Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1889-12-19
HOWLING And DANCING.
How the Dervishes Prepare TO Enter
Paradise.
A Glass of Mahometans Similar to
Monks of Christian Countries.

tOlthS VI III ACIIsAtt 1VdAlt w.
Dervishes in Mahometan countries form
a class by themselves, though they do not
entirely Withdraw themselves from com
munication with their fellow-beings. The
word means poor" which indicates the
condition in which they are to keep them.
selves in working out a state of sanctity
| They are something like monks In Chris
tan countries, and appear to be a~ctuated
BY the same motives. They are divided
into orders or communities. each working
out their own salvation in accordance
with their W idea. Some think they
are to dance themselves into paradise.
which even some good Christians would
think was an agreeable way to do it, and
others expect to yell and howl themselves
into the kingdom, which may be pleasant
to the deyotees. but not to those who have
not been broken in.
Among the Arabs of various regions who
are Mahometans is a class of the SAME
kind, called fakirs. 1t is said hat there
are about 1900, 900 of these, of various
orders, some of whom practice revolving
rites and ceremonies. Our guide. Dimetri,
told me that the dervishes of CONSTANT
nople formerly cut themselves with knives
and otherwise mangled their persons, pre-
cisely as monks and others practlsed
various austerities in the belief that they
were acceptable sacrifices to the Deity.
The Sultan forbade the custom in his
dominions. But the life and devotion OF
the dervishes win the respect and reverence
| of the people, and it is said that some
royal princes and even sultans have been
members of the fraternity. Each body OF
monastery is governed by a sheik, or elder,
and he is always a venerable old man.
These orders date backin their origin many
hundred years. The dervishes r~enounce
earthly joys and devote themselves In
poverty and retirement to their religion,
and the principle is the same as that which
| ~actuates the nuns and sisters in our own
cities.
The principal monastery in Constantine
pie is in the Rue de Pera though there are
| othsrs, and it stands a little back from the
street in a courtyard, Dimetri produced
slippers enough to supply the party, and we
put them on over our boots. The idea is
that the dirt from outside, OF the soil of a
Christian foot, must not come in contact
with any part of a holy place. But the true
believers have to take the same precau-
lions, and | noticed in a Tartar city that
gentleman wore overshoes apparently be-
cause they could be conveniently slipped off
when the wearer went to church. Aporter
at the door takes charge of the boots shoes,
canes and umbrellas, and exacts a small fee
for the service, as is done in the most of
the picture gallries, museums and theatres
in Europe.
The main building of the monastery was
In the shape of an octagon, and the audi
| ence chamber would have made a capital
circus. A sort of fence inclosed all the
| space of the ground floor except the width
of about 10 feet next to the walls. All
around the apartment was a gallery, sup
| ported by columns, for spectators, as well
! as the outside place below. In the rear, up
/ stairs, the space was latticed off for women,
who are permitted to see, but not to be
seen. The front of the gallery was for the
music and a reader, for one can hardly
imagine that even devotees would think of
dancing without music. Visitors were re-
quired to seat themselves Turkish fashion.
and be as uncomfortable as possible.
The dancing floor vas smooth and clean,
and would have been creditable to any ball
room. Opposite the entrance a prayer car
| pet was spread for the sheik, and he squat
ted upon it, .looking as solmn as though he
had been about to deliver a sermon IN st.
Sophie instead of looking after a dance.
| The dervishes entered singly or In knots as
suited them, and seated themselves IN the
floor until about 20 of them had gathered.
| They were dressed in loose brown robes,
| reaching down to their ankles, and were
all as solemn as the leader In the long
| white beard. The hat was of the shape of
an inverted lower-pot of the anne color as
the robe.
The venerable sheik began to repeat In
| a low and mumbling tone some sentences
from the Koran. Then the dervish in the
front gallery read, or rather intoned, from
a book. Being no theologian, | could not
understand a word of it. The sheik then
talked to himself awhile, apparently; and
the dervishes headed by a manager, march
ed several times around the circus, halting
and bowling low to the venerable head at
the prayer carpet. The bowling and
saluting was somewhat l%udicrous, and re-
called the evolutions of a country muster.
Two of the devotees with their arms
crossed on their breasts, bowed facing
each other. Then they wheeled IN good
order and saluted the next couple, and
the process was repeated all along the
line.
When the last of the bowling had been
completed the music struck up a monot-
onous tune sounding like a banjo and
some other instrument. The head of the
column of dervishes edged out into the
middle of the room and began to whirl,
and he could not have done any better if
he had called it Waiting. The others fol-
lowed his example in good order and with
out haste until all of them were whirling
gracefully in two circles around the en-
closure, As they entered upon the excit-
ing part of the proceedings they Invested
themselves of the heavy brown robes and
came forth in white spencers and skirts,
the latter reaching almost to the floor and
being dense enough for a broadway belle.
For half an hour they kept it up without
any break or appearance of fatigue. There
were no collisions, not even of the skirts,
though they were all spread out as in
making cheeses." The movement is
quite as graceful as that of an accomplish