The Camden journal. [volume] (Camden, S.C.) 1866-1891, 1880-02-26

least a hundred bloody swords in the
air, and I heard the wild and frantic
shouts of the hundred men who welded
them, and above all the loud, deep tones
of the dervish, as he placed himself al
their head, this time followed by men
who clashed cymbals, and a woman and
a child representing Hussein's wife and
baby, carried aloft in covered sort Of
cradle, and a magnificent gray horse,
gorgeously caparisoned, and bearing
nothing but the two swords and shield
of Hussein, followed by another-pranc-
ing animal carrying his turban. But [
had scarcely time to observe these things,
for the roar and rag of the human be-
ings behind were ov empowering in their
fascination. They came sweeping and
surging along in two lines, face to face.
every man clasping his neighbours girdle
with his left hand, while his right was
free to WELD his sword, one row with
their backs to me, and one with their
faces to me, and all slashing away at
their own heads with their swords
without stint. In many instances their
features were undistinguishable from
the mass of blood which poured over
them. Their heads were shaved, their
bodies robed to the neck in white, now
dyed red with the streams and spurts
which deluged them. In the center
between the two rows were official
wildly rushing to and fro to restraS'
those whose fanaticism had reached too
high a pitch, while behind each row
were men, relations, I understood, OF
the devotees, who kept on thrusting
short sticks like rulers between the
swords and the heads of the victims, so
as to mitigate the force of the blow.
Anxious, in spite of the horror of the
spectacle, to investigate it psychology
cally, I left my chair among the specta-
tors and went down to the edge Of the
procession, so as to be able to judge how
much was real and how much was as
sumed frenzy. judged that about
three-fourths did not like it, knew per-
fectly well what they were about, and
did not cut themselves more than was
absolutely necessary to keep up appear
ances, though it was essential that every
man should be bleeding profusely from
the head, and that one-fourth were
really carried away by the excitement,
and required watching and restraint;
and I observed that both the officials
within and the relations without the
line devoted themselves to these men,
and seemed really afraid lest they should
do themselves some mortal injury. In
Persia I understand deaths are rot at
all uncommon during the celebration.
One man in particular had already re-
duced his scalp to the condition of mince
meat; his face was almost hidden be-
meath a clotted mask; his voice was
broken and husky; he reeled to and fro,
evidently with no clear consciousness
left. He was drunk with blood. The
+nass,-through this horrible
vows to perform it for some specfat1
or the sons of men who have
made vows to perform it if God gives
them a son. The VOW is entailed upon
the son, who has to do it every year, and
it then becomes hereditary. AS a rule,
the fanatics are those who have taken
the VOW themselves, and not those who
have had it entailed upon them.
These horrible slashing creatures
passed round the square three times.
The last time the excitement had at
tanned its elimination, and blood seemed
everywhere. All around were Persians
weeping bitterly. There was no doubt
about the genuineness oftheirtears. The
sympathy of weeping had communicated
itself, and what between the solemn
chanting, and the clash of cymbals and
of swords, and the flow of blood and of
tears, and the wild shouts Of frenzy, the
sights and the sounds were calculated to.
leave their mark on the imagination for
many day. After this was over there
was lull of half an hour then the der
wish came in again at the head OF the
same small procession which we had
seen ut first, and went around three
times, and then we heard that another
crowd of selfslashers were approachin g
and they came pouring in, more numer-
Gus and more frantic than the last.
They were preceded not by cymbals
alone, but by most mournful flutes and
pipes, and behind the music came about
a dozen men stripped naked to the waist.
Each had heavy bundle 6fshert chains,
which he swung first over his right
shoulder and then over his left, allowing
them to come with horrible force upon
his back. Some of their backs were
raw before they had made their three
rounds, and we heard that they took
longer to recover from the effects of this
self-inficted punishment than the men
who cut themselves. There were, more