALDENSPERGER - 1913-The Immovable East StudIES of
BALDENSPERGER - 1913-The Immovable East StudIES of
BALDENSPERGER - 1913-The Immovable East StudIES of
an
THE
IMMOVABLE EAST
STUDIES OF THE PEOPLE AND CUSTOMS OF PALESTINE
BY
PHILIP
J.
BALDENSPERGER
FREDERIC LEES
"
Day
his
anthem
Sad
falls
upon
my
yearning ear the tinkling of the Camel-bells." The Kasidah of H&ji Abdii el-Yezdt.
AMEN CORNER,
E.C.
1913
&
1913
CONTENTS
PAGE
INTRODUCTION
I.
VU
1
II.
23 50
71
III.
IV.
EHMAD IMHAMAD'S
VISION
V.
VI.
VII.
VIII.
98
.
.
IN URTAS
.115
127
WEALTH
139 153
175
IX.
X.
XI.
XII.
XIII.
CREATURES IN COUNCIL
197
.......
208
218
XIV.
....
247
278
XV.
297
vx
LIST OF
TOWER OF DAVID, MOUNT
REPHAiM
PLOUGHING IN
, .
ILLUSTRx\TIONS
ZION, GIHON,
.
.
AND PLAIN OF
. .
Frontispiece
facing
JUD-iEA
....
page
6
12
.... ....
....
...
32 40
56
......
.....
.
68
74
90
94
100
102 106 132
140 152 164
168 178
236
240
250
TOWER OF RAMLEH
MAP OF PALESTINE
.....
....
266
294
2^6
INTRODUCTION
Books
descriptive of the East may be roughly divided into three classes. First, there are the
" of hterary men who Impressions set themselves the difficult task, after a more or less lengthy stay in the Orient, of faithfully
volumes of
**
representing Oriental scenes, manners and cusThese are interesting principally on toms.
account of their authors they are vivid, personal interpretations of Eastern life by men of undeniable
power of observation and descriptive skill. Intended more for the general reader than the
student, these impressionistic studies serve the useful purpose of reveahng the brilliant and
Rarely do ever-fascinating surface of the East. To gain a deeper take us to its depths. they
Orientalists, whose special linguistic studies and extensive travels entitle them to be ranked as
But here again these writers do not tell us all. They too often view the Orient through Occidental eyes, and in certain vital respects fail to
authorities.
paint the picture in its true colours. Only by Orientals or by those whose long sojourn in the
East has formed their minds after the Oriental pattern can the Orient be adequately described.
viii
INTRODUCTION
This third and necessarily small class of works the one which must ever hold the place of honour on our book-shelves.
is
The following essays and stories belong, I claim, to this last special category of Oriental literature. Mr. Philip J Baldensperger, owing to the pecuhar
.
circumstances of his career, is able to tell the story of the Fellahin and Bedawin as an Oriental
would
tell it.
As
Claude
Reignier Conder, the author of Tent Work in ** He is a voice from the Palestine^ once said, " an accurate witness to many interesting East,'
Few men,
as his biography shows, have had such excellent opportunities as he for accumulating
facts regarding the people
and customs
of the
Holy Land.
His father, Henry Baldensperger, of Baldenheim, Alsatia, was sent to Jerusalem in 1848 as a missionary of the Basel Spittler Mission. His mother, from Niederbronn, Alsatia, joined his father soon afterwards in Jerusalem, where they were married. Penetrated by the behef that they were called, under the protection of Divine providence, to teach the people of Palestine better ways, not by preaching the Word, but by exemplary life and work, Mr. and Mrs. Baldensperger soon left the Basel Spittler Mission to undertake an independent one of their own among the natives. They bought land and built a house in the village
INTRODUCTION
of Urtas,
ix
on the borders of the Desert of Judaea, a spot where the villagers had abandoned everything for fear of the continual incursions of the neighbouring Ta'amry Bedawin. But on the
Anglican Bishop Gobat founding a school for Arab orphan boys on Mount Zion, in Jerusalem, he appealed to the Baldenspergers for temporary help as stewards, and it was only forty-four years afterwards that they retired again to Urtas. Meanwhile, their children were growing up. Philip
Baldensperger was
bom
King David, owned by the Mission, and where natives buildings are still educated by the Church Missionary Mr. Palmer, a German, was headmaster, Society. and there were also native teachers for Arabic. The majority of the sixty or seventy boys were Arabs. As the school lay outside the present walls of Jerusalem, the pupils went to Christ's Church, inside the walls by Zion's Gate, on Sundays and feast days. The official language in the schoolroom was English, but Arabic was always used outside. Within the family circle German was spoken, though French was always held in honour. Thus did Philip, his brothers and sister become acquainted from their earliest years with
four tongues.
forgot the
dream
INTRODUCTION
brother to Uitas to survey the lands he owned in Phihstia, in Moab and in the Jordan Valley.
of their early
and south, east and west, exclusively among Bedawin and Fellahin, in the camp and in the village, and considered almost as natives.
After the Franco-Prussian War, PhiUp Baldensperger volunteered to the country of his ancestors,
view of regaining Alsace, and was in the cavalry But (Chasseurs de France) from 1875 to 1880. he was glad to return to Palestine again, where from 1880 to 1892 he principally devoted himself to pastoral apiculture, carrying the bees from Jaffa to Jerusalem, or from Hebron to the Gaza His father kept bees on Zion and in district. the old castle above Solomon's Pools beyond Bethlehem, in the old clay hives of immemorial model. An English minister in search of bees, meeting him by chance, gave him a copy of the British Bee Journal, the first bee-paper he had ever seen. But he was too busy in the orphanage to devote himself to apiculture. However, when, later, in 1880, Mr. D. A. Jones, of Beeville, Canada, and Mr. Frank Benton, of the United States, came
in
to Jerusalem for the study and exportation of Oriental bees, Henry Baldensperger was once more
appealed to as a bee-keeper." Phihp's four brothers did not much care for the idea of this branoh of agriculture until he came back from
**
INTRODUCTION
xi
France and went to Beyrut to meet Mr. Benton, with whom he stayed many months and thoroughly learned apiculture at the apiaries he had established in
Cyprus and Syria for breeding queens to send to England and the United States. It was
then that Philip Baldensperger's four brothers abandoned their other agricultural work, let out the family lands on hire, and devoted themselves
exclusively to bee-keeping. The five brothers were associated in pastoral bee-keeping for several years, travelling up and down the country, carrying the
and portable wooden houses on the backs of camels from the plains to the hills in summer, and back to the sea-district in winter camping and fighting the mosquitoes and the fever a
hives
;
as
well
as
;
the
Turkish
officials
now
despicable functionaries or escaping with bees, camels and everything else to another Pachahk ;
losing bees and camels in the wildest of adventures, often caused by a hive suddenly thrown to the
ground by one of the camels, spreading death and destruction on roads and passes, leaving donkey or mule dead by the wayside or pushing camels and horses as well as terror-stricken Arab
assistants
into
caves
for
shelter
infuriated
Disgusted by odious vexations and injustice, two of the Baldensperger brothers left the country, carrying part
insects.
xii
INTRODUCTION
of their hives and apparatus with them to Algeria. Another was drowned whilst bathing in the sea
at
Finally, Philip, exhausted by fever of ever being able to change the " mentality of the natives in the immovable East," himself abandoned the task and, with his wife,
Jaffa.
and doubtful
he had married in 1883, and his children, came, in 1892, to Nice, leaving an only brother to continue bee-keeping in Palestine. The brothers who had gone to Algeria were soon
glad to return home again, for Palestine is still " the land flowing with milk and honey." Two have died since Philip Baldensperger's departure
an American
whom
and again an only one is left, carrying about as in the early years and with much better success, as the Turkish officials have become
to France,
his bees
more accommodating.
Naturally, Philip Baldensperger's
first literary
work concerned bees and bee-keeping. The British Bee Journal, Gleanings, French and German periodicals have pubhshed a multitude of contributions from his pen. His first article on in 1883 in a German-Hebrew Palestine appeared
book, entitled Jerusalem, edited by a blind Jew, A. Luncz. Since 1893 he has been a regular " " contributor to the of Quarterly Statement the Palestine Exploration Fund, writing principally on the unchangeable manners and customs of the people of the Holy Land. Many writers
and
travellers in the
INTRODUCTION
xiii
scattered writings during the last twenty years, whilst Palestine Exploration Societies as well as
authors
in their
observations.
have acknowledged the value of his Among those who have cited him books are Mrs. A. Goodrich Freer, author
of Inner Jerusalem, Mr. S. S. Curtiss, Professor of Old Testament Literature and Interpretation,
of Chicago Theological Seminary, Professor R. A. Stewart Macalister, author of The Excavation of
who, on behalf of the Palestine Exploration Fund, collaborated with Mr. Macalister in exploration work in the Holy Land.
Gezer,
and Dr. F.
J. Bliss,
schools at Jerusalem some of Philip Baldensperger's ethnological notes serve as a text-book under the title The Land of Israel :
Even
in the
Hebrew
Present
lafneem
and Past (" Arz Yeshrael ha-yom wa a volume of extracts from con"), " " tributions to the Quarterly Statement between 1904 and 1906. The object of the work undertaken by Mr. Baldensperger and myself and I would say at the outset that The Immovable East is in no way
a rechauffe of previously published papers is to give the general public the benefit of his intimate knowledge of Palestine, studied with the Bible
in
rarely to be enjoyed by Europeans, since the facts here recorded can only be gathered in the company of natives, and
who
only hear
and
see in hotels,
xiv
INTRODUCTION
through the ears and eyes of their Dragomans, and who thus only half lift the veil which hangs between the Occidental visitor and the authentic land of the Bible a land which is not even known to the modem Jews themselves.
Our aim is also to show how intimately the three Mediterranean religions have taken root in the same country, on the same traditions and in the same language, basing their unity on the remote past, still hngering in one common belief, in the Jew, Christian or Mohammedan, not only as regards the shrines of Abraham and the patriarchs, Rachel, the prophets Samuel, Elijah, Isaiah, Zechariah, and so forth, equally venerated by the three, but in addition in a more immovable form in the occult world, or ghost-land, which differs from that of the past not even in smallest details. Just as Saul himself, when officially persecuting wizards and witches, went secretly to enquire of the witch at Endor, who brought up the "gods ascending out of the earth" (I.
Samuel
xxviii.
13-14)
and Samuel
in a mantle,
so will the
who in
turn
see Genii (or gods) arise out of the earth with green
If
a Canaanite
who
died centuries before Joshua's invasion of the land could arise again after a repose of 4,000 years and not know that Baal has been changed, his
altars given over to Jehovah's servants,
who
in
INTRODUCTION
their turn
xv
handed them on to Greeks and Romans, the followers of Christ, and finally to the Moslems,
that Canaanite wished to visit his sanctuaries he would find the venerated spot on Ebal still a place of devotion to the Samaritan Jews (now
if
only about 150 persons in all), he would see Greek and Roman Catholic Christians go out in procession to Baal's altar on Mount Carmel. Moreover, he would perceive that every movement of the worshippers is the same bowing, dancing, The only knife-cutting, sacrifices to the Saint. difference he would observe would be in the name.
:
Rushing to Baal-Shamim in platform Jerusalem, again he would see numerous pilgrims in gaudy dresses sacrificing to AUah and his prophet Mohammed. He would avoid big centres " " to see his far away from modern green heights Moslem and Christian civilisation and look for
of Baal.
the
the statue in the temple of Ashteroth in the lovely grove on the hill beyond the plain of Rephaim. Quietly he would enter and gladly see that nothing
is
changed. The small oil lamp in honour of his beloved goddess is still burning in the niche, but it is the Bedariyeh, the Moslem Aurora, who has taken the weU-known place. Flying through the air, he would go north to Safed and find Jews
dancing wildly around their sanctuaries, throwing shawls and clothing into the fire, drinking and
howling, certainly in honour of Baal.
How strange
xvi
INTRODUCTION
!
that Canaanite's experience would be, and yet how very famihar everything would be to him
houses are built in the same way as when he trod the earth, the furniture is the same, the people, in
spite of an outward change of reUgion, think just as his ancestors thought when Canaan was a land
of
if
many
kings.
If
some hospitable Melchisedek, Priest of the Most High, would offer the Stranger bread and drink as was the habit in his days (Genesis xiv. 18), he would find that an astonished Abd-el-^Hei-ben Sadek, a Moslem Imam, would offer him hospitality in the old, old way on the roof of the mosque. If he were to remember the small salt lake in the south which by its underground volcanoes on the Plain of Siddim encroached on the surrounding towns, destroying parts here and there, forming bitumen pits into which strangers slipped easily (Genesis xiv. 10), he would wonder, on finding the immense sea some forty miles in length and nine in breadth, what has happened. But shades of the Sodomites of the catastrophe period would join him and tell him that in the " immovable East "
even this Dead Sea continues as in his days to destroy first the four towns and later on Zoar,
INTRODUCTION
and that
it is still
xvii
killing and destroying animal and inhabitants, so that for miles and life, miles every town and village has disappeared. Then would the ghostly Stranger acknowledge that this land is reaUy his own Canaan, and would
forests
retire
contented to await the time when, centuries hence, he will make another tour of inspection. Finally, our object has been to show that if a few names of places have been changed and
confused, as Salem and Morah in Samaria, which were transported to Jerusalem, and Moriah in Judea for political reasons, yet thousands of villages hav retained their names in Bethel,
Bethlehem, Beersheba, Hebron, Gaza, Jaffa and Akka. Moreover, ancient manners and customs,
parts of clothing, articles of common use and household furniture are still to be seen in spite of terrible and lengthy invasions from Egypt
and Assyria, Greece and Rome, and in spite of the struggle between the Crescent and the Cross. The old Canaanite and his habits have outlived every nation and religion with their vices and their virtues. His was the most tenacious of all
His descendents still reward in the old way, giving animals as a recompense, like Pharaoh and Abimelech (Genesis xx. 14), or changes of garment, as Naaman, the Syrian, did to Gehazi (II. Kings xxxiii. 4) burying the dead near
races.
;
in
Macpelah out
xxiii. 4)
;
the
sight
of
the
camp
(Genesis
(2131)
xviii
INTRODUCTION
paying for brides or serving a term of seven years as shepherds (Genesis xxix. 20) writing verses on their standards according to the ancestor's
;
signs
and
colours,
ii.
hke the
(Numbers
Bethlehem
2)
sanctuary for a
(I.
in
in
Palestine can
still
palaces in every
find the prisons near Governors' important town and see prisoners
unshaven and unkempt, like Joseph or Jeremiah, pass through Gibeah they can stiU visit places where there are unfriendly faces, where no man,
;
just as in the old days (Judges xix. 15), will receive the native-foreigner even for a lodging ; they can still, on the other hand, on going further
south, encounter people who are as hospitable as in the days of the Judges.
The ordinary
visitor to the
"
very often have been invented for the necessities of communities established there, but he never
meet men hving in tents as Abraham and Sarah lived, or to go to marriages where he would see a ceremonial dating from the
or rarely steps aside to
days of Jacob. It is hoped that the following pages will induce him to venture from the beaten
track and discover that the Bible was really " written in this immovable East," and that, with a competent guide, he can hear for himself
the stories of bygone days.
If
we succeed
in
INTRODUCTION
xix
doing that, and at the same time have written a useful commentary on the Bible and its days, we shall feel that our labour has not been in
vain.
Frederic Lees.
Cagnes, A.m., December
8th, 1912.
Palestine
is
you
struck
the land of greyness. Not* only are by the grey and eternal olive-trees,
;
which spring up again from the roots when cut down and form new trees by the grey rocks the partridges and pigeons which climb and fly about
;
a prey to numerous grey or dark rapacious birds, but most of all are you impressed by the grey-clad archaic Fellahin, the grey ruins on every ancient site and the grey quick-moving Haradin those three Hving witnesses of the remote days when biblical
the boulders in search of food, or
fall
:
events were
1
first set
down
in words.
At almost
Let me say, in explanation of a few Arabic words which are used throughout the following pages, that Fellah (Cultivator) is masculine singular, Fellaha feminine singular, Fellahin masculine plural and Fellahit feminine plural. Kliirby signifies a ruin and Kharaib ruins. They must not be confounded with
Kirby and Kirrub, the singular and plural for leather water-bottle. Harddn and Haradin are the singular and plural forms for the Stellio-agamide lizard, Stellio cordylina ; whilst the singular and In view of the fact that the plural for shirt are Thob and Thiab. nomadic tribes are known to English readers as Bedouins, or
Bedawin, I have retained the latter spelling, although the late Claude Reignier Conder, the author of Tent Work in Palestine and other invaluable works on the East, agreed with me that the correct form was Bedu. The feminine singular of this word is Bedawiye, the feminine plural Bedawiyat.
every step, when you go to the denuded grey hills of the Holy Land, do you meet this grey and wellnigh inseparable trio. Within the shelter of a ruin, perched on a hillock or mountain top and
telling the eternal tale of
home and
Man and
room
beast live in close community. A single serves as kitchen, reception-room and bed-
chamber, a room provided very often with but one door and only occasionally a window, and the the upper floor of which consists of two levels one for the owner, stretched, at night, on a straw mat or a carpet, the lower one for the animals.
:
Sometimes, during the long winter nights, the latter are sheltered in a neighbouring cave, but more often the shepherd and his flocks are together
in the
same chimneyless, smoky habitation. An enclosure, protected by thorny hedges, surrounds them, and there, in the midst of refuse and manure and vermin, they live in peace and contentment,
side
by
companion the
Harden.
him on any sunny day, if you are careful to watch long enough and quietly, on the look-out for flies and insects near the dungsee
You can
hill
or else, lying at the top of a conspicuous stone or rock, shaking the fore part of his body and lifting his triangular head as though in a trembhng fit;
of prayer, until,
sence,
warned by a sound of your prehe darts away and hides in his hole in the
crumbling ruins.
who
For
is it
the
the Fellahin
and
same conclusion
But
how comes
it,
thing else, never mention the Fellahin ? The omission is, I think, easily explainable. It is said that when the Israelites under Joshua invaded Palestine they found seven principal
nations occupying the southern and central mounnations which, in order to show the greattains,
my
nations were but groups of a single race, generally designated as Amorites, tribes exercising differ-
ent employments in one social agglomeration, with commanders or kings at every important town. The Amorites, or Speakers, were the leading families,
who
The
Hittites were the soldiers, ready to fight the nation's battles at a moment's warning. The
Perizzites, or Villagers,
folk, willing to
take up arms, if necessary, but usually merely asking to be allowed to work and
live tranquilly
fig-trees.
The
Hivites, or Encerclers, belonged to the Dervish class, were skilled in the art of magic and, like the
The Hawi, were serpent-charmers. Canaanites an important factor in the national life were merchants, carrying goods and news from place to place. The Rephaims, or Giants, were the healers they were also called Jabburim, and, like the modern Jabbar, excelled in the art of curing broken limbs. Finally, the Jebusites
modern
were, as their
name
a group worthy of mention not because they were of a nation than the inhabitants of other towns but because they resisted the invaders for
more
under Hebrew domination. As soon as the Hebrews had settled down or been absorbed by the older inhabitants, the people
of Palestine mostly lived in a Perez, or village, and became an agricultural nation. But the
Perizzites
of scorn, used to designate idolaters of the new regime. ^ It was not until
* History furnishes us with many similar examples of the original name of agriculturist being used to indicate people of past In England religions and as synonymous with anti-progressist. the refractory inhabitants of the heath were denominated as heathen in Germany, they became Heide ; in France the dweller in the country {pays) became a paysan, or, as he was called in old
;
French, a paten,
a pagan.
THE KAFIR
later,
the
or Israehtes as a whole, that changed into that of Fellahin. Their story a parallel to that of the villagers of Arabia.
inhabitants of the Kefr, on Mohammed proclaiming Islam from the towns of Mecca and Medina, were
at
first
refractory to the
new
faith,
that every infidel was styled an agriculturist or Kafir. But on the whole nation adopting the
Prophet's teachings the term of opprobrium was changed to that of cultivator, they became
Fellahin, a cultivate.
verb
filhy
to
There was no place in the new Israelitic nation for the ambitious Amorite or the warlike Hittite,
of the Perizzite
was
to live in
of his forefathers, carrying on traditions, cementing his attachment to the soil, sacrificing in the Makam, or High-place, or Wely,
home
going to every green tree, in short, continuing the old forms of worship, praying to the presiding
genius, with a slight change, sometimes, in the
name, but caring little whether it was before a statue of some Baal or an invisible one called
Sidna ^Ali or Sheikh 'Alem. Invasions swept over towns, the Amorites and the Jebusites disappeared, but the poor and continually robbed
Perizzite clung fast to his crumbling ruins. Like the grey lichens on the old stones, he remained
following the easier roads of the valleys, rarely visited the almost inaccessible and barren heights. Submitting out-
wardly to passing lords and masters, whose very tongue was unknown to him, the Perizzite remained faithful about the hearth and in the smoke-filled low rooms of his ruined home to the ways of his forefathers. We find the former niche of the idol
represented by " Fellah hears
the
Makam, and
voice
" as
the
modem
the
Moses or Joshua did, and from off his feet, for the place whereon he stands is holy ground." ^ Never will he venture into the sanctuary with shoes which have gathered dust and impurities all along his way. Thus were traditional sites and ceremonies handed down, and thus are we able to study the immovable
characteristics of the Fellahin of Palestine,
"
char-
acteristics which may perhaps (who can say ?) be about to succumb now, as the overflowing populations of the Occident strive to fill the uninhabited corners of the earth and overthrow traditions which have resisted foreign influence for thousands of years.
II
when Islam was founded, a Legend man had four sons and gave to each of them according to his desire. The eldest was Abu
relates that,
*
Exodus
iii.
5.
to/)
A TRUE TRADITIONALIST
Ehmad, the
Fellah,
who asked
for a
cow and a
plough, and became the father of the Fellahin. Abu Razek, the next, asked for a shop and became
the father of town and city traders. Abu Othman, the third, received a horse and was the father of
the intrepid Ottoman horsemen. Abu Swelem, the last, rode off on a camel and became the
chief of the camel-possessing
Abu Ehmad
Palestine
is
Bedawin.
than his
and has held to traditions much more brothers the horsemen and traders. A
soil,
he
is
distrustful of outsiders
and, like the Harden, retires behind his crumbling The ruins at the approach of a horseman.
Jindy, or Gendarme, is never the bringer of good news. He looks for culprits, announces that
taxes are to be gathered, counts the heads of cattle and sheep, or inquires about the young men who
are
Abu Ehmad, though for military service. not a bit revolutionary, is a hater of innovations ;
fit
be
left
when
there
was no king in Israel. He cares nothing about immense financial speculations, the preparation
of formidable arsenals of war, the sinking of mines, the construction of factories and the building of
the
Palestine
Exploration
Fund,
of modern astronomy and geology, and geography, zoology and microbiology, history in an Occidental sense. But he is sober to the extreme. Never does he use wine or strong drink, as he was commanded by Jonadab the son of Rechab. * He would be unable to understand if you told him that milhons are annually expended in the Occident at cafes, pubUc-houses and saloons. A single tiny cup of coffee is almost luxury to him
;
everyday meal consists of a simple plate of rice, with fresh meat and a few vegetables only on
his
rare
and quite extraordinary occasions. The steep, rough and rocky roads have been the
away
foreigners
and holding ideas in check for centuries. Watch him as he drives his camels up and down these terrible roads and you will no longer wonder that progress
has been so slow.
his beasts of
He
is
continually reminding
*'
Look
out,
mind
protect
the
May up!"
God
thee
"
!
"
Ikhly Allah
!
"Ya
Hafed! Oh
similar exclamations are repeated every few yards. But the roads never mended, the result of
and
Shitan
is
*
is
"
he
desires.
,
Jeremiah xxxv.
6.
ROUGH ROADS
hey are
full of
9
genera-
convenient holes,
made by
them from shpping. The camels, with their soft feet and ever mobile head and eyes, are ever on the
look out for the best place
or
^to
donkeys and cattle know exactly every excavation protuberance as they slowly march along. Besides, these rough ways serve another purpose. No one can approach the villages unawares. For centuries past the villagers have heard the struggUng efforts of horsemen as they drew nearer, have seen, in the darkness of the night, the sparks fly from the rocks when struck by their horses'
shoes.
^*
^
of sweat, fleas and smoke ? Did not the ancestresses of this Fellaha girl thus lift their skirts to the knees and ask permission of the Water-
genius to step in ? Watch her. As she arrives at the edge of the brook she at once drops her
10
her toilet.
After knotting her long sleeves together and throwing them behind her back, leaving her brown and well-proportioned arms bare to
above the elbows, she rubs her small feet and rounded calves vigorously then, with her joined hollowed hands she throws the fresh water her silver and glass bracelets tinkling musically into her weather-browned face. She dries herself with her long veil, and when this is done begins,
;
with rhythmic blows, the work of the day. By the time the clothes are washed and rinsed the dry Kirby is soaked through and through. Dexterously, with one hand, the neck is opened, and rapidly, with the right hollowed hand, water is thrown into the leather bottle. When full, a rope is attached to the top and the bottom, and upon her back hke a soldier's knapsack it is carried home to quench the thirst of the
household.
Ill
As a
rule,
haired and have long, broad beards, differing in this respect from the Bedawin, whose beards are
Certainly, in a
is
blood.
Here and
there,
and
especially near big centres, you may be surprised But to meet fair or even red-haired individuals. the principal type is the brown one, with a thick.
PEASANT COSTUMES
11
hooked nose, a round head, thick lips, and of medium height, about Im. 65 cent. The men have strong bones, broad shoulders, large hands, and
are, as
neither
too
fat,
nor too thin. The women are sUghtly smaller, with elegant bodies, strong hips, good-sized breasts,
almost small feet and hands, dark eyes and long,
thick black hair.
Fellahin
shirt
reaches, when not held up by the girdle, to the feet. The man's Thob is usually white, the woman's Water blue, but they soon undergo a change.
always scarce about the village, white becomes grey, whilst the gaudy blue of the Thiab is toned down by the sun and by wear and tear among thorns and briars. The women's picturesque long veil, which serves so many purposes,
being
such as the carrying home of provisions, Hkewise quickly loses its pristine freshness and takes on the dominant colour of this grey land. When out walking or at his work, the Fellah pulls up his
Thob
so that it barely reaches his knees. But the higher he approaches in rank to those two important officials the Sheikh of the village and
the Khateeb, or Priest, the lower he wears his shirt. In the case of the women, decency obliges
them, whenever
men approach
or are likely to be
near, as at home, to lower their Thiab to the feet. The Fellahat have a silken or woollen girdle, and
this,
with their
veil,
completes their
full
dress.
12
Shoes and mantles, jackets and fur-coats are luxuries, worn only on rare occasions. The Fallah, with his leather girdle, hairy breast and arms, is the exact portrait of Elijah the Tish" a hairy man and girt with a girdle bite, who was of leather about his loins." ^ This girdle is the most important item of his dress. Though his bodily wants may be few, he requires a large number of articles ever to hand, hence the girdle serves the purpose of an indispensable store-room.
are suspended chains, hooks, pouches to hold knives, daggers, clubs, powder horns,
Upon
it
shot,
flint
and
steel,
tinder,
thread, pipes, tobacco and cigarette papers, razors and combs, handkerchiefs and documents. A man without his girdle was always considered in the East to be in a position of inferiority very much as an Occidental would be in his night-gown.
:
The command
be ready for
ordered
**
gird
feet
to eat with their loins girded, shoes on and staff in hand." ^ Without his girdle, a man was unprepared either for war or for journeyOf late the broad girdle of the Fellahin ing.
it is
stiU to
be seen in
many
out-of-the-way places.*
n. Kings iv. 29. ' Exodus xii. 11. Kings i. 8. The history of the girdle in the East contains some very curious facts. One of them is worth mentioning. To distinguish the Mohammedans from Christians and Jews, the cruel and
I.
5:
5S
C/3
CHRETIENS DE LA SAINCTURE
13
Surrounding the Fellah's head and wound round his red Tarbush is a large grey and yellow turban. The women have a long, flowing picturesque headdress called a Khirkah, which falls over the shoulders and to the waist, like a shawl, and is often trimmed with plain or coloured tassels. Shoes are worn by the Fellahat only when on a journey, never in the village, and even when abroad they are carefully kept in the bosom-pouch to prevent them being soiled and disfigured. This pouch is also used as a receptacle for food when they are out
at their work, and for other necessary things. Whilst visiting or on their way to towns, the women
keep their Thiab decently tied round the body They carry their packages either on their heads or wrapped in the long sleeves of their gowns, the
in 235 A.H. (349 a.d.) that non-believers should wear a broad leather girdle, Zennar, and never be allowed to loosen it. They were further to be distinguished from the faithful by their black turbans and shoes. This Girdle Law led, in later years, to a strange error. The old French appellation for the Christians of " the Holy Land Les Chretiens de la Saincture " was trans" lated by modern writers Christians of the Girdle," saincture being confounded with ceinture. When Baron d'Anglure visited Palestine in 1395 (see Sainct voyage de Jerusalem, p. 99) he wrote in reference to the Holy Sepulchre " Au dehors d'icelle saincte eglise, devant le portail, autour de la dicte place a quatre chappelles, la premiere est de Nostre-Dame, 1 'autre de Saint Jehan d'Euvangeliste, la tierce de Marie Magdelaine et la quatre de St Michel et sont gouvernees icelles chappelles par Grecz (Greeks) et par Hermins (Armenians) et par Chritiens de la Saincture (Latins) et si y a Chretiens de la terre preste Jehan " " that is, between the During the great blank (Abyssinia)." fourteenth and seventeenth centuries Palestine was almost forgotten and the French language having changed, Saincture became Terre Sainte.
3 (ai3x)
14
points being knotted or held in the hand packet below the arm and the elbow.
The Schmaar
is
an item
which calls for explanation. It is a cord, sometimes ornamented with tassels but more often quite simple, and, worn cross-ways behind the shoulders, is used for keeping the men's sleeves tucked
out of their way, for these, though wide, cannot be knotted together and thrown behind their
backs.
1
A
the
"
impermeable to rain, his only covering wherein he shall sleep," as we read in Exodus, ^ where, in Hebrew, it is called Shalmat, evidently the black Bedawin Shalat. This cloak is the Fellah's most indispensable article of dress at night, for when away from home he knows not where he may be able to find a lodging and may very likely be obliged to sleep upon
"
1
when
" " in the Authorised Version bracelets but correctly rendered " " in the Revised Version his staff and his signet (see cord Genesis xxxviii. 18) three objects of essential value to- the
mentioned as early as the days of the sons of Jacob. When Judah met a Kaddishah, or consecrated woman, and had no ready money with which to pay for her services, she asked, as an arboun, or pledge, for his fateel (the woven schmaar), called
tume,
owner. The Schmaar was a keepsake woven by an admirer the signet was necessary for the seahng of documents, as the owner was too ilhterate to sign his name and the staff, an old friend and supporter, was perhaps used as a talisman against a Mehjane, the hooked almond stick. serpents,
; ;
xxii. 27.
FELLAHIN HOSPITALITY
15
" the ground, like Jacob, with a stone for pillow." ^ The women have short red mantles, called Bisht, " but generally known as Abba " they barely
;
reach to the knees and are rarely used except by the Fellahat around Jerusalem, Siloam, the Mount
of Olives
)(^
to sell
and Bethany, who daily come to market their agricultural produce. Out of these
woman
in ten possesses
them.
proverbially hosthe FeUahin do not extend these good pitable, qualities beyond people of their own creed or tribe.
As a
rule,
at arm's length.
The women,
resembhng Rachel and Rebecca, will a drink to wayfarers of the Arabic tongue but will keep at a distance from and look with distrust on the (to them) indecent clothing and hats of
who pass by in disdainful attitudes, a foreign language and displaying none speaking of the beloved home-notes and manners. These
Occidentals,
who claim that the land has that the sweet singer of Israel no longer changed, fills the air with his music, forget that nothing has that they alone are foreigners who underaltered, stand no word of Oriental sentimentalism, and who
strangers
*
people
16
-
come
to teach the people their own history in Provided you are one in belief distorted lessons.
know of no one who could be more hospitable. Though his house be in ruins, he receives his guests with as much vanity
or in language with a Fellah, I
and
if
satisfaction as a Croesus living in a marble palace would, and treats them as generously as
he were the richest man in the place, even though he may have to go to his neighbour to borrow rice, a lamb or a goat, butter and coffee.
IV
But
trio
1
:
to the second of our grey the ruins of Palestine. ^ The entire country
let
us
now turn
"
fenced cities," lying in ruinous heaps may be grouped the heaps of stones which the (II. Kings These mark places where men traveller is ever encountering. have been killed, and are placed there with the idea of preventing the ghosts of the departed from appearing and frightening the
xix. 25)
"
"
.^
passers-by a relic of the stoning of the condemned referred to " " the people of the land shall stone him with stones in the words when the King of Do we not read, too, that (Leviticus xx. 2). Ai was dead he was taken down before evening, his carcass was thrown at the entrance to the city, and a great heap of stones was " " ? (Joshua viii. that remaineth unto this day raised over it, At the last execution I saw in Palestine, near the Jaffa Gate, 29). in 1869, many of the spectators threw stones at the beheaded body, which was later carried away to be buried by night. The pilgrims of Arafat, near Mecca, stone Satan for his disobedience and he is often termed Esh-Shit&n er-Rajeem. But heaps of stones accumulated under these and similar circumstances must not be confused with the witness stones which are heaped up in honour of a saint. These are set up stone by stone by pious Stone believers when at a distance they first perceive a shrine. I witness with you to-day, and witness with me on judgment day," says the traveller, as he places his stone in position. There are heaps of these witness stones in Bethel and between Laban and
:
' '
Jacob.
RUINED CITIES
is
17
five
scattered with
them
or six desolated sites for every one that is inhabited. curse is thought to adhere to old ruins, and the " BibHcal cursed is the man before Jehovah that
riseth
up and buildeth
if
not
regarded as law, has been carried into effect. All through the pages of the Bible do we find references
to this characteristic feature of the
Holy Land.
Prophets threatened that ruins should be mul2 tiphed, or promised, if the people turned away from their abominations, that they should be
raised up.
^
The
Sodom and
Gomorrah, Adama and Zeboim, disappeared in the weU-known catastrophe. Zoar alone remained, but later that town also was swept away. Masada,
ruins.
the last fortress of the Jewish nations, is now in Likewise, on Engiddy, the older Hazazon-
Tamar, being abandoned, the inhabitants withdrew to build Beth-Tamar, Beth-Sahur and EbnObeid, which in their turn were deserted by the
are stiU wandering about, wearing, though they are half Bedawin, the Fallahin turban and cloak.* Tekoa has also become a great heap
people,
of ruins
who
and the
many
1
species
of
now Waran
' Ezekiel xxi. 15. Amos ix. 11. Joshua vi. 26. There are three tribes of these agricultural nomads the Ta'amry, the Sawahry and the Obeidiy^. ' Canon Tristram, the author of The Fauna and Flora of Palestine, captured at least ten species.
^
18
(JJromastix spinipes),
whose
and our old friend the Harden history we have yet to consider.
V
The
Stellio cordylina lizard lives, as I
have
said,
about the home of the Fellahin and seeks security in any convenient hole which may present itself in the rough-built, unplastered walls. But he avoids the front part of the house and never on any account ventures inside, like his cousin the
Gecko (Ptyodactylus
hasselquisti).
Abu
Braise
known
flies
the familiar appellation under which the latter is to the Fellahin rids the dweUing of gnats,
and mosquitoes.
is
He is believed,
as this
name
almost as old as his very existence, since it arises from his colour and protuberances, ^ which, in fact, resemble the effects of that disease. Nor is this the only injustice which is done Master
the beautiful, useful little fellow is also accused of having indicated to Mohammed's persecutors the prophet's hiding-place at the
;
which
Gecko
"
Shick
responsible for their observations concernFor instance, ing the minor animals and the causes of disease. they confused the appearance of saltpetre on the damp walls " And he See Leviticus xiv. 37 of houses with leprosy. shall look on the plague, and, behold, if the plague be in the walls of the house with hollow strakes, greenish or reddish, which in
lawgivers,
this belief, fell into error in
The ancient
almost
then
..."
and the
country
SUPERSTITIOUS TALES
wan-Nabi
is
19
fish
shick
!
"
!
("
Geek
the
Prophet
two acts of ") Similarly, are laid at the door of the Hardon. treachery He is said to have nodded his head above
in
the
cleft
the
same
cleft,
to
indicate
that
it
was true
the prophet was there, because the entrance to the opening in the rock was obstructed by a But the spider's web and two turtle-dove's eggs.
persecutors, not believing either traitor, passed on. The Hardon is Hkewise accused of having carried
wood
to Jebel 'Arafat when the accursed mule was already loaded to go and burn the Angel
In consequence of these superstitious kills a Hardon or a Gecko with his tales, right hand is said to receive a reward in heaven, and the more Geckos or Haradin he puts to death the more numerous will be his recompenses. ForGabriel.^
whoever
tunately the Fellahin are too busy or too fatalistic to attempt to destroy a single one, and thus
large quantities of
flies,
and
1
other legends are related concerning the Harddn, regarded by the natives of Palestine as a thinking being. A Fellah once told me the following story. One day, a serpent, accustomed, like her congeners, to feed on Haradin, rushed upon a Hardon. But the sly fellow, quicker than she was, promptly seized upon a piece of wood, which he presented crosswise in his mouth to the snake. Whichever way she turned, the Hardon turned his head with the stick, thus preventing her from getting At last the serpent, completely bafiied, abandoned him. hold. Serpents are exceedingly fond of Haradin. I have myself cut open a Zamenis viridiflavus and rescued one of them a miniature Jonah after it had spent perhaps three hours in the reptile's stomach.
Many
which
20
to agriculture if left unchecked, are removed from the land. Nevertheless, the Hardon, as though
conscious of the alleged crime of one of his ancestors, runs fast on the approach of man and hides
either in the cracked bole of
an
olive-tree or in his
His name means Withdrawer or Sly Fellow, and having got a bad reputation he feels that he has no time to wait and hear who is right or wrong concluding that the judge will surely be on man's side, he promptly
;
The male Hardon is slightly darker than the female and generally stronger his thick tail is more spiny and his triangular head much larger. He wags his head periodically, but only when he feels in safety and is basking in the bright sunshine
;
on the top of a stone. Sometimes he draws himself up like a sentinel and, seeming to say, "Here I am Come along. Look out Man is coming **
!
!
For Haradin always Hve in pairs. And when the male thus walks high on his four legs the female can pass below him. In June the female digs a hole about six inches deep in the dry, loose earth and lays from eight to ten yellowish eggs, about two centimetres long and with a semi-rigid membrane. Each is deposited separately and covered with warm earth, after which they are left to hatch in the sun. The young Haradin (about four centimetres in
21
and immediately begin to fight life's battles for themselves by picking up ants and minor insects.^ In view of their three to four months
hibernation in the holes of ruins or olive trees, they store up, under their thick skin, a layer of
fat.
At one year
by the second year they may be nearly twenty, and at the end of the third year
timetres long,
growth, or nearly so, a length of thirty centimetres. By this time the Hardon has chosen a home of his own and, taken
full
up with matrimonial
have been able to observe, abandons it. Near Solomon's Pools is a mountain where Haradin thrive so well that it has come to be known as Abu-1-Haradin. That these reptiles have been a feature of Palestine since times immemorial is undoubted. But how is it, then, that they
escaped
the
notice
of
the
Fellahin
prophets,
Hardon district ? especially The fault is probably not with Micah but with his translators. The prophet, referring to the
lived in a
fleeing
*
Micah, who
of
the
enemy, says,
according
to the
They
in the act of standing in front of the fly-holes of the hives catching drones and workers. In the latter case they allow the bees to
sting tents
its
venom.
22
They shall lick the dust hke a move out of their holes like serpent, they worms of the earth," * But the Hebrew text is
Authorised Version
shall
Yelhaku 'afr kanahsch, kazahli arz yergazu mi massgarathihim," which, translated " into Arabic, would read Yelhasu *afr kalclearer
:
"
hanash, kasahali (or Haradin) el ard, yergathu min khuzuk il mussagerath," that is: "As a serpent they lick the dust, and as a lizard of the earth, they dance or run from their hiding-places."
Like
colour.
many
reptiles, the
Hardon,
very dark when about the stems of oHve-trees, grey when lying on rocks or ruins, and slightly greyer when near the ashes of the Tabon, or oven, where, on account of the warmth in winter and the insects in summer, he delights to recline, and where you may hear the pitiless
is
He
Immak mattat
17.
fi
tabdn."
Micah
vii,
II
IN
The
high plateau of Moab, in Eastern Palestine, the maritime plains of Sharon, in the west, the central plains of Esdraelon and Jezreel, or the
extremely
fertile plains of
depression formed by the Jordan valley, may be called inexhaustible graineries. Year after year, without any artificial manuring, crops are raised, and as soon as the harvest is over thousands of animals are turned into the fenceless fields to pasture on the stubble often over a foot high which the reapers have left. These droves of
camels, herds of fat-tailed sheep, or black goats with ears so long that they often reach the ground,
in the food they find, and, whilst about day after day for many months roaming yearly, manure the land naturally. With the exception of northern Sharon, Esdraelon and Jezreel, the southern, central and eastern
all
delight
lands belong to the wandering Arabs, who prefer to go on Ghazu^ rather than cultivate their lands,
which, owned by the whole tribe, are rented to the more diligent Fellahin, on condition of yielding a portion of the produce to the owners.
*
Indeed,
Marauding
excursions.
23
24
the haughty Bedawi considers it a dishonour to leave his camels or horses and take to the plough
or the sickle,
sings
II
Wal baggar
Lal fuggur."
always on the look-out for some Fellah^ el-Hitr/' willing to take his share of land, and, since he is often in need of ready money, to advance him on interest a few hundred Majidis. ^ Then he
is
He is
"
free to
jump on
to his fine
his
chief
less
free,
on one of the numerous expeditions, more or legitimate, which form so great a part of his
mountains of Judaea, where my father owned land, give but a poor return of wheat and barley. Consequently the Fellahin of the villages often turn their thoughts and footsteps to the haunts of the
Bedawin.
to
their ancestors.
The children of Jacob departed because the mountains gave no more Egypt
grain,
Abraham and
ern plains of Beersheba and Sharon, Jacob and his children to Dothan, towards Esdraelon,
ON JORDAN'S BANKS
25
and the father and mother-in-law of Ruth to Moab because there was famine in Bethlehem. One day, when I was still in my youth, one
of
my
father's
announced
plains of Jordan.
a high-born Bedawi of the tribe of the Aduan, Imhammad el-Talak, who, as a fully-equipped horseman of Sheikh Ali el-Thiab, was obliged to follow his liege lord wherever he was led, and the two men having come to the usual financial arrangement the departure was fixed for the month of November. My father, anxious to know more about the country and its resources, but unable to
leave home, delegated me to accompany Saleh elKaak and assist at the ploughing and the sowing.
When
was
this work,
I
over,
with the intention of returning for the harvest when the Jordan permitted. There were no bridges over the famous river in those days, and even had there been any they would have been of no avail in early spring, as the river bed hes very low in a broader bed, covered with thickets, and when the snows melt on Mount Hermon, in Lebanon, the stream is sometimes miles in breadth. It would have been folly to attempt a crossing " when Jordan overflowed all its banks." ^ It was not until May, when the river was
*
Joshua
iii,
15.
26
reported to be in a normal condition again, that Saleh el-Kaak, his two sons, his numerous relatives,
and myself
set off
on our journey.
We
travelled
in caravans, it being unsafe in those days to travel in small groups, owing to the ever-lurking Bedawin,
and unsuspecting wayfarer. Our own caravan was composed of men and women, with a number We started before of animals, from Siloam. midnight and by morning approached the
treacherous river with apprehension. All chattering ceased when the crossing of the Jordan began out on the grey waters everyone
;
looked serious. Whirlpool and rapids were encountered at every yard, now rushing swiftly down in the centre of the stream, now dashing against the banks and hollowing them out. There was not a living being who did not reflect on the possibility of nevter reaching the opposite shore
alive,
for
all
crossing of the
Jordan was fatal to one or other of the animals and sometimes to men and women. At times the dashing waters would so excavate the land
that one of the marly
^
hills,
1 According to a manuscript of Nowairi, the Arab historian, translated by Professor Clermont-Ganneau for the Quarterly Statement of the Palestine Exploration Fund of July, 1895, the In the month of Jumad chronicler relates a similar occurence. " the First, in the year 664 (a.d. 1266), the Sultan Beybars issued The orders for the building of a bridge over the Jordan.
. . .
The Sultan bridge is in the neighbourhood of Damieh. charged the Emir Jamel ed Din Ibn Nahar with the erection of the
.
27
would topple into the stream, churning it into foam and increasing the anguish in everyone's
though all tried to conceal their emotion. Nothing was more revelatory than the manner in which various people faced the danger. The " Bism Moslems stepped into the water with a
breast,
illah
"
cross.
the Christians signed themselves with the All drew near quietly, muttering prayers
;
jokes were forgotten, merry faces became grave; and not until the whole caravan was over could joyous laughter be heard once more. There are very few swimmers among the Siloam Fellahin, so that most of them had to depend on their Bedawin partner to take them
across.
bridge,
fifty
.
to
.
and commanded it to be made with five arches. the work was completed and the workmen dispersed, part of the piers gave way. The Sultan was greatly annoyed, reprimanded the builders and sent them back to repair the damage. They found the task very difficult, owing to the But on rising of the waters and the strength of the current. the night preceding the dawn of the 17th of the month of Rabce, the First of the year 666 (December 8th, 1267), the waters of the river ceased to flow, so that none remained in its bed. The and seized the opportunity offered by the people hurried occurrence to remedy the defects in the piers, and to strengthen them. They then despatched mounted men to ascertain the nature of the event. The riders urged forward their horses and found that a lofty mound (Kabar), which overlooked the river on the west, had fallen into it and dammed it up. The messengers returned with this explanation, and the water was arrested from midnight until the fourth hour of the day. Then the pressure of the water became too great and the dam burst. The water rushed down in a mass equal in depth to the length of a lance, but made no impression upon the building, owing to the strength given it. The stream, however, carried away the apparatus used in the work of repairs. This is one of the most wonderful of events, and the bridge is in existence to this day."
.
When
28
sixty yards broad, and as the trees and rushes had often been cut down level with the water, these,
to begin with, cut the soles of our feet like knives. It was like a visit to the dentist's no one was in
a hurry to go first, everyone wished to see the effect of the crossing on him or her before venturing into the yellow water. Being a good swimmer, I crossed with numbers of Bedawiyat and Fellahat, with inflated Kirbies^ on their backs. All entered the water fully dressed, the most passive
and composed
set
of people I
have ever
seen.
Fully confident in the strength of my young arms, these women let themselves be dragged along with-
A woman
of
Palestine, again, will allow herself to be bound fast at the arm, and will keep at four or five yards
distance from a swimmer, but a man, when the waters of the river seem to be dragging with too
great a force, will always approach save himself by taking hold.
^
and try to
make excellent buoys for a non-swimmer. He or she having been provided with a couple of inflated Kirbies and bound, the swimmer takes the other end of the cord in his mouth, thus leaving his arms perfectly free. Animals are bound at the lower jaw and follow easily, as they cannot resist the slightest pressure
tacles
The Kirby is a water-bottle made of the skins of sheep or and sewn together. The neck is open to receive water. When full and securely tied up, it is carried on a woman's back or, if there are two Kirbies, on a donkey, one on either Inflated and bound to the back, these recepside of the animal.
goats, tanned
;
"DOG OF A CHRISTIAN"
As
I
29
group, the difficult task of carrying over the saddles and luggage, when the donkeys, camels and my mare had crossed, was left to me. I had all the Kirbies
in
my
inflated
eight,
and and on
tied together, in sets of seven or this original raft managed to get all
our belongings across. Each group was in the same predicament there was but one swimmer, and he had to cross a dozen or more times a good four hours' work.
:
These duties were renewed every second day, for the grain poured into the Kirbies and on a raft of inflated water-bottles had to be got over. I wonder how much a human being can supWork under the conditions of those days port. was simply the most refined cruelty imaginable.
Our Bedawin companions crossed the Jordan stark naked and insisted on our doing the same. ** Dog of a Christian," cried an old scarred Bedawi warrior to me when I demurred, he had
left,
several
of
his
fingers
were
and
**
;
his
wounds
are
body was marked with spear you better than ourselves that you
dog, raising his Naboot
?
should hide your nakedness " I will crush you Hke a fly
*'
Uncircumcised
if
off
accursed body
under a torrid sun 45 to 55 degrees Centigrade, with bare slashed feet on the burning sand, with enormous gnats and mosquitoes biting
so,
And
4 (2131)
30
our
we worked.
To
drive
away the
insects,
every swimmer was provided with a leaved willow wand cut on the banks, and with this he continNear the starting-point, ^ ually whipped himself. where the grain was poured into the Kirbies by the non-swimmers, huge fires were kept up, and in the heat and smoke of these we sat in an almost
vain endeavour to keep the insects at bay until, once more, we popped into the stream. To show good-humour and also to rail at the cowardly non-swimmers when they were on the
sang, either alone or in unison. But never a word was uttered when man or beast
shore,
we
was drifting down the Jordan. Once, as a man was washed away, I cried out in terror, but I was quickly called to order by a Bedawi, who remarked,
philosophically " are not blind
:
We
will lose hope. You nor give him encouragement. If luck favour he will be washed ashore."
will only the victim himself Besides, will neither draw him out
is
in his
1 On account of the river's rapidity we were carried hundreds of yards down stream. So we had always three points for starting and A landing. A was the spot at which we started to reach B. Then we would walk up the bank to C and drop in the river to be carried
to
again.
ABSOLUTE EQUALITY
And sure enough, he was.
I
. . .
31
whenever
I
Ever afterwards, saw a donkey or a cow washed away, thought of that Bedawi wise-man and regarded
flinching.
What
matter
it
Very
little
the toilers in that fearful climate, nothing for the security of either man or beast. There was
absolute equality, in an atmosphere of indifference. As regards food, lived an ideal social life. whoever had any gave it up, in true Bedawi
We
fashion, for the benefit of the whole community. Everything was eaten then and there on the banks
of the Jordan, so as not to
it
carrying
have the trouble of the ten miles to our camp on the green
banks of the Kaffrain. I was often asked in after years why we did not build huts on the banks of the Jordan to ourselves protect against the sun why we did not throw wire ropes across the river why we had no planks for landing and so on.
The questioners had never come into contact with a Bedawi at home, a Bedawi who will risk his
" referred to by the Prophet roaring lion " before the sweUing of Jordan was the coming up Jeremiah^as Cheetah, w I am inclined to the belief that the lion never really existed in Palestine proper. The Bible contains various references to lions, but this is possibly due to negligence on the part of the
^
"
transcribers.
32
life
will
for a
compliment,
a Bedawi who
him
days and
who who
hunt
for
slaughtering wild boar until he has found just the right pair of tusks for ornamenting his mare's
neck, or
climb a precipice in search of an eagle to provide him with the two bones for making a Neiye, a Bedawi who is as free as the air, careless as a four-year-old baby, cruel as a
will
who
tiger,
and yet so hospitable that it is impossible to find his equal anywhere in the world. No ;
a Bedawi would join you in carrying off wives, if you proposed it to him, but he would set fire to your huts, cut your wire ropes and throw your
planks into the river for the fun of it. He cares not a fig for progress. The wilder, the more inaccessible his region, the more secure is his life and the better he is pleased. His whole desire is to keep the civilised world and the Government He is a " wild official in search of taxes away.
man," whose hand is against every man," and, as was promised to Hagar concerning that Bedawi ^ Ishmael, every man's hand shall be against him.
**
No
*
moment
J 'koto
J.
H. haiiaajian, naija
Bedawi
of the
Kishon
MY FAITHFUL MARE
As soon
33
necessary on the banks of the inhospitable Jordan. as our work was over our only wish was to flee from the heat and the mosquitoes^ and es-
from any hostile Bedawin, who, exactly like the Apaches in the suburbs of Paris, or the sharks which, hour after hour, follow the ocean
pecially
steamers to snatch at the morsels falling overboard, might turn up in our rear to seize upon any loiterer, as indeed happened to myself, as I will
later relate.
When we came
decamped
open-air
diately those of
life,
to the Kaffrain, the Aduan had for the cooler slopes of Moab. Imme-
own
an
open. of the
But we
women and
cooking utensils which Ghalie, a young Fellaha, had brought with her for our use. And thus we watched, rather than slept, in case anyone less favoured with worldly goods should attempt, under cover of the night, to run off with our ani-
mals or other property. During the day my mare was tethered, but in the darkness, as no one
would take the responsibility of looking after her, she was attached to my wrist. Thus, every night, for two long months I lay on the ground, with the mare walking round and round me, and sometimes gently pulling, lest I should forget myself in too deep a sleep. Never once did the faithful, cautious animal so much as graze my outstretched
34
limbs, except when, imagining that I had no more breath, or that some wolf or jackal was approaching too near, she would draw near and snort in my face.
were divided into two separate camps, situated some distance the one from the other, one with and the other without tents and
;
We
Bedawi was with us. His wife, N^amy, and an partner, eleven-year-old son named Swelem were in the other encampment, but he was accompanied by his old mother 'Hamdiyeh, who used to sit almost all day near her hut, smoking a long pipe and surel-Talak,
Imhammad
Saleh
el-Kaak's
veying the harvest. Enveloped in her dark blue clothes and dark head veil, she sat so motionless that, at a distance, no one would have taken her to be a living being. Only on drawing near and seeing the rings of smoke pass from her tattooed lips, with an occasional sideway glance of her wild eyes, could you be sure that she was not a
statue.
Comparing our life with that of the harvesters " the land of the in the tent camp, we lived in We had both wheat and barley lotus-eaters." the well-nigh impenetrable Dom-forest was full whilst innumerable Senegal and of Dom-apples collared turtle-doves, which filled the air with
;
;
ceaseless cooing, provided us with meat. Never before or since did I eat so many pigeons
their
months on the
outskirts of
the forest.
But
35
no
to
We
Dom
or Lotus tree (Zizyphus spina Christi), which stuck " to our clothes closer than a brother/' tore them
into holes all over, and scratched our hands and we had to keep a sharp look-out for snakes, faces, which hid in the high grass and fed upon the birds.
know
deadly Daboia, the huge and lively Esculap, and the black and shining Hanash and when I shot a gigantic brown Esculap, measuring more than five feet, and which had blown out its neck at me from the top of a Dom-tree, I thought I had had a
;
narrow escape. The small Dom-apples hardly bigger than a hazel nut would have been disdained elsewhere, but on the banks of the Kaffrain
every Bedawi gathers them, or leaves his wife and daughters to collect a store for winter use. Dom-gathering an occupation not to be recom-
and Swelem,
the eleven-year-old son of Imhammad el-Talak, are ever connected in my memory. In the invention
ster
and carrying out of impish tricks that youngwas a past master. He used to upset the trays containing the Dom-meal, scatter sand on the dry-
ing tobacco leaves, pour water into his grandmother's tobacco-pipe, set loose the cows and the
donkeys of the Fellahin when they were most wanted for threshing, and defile the waters of the
36
Kaffrain at the very moment when the women, a little lower down the stream, were filUng their
One day, when he had been assisting in the gathering of the Dom-apples and had been well scratched on his arms and legs, he revenged
Kirbies.
himself
an
The Sharkiye, setting fire to the bush. east wind, happened to be blowing slightly, so by
that in a very short time the whole of the thickets in our neighbourhood was a sea of fire, killing
and scorching hundreds of serpents to a cinder. For once Swelem escaped a thrashing. Everybody agreed that his act was a stroke of genius. For the result was that a way was opened in the impenetrable
their nests
Zizyphus spina Christi were broken down, the dangerous reptiles were and hundreds of thousands of annihilated, Dom-apples hung roasted on the leafless trees. The news of Swelem' s fire spread almost as rapidly as the flames he had set ablazing. Bedawiyat came down from the mountains to fill their
Dom-apples and,
returning home, heavily ladened, sent others or came again themselves. The fire was a god-send
much
Being the only European, it was thought, in those days (1874), to be safer for me to wear Bedawi-clothing a long shirt with broad, pointed sleeves hanging to the ground, a Saye, and, on my
:
37
head, a silken Kafiy6. With the exception of the girdle, which held the shirt and the Saye together, the ^Akal, or head-cord, wound around the
Kafiye,
and a
my
forehead, in accordance with the fashion among Bedawin youngsters, I was a figure in spotless
In order to be able to walk more easily whilst on the march, I used to gather up the long
white.
folds of
in
my
girdle,
gathering with loud screams at my approach. They had never seen a white boy before and must have imagined that a Jan, or guardian of the
forest,
had appeared
silly
to drive
behaviour might be wrongly interpreted in the camp, I shouted to them at the top of my voice to stop. They obeyed, a little
that their
enough to pinch my arms and legs and make cerTo tain that I was an authentic son of Adam. account for my white skin and white Kafiye, which is often dark with the Bedawin, I explained Never before had to them that I was a Frank. ** " and once more, they set eyes on a Franji
impelled by curiosity, they stretched out their tattooed arms to touch my body. To seal our
friendship every one offered
me Dom-apples
until
38
I
had as many as I could carry, wrapped Bedawi fashion in the long sleeves of my ample gown. But I am inclined to think that, after all,
they were not quite convinced. For they retreated cautiously, with many backward glances and the youngest, a girl of fourteen, attempting to hide behind the others, until they finally disappeared behind the half-burned bushes.
Ill
There was little variety in our meals in camp the only striking change was when Ghalie, having baked the bread in the ashes in the morning and
;
at noon, treated us in the evening to the luxury of bread made on a Saaj, an iron plate, above the
Pigeons and bread and Dom-apples followed each other in regular rotation. Vegetables were
fire.
unknown. The only plant the Bedawin care to grow is the fragrant Hassanbaki, i.e., tobacco, which they But so impatient cultivate in small enclosures.
are they that they never wait for the plants to attain their full growth. Nor have they the
patience to wait for the leaves to dry ; hardly have they begun to wither than they cut them up
with their pocket-knives. As clay pipes can only be obtained in the towns, they make a Ghaliun of a reed stem, boring a hole in one side through which to draw the smoke. It would be too much exertion on hand and brain to fashion a pipe-stem
39
smoke
however, every bit as much as the wealthy townsman does his silver filigreed narghile or a European
amber-mouthed meerschaum. Once we moved our camp up stream, in order to have the protection of a ruined site, beloved of the Fellahin, and the luxury of a waU against which to build Ghalie's hut. Imhammad el-Talak had now departed with his chief Saleh el-Kaak and his sons, Khaleel and Ehmad, were actively engaged in cutting the wheat and the barley Ghalie had almost all the threshing to do and nearly everybody, save myself, had his appointed duties. As long as the sun shone hot on the straw heap I enjoyed little society. I had to content
his
myself with Murjane, a freed slave about my own age, and Sa^d el-Kaanass, a youth several years older, and, since he was a good shot, a fairly frequent companion. One of our excursions, when time hung heavily on my hands and the eternal doves and pigeons of Kaffrain palled on my palate, was to the Dead
I noticed Sea, about a two hours' walk away. that whilst visiting that dangerous district the
particular about their health than either the Fellahin or myself. They
carried with
tiny bags filled with tar which, as soon as they entered the swampy regions, they stuffed into their nostrils. It was an excellent
them
40
which, unfortunately, we mountaineers disdained. I think I may say that fully fifty per cent, of us died or were sickly for years after through not
taking the necessary precautions against fever. It is not only the poisonous emanations of the volcanic region which cause trouble, one must take
into account the great heat in the depression in
which the Dead Sea lies, nearly six hundred feet below the level of other seas, and, in addition, its
unhealthy waters. But, in spite of the danger of that part of Palestine, what a fascination it has for the naturaHst and the sportsman Birds, reptiles and plants
!
some of them known only in abound there. We brought home both red-legged and sand-partridges, francolins and grakles we admired the tiny sun-birds smaller than some butterflies and the golden frogs which, at our
approach, leapt into the warm waters of CaUrrhoe and other sulphurous springs east of the Dead Sea we watched the slow mastiguer, with its homy tail, creep along the sand and sat at the
;
;
Asdepia gigantea, or Caletropis procera, fifteen feet high, with broad thick leaves, Hke a good sized man's hand, and an orange-like fruit, containing those silky fibres of which legends have been told by all ancient writers from Josephus to Tacitus. They, and even some modem writers,
1
foot of the
Malaria.
APPLE OF SODOM
have contended that
this
41
Apple of Sodom, in memory of the destruction by brimstone and ashes of the neighbouring Sodom and Gomorrah, contains nothing but smoke and ashes. But I found that Sa'ad el-Kaanass and the scientists were wiser. My companion, who told me wonderful stories of the 'Oshair, showed me that the sHght explosion which results from the touching of the one of fruit was a characteristic of all Asclepias, Nature's wonderful methods of disseminating the seeds of the plant, which are thus shot forth and borne away by the wind to fructify in a thousand Far from the Asclepia gigantea different places.
being associated with the idea of death and destruction, it was, to Salad's mind, the symbol of life. " Was not its name," he asked me, " 'Oshair,
the pregnant-maker, and had not a barren woman once sat within the shade of the tree and soon after
had a child
"
?
And
to prove that
life
was indeed
its essential
element, he showed me how a thick could be made to flow from the plant milky juice hke opium from the poppy. Sometimes we would
shoot at the wild boars, but as they disappeared in the Jordan jungle we rarely attempted to follow
them, for Sa^ad thought that the tusks were hardly worth the risk of being attacked by the Cheetahs who prey upon the boar. Sometimes a grouse would call out, "Naagged! Khanafer! Ghittit " tempting me to follow. But the prudent Sa'ad " would dissuade me, saying It is wiser not to
!
42
look for
lost.'
is
Maybe
merely leading us on to
destruction.
return to the camp." On another occasion, when approaching the sea and whilst it was yet dark, a ball of fire, like a
We had better
huge
from the water, and, after ascending several hundreds of feet, vanished. Again Sa^ad thought we had better return home. It was a
star, rose
Will-*o-the-wisp, common over the surface of the Dead Sea, but to Sa'ad it was a sign of the presence
of the Jan.
very deeply rooted among the Bedawin. Old Im-Imhammad, the soothsayer of our camp, was a very good example of this. She was a curious mixture of sagacity and ignorance, of cunning and a genuine belief in her powers. She could extract balsamic oil from the date-hke
Superstition
is
fruit
of
the
it
oleaster
for
{Eloeagnus
angustifolius)^
and used
healing
call
Zaqum
(as the
Arabs
over an inch long, is said to flourish in hell and furnish fruit for unbehevers. ^ There were many other
plants whose virtues she knew she carefully kept to herself.
prophecy. She foretold with imperturbable peace of mind, passing the while a long straw through the stem of her pipe to enjoy the nicotine which she thus collected, or sucking rather than chewing tobacco when the
*
and whose secrets But her forte was calamities or good news
The Koran,
DEATH BELL
other
43
was
lacking.
was
Like every soothsayer, she and thus was never the same prophecy could be made
evil.
IV
At last the time came and return home. Row
for us to raise our
camp
after
row
of black goat-
hair Fardies, filled with wheat, stood waiting to be loaded on to the backs of the camels. Every-
thing had been packed ready for the departure, which had been fixed for an early hour of the morning.
Amidst the wailing of the jackals and the darkness of the night, we had lain down to take our last rest in the old camp, filled with a feeUng
of sadness at the thought that, in spite of all its discomforts, we were about to leave it for ever.
Suddenly, just as the last cooings of the turtledoves were lulling us to sleep, the sound of a tiny bell was heard in the distance. Soon the tinkling was accompanied by a light, which rapidly drew
near.
Looking anxiously
:
Maskeen
Bara
esh
sharr
Poor
her
fellow
Evil.
A horseman with bell and torch dashed up. It was as the old soothsayer had expected a Bedawi boy had been bitten by a viper and according to custom a messenger had been sent with bell and torch to announce the sad news and search
:
44
for a
quickly prepared
plaster,
accident
into
many
woman's eyes. She knew that the boy would be dead before the remedy
arrived.
came
Im-Imhammad's
"
last
My
As
May
added
Allah
this
of the Kaffrain, there was a great commotion on the banks of the Jordan when we reached the great
and Fellahat were busy pouring the grain from the great Fardies on to out-spread sacks others were filling the Kirbies. Camels and donkeys were being stripped of their saddles and bound at the jaws. The swimmers stood in readiness and the non-swimmers had small inflated Se'in^ on their backs to help them across the
river.
Fellahin
stream.
At
A fierce June sun poured its rays upon us. last everybody had crossed. Those of my
* " Forbear to start on their starting day," that is, the day on which the soul leaves the body. " Neither wash on the day they are washed," a reference to the washing of the dead before entombment.
Small Kirbies.
A NARROW ESCAPE
45
caravan had already started on their journey, leaving me the last as usual to cross the Jordan once more and fetch my mare. Just as the last Fellah with his animals disappeared round the marly hills I popped into the water and struck out for the opposite bank. But no sooner had I clambered ashore than I heard a sound of galloping, and the next moment a fully-armed Bedawi, with his spear pointed towards
me, drew up. " Very glad to meet you/' he said, sarcastically. " I see you are a perfect swimmer, and I am glad to have arrived in time for I know nothing of your art. There is myself, my mare, a valuable shecamel and her young to be carried over the river.
at once to get us across, beginning with the animals. And take care you
Now, you
will set to
work
and
rifle will
be confiscated.
2tnd let
Moreover, you play me any your carcass to the Cheetahs soul go to hell-fire, which is your your
if
/ultimate
'
dog of an infidel Dismounting and seizing my mare by its bridle, he sat down on the sand and began, in a menacing
lot,
!
"
me
further orders
Now,
set to
work
cheerfully.
You had
better
^ begin with my 'Hamra, which you'll tie very fast on the other side. Then hurry back to take over her yoimg, for if you are lazy the mother will
*
red cow-camel.
5 (2131)
46
break loose and cross over to her calf. Then you would have to begin over again. This being done you will fetch me. I know you would not risk running away with my mare on this side the river, but you might do so on the western side and then So you take my mare the join your caravan. last and then do what you like, for I shall have no further need of your services. Come now, hurry
did.
Jordan with the Bedawi's red cow-camel. She bellowed continuously for her calf and pulled in the opposite
All the time direction, endeavouring to return. the swift current of the Jordan was carrying me down stream, trying my muscles weary with four
hours*
swimming
to the uttermost.
How I raged,
!
inwardly, at that ironical savage, and how ashamed I felt at being treated Uke a vile slave There
was nothing
cheerfully.
for
it,
When,
finally,
simply raving, and I had great difficulty in making her kneel down under the shadow of a lofty poplar and binding her knees, so that she could not rise.
second crossing was easy, the calf, like a Bedawiy6, followed calmly and with a look of confidence in her baby eyes. And no sooner
My
WILD THOUGHTS
had we landed than
it
47
its
galloped towards
for
mother, months.
return.
me on my
He was
back.
stripped and equipped with Se'in on his On his head, in a broad packet, were his
personal belongings and my rifle. *' " is This," he said, pointing to the bundle, the safest way. Allah is indeed great to have sent
work for me." As we stepped into the Jordan, a grim thought " flashed through my mind Suppose, when we " But the next reach mid-stream, I let him go ?
this infidel to
:
moment my
"
soul,
Christian
corrected
is
me.
after
all.
.
Besides,
.
.
the
cowardly one.
in that position would she sanction the abandonment of a fellow-creature ? No. She would
*
me
say
Why
did you
start
when
there
was a
? But you would have your own way, " and now you must bear the consequences.' Musing thus, I tightened my grip on the cord, and a few minutes later dragged the Bedawi ashore. " You have worked nicely," said the savage,
funeral
who, in spite of his authoritative words, looked " Now you can fetch terrified at the crossing. animal and as a reward I my mare, a prize will remain with you until you reach your caravan." I thanked him for his generosity, went back for the most valuable animal of all himself
;
48
included, and brought her over, as docile as the young camel. When all were gathered on the western banks of the Jordan I gave a great sigh
of relief.
Then
went to fetch
my
faithful
mare,
but a moment to dress on getting back, to seize my rifle which the Bedawi had placed against a willow, and to vault into the saddle. At that moment a boar and sow, with seven or
eight Uttle ones,
Athene. It took
me
came rushing
But
by.
all I
The Bedawi,
off in pursuit,
wanted was to flee from the scene of my adventure and reach my A word in Athene's ear was enough, friends. with a snort of joy and a bound she was off,
shouting to
me to follow.
and
and
in the sand, in
of our
Saleh el-Kaak, his sons and the other Fellahin caravan were waiting for me near the
ruins of *Ain-Sultan, beyond Jericho, wondering what had become of me, but, suffocated by the heat, making no attempt to find me. They
cursed the father of the Bedawi for having detained me then dismissed the matter from their minds. A long six hours' ride up the stony roads of
;
Judaea, a few ascents and descents on Mount Olivet, down the Kedron, up Moriah and Zion,
my
youth to a
close.
THE DREADED
V
"
"
WAKHAM "
"
?
49
Why
my
father, in Arabic,
when we
sunburnt indeed I thus been unrecognised by my own father He could not believe that a two months* sojourn in the Bedamn country could have produced so
!
complete a transformation.
*
'*
Is
it
Wakham, or malarial fever, that has " the boy in this condition ? asked the English put doctor of Jerusalem when I awoke after three " weeks unconsciousness. However, the danger
the dreaded
is
over now.
We
shall pull
him through,
after
all."
my
months
more.
It
death-trap of the Jordan again, and then only for a day or two at a time, on tour and under
vastly different conditions.
Ill
at his prayers,
and as he
prayed he combed his flowing pepper-and-salt beard. More than usual fervour entered, on this August evening, into his praying and his combing, for he was about to make a journey on which it was meet that Allah should lovingly watch over one of the descendants of his Prophet and that this descendant no other than the handsome, black-
eyed, aquiline-nosed, dark-skinned Sherif Muhammad Moosa himself should be impeccable in his
personal appearance. " Blessed be the name of Allah, who protecteth his servants in the hour of danger," murmured " the kneehng Muhammad Moosa. Watch, oh
!
aU powerful one, over Sherif Moosa and his companions. Grant that the camels stumble not, that they travel to Jerusalem unheeded and unharmed. Thrust aside from our path all with
inquisitive eyes, for thy servant is a who loveth not the use of force.
man
of peace,
But should, the enemies of thy servant stumble in perchance, his way, give him oh protector of those who
bring forth fruits from the soil smite and put them to shame."
50
the
strength to
KHALEEL'S TOILET
51
sound
made
of footsteps at the entrance to the the kneehng Fellah turn his head. It
hut
was
Khaleel Ibrahim, a dark-skinned, eagle-nosed, black-bearded man of thirty-five, dressed and equipped as though for a journey. His principal clothing consisted of the Thob, a white shirt with open front and wide sleeves, which revealed his hairy breast and bare arms almost up to the shoulders. On his head was a red cap, surrounded
on his feet were raw camel-hide shoes, known as Watta. Encircling his waist was a broad leather girdle, and to this were attached a number of iron hooks, to which were suspended a powder horn of solid
by a
large yellow
and
bullets for
pouch with a pipe, and a smaller pouch containing flint and steel and tinder, made from a composite plant called Soufaan. Khaleel Ibrahim had come to tell his chief that the hour for departure had arrived. Bringing his prayer to an abrupt termination, Muhammad Moosa rose to his feet and, as he arranged his immense green turban (a sign of his claim to prophetic descent) gave his orders.
piece of
workthis
complicated
arrangement
of the Sherif's
;
turban, his caps and their contents and one that took much longer than the giving of a few brief instructions regarding the loading of the
camels.
52
wore the red Tarbush, and between these the grey felt Lubbaad. Between the Lubbaad and
the Tarbush,
kept his cigarettepapers, his tax-papers and other documents, and tucked away between the three caps and the turban were Httle bottles of tar or scent and the
Muhammad Moosa
wooden comb with which, whilst saying his prayers, he daily combed his beard. The loading of the six camels was already well advanced when Muhammad Moosa issued into the open air. His five companions were quick and
skilful workers.
way under
his
much
as the master
would have been difficult to the whole length and breadth of the plains
it
of
ties
the
Philistines.
Personal
interests,
family
and the sympathy which springs up between men of the same town or region indissolubly bound them together. Khaleel Ibrahim was a native of Ashdod, one of the chief towns of
Philistia.
Ehmad Jabber, a young man of twentyhome from military service, was also Ethman Abd el-'Hei, although place.
had
so long
eight just
from that
bom
Uved in Ashdod, where he was married to two wives, Halime and Fatme, that he was regarded by Khaleel and Ehmad
in Gaza,
WEAPONS
as a brother townsman.
thirty years of age,
53
was from Shuweikeh, the Bibhcal Shochoh, where David slew Gohath.^ And the twenty-year-old Yesmain 'Ali, whose black beard was just sprouting, hailed from ^ 'Ain-Shams, the Beth-shemesh of the Bible. Yet these sons of the Philistines were singularly and diversified in their personal characteristics
to a certain extent also as regards their accoutrements. With his dandily-trimmed fair beard,
grey eyes and regular Grecian nose, Ehmad Jabber was an Apollo in comparison with Ethman Abdel-^Hei. Ethman, a man of close upon forty, had a thick Egyptian nose, a dark but scanty beard
well
accorded with his warlike equipment, consisting of a goodly selection of his comrades' arms and a formidable Naboot, an oak club, all in one piece, which could be used either against an enemy or simply to induce the camels to increase their pace. Ehmad' s favourite weapon was a curved,
double-edged dagger, modestly designated by the name Shibriyeh the span long, although, as Its sheath was usual, it was twice that length. ornamented with a brass plate, bearing his name, and this detail indicated a certain coquetry which appeared also in his dress. As a rule, his clothing difered but sUghtly from Khaleel's. But on the
present
^
occasion
xvii.
his
*
turban
I.
I.
Samuel
Samuel
54
His shoes or Surma, as they are called in Arabic were of blood-red, tanned sheep-leather, with camel-hide soles and
very pointed turned-up toes. And instead of the Abba, that brown and grey mantle almost universally adopted by the Fellahin of Palestine, he wore a dark blue and black cloak, called a Shaale. Abdallah Saleh's short and almost red beard, his blue eyes and fair skin, sunburnt and freckled, suggested descent from one of the Crusaders. His
equipment was much the same as that of the others. But his turban was brown, and behind the right ear the end of his hair-tuft, the Shushey by which
the Prophet will take up his own on the day of judgment was peeping out. people Over his shirt he wore a short yellow and white jacket, and on the third finger of his right hand was a silver ring with a huge stone, on which, as he was a municipal councillor of his native village, his name was engraved. With this ring, at times, he sealed official documents, thus dispensing with the signing of his name, which he would have found
Mohammed
a difficulty in doing.
including even
For, like
all
the others,
Sherif Moosa, he was illiterate. he had known a few letters, but all he Long ago could do now was to make out numbers, which he ** called Indian figures." His Shmaar, too, was ornamented by a couple of multicoloured tassels, made by a girl of Shuweikeh when, years ago, he had silently courted her.
55
There was evidence of a feminine hand also on young Yesmain ^AH's dress. His white cap, which he took good care should extend well below his red Tarbush, was neatly trimmed with silklaced ornaments, delicate work by one of his admirers of which he was mighty proud. There was a quaint mixture of refinement and savagedom about Yesmain ^Ali. Like every Fellah, his ears was diminutive and bent down by his caps and turban. His Thob was always pulled up under his girdle, leaving his legs bare to the knees, and in the pouch thus formed by his shirt he carried his handkerchief, his tobacco, and sometimes since he often went barefooted his shoes. In his waist-belt was stuck a Tubbar, an iron-headed hooked club, leaving his hands free to handle his gun, with which, when after partridges, or any big bird, he was an excellent shot. Muhammad Moosa himself took part in the loading of the last camel. Like Eleazar, he called it by its name and ordered it, with a guttural " sound, to bow" Ikh !-ikh !-ikh At the sound of its master's voice the animal knelt upon the level ground. Meanwhile, Khaleel and AbdaUah had brought forth the huge black goats' hair sacks with which it was to be loaded, some four to five hundred pounds weight in aU,
The camel,
was provided
56
with a pack-saddle, with a deep cavity in the middle for the hump and two thick poles attached right
and
left J
To
these sticks were tied the ropes to hold the load in place and a girdle to keep the saddle in position.
into three:
resting
on the saddle's
Howell!
"
was securely
cried Sherif Moosa, when everything fixed, and the camel rose, to take its
place with the others in a long file, the halter-rope of one attached to the tail-strap of another.
II
The final preparations for departure had been made and Sherif Moosa, with his hand on the guiderope of the leading camel, had given the order
to start.
the
little
Slowly, in the half light of evening, band moved over the plains of the
Philistines.
Long, waiUng sounds were beginning to fill the whole of the lowlands the voices of jackals hunting about for carcasses or other debris. One jackal responded to another, then two, then ten, then twenty, and finally hundreds, all howling No one is afraid of them, since they together. never attack man nor are they afraid of men, who pass them by unheeded. On these fertile plains, from Jaffa to Gaza and from Ascalon to Zoreah and the rock of
:
FELLAH INDEPENDENCE
57
Etam, the hiding-place of Samson/ are miles upon miles of beautiful wheat and barley-fields. There are tobacco plants, too, growing from two to six feet in height, and the dry leaves of which the Turkish Government buys and monopolizes. But the modern Fellah of Palestine is a true descendant of the Phihstines, he has in no way changed in character, and he starts like Sherif Muhammad Moosa and his companions to sell his tobacco by smuggling it into Jerusalem. He knows that, on the long way winding up the Vale of Sorek (Wad-es-Sarrar) and on the lowlands, no Government agent would dare to venture. It was common
knowledge that anyone approaching a party of smugglers would be shot down without mercy.
This was their land and their tobacco, not the hated Turks'. They were legitimately defending their own possessions, the fruit of long hours of It was war to the toil under the broiling sun. bitter end should any intruder attempt to bar
their
of
the Plain
Rephaim, near Jerusalem. Although they knew that they were in all security in these byways (unless some spy should denounce them, which was unUkely), Moosa 's men did not neglect to keep a sharp look out to right
and
"
and with their guns ever ready. Masha Allah By God's will, our camels are strong and good," said Ethman Abd-el-'Hei
left,
!
Judges XV.
8.
58
to Abdallah Saleh, who was immediately in front of him. " And Allah, in his goodness, has put out the
moon
"
in
young Yesmain
"
get the tobacco over the walls of Jerusalem." " All in good time," exclaimed Khaleel Ibrahim. " Allah will not abandon his servants in the hour
of need.
Besides,
Ehmad
Jabber and
have a
We
will
to take part in the conversation. From time to time he encouraged the animals to maintain their
pace for four kilometres an hour with a sharp cry " of Allah Ya musahel ! Oh leveller of the " road Sometimes he would utter the warning " Look out, mind the stones " whereIkhly upon the leading camel would carefully avoid the
! ! ! !
up
of listening, would turn his large inteUigent head in the direction of the voice, chewing the cud the
while.
To
kill
tonous air on eagle-wing bones and ornamented with a few primitive drawings. The camels much appreciated this music, lifting up their heads and " " Ikhly affecting a few dancing steps, until once more reminded them to beware.
!
time,
Moosa
A REPTILE ACCOMPLICE
59
Shortly after midnight the smugglers passed near to one of the tobacco growing villages. As there was still room on the camels, Moosa decided to increase his store by means of a trick well known
his accomplice, the weU-known big thorny stalue-lizard, Hardon of Palestine, which is about seven inches
to tobacco-thieves.
the
lizard
was
in length, with long claws and a very resisting ^ It runs up the walls very quickly and tail.
lays hold of
it
by
its
its
grip.
any stone or bush it can find. Catch tail and pull, and the harder it tightens Knowing this peculiarity, Moosa took
it
advantage of
Ibrahim,
lizards with
who
a leather bag, produced one of them, and, attaching a cord to its tail, tossed it on to the flat top of one of the village houses, where the smugglers suspected that tobacco leaves might be suspended on strings to dry. The Hardon, in its endeavours to escape, attached As soon itself to one of the strings and held tight.
as Khaleel' s experienced hand felt that his living fishing-tackle had got a firm hold, he puUed hard
him
Esmain, the road led through the dry river bed, strewn with huge washed-down stones. The only sign of the past winter's moisture were a few Agnus castus plants.
In the terrible
Wady
p. 20.
60
Along the high cHffs and in the almost impenetrable brushwood a few leopards the last of their kind
or a lamb, that might come that way. ^ Day was about to break when, on the second
of their march, the file of camels reached the Bether of Solomon's Song. ^ Moosa
and dusty, camped under the olive-groves. Weary, too, were the animals, requiring no invitation to kneel down and be
his
men,
tired
relieved
of
the sacks of
promptly hidden away to be ready in case of emergency. Soon, everyone (even the guardians) was sound asleep, everyone save the young sportsman Yesmain 'Ali, who, ere he lay down to rest, sUpped away with the quietness of a leopard in the direction of one of the
vineyards,
now
full of
Hamdany, the
largest
and
most luscious grapes in Palestine. As quick as lightning, he lifted the hedge and filled the corner of his Abba with sufficient fruit to last the
party for the day. In a few minutes he was back again a moment later he himself was slumbering. And for two hours the only sounds that could be heard were the heavy breathing of the sleepers and
;
the brushwood
by the
frugal
Since the building of the Jaffa to Jerusalem railway in 1892 leopards have entirely disappeared from this region.
2
ii.
17.
61
to Sherif
Khaleel Ibrahim and Ehmad Jabber had unfolded Moosa their plan for frustrating the vigi-
lance of the tobacco-inspector of Jerusalem and it had received the chief's approval. They had
talked the matter over whilst eating Yesmain All's grapes, and the outcome of their conversation
was that Ehmad Jabber had been deputed to set out immediately and with all speed for Jerusalem, a distance of eight miles from Battir. The day was still young when Ehmad, having
passed through the fertile Valley of the Roses with its many fountains one of which, near Welejeh, is said to be PhiHp's Well^ reached his
The FeUahat were still passing in and out of the Jaffa Gate with their round baskets of vegetables, or, squatting on the ground in the
destination.
were offering them for sale. Ehmad lost no time in proceeding to the house of the Inspector, situated near the Damascus Gate, and found the 2 Bowaab, clothed in a spotless white gown and with an equally immaculate turban on his head,
street,
sitting at the entrance, reciting his prayers marking the repetitions on his rosary.
and
"
"
Acts of the Apostles, viii. 36. One of the black janitors of Takrur, who, on account of their
6 (ai3i)
62
"
"
home
"
?
Wallah musch ^aref, By God, I know not/' answered the janitor evasively, for Hke all Orientals he was cautious in replying to direct questions.
asked Ehmad.
Ehmad Jabber made a sign to the keeper of the nearest coffee-house to bring him two cups of moka and a small chair. When he had sat
down in the street and begun sipping the hot coffee with evident delight, he made further preparations for a lengthy stay by ordering two narghiles.
Whilst the rose-water in the bottles of the pipes was gently bubbling and the smokers inhaled long draughts of the sweet-scented Persian Tombak (the only tobacco fit for a narghile), they conversed about the scarcity of water in Jerusalem, the danger of a locust invasion and the trying times, as though the Inspector had been long forgotten. But he was ever uppermost in Ehmad' s mind, and he kept wondering how he should once more Better speak of the introduce the subject. it would be much matter no more, he decided
. . .
patiently until the Effendi appeared. So, when his first pipe was smoked, he called for a second, which
the Kahwadji, or coffee-house keeper, prepared and presented in the orthodox manner. The Tombak was washed, the darkest water was squeezed away, the tobacco was piled on the
head and the live coals were applied. with his hand on his breast, the Kahwadji Then,
pipe's
PILGRIMAGES TO MECCA
set
63
the pipe in front of his customer a customer indeed, since he could afford to wealthy sit there and smoke two consecutive narghiles
!
down
and
tiful
respectfully offered
of beau-
green leather, with its ivory mouthpiece. Tefaddal If you please," said the Madani, or townsman, in his own manner and idiom.
"
*'
Eesht,
May
you
replied
the
instantly resumed countryman, briefly. his conversation with the Bowaab, hoping every moment that the Inspector would not be long. By this time he had learnt that the janitor's name was 'Hadj Imhammad Abu Bekr and had heard how he had come by his title, viz., by a seven
And he
white man can receive years' stay in Mecca. the title of 'Hadj (pilgrim) after a single pilgrimage,
but a negro must be present seven times at the great feast of ^Arafat to be entitled to add it to his name. And Imhammad Abu Bekr commented on this
manifest injustice until Ehmad, whose thoughts were elsewhere, was conscious only of a meaningless
torrent of words.
At last, about twelve o'clock, Ehmad's patience was rewarded. There was a sound of quick footsteps along a corridor and the Inspector, a small-statured man with a clean shaven face and diminutive moustache, and dressed, save for his
fez,
like
European,
appeared
through
the
:
entrance. "
I
64
"
asked the Inspector, whose name was Abd-el-Kareem. A note of distrust and disdain, ever present in relations between townsmen
and countrymen, or
his voice.
vice versa,
was apparent
in
have information regarding some tobacco smugglers," replied the Fellah, in a low tone. " But we must speak apart, if you would hear
I
all."
"
Abd-el-Kareem, who was in the custom of receiving information from outsiders spies and traitors who readily sold themselves for a few pieces of silver walked a little way down the When well out of street, with Ehmad at his side. earshot, Ehmad Jabber told a circumstantial story *' " enemies of how he had discovered that certain of his were on their way from the direction of Damascus with a consignment of tobacco how he had followed them under cover of the darkness and, through overhearing a conversation in an olive-grove, had learnt the hour at which they intended to smuggle their cargo over the Golden
Gate. "
swiftness of an eagle, I left them to talk over their evil designs," continued Ehmad. " For I was anxious that the Effendi should receive
With the
the news and be ready to place his all-powerful hand on these miscreants. But I have a condition to make and only on that condition can I lead you, at the appointed hour, to the place where the
A TRUSTFUL EFFENDI
65
smugglers will pass their goods over the walls, namely, that you come alone and that when I have pointed out the band you will allow me to depart and hide. For I fear the vengeance of my enemies and would flee from them as before a
leper."
Abd-el-Kareem Effendi readily consented to this quite natural condition. Ehmad was a bom actor and the manner in which he displayed fear at every mention of his terrible enemies would have deceived a much astuter man than the Inspector. Besides, the Effendi was in a conFor dition, psychologically, to be deceived. months he had been on the look out for an opportunity to distinguish himself and win protection and here, at last, he saw his chance of rising to a higher position and escaping from his generally
;
humdrum
life.
The two men promised each other strict secrecy, and the Effendi having told his informant to be sure to call him at the appointed hour, they parted. And whilst Ehmad, with a faint smile on his handsome face, hied to a favourite coffee-house, where he knew he would be sure to meet more than one
person interested in the illicit tobacco trade, the overjoyed Inspector hastened away to give orders
aU his forces to lie in ambush near St. Stephen's Gate and to keep a sharp look out in the direction of the Damascus road, whence the Fellah had told him the smugglers were coming.
to
66
Meanwhile, Muhammad Moosa was still in camp at Battir, south west of Jerusalem. The evening meal was in course of preparation, a frugal meal
of grapes
Prophet Elijah.
Every way-
faring Fellah, carrying his flour in a leather bag, the Jrab, made of the skin of a kid, knows how to
prepare these unleavened cakes and, like the children of Israel,^ bake them on a roadside
fire.
set,
again brought forth, and quickly and silently the camels were loaded. The men inspected their weapons. Swords were slightly oiled, so that they could be easily drawn from the wooden
scabbards.
The
flints of
was loaded, so that, in case of need, everyone would have firearms in double. There is no more suspicious person in the
pistol
world than a Fellah. Friend or foe, smuggler or honest camel-driver, are all to be avoided in the darkness of the night.
three villages of Battir, Welejeh and Malha could be passed without being observed, for all are about a mile or so from the main road or the
The
dry river-bed, and Fellahin go to bed early. The German colony on the Plain of Rephaim presented no very serious difficulty, although the colonists
*
I.
Kings xix.
6.
Exodus
xii.
39.
GATES OF JERUSALEM
had
67
lights and, even up to a late hour, were about their homes, or in the beer-houses. Foreigners in
or nothing of the doings or even the language of the inhabitants of the coun-
Palestine
know
little
try.
But there was some danger in crossing the Valley of Hinnom and in skirting the walls of
Jerusalem,
past
Dung
The
Gate,
senti-
Temple.
consequently all these danger points were passed without incident. Since the doors of Jerusalem close about sunset,
fairly dark,
so that
city save
through
the Jaffa Gate, on the western side, the Turkish sentinels posted near the five other entrances
are not habitually vigilant ; the nearer midnight approaches the more they are inclined to slumber.
the August night when Sherif Muhammad Moosa and his six camels drew near to the walls of
On
Jerusalem they were all sound asleep. The only watchers were Abd-el-Kareem Effendi and Ehmad Jabber, waiting above the Golden Gate, and the
Inspector's soldiers at St. Stephen's Gate, futilely peering into the darkness and straining their ears to catch the sound of camels and men on the
march,
The
only other wakeful living things on the eastern walls of the Holy City were hundreds of ravens
which croaked and flew up and down the fortifications as though conscious that this quiet
68
and nearer the silent-footed camels approached. Moosa and his men spoke not a word. All their thought and energy was centred on the idea that they might have to fight, on the danger
Nearer
eerie surroundings. could not suppress a kind of superstitious They terror, inspired by the indistinct outlines of the
of their enterprise,
on their
The round head-like stones which project over the tombs in the Mohammedan cemetery (the tombs of believers haunted by the ghosts of those who had done evil in their lifetime)
walls
and
buildings.
looked like so many guardians peeping out to detect them ; the sacred dome of the Mosque of Omar on the Haram above seemed like a gigantic mountain ready to topple over and crush them.
Sherif Moosa wondered whether Ehmad Jabber had
and his soldiers at they have to fight, after all ? The Muazzin on the minaret beyond the precincts of the Temple called the faithful to prayer " Hei u 'alia saleh, Awake and to your " It was midnight. prayers
Just then the well-known voice of Ehmad rang out through the stillness of the night " " Friend or foe ? " Friend," answered Muhammad, who was still with the leading camel.
:
-y*"**
69
And quietly and quickly he ordered his men to make the camels kneel against the walls^ awaiting
the signal for passing the tobacco into the city. " They are here, Effendi/' whispered Ehmad to
Abd-el-Kareem. " But they must have deviated from the Damascus road and so escaped the attention of the soldiers at St. Stephen's Gate. However, they shall not slip through our fingers. I have an idea. I will let you down the walls by a rope then I will go and inform the soldiers at St. Stephen's Gate and whilst you are meeting them below I will rouse the sentinels, who surely must be slumbering at their posts. In this way we shall cut off their retreat they will be as though within the meshes of a net. Quick, Effendi we must act promptly, otherwise the
;
enemy
a rope from beneath his Thob and was fastening one end around
Already
Abd-el-Kareem' s waist. The Inspector, overanxious about his future, at once fell in with the Fellah's proposals, and a few moments later was being slowly lowered over the waUs. But when
The cunhalf-way down his progress stopped. Ehmad Jabber had gained his ends. Securely ning fastening the rope to a projecting piece of rock, he left the Effendi to swing in the air and grapple against the wall's rough masonry. A few minutes later, and not fifty yards away from where Abd-el-Kareem, foaming with rage,
70
was hanging, Ehmad's strong young arms had assisted Yesmain Ali to scale the walls of JeruTogether they hauled up the sacks of tobacco and passed them through the Temple to the well-known shops.
Sherif
salem.
Muhammad
drivers were half-way home again when, late the next morning, the scorched and exhausted Inspector was delivered from his trying position. His first impulse was to make known this outrage on a Government official and seek out the offending
accomplices, but, feeling as foolish as a fox taken in by a hen, he wisely decided to say nothing more about it, and thus the truth was
IV
EHMAD IMHAMAD'S
I
VISION
2nd Sura
of
HAD
the Koran and was puzzled as to its exact meaning. European translators have not always been precise, either in their translation of the Torah (Pentateuch) or in that of the
their
efforts,
Koran
in spite of all
oracles
have
remained
:
obscure.
However, here is very nearly the wording of the original text which set me thinking " They (unbelieving Jews) have followed the works which the demons prepared against King Solomon. (These works, as Yahia explains, were books of magic which the demons had hidden under the throne of Solomon. After the king's death they brought them forth and made the people believe that the king's knowledge came from these books.) Solomon remained fervent and the demons alone were unbelievers. They taught men the art of magic and the knowledge of the two angels Haroot and Maroot in Babylon. (Haroot and Maroot, Yahia continues to say, were sent to the earth, to Babylon, to teach justice.
They indeed judged with equity until Venus, in aU her splendour, came to plead against her husband. The Angels were dazzled by her beauty and charms, and told her of their feelings, whereupon she vanished. Consequently they were condemned
71
72
to
Babylon
until
Judgment Day.)
:
The Angels
We
told everybody before teaching him are the temptation, do not act against the
belief.
They taught concerning those things which bring forth division between a woman and her
husband.
But, without Allah's
will,
they could harm nobody. They taught what was harmful, nothing useful. They did not know that whoever buys books of magic cannot possess manners and clothes in a future hfe."
How comes it, thought I, on reading this condemnation of magic, based on an older passage
in the
Hebrew
dervish of the
that
much
information regarding those of his calling, should possess books of magic and foretell events
in the sand
?
by reading them
idea of consulting
Immediately the
him on the subject occurred to me. But where was he Hkely to be found ? As he was a wandering dervish and gained a livelihood by his art, he might be wandering about the Plains of Sharon, somewhere between Ekron, the ancient
^ Baal-zebub, Naby-Rubin, near the mouth of the River Rubin, and Sheikh Sidna 'Ali, north of
Unless he were on the banks of the green River *Auja ? There was but one way of deciding the question, to jump astride my horse and seek
Jaffa.
Deuteronomy
II.
xviii. 10-11.
it is
Flies (zebub) are so numerous there that no wonder they were considered as a power, and power is a
Kings
i.
16.
god.
THE DERVISH
him
out.
73
Accordingly
Beit Dejan, near to the place where Dagon had his temple in the days of the Philistines. But he had
Lydda
or
However,
after
espied him sitting near Btr-ez-Zeibak, known as the well where St. George met the dragon. He was dreaming in the sun, his short spear,
ornamented with green and red ribbons round the base of the blade, stuck in the ground near him. His long black hair, parted in the middle, fell over his shoulders, and, since it had been freshly
anointed with
sunshine.
oil
He wore
with a leather belt. and a satchel containing several tin cases, in which he kept his dervish diplomas, a few pieces of incense and alum, a few dates and figs, and a
small square book, tightly wrapped in green and red cloth and tied with silk strings. His bare
feet, as well as his
scrupulously clean,
brown face and arms, were for he had not forgotten any
of his regular five prayers, including his ablutions, In his right hand he held a for a very long time.
short
Mehjane, which most dervishes carry about with them, since it is said to have the power to heal the sick and drive away It reminded me of the rod of Moses. ^ serpents.
rod,
almond
the
Exodus
vii.
74
mare, I tethered her to an olive tree and walked towards him with a greeting. " Good morning, oh Sheikh " " A hundred mornings with peace be yours,
!
Alighting from
Abu Tuna,"
replied
in
Ehmad Imhamad.
the
:
He
called
me by
generally went
the Father of
daughter.
I
name under which I the East Abu Tuna, i.e.j Fortuna, the name of my eldest
tobacco-pouch and apologized for having forgotten the matches. Without wasthe opened a small leather purse and ing words, bringing out a square flint stone, a piece of steel and the fibres of a dry plant set them down beside us. After we had rolled our cigarettes in silence,
handed him
my
he struck
saying
"
fire
"
as
I
: May its heat spare you." And may you never feel
its evil,"
repHed,
prepared to light my cigarette. A few more compliments passed between us, after which we sat smoking in silence and as the blue clouds went up in circles both of us meditated,
;
I thinking of how to begin the conversation and he of the questions that the Franji (Frank) had
come to ask him. It was Ehmad who at last broke the silence. " ** Peace to you. How are you ? " " Thanks God's peace be with you," said I. II Hamdu to Allah, the Lord of the Universe,
/.
H. Hcdladjian, Haifa
Dervish
ORIENTAL COMPLIMENTS
lillah
75
to see
Rab
el
'Alameen,
!
came merely
Your
!
politeness
I
but a child compared to you and your exquisite ways. Now that I have seen you, I beg you to allow me to continue on my
am
way." Saying which I rose and stretched out my hand. But he took it and pulled me down to him, saying " Stay awhile. It is some time since we talked. Are you in a hurry ? Remember that Hurry is from Satan. God preserve us Put away your ideas and let us have a chat." Franji Only too willing to do as he bid me, I sat down and touched his bag.
: !
took out his book of magic. " avoid that evil work. You No," he said, know that, though I read it and by its help find the clue to many mysteries unknown to the sons of Adam, it really is wicked to use it. And I have taken a secret oath that I will destroy it as soon as Fate (Naseeb) calls me to a better way. To tell
"
Ah What is And I
"
is.
you the
to
me
truth, they (the Jan or Genii) have revealed so many starthng things that I think it is
to
You know,
76
that
Iblis (the devil) lived quietly in Paradise, before there were human beings, he had long
Eve, and commanded Iblis to worship Adam, he refused and blasphemed with his children, 1 whereupon he was called Shatam, or Blasphemer, and sent to Earth with all his But as he drank Eternal Life Water he people. roams about until Resurrection Day doing whatever harm he can to the sons of Adam. He it was who taught Haroot and Maroot the art of
created
sorcery
I
Adam and
and magic,
so that
harm would
continue."
was glad that Ehmad Imhamad had touched on the subject I had at heart, and I knew that once he had started he would tell me much more, provided that I did not show eagerness to know his
secrets at once.
"
the
in a
You know
hills of
Well, thanks to my book and cabahstic signs, he appeared to me right in his It was a shrine, in the forest above Beit-Mahsir.
low
voice.
Thursday evening and I sat there beating my drum, accompanying cymbals and drums which were being beaten by unseen legions in honour of
the Wely, as the spirits of departed dervishes
*
Koran, Sura
ii.
verse 32.
THE
usually do devotions.
I
'AJAMI
in
77
their
the act
of
burning
incense
burst
when suddenly a bright yellowish light forth near the Mehrab (prayer-niche) and the
'Ajami himself appeared in long flowing robes, amidst the clash of golden cymbals and the beating of a silver drum covered with gazelle hide. He bowed and rose, surrounded by green and red fires,
the smoke of which the Mosque (Jame*) only, unlike ordinary smoke, it did not hurt the eyes but gave forth a precious odour of rosewater and myrrh. Neither move nor speak,'
filled all
; *
Beware
of
by words.
Listen to
shall
all
that I have to
tell
you
perhaps
awe
dead
and
all
will
silk
vanish.'
cushions
all
Acquiescing in my heart, I felt soft about me, and when I was tired
my
position was changed, as if someone had guessed my feelings. At the same time the 'Ajami began to speak in a clear voice, softer than the evening
murmured in the fir-trees round his more melodious than the song of the abode, thistle-finch and yet as energetic as if his words had been of steel. He gave me permission to repeat every word of what he said, if I chose to do so when back again among humans but at the same time, as I was then a sorcerer, he called upon me to abandon magic and follow God.
breeze which
;
7 (2131)
78
Of course, as long as
could not utter the
by
my
wicked
art, I
'
name
'
of Allah.
My
God
^ was not efficacious, so I preserve us from him left that for others to pronounce. But thanks to the Creator of the Universe, I am back again, Him,
and thanks to my Lord the 'Ajami, though I am not of his dervishes, I found the right way once more. " If I change my Listen,' said the 'Ajami.
* *
do not attempt to follow me, for I will let you hear me no matter how far away I am.' And saying this he took breath and stood above the ground, with his spear turned in the direction of El Kuds esh Shareef (Jerusalem).
place or go further
off,
'Ajami and a Stranger I always was. I know that the sons of Adam think my name means *' a Persian " or "the bearer of date-stones," but I know best. I was created in Paradise with
is
'
My name
and
in his
wisdom AUah
knew that some would be his servants for ever, some were destined to go down on Earth and be
human
welies
;
some would revolt against his orders for a fraction of eternity and be converted again, whUst others would be turned into hell-fire and, with Paradise is the Ibhs, do harm among mankind. garden above the skies and from the central roots of the central tree flow brooks of milk and honey. As I was among the Just, I was allowed to drink
*
He
Ehmad Imhamad would not willingly repeat Satan's name. " him " or " them." almost invariably said either
A MONSTROUS ANGEL
79
the water of the Kowthar River, the principal stream in Eden, which flows in a bed of precious stones with the very banks all strewn with gems. Its water giving eternal life is sweeter than honey, whiter than milk, colder than snow,
than cream, and I carried it to my lips in silver cups deposited there for the use of the Just. As I was a Stranger, El Kadri, El Badawi, El Dsuki and El Erfal were jealous that I should
softer
same privilege as many others of the and always strove against me, knowing that I Just was destined to go to Earth and become a Wely. I again met these leaders of dervish orders in Palestine and they fought against me and still continue to do so.
receive the
"
first
Now
recollect that
when Allah
created the
Angel as was revealed to our prophet later, he was so enormous that he had 70,000 heads and each head had 70,000 faces, each face 70,000 mouths and each mouth 70,000 tongues. Each tongue could speak 70,000 dialects, and as God's praise
was being sung by every tongue a new spiritual Thus were the creature, an Angel, was formed. seven heavens peopled. But one of the clans had Iblis, with his children, the Jan, as chief, and when Allah finally created Adam and ordered Iblis to worship this last creation, he refused and was turned out of heaven with his host to Hve on the islands and on the mountains of the earth, ^ or
*
Koran, Sura
ii.
32.
80
to go to
and fro on the face of the earth, ^ where they will have time to repent until Judgment Day, whilst the most wicked were sent to Jehunum
(Hell) to
Aouzi Billah ! My exclaimed the 'Ajami at this strength point, and his voice thundered through the stillness of the night, for the dervishes had vanished and only the sacred yellow Hght continued to
fill
that place.
"
!
"
is
in
God
July day.
**
*
Adam was
as tall as a
palm
was very
beautiful,' continued ate of the forbidden fruit and were put down they on earth. ^ As the sons of Adam multiply and die
my
the righteous go back to Paradise, where, as a recompense, Allah has commanded that the most
delicious fruits shall
silver plate
be presented to them on a an angel. None but good believers by and such as have observed the Koran and fasted
in
Ramadan will receive the fruit. The Moslem who opens it sees a splendid Houri come out.
These Houris are of four different colours, the sacred colours of Islam the first white, the second green, the third yellow, and the fourth red.
:
Their bodies are composed of saffron, musk, amber and incense and should they spit on the ground the whole place will smell of musk. They have no veils and show their black eyebrows they rest
; ;
under pearl-embroidered
1
Job
i.
7.
Sura
vii.
178.
Sura
vii.
23.
HIGH PLACES
81
couches of rubies, each with seventy mattresses, on which seventy slaves attend them, with their maids, each holding a new suit of light transparent
clothes for a change ; and they are transparent unto the bones. " But in spite of all heavenly delights, those children of Allah came to the earth and took wives
*
from the sons of Adam, ^ and though they had been taught Allah's laws and reUgion, they soon followed
Jan and the Shairim, who led them to evil. They worshipped Baal and Ashteroth, and put up idols on the high mountains, upon the hills, and under every green tree.^ Of course, my abode here in Beit-Mahsir is like the abodes of all the Just men and Welies spread all over Palestine we have simply taken
the teachings
of
the
the places of the older gods. For, in spite of the efforts of the lawgivers to break down the altars, destroy the pillars and burn the groves, mankind
has always liked these retired places best and come back to them. Now, when they continued, Allah sent the Torah by Moses. To him be But without success. The prayers and peace
!
Jews continued in the old ways and worshipped the gods whom their forefathers had worshipped. Once he changed them into monkeys for having worked on a sabbath on the shores of the Red Sea. But still they continued in their idolatrous
1
Genesis
vii.
2.
xii.
Leviticus xvii.
7.
'
Deuteronomy
2.
82
ways. After showing patience for 500 years He found them worshipping Shairim.^ So Allah sent the Gospel (Ingile) by 'Esa, the son of Mary. Prayer and peace be to him. But the Christians
again set up idols in their temples and worshipped in the high places. Finally, the Prophet to him be prayers and peace came and received the
!
table.
But
still
the
people beheved that they (the Jan) could be worshipped and still they continue to believe in their
power Christians, Jews, and Moslems alike. " The Jan were submitted to Solomon. Peace be to him They were ordered by Allah to work for him, and how could he have built the temple, the pillars, the molten sea and his palaces without When Solomon was overlooking their aid ? ^ his Jan workers, now and then one would disobey, and immediately he was sent to hell. They were
'
!
so frightened
by
when
'Ozrael
the Angel of Death, cut short Solomon's days, as he was sitting leaning on his stick, he remained
years in the position of an overseer though dead, and had not a worm gnawed the stick, causing the dead king to fall down, they
for forty
would never have known what had happened and would have continued their work.* " When *Esa was on earth (to him be prayers
*
I.
8
*
13.
JAN CONVERTS
and peace
!)
83
always like to be, took possession of Mary Magdalene and were driven out by him. ^ Of course, some were converted to Judaism, others to Christianity, and when the Prophet (to whom be peace !) was reading the Koran at daybreak under a palmtree, seven Jewish Jan listened and were so impressed that they rose and were converted to
Islam
verts
2
among
became Moslems.
so
that
prayed these Jan would respectfully arise and Hsten in awe. They first lived in Arabia and Nineveh, but by and by approached and followed in the traces of mankind. They tried to enter Paradise again, but were repelled by meteors, which we still see. " Happily there are innumerable good angels, of whom 70,000 pray daily in the celestial Kaaba. They have brought down to Mecca the model of an earthly Kaaba, which was built by Jan by divine order. Every man has his guardian angels
' :
two by day and two by night, who write down every deed and carry it, alternately, to the throne
of Allah, awaiting Judgment Day. Every beUever looks at his angels at the end of his prayers he turns his head right and left, for then they are on his shoulders. " In his divine providence. He has allowed
; '
Luke
viii.
2.
Sura
xlvi. 28.
Sura
Ixxii.
13.
84
the different spirits to take different forms to accomplish their various functions and as they generally live in caves and all places underground
they very often share not only human joy and sorrow but also partake of human food and on solemn occasions use human garments. For instance, should the imprudent,
of
Adam live,
when sowing
things home,
it before the family, to sleep, rising or washing, starting from home, dressing or undressing, omit to say Bism Illah (In the name of Allah), the
laying
it
in the
oven or putting
drinking or lying
down
ever-ready Jan have a good opportunity and carry away their share to feast on it. And good
they have, for there are many wicked people among the three churches here in the land. Certainly the Jan make no difference between them. Every denomination has to use its own formula they cannot approach a Jew who has
times
Adonai
^'
in mind, nor a Christian who never forgets the name of the cross." They seem to take
pleasure in teasing imprudent behevers, but will not trouble with freethinkers. " As on earth, there are men and women
'
Jan, and sometimes they intermarry with humans. Does not the Torah say that they
among the
to
came
in
*
Female Jan sometimes fall marry ? love with humans, and are very jealous and
Genesis
vi.
2.
HAUNTED
strike
SITES
85
they smile at other women, so that " these men have the earth's sickness." ^ When in human habitations they prefer the hearth living
them^
if
and the threshold therefore, humans never step on the threshold on entering a room, and never pour water on the hearth, which would be followed by immediate punishment, as the Jan will not suffer their dweUing -place to be soiled. They have always Hved there. Some are behevers, ^ and as you do not know them you had better never interfere with them. This was always known. -Did not the old lawgiver Moses (to him be peace !) forbid his people to revile the ^ Alhim, which are the same as the Jan. " Wherever Nature has been most wonderful the Jan will certainly be found. Springs of water, waterfalls, rivers, wells, deserts and curious rocks, cliffs and seas, caverns and mountain tops
;
*
are
all Maskoon (inhabited by Jan). They are able to take whatever form they please. Thus,
in Tiberias, legions of
and are
if
vigilant
Jan warm the hot springs not to miss the imprudent intruder
he forgets his duty. But, curious to say, there " is no " Bismillah In olden days necessary. on Mount Sinai it was forbidden to take the name of Jehovah in vain, * but the command becoming
useless, as the people
they
1
all of
them now,
^
mosques or
Epilepsy.
Sura
Ixxii.
*
Exodus
xxii. 28.
Exodus xx.
86
But Allah
is
merciful
The precious metals, mines and treasures are specially guarded by Guardian Spirits or Rasads. All take forms here as a ram butting, there as a camel or a foal, again as an old Sheikh or a young bride.
:
"
high roads and human habitations, on sandy wastes and rocky regions there is the Ghul, which, as its name indicates, is insatiable and often devours women and children.
**
'
Away from
Most
of
of animals
and are
called dog, cat, wolf, fowl, lion, ram, camel, raven, eagle, serpent and so forth ; therefore you must " never say to a child I will give you to the wolf "
or "Raven, come and take it," as they obey to the letter. The Ghul will certainly appear in the
and seize what, he was bidden to take away. thoughtlessly, ** As Paradise has hving beings, water, food and trees, animals have not been altogether excluded. But only such as have been of use to Holy Men during their sojourn on earth have received admission and can be seen there. First of all there is the ram, which was sacrificed by Abraham on Moriah, feeding in the meadows, as well as the lamb of Ishmael, the cow which Moses ^ the whale which presented to the Israehtes, swallowed Jonah, the ant which Solomon set
of a wolf or that of a raven
*
form
Numbers
xix. 2.
ANIMALS IN PARADISE
87
forth as an example, ^ the hoopoe which was in the temple at Jerusalem, the ass which carried Jesus
to Jerusalem on Palm-Sunday, the horse which carried EUjah to heaven, and which was the
same as El Khadr (St. George) used to fight the dragon, the dog which watched at the entrance to the cave of the seven sleepers, the camel which carried away Mohammed in the Hegira from Mecca, and finally the bees which have healing
The 'Ajami now paused a moment to see what effect his words had had upon me. Being spiritualised, I could read his thoughts, and knew that he would now take me through the air and under the ground, to shrines and sanctuaries, and show me every spot in the length and breadth of
On my forehead he set an amulet of on which was written, We gave Solomon paper power over the tempest; it blew morning and 3 and, taking me up on his shoulders, evening,'
the land.
*
left
"
it
takes to
el
Holies in Jerusalem, where we saw myriads of We flew to the Dead spirits at their devotions.
Sea.
there, dancing and making as in Lot's days. Suddenly I found myself merry on Mount Carmel, where the wicked spirits of the
* '
6.
Sura xvi.
70.
11.
88
Then we
;
a country overflowing Egypt, south of Gaza with Jan, who become more numerous once you are out of the Holy Land. It was there that I noticed how many Jan followed the humans, just
as though they were their shadows, with their feet stuck to their feet and their heads below the
earth.
We
saw
them
sorrowing
at
funerals,
rejoicing at weddings,
tricks, especially
ing a
and playing mischievous among the young people. Passcemeteries, I saw old and young
spirits
*
graves. 'Ajami put said in a whisper, Speak not a word should you see departed friends, for they are waiting here for
human
to
their
miserable company.'
CEMETERIES
monsters, which
I
89
knew
and disappearing at will, and I wished in my heart I had been at home with my wife and children. But the 'Ajami thought I had not yet seen enough,
so he set
me down on
I
Mamilla,^ where
teries
belonging to departed Moslems. There also was Zion with its Christian tombs of every denomination, and, possessing the power to see through the slopes to the Mount of Olives, my
on slabs without number in Hebrew which told me that they covered the Jews waiting around the Sanctuary for the sound of the trumpet to arise and be judged by Mohammed. " Whenever I had a wish the 'Ajami knew it. Having had no explanation about that which divides a woman from her husband,' he once more carried me to the Moslem quarter, above the Damascus Gate, and showed me ugly female
eyes
fell
*
spirits
accompanying pregnant women and newly married damsels. That is the Kariny,' ^ said
'
^ 2
of Gihon.
Perhaps Kariny," {'\r^^ ), is derived from the word " to hate." The " Kari-Chang " is a Chinese law of Kara, abstinence and devotion, containing twenty-seven articles. During this kind of Lent season, strictly observed in Formosa, no serious transactions are allowed, such as building, beginning an enterprise, selling hides, sowing, manufacturing arms, marrying or having intercourse with women, giving names to the new-born, or going on a journey. The law had its origin in an ugly Formosan who, mocked by his people, prayed to be removed to heaven, where he became a divinity. Transgressors of the law were " " M^ere women severely punished. (Chinese myth.) The Carines of Caria who were hired to mourn the dead. (Greek legend.)
90
the 'Ajami. She puts hatred between man and wife ; she makes women miscarry, or barren ;
she makes men impotent and turns their minds towards other women, or women towards other men.' I trembled, for I knew that this must be the loathsome Kariny mentioned in the Koran
and already known to Solomon, who taught people to wear amulets to hinder her detestable work.
" Seeing
my fear, the
'Ajami hurried
me through
space and then below the earth, where Jan were gathered in bathing establishments, oil-mills and cemeteries, in short, in all those pubHc places
where Jan gather most freely. We went to sanctuaries and saw the presiding saint assuming any form he hked. In Dair esh Sheikh he was a swarm of bees defending his abode at another holy spot was a mounted horseman with a flowing beard, a green mantle and a spear in his hand. We saw the guardians (Rasads) taking the most fantastic forms and humans of all denominations respect them then thousands of years passed by and the same religious forms in the very same
; ;
The worshippers spoke of and Allah, that was the only change, Baal, El, and this change was so slight that they hardly
places
reappeared.
from one generation to another. Then I knew that I was in the Immovable East and was glad to have been born to
live
and
die in
we
travelled;
o o
PHANTOMS
91
into churches, mosques, synagogues, and ruined sanctuaries we entered. Then we flew back to
There, as in Mamilla, down in Kedron, and on the slopes of the Mount of OHves, myriads of phantoms and spirits of all forms moved about.
Zion.
Jebusites and Amorites, Hebrews of pre-Babylonian days, Machabees, Greeks, Romans, Moslems,
Franks, and Palestine Christians were all congregated there, anxiously waiting, with eyes turned
towards the East, for the Day to come. " Once more the 'Ajami took me up and set me down, this time on the minaret of Naby
Daoud.
The tomb
of
vatory he could have chosen. From this holy elevation, sacred to all human beings, he again The night is far spent,' he pointed to the East. said. will come very soon Put away Light your books and once more follow the ways of Allah, unless you would partake of the fate of
* '
!
see.'
my
guide had
Suddenly sulphurous fumes and the odour of bitumen filled the air, just as if the submarine volcanoes of the Sea of Lot (the Dead Sea) were in action. The earth trembled. Iblis with his
legions of Shaiateen (Demons), clothed in fire and with fiery hooks in their hands, trooped from the
92
round,
each other's ears, hair and tails, with indecent demeanour. The troglodyte Ghules, perfectly globular, rolled up the hills on the long spikes which surrounded their bodies, hedgehog fashion. Their glowing red eyes, formed of bright
pulling
glow-worms, sent forth piercing looks, whilst in their huge stomachs the half-decayed bodies of devoured children could be seen rolling from one ^ side to the other. Towering Mareds, with evil looks, passed by me with rhythmic paces, now blowing up their ethereal bodies until they were
and had become as thin as lofty palms, now settling down and becoming like flat
miles in height
wheels laid on their axes, producing the while the queerest and most terrifying sounds. My blood stood still. Yet the terrible procession continued as noisy as a great cavalry charge. Bulls rushed forth, blowing fire from their nostrils camels, foaming at the mouth with rage, shot
forth their tongues until they were several yards in length ; black horses with steel hoofs galloped
hke meteors
that
pavement, sending sparks about the graves, and I knew flying these were disguised Rasads (guardians).
flint
With hideous grimaces, monkey-like Krad and Afarid climbed trees, cemetery walls and tombs, peeped into ossuaries, dragged forth skulls and
*
Sura xxxvii.
7.
RESURRECTION SCENES
limbs,
93
and hurled them at each other with satyric In the rear came the Jan, grimacing at laughter. each other, yelHng and howling, now approaching and fixing their eyes upon me, now withdrawing
with
distorted
dances.
felt their
hot breath
How upon my
!
as
I
was
again in
I thought my last native village moment had come, and that there was no more time to repent. For behold on the walls of Zion, with a shining sword in his hand, stood
my
'Ozrael, the
Alas
"
Hell-fire.
But suddenly the scene changed the monsters and hideous apparitions left the Sacred elevation and were replaced by new forms which
poured in by myriads from the north, south, east and west. They came and gathered as it were for Judgment on the platform of the holy rock. Their odour was so old, so mouldy, that I knew at once they had been lying in the earth many thousands of years, long before our oldest writers on the
Canaanites and Themudians,' long before Abraham and Ishmael. From Wad en Nar and Er Rahib a procession of Baal- worshipping horned forms
came, bearing with them an odour of burning flesh, the result of their Moloch abominations from Kedron trooped milhons of beings each with a triangle and four strange letters on his or her forehead and from all the battlefields, near and far,
; ;
8 (2131)
94
there marched past, in rank and file, soldiers marked with crescents and crosses. Everywhere gravestones were upheaving. The Greek ossuary
on Zion let out its confused cross-marked forms the rock-tombs of Hinnom, the most heterocHtic figures, for the strangers arriving at El Kuds had been buried in the foreigners' graves the Well of Souls (the Bir el-Arwah) opened wide its mouth beneath the Sakhra and the souls of departed
; ;
believers stepped out with joyous countenance, for they knew that Mohammed had promised to
save his own nation ; the tombs of the Prophets, of the Judges, and of the Kings sent forth
their
contingents
in
solemn procession
a veritable city
of
to
be
Kuds
is
tombs
Ummy
At that moment a loud roaring all over the It came from the south.
began to creep as
I
My
*
flesh
heard
its
voice say,
The people have not believed our teachings.' ^ The monster which called out with this awful voice was more fearful to behold than the apocalyptical red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns, whose tail drew the third part
*
la
youquanun
Sura
xxvii.
84.
Dome
of
the
Ascension
95
^ This dragging them to earth.' from Mecca and was covered all over one came with long stiff hair and feathers. It possessed two wings and was as brown as a bear. The half of its body was hke a cat, its breast was that of a
that of an enormous fat-tailed ram, head that of a bull. It had the eyes of a pig, the ears of an elephant, the horns of a stag, and an ostrich's neck. Its broad feet were hke a camel's, and as it thundered over Jerusalem it crushed the unbeHevers with its immense hoofs. There was a general flight towards Siloam and the desert in the east, towards Birket es-Sultan,^ and the valley of Hinnom, in the west, where
and
its
centuries ago the ancestors of the Hebrews offered human and other sacrifices to Moloch. Standing
on
my
!
Oh
how
observatory, I was paralysed with fear. I wished I had never bought those
!
forbidden books " As the wish passed through my mind, a faint streak of light above the Mount of OUves announced
the
arrival
of
'
the
'
The Angel Gabriel, il fallaq I with his yellow turban, filled the sky and his sword brought forth the dawn. I passed my hand through my beard, as is commanded when daylight is announced, and with a loud voice I Eshhad ino la Illaha ill Allah wa cried,
'
Rab
Bright exclaimed.
Spirit.
Aouzi
bi
* -phe lower Revelations xii. 3-4. pool of Gihon. " Sura cxiii. 1 is in the Lord of the Dawn." My protection
96
Muhammad
scanning
every
syllable and moaning in my anguish. " And lo and behold I saw the fir-trees above the Aj ami's abode moving slightly to and fro as,
!
'
morning breeze
passed through the branches and proclaimed the name of Allah. Whereupon I repeated my confession of faith, proclaiming his glory at Dawn I realised, then, that I had never moved. of Day. 2
on the same spot above BeitMahsir. Yet my spirit had seen the world and what is in and above it all over the Holy Land.
I
was
still
sitting
And
life."
better
so I promised to leave magic and try, by ways and reading the Koran, to gain eternal
of the story of his vision, the last fierce rays struck the Mountains of
and as
Judah
they seemed to be ahve with the spirits he had evoked. I rose and thanked him.
You have done a better day's work than you would have done by necromancing. Come and let us have
"
Ehmad Imhamad,"
said
'*
I.
"
is
Mohammed
2
Sura
IN SHA- ALLAH!
''
97
"
I
In Sha- Allah
I
! If
Allah wills
heard him
say as
mounted
I
Then
turned
my my
mare.
face
homewards, to arrive
faith-
after darkness
benefit of those occidental fully as possible for the readers who do not fully comprehend oriental
knowledge and
belief.
V
THE GARDENS OF SOLOMON
I "
in
vineyards
made me great works I builded me houses I planted me I made me gardens and parks, and I planted trees them of all kinds of fruit I made me pools of water, to water
I
; ; ;
:
ECCLESIASTES
ii.
4-6.
Whenever
itself felt, I
the
Spring begins to make hear the call of the Orient. A thousand times a day the sweet summons drags me
subtle influence
carries
my
and irresistible from a multitude of sources it makes its welcome appeal through all the avenues of sense. The sight or scent of a flower
;
youth.
It
comes to
me back me
configuration of a hill soil, the blue expanse of the Mediterranean as I turn to rest on my peregrinations towards the
my
Maritime Alps, the taste of a fruit, or sometimes the very breath of the air, are all allurements, to set the stream of reminiscence flowing and make
me
How my
thoughts
fly
back, and
Arnold
In a
how
"
I feel
Matthew
moment
physical
98
HAUNTS OF YOUTH
ties to
99
back, once more, on Mount Hermon, tracing the three springs of the Jordan and paying homage to the magniearth seem to be severed
I
am
ficent
snowy peak
of Djebel-esh-Sheikh.^
Once
more, the valley of El Ghor and the Mountains of Moab are spread out before me. Once more, I am wandering along the Beda win-infested shores
of the
Dead
Sea, or
swimming with
my
brother
its bitter
which has since disappeared beneath ^ Mountains and valleys, rivers and seas, ruins and shrines, all the old familiar places of the land of my birth pass, one by one, like
to the island
waters.
moving
pictures, during those spring-time dreams. There is always, however, one vision that pre-
dominates when Rabee stirs the blood. It is that of Uitas,^ a little village within a few miles of
*
" The chief of mountains," as the Arabs call it. The disappearance of this little island, which was
situated
about half a mile from the shore at the northern end, is a proof of the interesting fact that the Dead Sea is increasing in size. The maps of the Palestine Exploration Fund of twenty years ago clearly indicated it, and it is also shown in a photograph taken about 1882. ' Referring to Urtas, Edward Robinson writes {Biblical
" The place is still Researches in Palestine, Vol. II, pp. 168) the houses are in ruins, ^the people dwelling inhabited, though in caverns among the rocks of the steep declivity. Here are manifest traces of a site of some antiquity, ^the foundation of a square tower, a low thick wall of large squared stones, rocks hewn and scarped, and the like. If we are to look anywhere in this quarter for Etam, which was decorated by Solomon with gardens and streams of water, and fortified by Rehoboam along with Bethlehem and Tekoa, and whence, too, according to the Rabbins, water was carried by an aqueduct to Jerusalem, I know of no spot so probable as this spot." With all due deference to this authority, I am of the opinion that Robinson was misled by the ruins of a fortress just above the
100
Bethlehem, a seemingly dry and barren spot, but one, in reaHty, whose loose grey calcarious
pre-eminently suitable for the production of fine fruit. And within its narrow glen, enclosed to right and left by rugged hillslopes, and watered by an ever-running brook, the
gravel
it
makes
apricots, peaches, pears, figs, and other kinds of fruit were indeed grown, when, as a youth, I lived with my brothers in the flat-roofed,
most luscious
fortress-like
above our plantations. Those fruit trees of Urtas, gay with innumerable blossoms or weighed down
by
and
odour of the plants on which our bees found so plentiful a harvest^ made up a never-to-be-forgotten picture. When told that this was the site of the Gardens of Solomon, who can wonder that I
accepted the statement as something more than an old wife's tale ? Who can wonder that I read Urtas spring, and that Etam was really situated about a mile
away, on the site of Khirbet el-Khokh, near 'Ain Etan and the lowest of the Pools of Solomon. Had the author of Biblical Researches in Palestine observed the remains and the spring of Etan he would, I think, have modified his views in favour of my theory, which, I may add, has been supported by more modern
authorities.
The thyme honey of Urtas is comparable to the renowned honey from Mount Hymettus, in Greece, and was probably well known in Solomon's time for its delicious aroma. See the Song of Solomon iv. 11, " Thy lips, my spouse, drop as the honeycomb honey and milk are under thy tongue."
1
;
obeerv^fTons.
LOVELY SURROUNDINGS
and re-read the Song
of
101
in
it
the great king's confirmation of that legend pleasure-grounds were anywhere, where else could they be save in the little paradise of Urtas ? What other place so well accorded with the words,
If
**
my
is
fair one,
past,
gone the flowers appear on the earth ; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of
The fig-tree heard in our land. her green figs, and the vines with the putteth forth tender grape give a good smell." ^ Many other
the turtle
is
passages of the Song of Songs seemed to me to be " My inspired by those lovely surroundings. beloved is gone down into his garden to the beds
of spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather Hlies ... I went down into the garden of nuts
to see the fruits of the valley, and to see whether the vine flourished and the pomegranates budded.
Let us get up early to the vineyards, let us see if the vine flourish, whether the grape " ^ appear, and the pomegranates bud forth And what of Solomon's Pools, situated near the Saracenic castle of Kalat el-Burak, some half an hour's journey from our ruined village ? Could there be any doubt in my youthful mind, nourished on Maundrell, Robinson, and other writers, that " sealed these colossal waterworks and the hidden
. .
. .
of of
Solomon Solomon
ii.
10-13.
11
;
vi. 2,
vii.
12.
102
fountain
"
pools of water referred to in Ecclesiastes and part of that gigantic system of irrigation which transformed the whole
of the region into a veritable earthly paradise
.
. .
me
it was beyond dispute that there before the gardens of the great and wise king. lay But before the days of Solomon another of my favourite Bible heroes had trod the sacred soil of
;
No
The young shepherd David, leading his from Bethlehem, must surely have been inspired by the streams and rugged landand it pleased me to scapes of my home
Urtas.
flocks there
;
^ fancy that, as he played upon his Neiye, he composed there his 23rd Psalm, since he speaks of "
^ green pastures and led him beside the still waters." In no other place near Bethlehem do you find either pastures or a constant supply of fresh running water. Completing the picture, I could
him descending the picturesque but dangerous " gorges of Adullam and, as he thus walked through the valley of the shadow of death," entrusting himself and his sheep to the hands of God. He had
see
already encountered wild animals in those solitary places and by courageously attacking them with " *' the Naboot of the his staff ^ comforting
carries had
modem
the East, pp.
'
Palestine shepherd
249-252.
xxiii. 4.
killed
them.*
Psalms
By
permission of
Shepherd
'AIN
RIMMON
103
king he had no time to himself with the pleasures which his son occupy and successor was to enjoy. But on taking Solomon on excursions to Urtas he must have
called his attention to its natural advantages, for as soon as he succeeded to the throne the new
sovereign chose
chariots.^
Etam
Moreover,
Solomon was
of its
"
and
:
the extreme
Etam, then, several springs possibly three in all possessed *Ain-'Etan at the Khirbet el-Khokh, above Urtas, " the sealed fountain," *Ain Saleh, above Etam,
then
'Ain
Rimmon.^
Kings
X. 26.
Antiquities of the Jews, viii. 2, p. 340. 3 'Ain Rimmon has never been identified by explorers, and Urtas has never been pointed out as corresponding to any known Bible locality. reason for identifying 'Ain Rimmon with
My " based on the following passages Judah received Ain, Remmon and Ether and Ashan " (Josh. xix. 7). Evidently the transcriber knew nothing of the country, since he takes Ain and Remmon to be two difEerent places. In the parallel reference Ether into Etam, (I. Chron. iv. 32) a more careful scribe makes and, besides giving 'Ain Rimmon and Ashan, adds Tochen. Now, we find 'Ain Etam and 'Ain Urtas and Wad et-Tawaheen in the
Urtas
is
:
actual topography. Later, Nehemiah speaks (Neh. xi. 29) of the villages of Judah, and groups 'Ain Rimmon, Zoreah and Yarmuth, though they are far apart. But he says the children of Judah dwelt together from Beersheba to the valley of Hinnom Rimmon means Pome(Neh. xi. 30), an extensive country. " Fardas granates, and in his Song, Solomon speaks of his " " Rumaneem (Song of Songs iv. 13), the pomegranate gardens." And last but not least the prophet Zechariah, in his vision, foreseeing a time when the land round Jerusalem should be made flat for the judgment of the nations says " All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon, south of
:
104
But you must imagine Etam, in Solomon's days, as something more than a place of mere
beauty. From the many nations which surrounded his kingdom, the king selected wives and for every princess of the blood he built a palace.* These houses he placed here and there, so as not to profane Jehovah's temple at Jerusalem. 2 His Moabite wife dwelt on the Mount of Olives his Egyptian spouse was at Gezer ^ whilst his Edomite princess, on account of the nearness of her native country, must have been at Etam, to which Solomon, with a brilliant retinue, rode out every morning. Josephus gives a very
rustic
;
;
picturesque description of these rides to Etam. " Thus King Solomon," he writes, " was able
add four hundred chariots to the thousand and twenty thousand horses which he And the horses which they sent ordinarily kept. him were not only particularly fine they surpassed all others in swiftness. Those who rode them made their beauty still more apparent
to
chariots
they were young men of very tall stature, clothed in Tyrian purple, armed with quivers, and with long hair covered with gold dust, which, when the rays of the sun struck them, made their heads
for
" Now, Geba is as far north from (Zech. xiv. 8-10). Jerusalem Jerusalem as Urtas (Rimmon) is south of that place, making a very symmetrical plan which fits in suitably with the vision. See my communication to the Quarterly Statement of the P.E.F.,
October, 1912, pp. 209-211. 1 I Kings, xi. 8. 2 II. Chronicles viii. 11.
I.
Kings
ix.
16-17.
WATER CONDUITS
ablaze
105
retinue
with
light.
This
magnificent
accompanied king every morning when, according to custom, he left the town, seated in a superb chariot and clothed in white, to go to a
' ." country house near Jerusalem called Etam On the death of Solomon, the Israelites revolted, and the Edomites in the south made so many incursions that his son Rehoboam was obliged
.
.
the
to fortify the frontier towns, including Bethlehem, Etam, and Tekoa, ^and place garrisons there. The
gardens of Etam remained royal property as long as the kingdom of Judah lasted. During the time of anarchy which followed the deportation of the princes and notables, and until Herod the Great came to the throne, the nation
itself, sometimes against sometimes against foreigners in governors, Herod himself, a foreigner and an general. Edomite, had a predilection for the favoured district of Urtas and, after his victory over the
Jews, in the neighbourhood of the Frank MounAs there was tain,^ built a palace near by.
nothing but rainwater to be obtained near his castle, and as rain is very rare in this part of the Desert of Judah, he had the water from the important spring of El Arroub brought by means
Antiquities of the Jews, viii. 2, p. 340. Chronicles xi. 6. 3 So called since 1453, when Felix Fabri relates that the Franks, after the battle of Hattin, withdrew there and found suf&cient water to grow corn and vegetables, thanks to which they withstood a siege of at least a year.
2
II.
106
of a conduit
to
Solomon's Pools. This conduit was so big that a horse could easily pass through it. It became smaller as it advanced, but still was
sufficiently
large
to
enable
workmen
repairs.
to
stand
upright in
it
when undertaking
It passed
by way Wady el-Biar, or Valley of the Wells, and skirted the flank of the mountain of Batn-elEkra*
of the
of
Urtas,
where the surplus water flowed into a large number of reservoirs which stretched as far as the Urtas spring. The solidly cemented remains of a portion of these gigantic works are still to be seen to-day on our family property at Urtas. After the Valley of Urtas, properly so called, comes the Valley of the MiUs, Wad et-Tawaheen, and there again are other remains which clearly formed part of Herod's extensive system of irrigation, the surplus water from which was probably used for the turning of numerous mills. After Herod's death his successors were unable,
for a multitude of reasons, principally lack of resources and incessant troubles with their enemies
kingdom and the Romans coming from without, to occupy themselves with Etam, so that the paradise of Urtas quickly fell into ruins. The
inside the
remains of a marble palace, discovered there about 1865 by Mr. Meshullam, a colonist who followed in my father's footsteps, and known to the Arabs as El Hammam the Bath led some to suppose
HORTUS CONCLUSUS
that the
Urtas.
tine.
107
Emmaus
of the Gospel ^
But baths,
or
Emmaus
appearance of Jesus to two of his disciples after Another is his death has already been placed. at the warm baths of Tiberias whilst a fourth and a fifth are at Calirrhoe and Arnon, to the east of the Dead Sea, where Herod, a few days before his death, sought relief from his sufferings.
;
II
Until the arrival of Tancred and the hundred knights who came to the rescue of the Church of the Nativity at Bethlehem that is, before the
taking
the gardens of Urtas Jerusalem remained buried in oblivion. It was then that " " Hortus Conclusus was given to the the name place by the monks of Bethlehem, a name which has been preserved in their archives until now.^ We possess no exact information regarding the
of
history of Urtas during the Christian occupation from 1099 to 1187, but the remains of Deir el
Banat, or the Nuns' Convent, a few kilometres above the village, near the Wady el Biar, and the
xxiv. 13. me to attempt to decide whether the name Urtas is a corruption of Hortus, or vice versd. But I may remind my readers how notoriously careless the Crusaders were in the The question is translation and pronunciation of local names. a dif&cult one to settle, and is further complicated by the fact that there is another tjrtas near Antioch which has certainly nothing to do with Hortus, a garden.
St.
2 1
Luke
It is
not for
108
plan of which is fairly clearly indicated, show that the building was placed under the protection of
St.
Jean
d'Acre
or
the
Templars.
I
stone,
marked with a
cross,
which
my
of Jerusalem probably possessed the of including Wady Urtas in their posprivilege sessions, but the cultivation of its fertile soil, in 1099, must have been suddenly stopped when, after the Battle of Hattin, in 1 187, the last Christian king of Jerusalem, Guy of
The kings
recommenced
Lusignan, fell into the power of Saladin. Urtas was captured by the Saracens on September 5th, " Le jor 1187. In Hugues Platon's words, fu perdue, li rendi Ton tous les qu'Escalone
Chastiaus qui environ etoient ." During the Sultan's pourparlers for the possession of Jerusalem and the siege, which lasted but a fortnight, all the
churches and convents in the neighbourhood were destroyed by the invaders. Deir el Banat and the
Church of the Garden fell at the end of September. For more than a century had the sound of bells ^ been heard in the district, and the destruction was so complete that almost every trace of the church, which I beUeve was situated near the
centre of the present village, disappeared. During that period in the history of Palestine
^ More than seven centuries elapsed before Christian bells were once more sounded. In 1894 the Convent of St. Mary of the Garden was built at Urtas.
109
which is known as the great blank "-^that is from the fall of Jerusalem to the re-introduc-
the
tion of
Holy Land
few
come down
Between 1573 and 1575 the valley was visited by a distinguished botanist, Dr. Leonardus Rauwolffus, who, enumerating the most remark-
" in horto Salomonis prope Bethleeable plants, includes the pomegranate, the orange and mam," the fig. Oranges are no longer grown there, or
anywhere
in
Tanour, near Beit- ^E tab. Because of the conduit which led the water from Solomon's Pools and the springs 'Ain Etan and 'Ain Saleh to the Mosque of Jerusalem, the inhabitants of the village were exempted from taxes during the whole of the domination of the Arab sultans. The Mosque of Urtas was itself dedicated to the same Khalif Omar Ibn Khattab
as the one in the
The
from
all
burdens, possessed not only a certain independence but even enjoyed the right of distributing justice to neighbouring villages and tribes, a right which they abused to such an extent that at last a
thrown.
(2131)
Nevertheless,
110
of the district to pass a palace of justice, a way ; they possessed large prison and a gibbet for recalcitrant ones. The Mosque was situated in the centre of the village ; the palace of justice was to the east.
their
good deal
commerce
Forty years ago a portion of the donjon, with the large iron rings to which prisoners were attached fixed in the walls, could still be seen. Conflict with the people of Seir, near Hebron, resulted, at the close of the Middle Ages, in the almost total destruction of the inhabitants of Urtas. Those who escaped the massacre took refuge with distant relatives or in the fortress near Solomon's Pools. The stronghold was ceded to them on condition that they saw to the proper working of the water supply and the protection of the road from Jerusalem to Hebron, duties which they carried out in a far from satisfactory manner. Frequently they were guilty of pillaging the caravans of traders and isolated pilgrims who passed their way. From time to time, howThe Ta^amre Bedawin ever, punishment came. descended upon their hives and fruit gardens, so that at last they were obhged to transport the former to their hill-top fortress and definitely
abandon the
latter.
During the long civil wars of the red and white factions of the Kesi and Yamani, which lasted
throughout the eighteenth and a part of the nineteenth centuries, the inhabitants of Urtas
COLONIZING URTAS
carried contraband
111
arms and ammunition first At the to the one and then to the other party. of the nineteenth century and until the beginning reign of Abdul Medjid they paid their taxes with great irregularity and were continually in But in 1830, on the invasion of Palestine revolt. by Ibrahim Pasha, they sided with Sultan Mahmood II and vahantly defended the territory.
Ill
The modern
when Robinson made his researches in Palestine. The road then passed " in the middle of the valley through gardens and
mon
watered
fields,"
but doubtless
all
springs of Urtas was not utilised, for the author of Biblical Researches in Palestine continues to say,
stream was soon absorbed in the thirsty gravelly soil of the valley, and the gardens ceased." In 1848 my father came to Urtas, bought land
*'
The
little
and built a small house. But the inhabitants came to him only during the day to work in our
there
plantations, and, for fear of the Ta'amres, retired as soon as night came to their fortress. Later,
a second colonist, Mr. Meshullam, joined him, gave a further impetus to agriculture, and succeeded, through sheer force of character, in introducing relative security into the district. Other
colonists, Americans and Germans, followed the example of these two pioneers, but remained only a
short time.
From 1859
my
112
father's associate, Mr. Peter Meshullam, lived at Urtas and to a certain extent ruled over the
locality.
He attempted
of
to
introduce a special
system
to
forestry, obliging owners to respect their forests and protecting those which belonged
the
community.
justice
Furthermore,
delinquents.
he
himself
dealt
out
to
Tyrannical,
but at the same time exceedingly hospitable by nature, he often took what he needed for his guests from the first shepherd he saw. He was a pro-
widows and orphans, and any woman who was oppressed by her husband or relatives could
tector of
always count on finding a safe home in one or other of the numerous country houses which he
possessed at Bakoosh and Faghur in the Wady el Biar. Considering the jealous and vengeful nature of the Arabs, it is not surprising that Peter Meshullam at last became their victim, although
his death
enveloped in mystery. Whilst riding to Tekoa, south of Urtas, he fell at 'Ain Hamdeh, near the Frank Mountain, from his horse and broke a leg. The friends who were accompanying him returned to Urtas for help, leaving him in charge of a servant ; but on their return they found that he was dead and that the
is
still
URTAS CHURCH
113
In 1858 H.R.H. Prince Alfred, a son of Queen Victoria, visited Urtas and purchased a few acres of land to the south of Urtas on the side of a
mountain called Abu Zeid. Arranged in terraces, the land was planted with vines and almondand these remained under the superintreies tendence of Mr. MeshuUam. For many years, in
;
Finn, the British Consul in used to come to Urtas with his family Jerusalem, It was thanks to his to spend a few days there. and morally, that at least aid, both financially one kilometre of gardens were added to those already existing, and that the reputation of Urtas
far
and wide.
Europeans have done much to make the modem reputation of the Gardens of Solomon. They have greatly ameliorated the fruit trees and as to vege;
tables, the Venetians as early as the seventeenth century as words of Italian origin clearly show
introduced a large number which were totally unknown to the Arabs, such as tomatoes (in Arabic Banadora, from pommi d'ore), egg-apples
(Betinjan,
from melongena), peas (Bizelle, from picella), and haricot beans (Fasulia, from faciolla). As regards fruit, Urtas is specially famous for
its
pears, peaches
and
figs,
August and
September,
attract
114
Jerusalem, and having disposed of his first house at the bottom of the valley to Mr. Meshullam, built a new one in the very centre of the village
and on the perpendicular rock above the stream. The site he chose was that of the ancient church of the Crusaders. As the Arab builders whom he employed set about their work, they pulled down a
certain wall painted with frescoes, representing the figures of saints. Little did my brother and I,
as
the
value
of
guess those
of
apart
from the handful of Europeans who still make it their home and the inmates of the convent, built in 1894, has been connected with Jerusalem by a carriage road since 1901. Although the new route is much longer than the old one along which the camels used to stumble in the days of my youth, it is now possible to make an afternoon excursion to the Gardens and Pools of Solomon, where the contemplative visitor cannot fail to be rewarded by a host of vivid impressions and
fruitful
reflections.
VI
IN
URTAS
be put
There is hardly a village in Palestine, no matter how tiny, but has " blood between families." Even when killed by accident, a man must be
revenged.
Koran and modem population entirely agree on this point. As a rule, the manslayer must pay for the crime with his own blood,
Bible,
but should he be found unworthy, another man of his kindred may be taken in his place. An uncle or cousin even a distant cousin is still responsible, though the murderer himself is preferable. With Oriental patience a Bedawi once waited forty years for his Ghareem, but seeing he could not find the identical murderer he killed a cousin. A quarter of an hour later he met the Ghareem himself. How he regretted that he had
acted too hastily Urtas was no exception to this rule. When my father came to the village and bought land there in 1848 the four Hamulies, or groups of families,
!
Shahini and Mashani, Rib'i and Ehseini, were in conflict, but lived together in the castle above Solomon's Pools, coming down to Urtas only during the day to look after their gardens, and retiring
115
116
at sunset for fear of the neighbouring Ta'amr6 Bedawin. In the course of a few years these four
father's families, regaining confidence owing to example and the more settled state of the country, returned to their ruined sites. But no sooner had
my
they once more settled down and the Ta'amre power had been destroyed by the Turkish officials at Jerusalem no sooner had a kind of authority been set up by the Pashas than they began to think about their own bloody feuds again. From
that
man
Thar
shall
at the time our story opens, a part of the Shahini family, tired of this eternal vendetta, had
Now,
the village, looking for aid and refuge at some Tanib in the south. ^ Returning home from
left
Bethlehem one day, they met, near the ruins of Etam, Ibrahim et-Taiesh of the allied Mashani and mistook him for a member of the adverse
Rib'i
family.
struck Ibrahim on the back with an axe and " almost severed his vertebral column. Ah
last
of a dog," said he. have met you at " to the ground, Ibrahim, then a Falling vigorous youth of about twenty, cried out to the
Son
"
We
men
*
that they were mistaken and prayed them not to soil their hands with innocent blood, ^
*
xix. 5.
A GHASTLY SCENE
and thus give
rise to
117
a new Thar.
'Odey, advancing *' Are we children, son with his sword, crying God have no mercy on thy of a whore ? May nor on thy martyrsAUah la yerTiam parents, " waldache walla shahdache By this time
:
!
sword and, putting endeavoured to cut his knee on Ibrahim's breast, the wounded man's throat. In his anguish, Ibrahim protected his neck with his hands and by so doing only received severe wounds on his knuckles. But it would have gone ill with him had not a shepherd boy, just at that critical moment, been heard playing on his Neiye whilst The three climbing the rocks with his goats. murderers suddenly interrupted their ghastly work and fled. Ibrahim endeavoured to rise, held up the scalp which had fallen over his face, and with a loud voice cursed his retreating assail^ at the same time calling for help. The ants,
Hassan
his
shepherd boy, hearing the curses and calls, in turn " called out in every direction Jei ya Naas jei " The call was repeated This way, oh people from mountain to mountain, until friend and foe hurried towards the place where Ibrahim was found lying in his blood. As the murderers were known and the mistake was acknowledged, negotiations were carried on between the parties and a blood gratification was
: !
!
Judges
ii.
7.
118 agreed
held,
garments were exchanged and it was declared openly that there should be no thought of any
further revenge.
But peace never reigned for long in Urtas. Some months later, one of the Ehseinis, Hassan by name, was captured by the Pasha's tax-gathering
when they were passing near the pools of Solomon he had been denounced by a Mashani as having revolted against the authorities. As
troops
;
justice
was very summary in those days, he was beheaded there and then on the road and his body abandoned. Brought to Urtas, the dead man was buried and immediately a fresh cause for Thar arose. But patiently the Ehseinis waited for an
opportunity to take their revenge. Years passed, during which the Rib 4 and Ibrahim Mashani struggled for supremacy. et-Taiesh was now head of the latter and Salem The presents er Ro^hmane chief of the former. of Salem to the authorities in Jerusalem, with whom he was anxious to remain in favour, were
more numerous and more choice than those of Ibrahim, and consequently he was held in greater
consideration at the Seraiya of the Governor. When it was rumoured that Ibrahim had come into the possession of wealth, ^ he endeavoured to
make
1
but as there was no proof he accused the Mashani of theft, robbery, murder
capital out of
it,
FELLAH SHEIKH
119
and ail kinds of crime, real or imaginary. As he had been previously elected responsible Mukhtar, this new position of mayor gave him more power, which Sheikh Salem used and abused until he had alienated the whole village with the exception of two or three persons. A perfect type of the old Fellah chief was Sheikh Salem, with his enormous turban, spotless white Thob, red silken Kaftan, red pointed shoes and sheepskin jacket. As a rule, he wore a pair of and being of a combative pistols in his girdle nature, was feared by both great and small. He had two wives, both foreigners. Helwy, his first helpmate, was from ^Ajur and was a long time before she had living children. He therefore
;
married a dark Bedawiye of the Ta^amre, by whom he had three boys and a girl. The fair Helwy, like Rachel, was beloved and was ever jealous of her Durra, the dark co-wife. ^Alia the Bedawiye retained her dark Bedawi clothes, whilst Helwy imitated the more gaudy Bethlehemite women in her toilet. The whole family lived in one small room and sometimes additional guests would help to fill it, especially during winter nights or rainy
days,
when members
of
fire, smoking, drinking coffee and the subjugation of the Mashanis. planning To possess Bawardi^ and thus strengthen the
round the
party
^
is
Armed men.
120
have wealth.
the
marriage.
father's
Besides, through
had left him and gone to her house. More than one episode in her life
again After
powerful. the girl he was looking for in the Shahini family. This family consisted of four men with their
when
wives and numerous children and for the time being was on good terms with Salem and with Ibrahim. Mustapha Shahine, the head, agreed with Salem that the girl, Sarah, fifteen years old and the daughter of Khaleel Ibrahim, should be betrothed to ^Ethmane as soon as the sum of Os. 40^ was paid, in addition to the usual garments
and marriage
who was
the parties agreed that the bridegrooms should exchange sisters, each one giving presents to the
other party as wedding garments.
1
'
2 n. Samuel Samuel xviii. 27 xix. 12-17. The Ottoman pound sterling is equivalent to 23
I.
II.
Kings
V. 22.
BRIDAL REJOICINGS
121
The marriages were fixed for the seventh day The first of the month of Rabee the spring. of the moon was high in the sky when, crescent
festivities
were
From
the
flat
roofs of 'Ethmane's
and SHman's houses the ululations echoed from one side of the mountain to the other over the deep depression which divided the village in two. Before ^ every Zaghroot the women or girls announced the forthcoming feasts and generosity of the bridegrooms, the young men firing all the while and the
low voices, accompanying the SaTijy, that all-in-a-row dance in which ten or
elderly
men,
in
more men
join.
At
last, after
seven evenings of
smoking and
brides, in their best clothes, ostrich feather crowns, and all their furniture, were set on camels and led to their prospective homes. As the
village belonged
Both
to the
Kase
faction,
the two
red impermeable veils over their and last time, according to Fellah
custom, they would be veiled. Sarah's camel was led by her cousin Jouseph, who, had he exercised his right, could have claimed her as his wife ; Sa'ada's camel was in charge of her cousin Moosa Salem, who could likewise have asked for her hand and obtained it. Following the camels were the
brides' kin, singing
1
and
2
firing as
"
they marched
Zagharit."
Ululations.
Singular of
122
along.
men had
mock
received a Majidi each, a supposed payment for " " releasing the brides and allowing the foreigners to take them. Meanwhile, to avoid the effects
of the Evil Eye, the heads of the families, Salem and Mustapha, each representing their respective
bride and bridegroom, stepped aside and, with Sheikh 'Awad, the Khateeb, to give his blessing, secretly tied the marriage knots. Quietly the
processions entered their new homes, where the camels were made to kneel down and the brides
The was spent in preparing the supper for the evening there was more singing, ululating and guests and the young couples were then shooting
alighted,
still
covered with
their
veils.
considered to be married.
for
these
festivities
and for some months afterwards, everything seemed forgotten between the rival factions of Urtas, for Salem's party was now strengthened by many Bawardi. But a year was hardly over than new troubles once more broke out. Ibrahim
continued to feign poverty, in order to escape the notice of the friend of Salem, Jouseph Agha, the
One day, however, he was bound together with his wife and dragged arrested, to prison Whether J ouseph Agha found him innocaptain of gendarmes.
.
123
out is not known. Anyway, he was released and at once began to plan his revenge on Salem. Thoroughly on his guard, Salem alleged that cattle-lifting and burglary were being carried on to his detriment, and in his endeavour to convince the authorities that almost all the village had united against him, he became so disliked that, during his absence in Jerusalem, a plot was formed and the " tyrant " was condemned to death. As there were several roads leading to Urtas, armed men were placed in ambush everywhere. Fellahin are almost as keen as Indians, and Salem suspected the trap. Therefore, on his way home,
he suddenly turned off the road, near Rachel's tomb, and set off in the direction of Bethlehem to join friends there and escape. But, unhappily for him, two of the plotters. Jabber and Sliman, followed from afar, and, seeing him take another way, hurried into the olive-groves, where they soon overtook him as he rode slowly along on his ass. With a well-directed blow from Jabber's Naboot, Salem was knocked from his animal, whilst Sliman, his nephew, drew his Shibriye and cut his throat. ^ An old Bethlehemite, an involuntary witness of the murder, became dumb with terror and was unable to report what he had seen until the next day, by which time the murderers had escaped through the groves and reached home.
This happened in the afternoon, so the body was
1
Cf. II.
Samuel
iii.
30.
124
soon discovered and the news, like wildfire, spread to Urtas. Less than an hour afterwards the dead man's people came and carried him home. Friend
and
foe joined in the procession some to mourn, others secretly to rejoice. As the Khateeb of
:
Urtas was suspected of being one of the plotters, the Khateeb of El Khudr was called in to officiate
The body was thoroughly shroud and carried to the tomb that same evening. A dead body must never remain unburied lest the land be defiled,^ and it be unprepared to answer the questions put by Naker and Nker, the examining angels in the grave, who awaken the dead man, inform him that he is dead, and then ask him about his good and bad deeds. It is for this reason that the Moslem graves have empty spaces and that
at the funeral service.
washed, sewed up
in a fresh
touching them.
for
the funeral
many
as chose to be present
and show
this
their
sympathy
supper every man present embraced the other a token of reconciliation in the presence of death, as and the bereft were greeted with the words " Salamet Rasak Your head is safe." Since the introduction of Turkish laws into Palestine cases of murder such as this were
:
Deuteronomy
xxi. 23.
A TERRIBLE PUNISHMENT
The family
125
council, however, thought that they to act by themselves and take their own ought " the shame be put away." vengeance so that
Nevertheless, friends and a few remaining allies were inclined to put the matter in the hands of
the authorities.
and Sliman were kept in prison for several years, and whilst they bribed the officials to obtain better treatment 'Ethmane and his friends used bribes to keep them where they were. When the finances of everyone were exhausted, when their lands had been mortgaged and no more money was to be
" for procured, both prisoners were dismissed want of further proof." Sliman, the throat-cutter, escaped further judg-
But what happened to him eventually ? came out on his body, then ulcers a toe Spots or a finger became bent and withered and His wife went finally he was declared a leper. home to her brother and obtained a divorce.
ment.
;
His own people avoided him. Was this a punishment from Allah, as some said or was his malady hereditary, as more enlightened folk concluded ? His father and grandfather had been physically
;
and the
sound, with the exception of a crooked limb or so, itch the legacy from another generation.
to join the
band
of miserable
lepers at the Jaffa Gate, to live on alms given by merciful passers-by, until, one by one, his fingers
and
10
nose,
(2131)
ears
and
toes
disappeared.
Every
126
evening he retired to the common lazar-house above Job's Well, near Siloam. He had refused to join either Jesus Hilf, the German hospital for lepers, or the Leproserie de St. Lazare, both so well kept by devout Protestant and CathoUc
Sisters.
There he feared to be obliged to become a Christian and pray after Christian manners. So, when almost every limb was infested, when his voice had become extinct, and you could no longer tell whether his hideous face was smiHng or crying, he continued to decay away and was buried far from his home.
VII
IBRAHIM'S
I
WEALTH
The
Plain of Rephaim, south of Jerusalem, was full of waving corn. In spite of the prevailing
heat, the harvest could hardly be expected before July. As usual, not a drop of rain had fallen
end of April, and none could be expected before the end of October. Immense flint-stone rocks cover all the mountain and the declivity south-east of Rephaim. In the
since the
twilight these stones, scattered in all positions, could easily be mistaken for man or beast, and
a legend has been woven around their fantastic forms, legends which could not fail to pass through the mind of a young man who, in the early light of morning, was quietly lying in a
many
sheltered
to the youth's special point of vantage, the dryness of the weather, and other natural
Owing
from almost every direction could easily be detected by him from afar. Moreover, in the rapidly increasing light, he could see, a mile or two away, the silhouette of Mar EHas, the Greek convent of Elijah, so caUed from the
causes, noises
of
the
128
Prophet when he fled from Ahab and lay down to rest on his way to the wilderness.
Jabber es-Saleh, the young man in question, was from the village of Beth-Safafa, at the entrance to the Valley of the Roses, just opposite the place where he was sitting. From his observatory he could survey the road and distinctly hear
when
at a great
A company of donkey-drivers stopping distance. near the SabeeP of Mar EUas could be heard by him with remarkable distinctness, and amongst the voices he felt sure that he could distinguish the harsh vocables of his cousin Ibrahim. He was
right.
was indeed on
his way to Jerusalem, driving his before him, loaded with two long baskets donkey of tomatoes for the market.
Dawn had
come.
The
first
streaks of light in
the distance, behind the mountains of Moab, east of Jordan, announced the rising sun. As the
glorious sight appeared to his eyes, Ibrahim, as
God sends the every Moslem beUever does when stroked his beard and, in a loud and morning," ** Eshhadu inno la rhythmical voice, exclaimed lUaha ill-Allah, wa Muhammad Rasoul Allah ! I witness that God is the only God and that
:
"
* This Sabeel, or well, was set up by the authorities of the Greek Convent to supply water to travellers, who, flocking there, often cause a great uproar. These roadside wells are considered such a great blessing in this dry land that the Turkish Government exempts those who set them up from the usual duties oh the land and properties adjoining.
PRAYERS AT DAWN
Mohammed
is
129
Then, in lower he murmured the Fatiha, or opening chapter tones, of the Koran, interrupting his prayers now and " He then by pushing and cursing the donkey, " to encourage him to hasten Yallah He and reach the gates of the Holy City forward
! !
His Prophet
"
before sunrise.
Jabber had come to the conclusion that his keen ears had not deceived him, he descended towards the main road and, enveloped in his grey and white Abba, sat down on a rock to await Ibrahim's arrival. As soon as his cousin was near enough, he rose and advanced to greet him with " Allah ye sabhak bil kher ya Abu Muhaman mad." ^ Ibrahim at once recognised the voice of his cousin Jabber es Sal eh, and answered his
When
Ja saba^h el kher, ya Abu Abed Father of Oh morning with plenty Oh And both men walked silently Abed," he said. for a few moments in the direction of the town. The arid mountains around them were tinged a roseate colour and by degrees the white-washed
greeting.
!
"
mosque of the village of Beth-Safafa came into As it did so a prayer, addressed to the patron-prophetess El Badariyeh, was muttered
view.
by both men.
venerated
Little
Badariyeh
Christian saint before the Aurora of the Greeks, 1 " God give you a plentiful morning, oh Abu Muhammad."
!
title
of
130
and probably before that dedicated to some Ashteroth of the Israelites and Canaanites, since most sanctuaries in Palestine can be traced to the
dawn
was at an end, Jabber hastened to unburden his mind of the information which had prompted him to go to meet his cousin on the road at such an unusual hour. He disclosed to Ibrahim that his brother, Said es-Saleh, was in
prison at Jerusalem. " hay at hal Badariyeh By the life " of the Saint said he, lifting his hand in the " direction of the rose-tinted mosque, I declare
When
Wa
is
innocent
position."
if
"
He
is
of
suspected of having stolen a huge sum from the Latin Convent at Jerusalem.
to have influence with the officials,
so do your best to dehver him." Money questions are always interesting, and especially were they so to Ibrahim, whose crafty
once detected a gold mine. But he feigned to disregard the pecuniary side of the matter and take an interest only in the prisoner's Another innocent one welfare. Poor Said within the clutches of the hated Turk Promising to do what he could, he advised his cousin to leave
mind
at
ORIENTAL BARGAINING
him
there
131
and then, lest they should be seen together and arouse suspicion. So Jabber promptly left him and crossed the plain towards his native
home.
II
Immediately Ibrahim drove up the hiU towards the Jaffa Gate, where he was met by a greengrocer, who gave him a piaster and a half for breakfast,
two cups of coffee, and, Ibrahim's donkey, pointed to two low stopping stools. When seated, the grocer offered his companion thirty piasters Sagh^ for the thirty rottels^ of tomatoes. After a good deal of cursing
coffee-house to bring
and swearing "by his eyes and his head, his " children and his own presence that this offer " " was a total loss to him, they agreed and rose
to continue their journey through the gate.
Very
soon they reached the grocer's shop and the tomatoes were poured out on to the floor, with a few crushed fruit at the bottom. This gave rise
to
new
"
I
imprecations.
distilling
have no
"
Do you
and a
About
5s.
132
set
den,
you
"
!
dirty Fellah.
Accursed
son
Kafer
Infidel
irate
Finally
the
tradesman
gave
Ibrahim
twenty-eight piasters and, to boot, almost flung him out of the shop.
As though quite accustomed to this treatment, Ibrahim coolly moved away with his donkey towards a Khan, where he hastened to put up the animal before hurrying to the Saraia, or Governor's
Palace, which, as in olden times, was adjacent to the prison. ^ All the time he had been occupied with the greengrocer, and indeed ever since he
had
Jabber, his thoughts had centred around Whilst on his way he his imprisoned cousin.
left
stopped in the market to buy a few cakes for Said, and on reaching his destination obtained admittance to see him by giving a few coppers to the prison-porter. On seeing his unfortunate cousin he gravely shook his head and exclaimed " How the vermin have devoured you Poor Said " In what a sorry condition are your clothes Said replied that there was little to wonder at in that there were more than twenty in his cell, and every one tried to sleep as best he could on the bare ground. Penniless, he received the least After having eagerly devoured food possible. the few cakes Ibrahim had brought with him, they retired to a corner of the court and, squatting there. Said told him his story.
:
! ! !
Cf.
Jeremiah xxxii.
2.
By
permission of
Jaffa Gate
A LUCRATIVE CONFESSION
"
133
was a servant of the Secretary and Prior of the Convent of the Redeemer in Jerusalem, and many big sums of money passed through his hands. The Secretary was in the
As you know,
habit of carelessly putting the money-box under his bed, before carrying it to the bank. One day the Prior fell ill and, after a few days' unconsciousness,
anybody knowing of the Here was a good opporAs they carried the dead body
containing no less than 30,000 Napoleons, and that very night buried the money in Beth-Safafa ; and whilst they were still officiating about the
dead body I was back again in the convent without anyone having noticed my absence. But after a few days it transpired that the money-box had disappeared. I was arrested and charged with There is no proof, however, and as long theft. as I feign to be poor they cannot prove my guilt even in the future. Now, cousin," said the guileful Go and Said, "I'll tell you where the money is.
it
it.
until
we
But take a few hundred pounds and get me out of prison. Buy clothes and food for me bribe the
;
officials,
so that I
the box innocence is buried a foot deep in the earth on the smaU hill on the eastern side of the solitary olive-tree which
until
my
134
is
to
the Badariyeh, my cousin, that you will dig out the box and help me." Ibrahim promptly swore by the Badariyeh and
treasure without
it is
me by
there," he added, with a crafty and sceptical look. And having taken a farewell cup of coffee, which the jailer
stiU
That same evening Ibrahim et Taiesh went out to Beth-Safafa and passed the night at his cousin's. He discovered that nobody but himself and Said
treasure, so
he wisely
kept his tongue still on that point. The information he gave the imprisoned man's friends and relatives concerned the horrible state of the prison, the thieves and murderers who were Said's
companions all sorts of disreputable people, mostly Fellahin of the Jerusalem district, whose company would only corrupt the poor fellow. Ibrahim went on to say that he had come, therefore, to collect some money from them to help to better his miserable condition. That evening a few hundred Beshliks ^ were collected and these Ibrahim promised to take home, to try to find some more in Urtas to add to them, and then to
set to
*
work
Beshlik
about 5d.
135
Early next morning, when it was yet dark, Ibrahim left Beth-Safafa and found the tree beneath which the treasure was buried. Unearthing the money-box without much difficulty, he hid its contents in his pockets and baskets and, abandoning the box, quietly returned to
Urtas.
poor Said was waiting in vain for the promised help. Ibrahim never went to pay him as much as a visit, but sent Jabber to tell him that he had not been able to " the commission," and therefore he carry out could do nothing for him, except send bread and oil from time to time, thanks to a collection which had been made for him. Finally, declaring that
still
he was tired of bribing the officials to no effect, he advised Said to await his turn to be released, and, like the chief of the butlers in Pharaoh's " to forget him." ^ days, did his best
To keep Said in prison the authorities of the convent had from time to time to disburse sums This prompted them, at last, to plead of money. " " and thus for their old servant not guilty
;
came
to
an end.
Said was no sooner out of prison than, thinking had not succeeded in locating the treasure, he proceeded to the spot where he had
that Ibrahim
buried
^
it.
But,
xl. 23.
much
he found
Genesis
it
was gone.
to
his
136
on his way to Urtas, he discovered the empty box behind a bush. Was Ibrahim, he thought, the culprit ? That was a question he would not
be long in solving. Continuing on his way, he struck the main road to Bethlehem, near Rachel's tomb. A number of Bedawin, men and women, were assembled there for a funeral service, for the Bedawin of the desert of Judah all bury their dead near Rachel's
sanctuary, as their forefathers the Israelites of old did around their sanctuaries. ^ Being a good
Moslem, he joined the assembly and told them how, just out of prison, he was on his way to his cousin Ibrahim, at Urtas. Then he left them,
in the village.
Said
fully expected to find his cousin a wealthy man, but, to his astonishment and deUght, instead of
and abundance, he found the whole family, consisting of Ibrahim, his wife, and nine children, all in one room just home from hard work in the fields, and about to sit down to an almost poor supper of lentils and bread. He was given a hearty welcome and kept there for several days, during which he went to work with the
finding luxury
others. "
not the slightest sign of wealth sorry to have suspected my cousin of villainy." And forthwith he decided to go back to Jerusalem and find work in his old convent
sojourn, here. I
"
am
BLOODY FEUDS
IV
137
During many centuries bloody feuds had been carried on in the village of Urtas between Ibrahim's
About the time of Said's release from prison the head of Ibrahim's adverse party was not very prosperous financially. But, and Salem's people.^
being in favour with the
officials in
Jerusalem,
The two he was elected Mayor enemies closely watched each other, and Ibrahim knew that if he showed the least imprudence his ill-gotten wealth would soon be discovered and be a cause for new trouble. For the time being, poverty, he decided, was the best policy. Years went by and the arrogance of Salem grew apace. Vexations of all kinds were heaped upon Salem's enemies. Ibrahim and his wife were bound together an unspeakable insult in Islam and were taken to gaol to Hebron on the most After a time they were released futile motive. by order of the officials. Ibrahim's people were charged with double and treble taxes his fourteen and fifteen-year-old sons were denounced as twenty and of an age for conscription, and money had to be paid in Jerusalem to convince the authorities that they were still under age. At last the vexations became too hard, a plot was formed and Salem was found dead. ^ Whereupon Ibrahim and some of the leaders of his party were
of the village.
^ 2
138
imprisoned, and for over two years had to feed on " the bread of affliction and the water of afflic-
Salem's party had exhausted its funds by bribing the officials to keep its enemies in prison, it became Ibrahim's turn to show the
tion."^
his hand. He and his people were and the moment that he stepped out of released, prison he knew that his buried money, now that Salem was dead, could be used advantageously. Not very long afterwards he, in turn, was elected
When
power
of
Mayor
slow degrees he got back the family lands, gardens and vineyards which After to his dishonour 2 had been mortgaged.
of Urtas.
By
a Ufe of poverty and many hardships he again came into the possession of the properties inherited from his forefathers the result, as everyone
concluded, of a life of assiduous labour, and an evident blessing from Allah, the bestower of all
good things.
1
I.
Kings
Fellah
xxii. 27.
is only considered to be really wealthy when he possesses land, and, like Naboth of old (see I. l6ngs xxi. 1, 3 and 4), he will not readily part with the inheritance of his fathers. Losing his land is as much a dishonour as possessing a dishonoured wife.
*
VIII
The
frogs of Jericho had reached the noisiest part of their nocturnal concert. Croak had begun to answer croak fully a couple of hours before,
and now the whole countryside echoed with the harsh rasping notes from a hundred thousand distended cheek-pouches. The howling of jackals in the distance alone broke the monotonous song. Yet the small mud-hut town, enclosed by Dom-tree hedges and inhabited by a few hundred poor
agriculturists, tranquilly slept on, and the habitues of the modern buildings which serve
Bedawin
Avertunt somnos,"
he said to himself, as the incessant croaking brought the words of Horace to his mind, and, what with the frogs, the heat and the fierce buzzing of baffled mosquitoes outside his tightlydrawn curtains, he came to the conclusion that,
tired out
though he was with his six hours' ride from Jerusalem, he was destined to pass a sleepless
night.
199
140
It
those delightful early impressions which are produced by the unfamiliar scenery of a new country, full of light and colour,
full of
and
mind was
and the strange picturesqueness of a new people. Fresh from Oxford, where he had pursued his studies with infinite credit, he had come out to
Palestine, at the invitation of his uncle
Theodore
Ralston, a prosperous English trader and old resident of Jerusalem, with the object of perfecting his knowledge of Arabic and exploring the land to which his thoughts had so often turned.
He had an
his uncle
ardent desire to
it
:
Theodore knew
know
and breadth
by
of the high-lands of Palestine, formed the running down of two mountain chains
from Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon, to wander on the lowlands of the Jordan valley, or El Ghor, between those two ranges, and on the Plains of
Sharon, along the shore of the Mediterranean, to see the Jordan rise at the foot of snow-capped Mount Hermon and, perhaps, to follow its course to the south end of the Dead Sea, nearly four thousand feet below Jerusalem and more than a thousand below the level of the Mediterranean. Ah thought the weary Philip Ralston, what He had had a pleasures were in store for him
! !
foretaste of
with his
them that day when, whilst riding uncle to Jericho, they had tarried on the
view the Mountains of Moab
;
Mount
of Olives to
EL GHOR
141
an immense blue wall beautiful to behold rising in the Trans jordanic region. But how hot it was in El Ghor He could that 110 in the shade had been understand, now, registered there on May 8th, 1847, and why some" one had said that Jericho was the hottest place
!
next to hell
"
uncle Theodore sleeping through it all ? he wondered. But the point was left undebated, for
just then the incessant croak, croak, croak of the
Was
performed its work and Philip Ralston, turning over on his side, at last found sleep.
frogs
II
Uncle and nephew were in the saddle at dawn, riding towards the Jordan. They had not been on their journey across the broad valley for more than an hour before there occurred one of those little wayside incidents which so deUghted the
heart of Philip Ralston.
At a turning of the road they saw coming towards them, white, dusty on a pure-bred Arab steed, a fine-looking Bedawi chief. He was riding slowly, as the Bedawin
always do, except when in danger, and was armed and accoutred in accordance with his station. A carabine was hanging from his saddle-knob he was girded by a Damascene sword, inlaid with silver and on his shoulder he was carrying his heavy twelve-foot long spear, with its ornamental crown of black ostrich feathers about the size
;
II (3131)
142
of a
blade.
The
mare
were entirely covered with long tassels in red, green, white and yellow, to ward off the flies, and
as
it proudly stepped along these pendent ornaments danced and shimmered in the morning sun like gems suspended on silken cords. " Ah an old friend of mine " exclaimed Theodore Ralston, on seeing the Bedawi. " Now,
! !
PhiUp, my boy, you will take your first lesson in Eastern ceremonial." And he pushed forward on his horse to offer the " Salaam aleik Peace be customary greeting " to you " Aleik es-salaam And to you peace also " responded the Bedawi, a stately man with black moustachios and a beard resembling that of Napoleon III, but without its artifice. "
:
Sleem Ali-el-Thiab,
this is
my
nephew, PhiUp
afar to be one of us," " continued the uncle, in the purest Arabic. are on our way to feast our eyes on the sacred
Ralston,
We
waters of the Jordan." With these words, the EngUsh trader, as an additional token of friendship, held forth his tobacco bag, which every real Bedawi accepts Sleem filled his long pipe and returned gratefully. " the pouch, with a wish that it might always be fuU." Theodore Ralston received it back
and
"
said,
by your
voice."
These compliments
A BEDAWI CHIEF
143
preceded the lighting of the pipe, when others were exchanged. " May you never know its evil/' said the trader, as he handed a hghted match. " Nor you its heat," responded the Bedawi, as, with evident satisfaction, he applied it to the bowl and began to inhale the fragrant smoke.
Ill
AH-el-Thiab, after stating his business in Jericho and wishing them, in the name of Allah, a safe journey, had gone on his way, Theo-
When Sleem
made
this dignified
when and where he had man's acquaintance. It was embodying a tragic adventure in
full of
those Httle
known
ethnological and
scientific facts
which can
only be gathered during long years of intimate contact with a country and its people. Philip
felt
it
"
was
in the morning, that I first saw Sleem Ali-el" He was riding slowly Thiab," began the trader.
along this very road, but in the opposite direction to which he was going to-day, and he was dressed and armed in exactly the way you have seen him. I became his friend, on trotting up to him with a
Salaam aleik,' after going through identically the same ceremonial you have just witnessed. A
remarkable fact
144
in the
East ; and the longer you live in Palestine the more you will notice it. Men grow old, as Sleem and I, alas show only too clearly, but habits and customs and modes of thought remain
!
the same.
"
That
is
Well, when the ice was broken by my offering him the tobacco pouch and we rode on together, I
learnt that he
was a son
of Ali-el-Thiab of the
Aduan
tribe.
AU-el-Thiab-el-Aduan.
people of the Transjordanic region who winter on the Plain of Sittim and pass most of the summer and autumn on the highlands of Moab. The eastern portion of the plain, with Nimrin as a
centre, consists of fine arable land, interspersed,
or
among
which
naheca, which is also known 6m- tree or Sidr, and the Arabs as the
Rhamnus
is
noteworthy
for
its
thorn-apples,
the
only fruit of the Bedawi and much appreciated, when dried by the natives, for their sweet flavour. These Dom-forests, as Sleem told me, are almost
impenetrable to man. Hyaenas, jackals, wolves, and foxes abound, whilst birds of every kind, from vultures to titmice, make themselves at
home
by
Like the frogs of Jericho so in these dense forests do two kinds night,
in the thickets.
:
of turtle-doves, in wailing tones, call out aU day Ya-joukh-ti long one for its lost plumage
145
bird,
!
thanking Oh merciful
sacred
'
Ya kareem
Oh
merciful
Big snakes
of all kinds steal along through the undergrowth hunting for mice and birds. There is the immense
Esculap of the Colubridae family of Ophidians and the bluish-black Zamenis carbonarius, which often exceeds two yards and rises to half its length when about to strike and this Carbonarius, otherwise called Hanash,' is certainly, with the Esculap, the Na'hash of the Bible, the brazen
;
*
'
Aduan.
these things, we rode along the cornfields, the ears often rising high above our heads and giant marygolds lining the fields.
"
As he
told
me
Sleem also spoke about the forthcoming harvest and the part they would have to give to the vile For a self-respecting Bedawi never tills Fellah.' the ground, but lets his lands to the Fellah of the Jerusalem district, who does the work and furnishes
*
the seed, giving a quarter of the gross receipts in return to the landlord.
came a and mice abound, reptiles sandy desert, and which stretches, as you will later see,
After the arable lands and forests
"
where
as
far
as
the
marly
called
hills
Here
Sleem
my
to
these
146
slimy hills, where not only boars hide in the rushes but where men might easily lie in wait
full of suspicion,
His mind seemed singularly and I could tell from his quick to right and left that he was on his guard glances In another against some possible unseen enemy. half -hour we reached the forest of poplars, willows and licorice-trees, and it was then that an incident occurred which has a direct bearing on my story. Sleem suddenly pulled in his horse and warned me, with a sharp cry, to do the same. With his eyes directed on the road in front of him and a stern look on his face, he and his tightly-reined-in
for stray travellers.
mare stood
" "
*
like a statue.
'
!
Tarsha
he exclaimed.
And
saw a
Daboia viper crossing the road. Once and blew up its head in the Cobra
stopped
di Capello
fashion, but soon it proceeded on its way and disappeared in the shrubs. I was for going after it,
me
Ehmad el-Erfa
'i,
who lived
Mesodays potamia, had authority, as viper-charmers, to meddle with snakes. " Heed not this Tarsha, the Deaf,' said the Shale illah rjahl ya Bedawi, solemnly. Does men of God to God, oh Allah Respect not the viper-charmer himself bid everybody
of the glory of the Khaleefs of
* *
!
147
heareth
*
This
Deaf
One, friend,
You know what the Psalmist says, Philip ? The wicked are like the deaf adder that stoppeth
;
her ear
not harken to the voice of charmers, charming never so wisely.' The Immovable East again, my boy.
will
which
"
And perhaps
many
it
was
vipers, coils and lifts its head ready to in the direction of its victim,
a particularly dangerous creature. mere scratch from its fangs is sufficient to cause certain death. It is generally very little over a yard in
as thick as the Esculap. nasty customer is the Tarsha, or, as it is less poetically the short-tailed. called, the Za'ara " Our meeting the Daboia seemed to cast a
is
length, but
over Sleem Ali-el-Thiab's mind. He remained silent until we had crossed the Jordan. There was no bridge over the river in those days, and as my new friend was unable to swim, I had to cross the stream four times twice for him and his mare and twice for my one horse and my clothes. In this way we lost quite an hour and a
cloud
:
half.
was the sight of some caves at the foot of the mountains of Moab, and when we had been on the road again two hours or so, which caused Sleem to open his mouth once more.
It
'*
148
"
*
him
'
!
he exclaimed, with a
bit-
terness which
still
made me
solemn, thoughtful face. I asked him to whom he referred, whereupon he told me the story of the adventure which the Daboia and the caves had brought to his mind.
"
The Rascheidy Bedawin of the western shores of the Dead Sea had come, he related, on a cattlelifting expedition to the eastern shores and were overtaken by the Aduans. In their retreat, an Aduany Bedawi was killed by Muhammad elRachidi of the Rascheidy, and, as Moslem law recognises, Muhammad was a blood-debtor to Sleem and all the Thiab family. Both Jewish and Moslem lawgivers are of the same opinion on this We read in Exodus^ He that smiteth point.
*
:
"
man
so that
little
he die
shall
^
:
and a
tooth,
further on
hand
^
burning,
wound
Eye
stripe
!
for
stripe.*
The Koran says Believers Retaliation is set up for murder. A freeman shall be put to death
for a freeman, a slave for a slave, a
woman
for
tribes, and, though a Moslem never forgives, Muhammad, who had business to attend to away from home, had almost forgotten that Aduans might be roaming about. Still,
1
xxi.
12.
Sura
ii.
175.
FACE TO FACE
in the instinctive
149
Rascheidy Bedawi, he cautiously crossed the Jerusalem to Jericho road and hid in a cave above the declivity of the
manner
of a
There, in order to avoid encountering an enemy whilst on his way home and on a prospective visit
to the Beni Sakhr
Galilee),
he went to
at nightfall
and continue
Just before dusk he peeped out of his hiding But at that very moment, to his terror, place. an Aduany was passing and caught sight of him.
It
both cried Sleem, riding up with his hand on parents his sword. Have you fallen at last into the hands
il
"
of Ali-el-Thiab.
!
Ya marun
'
!
waldain
Cursed
of
of
men
"
'
for
under your protection " Now, it is an unwritten law among these people that a dignified Bedawi ought never to beg, even for his life. Moreover, Sleem, the son of a great chieftain, with three hundred horsemen, whose steeds and arms, at least, he could call his
!
'
own, could not, by reason of his superior station, refuse a humble petition for mercy. So, as he looked down, with blood-shot eyes, on the kneeling Muhammad, his blood boiled at the thought that he had lost an occasion for vengeance. How sweet
150
it
the Koran
would have been to have carried out the law of A freeman shall be put to death for a
'
!
freeman
*'
to
The well-known words had no sooner occurred him when a strange thing happened. His
quick eye caught sight of a huge Daboia viper as it coiled back into a hole in the rock above
Muhammad's head
his brain. " *
Muhammad
the trembling Bedawi, until you have sworn that you will not
No/
replied
not
harm
me.* "
*
that the son of Thiab, not seek Billahi neither by this firearm' touching his your touching his carabine nor by this sword but leave you to die by God's
I
!
Get up, accursed cried Sleem, severely. Wallahi swear by Allah and the life of Allah
!
'
I,
will
life,
'
steel
will
will
and when he
to
will.
swear
and as we have no prayer-niche or other sacred place near by, put your hand into that hole, reprepointing to senting a Mu'hrab (a prayer-stand) the Daboia' s retreat 'and swear.* " Muhammad el-Rachidi rose and readily put forth his hand, but no sooner had it entered the
FATE'S
DEADLY STROKE
151
fell,
hole than the deadly stroke was given and he with pallid face, to the ground. " the sentence Kteeby wa inkatbat
'
!
was
written
The
sentence
was
*
written
'
!
cried
Muhammad, whose
ning to twitch convulsively, * die here and to-day " Naseebak God willed
!
it
It is
your
lot,'
cried Sleem, fiercely, as he coolly looked on at the agony of his enemy. " quarter of an hour later the Bedawi turned
rein, leaving
and the hyaenas, and rode at full speed to his tribe, eager to announce the happy yet fatal news. And the women ululated and joy went through the camp, for the dead Aduany was revenged.
Such was the story which Sleem Ali-el-Thiab to me when, invited to pay my first visit to his people, I was riding with him towards their encampment," concluded Theodore Ralston.
related
"
reached the black tents of Kedar,' of which the Bible tells us, night was coming on and
"As we
barking dogs came forth to meet us. At the tent doors fires had been lit for supper and women were busy baking. Half -naked children ran about in
all
Horses of the finest breed, all were tethered at a short distance. ready saddled, Cows and camels were chewing in the central parts
directions.
of the
camp.
And,
later,
men
gathered before
152
the guest-tent, sipping their coffee and smoking their pipes, to talk over the events of the day and discuss the question of a Ghazu to be under-
taken as soon as the harvest was over and the wheat had been stored away in the wheat-wells."
<
-^
^ o o
IX
LAIL
"
Bous
el
him."
An
of
Arab Proverb.
The
the
sons of
Adam
I
many
places they
raise us
up and
lived,
utilise us.
Thus, in
camp where
dogs, with thick fur, and watch-dogs, with a smooth coat all over, and the tall, thin greyhounds
which are used for hunting the gazelles on the broad plains of Philistia, near my first home. I was born in camp, south of Beersheba, and belonged to a family of the Azazmeh Arabs. On account of my jet black fur they called me Lail,
Night.
Edom.
my
borders of Gaza.
hard pursued by the Jahaline Arabs, with whom we were at war, we passed near a village. When young and on the move, I was carried on the back of a camel with the children, but later I followed mile after mile on foot, with the other dogs of our community. Though each dog belonged to a separate tent and each received his food from his own master,
153
154
we
common.
All night,
or whenever
we heard
strange sounds,
we barked.
;
pitied the poor fellows, and they never (except at certain periods, when even jackals and
we
bitches meet)
came near us. But we pricked up the stumps of our cropped ears when the hideous laughter of the hyaena was heard, and together
the direction of the enemy. In the daytime we were generally at rest, within the shadow of the tents, but only until some foreigner
in
we chased
could easily distinguish Fellahin passed. or other strangers, who generally came on foot or on mules. Then we would bark our loudest.
We
But should any Bedawi or camels of our own tribe approach by day or by night not a dog would move
Of course, there were exceptions to the rule. A Bedawi might come in or try to enter from the west, where the tent ropes indicate there is no entrance, and that we could never allow. Full of experience, and covered with wounds and Our first leader was Sabe* scars, were my elders. the Lion, who really deserved his name. He had lost an eye in a fight with a huge hyaena, which, creeping up to the camp, would have carried off a goat or a sheep but for Sabers vigilance. Sabe'
his tongue.
attacked the hyaena, but before the other dogs arrived to assist him, the beast, with his mighty teeth, had seized our leader's head and pierced an Feehng the dogs upon him, our enemy fled eye.
SCARRED DOGS
for his life
155
and told
better eat clay than The news spread, and thus did of the Arab."^ come to be dreaded by all the wild beasts Sabe'
of the neighbourhood.
"
his fellows that they had risk a battle with the dogs
Baida, the old white bitch, too, was marked across her back with scars which she had received But for Ibrak, the in a fight with two wolves.
black and white dog, who became the leader of our band when Sabe' (as I will tell you presently) was killed, she would have been almost skinned.
brave and trustworthy chief was Ibrak. His " I could not be sure of master often used to say retaining my tent and my flocks without him. Yet Ibrak had a broken His place is marked." limb, the result of an attack on our camp, this time by man. There were few of us, indeed and least of all Hawa, the Wind, who could almost who could not say that he or she had licked fly an honourable wound. Looking back to those days, I think that I can say that we were generally well treated by our masters. Was it because they needed us ? For " Kiss the dog on the they say, you know mouth, till you obtain what you want of him." Yes ; I think that the Bedawin are really fond Was not Sabe' as much loved by his of dogs. owner as he was feared by the wild beasts ? What a splendid leader he was! Poor Sabe'
:
156
how
easily
I
he
Late one evening, when the camp-fires had died out, an unaccustomed sound was heard in the
darkness. As quick as hghtning, Sabe' rushed in the direction of the noise, closely followed by Hawa,
Beda, and the remainder of our band. We found a man lying on the ground he had stumbled over a peg and a tent-cord. What could have been his business there, late at night and coming from the west, whence no honest Bedawi comes ? ^ We all compassed him and attacked him fiercely, ^ and Sabe^ who had bitten him in the calf of the leg, would surely have torn
Ibrak,
;
to pieces head.
him
in the
The
in
camp and
Suffering
and hindered by us from escaping, the unknown one was soon captured. He was beaten and put in chains until morning, when he was found to belong to a neighbouring What could have been his object friendly tribe. in coming from the west and in the darkness of the night ? Had he come to see a friend ?
from several
.
The openings
Cf.
of the tents in
East.
Psalms
xxii. 16.
157
And
valuable animal, the culprit pay for him, the price being a heap of flour as high as would reach the tip of Sabers tail when he
was held
town,
I
vertically with his nose to the ground. Afterwards, when I left the camp and lived in a
anybody
But
it
the Bedawin, who treated us really most respecttreatment I fully, compared with the disdainful the dogs in received among townsmen. True,
towns are often very mean. But that is because they are ill-used. They have a saying, there, that " a dog begat a puppy, who turned out more unclean than his father." Now, I beg to ask, how can a dog be clean who feeds on carcasses and
rubbish,
streets
?
and who
lies
down
to sleep in
unswept
were very different in my old camp. I used even to play with the children and I was young then, receive food from their hands. with the children. for the older dogs never play
!
Ah
yes, things
Though we had nearly always enough to eat, the arrival of visitors was ever welcomed among us, The guests received for that meant a feast for all. their food in a central tent and fed us on the bones and scraps. Ours was a social life we rarely
;
My thoughts go back quarrelled over food. to a certain day on which a calf was torn to pieces
. .
.
12
(2131)
158
by wolves not far from the encampment. When our masters came to the rescue the animal was deadj so they abandoned it to us, because they said But we found it anything but it was unclean.^ that and all agreed that man's tastes were strange.
Ill
After Sabe"s death Ibrak became our leader, and about the same time Beda had four young
ones, which she protected against
wind and cold One day, a boy from the inside " fur and said It is really very
:
and warm." Whereupon I heard his father " Zei souf el klaab, na'em reprove him and say wa nijiss, Though the dog's wool is soft, it is
unclean."
flew at
me
Beda, I show my sympathy, but she so fiercely that I ran away as fast as I
very
sorry
all
for
could,
yelping
the time.
!
How
very queer
;
we
are ready, at times, to persecute every weaker dog, though its intentions may be of the best.
Beda's puppies were three weeks old the came and asked for a J arm On (a puppy) and took away a brown one. this Jarru's pendent ears, I imagined it seeing must be of another race and felt so glad. I " ^ And ye shall be holy men unto me Cf. Exodus xxii. 31
When
owner
neither shall ye eat any flesh that ye shall cast it to the dogs."
is
KATTOOSH
159
thought of the fun of puUing them when at play. But the cruel man took the poor browny to his
tent and, cutting his ears in halves, forced eat the bits, under the pretext that this
fierce.
him
to
would
make him more howled for hours, whereupon the children laughed and called him Kattoosh, the Earless. He was given this name at first for fun, but he ever
afterwards retained
for eight days.
it.
On
rolling
away the
stone at the
entrance, to shove in the potsherd containing his meal of bread soaked in water, the children daily
was to remain there until But he was not wholly his wounds were healed. from his box. They attached free when released him for another week to a tent-peg, so that he might know (as they said) his home and his masThen he was freed from his cord, never, ters. during the whole of his Ufe, to be attached
told each other that he
again.
It
Bedawin, a life full of new experiences and adventures with Kattoosh. I taught him to catch lizards and bark
was a
camp
of the
and
But we never
We
pastry which our masters dry bread, the wasted, and, once in a while, to gnaw a bone. We knew, moreover, how to find the carcasses of animals lying at a distance, long before the smell
lentils or
160
reached us, by the sight of the vultures and ravens soaring above them. That first winter of my life, how well I remember it Continual rains brought much trouble to our camp. We could never find a dry place. As we had not yet left the mountains, the flocks
suffered
terribly
from
scarcity
of
food.
One
afternoon, during a thunderstorm, several weak goats were lost. We hunted for them the next
morning and at last found their dead bodies near some rocks, under the lee of which they had sought shelter. Again there was a big feast, in company with the birds of the air and the beasts of the field. ^ We barked all night to drive away the jackals and the hyaenas, but at last we could eat no more, so we returned to the camp and slept until dawn. Only two carcasses were left, and these were gnawed and torn, when we later inspected the remains. Hyaenas had carried away the others. And very soon the ravens and the eagles finished the rest.^ On account of the severe winter and the stench from the carcasses, our masters loaded the camels with the tents and furniture, and set off towards the warmer lowlands. Whilst on the way we overtook another party of Arabs, whose destinaThe two bands, who tion was the same as ours. were on friendly terms, greeted each other with
never heard of dogs of different camps doing the same. No sooner did we see the
fair
words.
But
Cf. II.
Samuel
xxi. 10.
cf.
Proverbs xxx.
17.
161
it
fiercely.
Never
before was there such a barking and a howling, such a growling and a tearing at each other as
Friend and foe were soon inextricably entangled, each snapping and jumping at his
then.
last,
the
men
inter-
and
left
clubs.
melee
stunned
me and
!
me
Poor Lail
"
I
!
heard some of
my
say.
What
a pity
Who
:
was
it
struck
him
people "
?
As they were discussing the matter, an elderly man intervened and said " Why trouble your heads about him ? You know the proverb: 'A dog became a carcass.' Lose no more time Had it been Sabe^ the One-
eyed, or Ibrak the Lame, or Hawa the Swift, or even Beda the Flayed, we might have sought
out the evil-doer. But it is only Lail He had a big voice, a good appetite, and he hid during
!
the night.
Allah yekhfi,
I
"
away
could hear their footsteps and voices in the distance but could not move a
IV
The day was
^
far
voices approaching,
Cf.
I.
gone voices
when
Samuel
xvii. 43.
162
The new-comers rode on mules and had luggage sacks. There were no camels, no women, no children, and not a single dog. Their conversation had nothing to do with either flocks or camps or war expeditions. They spoke in a strange dialect of buildings and towns, of the sale of butter and he-goats, of money and of the buying of bread. Ah how hungry I was and how the mention of food made me long for some
Bedawin.
! !
"
"
cried "
the
first
man on
catching
Here's a
dog.
How came
!
he
"
And
" Kss
Kss
he cast a morsel of bread in my direction. I rose and timidly crept towards it, for I feared their strange faces. There was nought else to strike
sticks, nor stones, nor weapons they carried hardly a stick with which to beat their mules. I followed them when the bread was eaten, for what more does a dog require than bread and human company ? Though they were almost always harsh to me when I approached too near, yet, from time to time, they threw me food. By evening we came to a stone-built village. The houses were further apart than our tents, which form a protection one to the other. There, every house had a protecting wall around it and a door leading into a courtyard. And every house
terror in
my
heart,
neither
possessed
dog,
which,
A DOG'S DUTY
163
inside the wall, threatened to reach us. Evidently these animals were of the watch-dog class, like
only they did not live together, as with This struck me as strange. For I had always imagined that, just as men gathered together, so did dogs flock together by night, when they lived
our
us.
own
in the
same group of houses or tents. There were few of these viUage dogs, too, which had scars. Were they never attacked by beast or by man ? My new masters tethered the mules in an enclosure away from the houses, and there I stood on
guard all night. That is a dog's work, and it is weU, in an unknown place, to be loud-voiced and angry. But long before dawn, and whilst the stars were still twinkling, the mules were packed and off we went, over hills and valleys, through olive-groves and vineyards. Noon found us near water, where the mules drank and fed and rested at sunset we reached a big gate and a place surrounded by high waUs. There were no courtyards to the houses in this
;
city,
where the dogs could be. Soon, every man in our party went in a different direction, so that I was
at a loss to
know whom
to foUow.
. .
I
.
could not
forget that I was nobody's dog feU on the man who had first given
My
me
choice bread.
Dismounting from his mule, he knocked at a I door, which he entered with his animal.
*
Jerusalem.
164
prepared to follow. But to my disappointment he turned round and kicked me, exclaiming " Out unclean dog Barra Yen 'al ! Out, " cursed animal And he banged the door behind him,
murmuring
There
possess
I
"
Akhs
Coward "
!
everything more plentifully than in a camp yet have no room for a dog. But a faithful dog will not abandon his master's house because
curses are heaped "
upon him.
in
It is true that
calls
they
say
He who
I
is
need of a dog
Ehmad."
wanted,
loudest.
However, as
continued
at everyone
in the fields,
my
duty.
night and
Many
who passed
my my
way.
My
Soon
in the houses
reward came with the dawn, when the people threw their refuse into the streets.
I learnt that I
;
must pick up
my living in this
so for several days I sought among the rubbish heaps for food. One morning, three or four men came along, dragging a dead ass out of the town. Several dogs were following, so I
way or die
joined them. Seeing us, one of the " Verily proverbs are ever true
*
men Do
for
said
'
say death
:
Mote
of
il
'Hameer
is
faraj
lal
klaab The
not
we
?
donkeys
providential
dogs
Look, they are following us already." They dragged the dead ass beyond the city
By
permission of
Street in
Jerusalem
165
^ gates and there, over the dunghill, cast it down. For a moment we stood overlooking the deep declivity, and behold, at the bottom, were ravens
for morsels
among
the bones of
Of course, there
was plenty for all, making it needless to quarrel. With my head all besmeared with blood (no wonder the sons of Adam call us unclean ) I passed back through the city gates and, greeted with sticks and stones, ran for my life. At the end of a long thoroughfare with a sharp turning I came to a place where many busy people were in front of food shops and dogs were on every side. One bi^ fellow, covered with scars, was lying down in front of a shop where a man was cooking pastry and putting it on plates. It was the smell of the Samn (melted butter) which attracted my attention. The well-known odour made me lift my nose and sniff the scented air. The man with the pastry threw a piece which had fallen on the
!
ground in my direction. I pounced upon it, whereupon the big dog growled and made a rush to deprive me of the tasty morsel. FUght was
impossible, I was in a corner ; the only thing to do was to back, imploringly, against the wall. But at that moment the pastryman cried " What are you about ? " 'raj
:
Cf.
Jeremiah
xxii.
burial of an ass,
drawn and
" He shall be buried with the 19 cast beyond the gates of Jerusalem."
:
166
A 'raj,
At
dog.
Every day found me outside the shop of the good-hearted pastrycook. There I had ample
opportunity for completing my city education. Many were the things which came under my observation. I noticed, for instance, that the cook's customers were only men, that no women were about the streets, as in the camp. One or two I had caught sight of in the houses, but they seldom went out and very rarely to the shops.
Another impressive
pointed ears,
fact
was that
A 'raj
had
httle later I
how
these came.
One
forenoon,
I
when
was
me
and as
never suspected mischief, they covered my body with blows and wounds. Ever after, on the appearance of boys, I got up and ran in the opposite direction. A 'raj who was always lying in the neighbourhood of his master's shop, was the chief of his quarter. Every dog within a hundred yards acknowledged him as leader and every bitch almost crawled
,
167
when he stood up. When a strange dog, on its way from the dunghill, passed through the
pastrycook's street, A'raj would give the signal and we would attack him until he was out of
our region.
had
his
own
discovered from this that each dog quarter and kept to it as much as
away was the street where the butchers' dogs congregated. One of them I knew and thus,
was never very strong and nobody ever feared that / should become a leader) I visited his home and discovered his mode of life. The doorposts and the shelves of the shops were all bloody and greasy skinned he-goats and rams hung outside on hooks and the dogs licked
under his protection
(for I
;
;
the blood as
dropped to the ground, or caught the pieces of bone as they flew from the butchers' wooden blocks. Small indeed was our portion,
it
be
satisfied,
would not let us approach.^ There was no growing very fat on the little food I found here and there. The bare living I found was nothing in comparison with my free field and camp life. And so, when I slept, I dreamed of tents and Kattoosh, of running with Sabe' and Beda, and with Ibrak and Hawa. Sometimes I would jump up as though jackals were approaching or distant sounds had broken upon the quietness
of the
1
camp.
Ivi.
How I
11.
home
Cf. Isaiah
168
thought
dead
I. Sometimes they returned, carrying skinned animals on their shoulders. I puzzled over the reason for this strange occurrence. One day I determined to follow, and found that, instead of driving the animals to the fields, they gathered them into a dirty space, strewn with bones and horns, soaked with blood, and swarming with flies. Then I began to understand. I saw the animals bound by their feet, thrown on the ground and slaughtered, just as they used to do in camp. Only there they killed them one at a time ; here, in the city, they slaughtered them by scores.
dogs were congregated at this slaughtering place. But what strange beasts they were Not one of them barked at me. I thought that ^ they must be dumb and remembered that I had once heard someone say, when a dog would not move " He is like the dogs of the slaughtering
Many
hunger and
I
rest."
till I
ate
could neither
disgusted
move nor
bark.
But
all
the time
I felt
at the myriads of
flies
dumb companions
with their rough wild fur. Once more I yearned for the old life my playmates the children, the desert, the pure open air,
1
10.
IN
and the
at the
THE FIELDS
when we used
to
169
bay
great light, thinking that someone was approaching with a lantern. And I began to
how to
VI Once more I followed the rams to the slaughtering place and once more I passed a day with the dumb dogs, licking blood. ^ But not many animals
were kiUed that day those that were spared were driven out of the city to the fields. I seized
;
opportunity and followed the man who was behind them, a man with bare legs and certainly not of the city. He had looked at me, as I thought,
my
compassionately,
and had thrown me bread. Once he had actually called out, " Ta'o-ta'o
!
Kss-kss
"
could I do but run up to him and follow at his heels, almost hidden by the dust
else
What
raised
by the
!
flock of
rams
the joy at having once more found some one to care for me
!
Oh
in a village
and through-
out the night I ran about the court, barking. In the daytime I followed to the pastures. From time to time the shepherd fed me, for I soon
became
indispensable.
searched
the
rocks
which the
1
who might be
Cf.
I.
flocks passed for hiding jackals or men lying in wait to steal the goats
xxii. 38.
Kings
170
or lambs.
I brought them together when they too far from their master. I guarded them strayed against the danger of the night. The people
of the house,
Ghareeb, because, to them, I was a Stranger, said that I was worth a man, and even more than some men.
who
called
me
Life in
my new home
house.
was
infinitely
more
pleas-
ant than that in the city. Yet I saw little of the other dogs about the village, each being attached
Sometimes, however, I met my next door neighbour on the refuse-heaps near the ovens and played with him. ^ Yes, once more
to his
I
own
wrestled and
this,
than
we
romped
or dough which had fallen into the ashes, and, when the men were absent, were even admitted
to the houses
hands.
by the women and fed by their On rainy days we entered the warm oven
building, which is always a part of the house, and went to sleep in the warm ashes until dawn. When the noise of the mills ceased and the
women came to bake the bread we crawled out, because we did not care to be driven forth, and on hearing the footsteps of men or boys we scampered away for our lives. The men often kneel down to
pray on the roof or elsewhere, and on these occaI have heard sions are particularly angry with us. them say that we must not on any account be
1
"
The Arabs
is
He
say, when speaking of this or that one's conduct as funny as a dog playing on a dunghill."
CATS
allowed
to
HONOURED
;
171
perchance, the more, saying that the water dripping from our coats soils their praying ground and that for " Little forty yards about a dog it is unclean."
approach them and even when, we have taken a bath, they shun us
wonder that we are fonder of women than of men These sons of Adam are indeed curious folk. They are fond of cats, who steal their food and are
!
never chased as we are. They permit them to lie on the skirts of women and children, and, worse Cats catch rats still, they regard them as holy. and mice and serpents and lizards, which we
disdain,
we
" believe that a cat will be avenged, saying For killing a cat there is no pardon." They tell
:
and
holy
But
They even
about Soandso, who became blind for having killed a cat, about another whose leg was broken for having ill-treated a cat. Never, never do they speak of the evil which follows on the illtreatment of a dog. And though they know and " The cat has got into the habit of eating repeat chickens," all they do when it is at fault is to " " shout Out cat Barra Biss Ah yes, cats have indeed a good time compared to us. They sleep indoors on the mats and on the
stories
bedding they sit by the warm fire with their masters and mistresses
;
caressed
by them and
silk.
their fur
is
as soft as
172
Have you ever noticed, too, among the Arabs that when anyone has shown courage he is compared to the noble lion, an animal which they know only by name ? Yet they maintain that " a Hon remains a lion, though he be brought up with dogs, but a dog remains a dog, though he be warmed on a golden stove." Certainly we are dogs and can never be anything else. Another injustice when a man is not quite fair in his dealings, the dog is taken as a com" A dog's tail," they say, " can never parison. be straight, though you put it under a hundred What has our curved tail to do with presses." men's vices ? I believe that if our tails were as
:
would
still
of another race and speech^ our village. They had dogs with passed through another unknown thing with us. collars on, And when we village dogs ran to chase them, they hid behind their masters, who even touched and
caressed them.
wonder how they liked this ? When men or women stretch out their hands to us it is generally with no good intention, and we
I
jump
aside as quickly as possible. Only the greyold camp were touched and fed by my
of
They were given just the quantity of food, to hinder them from feeding
man.
Europeans.
"NO VIRTUE
on carrion
oil
;
IN FASTING"
173
and
their feet
before starting on a hunting expedition, so that their paws, when pursuing the swift-footed
gazelles,
would not
stick in the
mud.
However, notwithstanding all my complaints, I have been better off in the village than in the city, and though I have had less to eat than in my first home, I have spent many happy years here. Sometimes the people eat nothing aU day, but there is generally plenty for all by night time. Of course, dogs are now chosen as a proof that there is no virtue for fasting in Ramadan, as " If hungering led to shown by the saying Paradise, the dogs would enter first." However that may be, the other day I found a bone, and as
:
ha-a-a-a-a
a neighbour's dog came to snatch it away, I jumped " Hathi at his throat and growled in Arabic "^ 'adem ti-i-i-i-i " Bakam sharate Menacingly, he demanded "^
: ! :
!
teeth,
barked
in peace.
am
old now.
hear.
^
Like
is
many
A
of
my
"
!
fellow dogs,
it ?
What
my
bo-o-o-o-ne
"A
"
thousand!
thousand!"
13 (2131)
174
has lost its force. Soon I shall die and be thrown over the rocks to decay. Nobody feeds on dead dogs neither vultures, nor ravens, nor jackals, nor those of my own kind. Worms alone nourish themselves on our meat and skin. That is the
;
reason, perhaps, why we are often spoken of as " a dead dog, good for nothing." ^
*
I.
Samuel xxiv.
14.
II.
Samuel
ix.
xvi. 9.
X
CREATURES IN COUNCIL
I
Allah created the animals, He gathered them all into one place, and an angel of the Azizis, seated next to his throne, was commanded
to assign particular regions to them, with meat This specially adapted to their requirements. suited aU the beasts of the field and arrangement
When
the birds of the air very well indeed, with the single exception of the serpent, who put in a claim
flesh
that he had a right to feed on human and blood. Adam replied that he must have a year in which to reflect, and promised that at the end of this time he would give his answer at a great congress to which all animals should be
to
invited.
Adam
Whether this, interview took place before or Adam's expulsion from Paradise is unknown, so far back does it date in the history of the world. But very probably it must be placed after the Fall, when Adam's wisdom was on the decline. Otherwise, would he have been so fooHsh as to
after
test the
blood of
all
living creatures and report thereon ? Naturally, that wicked insect found that human blood was
175
176
best.
Adam had
friend
in
the
swallow. Whilst the mosquito was on its way to the congress, the faithful bird, which, through its annual visits to the Kaaba, knew man's
religious
feelings
destination, pounced down upon it and nipped off so large a part of its tongue that its voice became a sharp and vicious buzz. As the mosquito was
comprehensive manner, the swallow offered its services as inter" preter, and declared that the report was Frogs." And that is the reason why, to this day, serpents feed on those amphibians. Such was the principal question decided at the
express
congress in Palestine. It was a long time before a second one was held not, indeed, until just before the Deluge, when Noah
first
unable
to
itself
in
animals'
of the preserva-
species. Century after century passed without there being any necessity for a fresh But at last the day came when the re-union. third congress had to be called, this time by the creatures themselves, for they wished to discuss the wrongs which had arisen through man's ignorance of animal welfare, besides certain other
private questions. The organisers unanimously agreed that for once man must be excluded from
their councils.
Abu
AT MEROM
knew the country
177
documents together than anyone else, and who better than even man himself, thought that the best place for the meeting would be the shrubby marches of El ^Huleh, in the extreme north of Palestine, where all the delegates would be able to find good shelter and plenty of appropriate food. Adam's sons seldom ventured into the thicket for any length of time, and when
they did they always retired at night time. All that the delegates would have to be careful of doing was to keep quiet during the day ; then
presence would not even be suspected. El 'Huleh, therefore, was chosen, and Tell-el-Kadi, the seat of the Judge, and the place where Dan
their
had
lived of old
was
for the
important gathering.
Sliman, in the course of his speech to his collaborators, went on to say that there was no
Abu
need to waste time over discussing the question of a chairman. Abu Tasba', the lion, had long been acknowledged to be King of the Beasts, and though he did not live in Palestine he could no doubt be found without much difficulty on the frontiers of Arabia. Let their swiftest messenger, Abu Tansar, the white-headed vulture, be sent
to offer
him the presidency of the Council. So the King of the Birds ^ flew away in a straight
As acknowledged by Solomon
(Palestine Folk-lore).
178
of the river, he searched and searched until at last he found the lair of Abu Tasba'. Swooping to
Abu Tasba' earth, he dehvered the invitation. did not take long to decide ; so great a recognition of his strength could not meet with a cold refusal ;
he accepted with a roar of delight and announced his intention of starting for El 'Huleh immediately. Only, Abu Tansar must lend him his aid as an aerial scout, and enable him to avoid camps and inhabited places, if he were to reach
his destination quickly
and
safely.
Snoonoo, swift, sped from village to village and from mountain to mountain, inviting delegates from all the domestic animals to the congress, during the sittings of which it was thoroughly understood no one should be
Meanwhile,
the
as an inducement to
abundance was held forth to come. The marshes of El 'Huleh an ideal oasis were not only full of juicy plants for the vegetarians, there were large
molested.
in
Food
all
fish
for the
myriads of insects for the birds, and a multitude of minor animals for the
divers,
reptiles.
and
II
was a clear moonHght evening when the congress met the most favourable time that could have been chosen, as some of the delegates would have been quite at a loss on a dark night, and daylight would have been equally troublesome
It
<i->
-^
v-^^'^.
'^
-ANIMAL KINGS
to
others.
179
The
Ghawarneh
Bedawin
having
as
retired for the night with their cattle, the members previously advised by the soft-footed mouse,
the silently flitting bat and other envoys, to make little noise as possible quietly dropped in one
by
one.
King
with
court
of Trees, sat
Abu
Tasba^, the King of Beasts, the King of Birds, and all his Tansar, perched in the majestic branches an
Abu
arrangement said to be due to Abu Sliman. Abu Dib, the brown bear of Lebanon, rolled in with an apology. He explained that, being a citizen
of Djebel-esh-Sheikh, the cold region assigned to
he came as an outsider, but he soon as possible, as he could not Abu Tanmar easily support the heat of El Ghor. the slender leopard, glided in so noiselessly that no one would have noticed him had it not been for his spots. Abu Madba*, the lean, striped hyaena, came heavily into view, gave a hungry malicious look at the domestic animals and, feigning friendship, went to lie down near a fine
Azizis,
him by the
would
retire as
Ser'han, the solitary wolf, slinked in at dusk, looking quite innocent and feeling contented with all the world, for he had just fed on a lamb
ass.
Abu
Abu
|Sheeby, the
yellow cheetah, silently followed in his footsteps. Pricking up his hairy ears, Abu Fahed, the round-
headed lynx,
silently
180
murmur
the quadrupeds.
jackal, with a very indifferent call, for he was replete through feeding on the carcass of a buffalo. In his rear walked the lesser friends wild cats,
:
martens, ichneumons and porcupines with clattering quills, closely followed by hedgehogs, moles,
Abu Ghirreh, the circular as it crawled forward on its badger, resembling, low legs, a moving cushion. Abu Sliman, the
rats and, last of
all,
There were strong camels of the 'Hauran and the mountains of Ephraim, lean ones, too, from the a slender-footed Hajeen south of the Dead Sea (dromedary), which carried the mail through the
;
sandy wastes of Palestine the fiery horses of the Bedawin, and a heavy Kedeesh, an animal for rough work at the mill or on the road mules and cows, oxen and buffaloes sheep and donkeys taken their places there After these had goats. came gazelles and hares from the plains, conies and ibexes from the cliffs of Moab, and wild boars from the marshes. Great fruit-eating bats and other smaller insect-feeders flitted about in the moonlight. Most of the feathered friends had, as I have already said, gathered hours before around Abu Tansar, as with few exceptions, they were day birds. Thus, perched on the strong branches next to the great vulture, were eagles, buzzards,
;
;
181
harriers, hawks, kites, falcons and owls. Croaking ravens and crows sat on smaller branches, and so
on the topmost boughs of the oak tree, and chirped. Other trees, too, were occupied by delegates. On a stately palm was entwined a fine specimen, with blood-red neck and brownish body, of the Esculap, the representative of numerous harmless whilst near by was a huge Daboia viper, serpents
forth, until,
little
representing
I
six
venomous
species.
Nor must
omit to mention the Sheikh of the Haradin and the Sheikh of the Chameleons, accompanied by a green lizard and a house gecko, who were perched on the walls of an adjoining ruin. Absentees among the 550 specimens of the animal kingdom of Palestine were very few indeed. The only really important delegate who could not come and he sent a warran to present his excuses was the crocodile, who said he did not dare,
for
of the
Zerka
At
Abu
whereupon
ceased. " roared.
chattering, chirping
and
fluttering
Are
all
the
domestic
animals here
"
?
he
their presence at this particular of great importance. I dare say that congress some of the poor slaves of mankind have been
is
"
For
unable to
leave
I
their
stables
and
enclosures.
However,
am
we
are honoured
182
Abu Te'hsen, the horse, Abu mule, Abu Ehmar, the donkey, Baghel, Abu Thor, the ox, and Abu Jameel, the camel. We are pleased, too, to welcome Abu Klabe, the
by the presence
the
" dog, and Bisabis, the cat late though they be Abu Klabe and Bisabis issued into the moon!
light just at that very moment. They had been on their way as to which of the two quarrelling
Come now,
**
let
Abu Tasba'.
item on the programme ? " Dispute between Abu Madba*, the hyaena, and Baghel, the old mule," read Abu Sliman in his most important manner. "In a certain big
field, full of
us get to business," continued Abu Sliman, will you read the first "
food, Baghel was approNow, the priating everything to his own use. field belongs to So a delegation, everyone. of Abu Tanmar, Abu Ser'han, Abu composed
in
and searching
Fahed, Abu-1-Ehseine and your humble servant, was sent to find out by whose permission Baghel
ate most of the grass
of the remainder.
and
spoilt the
appearance
he acted perfectly within his rights, and that, when and where we liked, he could show us the firman he had received from his superior." " " " We exclaimed Abu Tasba'. Very good must settle this matter without delay. What
!
in
your defence,
A CONVINCING FIRMAN
**
183
the
Exactly what I told the delegation," replied "It is quite true old mule, confidently. that I possess a written firman given me by the
Dispenser of all Good Things, the Owner of the Universe, and written in very fine and subtle
letters.
If it is correct, as
is
Abu Madba*
states,
a scholar and can read, let him come near to me, and, in the presence of the assembly, prove his ability. I will say no more, save that
that he
Abu Madba'
is
very straightforward reply," said the Chair" man. Very well, show him the firman and let us get to more serious business." " As I have no pockets in which to keep the document," explained Abu Baghel, as the hyaena " I have hidden it under one of my approached, hind hoofs." And with these words he lifted up one of his
hoofs.
"A
cannot see anything," said Abu Madba*. I tell you," replied the old mule, " that the firman is written in very fine characters ? How can you expect to see it at that distance, and in such a poor light too ? Draw near and then you'll be convinced."
I
"
"
Didn't
nearer.
exclaimed Baghel, aiming well and kicking with all his might when he considered his
!
Whew
"
184
If
that doesn't
The blow alighted on Abu Madba"s nose, and him rolUng, senseless, a dozen yards away. Whereupon there arose such a yelling and a shrieking, such a bellowing and a croaking, such a grunting and a snorting, such a neighing and a braying, such a hissing and a whizzing as had
sent
never been heard before at one spot. It seemed as though the very trees and bushes had joined
in the laughter at the most striking proof of the accuracy of a firman ever given.
who kept
his head.
Conscious of the importance of his position as chief organiser of the congress, and its secretary,
it
he did his best to call the delegates to order. But was some minutes before he could make himself
!
he Children, children Yawlat, yawlat ** at last succeeded in saying. I beg of you to be prudent. Man may be about and spoil all our I think we may unanimously decide plans. ... that Abu Baghel has fully made out his case. So we wiU pass to the next question. I have a very important document, signed by a well-known delegate, to read to you and would beg you to give
!
heard. "
"
But
last
185
Adam sneer at us, chase us and call Sometimes they are right but very, very often they are wrong in their appreciations.
Sons of
us names.
Besides, they are often guilty of ill-treating our friends, the domestic animals, who so rarely revolt
against them. Who has not heard the story of an excellent instance of the ungrateful Lail,'
*
manner in which the sons of Adam treat their most faithful friend the dog ? But others could tell equally striking stories of cruelty and neglect. Now, as citizens of Palestine citizens before man was created here we are ready to protest. But let everyone do it for himself. My purpose
at present
is
to point out
us.
are
dependent upon
They
services but very often our names, to designate their abodes, properties, hills, springs and so forth. Here are a few instances in which sites have been
named
after us.
There are
three for leopards, as Nimrin, etc. ; three for hyaenas, as Wad-ed Dab 'a, etc.
three for camels, as Beit-ej-Jmal, etc. ; three for boars, as Wad-el-Khanzeer, etc.
four for sparrows, as Ain-el-'Asafeer, etc. three for bees, as Khirbet Na'hleh, etc. ; two for horses, as Nekeb-el-Khale, etc. ;
two for ibexes, as Ain-Jiddy and Wad-elBedoon two for vultures, as 'Ebr-en-Nisr, etc. two for serpents, as Ain-el-Hayeh, etc.
;
; ;
186
two for flies, as Dair-Dubban, etc. one for the buffalo, as Birket-ej-Jamoos one for the crocodile, as Nahr-et-Tamsa'h
two
one one one one one one one one
Wawy
for the
donkey, as Beni
Ehmar
and
one for the fleas, as Nahr Barghut. There is also Khirbet-el- Assad, the Lion's Ruin. But there is a difference between this and the names I have cited. These names all point to ancient sites which once existed in the vicinity of their modern representatives, whereas the name of the lion is generally used as a mere badge. Humans employed the lion's name as an emblem
image graven images being forbidden is the only one they will permit. Thus, we have Uons* images at the Gate of El Kuds, on the bridge near Lydda, on old temples in the
of strength
and
his
Hauran, and elsewhere, just as in the days of Solomon, who had them sculptured on his
throne."!
Abu
II,
Chronicles
ANIMAL FABLES
the remark that this was
all
187
heraldry.
But
it
was a
was no
definite locality
known
dele-
for lions.
dissertation,
read -some
lions.
^
old
passages
Looks very much like the Euphrates region," remarked Abu Tasba'.
"
Then a
certain judge
**
named Samson,"
^
con-
tinued
*'
Abu SUman,
"
!
with
his staff
its body." ** exclaimed the Chairman. Who lion being killed with a staff, or of bees building in a carcass ? That writer never
Once upon a time, too, an Ash Allheem, ^ who came from Bethel, was kiUed by a lion and left by the roadside with his ass and both beasts
;
stood by hours." *
"
the
carcass
contemplating
it
for
This
is
"
The
writer
sheer lunacy," growled Abu Tasba*. who recorded that incident had
never seen a hon in his life, otherwise he would have known that when we kill a warm-blooded
being "
carry it away and eat it." There is a story of a prophet
!
we
who was
cast
by a king' into a den of lions." ^ " I can vouch for that," said the Ah
^
lion.
Job
iv.
10
xxviii.
* I.
8.
xiii.
Dervish.
Kings
24.
vi.
16.
188
"
It
my own
country.
Kings always
capture lions."
Then there was a young shepherd, David, in the wilderness of Judaea, who smote a lion and a bear, and took a lamb out of their mouths." ^ Here both Abu Tasba' and Abu Dib roared and
growled so terribly that Abu SUman, thinking his last moment had come, shpped away into the
bushes. "
'*
How
can
he cried piteously.
servant."
"
am
But it took some time for the anger of the Hon and the bear to subside. Both were on their feet
together, loudly protesting against the statements of holy Scripture. Presuming that they had been
would each, they said, have taken a lamb and and the shepherd gone in opposite directions boy would have had his work cut out to track
;
them.
The
clash of their
at last that
*'
Abu
Order
Order
Abu Dib
.
. .
Wait
until
it is
Let me say that this your turn to speak. But I should tale is not worth discussing. fairy like to observe that lions, as a rule, do not care a scrap for man's opinions and beliefs. Nor do
1
I.
Samuel
xvii. 24.
189
they choose between beUevers and unbelievers when they are hungry it is all one to them whether their prey believe in the gods of the
land or not." ^ " Permit me to remark," said Abu Dib, timidly, " when the Chairman had sat down, that perhaps the scribe did not know the difference between the Dib and the Thib. Our friend the wolf was
probably meant.
better
known
to
Judaea and lambs are certainly him than they are to us.
.
As
by two Im-Debbab (she-bears) because they made fun of the bald head of an old Dervish, ^ J again protest. Maybe a ravenous wolf would kill We occasionally carry children, but never a bear. kid or a calf, but never can we take two. off a Moreover, I agree with our powerful and respected brother Abu Tasba* that we do not put forth our strength especially for man's sake. May I ask the author of this learned communication whether humans have recorded the names of the Dib in
their writings ?
"
No," replied Abu Sliman, who had ventured " back to his place. Neither in their old, nor in their new lists, do we find them." On hearing which Abu Dib, with a final growl of indignation, sat down. Many of the other delegates heard with satisfaction that their names were known in the Bible.
1
"
II.
Kings
xvii, 25.
n. Kings
u. 23-24.
14 (2131)
190
There was Beth Nimreh ^ standing for leopards 2 Zeboim, as ancient as history, for the hyaena, who was still busily rubbing his poor bruised nose ^ Zeeb, changed into the modern Thib, for Abu Serhan's ancestors; Engedi/ where the ibex still tumbles over the rocks besides many
; ;
others.
to the
end of
Abu Madba'
the sons of
Adam would
assuredly
die of pestilence. Were they not instrumental in clearing away the dead animals which humans
carelessly threw around their habitations ? Instead of being thankful for this valuable work and at
the
murmured
word thankful Abu Sliman sneered, and ** Adam's sons do not even cynically,
"
show thankfulness to each other they called them false names, such as Wawy and Abu-1Fataiess, the Howler and Father of Carcasses.
a few weeks," concluded the jackal, amidst almost universal murstrike
** **
Suppose we
for
murs
and
see
how
they
would get
And
moon
came
the congress
Numbers
Judges
vii.
Genesis x. 19.
Joshua xv.
62.
191
the following evening it was the domestic animals' turn to have their say.
On
"Abu
"
lion,
addressing the
camel,
Inns
"
"
"It
is
put heavy loads upon my back, but I can easily carry them. They are rather solicitous of my
welfare than otherwise.
2
They
feed
me on
pre-
pared Kersanne, and, in Rabee, anoint my skin with oil and sulphur to cure the Jarrab, ^ which I have contracted from another. Occasionally * they strike me, or pull my jaws with the Karrasat, but I take my revenge in the spring, when the Hadr^ makes me lively. Let any man come too near me and I dart at him so swiftly that he is frightened out of his wits. But we are soon good
friends again."
Nor had Abu Ihsane, the bay horse, any complaints to make against his Bedawin masters. He rather liked the Ghazu, and even should he fall in battle it was a more dignified death than
after
the one awaiting his cousin the Kedeesh, who, having turned Byarat in the gardens, or
loads
carried
which
often
abandoned to
find a living for himself a very difficult matter for one who was not accustomed
*
Vetches.
' *
Itch.
gad temper.
Water wheels.
192
to do so from youth, as wild animals are. His fate is to pine away and die and be devoured by dogs, jackals
and hyaenas.
A
I
general
murmur
communication. "
am
of the
Abeyan
race,
away, my well-furnished tail helps to brush from my body, full of the purest blood, flowing in protruding veins." (At the mention of blood all the carnivorous members of the
insects
flies
congress lifted their noses and sniffed the air.) " I hail from Nejd and Man says that I am of divine origin. The Angel Gabriel first rode
El Khadr gallops 'Heisoon, the divine courser. above the firmament and produces thunder and
white ancestors were dedicated to the sun, and though the first Hebrew invaders maimed horses, ^ King Solomon introduced a great number,^ and was so much astonished at their excellency that he forgot his prayers the
lightning.
My
him on
his
expeditions.
Abeyan, Saklawy, Julfa, Khalawy, and Marghub, are acknowledged to be the only true breeds and whoever possesses the one or the other conOn them the siders himself beyond all riches. Arab nation went from Mecca to Seville through
; ;
1 II. *
Joshua
xi. 6.
I.
Kings
iv. 26.
'
The
Five.
193
agency empires have changed hands and Islam has covered one-third of the world. We are well kept, as sacred as the sun horses, and no true Arab will allow us to go into foreign lands.
The Prophet knew the danger of horses getting into the hands of foreigners, who might become conquerors like himself. Our home and temple is all Arabistan. Has anyone been honoured so much by Inns as our race has been ? Has not the
Prophet, in his enthusiasm, cried: 'The wealth of this world is suspended from the tuft of hair
Judgment Day
lover sing
:
"
And
el afrass
el
'
Rukb
Talook
amr3s
Though staUions
are presented to foreign princes, the mares are kept at home. Let our race remain
pure and only in Arabia." Mules and donkeys were quite content with their lot, and even cows and the patient oxen had nothing to say. After a day's ploughing with the
and most primitive instrument, they often had rest on rainy days and were fed all the same. And with most Fellahin, when thrashing, the old
oldest
*
"
The
tinkling of ear-rings
194
not
^
to
The faithful dog said Lail had told But he, personally, had nothing
at.
grumble
At
"
this
moment
rolled
little
listening,
over
in
Bisabis.
exclaimed the cat. Be careful or " " be hurt you Thanks,'* replied the mouse. " Bass aslam minak If only you do me no harm " And with these words it climbed into a hole out of reach. " " Birds shouted Abu Tansar, who had now
Allah
!
"
will
become Chairman,
to say ? Storks, swallows, pelicans, hoopoes, turtles are all in favour of Beni Adam, as they are considered
who best understood bird language in the " vernacular. Has anybody anything
let
them be
first
King Solomon in all his wisdom spoke to birds and blessed our ancestor by laying hands on his head, which ever afterwards remained white.
Therefore
The
we cannot speak
ill
of the
human
race,
bones to make Neiy^s. Fortunately, they seldom come within our reach, so we have seldom need to deplore a victim."
for the sake of our
*
Deuteronomy
xxi. 4.
SERPENTS PERSECUTED
Abu Ghrab,
the
raven,
195
declared
they were
Inns called them Baine/ so whenpersecuted. ever they saw Adam's sons they flew away
long before they could reach gun.
The
red-faced
partridge,
Maka'hal, though they never use Kohl, complained that they were treacherously snared at watering-
on the mountains.* with having subjugated the fowls, these greedy sons of Adam seek the small satisfaction of capturing us for a dinner." In the name of the Rakta and the Raksha, the Rabda and the *Hamra, the Barjeel and the Za'ara (the Daboia), the shining blue-black 'Hanash the Nahash of the Bible and the serpent which Moses lifted up in the wilderness declared that man had written all kinds of absurdities regarding them. " We are falsely accused of being the cause of Adam's expulsion from Paradise. We are said
places, or with the Bairak
"
Not
satisfied
to have
*
had
legs
without them. Every man does his best to kill us, For the II 'Heiyeh wul 'Aseiyeh saying, take the stick Because one-seventh of serpent
'
all all
the serpents in Palestine are venomous, we are condemned to death. Naturally we fly for our
lives
whenever
man
is
We
we
ought
feed on
Unlucky.
I.
Samuel xxvi.
196
mice, who destroy the crops, and on rats who break into their barns. However, we do our duty and yearn not for their gratefulness."
* *
left
El 'Huleh to return to their respective regions they meditated on what had been revealed at their great congress. Abu Sliman whispered into Abu-1-E'hseine's ear that, though many had protested, he thought there would be no change in the relations between man and the beasts. Adam's sons would continue to be ** We shall kind or brutal as the case might be. he declared, "and find have to take our chance," " a living as best we can in this Immovable East.
the animals
When
XI
main
of Lydda, sipping my Moka and at the sweet-scented tombak through a drawing bubbling narghile, Sit-Ikhwitha, with that haughty so well, came along upon her *' It was years since I had seen the horse. Lady of her Brethren," but I recognised her at once and
bearing which
knew
retained her old authority. The clatter of her horse's hoofs on the loose stones and the musical tinkling of the gold coins on her Burka, ^
still
or half-veil,
drinkers. gaze.
conversation
signal for the hushing of the groups of squatting coffeeamong Deferential looks met her imperious
was the
Salutations
denoting
profound
respect
(some would have called it fear) greeted her to right and left, making her slow and stately ride through the town, which was built by the tribe of
Benjamin, a veritable triumphal march. But, though I knew Sit-Ikhwitha and her " ** Lady of her Brethren passed history well, the me by unnoticed. Years of absence from the
Possibly the veil which was given to Sarah on the borders of Egypt because, as a northerner, she had none. Abimelech " Behold I have given thy brother a thousand said unto Sarah
1
:
behold, he is to thee a covering of the eyes, unto pieces of silver thus she was reproved." all that are with thee, and with all other
:
Genesis xx.
16.
197
198
little
into
glance.
when
"
unworthy even of a passing Apart from looking a little older than had last seen her, Sit-Ikhwitha alone had
stranger,
of
remained unchanged.
The Lady
her
dark-complexioned strong jaws and a set of teeth (in spite of her fairly advanced age) as white as the snows of Hermon. Though certainly not what you would call a pretty woman, she was far from being an ugly one. Hers
"
perfect health and superb rather than that of form and physical strength expression. She was over five feet and a half in
of
and she sat astride her Arab thoroughbred like a man, and with all a man's assurance. Indeed at a distance, you might easily have mistaken her for one, had it not been for her characteristic Egyptian dress. The lower part of her face was hidden by her Burka, lined with heavy gold coins in order to hold the veil down. Her shirt of clothing she wore at home, (the only piece
height,
over her head and shoulders) was dark blue, and over this she had a black and white silk girdle, a
striped silk caftan, or long robe open in front from the top to the bottom, and, finally on the top of these various articles of cloth-
a black mantle, which, when astride the broad saddle of her horse, she threw over her
ing,
SIT-IKHWITHA
knees.
199
Broad silver bracelets ornamented her which were bare, as the broad sleeves of arms, her cloak only covered them when they were
hanging down and a pair of yellow sheep-skin boots completed her out-door costume. " " was unYes, the Lady of her Brethren doubtedly unchanged, both in dress and in manner. I could still see her, as of old, speaking in a loud voice and gesticulating, so that the coins on her Burka, striking each other, kept up a continual tinkle. And though, as a rule, she observed the
;
keeping her face covered, I imagine her, in the fire of conversation among men, throwing back her veil and, with a commanding expression on her energetic face and a blow with her fist on her knee, exclaiming
of
Moslem custom
still
could
"
By God
The
Wallah
el
of
woman
is
inti-
mately connected with the Egyptian conquest of Palestine, and in relating it we must go back to the days of Mehemet Ali. This distinguished man, an Albanian by birth, was an officer in the Turkish army at the time that it was opposing Bonaparte's Egyptian campaign. Three years after the French were expelled from Egypt he made his mark and was placed at the head of an army corps. Following with interest the progress of Napoleon I, he may be said to have modelled his career on
200
history know, Pashas of the domination of the Mamalukes. ^ Having become sole master of Egypt, Mehemet All's ambition grew and, supported by several old Bonapartist ofi&cers, he marched his
rid the
who read
army
against his legitimate sovereign, the Sultan of Turkey. The Egyptians, under the command
of his adopted son Ibrahim Pasha, crossed the Syrian frontier in 1831. The frightened Fellahin, led
by
Muhammad
el-
Misleh,
and
others, resisted.
bands do against a well-trained modem army ? When Ibrahim Pasha, whose name in " Palestine has remained synonymous to hero," ** great man," and so forth, had conquered the country and taken the fortress of Acca (St. Jean d'Acre), which had even successfully resisted Bonaparte, he established conscription, and in
ciplined
order to escape military service thousands of young Fellahin courageously mutilated themselves, some
by
pulling out the right eye, or poisoning it, to prevent them aiming, others by coldly cutting off the right thumb, to make it impossible for them
to pull the cock of a gun. But Ibrahim was 1 On May 1st, 1811, Mehemet Ali invited this formidable cavalry force to come in full dress to the Citadel of Cairo, and,
their arrival, ordered his Albanian soldiers, whom he had hid behind the walls, to massacre them to a man. With the exception of Amin Bey, who is said to have succeeded in escaping on his horse, they were all shot down by the musketry.
on
EGYPTIAN COLONIES
not the
201
man
to be frustrated. "
"
They
ageous than
my own
service."
Egyptians.
them As
in
my
And
"
so he created
"
one-
"
eyed squadrons
and
thumbless battalions."
army, bands of hawkers and others followed in the merchants, And thus to-day rear of Ibrahim Pasha's troops. we find entire villages of Egyptians all along the plains of the Philistines, from the river of Egypt to descendants of those of 1831, and who Jaffa, continue unmixed. A Fellah of Palestine will
in the case of every invading
never consent to give his pure-bred Palestine " Ehna Fellahin u daughter to an Egyptian. humme Masriean We are Fellahin and they " he will say, with a sneer, on are Egyptians receiving such a proposal. The differences between
!
make inter-marriages
semi-Ethiopian
The
have
much
white head-veil, but the face is bare and her blue shirt is of a Ughter colour than the dark-blue one of the Egyptian. The Egyptian wears the Burka, down from the forehead, covering the hanging nose, mouth, and upper part of the cheeks, chin and neck, but leaving the eyes and forehead
free.
Now,
several
in the service of
young
soldiers
202
them
girl,
possessed
many
name
indicated,
was destined
she
to
be
"
victorious."
Remarkably
self-willed,
commanded
her
of
much
Sit-Ikhwitha, the
all
Lady
of
her
As the Egyptian soldiers camped and decamped on the long way through the desert from Egypt
to Palestine
Nasra' s
became
along the hostile country, masculine and authoritative character still more pronounced. She used to
and
accompany the horsemen when they went to water and to execute commissions for which she was Hberally rewarded. Always awake whenever a Bedawi attack was expected, she did not hesitate even to seize a spare rifle and rush towards the enemy. More than once had she largely contributed towards the saving of lives and on at least two occasions she had been instrumental in rescuing the treasure of war, which was kept In in a wooden safe in the midst of the camp. recognition of these services, Nasra had received the compliments of the commanding officer and thus had become known to aU. The officers especially had cast glances in the direction of the
their horses
courageous,
fifteen.
One
A COURAGEOUS GIRL
203
ventured, one day, on flirting with her. But he never tried again. " How dare you " cried Nasra. " Ya ebn
!
Kalb Oh son of a dog " denounce you ? The oflicer, fearing for his
el
!
Shall
life,
since such
"
meant
not
!
"
Imshi doughri
insult you."
The
could
look.
move about
molested, either This was one of her earliest victories, and it led her not only to a position of greater authority
but, later, to wealth.
Nasra, the
**
Brethren," was
"
becoming
rich
and a commander
men.
Many
a time, during the quiet hours of the night, whilst everyone in the camp, save the sentinels, was deep in slumber, had she let her thoughts revolve around the future. Young in years, she was old
in experience and cupidity. One night, shortly after the last occasion on which her vigilance had
upon
her.
How
204
Ah
only she could say that it was hers But, in a sense, was it not hers ? since it had more than once been rescued from the hands of the enemy through her foresight and bravery ? Then
if
a plan struck her. She chose the time for the carrying out of her daring project well. The army had moved out of the dangerous Bedawi zone and was encamped ^ just off Sar'ah, the Zorah of the Bible, near the
mountains of Judah. Officers and soldiers felt that they had no longer much to fear from the enemy they could afford, now, to relax their attention a little. The camp fires had died out and the moon had set behind the blue waters of the Mediterranean. A slight east wind was blow;
ing
and in the stillness of the night the Dura murmured incessantly. It was a
fields of
peculiar
sound, caused by the striking together of the heavy ears of the Syrian millet, resembhng Indian corn,
and the rubbing together of the plants' broad leaves, and it bore a certain likeness to that of
men stealthily approaching the camp. Nasra, who had made aU her preparations, aroused the camp and declared that she had distinctly heard,
in a certain direction, the sound of the Officers and men went in footsteps.
enemy's
pursuit
of the
phantom Bedawin, but after a time the fields of Dura were declared to be the cause of the false alarm, and, laughing over their empty fears,
*
Joshua
xix. 41.
ISRAELITIC TOMB-CAVES
205
they returned to the camp. Soon everyone, save Nasra and her brothers, who were acting as sentinels that night around the treasure of war, and whom she had easily persuaded to become her accomplices, was once more deep in slumber. Slipping out of her tent into the darkness, the " '* Lady of her Brethren drew near to the coveted treasure and had the safe quietly carried into a
tomb cave on the slopes of a neighbouring hill. ^ Then, when she and her accomplices had returned to the camp and had again taken their places,
she gave the alarm for the second time. Slightly striking one of her brothers, who fell, as though stunned, to the ground, she cried out, like Delilah
did
in
!
the
Jai
!
case
'aleina
ya
"
El-kohm
Come here, oh people soldiers rushed out of their tents towards the safe, but the treasure was gone and the sentinel appaupon us
!
"
enemy The
are
at their head, they rushed into the darkness in the direction of Wady-
rently
lifeless.
With Nasra
Ali,
whence she declared she had seen the enemy carrying off the war-chest. Others went in the
of the IsraeUtes and natives of the district avoid them, or rather did so in the days to which this narrative Of recent years they have all been visited by searchers applies. after antiquities, and tombs which had been unviolated for thousands of years have now been opened in search of spoil. SitIkhwitha well knew that such a tomb as she had chosen would be avoided by the superstitious soldiers of Ibrahim Pasha's army. 2 "
^
are
These tomb -caves date from the days hewn out in the slopes of the hills. The
The
14
9,
12,
and
Philistines 20.
be upon
thee,
Samson,"
Judges
xvi.
IS(al3l)
206
Thus did the " Lady of her Brethren," who continued for several months longer in the rear
Egyptian army, lay the foundations of her fortune. She finally settled down in Lydda, the principal town of the plain, and there, with her parents, went in for commerce. This gave her an opportunity of rising to the position to which she aspired. Out of the hidden safe in the Israelitic tomb, known to her and her brothers only, she obtained money, with which she bought, first a small house, and then a field. Wisely, she abstained from suddenly becoming rich. But as the years went by her wealth and power gradually increased, and when I first came to know her she was the owner of houses and lands all
over
of the
Lydda and
district.
When the brothers of Sit-Ikhwitha had concluded their mihtary service in the Egyptian army and Ibrahim Pasha, in 1841, had withdrawn his
from Palestine, they also remained in Lydda and, under her sway, became influential people. She married an Egyptian and had chiltroops
But the very names of her husband, offand relatives were unknown to the general spring " pubhc. They were always spoken of as the hus" band of Sit-Ikhwitha," the son of Sit-Ikhwitha,"
dren.
the
"
brother of Sit-Ikhwitha
"
A MODERN DEBORAH
in
207
Lydda and
district.
children of Israel, ideas contrary to her were never uttered. ^ Even the Governor of Lydda, on
meeting her riding on her thoroughbred, as on the day when I saw her passing through the main street of the town, had to greet her reverently and often to obey her if, imperiously, she claimed
this or that favour.
*
Judges
V. 7.
XII
TAX-GATHERING IN NIMRIN
Nablus,
in
Samaria,
the
Roman
Neapolis and,
in part at least, the ancient Shechem, is too well known to need more than a brief reference to
its well-built
and
its fair
Lying between the twin mounEbal and Gerizim (on which the few remaining Samaritan Jews some 150 in all and the smallest religious sect in the world possess an old temple), the town is exceptionally well watered and the
circle of gardens.
tains
seat of a Pashalic.
last
left
century the Pasha's authority extended to the shore of the Jordan valley, where the turbulent
tribes congregated, and even as far as the But his jurisdiction was merely nomiSea.
it
Bedawin
Dead
nal
and he found
not at
all
In those days the tax-gatherers generally set forth to claim their due with the Pasha himself
and a strong escort of soldiers. Now, at the time of my story, Khurshud Pasha had in vain asked for the taxes of the Aduan, the wildest tribe in Nimrin. So he decided to go himself and gather what he could. Advised of his visit. Sheikh Ali el-Thiab, accompanied by two hundred Bedawin horsemen, royally came to the Forth of Jordan to meet the government official. Seeing this formidable body and realising that his hundred soldiers were at its mercy, Khurshud
208
A NOISY RECEPTION
209
asha immediately became extremely polite, and his politeness tended to increase rather than decrease when Sheikh AU ordered his warriors
fire
to gallop up and down in front of the visitor and The Bedawin fired salutes in his honour.
guns so near that the sparks almost flew and so long did they continue that at last the official begged Ali to order them to cease. But the Sheikh, as he called out
their
**
to receive
il
and
!
dis-
'
Howlu
Khayal
"
assured his guest that they were so honoured by his visit that really they could not cease firing
for joy.
firearms, Khurshud Pasha entered Ali's big black hair tent, all lined with silk from the market of
Damascus, and sat down on the silken cushions which had been spread for him on the home-made many-coloured carpet of long sheep's wool. He tried to speak but could not make himself heard because of the din. Coffee was prepared and ceremoniously handed to the honoured visitor, and all the time the firing continued, both in and outside the tent. At last, boiling over with indignation, but without showing it too much, the Pasha hurriedly drank his coffee and started off
again, accompanied by Ali's noisy followers until, just before nightfall, he had safely reached the
protection Fi
The
fierce
210
galloped
rifles
darkness,
still
and
flint-lock
and howling with joy. For some time after this episode the Aduan could do without visiting the towns. But they require more than wheat and meat, which is plentiful
in their
camps
By
two
or three minor Ghazu, they had obtained a few camels and tents, but that was about all. They
badly needed to renew their clothes and boots at the only market accessible to them, that at Nablus. So Ali el-Thiab and his warriors were
very glad when Khurshud Pasha invited them to return his visit and bring a few taxes with them.
The Bedawi chief promptly seized the opportunity and started for Nablus with two hundred and fifty horsemen, most of them fully equipped. But the Shaale (black mantles) of many of them were much
wear their flowing head-cloths would hardly have been decent but for (Kafiye)
the worse
for
;
their white shirts heiir, held the Kafiy6 in place were in the poorest condition whilst their shoes and boots in which every Bedawi Khayal (horseman) takes a pride were in nearly every case quite worn out. Their weapons, however, were
the Aduan for that proper order Muskets, pistols, swords and lances glittered in the morning sun as they approached the Jordan.
in
;
!
trust
211
if their clothes were shabby so long arms were bright and ready to their as hand ? They would soon, they told themselves, be in the bazaar at Nablus, where silk, sheeting, red and yellow boots, and everything for the renewal of a dilapidated wardrobe could be had
by paying
fine
for
it.
moment
they were without money with which to buy all the Damascus wares they would see. But were
there no money-lenders, willing to advance money at fifty or a hundred per cent. ? A Bedawi will
put his hand to any bond when he is in need of ready cash for he is a firm beUever that when
;
" God will provide, Bifridge the harvest comes " Allah FiUed with this spirit, and thinking of the precious things they would buy, a group of AU's
!
"
alweek leyaat
il
'arak
el-mazareek
In maalat il-ma'aref."^
The
last
verse
another group,
confidence in
still
Min khaf
Fi Shoor
*
yelamlam
you round and round,
;
wuUa Khabathe."^
I'll
"
"
^^en all horses are engaged in battle On the day when lances are borne And manes are wildly flying." Two or three thousand are grouped
;
My
foal,
twist
212
hearing of their approaching arrival, Khurshud Pasha made stables ready for the horses of the Shiukh (chiefs) those of the others were
;
On
oUve yards around the walls of the town. By no means at his ease, owing to the number of his guests and their warlike appearance, he made a point of receiving Ah el-Thiab with great cordiality, and of treating his men right Sheep and lambs were butchered without royally. end. Nor was Ali behindhand as regards courtesy, he had brought presents with him for the Pasha a beautiful young horse of the famous K'hailet pedigree and a fine camel. The Aduan were well contented with the reception accorded them and soon the streets of Nablus were animated with purchasers and the noise of their trailing arms and
camped
in the
huge blood-red ironed boots, with blue tassels dangling from the tops, as they tramped over the uneven pavement. Coffee-houses became filled with moka-sipping Bedawin Jews and businessmen were everywhere astir, writing bills for the money to be advanced to the eager-eyed sons of the desert, who, on seeing the gold coin brought out of the safes, would have agreed to any
;
deeds had been stored away, the Harat-el-'Atareen, the Apothecaries' or Perfumers' Street, and the Harat-el-Khawajaat, the Drapers' Street, were
especially
crowded
with
customers.
Large
BEDAWIN PRODIGALITY
213
quantities of perfumery were bought for themselves and their wives at home. The narrow streets
rang with the voices of the shopkeepers, caUing to the passers-by that everything was better and cheaper than at their neighbours' rival establishments. In the Harat-el-Halawy, or Sweetmeat Street, a crowd of Bedawin waited to be served whilst the shopkeepers with enormous knives cut big slices of Halawy, a sweetmeat made of sesame meal, sesame oil and honey. Long had these sugar-loving children of the East been deprived of such luxuries. In brief, during their three days' sojourn in Nablus, there was hardly a man who did not spend from 5 to 6 on his own body and nearly
for his family at home. The two who spent the least were Sheikh Ali el-Thiab and his cousin Gublan, he who had a great scar on his
as
much
face,
wound
received in
battle
Ali
upon them
fine
silken
children of Israel.
At the
^
bazaar was
thronged
*
Exodus xxxv.
214
"
streets
enigmatic words to
but the Beda\\an. For, the next morning, after a unexpectedly, early
hasty farewell and^ promise to come again soon, the Aduan were in the saddle and on the way back
to their wild country.
^ Salem, where Abraham and Melchizedek met, these children of the East unconsciously copied their forerunners by feeding their horses on, and consuming themselves, whatever they could find on their way.^ They descended the Wad-Faria till they came to El Ghor, over which they easily
passed then, in groups of thirty to forty, they broke into song, as though returning from a victorious expedition. Some were singing:
;
"
Barudna daraj-daraj
Wal-khail mafateeh el Faraj Barudna Shara 'il dareeb Walli yaseebo ma yateeb."*
"
Give full measure before you start Don't be stingy At the hour of separation."
'
Cf.
Judges
vi.
3-4.
;
"
Our fire-arms we carry with us afar Our horses are the keys to plenty Our powder is law to the victim. Whoever is hit never rises."
;
A TURKISH TRAP
"
215
Ma
Ya
La
Ma
zainatin gharbi-1 Fareek 'Halali soud 'eyounha fout rum'hi wa-1 Farass. zini hum ya 'tuba.''^
Thus, in triumph, did the Aduan return from Nablus to their far-away camp, where the women, in expectation of the fine garments that they knew were being brought for them, were waiting to receive them with songs and ululations. The only person who did not feel satisfied was Khurshud Pasha. It was not the loss of his
him so much as the feeling that had been playing with him. His pride was sorely wounded. So he set to work to plan his revenge. But, as becomes a serious son of Islam, he determined to be in no hurry. Indeed, was re-estabhshed between the two friendship chiefs, and Khurshud Pasha even went so far as to let the taxes go, until, at last, Ali el-Thiab was wholly re-assured. It was then, some two years later, that Khurshud Pasha once more invited Ali to honour him with a second visit. At the same
taxes that troubled
AU
el-Thiab
"
What a dehght
(for beauty) west of our tribe. those black eyes If I were to offer my spear and my mare, I'm afraid they'd not give her (in return)."
is
!
There
216
When
to taste the
joys of Nablus they were three hundred strong. " The more the merrier/* said Khurshud Pasha
to himself, smiHng in his beard. And as he gave a brotherly welcome to Ali el-Thiab, he explained
accommodate
beautiful
so
many
if
guests.
Besides,
their
horses
much
better conditions
owners were quartered in the neighbouring Ali at once consented to this arrangevillages. which was so evidently made with an idea ment, of contributing to their comfort. But no sooner were the Bedawin installed around the town, with their arms deposited behind their horses, than, at a given signal, the Pasha's soldiers issued from
and captured them to a man. Khurshud then threw down the mask and told the haughty Ali el-Thiab of the fate which awaited
their hiding-places
him.
have you and your fellow Shiukh " and (chiefs) taken to Acca to gaol," he said, with a similar fantazia to that with which you greeted me on a certain memorable occasion. Your followers shall go in fetters to Damascus accompanied by your horses, with which I will later decide what is to be done."
I
"
shall
Ali el-Thiab, already a man of about fifty-five and accustomed since boyhood to a free open-air
life,
took very badly to prison. He lived, however, for two years more, when the redeeming Fin j an
HUMILIATED BEDAWIN
to his existence.
217
afterwards, in the presence of their fettered owners, put to the plough. There is no greater disgrace than this to a Bedawi, who will refuse to part
with his horse under many hundreds of pounds. What indeed is a Bedawi without his horse or his mare, which in time of war can appear and disappear ** " swifter than eagles ? ^
*
Jeremiah
iv.
13.
XIII
lived in
the
on the borders of the desert, but quite near Bethany, was one of the wealthiest men of his community and as such could afford the luxury of having two wives. Not that he cared very much for more than one. A special reason had prompted him to take a second spouse, Farha, a strong Bethlehem Moslem. His first wife, Kadriye, a near relative from the village of Bethany, had borne him no living children. And
are not children, together with riches, the best of earthly goods, especially children who can say " " Praise to Allah and perpetuate His glory ?
life, unfortunately, was died after five years, leaving Abd er-Rahman almost in the same position as before
she
their union, for she left him only two daughters, Sabha and Alia. He loved them dearly, but all the same longed for a son and heir. Sabha and Alia had a sorry childhood. They may be said to have grown up hke orphans. Their stepmother almost hated them for taking away a
A HARSH STEPMOTHER
219
was born in the Spring when the father was absent on a pilgrimage to Naby-Moosa (the tomb of Moses)
in the direction of the
Dead
name
Great was Abd er-Rahman's joy, and fervently did he offer up thanks to the Prophet Moses for answering his prayer for a hving son. Two years later, Kadriye presented him with a second boy, whom they called Ehsein. Finally came a daughter Hasna. Sabha and Aha were as glad as if the children were their full brothers and sisters, and very useful they made themselves in the house, rocking the babies and carrying them
of Moosa.
Yet
who continued
to regard
them
as intruders, did not always treat them with kindness. The oldest of clothes were good enough for them, whilst their ornaments were limited to a
few coloured beads on their head-dresses and some paltry silver coins dangling from their coral
Often, as the boys and Uttle Hasna grew older, did the girls feel their loneliness, the injustice of the treatment meted out to them,
necklaces.
and often did they cry for their mother, until, at last, the Bethlehem relatives claimed them. It was then that Abd er-Rahman allowed Alia to go and stay with her grandmother and sent Sabha into the fields to look after the goats and sheep. Sabha quickly developed into an exceedingly pretty lass. Her mother having been a Bethlehemite, her skin was much whiter than that of the
220
Abu-Dis
was perhaps, of her healthy, open-air life more attractive than they, so that when about fourteen she had already more than one admirer.
the she
result,
tell
among Eastern
was away all day long with the animals, and on coming home in
lovers.
stepmother always had plenty of work in store for She had to milk the goats sometimes, early in the morning, to sweep the courts and fetch water from the well, some distance away from the vil;
whilst during the day, when following the In short, she herds, there was the wool to spin. was busy all the time, but never had a para to call
lage
;
her own.
thing and
silk to
How
some
and
!
her head Ah she often thought, if she could go to Jerusalem with the other only She girls to carry milk and eggs to the market.
adorn
would soon have some money then. Besides, it was no longer decent to let a big girl out day after day roaming about the mountains. But her stepmother Kadriy6 did not yet want her son Moosa to go among the rocks and be in danger from serpents and wild animals, though the father hinted more than once that the children had better
A WANDERING BARD
221
change their work. Let the boy now become the shepherd and the girl sell the produce at the market.
II
Among Sabha's admirers was one Hassan Saleh, a fine young fellow, who had met her sometimes as he led out his donkeys and cows to the fields
and fancied her as his wife. But as his father was not on good terms with the El-Helal family and would not have been able to pay the dowry, he had been content to let his fancy remain a
youth's dream.
One December
evening,
when
herds in the falling snow, and was hurrying to the village, he saw an old
man
on a white mare coming towards him and at once recognised Said el-Ma 'ati, with his one-stringed This old fiddle protruding from his saddle-bag. wandering bard was well known all over southern
everyone was dehghted to see and hear " him. After Hassan had bidden him Peace," the usual compUments had been exchanged. and Said told him that he was going that evening to Abd er-Rahman's house. There would be a goodly company of villagers. Could he, too, not come arid Hassan hesitated to accept the inviHsten ? tation. Would he be welcome under Abd er-Rahman's roof ? Did not his father belong to the Said el-Ma ^ati patiently adverse party ? Hstened to his scruples and smiled in his usual
Palestine
;
.
l6(3131)
222
dry,
knowing manner. Then he proceeded to set all objections on one side. What had youth, he asked in turn, to do with feuds ? When he was young he had had no thoughts for anything save song and music and love, and, old though he was, he still remained faithful to the Muse and his Hassan passed on his way undecided. fiddle But on reaching home the thought of Sabha's
.
eyes turned the balance. After supper he slipped out of the house, hurried through the snow to Abd er-Rahman's, and quietly sat down among the
bard was preparing his fiddle by warming the sheep's tail skin which covered
guests, just as the
the body of the instrument and was passing some resin over his bow. Said el-Ma 'ati had not only amused men,
women, and children of more than one generation by repeating his interminable stories of ^Antar, of the Zeinati and Abu Zeid, stories of war and the chase, he had kindled flames in more than
one breast as he sang of lovers dying for darkeyed Bedawiye, sighing and wailing as though he himself was the lover, and imitating joyous or sorrowful faces as the tale ran on. Many a happy evening had people spent with him, sitting silently
in the low-roofed
rooms and patiently bearing the from the wood fire at which from time to time the bard warmed his one-stringed fiddle. Everybody loved Said, his fiddle and his mare, three companions who had grown old
smoke which
rose
223
together, and, moreover, were fast showing signs of their years. As a matter of fact, both Said
mare Rababy looked rather underfed, it was that they never put on flesh through much roaming about. The mare had the same elongated face as her master her scanty beard was modelled on Said's her dry cheeks resembled his and, as her large and intelligent eyes followed her master's movements, there was a sarcastic twitch about her lips which gave one the impression that she knew he had some good story
and
his
or perhaps
tell. Some thought that she sometimes moved her fore-feet in imitation of a bow and fiddle. However that may be, there is no doubt about this, that as they went slowly up hill and down dale
in store to
together they sought to read each other's wishes. When the hill was too steep, Said would dismount
stories
at their next stopping-place. It made the way seem less long to her and at the same time he
**
Are you
thirsty,
Rababy
"
he would ask her when they approached water, and gently he would lead her to the wayside Most of the time the bridle was hanging spring. from the knob, as he feared he might hurt her old mouth by too hard a pull. Rababy, his fiddle, Rababy, his mare, and himself were three inseparable friends. His mare had carried him during a great part of his life and his Rababy had been the
means
of
him gaining a
livelihood
by
fiddling, so
224
when, sometimes, he paused in his song and set the fiddle aside, to hear the approbation of his hearers, " he would wittily remark, Rababy is hungry and wants food." The listeners never knew whether he meant the real Rababy which wanted warming, whether it was time that Rababy the mare had her feed of barley, to be ready for next day's ride, or whether Said himself required a
strengthening cup of coffee. However, everyone received his or her share. Wood was piled on the
hearth to
warm
the fiddle,
received a good portion of barley, and coffee was prepared with the necessary ceremonial and
handed to the bard and the company before he continued his poem, which, if particularly interesting, was rewarded by an extra Majidi from some
generous hearer. And as the silver coin rolled towards Said he would skilfully introduce the name of the donor into his song and compHment him
which impromptu generosity, an invariably brought fresh gifts. Snow had continued to fall as thickly as ever, and intense cold reigned over the whole district. on
his
The hsteners at Abd er-Rahman's wrapped themselves more closely in their striped Abbas and the
chattering women-folk, in spite of the heat of the
room, snuggled together. Hassan waited for every new impression produced by Said's song
to look in the direction of
her
thoughts.
In
the
general
movement
his
AN ORIENTAL BEAUTY
225
assiduity in seeking her eyes passed unobserved by and perhaps another. all save the girl herself
Sabha noted with pleasure that at least one person present was sympathetic towards her. Did Said Or was it merely a coincialso detect his secret ? dence that when he once more took up his fiddle and began to entertain the company with a new composition he sang of love and its trials ? Said's touching story, which he opened with a " Ah Ah " and a few particularly wailing plaintive notes on his Rababy, was that of the son of a Sheikh who became enamoured with the daughter of a rival chief. The young man was much struck by the exquisite beauty of the Bedawiye. Her dances were such that the passer-by had to stand still through sheer admiration. Her black curls pushed forth below her veil hke thyme bushes. The long veil which enframed her fullmoon face was all embroidered by her own dexterous fingers with red and green silk, and all around the brim dangled silk tassels of her own making. Her walk was Hke that of a young foal, and her
! !
long neck resembled a young camel's ; her bright black eyes were often likened to those of the
The perfect brows of her eyes were with kohl. Her looks were more burning painted than fire sparks, and looked like arrows ready to dart from the black bows above them and fly
gazelle.
at
their
victim.
thin as a lance,
226
pomegranates from Damascus, and when she hfted her hands to shade her eyes and look whence her love was coming, tears like rivers would flow from the dull eyes of the enamoured passer-by, and the golden henna on her nails would dazzle
many, to say nothing of her voice, which, though flowing as sweet as honey, was like an arrow shot at the young Sheikh's heart.
"
Ah
Ah
"
"
am
dying
Why is feud between our families ? Why is that bloody tent curtain between her and me ? Why can she not see me riding my foal and showing my agihty ? She would have pity on me, and my tears, which are drying up my eyes, would stop at a single look.
I
of love,
and never
she be mine.
off to
a place of happiness.
Ere continuing his story. Said paused awhile, as though to see what impression he had produced on his audience. Everybody was deeply moved. Many of the girls and young men had tears in their eyes, and the glances exchanged between Hassan and Sabha were full of meaning.
AN EMOTIONAL POEM
"
227
the looks of the former seemed to say, have no horse with which to carry you away. Nor am I certain that you would be willing to follow me. An attempt to take you against
Alas
"
"
your will might cost me my life. Perhaps it will be better if I wither away like the young Sheikh in Said's poem." But the message in Sabha's eyes and the happy ending of the bard's narrative gave him courage. It was long after midnight when the last notes on the one-stringed fiddle ceased. But nobody was really sleepy. The company would have listened until morning had not next day's duties been in memory and Said had complained of hoarseness. So when Abd er-Rahman had honoured the bard with a golden lira the guests
dispersed
and
retired to rest.
Ill
Hassan was' too full of emotion through passing a whole evening near his lady love to sleep a wink. How much Sabha slept she never said. One
thing, however, I can state with certainty long after the snow had melted and Spring had painted
:
hills with green and many colours, the echo of Said el-Ma ^ati's song was still in the
young people's hearts. As they went about their work, day after day, Sabha with her herds and Hassan in the fields, they dreamed of wild rides and a future home in a new and far-away land.
228
Early one morning, as Hassan drove his donkeys and cows to their work, he met Sabha at the well. If it is not in Fellah manners to be gallant, love's gallantry is the same all the world over, so he hastened to seize the opportunity to help her to set the heavy jar of water on her head, and, for the first time in his life, to speak to her. But words came with difficulty. He could only think
of asking her
how
it
alone.
She
replied simply, that with her father's wife there was no pity. She was forbidden to linger at the well and
wait for the other maidens, for when the heaviest housework was done she had to take the herds to " Eesht ya kheyi, May you the mountains. " she hastily murmured as live, my brother
thanks.
And
lest
anybody
should see them and suspect an assignation. The interview had been of the shortest, but all the same Hassan was in a seventh heaven of deUght. In lifting the jar he had touched her body. He had smelled the odour of the Khedar perfume, which she had taken from her stepmother. His lips had almost come into contact
curls
poem.
lady whose charms he had heard sung to an accompaniment on the Rababy that winter evening. Strange, he mused, that her name was Sabha (the Dawn), and that it was a white morning when
fair
229
Her face, now that he came to he first met her think about it, was indeed like the Dawn. And forthwith he named his white-faced cow Sabha, in order to have an excuse for calUng out the name of his beloved. How he yearned for her His thoughts were full of her when ploughing, sowing,
!
Sabha was ever uppermost. The black water-fowl with its white face was Sabha every white flower, every white thing in Nature reminded him of her and made his heart so
reaping, or thrashing.
;
overflow with poetic thoughts that he improvised a little love song beginning
:
" Shuft
is
Sabha
'hassra
fi fi
Ghamat
Tamat
il
tareek Kalbi
Sabha sadrat
jal
fareek
'hassra ja niri.
"
Every morning Hassan went early to the well, but never again could he meet Sabha there. It
was rumoured (neither could learn how it was that the news got abroad) that they had met so Sabha was no more sent to fetch water at an early
;
Moreover, to cut short all talking, Abd er-Rahman decided that she should no longer go with the herds. Henceforth she was to carry the milk and produce to the Jerusalem market in company with other women and girls, and so be
hour.
"I have seen Sabha in the way. My heart received a severe knock. Sabha has gone and since that day I suffer from the terrible shock."
230
busy.
You may be
:
People flocked there every Friday some on a visit to the Haram (the Mosque of Omar), others bent on He knew that the doors of selling their animals. the city were closed during prayer hours, from ten
o'clock until noon, that
in or
go out,
every possibility of his meeting Sabha, either when she was buying articles for a coming wedding of
Abu-Dis had been talking for days, or when she was waiting for the gates to be opened. His plan was successful. He did meet her but had merely time to exchange
village of
;
glances, to assure himself that she still had sympathy for him, and, ere he disappeared in the
crowd, to whisper the first two Unes of his comIt was evident that he must seek for a position. better opportunity of telhng her all that he had in
his heart.
IV The moon was growing larger and the day for the wedding was rapidly approaching. It was a
beautiful night in May, with a clear starlit sky. Stretched at full length on the roof of his father's
house,
dreamed of his beloved. For several evenings he had heard singing and ululations, as the girls of Abu-Dis gathered on the
Hassan
HASSAN'S HAPPY
DREAM
231
house-tops to practise the songs and dances they were preparing for the coming ceremony ; and
now, once more, he thought he could hear the music of song and dance. He dreamed that he was looking on at a grand rehearsal, and that Sabha was the most agile dancer and the sweetest singer among all the performers. Her silvery voice covered all the others,
and her
other
solos,
before the
girls,
sounded
!
cymbals and
drums. Ah if only he could get a Httle nearer and once more tell her of his love. Listening intently, he seemed to hear her words and the
others repeat
"
them
Nahun
Kulmin shamna walamna rabahn alley fatah Ya makhid is samra ya aima ya imkassah Khotlak wahady min il baid titsabah wa titmassah,"
!
of ululation.
it
"
Lull-u-luUhis
ear,
..."
struck upon
and
so loud, at last, that he woke with a start. He could hardly believe that it was all a dream.
Everything, and especially the words of Sabha's song, had been so distinct. Surely it was an omen ? And he found himself repeating the
lines
one by one, in order to try to discover their " dark meaning. Was it not evident that the
1
"
roses are fit for the lame and the blind gathers white roses is never behind. Unceasing the blessings are sent from above, And mornings and evenings are filled with their love."
;
Dark
Who
232
roses
who
lame
roses
" to the lot of the generality of lovers, the " and the blind/' and that the choice white "
girls of
Abu-Dis,
waiting to be gathered by some enterprising lover ? If only he had the courage to gather her, and with her consent he determined to do so, then the
included Sabha,
blessings from Allah would be unending, and the " rest of their days would be filled with their love."
Yes, he must be bold if he would possess his beautiful white rose, otherwise his youth would
irrevocably sUp
like the
young Hmedan
poem.
Hassan's duties called him on the following day to 'Ain Feshkhah, to gather rushes (dis) near that Dead Sea spring with which to make the mats for which Abu-Dis (the Father of Rushes) had gained a reputation. It was late in the evening when he returned home with his animals, and as he approached the village, eating some bread and the
Dom-apples which he had gathered from an oasis, the sound of singing told him that the customary
night's
Putting his
cows and donkeys in a place of safety, he cautiously approached on the house-tops, reached the one where the singers and dancers had assembled, and lay down in the deep shadow of a wall ** " the to enjoy the marriage revel and drink ** his dawn." songs of The girls had lit a bonfire and were dancing
A PERFECT DANCER
wildly around
it
233
and a central figure, no other than Sabha herself, whose flushed face seemed to her lover to be more glorious than ever as the light from the ruddy flames fell upon it. She was waving a coloured Mandeel (kerchief) high above her head so that her broad sleeves slipped down and revealed her alabaster-like arms, each adorned above the elbow with half a dozen glass bracelets of the best Hebron make. She bowed to her
;
companions
she
jumped
to the right, now to the left ; here and there ; she seized a naked
now
an imaginary enemy, and, with commanding gestures, threw it from one hand to the
sword to
strike
other
music of her song and the circle of danced and sang before her. Comely though
many
ears for
Hassan had eyes and no one save the leading singer. He could
hear the swish of her silken tassels as they tossed wildly to and fro ; he could perceive her bare feet as they glided over the smooth roof. They seemed like caresses to him.
Abiad min ith-thalj beda ghabailki, As wad min il fahmi soda hawajebki Kul Areesin in tallabki allal baab natirki
Yetla imhassar alia keflat hawasirki.
"
^
" Your breasts are as white as the hills when it snows Blacker than coals are your perfect black brows.
The candidates, lurking about your door, sigh. Return and regret no one dares to come nigh."
;
234
The
He resolved to act at the next opportunity, even if he should die in very doing so. Why not die fighting for his beloved rather than languish away in inaction ? In her wild dances Sabha's girdle had become loosened and her head-veil had slipped. She stopped a moment, giving the leadership to Helwy, the next best dancer. As there were several men
lated to quieten him.
standing by, Sabha retired to the shade of the wall where her lover was lying to rearrange her clothing, and, as decency requires, everybody looked the other way, towards the dancers.
Hassan, who feigned to be asleep, was so near to her that he could almost have touched her. " Ya Kheiti, My sister," he whispered. " I am with you morning and night."
ya Kheiji, Hush my brother. As soon as the wedding is over, we can meet again in Jerusalem. I will buy perfume for my mother at Hadj Abdallah's shop in the Suk el-Attarin, next to the Suk el-Lahamin * and there we will
Huss
she
put
her
speak together." In a moment she had fastened the red silk girdle, fixed the veil with a great pin to her thick raven hair, and hurried back to the dancers, where she took up her post again.
The Butchers'
Street.
235
Hassan's heart was ready to burst with joy. She had returned the love compUment. For the second time she had called him by the sweet name of brother, and she had appointed a meetingplace in the great city where they could surely see each other and, in all security, make their future
plans.
V
Sabha's growing beauty did not influence her stepmother in her favour, especially as her own daughter Hasna was small and very dark-skinned, so brown indeed that she received the nickname
of
Abdy
(negress).
the Jerusalem market, Kadriye's animosity used to take the form of a searching examination of her accounts, in order not to leave the girl any
chance of making a few coppers, as pocket-money, out of her transactions. But Sabha was as good a business woman as she was a dancer or singer. Even an austere Oriental prefers to see a well-
will
willingly
pay
a few extra paras if a smiling face looks at him from behind a stall or basket of provisions and a
sweet persuasive voice invites him to buy. Consequently Sabha always sold her milk or labban, her hens or eggs much better than the plainer
featured
elegant mannered Fellahat. That she also contrived to make a little legitimate
less
and
profit for herself, in spite of her stepmother, you may be sure. Sometimes a friend, knowing her
236
reputation for being able to sell anything, would give her goods to sell, and on these she was allowed
a small commission.
girl aspires
to indulge
The few days which separated them from their appointed rendezvous seemed hke months to Hassan, and the marriage rejoicings were wailings in his ears. He could not bear to think of Sabha displaying her beauty and skill to anyone save himself. Yet, he often asked himself, what right had he to lay claim to so superb a creature, he who was so powerless to carry her away ? His only steed was a she-ass, fit for nothing save the
carrying of mats to the Jerusalem market. In their if ever she consented to that the slowflight
At
rising
last the
happy day dawned. Driving his Mount of Olives, Hassan saw the
sun tinting the Holy City with beautiful roseate colours. With the gilt cupola of the
Mosque
rays of and the multitudinous minarets pointing to heaven. El Kuds was to him the hoUest of sanctuaries.
Holy Rock reflecting the bright the sun, the Temple plateau void of people,
of the
His love was going to be sealed in that immortal "He! He!" he exclaimed, as he urged city.
ttiO
5S
237
and he wished she had wings to carry But the beast of burden responded neither to word nor stick slowly she
her over Kedron.
;
crept over the Jewish cemetery, down the slopes of the mountain, barely passing the groups of peasants whom they overtook on their way. Among these were numbers of Siloam women, who
marched along below Absalom's pillar with baskets on their heads, containing heaped up cauliflowers, parsley and chard beet leaves from their watered gardens. The more women he saw flowing to the market the better he was pleased, for he knew that the denser the crowd the more certainty there was of his meeting with Sabha being unobserved. On entering Bab Sitti Mariam (St. Mary's
or St. Stephen's Gate) the Fellahat, pouring in on all sides, increased at every step. Moreover,
on that particular day, Jerusalem was visitors and pilgrims of every nationality.
full
of
Hastening as rapidly as possible to the Bazaar where mats are sold, Hassan set down his load. Hardly had he done so than some foreign visitors
came and bought his four mats at a Majidi each, and at the same time ordered ten more, as they were furnishing several sets of rooms in the Greek Convent. Promising to be at the same place
a
fortnight
fair
Friday Gate) and found the market crowded with cattle, donkeys, goats and sheep. Six Majidis were
17 (3131)
hence, he hastened away to the near the Prophet David's Gate (Zion's
238
an hour's waiting, seeing that nobody came his way with a better offer, he drove his animal to a Khan, where he paid fifteen paras for it to be fed and looked after during his absence. Then, with a rapidly beating heart, he hurried as fast as the crowd would permit him to the corner of the Suk el Lahamin and the Suk el Attarin. Sabha was already busy there, choosing her perfumes, a little pepper and cinnamon and some
after half
Nobody
feigned
was about.
Nevertheless, Hassan
He
^ buy powder and shot, telling the 'Attar his game expedition to the oasis of the Dead
There were no formal salutations between when they left the shop and walked up the street, which was so narrow that not more than two persons could walk abreast without almost pushing into the articles hanging around the shop doors. As soon as they were side by side Hassan lost no time in making his brief
Sea.
the lovers
declaration.
be leaving Abu-Dis with the tribe of the and beyond Jordan Aduan. I can no longer stay in the village without
Soon," he said,
live
I shall
"
"
to go
you."
"
dealer.
239
Hardly, however, had the words passed her lips than she retracted. " Ye my brother, how do you think I could
!
leave
my
father
sister
?
and brothers,
"
my
work and
is
my
master
Hassan insisted that he was ready to take her whenever she chose to follow him. He had merely time to add that in a fortnight he was to bring a fresh supply of mats
to the market, that she should bring all her spare things with her, and that he knew a sure way of
people were coming down the street and left him but a moment to slip into a by-way without being seen.
object.
attaining their
Some Abu-Dis
VI Hassan and his father worked busily at the mats for the next fortnight and Sabha went daily to market. Sometimes she returned home at noon but often, of necessity, she was later. Owing to
the gates of Jerusalem being closed whilst the people were at prayer, she frequently missed her chance of selling her produce to advantage. Her stepmother's suspicious questions and looks when
she explained
how
it
often recurred to Hassan's projected departure. Could she bear to let him go without her ?
On
when
passing
240
Hassan's home, she saw the mats rolled up in front of the door and wished that she could meet
him, in order to beg him to stay in Abu-Dis. Just at that moment he came round the corner. As he passed her he seized the opportunity to whisper " I shall be ready to start to-morrow. We will meet at the same shop." Late that same evening Kadriye made ready
:
the produce for next morning's market. Sabha's basket contained butter, sour milk and eggs,
packed amongst olives, so that they would not break against the milk-jars. Her exacting stepmother estimated the possible price of every article and ordered her to buy, in the Suk el Khawajat, a piece of blue stuff for her sister Hasna. Should the money not be enough, she was to pay the remainder from her own earnings, "as her poor
was very badly off for clothes, etc., and never had any chance of earning anything," though, as a matter of fact, little Hasna was always neatly clothed and had far more silver ornaments
sister
stepsister.
Friday came and with it the usual crowds. Rows of yelling and bargaining women filled the
lower quarters of Jerusalem. Women of Siloam, the Mount of Olives, Bethany and Abu-Dis chattered
and quarrelled
selling
as they bought
and
sold.
Sabha,
get home.
too
fcuO
aBB2uJL.'l/'
THE ELOPEMENT
241
and she would have to hasten before the gates closed for prayer. As she had to buy the material for her sister, she went up the town instead of
going towards Sitti Mariam. Hassan, too, was busy selling his mats to the customers in the Greek Convent. He then drove
there
his ass to the fair, where, before he had been more than a quarter of an hour, she was
sold for seven Majidis to a man of Bethel, north of Jerusalem. He chose his customer with care,
anyone from the east might have asked silly questions why he sold his ass, and so forth. He was very glad of the chance of getting rid of the animal at such a fair price. With the ten Majidis for the mats and seven for his ass, Hassan was a rich man and could start in life for himself. His powder-horn was full his small leather bag contained bullets and shot his Shibriyeh was fixed in his girdle. He had left his gun outside the gate, near Gethsemane, with an old oUve-guardian, as the soldiers at the gate would not allow any armed Fellah to enter the
for
:
city.
Finding Sabha at the appointed meeting-place, Hassan explained that he was indeed turning his back on Abu-Dis that very day. Was she coming with him ? Sabha again hesitated. Should she leave home and throw in her lot with another ? Had she really any right to complain ? Harsh
. . .
242
vacant place. Yes, Hasna was a big strong girl and would soon be able getting to go to market. Besides, she was the preferred
one ... At the thought of freedom, Sabha's heart began to beat riotously. Then, suddenly, she gave her consent.
"
Which way
shall
we
leave, brother
"
she
asked.
Hassan indicated a quiet street out of the Bab 'Amud (Damascus Gate) and instructed her to turn to the right and walk slowly, with her empty basket on her head, towards the north, where he would join her by the southern side. Then they
el
parted.
Half an hour
for
later,
And
yet
They had never been alone that moment. For a few hundred
they walked without speaking a word. Hassan broke the silence. " " My sister," he said, anybody meeting us will guess our situation at once if we continue this embarrassment. People will see by our clothing, our manners, and our speech that we are not of
yards
At
last
Villagers
know each
other so well
much
at once.
We
that our flight will be reported must leave the main road and go
AN AWKWARD POSITION
towards the Jordan.
243
But we
shall
have to walk
Ghawarny
Stumbling over the stony way, which Hassan, fortunately, knew very well, the lovers made their plan of campaign. They agreed to say that they were married, but had quarrelled with their parents and to everyone on account of a stepmother inquiring whence they came they were to give the
;
name
of a different place.
By the time they reached El Ghor both the wanderers were very tired. Sabha had left her basket with the empty milk-pots, etc., in a grove. The nearer they approached the Jordan valley the warmer it grew. Her red mantle was the only superfluous article she decided to carry with
her.
Received with hospitality by the negro-arabs above Jericho, each slept in a separate tent Sabha with the women and Hassan with the men.
:
The
older Bedawiyat, after hearing their tale, wisely shook their heads and spoke about a
though Sabha had sworn that they were newly married and were going to see the land " " which her husband had rented from the Aduan in the autumn. The younger women and girls believed her and did not see why it should fuUy be otherwise. But the men agreed with the elders.
Khatify,.2
lovers'
^
teU-tale glances.
Elopement.
244
Some remarked
man was
nicely
shaven and looked very much like a sinner. Moreover, appearances were against them. The woman carried practically nothing the man was without agricultural implements, he had not even a
** However, that was their business. May Allah level their road," wished the sceptical ones. Everyone had a right to a chance to live. And so the Ghawarny feigned to believe the story which had been told them and decided to indicate the best way on the following day. Should pursuers
sickle.
come, they (the Ghawarny), having given this man and woman food and lodging, having eaten " bread and salt " with them, would be obliged by the laws of hospitality to deny that they had ever seen them.
VII
Early next morning, Hassan and Sabha were on their way towards the Jordan. Their conversation centred around the impression produced at
Abu-Dis by their flight. Abd er-Rahman and Kadriy^ would probably ask the women late in the evening if they had seen her, and on being told that they had not set eyes on her since morning, a messenger would be sent to Bethlehem, to her grandmother's, to inquire if she were there. Unless they waited a day or two to see whether she came back. As to Hassan's father, he would probably conclude that, as the boy was fond of
ADMITTED AS
^ Sawahry with
"
MATNUB
"
245
whom he had been on expeditions There was no need to be anxious about the ass, which he had perhaps left in safety in the Khan. In short, Hassan and Sabha concluded that they were safe for a day or two more, until they were far out of reach. The lovers were not very far out in their predictions. When the people of Abu-Dis found that
the two young people had eloped, every woman knew more about the past the mysterious meetings near the weU, in the town, and on the road
Kadriye was deeply grieved money from the last sale and at to find someone to replace Sabha' s cheap having labour. But she had observed the girl's sullen
at the loss of the
demeanour and expected the worst. Abd erRahman was really very much affected. He did
not reahse until then
eldest child.
affection
how much he
loved his
and
He
treated the fair grown-up daughter too harshly. Meanwhile Hassan and Sabha travelled on
beyond the Aduan (their alleged destination) until they came to the Beni-Sakhr, up on the plateau of Moab. On asking this tribe to admit them as Matnub^ they were received with joy, and a tent (the cost of which was covered by contributions) was given to them. Furniture,
^
Bedawin.
Naturalised subjects.
246
an old carpet and the most necessary articles for their household were also provided in a similar way. Hassan took down his turban and made
it
formed gradually.
a flying head-dress (Kafiye). Sabha was transHer short Fellaha skirts were
lengthened inch by inch, and with her spare money she bought a black mantle, the indispensable garment of every Bedawiye. Her red one, in memory of the old days, she retained only for indoor use. Hassan soon proved himself to be a first-rate hunter consequently he received from his comrades a fully equipped horse and, later,
;
joined
them on their war expeditions. Sabha brought up many children among the Beni-Sakhr and never told anyone of the story of
her beloved Hassan's devotion until
many
years
had passed and the people of Abu-Dis had long regarded them as dead, the victims of Said el-Ma 'ati and his Rababy.
XIV
SONG AND DANCE IN THE EAST
I
Songs and dances, as well as music and poetry, or proverbs and stories, may be called the intellectual treasures of the inhabitants of Palestine
treasures inherited from ancestors reaching back to the dawn of history. Superficial observers have
sometimes remarked that their songs are mere repetitions, their music monotonous wailings, and
their instruments primitive, indicative of a nation But many in the lowest stage of civilisation.
writers forget that the primary cause of this state of affairs is to be found in the absolute belief of
the Arab in the divine revelation of every gift, marking men superior to the brute.
to
human
Thus,
is
of
divine origin.^
then change it? he asks. A typewriter Books is ungodly, an occidental invention. other than the Koran are wicked singing at prayers and dancing at a time of devotion have been inspired from above, and no true believer is allowed to admit new methods. Moslems are faithful and punctual to the law and tradition received from ancestors, and though we neither admit nor submit to such inexorable obstacles to progress, we cannot refrain from admiring their constancy. What have occidentals done regarding
Why
Sura
Ixviii.
247
248
"
Not only are graven images ? in our streets and on our they everywhere public monuments but even churches are filled with them. The Moslem bows down to fate,
forbidden
or orders given in the sacred books, the Torah as well as the Koran, and cannot follow innovations.
God
ordered dimensions.^
Noah to build an ark and gave the Now, not only Moslems but even
it is
contrary to divine laws to build ships over 300 cubits long. Musical instruments, songs, dances, were invented
and it is transgression of the law to admit other ways. As the law of Moses is admitted by every true Israelite, every true Moslem must strictly observe the Koran, which is both a civil and a rehgious code. In Islam we find a greater respect for the letter of the law of Moses than amongst the alleged dispersed tribes of Israel. The song of Moses
by Jubal,
is
The Blessings of Jacob and Moses prophesy* war and wealth. Miriam and the women, singing
in antiphony, proclaim the triumph of Israel after the destruction of Pharaoh in the Red Sea.
Let
an example. The modern Arab a song of expedition glorifying the Kaseedy crushing of enemies, and the estabhshment of the victorious tribe ; the Exodus of the Beni-Helal
us take
is
1
* * Genesis v. 21. Genesis vi. 14-16. Deuteronomy xxxii. Genesis xlix. and Deuteronomy xxxiii. Exodus XV. 20-21.
THE ZOOMARA
249
from Nejd, passing by the Holy Land and fighting its way, till the final establishment in Tunis,
resembles the Exodus of Beni-Israel by Sinai to the Holy City. A passage from this Kaseedy
runs as follows
"
Benadi
il
imnadi
fi
Dawaweer
Abu-'Ali,
Sultan Hassan Yom el Khamees yesheel, inkan endhum hurmuttin ajnabie Yenadiha la ahelha min gher jameel inkan endho bint amo haleelto
Wa Wa
Daneelha 'oj il rkab itsheel Wa tar an bint it 'am tusbur 'alla-j-jafa Wa amma-1 gharibey bidha didleel Walli endo muharatin ma tittaba'ak Yehot 'aleiha sarj ma yen adal ma yameel."
Musical instruments, especially the Neiye and the Duff, are characteristic and unchangeable instruments used from time immemorial. The Neiye, also called Zoomara, is a double-
reeded wind instrument, generally used by shepherd boys but often also by camel-drivers ; and I have often noticed how the animals in Palestine
charmed by its hmited scale of notes, repeated hour after hour. My special attention has always been called to this primitive instrument, which I do not hesitate to call Abu-Zemoor, the father of
are
1
"
The Herald goes round the camp of Abu-Ali, and shouts Sultan Hassan decamps on Thursday. If you have foreign wives Send them back to their people.
your wives be your cousins, Prepare the crooked necked (camel) for them, For a cousin supports trials with patience, And the foreigner wants persuading. Whoever has an unbroken filly. Saddle and equip it well."
If
250
With
it
its very few notes, dull to occidental ears, can raise passionate flames in the heart of the
girl,
Fellaha
just
as
one-stringed Rababy can kindle the passion of a ^ young man, and lead to an elopement, with as
^^i^D^
(Generally the Neiye or Zoomara is made of reeds, but someThe mouthit is formed with the wing-bones of the Nisr. pieces are movable and attached with strings, and like all the other strings which hold the two reeds together, they are strengthened with pitch. The mouth-pieces are called Banat the daughters.)
times
Sweet Home," the Oriental melts at the thought " of My Mountain home, my whitewashed dome/' And has not this same Zoomara, which has enchanted the under-developed Palestine Fellah for ever so many generations, also been a comfort
to
millions
of
sweet singer of Israel but are not aware that his Psalms were composed to the accompaniment of the Neiye ? When David brought the ark to Jerusalem he
Christians "
who
still
hear
"
the
dehvered
1
the
first
psalm
to
thank
Jehovah,
BLOWING A PSALM
"
251
*
Hebrew wording
"
The
is
to him, blow a Zoomara to him. She'er sing a Now, a fellah blows the Neiye and the identical
"
we
"
our strength, howl unto the God of Jacob. Take a Zamra (the English version says psalm) and bring hither a timbrel (duff) the fine harp with the In Hebrew "Psalm" is "Mazmoor," psaltery."
indentical to the
modern Arabic, meaning " played on the Neiye or the Zoomara." We also read, "Let him praise his name in the dance, let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and the
2
Yehlaloo bimaTiool Hebrew, biduff wabi Kanoot yezmaroo-loo." Palestine proverbs are always based on incidents, and a proverb has almost always a small story
harp,"
in
"
attached to its origin. The origin of the proverb, " Adob ibneiak zamarr Now, your son shall " blow (that is on the neiy6) is as follows "A
who was going to town to a zoomara for his son. bring Very well,' repHed the other. So he went on his journey, but forgot all about the commission. The next time he was about to set out, he was again asked to bring the instrument. All right,' he said. But he again
told his neighbour
' *
man
neglected to do as his neighbour had asked him. The third time he left home, the man handed him
*
I,
Chronicles xvi. 9.
Psalm
cxlix. 3.
252
ibneiak zamarr
your son shall blow/ said the witty neighbour, as he received the money. And, sure enough, in the evening the much
coveted object was in the hands of the delighted boy." Oriental sagacity has placed the moral education of the nation in their proverbs.
now,
much
desired reedlets.
Adob
Though the days of Arab splendour are gone, when generous and erudite Khalifs of the Omniad and Abbasid dynasties, in the marble palaces of Damascus and Bagdad, royally bestowed wealth on poets for a single verse, though Arab hterature declined during the dark ages, when the con-
queror of the north threatened to crush the nation out of existence, yet, thanks to the vivacity of the language and the constant efforts of the intellectual centres of Damascus and the world-famed El-Azhar
at Cairo, Arabic has incontestibly proved that it rooted. The language has survived is firmly
political disaster and,
thanks to this energy, we able to read the mentality of the people of are
vividly preserved in manners, songs and melodies. The Palestine mother sings to her
former
ages,
immutable
baby
in the
cradle as Samuel's mother did ; a woman sings when grinding her corn as the Israelite of Isaiah's
days with Jephthah's daughter or with Miriam, the very duff is used to praise great feats. Under the vine and fig tree they sing as in the days of
;
the judges.
are separated in
THE HOUSE
253
joy and in sorrow, as of old. From generation to generation the father faithfully transmits his
wisdom
to the son
daughter, the
way
Age
is
so respected that
a transgression to
These are some observations concerning a family group in a well-known Judaean village: Miriam and Abdallah were cousins, and had been brought up in the same house. They had grown up side by side and their manners were the same. How could it have been otherwise ? For not only were their fathers brethren, their mothers also were sisters. Each family Hved in a " his room, which every one pompously called
But does not the tent-living Bedawy " " call his tent or hut by the same name ? Beit House means as much as hearth in the English language. These two houses were nothing more than two rooms, the doors of which opened into a
house."
court-yard, itself surrounded by a wall on which were stuck sharp thorn-hedges,^ to protect the herds and keep out thieves or wild animals by night.
As the cousins were of the same age and the mothers Uved on good terms, Miriam and Abdallah were almost always together. The herds, the land, the gardens, the poultry, belonged to their parents in common, consequently, whether at
^
Cf.
Micah
vii. 4.
i8 (2131^
254
work or
at rest, there was hardly a moment they did not spend in each other's company. When the
two mothers rose long before dawn, to grind the ^ daily flour on the handmill, they worked together, and sang the songs they had learned from their mother and which, to judge by the wording, may be traced as far back as history. One of these
songs, sung in long-drawn tones, ran as follows
" In
:
my father's house there are riches. Black negroes go quietly about to work. The days of my youth when visitors met As the fruits of last year have vanished."
the children retained the
wording slumbering and when at play they repeated the song, which in their turn they handed on to their In the cradle they heard the mother's lullaby
offspring.
:
Half
"
La Walla salamet
illi
ha.
btutkur
fi
jozetha."*
Or
sing
mother would
:
Nami ya 'eni, nome il hinna La tashufi adna danna. Ya'h mik lUah, dumti fi sa'tik.
;
Jufi
'
Miriam and Abdallah had also heard children's songs from the neighbours, and being very keen to learn songs of all kinds could at once repeat them. One such song was as foUows
:
Matthew
*
xxiv. 41.
! !
"
Helwy
"
in her throat."
;
May you
,
God God
will protect
in
A DOGGEREL
"
255
Ya Kammar, ya hadi ya munawer alla-1 hanady, Awlad Khamsy, sitty, belabu ta'ht id dikky."i
Betimes they astonished their companions by singing unknown doggerel rhymes which they had picked up somewhere
:
"
Bamda'h
sitti
il
Im
Safiy6
'ekoos
imdaliy6
Hamra wamakliye
Ajat Khalti is-sarraka Sarkat min warai Wuk'at min Kafai Fi Tamar wa hinna
Khataftli Siniye
Tamoot
*
il
'ajooz
Watedal U Mnna."*
"
Oh moon
We
calm guardian who giveth light to man. are five or six children playing under a belt." * "
!
Saranda and Saranda, I meditate all the way. I think about granny Sophy, Limping on her crutches. She showed me the way to the well Gave me a silken shawl. She told me with joy Strike the cymbal with an apple. My sisters came in a hurry,
:
Canying great
I
dishes.
snatched one of them. Bearing roast and fried food. My thievish aunt came that way And stole one behind me. She fell behind me Amongst dates and henna. When the old one dies The daughter-in-law will remain (at home)."
256
As Miriam and Abdallah grew up their ambition was not to invent new songs but to retain the old
ones.
After a long
summer without
:
rain, pro-
cessions went round the village, the children imploring for pity
women and
"
Ya Rabbi
itbill
ish-shartoota
Kabbel in 'hamel Kabbel in-roo'h Kabbel in-'hamel 'a Musser Fi Musser ma navra'sh.
Ya Rabbi
itbill
Wa
ish-shaly
Karamy
lal
mattar."
Another year, when all the orchards were full of the most luscious fruit, many families of Jerusalem and Bethlehem came out to camp for a few " weeks and live on fruit," an evident imitation of the feast of booths ^ and the Uving under vine and iig-tree. ^ Miriam and Abdallah, always ready to learn, made friends with the town children and from them learned many songs which were new to them. In the towns, where Jews and Christians
are
made
and
wet our veils Oh, Lord Before we load and start Before we start for Egypt.
! ;
"
We
Oh
We
only act by your order It is not through pride. Lord " honour, O God, your rain
! !
Nehemiah
viii.
14.
Kings
iv. 25.
EASTER-SONGS
often sang one against the other. would sing " Ya Nasara, ya Yahood
:
257
The Moslems
Christian children of Bethlehem or Jerusalem, to rally the Jews, turned against the Yahood with the words " Ya Yahood Ya Yahood
The
'Eet kum *eet-il kurood 'Eet na 'eet il Masee'h Wal Masee'h fadana.
Bidammo
eshtarana
Ma
dean
ilia
dean
il
Masee'h
Wal Yahood
1
'hazana," etc.*
! !
"
Oh, Nazarenes
Your
Ours
oh, Jews feasts are goblin feasts. are for the Prophet.
Fatmy
Whom
*
(his daughter) had a son. she called Abd-en-Nabi. She hid him in the wheat-trough
"
oil-cakes there."
!
Your
Ours
The Messiah who redeemed us. With his blood, he bought us.
Messiah's religion
is the only true one. ' Light shone from his grave. The grave is Our Lord's Our Lord Jesus the Messiah. We rejoice on this day (whilst)
to
Holy Fire of the Greeks, which is alleged come down from heaven into the Holy Sepulchre on Maunday
A reference to the
Saturday.
258
These children also taught Miriam and Abdallah round games in which all joined and sang in a circle. Antiphonally the two groups sang the words " Ya Fatmy, y a 'onha 1st.
:
Fain
2nd.
ij
jamal
Fil ma'ssara.
2nd.
1st.
wa zemoor
la
Min Halab
Stambool."
The town families also brought musical instruments with them, such as the Kanoon, a stringed instrument resembling the stringed Kanoot, or ^ But this was only played in the harp of David. evenings by the men. Another of their instruments was the Kamanjy, a small fiddle which The body of the differs from the Fellah Rababy.
former
skin
is
made
^
Oh, Fatmy homage Where is the camel ? 2nd. The camel presses oil.
1st.
to you
1st.
What
2nd.
1st.
A
A
2nd.
1st.
drop of dew.
Uncle, uncle, dear uncle, Let me have your daughter. 2nd. I will give her to you
I.
Samuel
xvi. 23.
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
only one string,
shape.
is
259
were for Miriam or ; were the Duff/ or tamboureen, the Durbukky, or the S'hoon (Cymbals), and with these they did
their best
much bigger and square in Kamanjy nor the Kanoot AbdaUah their instruments
to
and by dint of practice soon became recognised as the most expert singers and dancers in their Whenever there was a wedding, a provillage.
cession for rain, or a burial, they were
guests.
among the
older,
thus were able to buy the necessary materials for making musical instruments. Miriam became the happy possessor of a Duff, and AbdaUah not only purchased a Neiye and a Yarghool but also bought a cheap Soofara and a Shabbaby, reeded blowing instruments. But he single
especially
prided
himself
on
home-made
His favourite song was a Kaseedy of the Zeer, an old Arabian tale which runs as
Rababy.
follows
:
The
war.
factions of
Tobba Hassan
1
conquered by the (The Tobbas of the Hemyarite dynasty reigned in the fourth century
Murra, in the north,
of the
Yemen.
Exodus XV.
20.
260
A.D. Tobba Hassan was fifteenth prince, from 236 to 250 A.D.) The Tobba wants the beauti-
But Jaleely is betrothed Klabe of the Kase faction. Yet they must submit and send Jaleely with forty camels. Every camel has a tiiple chest, with two compartments containing clothes and jewels, and, in
ful girl Jaleely to wife.
to
the middle, a hidden knight to kill the Tobba when introduced into his castle. An old
necromancer
"
is
called
and
sings
Takool
Ma 'an
Ya Tooba
Wa
Ya
erkab
wa
Wa yad is-seiegh kul yome yesna'oo. Wa ya badenha, ya Tooba' ya shillet 'hareer Wa yad im 'allem kul yome yet la 'oo Wa ya 'unkha ya Tooba' ya 'unk el-ghazM, Wa ya thumha ya Tooba' ya Khaten thahoob
fi fi
Bi Khadin a'hmar wa jooz 'eyoon sood. Wa yasba 'ha ya Tooba', ya Khalbooz fatha
khadeemy.
is killed
and
"
The old woman says, I witness Thou mayst adorn the captive, the sealed. Give in abundance, oh Tooba Hassan. Ride and gallop on women's breasts. Let them bring Jalleely, the captive, With red cheeks and coal-black eyes. Her fingers, oh Tobba, as silver appears In the hand of the smith, daily renewed.
And
her body, oh Tobba, a silken roll In the hand of the weaver, daily refreshed. Her neck, oh Tobba, just like a gazelle. Her mouth, oh Tobba, a ringlet of gold, Daily repaired by the goldsmith's hand."
c
GIPSIES
Jaleely
261
tribe.
much
:
bloodshed.
Jassas, the Chief of the adverse party, against the Zeer, a son of the Jaleely. The Zeer is victorious and, as a final condition, condemns the descendants of Jassas to ride only on
donkeys.
Now, the
stiU curse
and they
the Zeer
'al
"Yen
lUi
Abu-1-Zeer
i
rakabna hameer."
Yen
Illi
'al
Abu-1-Jassas
hamalna massas."*
(It will
Kaseedies and popular songs that their authors are referred to by the bard as either He or Mohammed. It is not the poet but the subject which counts.)
II
in the village
and the
eight-
year-old Can'aan, the child of a neighbour, became dangerously ill. His mother vowed that should
offer
a sacrifice to El Khadr.
friends
and
Cursed be the father of Zeer, Who made us ride asses." Cursed be the father of Jassas, Who provided us with goads."
i.
"
Cf. I.
Samuel
11.
262
which, though Christian and dedicated to St. George, is acknowledged by Moslems. Among the guests were Miriam and Abdallah. All along the way the latter entertained the party by playing
on
his Neiye. Miriam, in her finest attire, led the girls and, like Jephthah's daughter, did not forget
When
the
swinging her body to and fro and now and then knocking on her Duff and accompanying it with songs and hallelujahs until she was flushed. Her flying curls around her forehead impressed even the young men whilst the girls, delighted
;
to encourage her, clapped their hands at every third note. At last Miriam sat down quite exhausted, though none the less admired by her
companions.
On the way back, whilst sitting down awhile " " near the sealed fountain at the Pools of a long-haired Dervish passed. He Solomon, paused a few moments and entertained the company with a song which
rhyme, It opened as follows
"
:
Abdallah* s good
*
memory and
Judges
xi. 34.
*
"
A ROMANCE
263
the words and tune, and on returning home he set to work to sing the song to an accompaniment
on his Rababy. Abdallah had heard of the seven Mo'alakat hung in the Kaaba at Mecca, and his ambition was
to retain as
much
first,
He
his
began, at
memory became very retentive. He quickly learnt how to sing the No'h or lamentation songs and he was also considered to be very good at
;
singing a certain Mawaal, or romance, supposed to be sung by his lady love and beginning thus
:
I
I
,^^-^
-&
"
"
Wa
la
man ya
And when
ghib il-Kamar, ma newlak il mufta'h." the moon has set I'll hand the key to you."
i p^^
"
^
lail
-jlail
-cr
"
!
Ah ya
ah ya
His town
"
Ya lail
"
Mawaal were
length
of Abdallah's "lail." Risk, his town used to put his right hand to his temple as friend, though to hold his head for the effort which the long " drawn-out lail " required from his whole being.
The
the
following summer brought much work in field, at the Hme-kiln, at the olive harvest, and
all
on
workers
these occasions songs to encourage the were very welcome. At the last
264
and girls worked and repeated a song opening with the words
olive-gathering boys
"
etc.
During the long winter evenings the young people played all kinds of games, but She'er were more welcome, as everybody could appreciate them. Rabee brought new marriages. Miriam, ever ready to use her sweet voice, was again the leading
figure in the dances in the evenings after the day's
work. As if bowing to the moon, she opened the seven nights' ceremonials by one of the oldest marriage songs, addressing the bridegroom thus
:
"
Then, turning towards the bride, in her own circle, she smiled as she slightly changed her voice and
sang these verses
"
:
Khaatmik ya maliha arinn bidaket in-nooba. Inhoodki hal beed mithil thalj ma'hsooba Sarat il kheel marsooje wamarkooba Bint il ajawid ilia ibn is-saied matlooba
LuU-u-luU-u-luU-u." etc.
^
"
Olives turn into lemons Lemons turn into olives " The moon appeared, that crescent And the flame-kindling star. Whoever hurries to leave his friends
;
!
"
rich.
"
Lull-u-lull-u-lull-u," etc.
Your ring, oh fair one, rings as music. Your breast is a white place all strewn with snow. The horses are saddled and the riders have started. The nobleman's daughter is asked for the Lord."
HOLY STANDARDS
When Eed
el-Kebir,
265
feast,
the
spring
with
processions to the Sakhra (the Holy Rock in Jerusalem) and the succeeding feasts to Nabi Moosa
came round
was brought forth, and with all the instruments, cymbals, and drums, the valid villagers set forth. Not only men and boys, but women and girls followed in the rear.
As they approached the wall of the Holy City, and as Saiara (processions) after Saiara from all the villages, with their instruments and standards,
poured into the town, a holy enthusiasm seized the crowds. The men, half -naked, drew swords and began to strike their bodies until blood gushed forth, and all the time they wildly called on their saints and prophets. What Bible reader
could
fail to compare these savage scenes to those which the Prophet EHjah contemplated when the ^ desperate prophets of Baal expected wonders of Soon the Saiaras filled the streets. their deity ? Dervishes of all classes danced with all their
;2
women,
arm
in
arm and by
threes
and
fours, followed
singing at the top of their voices. When, on the following day, the ceremonies
were over in the temple-court, the Saiaras set off again with the Beyrack, the holy standard of
*
I.
Cf. II.
14.
266
Moses, for the three days' feast in the wilderness of 1 Judah. Very trying to all were these feasts and very glad everybody was to return home and begin
their daily
work
again.
At harvest time the families of both Miriam and Abdallah went down to the plain of Philistia. There was no healthy flowing water there as at their mountain home, no wood, no pure mountain air. The village had a well about twenty yards deep and as the women drew up the water
Winghab
'End
el
el
Abd
^
I'hdar ya seed
tawreed."
The water
generally very bad in the torrid plains of Palestine and many mountaineers suffer there from malaria and ague. On this particular
is
expedition fevers were rampant. One of the victims was Abdallah's father. At the funeral, the women, especially the two sisters and Miriam,
with soot, and, with dishevelled hair, wildly danced about the grave, singing the following lines, as
rent
their
clothes, their
smeared
faces
Exodus
V.
1.
Property requires
lord
and
slaves.
If slaves
Remain
In charge of wealth."
o
00
o
as
267
"
Ya Sheikh hana mishwariye Fiha Shabab oo jahleen. Yiridoo shorak ya imsamma Ya Sheikh, heihum biendahulak Khafeef U Kaddem bista 'jelloolak Biridoo shorak ya imsamma.
LafEa dioof *alla-s-sa'ha Itla 'yS' Abu Isma'in shoof
"
Kharoof
ma
bikri dioof
Wadoo
Sequel
]
aghnam
'a
mowrad
el
moye."
another death took place, that of Miriam's mother. The girl was so overcome with grief that she refused food. But when her father took another wife she regarded herself as a stranger in her own home, once so dear to her, and looked for comfort in her best
^
"
Oh
Sheikh
there
is
a meeting
Of young and ignorant lads. They want your counsel, blessed one. Here they are calling you Sheikh. Light-footed, they run after you
!
And
" Guests have come to the public place. Come out Abu Ismain and look
!
A
Seauel ^
I 1
single lamb is not enough for Send for more one or two.
them.
the lambs)."
268
friend, lines
:
song.
II
Many
"
Marrakt 'an belt il 'habiby Lakate sakinto ghariby Sallamet ma raddat 'alleiyi
Beit, belt
immi
'erifto
Lanno
il
Ma
sheen
i'rak
^
il-afrak
il-laka."
ayam
Abdallah was
now
He
worked
in collaboration with a
number
of other
own age, gathering brushwood hme-kiln which they had built. Whilst cutting the wood or carrying the big bundles of thorns, singing was the order of the day. Heaps of brushwood as high as houses were gathered, and when the fire was put to the entrance of the " Bism lUah " the men by twos conkiln, with a stantly shoved in the fuel, singing antiphonally
of his
for a
!
"
passed by the house of my beloved (mother). stranger had taken her place. I greeted her and she did not answer, Though it was surely my mother's house. I knew the lime and the clay which she plastered. I lived there but now am a stranger. If the beloved ones (her father and stepmother)
I
are
living in happiness
If they joyfully walk on palms Others sit in sorrow and weep, And remember the day of separation. But sometimes they laugh for the days of meeting (again)
JERUSALEM WORKERS
the following
sible,
269
1st Singer.
270
N \
:;z=5c
:?5;=K
-^
mm
Hear
"
"
uli
Indian linen, Indian linen, Silken muslin. Buy me the dearest muslin."
ye,
girls
^^=^-,^^^1^
"
"
:s=)N=fszz^
:JS=3;:
laglabat."
From
Open, maidens,
let
me
enter.
sang many more verses but she only liked the passage referring to conscription, for lately a cousin had been taken away to the army
every Fellaha, she cried for him as already killed in war.
He
if
and
like
>-4N
"
^-j^-r^
^
it
fe
^^=P^ -
^V
^ ^. h -^ -^
i
'Akhadook
Turki minni
me.
Nawa 'oo Kalbi 'alake." " And the Turks have dragged you from
Leaving sorrow in
my
aching heart."
HI
Abdallah and Miriam became engaged. They were to be married in the autumn. Preparations for the wedding were already being made. Abdallah himself joined the dancers and singers ; he had always been fond of the Sa'hjy, that all-ina-row dance in which he was an expert, and which
AS
sat
3,000
YEARS AGO
"
271
down
to eat
In more ways than one has the Israelitish spirit continued to exist in the Fellahin of Palestine. They still sprinkle blood on the door-posts in commemoration of some great past event, probably the recollection of the slaughter of the Egyptians. ^ Similarly, as in the bowing to the golden calf, modem dancers
Abdallah was ever the leader in the Sa'hjy. Facing the dancers, he drew his sword, and gave directions. Singing, he made the human wall of dancers stand still or move to the right or the left. All the while they repeated what he sang and clapped their hands. Suddenly with a very reverent bow, he made them bow, almost to the " Kh ground, like camels ready to kneel. " Kh Kh he cried then commanded them to rise again. Miriam and the girls with her were so
delighted that for a while they stopped their own How lively dance and whispered one to another.
What
a master Abdallah
was
seizing her Duff, Miriam began to sing as follows in honour of her beloved
!
And
''
Ah Ah Ah
1
ih ih ih
ah
A
!
hu ya hath
a'l
him'
ah ah wadarat il
! !
laTiam ya bene
il
il
'ada
kome
!
khabar ish-Sham
Ya
Malek, ya ibn
*
il
fallak."
Exodus
xxxii. 6.
Exodus
17,
272
followed
s i^
"LuU-lull-ull-ull-ull-ull-uU-ull-uU-uU-ull-ull-oo."
"
Ah Ah Ah Ah
ih
ih
ih
ih
ah ah ah ah
ha.
il
Karak.
Ha hathak malekna, low la kan halikna. Low la Rheilak taaleen ran il 'ada akhadna."
Claude Reignier Conder kindly corrected my version of this song, and in the " " of the P. E. F. for July, Quarterly Statement
late
The
1894, translated
"
it
as follows
is
O, there was the butcher, the fury of foes. Your foes are slain, was the news to Damascus.
And a
thine.
(Ululation.)
it.
not
till
we
perish
Marriages are very often celebrated in Palestine to terminate an expedition or to show joy on returning home. Therefore the songs on such solemn occasions have a note of victory in them. The women of Israel came out with Me'hloot and She'er playing on the Duff for Saul and David's
victory over Goliath
SINGING ANTIPHONALLY
273
"
;
Saul has slain his thousand group " second group David his ten thousand," ^ because David was considered as the bridegroom of Michal, the King's daughter. It was a war
first
:
:
"
weU
as
is
for instance, with Moses when for the escape from the Egyptians
or
with the
:
psalm of exhortation, when one party sings first ** give thanks into Jehovah, for he is good"; and the second answers " For his mercy endureth
for ever," and thus twenty-five times, ^ or as in the case of the two companies which gave thanks
in the
As can
At times
of joy or
sorrow, triumph or loss, the melody differs little except that a more lively note is noticeable.
Miriam, walking one day to Jerusalem, saw mourning Ta'amr^ women weeping on the graves near Rachel's tomb, she joined the mourners, as she knew several of them, and noticed the low tone in which they sang compared with what she had heard at MamiUa in Jerusalem. There the women waved handkerchiefs above their
^
When
6-7.
2 *
40.
274
heads and in shrieking tones began their address to the departed as follows
--
-(-
-- --
t;
i
"
SEiEiE^
I
1:
t-&
;=^ -J
!-
Ya
waradi-e
"
"
When
They rent
Here, on the contrary, the high pitched screams were omitted, and the wailing song seemed a more
natural expression of deep grief. The mourning of the dark Badawiyat took this more dignified
form
^
"
f^^^r^i
rr
iN'i^
>
hm
!
^ ^ ^
hm
hm
hm
Tal'een biz-zaffy wul Kheil. Wush Shab 'alia babna." " Don't you remember, brother, When we saw our dear ones Going on the horseback procession. And the youngster at the door."
"
Laminak
Ya
"
If you could be bought No money would be suf&cient. His voice was like thunder, a rock for praising (God)."
Just as Miriam and Abdallah had learned songs and dances No^h (mourning songs) and Mowaal
bours, so in turn did they teach their songs and dances, unchanged, to their children. And as I
MIRIAM'S SONG
listened
275
evening to Abdallah's tune as he chanted the old dervish's song of Joseph, I was struck by the fact that the construction of the song of this modern singer was the same as that of Miriam's song not the young woman before me with her " Duff " but the older Miriam, the sister of Moses, when, following her brother's example, she sang of Israel's delivery
one
D^isztt^
-**#li
ft
3C=it
Jahweh Kigah gah. Sing ye to Jehovah, for his glorious deeds, Horse and rider have been thrown to the sea " (Exodus xv. 21).
"
"
Sheiroo
It
"
Wa
Beer Jibrin
^Malan
heiyeya multameem."
IV
transported through the ages of Palestine history, I could distinctly hear, when watching the wild gestures of Dervishes, the loud or faint echo, as the case might be, of the songs and dances of
if
As
prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel. On hearing the Neiye, I could imagine David composing a Mazmoor. At other times the sorrowful song for a lost friend reminded me of the fall of Saul and Jonathan on Gilboa, or the clear tinkhng voices of the girls in the booths under the figtrees of those old forgotten feasts which Nehemiah
the
instituted
How
could
it
very be otherwise
for
"
276
when
of
the booths
i^
i^
i^
~l
t^
'
'
b x
i
i^
:s=?:
"
4
Shay ya
wellay,
^^
ya wellay, ya bei." Shay ya wellay, ya wellay, ya Khei." " Shay ya wellay, ya wellay, ya low low,"
"
This singing from far-away echo ? mountain to mountain, often carried on for hours in the gay sunshine, was interrupted by the
like
chirp of the cicadas or the continual croaking of the crows as they fluttered about the fig-trees in
search
of
figs.
The very
this
air
itself
impregnated
archaic ideas
in
unchangeable
;
and images.
;
they had always done wailing sounds ruins told of ancient tragedies events which happened thousands of years ago and yet were spoken of as though they were incidents of the last war episode in the Balkans. With such thoughts as these I was riding home late one evening down the stony village path when it occurred to me that Miriam and Abdallah's songs were more or less imitations of
*
Cf.
Psalm
cxlvii. 9.
HALLELUJAH
the
voices
or
277
sounds heard in Nature. The setting crescent shed its last pale rays on the innumerable rocks which studded the mountain Behind the boulders the graceful creamslopes. flowered stalks of thousands of squills peeped out
on the nocturnal landscape like silent pigmies. Suddenly, borne on the evening breeze, the sound of drums and cymbals struck my ear, now louder, now quieter as they were carried towards or away from me. Then I remembered that it was Thursday night, on which the Dervishes assembled and prophesied, calling on the name of the one God until the Spirit was upon them. ^ Abdallah had belonged to them for some time past but up to then only carried a big rosary about with him " to say his Saba'h." He and his comrades were assembled for the Tahleel, which originated when the moon was worshipped, and which later was observed by the Israelites on the occasion of their new moon solemnities. ^ Those Dervishes in that village on the border of the Judaean desert, were dancing and singing with the same ardour and
enthusiasm as their predecessors of olden times, they were exhorted to sing hallel-u-jah to the sound of the timbrel as in the day of the Psalmist. And through the stillness of the night the voices
came up
"
^
to
Hallel-u-jah
I.
repeating
^
cl.
Samuel
xix. 20.
Isaiah
i.
13.
Psalm
XV
THEN AND NOW
I
In our peregrinations up and down the country with our bees, my brother and I had pitched our
camp
Jaffa to Gaza, in the low hilly country between two river-beds, which, further up in the mountains
of
Judah,
of
were
known
as
Wad-es-Sarar (the
Valley Sorek) and Wad-es-Sumt, but here, nearer the sea, had changed their names into Nahr Rubin and Nahr Sukreir, near the mouths of which are the shrines of Naby Rubin (the Prophet Reuben), and Naby Junis (the Prophet Jonas). Both these sanctuaries are visited once
few weeks* picnicking and spend the money they have carefully gathered all the year round in view of
indulge in a
pilgrims
all
parts of
who
the feasts. When these feasts in the wilderness are over the places are deserted for eleven months, and only Warrans and serpents leave their unmistakable traces in the deep sand which for miles covers the country. After the rainy season, the rivers become flooded, and the consequent stag-
kinds
nant marshes afford good shelter for birds of all magnificent haunts for the sportsman
278
APIARIES IN MARSHES
were
it
279
not for Sultan Wakham, ^ who reigns supreme, and innumerable mosquitoes, who help to inoculate his dangerous virus into the systems
few daring visitors who, like ourselves, ventured there. Jackals, ichneumons, foxes and, now and then, a stray hyaena, are the only quadrupeds who live and find plenty of food in those
of the
inhospitable marshes. Our own special reason for going there was the rich flora in August and
by the
villages
flowers.
We
usually
avoided
all
such
Ekron and Katra (Gederoth), and set our hives on the banks of the Wadies, mostly up lined with melliferous Agnus Castus.
colonies of
Our
guarded by North
who were admirably fitted for keeping would-be marauders at a distance. As in the days
Africans,
of
Saul, people of all classes, eager to escape being called to judgment in the more orderly centres, flocked to this land of the Philistines to be in safety. ^ True, we did not frighten
David and
anybody by
the names of
their
foolish ways, as
**
were, nor did we care to know the servants that broke away from
By
j^
the
intervention
of
let
our
these
Moroccans, we chose
^
Abigail's
pohcy, and
Malaria.
I.
Samuel
xxvii. 1-2.
Samuel xxv.
280
being not hurt by them." Late one evening, when the plain was still burning with the heat of a torrid August day, and
we were about to retire to rest, strange sounds as of men in peril fell on our ears. Swift as lightning, one of our guardians, *Hadj Imhammad, seized
his double-barrelled
in the direc-
of the voices. Though a comparatively honest fellow, whenever he could join in a row with a chance of obtaining a share of the booty, he became as vigorous a ruffian as any of those
tion
who waylaid
ings of the Wadies. His very rifle he had obtained " in one of these expeditions, in which he had not
hurt the robbers." On 'Hajd Imhammad drawing near to the place whence the sounds came, he heard the complaints of a man lying wounded, perhaps dying, on the ground. It was not long before he found him and lifted him up. He was a stranger, an Arab townsman. On opening his eyes, the wounded man put his hand to his girdle, where he generally kept his pistol, and cried " out: Kohm wulla sa'heb ? Friend or foe?"
quickly quieted him, explaining that he was a friend, a true behever, who had come to rescue him. The injury he had received was a blow on the forehead from a Naboot, but he could
Imhammad
stand up fairly well and so, leaning on Imhammad's arm, the two men hobbled into our camp. But
HATED FRANJIS
281
no sooner did the stranger recognise us to be " " than he stood stock still and hated Fran j is seemed to be making up his mind to retreat. It
all 'Hadj Imhammad's eloquence to persuade " almost as him that we were really good people " and that we should look after good as Moslems he went on to Jaffa or Jerusalem. him well until Esdud (Ashdod) was too far south Yebna was a and it was doubtful whether he good way off
took
could count on as warm hospitality in the Jewish " his masters." The colonies off the road as with
repUed that he was now living in Jerusalem, but that he knew the whole country and was a native of Hebron, which he had left years ago. He always looked for a place where no Christians came into contact with him. True to his native ** town, he swore by the life of the Prophet
man
Abraham, the friend of God Wu'heyat in" Nabi Ibrahim Khaleel Allah However, on hearing that we were the Urtas Fran j is, his
!
attitude suddenly changed. His face positively beamed with joy, and he at once consented to
teU us
who he
was.
His name, he said, was Hassan Yaseen AbuRazek, and he was the nephew of the well-known Sheikh Hamzy, the travellers' guide of Hebron. Strange to say, we were not unknown to each other. On one occasion, when on a tour to
Hebron and
*Ain Askala, he
282
under his uncle's big nut And he distinctly remembered the good tree. woman going round from hut to hut in the vineyards, tending the sick, giving quinine to this and that one, but especially dropping Kutra (lapis infernalis) into the eyes of the numerous ophthalmia
suffering
mother
women and
Never would
Henceforth we were almost brethren, for had we not Hved several weeks under the same hut and starlit sky had we not eaten " " bread and salt (" il 'esh walmal'h ") together, in good old Sheikh Hamzy's vineyard ?
Henry), the Hakimy.
n
Yaseen had had a good night's and had partaken of our frugal breakfast the usual cup of Moka, biscuits and honey we rolled our cigarettes and spoke together about his narrow escape on the previous night and our
rest
When Hassan
wonderful meeting after so many years. He, too, had been a citizen of the world, as the story of his travels and adventures showed. " By Nabi Ibrahim el Khaleel," he began, " Naseeb (Fate) has brought us together again.
May we
Though I thought that the perilous days of Fellah Sheikdom had gone for ever, and that the Turkish Government had put
1
Doctoress.
GRAPES OF ESHCOL
is
283
order into the unsettled days of my youth, travel ^ I will retire from evidently still Khattar.
. . .
When
was a boy
my
father
owned one
^
of the finest
where the renowned That luscious fruit always sold at a superior price, and often we could keep it until the Christians' Eed el Milady (Christmas),
vineyards near 'Ain Askala,
when
it
a rottel.
fetched as high a figure as three piastres How I loved the beautiful shade under
!
the pomegranate and fig-trees of 'Ain Askala But my star led me elsewhere. As a rule, we would not sell the grapes to Jews and Christians,
them into wine and and this despite the fact that the Jews spirits, Uving in Hebron often offered us high prices. Rather than do that we preferred to make Dibs, * and boil the fruit into Tabikh 'eneb^ for our own use in winter and for sale in villages and towns. When the grapes had been pressed in the old
as they generally transformed
cuttings in the rocks, which, with vineyards, are as old as humanity, we boys used to suck the sweet
juice as
I
it
flowed
down
always thought that the rocks and vineyards which had belonged to my ancestors and were never out of repair could never change hands.
1 2
Full of peril.
The brook of Eshcol where Joshua found the fine grapes. Numbers xiii. 23. ' * Five pence for six and a half pounds. Treacle. 5 Preserved grapes, Deuteronomy xxxii. 13.
284
to
never again handle the small Dibs-Kaakeer, ^ never again taste our good fruit and drink our own water near the tombs of our Lords and Ladies,
Abraham,
Isaac,
!
Joseph, Sarah
and Lea
on
be peace Usually we remained two to three months in the small house and huts of our vineyard, and when the harvest was over and all was ready in pots, my father and I would start off and sell our
"
whom
produce, either for cash or for wheat, barley, butter and the Hke, which in turn we sold in the Hebron market. Thus, when still young, did I
learn the art of trading. " One dark night, when the rainy season was almost at our door and much work yet remained
to be done in the vineyard, where there
was a
fine
by unaccustomed sounds,
coming
in our direction.
men
stealthily
As quick as thought we reached for our swords, but no sooner had we done so than armed and thickly masked men stood above us and with vigorous blows stunned us. The fingers on their covered mouths and their
swords held menacingly above our heads were arguments which needed no further explanation.
*
Pots
made
in Hebron.
AMONGST ROBBERS
Dumb
two
with
terror,
285
my
their faces as pale as death. The wild eyes of the robbers, looking daggers at us, seemed to say Of course, it was useless to Stir if you dare
:
'
think of resisting, or attempting to caU for help that would have meant immediate death. So
our assailants have their way. Soon, quite distinctly, we could hear the cutting of the grapes, the loading of animals, the whispering of many men, and, finally, the retreat of the whole band. But before they left us we were bound hand and foot with our own turbans and girdles. Bleeding from our wounds, we had to disentangle
let
we
ourselves as best
we
could.
It
was not
until
daylight that we got free of our bonds and began to try to find out in which direction the robbers
had gone. That would have been an easy task but along the stony here, on the sandy plain roads of Djebel el Khaleel it was impossible to find
;
a single trace of them. In vain we asked passersby, but nobody had seen any suspicious-looking
camel-drivers. So my father, though suffering from the wound on his head and exhausted through the night's adventure, set out with me in the direction of Jerusalem, the only likely market to which thieves would venture to take stolen goods. When we had walked for fully two hours, we
stopped at 'Ain 'Arrub, the great spring intended from time immemorial to supply Jerusalem with
286
healthy
2
Kahwy, we asked
the
hot
beverage,
put
wadjy
told us that he
passing,
^
bands
of
camels
loaded
with
wood,
charcoal, vegetables and grapes an Karami, endless procession of people and things on their way to the Jerusalem market. He had noticed five men with four camels and a donkey they were armed and carried grapes in Shakadeef *
;
a curious way of transporting fruit and, unlike the other passers-by, they were in a hurry. By the light of his dim lantern, he noticed that one of the men had a very dark and unkempt beard, and he thought that he recognised him to be from Dura, south of Hebron, where no grapes
Allah yen ^al are grown. curse the father of the thief
Abu-1-KhayenGod he added to himBut I am no and then, in a louder tone self, You know the proverb " Kuthur il detective.
'
!
'
'haki
is
nuisance "
little is
respectful."
had learnt enough. My father decided to have done so that it was best not to follow would probably have led to a fight, in which we should surely have been killed. So we returned home. Two days later, some people of
;
.
. .
We
A work which Herod the Great partly carried out and which has been awaiting completion by a modern engineering genius
^
for
*
'
Stumps.
Wooden
cages.
287
Dura, with camels and Shakadeef, passed Hebron. We exchanged looks and both parties understood. But what redress had we ? To have taken the matter to the courts would have been mere waste Where is the proof without of time and money. No we knew of a better way than ? Majidis
;
that of settling accounts. " On a market day, about a fortnight later, some of our Ghareem,! as we now called the thieves,
came
father
to
Hebron to sell he-goats and Samn. My went to ask them their prices, fully deterto
mined
kick up a row. Butchers, tanners, grocers, Fellahin and Fellahat, and a few soldiers composed the dense crowd about the pool of
Hebron, where
The
public transactions take place. skins of the he-goats killed there ^ were sold
all
to the tanners, who have a reputation for making the best Throuf,^ as well as the smaller Kirbies,
in the
whole country. Walking up to one of the Dura men whom he suspected of having been the
leader of those
of making Dibs that year, my father said he wanted a good big Tharf, * made of the skin of one
And of the he-goats of Dura, to put his Dibs in. as he stated his requirements he looked wildly into our enemy's eyes.
**
'
In-sha- Allah,'
^
replied
the
man
iv.
ironically,
*
*
Cf. II. Samuel Antagonists. Large skin oil or water bottles. Singular of Throuf.
12.
288
*
provide for your Dibs next year. I have But before he had time good camels and to utter another word my father's Shibriy6 flashed from its scabbard. 'It is this Tharf
I'll
he-goat!' exclaimed my father, as the long blade entered the rogue's body up to the very hilt. " In the confusion which followed, we escaped and at once left the town, taking with us a few of the most necessary articles of clothing. That
I
want
Ya
tais
Oh!
evening
we reached
Beth-Jibrin, where
my
mother
and
soon joined us with every portable household implement. But the people of Dura soon found out our retreat and we again moved to Gaza, where we had relatives. In our movements
sisters
from place to place, we quickly came to know the country and people, and had no difficulty in finding opportunities for trade. After a time, however, we found that Gaza a town we very much liked on account of its austere Moslem population, as yet free from foreigners was not far enough away from our persecutors. So we set off once more, this time to Lydda, for we townsmen cannot easily live among the Fellahin. It is all right to be with them for a night or two, but we do not care to keep company with them longer. They have none of our habits. They live mostly on vege-
tables
like a
^
and
good
oil
and dried
fruit,
whilst
TRADING IN VILLAGES
289
yakhny^ and even bread. Besides, we are born traders, and it is only in towns that we can do good business by buying and selling goods.
**
When we
officials,
continual bribery was the only way to get rid of them. By means of our Hebron relatives we sold
our vineyard and our home, in order to pay, pay, pay until we had nothing left. Then we were abandoned. But our Ghareem never detected us. In Lydda it was easier to pass unnoticed than in Gaza, where the darker Philisto-Egyptian population formed a striking contrast to people of our
fair
complexion.
Christians for our liking. EstabUshed long ago in the country, they were keen competitors in our
carried shirting and silk. villagers on their donkeys, even carried prickly pears and melons in they the mountain villages round about. And so we
Our next place of was the more Moslem town of Nablus. There the population more resembled the Hebronagain set
off
on our
travels.
residence
they were stern believers, disdaining intercourse with the viler and poorer class of Christians ; and, besides, the town was an industrial one. If Hebron could boast of its glass bracelets, its big
ites
;
he-goat skins, and its fine grapes if Gaza was still the grainery of Palestine if Lydda was reputed
; ;
Meat and
290
point with pride to its soap manufactories, one of the most important factors of the wealth of that
prosperous inland town. Then we must not forget that the Zbeeb^ and Samn of Es-Salt, beyond Jordan, in addition to the Hauran wheat,
stored there for further importation, have enriched many a Nablusite. " But the unsettled state of Palestine, due to
the Fellahin, hindered the country's free development and was the reason for our
strife
among
business being stopped for years. Once, when on a commercial journey to Jerusalem, we were robbed at 'Ain el ^Haramiyeh, half-way to that
town, of all our goods. We appealed to a few ^ powerful Shiukh of Selun (Shiloh), Sinjil and Jibia (Gibeah), but found that it was better policy to grin and bear it,' since the baksheesh was equivalent to a second robbery. Consequently we took other measures in future, and never went on
*
ourneys except in fairly large companies. " Now, the continual moving about and exile from our dear home had an ill-effect on my father's
health,
far
and
the Turby^
thus, instead of being laid to rest in near our Haram, he had to be buried
How we
longed to
return there
its
The
fertile valley of
Nablus with
nut-trees, the fruit of all kinds, the olive-groves out in the plain, the droves of
enormous
cattle
1
the
^
stubble,
Cemetery.
Raisins.
From
ANCIENT RITES
291
continually reminded us of the neighbourhood of Hebron. A beautiful country indeed, but despite its beauty and the twelve springs which supply
the town with an abundance of water, we could not forget our own town and district. Instead of
the Siknaj ^ of Hebron, who form a lively part of the population of that town, we had the quiet and exclusive sect of Samaritans, the smallest
religious
community
in the world,
perform mysterious
besides the
rites.
tombs of Abraham and Sarah (on be peace !), Abraham's oak, visited by but in Nablus there is thousands of Christians
whom
only Jacob's Well, a much less frequented shrine. " In course of time a Jerusalem family came to
pass a few summer months in the cool valley and lived next door to us. The womenfolk became
and we were invited to visit them when in Jerusalem. Our friendship ended in marriage. A young man of the family and myself exchanged sisters. Thus we aU went to live in Jerusalem, of which town I am now a citizen. And I trust, since it was not my father's privilege to lie near
friends
Sidna Ibrahim el Khaleel, it will be my lot to Uve and die near the Beit-el-Makdas, the second 'Haram which he built after the Kaaba at Mecca, and before he constructed the third one at Hebron, I came near, and be buried away from home.
1
Polish Jews.
292
grave in the sands of this but 'Ozrain^ spared me. II 'hamdu district, l-illah Thanks be to God I have attended services whenever I was in town. regular Friday I have fasted the thirty days of every Ramadan
!
since a
boy
of twelve.
my regular five prayers a day. And when down with the fever or with ophthalmia, years ago in Hebron, or when half stunned by robbers, I never missed on the very next occasion recalling the omitted prayer. I have always tried to live in unpolluted quarters, away from Nasara^ and I have never bought in their shops, Franjis.
though it is true they are very clean and neat, and contain better wares than those of my own
But I believe in good old Islamitic ways and though you have now offered hospitality in such a kind way, this was written in the book from neither you Eternity. It had to come to pass
people.
;
nor
could help it. " Many are the transformations that have taken
I
when
place in Palestine since the wild days of my youth, travellers could hardly venture to the next
The days
;
village for fear of robbers who infested the country. of Fellah Sheikhdom are over. The
Turkish authorities first set up order in the towns then in the provinces. Conscription has The Crimean War produced a great change.
^
Or
'Ozrafl.
final
n into
/,
or
vice-vers,, indifferently.
2
Native Christians.
MODERN INVASION
gave rights to the
English,
until lately
Allies,
293
and Christians poured in. Hebron, which had never seen a Christian living in its The fearful precincts, has been lost to Islam. have set up colonies here on this very plain, Jews colonies such as Richon le Zion, Ekron and Katra, and so forth. The Prussians have splendid settlements about Jaffa, Jerusalem, Carmel, the Plains of Sharon and Esdraelon. AUah best knows why he allows foreign religions to come into this Holy Land, the land of Prophets and Welies."
And
lifting
up
his
Hassan Yaseen cried to his God ** Why have you rescued me from so many from the vineyard attack in Hebron, from perils battles between Kase and Yaman factions, from the dangers and accidents of the road why have
;
skies,
you
let
me
"
towns,
their
almost giving
ideas
?
way
and
At
Imham-
forward with a donkey which he had found feeding on the scanty Haifa leaves which grow in the sand. Our friend at once recognised the animal as the one he had been riding when the attack took place. His Bedawin assailants, after having robbed him of a few golden liras and his Abba, had taken the donkey away, but,
probably finding the beast rather cumbersome for
mad came
horsemen to
steal,
Hassan was
294
glad to recover his steed, which, since it belonged to a Mukari of Lydda, he would undoubtedly have
had to pay for had it been lost. Now, he said, he would be able to return the animal to its owner, after he had reached Jerusalem. His future plans, he went on to say, were already made. Passing by Kariet-el-Eneb, he would visit the Sheikh el
Enbowy, the representative KhaHfy of the Dsuki order, to whose Dervishes he had secretly belonged for many years, and would become a real Dervish with the outward and visible signs the pointed woollen cap, the short spear, and the diplomas
:
well in evidence.
his Ufe in or
He would
el
about Beit
and whenever the Muazzin called to prayers he would then and there pray. In short, he would lead a holy life, and read the Koran as much as he could, for, though he had read parts of the Book at the Kuttab at Hebron, he was not entitled to be called a full-fledged reader or Kari, a title which was only given to students who could read the
114 Suras.
Ill
On the following day we set out with the embryo Dervish to take him at least as far as Ramleh, where he could find friends of his own religion, So intent was he on getting to the end of his journey that he remained silent and thoughtful The villages of almost the whole of the way.
Zemuga,
El-Kabu and
others
inhabited
by
By
permission of
Tower
of
Ramleh
295
Egyptian colonists of Ibrahim Pasha's days held forth no attractions for him. Nor did he evince
much
when, riding through the fertile oases of Wad-Ihnain, where orange-gardens and
interest
sugar-canes grow, old ruined buildings showed that an older civilisation had passed that way before
Ramleh was built. Round every winding in the long sandy way leading to the fine olive-groves of Ramleh remains of the town were visible. There the Crusaders had fought hard to there Saladin had again the Holy Land conquer reconquered the plains. Then the stately tower
the town of
;
relic of its
in the distance.
As we rode
hedged
peace
history
side
side
the
the country.
Hassan,
probably, dreamed of the restoration in Islam's name of all these decaying towns. We saw naught
save decadence the passing glory of the great Khalifs and Sultans, who won empires for Islam, and whose power was now to be renewed in the
name
whose favour ? Engineers passed us, measuring and making plans for a future railway from Jaffa to Jerusalem. Hassan Yaseen was sick of all these
of
progress.
But
ultimately
in
renewals.
When
the carriage
way
to Jerusalem
was
built in 1868
and
them
Christianity
and
296
entrance to
and behold, a new But, invention replaced the old. What had this iron road and its noisy locomotives in store for the holy soil ? Oh that Allah would never allow him to live to see all these transformations. The future, judging by the past, looked very black to Hassan Yaseen. Where, he asked himself, were the 'Abd-en-Nabis of the north, the Mustapha Abu!
Makdas.
Ghoshes of the west, Mesleh el 'Azzy, Mohammed Dervish, the Salem Shakhturs, and the many
mighty men of forty years ago who ruled the country and never submitted to the governors of Jerusalem ? ''Alas the old times are going and the new ones in no way embelUsh Islam," he said, ere he disappeared in the narrow, paved streets of Ramleh, which he preferred to the carriage road where hotels and modern coffee-houses abounded, with Franks, Jews and native travellers awaiting
!
'tfeoryc
IhUip
Stm ,i^
Tkelimdffn
Oecgn!ifi}doo2>
Institui^^
London
Sa
INDEX
Abba
(Fellah mantle),
14, 15,
Adam,
,
289 Abbasid dynasty, 252 Abdallah Obey, 117 Abdallah Saleh, 53, 54, 58 Abd-el-Kareem, 64 Abd-en-Nabis, 296
54, 60, 129, 224,
sons
76, 79, 80, 81, 175 of, 78, 84, 153, 177,
185
Adama,
17
Helal, 218
144,
208
92
279
horses), 192,
Agnus
castus, 59,
Abimelech, Intro,
Abraham,
xvii, 197 n^ Intro, xiv, xviii, 24, 86, 93, 96, 214, 281, 284, 291
Baghel, 181 Braise (see Gecko), 18 Dib, 179, 189 Abu-Dis, 218, 230, 232. 238, 245,
246
Abu Ghrab,
Ain-el-Haych, 185 Ain esh-Shananeer, 186 'Ain Etan, 100, continuation 3, 103, 109 Ain Fashkhah, 232 Ain Ghazaleh, 186 'Ain Hamdeh, near Urtas, 112 Ain-Jiddy, 185 'Ain Rimmon, 103 and ' 'Ain Saleh, 103, 109 'Ain-Shams (Beth-shemesh) 53
,
and
Ajalon (Yalo), 206 Ajami, 76, 77, 78, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 96 'Ajur, 119 'Akal or Agaal (Bedawi head cord), 37, 210 Albanian, 199 Alfred, Prince, son of Queen Victoria, 113 Alhim (jan), 85 AU, Sheikh Sidna, 72 'AUa, 119, 218
Ah-el-Thiab, 25, 142, 143,145,208
Allah, Intro, xv, 50, 58, 76, 78j 79, 81, 90, 175
Abu-Zemoor, 249
Acca, Intro, xvii, 200
297
298
American
colonists, 111
INDEX
Batn el-Ekra', 106 Bats, 180
66 Bawardi, 119 Bazaar, 213, 237
Battir, 60, 61,
Amorites, 3, 5, 91 Amos, 3 Angel, monstrous, 79 Angel of Death, 82, 93 Anglure, Baron d', 13 n^
Bear, 179
Animals in Paradise, 86 'Antar, 222 Anti-Lebanon, 140 Antioch, 107 n Apiaries, 279 Apocalyptical dragon, 94 Apple of Sodom, 41
viii,
i,
10.
17,
24-49,
99,
Arnold, Matthew, quoted, 98 Arnon, 106 Ascalon, 56 Asclepia gigantea, 40, 41 Ash Allheem, 187 Ashan, 103 3 Ashdod, 52, 57, 281 Ashteroth, Intro, xv, 81, 130
Assyria, Intro, xvii 'Atareen, Harat-el, 212
115
23, 49 Bedawiyat, 28, 37, 274 Bedawiy6, 46 Bedu (see Bedawin), 1 w^ Beersheba. Intro, xvii, 24. 103
Bedawin country,
Athene
(Philip Baldensperger's
mare), 48
'Attar, 238
3. 153 Bees, 21, 90, 185, 278 Beit Dejan, 73 Beit-'Etab, 109 Beit-ej-Jmal, 185 Beit el Makdas, 87, 291, 294,
296
Beit-Mahsir, 76, 81, 96 Beit-Jibrim. 288 Beni Adam, 194 Beni Ehmar, 186
Beni-Israel, 249
'Auja, river, 72
Baal, Intro,
xiv, xv, 5, 81, 88, 89, 90. 93, 96. 265. 275
Benjamin, 197
Beshlik, 134
Bab
Sitti
Mariam, 237
Babylon, 71, 72 Badariyeh, 129, 130, 134 Badger, 180, 186 Baftu Hindi (song), 270 Bagdad, 252
Bairak, 195
Bethany, 15, 218, 240 Bethel, Intro, xvii, 16, 187, 241 Bether, 60
Bethlehem. Intro, x, xvii, xviii, 25, 99 , 100. 102. 104, 105, 106, 107, 116, 218. 256, 257 Bethlehemite women, 119 Beth-Nimreh, 190
Beth
Beth-Sahur, 17 Beth-shemesh, 53
Beth-Tamar, 17
INDEX
^ Beybars, Sultan, 26 Beyrack (holy standard), 265
299
Christianity, 83 Christian King of Jerusalem, 107 Christian missions, 108 Christians, 82. 88, 256, 283, 293
Christmas, 283 of Nativity, 106 of the Garden, 108 Citadel of Cairo, 200 n ^ Cities of the Plain, 17
Church Church
Urtas,
Blanchegarde, 279
Bliss,
Dr.
F.
J.,
American
Archaeologist, Intro, xiii Blood on door-posts, 271 Boars, 41, 48, 180, 186 Bonaparte, 199, 200
Clermont-Ganneau, Professor, 26 i Cobra di capello, 146 Coffee-house, 62, 212 Colonists, American, 111 German. Ill Colony. German, 66
,
Colubridae, 145
of
(black janitor Takrur), 61 and i, 63 233 Bracelets, Braise, Abu (or Gecko), 18 Brazen serpent, 145
Bowaab
Conder. Claude Reignier. author of Tent Work in Palestine, Intro, viii, 1 n^ 272 Congress. Animals', 176 Conies. 180, 186
Conscription. 292 Convent, Greek, of Elijah, 127 Convent, Latin, 130, 133 Convent of St. George, 261
Bread and
salt,
281
Convent
of
St.
Mary
of
the
n^
Calem
(pen),
247
Caletropis procera, 40 Calirrhoe, 40, 107 Camels, 24, 52, 58, 185, 269
295
Crusaders' Church, 113 Curtiss, S. S., Chicago Professor,
Intro, xiii
Cymbals, 259
293
Cats. 171, 180
Daboia Viper.
148, 150, 181
35,
146,
147.
Cemetery, Mohammedan, 68 Chameleons, 181 Chastians, 108 Cheetahs, 31 and nS 41, 45 Cherith, Brook, 149 Chinese mythology, 89 ^
Christ, Intro,
Dagon, the Temple of, 73 Dair-Dubban, 186 Dair esh-Sheikh, 90 Damascus. 64, 209, 216, 227, 252, 272
61,
242
road, 65, 69
xv
Damascus
300
Damieh
bridge, 26
INDEX
n^
Egyptian colonists, 295 Egyptian princess, 103, 198, 201, 206, 273 Egypt, river of, 201
Dan, 177
Dancing, 233, 271 David, Intro, ix, 53, 91, 102, 103, 250, 272, 275, 279 David's Gate, Jerusalem, 237 David's harp, 258
Sea, Intro, xvi, 39, 40, 42, 87, 91, 99 and m, 107, 140, 148, 180, 208, 219, 232, 238
Ehmad
Dead
Jabber,
Deborah, 207 Deir el Banat, 107, 108 Deluge, 176 Dervish, 72-97, 146, 265, 275, 277, 294 Desert of Judah, 105, 136, 277 Dibs, 283, 287 Djebel-el-Khaleel, 285 Djebel esh - Sheikh (Hermon), 99andi, 179 Dogs, 186 Dom-apples, 36, 37, 232 Dom-meal, 35 Dom or Lotus tree {Zizyphus spina Christi), 34, 35, 139, 144 Dome, sacred, 68 Donkey, 186 Dothan, 24 Dragomans, Intro, xiv Draper's street, 212 Duff (timbrel), 249, 251, 259, 262, 271, 275 Dung Gate, Jerusalem, 67 Dura, 204, 286, 287 Durbukky, 259
64 Ekron, 72, 293, 279 Eleagnus angustifolius, 42 Eleazar, 55 Elijah, Greek Convent of, 127
Ehjah the
Tishbite, Intro, xiv, XV, 12, 66, 87, 265 El Arroub, 105
El
of
Dervish
Eagles, 180 Eastern lovers, 220 Eastern luxuries, 236 Easter songs, 257 Ebal, Intro, xv, 208 Ebn-Obeid, 17 'Ebr-en-Nisr, 185 Eden, 79 Edom, desert of, 153 Edomite princess, 103 Edomites, 105 'Eed il Milady (Christmas), 283 Egypt, Intro, xvii, 24, 88, 199, 200 Egypt, song of, 269
El Enbowy, 294 El Erfa'i (leader of Dervish order), 79, 146 El Ghor, 99 El Hammam, 106 El Kabu, 294 El Kadri (leader of Dervish order), 79 El Khadr (St. George), 87, 261 El Kuds esh Shareef (Jerusalem), 78, 94 Emmaus, 107 Endor, witch at, Intro, xiv Engedi. 190 Engiddy, 17 Ephraim, 180 Er-Rahib, 93 'Esa (Jesus), 82 Esculap, 35, 145, 181 Esdraelon, 23, 24, 293 Esdud (Ashdod), 281 Etam, 57, 99 n, 100, 103, 104, 106 Ethmane Abd-el-Hei, 52, 53, 57 Ethmane el-Lahame, 200 Euphrates, 177, 187 Eve, 76, 80 Evil eye, 122 Executions, 16
INDEX
Faghur, in
301
Wady
el
Biar, 112
Fardies, 43. 44
Ghaliun
Flora, 17
(pipe).
38
excursions),
Fauna and
Ghazu (marauding
23, 152. 191. 210 Ghareem, 115.287. 289 Ghawarneh Bedawin, 179, 243 Ghul. 86. 92
Gibeah, Intro, xviii Gihon, Pool of, 95 n Gilboa, 275 Gipsies, 261
history of the, in the East, 12 and 13 n^ Girls, dancing, 262 Glass bracelets, 289 Goats, 23 Gobat, Bishop, Intro, ix Gods, 81 Goliath, 53 272 Golden Gate, Jerusalem, 64,
Girdle,
216
at
Finn. Mr., British Consul Jerusalem, 113 Fleas. 186 Flies. 186 Flora in August, 279 Fortuna, 74 Fountain, sealed, 103, 262 Fox (Abu Sliman), 176 Fox, 186 Francolins, 40 Franji, 74
Franjis, 281, 292. 293 Frank, 37, 91
Grapes (Hamdany), 60
Greece, Intro, xvii Greek convent, 237. 241 Greeks, Intro, xv, 91
French. 293 Friday Fair. Jerusalem. 237, 239 Frogs. 40 Frogs of Jericho, 139
19. 95. 192 Galilee. 149 Gardens of Solomon. 98-114 Gaza, Intro, x, xvii, 52, 56, 88. 153. 278, 288, 289 Gazelles, 180. 186
Greek ossuary. 94
Greengrocer. 131
Guardian
spirits.
86
Gublem
Sheikh, 213
Gabriel, Angel,
Bekr.
Geba, 103
Gecko
quisii). 18,
{Ptyodactylus 181
hassel-
Hakimy
(doctoress).
el,
Halawy, Harat
282 213
HaUm6, 52
Hamdany
(Palestine grapes), 60
Hamdiyeh, 34
(2131)
302
Hamulies (groups
115
of
INDEX
families),
Im-Imhammad.
42, 43, 47
Haram, Jerusalem,
Hardon 1 and
Indians. 123 Inglle (the gospel). 82 In-sha-Allah. 97 Isaac. 24, 284 Isaiah, Intro, xiv Ishmael, 32, 86, 93 Ishmaelites, 213 Islam. 5, 6, 80, 293 Islam, holy colours of, 80 Israel, children of, 66. 213
Israelites.
Israelitic
3,
5,
86,
105,
130,
Hauran, 290
Hawi
(serpent-charmers), 4
tombs, 206
Hazazon-Tamar, 17
Jabbar, 4
95
Jabber, 123 Jabber-es-Saleh, 128
Hebron bracelets, 233 Hebron, Intro, x, xvii, 88, 109, 110, 281, 284 Hedgehog, 180 Hegira, 18, 19, 87 He-goat skins, 287
'Heisoon, 192
Jabburim
(or
Rephaims), 4
16 *, 24,
16 n^,
Hermon, Mt.,
286. 291
25, 99,
140.
198,
JahaUne Arabs, 153 Jan, 37, 41, 75, 79, 81, 83, 84,
85, 87, 88, 90,
93
151,
Herod the Great, 104. 105. 106. 107, 286 ni High places, 81 Hinnom. Valley of. 67, 94, 95, 103 *
Hittites, 3, 5
Jarrab, 191 Jackal, 34, 57, 139, 144, 170, 180, 276, 279.
Jehunum
Horsemen, Bedawin, 208 Hortus Conclusus, 107 Houris, 80 Hyanas, 144, 151, 160, 179, 182, 185, 279 Hymettus, Mt, 100 n^
Ibex, 180. 185, 190
Iblis (see Satan), 78, 79, 91 Ibrahim-et-Taiesh, 116, 128
Ibrahim Pasha, 111, 200, 206, Ichneumon, 180, 279, 295 Imhammad-et-Talak, 25, 35
INDEX
Jesus Hilf, 126 Jesus, 87, 107
303
(evil spirit),
Kariny 90
89 and n'
Kari (scholar), 294 Kaseedy, 248, 259 Kedar, tents of, 151 Kedeesh, 180, 191 Kedron, 48, 91, 93, 237 Kerak, 272 Kersanne, 191 Kesi (tribe), 110 Khadr, El (St. George), 87, 124,
192
Khalawy, 192
Khaleef, 146 Khaleel. 39 Khaleel Abu-1-Ghreir, 116
Jordan, Intro,
x, 23. 25-31, 33, 41, 44, 45, 46, 48, 49, 99, 128, 140. 147, 208, 243, 280 Joseph, Intro, xviii, 284 Joseph and his Brethren, 262
Khaleel
Ibrahim,
51,
52,
53,
Tosephus, 40, 103 and , 104 Joshua, Intro, xiv, 3, 16 Jrab (leather bag), 66 Jubal, 248 Judaea, 24, 48 Judaean village, 233 Judah, mountain of, 278 Judah, 4, 91, 96, 103 n, 105, 109 Judah, desert of, 91, 105, 277 Judges, tombs of, 94
Khamsy, 192
Khan,
132, 238, 245
(village
priest),
Khanafer, 42
Khateeb
120, 124
11,
Judgment Day,
193
Julfa, 192
el
el
Asad, 186
Wahar, 186
100,
el-Khokh.
con-
Jumad
Junis,
the First, 26
Naby, 278
Jum
el
Wawy,
186
83, 176, 263, 291 Kadri, El Oioly order of), 79 Kadriye, 218 Kafer (Infidel), 132 Kafir (agriculturist, inhabitant of the Kefr), 5
Kaaba,
Khirby (ruin), 1 n^ Khirkah (head-dress), 13 Khurshud Pasha, 208 King of Beasts, 177, 178 King of Birds, 177, 178 King of trees, 178 Kirby (leather water-bottle), 1 i, 9, 10, 28 and n^. 29, 30, 44, 287
Kohl, 225
KafErain,
44
Kaftan, 119
Koran, 71, 80, 96, 115 Kowthar (river in Eden), 79 Krad (spirits), 92
Kuds
78
esh-Shareef
(Jerusalem),
286
Kamanjy
Laban, 16 n^
Labban, 235
Karassat, 191
Land
of Prophets. 293
304
INDEX
Mecca,
5,
Lapis infernalis (Kutra), 282 Lea, 284 Lebanon, 25, 140, 178 Leopards, 60. 179, 186, 190 Leprosy, 18 Leproserie de St. Lazare, 126 Lime-kiln, 268 Literature (Arab), 252
Lizards, 17 Lotus-tree, 35 Lot, 87 Lot, Sea of, 91
63,
83,
87,
95. 192
Mediterranean, 98, 140, 204 Mehjam6 (hooked almond stick) 14 i, 73 Mehemet Ali, 199, 200 Me'hla (dance), 262 Me'hloot, 272 Mehrab (prayer-niche), 77 Melchizedek, Intro, xvi, 214 Merom, 177
Lubbaad
Lusignan,
52
Guy
Lydda,
73,
186,
288. 289
Mesleh el'Azzy, 296 Micah, 3, 21, 22 Michal, 273 Middle Ages, 109 Millet, Syrian, 204 Miriam, 248, 252
72
Moab.
87
Mahmood
II,
Sultan, 111
5,
Ma'hshy. 288
Makam
6,
Mohammed,
Malha, 66
Mamaluke, 200
Mamilla, 91, 273
of),
Mar
Elias, 127
Motawakkil, Caliph, 12 *
Mough
arid-Khalid, 106
Muhammad
Muhammet-el
Mu'hrab, 150 Mukari. 294
Misleh, 200
Murra
INDEX
Mustapha Abu Ghosh, 200 Mustapha Shahini, 120
Olivet. Mt.. 48 Olive groves, 295
305
Omar. Mosque
Naaman,
Nablus
Intro, xvii
Omar Ibn
265
(Neapolis). 208, 210, 211, 289, 290, 291 Naboot, 29, 53, 102, 123, 280
Omar. Mosque
of, 68,
230
Exploration
Fund.
Pentateuch (Torah). 71
Perez
(village),
Perizzites, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9
73
Nekb
New moon
Nimrin, 144, 185, 208 Nineveh, 83 Nker (examining angel), 124 Noah, 176, 248 No'h (song), 263, 274 Nowairi (Arab historian), 26 n
Pipes, 39 Plain of Esdraelon. 293 Plain of Salem, 214 Plain of Sharon. 72. 140. 293 Plain of Sittim, 144 Plain of Rephaim, 57, 66
Prayer-niche. 150 Prickly pears. 289 Proverbs, 24, 44, 153, 155, 157.
158, 172. 161, 164, 168, 170. 171,
Oak
tree, 181
173
Psanimosaurus scincus, 17
Ptyodactyhis hasselquisH, 18
{Eloeagnus
angusti-
42
91,
Olives, Mount of. 15. 89, 95, 104, 140, 236, 240
2IA
(2I31)
306
Queen
Victoria, 113
INDEX
(fiddle), 223, 250, 258,
Rababy
259, 263
Rabbins, 99 Rabee, 98, 99, 121, 191 Rachel, Intro, xiv, 15, 119 Rachel's tomb, 123, 136. 273 Dr. Rauwolffus, Leonardus, botanist, quoted, 109 Ravens, 276 Razek, Abu, father of town and
city traders, 7
Said el-Ma* ati, 221, 246 Said-es-Saleh, 130 Sakhra (Holy Rock). 94, 265 Saklawy, 192 Saladin, 108, 295 Saleh-el-Kaak, 25. 26. 34, 39
Salem
er
Ra'hmane,
18
Railway to Jerusalem, 60
Ralston, Philip, 139
Salem, Plain of. Intro, xvi. xvii, 214 Salem Shakhtur. 296 Samson. 57 Samn, 165. 287. 290 Samaritan Jews. Intro, xv. 208 Samuel, Intro, xiv, xviii Sand-partridges, 40
Saracenic castle (Urtas). 101 Saracens. 108 Sarah, Intro, xviii, 121. 197 284. 291
Sar'ah. 204 Sarrar, Wad-es, 57
Ramadan,
Ramleh, 73, 88, 294, 295 Rams, flock of, 169 Rasads (guardian spirits), 86,
90, 92 Rebecca, 15
Redeemer, Convent of the, 133 Red Sea, 81, 248 Rephaims, 3, 4 Rephaim, Plain of, Intro, xv,
57, 66, 127
275
Sawahry (nomadic
245
36, 37
tribe), 17 n*,
Rehoboam, 99 n , 105
Reuben, Prophet, 278
clothing),
Rhamnus
nabeca, 144 Rib'i, 115 Richon-le-Zion, 293 Robinson, Edward, Biblical Researches in Palestine, quoted, 99n3, 111
91, 106
Rubin
(river), 72,
i,
278
17,
276
Sabe
(the Lion), 164 Sabeel, 128 Safed, Intro, xv, 88 Sahak (dance), 271
Selim (Shiloh), 290 Senegal doves. 34 Sentinels. Turkish, 67 Seraiya, 118, 132 Serpent, Brazen, 145 Serpents, 176, 185 Seville, 192 Shaale (cloak). 54, 210 Shabbaby (wind instrument), 259 Shahini, 115. 120 Shairim (satyrs). 81. 82, 92 Sharkiye (East wind). 36 Sharon, 23, 24, 72
Shaiateen, 91
INDEX
She'er (poetry). 264. 272, 273 Sheikh 'Awad, 122
Stellio cordilina, 18 St. George, 73. 87.
307
262 Jean d'Acre. 108 Mary's Gate, 237
Stephen's Gate, Jerusalem,
*
Stradivarius, 250
Sugar-cane. 295
Suk el 'Attarin. 234, 238 Suk el-Khawajat. 240 Suk el-Lahamin, 234, 238
53. 54,
279 Siddim. Plain of, Intro, xvi Sidr (Dom-apples), 144 Siknaj (Pohsh Jews), 291
Siloam, 15, 26, 27, 95, 126, 237,
Surma
(sheep-leather
shoes),
54 Swallow, 176
240
Sinai, Sinai,
249
Mt, 85
Sinjil (St. Gilles), 290 Sisters, Catholic, 126 Sisters, Protestant, 126 Sitti Mariam, 241
Ta'amry (nomadic tribe), Intro. ix, nii\ 110, 111, 115, 119,
273
Tabon
(oven), 22 Tacitus, 40
Sodom,
17, 41
Tahleel (prayers), 277 Takiyeh (white cap), 51 Takrur, 61 Tancred, 107 Tanib, 116 Tanour, 109 Tarbush, 13, 52. 55 Tarsha, 146, 147 Tekoa, 17, 99k. 105. 112 Tell-el Ehseiny, 186 Tell-el-Kadi, 177
Tell-es-Safi (Blanchegarde),
279 Templars, 108 Temple, 67, 70. 236 Thab or Mastiguer {Uromastix
spinipes), 17
101
and 18
Solomon, throne of, 71 Songs and dances. 247 Song of Joseph. 275 Soofara (wind instruments), 259
Sorek. vale of (Wad-es-Sarrar).
11,
17,
51,
119
bottles).
Throuf (skin
287
57 Sonfaan, 51
Tiberias. 85. 107 Timbrel (duff), 249, 251, 277 Tobacco, 35, 37, 57, 58, 144
Tombak
(Persian tobacco), 62
308
Tomb-caves, 205 Torah (Pentateuch),
248
INDEX
Wad-el-Bedoon, 185
71, 81, 84,
Tower of Ramleh, 295 Trading in villages, 289 Trans jordanic region, 141-147 Treacle, 283 Tribes of Israel, 248 Tribunal at Jerusalem, 124 Tristram, Canon, Fauna and
Flora of Palestine, 17 '
Wad-el-Dab'a, 185 Wad el Khanzeer, 185 Wad en-Nar, 93 Wad er-Rahib, 93 Wad-es-Sarrar, 57, 278 Wad-es-Sumt, 278
Tubbar (iron-headed
Tunis, 249
club),
55
Wad et Tawaheen, 103 n , 106 Wad-Faria, 214 Wadies, 279 Wady-Ali, 205 Wad Ihnain, 295 Wadyel-Biar, 106, 107, 112 Wady Esmain, 59
Wady
Kelt, 149
(malaria), 40, 49
Wakham
Wady-Urtas, 107
Turkish Government, 57, 282, 292 Turks, 57, 270 Typewriter (ungodly), 247 Tyrian purple, 104
scincus),
278
song. 273
War
Universe, Creator
Wawy,
',
190
Vale
Wely
(see
Makam),
5,
76,
79,
of Sorek, 57, 278 Valley of the Roses, 61, 128 of Hinnom, 67 of the Mills, 106 of Urtas, 106 of the Wells, 106
81, 88, 293 Well of souls, 94 Whale of Jonah, 86 Wheat- weUs, 151
Van
Journev
Palestine
1851
and 1852,
112 Vegetables, 286 Veil, 234 Venetians, introduce vegetables into Palestine, 113 Venus, 71 Vetches, 191
Wilderness feasts, 278 Wilderness of Judah, 266 Will-o'-the-wisp, 42 Winter evening games, 264 Winter grapes, 284 Wolf, 179 Wolves, 144 Women of Israel, 272
Yabneel
(Yebna), 281
Vine and fig-tree, 252 Vineyards at Esheal, 283, 284 Viper bite, 43 charmer, 146 Daboia, 35, 146
,
Yaman
Yamani
293
Vow, 261
Vultures, 144, 194
55, 58,
60
INDEX
Za'ara
(viper),
309
147
Zaghartt, 121
94 44
Zion's Gate, Jerusalem, 67, 237 Zizyphus spina Christi, 35, 36 Zoar, Intro, xvi, 17 Zoomara, 249, 251
Zaqum
THE END
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