Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1892-11-25
"THE HADJ."
HIGHEST RELIGIOUS DUTY OF
THE MOHAMME EDANS.
Once in Their Lifetime They Must
Go to the Holy Plac IS OF Arabia
Caravans on Their Journey
-PiIgrimages to Mecca.
TTis tie highest religious duty aud

to his salvation-once in his life
time to make the pilgrimage, either in
person or by proxy, to the holy places OF
Arabia. It is not to the purpose to
visit Mecca and Medina at any time OF
The year. Only by making the pilgrim
age in the right month, and by taking
part in the ceremonies at each holy place
on the days set apart for them, is the
worshiper entitled to the nanc OF
Hadj. Repeated pilgrimages are works
Of supererogation, but add to the honor
and sanctity of the pilgrim. In the
cities of Damascus and Cairo the traveller
iees many houses decorated on the eI'
terror with rude, fantastic, and highly
,olored pictures. These mural adorn-
ments are the certain signal Of distinction,
for they are permitted to no one who has
not made the Hsdj. The pilgrimage usu-
ally occupies about ninety or one hundred
days. These are the days following the
great fast OF Ramadan. As the Mosem'
reckon by lunar months, their seasons
do not coincide with ours, and so the
pilgrimage makes gradually the circuit
Of our year and the high festival days
Of Mecca may fall in the heat OF sumner
or in winter time. A great caravan sets
out yearly from Damascus and another
from Cairo. The struggling bands OF
worshipers from the wide world either
fall in with these caravans en- route, or
make their way to Mecca as they can,
and await there the arrival OF the mass
of pilgrims. That from Cairo sets out
on the 25th OF the month Shovel, fol-
lowing the fast Of Ramsdan. The three
days Of high ceremony in and about
Mecca are the 10th, 1lth and 18th Of
Zul Ha1j, and the caravan returns to
Cairo about the 25th Of Safer.
Formerly the pilgrims assembled on
the edge OF the desert outside OF Cairo,
where the caravan was formed. 1t took
up its line of march across the desert,
passing north of Suez, round the Gulf
of Akaba, and turning south to Yembo-
el-Nakhel. Here it found itself near the
great Syrian caravan, which had come
from Damascus by way of Medina, aud
marched on a parallel line with that to
Mecca. 1t Travelled only by night, and
rested in the daytime. The journey
took thirty-one nights, and as there was
halt Of seven entire days on the road,
the distance from Cairo to Mecca was
reckoncd at thirty-seven days. These
two caravans were the important aud Of
fetal contributions to the Mecca festival,
but there was smaller Bagdal caravan,
and great numbers, singly aud in groups,
went by boats to Jedda (Djsdda), the
port on the Red Sea, distant about
forty.six miles from the holy city; aud
immense crowds hocked in from all parts
of Arabia, by which the conventional
number of 10, 900 was made up. 1t was
said that il this number were not
present for the day at Arafat, the
angels would miraculously increase it.
There have been great exaggerations in
the estimates Of the annual concourse at
Mecca. Ludovico Bartima, Of Rome,
estimated the Damascus caravan in 1898
at 10000 men aud $1,000 canels.
Giovanni Finanti, renegade Italian con-
script, in 1914 put the Syrian aud Afri-
eau caravans at 10000. Ali Bey "a
Spaniard), whose real name was Domingo
Badiary Leblich, in 1897 computed So
0OC men, 1000 women and 1000 chill
dreD, assembled on the day Of Arafat;
and Burckhardt (1S14) estimlted the
crowd at Arafat at 10000. Burton, in
1853, was sure there were not over 1000
in the Damascus caravan, nor more than
so. 00U on Mount Arafat. Both Burcx-
hardt and Burton thought the number OF
annual pilgrims diminishing.
The official caravan from Damascus
carries the covering for the Prophets
tomb at Medina, which is annually re-
newed. Cairo supplies annually, at the
expense OF the Government, the mahmel,
or canopy Of dark cloth or velvet,
wrought with texts in dark threat,
which is the cover OF the Ksaba, and
the kisweh, or lining for the interior OF
the Kaaba, which is OF rich silk, heavily
embroidered with Arabic sentences in
gold. The kisweh that was hung in the
temple a year ago is brought buck to
Cairo, and divided into bits and shreds
among the faithful. Formerly the NAH
mel used to remain, and the Kaaba was
shrouded in layer above layer, until the
cloth decayed, but now the old canopy
is removed before the new one is put on.
The conditions Of pilgrimage have
greatly changed in the last few years.
The Syrian and African caravans con-
tinue, but they seem to be less in size.
The Governments still pay tribute to the
desert sheikS for passage through their
territories, but the dangers which re-
quired so many to travel together seem
to have diminished. Pilgrims make
their way from all parts OF the world by
rail and By steamboat. As hosts under
take the pilgrimage who are exceedingly
poor, and many postpone it hll they are
diseased and old, the mortality must
still be great, and large numbers die on