The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1880-04-07
A REVOLTING SPECTACLE.
How tho Ceremony OF tho " Dosseh - 10
Performed at Cairo-A Horse, With His
Rider, Walking Upon PROSTATE HUI.

How tho Ceremony OF tho " Dosseh =" II
| Performed at Cairo-A Horse, With Hi
Rider, Walking Upon PROSTATE HUI.
man Forms.
A recent letter from Cairo, Egypt, to
the New York Herald, has this account
of the annual ceremony OF the "Dos-
seh," which closes the festivities in
dulged in by the Nussulman pilgrims
after returning from their long visit to
Mahomet's. shrine at Mecca, Arabia
Every good Mussulman is expected
once during his lifetime to make the
pilgrimage to Mecca. The performance
Of this sacred duty confers the title OF
Hadji," secures indulgence for sins,
acts - to use legal expression - as a
"rule nisi to finally enter Paradise. A
Mussulman VINO has made this pilgrim
age is sure when he dies to 20 to heaven
unless some very weighty reason for his
not going there should be clearly estab-
lished. On Monday, the Egyptian pill
grims formally entered the city of Cairo
upon their return from Mecca. The
caravan, consisting of about l,50O Had
is, proceeded to the mosque at the cit
adel, where they deposited the sacred
carpet, Mahmel," which during the
past year rested upon the prophets
tomb This carpet, brought back by
the present caravan, has been replaced
At Mecca by the new one carried thither
by this same caravan, which left Cairo
last fall. The ceremony of placing the
carpet in its final resting place at the
citadel took place in the presence of the
khedive, the sheik-ul-islam, the sheik-
el-bekri, the multi and all the high func-
tionaries. The ceremony of the " Dos
sch " winds up the festivities for the re-
turn of the pilgrims. The principal
feature of this religious ceremony con-
stitutes one of the rare public manifes-
tations of fanaticism in Egypt. Some
thirty or forty pilgrims, whose religious
feelings have been wrought up to eli
max BY continued festivities of weeks
duration, and by means of hasheesh," Il"
lie upon the ground with their faces
downward. They lie close together
and are so placed as to form a sort of
corduroy" road. A sheik mounted
upon an Arab stallion of the purest
breed then rides over their pros
trate bodies. It was only after
repeated efforts that the horse could
be made to tread upon these human
forms. The united efforts of five men
were required to overcome the noble
animals aversion to this terrible task.
When the horse felt his feet cutting
deeply into the flesh of the half naked
fanatics beneath him he trembled, then,
becoming frightened or maddened at the
scene of reckless frenzy about him, the
animal commenced plunging. The killed
and wounded were quickly and silently
removed from sight, and the horse with
his rider having reached the end of this
terrible lane, seemed greatly relieved to
stand at last upon firm ground. His
pure white feet were, however, deeply
stained with the blood and gore of his
victims.
The fanatics submit themselves to
this ordeal with the belief that Allah
will prevent them from receiving any
harm from the horse bearing the holy
sheik. l have witnessed this annual
ceremony several times; but on this oc-
casion l was lucky enough to secure q
position so near the sheik that I could
almost touch him with my outstretched
arm. noticed i've victims who re.
ceived injuries which I deemed fatal.
Many others were wounded, but at the
very instant of receiving any injury they
were most skillfully and quickly con-
cealed by men standing at hand for the
purpose. there are many other Incl
dents to this tete, such as eating live
snakes, swallowing glass, etc.; but the
great event of the day is the scene which
I have just described, and which took
place in the presence of the khediye, the
sheik-ul-islam, multi, and all the
princes, ministers and functionaries,
both native and European az well as by
many hundreds of women of the princely
and other harems.