Morning herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1837-1840, 1837-08-02
Turkish observation-disclosures Arabs of the
Haren.


From Miss Pardoe's City of the sultan
The urk decorates the roof of his house the prov
Of his caque the cap ct his child the neck OF ms morse
and the cage of his bird, with charms against me
Evil Eve; one OF the most powerful of these anu
dotes being garlic; and must be CONCEDED ha' neie
at least, the workers OF wo have shown ther laste
Every howell has its head OF gafhc susPenueu ~ "a
strng and boquets Of flowers, formed OF splcesalu
which this noxous root nestled are sent as presents
TO the mother of w-born infant, rs safeguard
both 10 herself and her little one blue eye is su-
pereminepfly suspicious, for they have an idea that
sucb ia he legitimate color OF the evil orb and you
seldom see horse, draught OK, or even dom
kew which has not about his neck string OF blue
beads to preserve il from the dark deeds of witch
craft | was considerably amused on one occasion,
when beng about TO meet the carriage OF friend,
the horse that drew it, either from dleness or caprice,
suddenly stood STILL and Arabal he exclaimed with
vehemence to his mistress Y on see, madam, you
see the horse is sirucs--the new HanoHm has blue
eyes !" turning his own 10 me as he spoke, with
most uno,lng expression. am perfectly convinced
that had the animal met with any misfortune or been
guilty of any msdemeanor during the remainder of
the day the whole blame would ha inevitably been
visited on my unucky eyes, which had counteracted
the effect OF row OF glass beads and crescent Of
bone! To protect the rtgnlng sultan from the power
of the Evil Eye during his state progresses through
the streets of The capital, peculiar head dress
vented for the imperial body pages, whose ornament
ed pumes of such large dimensions as, collect
lively, form about his sacred person. Even
Sultan Mahmoud who is superior to many Of the
popular preludices has jas caused frman TO be pub
lshed, prohibiting the women from looking earnestly
at him as he passes them, on pam what think
you, reader 10 snbjecting their husbands or bro
theirs the bastinado! The Turkish laws gal
liant 10 condemn females to suffer this punishment in
their persons, and M ,hmoud is consequently to
be protected from the possibly fatal effects Of the la
dies eyes, by their fears for their male relations.
Another singular custom is that of pouring water
where any has fallen to prevent recurrence of
the accident on the same spot, whchis religousy OBJ
served by the lower orders; as well as thro wing
stones at the body OF decaptaed criminal in order
TO the creams of the spectator from an ntru
of the CHASTITY object No Turk of the lower ranks
of society ever passes shred Of paper which may
chance to lie on his path: he always gathers il up
with the greatest care the popular beefead him
TO place implicit belief in an ancient that
all paper thus obtained will be collected after death,
and scattered over the burning soil through which he
is to pass to paradise; and that consequently, the
more ne enabled to secure the less suffering he will
have TO endure hereafter
most extraordinary fac, came to my knowledge
short time before left the East relative TO the fe-
male Arabs of the harem. They have species of
society, or insttuton-I scarcely know how 10 term
tin which they are initiated from their grlhood, that
they call "babaluk," whose principle Of mystery is
kept secret that of frecmasonry; while the
casionnl display Of its influence is wild and startling
enough 10 remind the spectator of the prestesses Of
Delphi Far from affecting any conceament Of their
participation in the pretended powersjof the society,"
you cannot, when guest in the harem, please in
ltated Arab surely than by inquiring If she be
babauk and the Turkish ladies frequently amuse
themselves and their visitors, by exhibiting their black
slaves while under the influence Of IN self excited
frenzj. When a sable Pythoness is informed Of the
wish OF her mistress she collects such of her compan-
ions babauks for there several in the same
harem and brazier Of burning charcoal placed in
the centre of the saloon in which the ceremony is Ia
take place. Round this brazie the Arabs squat down
and commence low, wild chant, which they take
up at intervals from the lips Of each other and then
break into chorus, that ultimately dies away in n
wall, succeeded by eng silence during whose con-
tnuancc they rock their bodies backwa DIS and for
wards, and never raise their eyes from the earth.-
From the moment in which the chant commences, an
attendant Is constantly employed in feeding the fire
with aocs, incense musk and every species of niox
icating perfume After time they fall on the floor
IN state OF utter insensibiy and great excrton is
frequently necessary arouse them from their r nce
but when once they are awakened, they become fur-
ous they rend themselves, and each other they tear
their hair and their clothing; they howl like wild
beasts and they cry earnestly for food, while they
reject all that is offered except brandy and raw meat
both Of which they destroy in great quantities Ha.
wing satisfied their hunger, they renew the warfare
that they had confused to indulge in, and finally,
roll on the floor with boodshot eyebals and foamng
at the mouth.
A second trance ultimately sezes them, from which
they are left to recover alone fresh perfumes being
dung into the brnzier to expedite their restora ton
wn,cn genera, takes place in ten or fifteen minutes
and then IS that Tie spell of prophecy is on them-
They nsc slowly and majcsically from the floor
thsy wave their hands solemnly over the aromatic
hame; they have become suddenly spbdued and gen
NC aao uteI having mace the ci.cut of the brazIer
ss..ss.al times in silence, hev eaze codly round the
circle, until fixing upon some particular individual
they commence sha' owing forth her fate past pre-
SEM, ana 70 CONF and have heard it seriously as
slco, ns' ".ey have thus divulged the most secret
even's " by gone years, as we'll Al prophesying
'nv0 which subsequently took place.
w is scarcely wonderful, Disgusting a. great
po' ton Of the ceremonial undoubtedly is, that many
9 the Turkish ladies' occasionally relieve the tcdiu
Of the harem by the exhibition Of the babauk that
vague yeaning TO pry into uurity inherent our
nature coupled with the uncertainty on whom the
spell OF the slbyl may be cast causes an excitement
which forms agreeable contrast from their custom
AIRY ennui No second fate ever oretod at the same
orgies. when the first babaluk begins to speak the
others SINK down into sitting posture, occasionally
enforcing her assertions by repeating the last words
OF any remarkable sentence in long low wall; and
when she ceases and takes her place among them
they are for the third time overaken bv : trance the
brszicr is then removed the spectators lea 70 the roo
the door 10 carefully closed, and the bshaL "a sl,
TO awaken nj their leisure When thew finally come
forth, they their customary ayoca,,ons Nth
making the slightest auson 10 the ex,r.n,d;r.,y
scene in which tho have been actors; nor do ,hsy
like the subject to be mentioned to them until sevsr.l
days have elapsed.
scene IN Syrian Bath.
Translated for the National Inte from De i,
Marines Voyage in the East.]
- SgPTRMBRR l9 1872