Stephens City star. (Stephens City, Va.) 1881-1883, 1883-03-03
"MOOLID-EN-NEBBEE."
How the birthday of the Prophet is Cclc-
brated In Epypt

YORK Herdtd says: During the past
ten days Cairo has presented a most
lively and ultra-oriental aspect. The
great Arab metropolis has abandoned
itself to the delights of celebrating the
grand religious festival of the Moolid-
en-Nebbee-the birthday of the
Prophet. Squads of the innumerable
sects of dervishes with their banners.
torches, pipes and drums have been
marching and countermarching about
the brilliantly illuminated mosques; re-
turned pilgrims and venerable sheiks
from the four corners of Islam have
been riding to and fro on great white
donkeys; the fair and frail successors
OF the now almost extinct ghazeeyebs
or public dancing girls. who have
danced at feasts since times even be-
fore the exodus, and whom Lane, the
king of Orientalists, says "are alto
gether the finest women in Egypt"
promenade the streets on foot and in
barouches, and the ardent but timid
Circassian inmates of princely harems,
wearing transparent white wells and
delicately tinted silk dresses, and
guarded by those other "lilies of the
field" the sleek black eunuchs, drive
about in closed broughams and listen
to the Song of Solomon chanted by the
Ahmadee dervishes, squatting cross
legged on mats of straw.
At noon ! went to the large vacant
space beyond the southern suburbs Of
Caro- that had been set apart for the
Moolid-en- Nebbee. Here hundreds of
colossal tents, pitched in the form of a
square, inclosed space of over thirty
acres In. the center of the square were
a dozen huge mats, supported by hun
dreds of srouds and gayly decked with
green and red flags and glass balls. In
the middle of the northern row of tents
was that of the khedve-a vast walled
canopy, sixty yards square by ten
yards high, and the whole interior
lined with the most delicately woven
crimson texture of pure silk. On the
ground under the tent was spread an
enormous French carpet. Twenty or
thirty crimson silk arm-chairs were
arranged inside the tent in the form of
a horseshoe. At the bend of the horse
shoe and facing the entrance to the
tent was an enormous armchair sur
mounted by the khedive's arms, which
served as sort of throne Seated in
this chair was the khedive. His high
ness was dressed in plain black Off
cial coat, dark trousers and white
waistcoat. He wore, of course, the
tarbousch, or fez. Seated in the chair
on the khedive's right was the famous
Sheik Ell Beckry-the lineal descendant
of Abou Beckr, the first khalif anG
chief of all the dervishes of Egypt.
His holiness was dressed in snuff
colored cashmere gown and wore
snow-white turban. The other chairs
were occupied by the Sheik VI Islam,
the cabinet ministers and higher Off
cials of the palace.
AT l o'clock over thousand der
wishes, headed by their respective
sheiks, filed solemnly past the khedive.
Conspicuous among these was the
sheik of the Saadeeyeh dervishes, a
wrinkled old man with coal black eyes
and long white beard. 1t was this
sheik of the Saadeeyeh's who used to
perform the ceremony Of the doseh--
that is, he used to ride his horse over
the prostrate bodi IS of about one hun.
dred dervishes. Some of these poor
fanatics would have their brains
dashed ont by the animals hoofs, but
the majority often escaped with merely
few bruises on the backs and legs.
This terrible feature of the Moolid-en-
Nebbee has for the past two years beer
forbidden by the khedive and is re-
placed by the present procession Of
dervishes. These dervishes are sallow-
faced, misunderstanding fellows,
with deep basso voices. Their dress is
very much the same as other Egypt
ians', and many of them are BARRIERS,
dyers and tradesmen, and attend to
their daily work like other ordinary
mortals. Their tenets, rules and cere.
monies are similar in many instances
to those of the Freemasons, and, like
the latter, are not to be divulged to the
initiated. Some of the dervishes who
confine themselves to religious exer-
cises subsist by begging. These are
much respected by the fellaheen, and
resort to all sorts of tricks to make
people believe them capable of per-
forming miracles.
The Russian and Mennonite colo
nists in Minnesota have solved the
fuel problem, for a time at least by
burning refuse straw and grass. At
first dry prairie hay was abundant,
and could DC had for the gathering.
Lately, as this has come into greater