The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1870-01-01
fnformatium.



citv Of the Turks have witnessed, with all the
amused bewildermsnt which such scene gives
n the mind of stranger, the spectacle OF the
dsnci.s dsrviahss. Let me describe it to ysu.
The centre Of the mosque 10 rallied in. and the
door remarkably smoothe. After Frustrating
themselves many times, while one sings or chants
thew all, clothed in brown garments, advance to-
v ara the singer, bend the upper half Of the body
ntil it is horizontal, then they kneel, placing
their forehesds on the ground. Then they arise,
facing the altar and after alterations Of singing
and prostrations, music il commenced on kind
of fl .geolet, the outer brown garment Is thrown
aside, and the dervishes stand re !dy, i'll short
white trowsers and white skirt, fastened vt the
waist, extending to the knee, to commence, with
bare feet on the smosthe floor, whrling at the
given signal. The first movement is to turn the
righ. foot over the left, toes inward AZ if club
footed, raising at the same time the left heel,
having previously given an impetus TO the left
when raising the right foot This ia the entire
motion, continued successfully about every two
turns they make while revolving slowly, and also
advancing successfully in their orbit toward the
altar After ward as their zeal increases, per-
hsps one such clubfoot movement impels them
three or four times rsund They consider this
Is synbolizng eternity, aud the vicissitudes OF
life, while ths right hand extended, palm up, i'm
ploring gifts from heaven, while the left hand
turned downward. is supposed to be distributing
to fellow mortAls, retaining few OF the temporal
blessings and gifts for themselves The whole
scene is solemn (; and when they stop whiring, at
. signal, and march round, bowling TO their lead
er, without turning back en him, they are often
graceful, and always meek and earnest.
Of the bowling dervishes, | had no previous
adequate conception, and it is difficult to dc the
scene anything like Justice although, after re-
lieving ourselves of our BOOTS, were led to
gallery and comfortably seated. Turk fashion,
sheep skins, where VIC had full opportunity to
hear and see Each worshpper, after advancing
to make a sslutation before the altar rs he came
in, seated himself in Oriental fashion on sheep
skins, in semi-circle before their chief priest.
They came i'll all sorts OF dresses, several being
soldiers, and if late, at once fell into the motions
and the chant of the others. The women here,
as well as at the other dervish worship, seemed
to occupy gallery enclosed with lattice work,
somewh It reminding one of the gallery tor ladies
at the British Parli iment, The peculiar chants
and howls will endeavor to represent in En-
glish photography, without pretending TO say
what meant, except when the word Allah or
bismiallah occurred 1t was somewhat thus /:
While seated on the floor, and bending the body
diagonally forward first to the right AID then to
the left, and having the head play as il hung on
wires, III unison with the vocit1ratiUns they
commenced, moderately at first, afterwards more
theoretically, and at last iUrioUsy alternately
shouting and chanting, and bowling thfough the
gurrtrr7 sometimes titatu-ritrliY
q lee1e burlemek." at lssst fifty times. Then
they would hold up their hands on each side of
the face and bring tteIn down, striking head and
breast. Then raising Their bodies to the knee
and striking their foreheads the ground, they
would assume the sqnatting position AGAIN. and,
swayinG the body, give series Of energetic
sounds Ike hump" while one kept np u pro-
longcd howl, like the drone OF the hagpipes
through the variations OF the chant proper. Sud
deuly, a a signal, the chores ceased, and n weak
nasal solo gave sbligato; then the chorus
struck IN planlssimo with every few seconds the
tavorite staccato grunt, which sounded some
what Ike IA short bark. This chorus seemed to
repeat ID thousand times the words, "Di rha darp
d'Allah" When this had continued about
hour, they then rose, and ranging themselves
against the wall after some receiving caps and
white scartSl aud placing the feet apart as to
brace themselves, and swa yinE the body AS before
they continued in all perhaps three-Quarters Of
an hour or more. But there were sunday vari-
aticns in the grants, and these are
panied by all turning their heads to the right
and barking Ut their right-hand ncighbOrs. then
all II the left, and so on until apparently some
Were quite exhausted. Theu one, who seemed to
be sort oi choir leader, and also soldier would
stamp his feet to give new life to the choir Then
the "thulnp' and stamp OF feet and crack OF
hands replaces, for "a while the voices except the
Obligato howl, while the bobbing OF the head
works with breakneck rapidity. Now the obi.
cato gives renewed stamps with the right foot,
and their tagging spirits again urged to a
tremendous series o! vOclieroUs staccato grunts
until 1t seems RS if some members OF the choir
must drop. Meanwhile a whirling dervish, ap-
parently excited by the scene, stands in the CEN
ter and performs his qyratons With white skirt
flying out to circle, exceeding hoop.skirt dimen-
sions. Even some children OF eight and ten, in
their enthusiasin stand up and try to mi tate the
movements and sounds OF the bowling chorus
Dnrisg part of this scene, the High Priest, or as
some say he is called the Schah, was blessing
infants by rubbing his foot over their barebacks
as they lay on the ground. When the other ones
came, and grown men, he stood with his right
foot on their limbs and rubbed his left over their
breasts. They then rose. kissed his hand, and he
blessed then.-From even these singular pro-
ceedings from under our gallery my attention
was itresistibly drawn by the increased en-
ergy OF the howiing chorus. at the risk of be-
ing eXpesd from their mosque, took down the
proceedings rapidly thus: Chorus men turn to
right and left with continued grunt aud pro-
longed howl. Now, side hy side, sustaining each
other from falling when exhausted. when orches-
tra-hke, bring the grand crash towards the
last. With an asthnstic wheeze diminuendo
and then crescendo of howl, varied by the s'acca-
to grunt almost fuga pursuit of each other
they bolt like suppleiaek. perspirihs At every
pore, until with Il chorus Of twuGv-. and shrieks
and grunts and a last fearful howl. stamp of
the foot brings a death-like silence. and the ex-
hausted band glide lik. lnos,- through raw
hide door, end the scrvirr j. closed. As they
seem earnest and devuut, this apparently lndi.
crous scene does not "ruu-e hn,- inter-. in most