Wichita eagle., 1888-05-15
OLD WORLD WORSHIP.
CRUClFlxES AT. THE CROSSROADS
OF AUSTRIA AND BAVARIA.
The MueZzfn on the Balcony of the Mo-
hammedan Minaret-The Sanctimonious
Persian-FanaticaI Afghans-The Hin
doos-Chinamen and Japanese.

nemmedan Mfnaret-Fhe SanctImOniOui
| Persian-Fanatical Afghans-The Hin
doos-Chinamen and Japanese.
| Few things Were more interesting to mt
| than the different modes of worship that
| saw among the various nations whose coun
| tries Travelled on my tour around the worlc
| on bicycle. From the irreligious cowboy Of
! the wild west, who prides himself on caring
for neither God, man nor devil, TO the gentle
Hindoo penitent dragging mis- emaciated body
hundreds of miles that he may die On the
banks OF the sacred Gauges, are many inter
esting forms of worship, many strange be
iefs.
In travelling along the roads of Catholic
Europe one of the most impressive things to
the observant American is the big crucifIes
erected at the crossroads.
As one gets farther eastward into Catholic
Bavaria and Austria these crossroad cruel
| fixes present very curious appearance. At
tached to the crossiike frame are seen saws,
axes, plowshares, hayrahes, pitchforks,
spades and all manner of agricultural nipple
ments. Sometimes the crucifxes arc varied
by snug little brick shrines containing
images of the Virgin Mary, sundry of the
saints and various Roman Catholic parapher-
MALTA. Candles are burnt before the little
doll like images Of these wayside saints on
holy days and votive offerings are made by
the superstitious peasantry.
Five times day, IN Mohanmedan coun-
tries, the muezzin goes up on to the balcony
of the tall minaret and sings out in voice
that can be heard half a mile away: There
is no God but one God, and Mohammed is his
prophet" Hearing this the devout Mussul-
man murmurs ''Allah-il-Allah" in response,
and pausing in whatever he may be doing he
spreads his coat or something on the ground,
slips his shoes off and, Frustrating himself
several times toward Mecca, recites sundry
passages of the Koran. When the Moham-
medan enters the sacred precincts of the
mosque he leaves his shoes at the door and
enters in his stockinged feet or in light slip
pers especially provided at the door by an
attendant. The headgear is never removed
by the Mussulmans for religious exercises, as
with ourselves
One of the most sanctimonious individuals
in the world is the Persian. Belonging to the
Shah branch of the Mohammedan faith, the
Persians fairly Guido the rest of the world,
not excepting even our noble Christian selves,
In considering themselves the elect of all the
peoples of the earth In passing Christian
in the bazarS the Persian imam or seyced
will gather his flowing gown closely about
him, lest perchance it should brush against
the infdel and contaminate him by the con-
tact. These people, too, would as soon think
of committing suicide as drinking water from
the same cup as Christian. The Persians
are far more fanatical than the Turks.
l have been inside plenty of Turkish
mosques and have stood on the minaret bal
cony with the muezzin and listened to him
shouting the summons to prayer; but to PEN
citrate into Persian mosque would mean
trouble.
Five times day the Persian halts in what
ever he may be doing, and, Frustrating him
self toward Mecca, mumbles his prayers As
general thing he carries, slowed away in
his hammerbund, small oval cake Of holy
clay, from the sacred soil of Mecca, Meshed
or kerbella, which he places on the ground
before him as he prays. Every time he pros.
trates himself he touches his forehead to the
bit of sacred clay instead of the common
earth. By this process he is supposed to alb
serb certain portion of the spiritual advan-
tages appertaining to the worshiper dwell
ing or visiting at the holy city itself
More fanatical and dangerous, because less
civilized and more warlike than their Persian
neghbors, are the Afghans. These valiant and
turbulent warriors of Islam present the ex-
IRENE wing of Mussulman fanaticism and re-
ligious fervor these days. To that strange,
wild country in southern Khorassan my
mind wanders intuitively whenever I think
of the Mohammedap religion and its faithful
devotees. When at sunset the people would
turn toward the west Mecca being west from
that country and perform their customary
prostrations and prayers they would fall to
wondering among themselves why it was
that too did not follow suit. Why was it
that !, of all the people there, omitted to bow
my forehead to the ground and sing out,
There is no God save one God and Moham-
med is his prophet" l used to explain to
them that most Christians devote one day
out of seven to the worship of Allah, and APP
propriate the remaining six to their own use.
At this they would regard me with greater
establishment than ever.
As we pursue our course through India the
people who now stare in mute wonderment
at the bicycle are heathens who will have
none of the Christian or Islamite God. The
gods they worship are numberless almost as
docs have invested many things with the
order of sanctity. Tho trees are sacred; riv-
ers, mountains, birds and animals are objects
of worship and veneretion. Now and then
/ came across a tree, a neem, beel, peepul or
banyan, streaked with red paint. This would
be a tree especially selected for the purpose
OF worship as representing some particular
god. The god the Hindoo travellers or outly-
49,, Il
ways, but they could always have the tree,
and so by worshiping the tree, his representa-
tive, would they gain the ear of some hideous
idol sitting in state in his chivala at Benares.
A common sight would be tina. of a ring of
dusky natives formed around sacred tree,
prostrating themselves and paying their de-
yotions.
The natives of Bengal seemed to me to fall
down and worship almost anything that con-
tributed to their animal comforts. There is
grotesouely practical in paying
ones devotion to a bowl of rice or a jar OF
arrack, and this is what the bland and wor-
shipful Bengal villager does every day In the
year.
The worship of John Chinaman is so mixed
up with superstition and with heathenIsh
rites and ceremonies for the Precipitation OF
evil spirits that it would take good sized
volume to give any adequate idea OF it at
all JOSS sticks, lighted paper, frecrackers |
and all sorts of uncanny things are employed |
to protect the Celestial from the nyriads OF |
evil spirits inhabiting earth, air and water, |
and which are ever ready to pounce out and |
DO him harm The Japs-well, the Japs |
seemed to me comical. even at their devo- |
lions The gentle followers of Buddhism /
and Shintoisn seemed TO me Ike happy /
children PLAYING at being religious, Just as !