The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-09-04

| towers. There is a stream Of water flowing
through the center Of the city, brought by
canal q considerable distance. It serves as
the common open sewer Of the city, and as
the bathing place for all the faithful who
| wish to visit the shrine. It also supplies
the population with water for drinking aud
all other purposes. Hence it lie easy to SEQ
| how cholera has made the place its home.
The actual tomb of the imam is made Of
a single stone feet long Around 1t is a
railing Of sandalwood. A foot or two out
side of this is a second railing Of solid gold,
blazing with jewels This was erected uy
| Nadir Shah, that amiable monarch VINO
used 70 sit In a temple praying all the day
while his soldiers, for every word he uttered,
| gouRed out the eyes of a man. Another
| railing, made Of steel, Is outside of this one.
AT the entrance Of this shrine the pilgrim
pauses and prays to the imam for the per-
mission to approach nearer. Then, taking
1t for granted that the permission is given,
he approaches the tomb from the right
side, And this is the most extraor-
| binary thing; for In Moslem countries,
| amid the SUM sect, which lie the chief
sect Of Islam. the faithful always turn their
faces toward Mecca when they pray, aud
when man Is buried he is always laid
with his right side toward that sacred city.
The tomb of Reza is thus placed And
shrines are so built that as ono enters them
his Taos Is toward Mecca But il is evident
that at the great shrine OF Meshed this rule
is reversed. The pilgrim approaches the
eomo OF Reza, and prays there, with his
back turned toward Mecca. At the
right side of the tomb, then, he
prays for all his relatives and friends,
and also for all those who on the
road have asked his prayer for them. Then
he goes to the foot Of the tomb and repeats
| the same prayers Next be moves around
to the left and Drays. Here he would
naturally face Mecca. But instead of doing
50 he turns his side toward the tomb and
| faces toward ker uellah, where is the tomb
of the holy Imam Hosssin, son of ALL
| Hossein is regarded as the most holy Of them
| all. lie was sort of savior, through whose
! death eternal life was secured to Moslems
Accordingly, prayers addressed to his shrine
are held to have unusual efficacy.
Such is the famous city Of holiness and
| disease from which nearly all cholera epi-
de mics of late years have proceeded. But
not only are the conditions there most ia
vorable to the propagation Of the plague,
but the funeral customs that prevail
throughout Persia seem to have the same
end in view. A dying man. be his disease
cholera or anything else, lies on a mattress
on the floor, surrounded by a dozen or q
| score OF relatives aud friends. The doctors
! ply their remedies but in vain. A
wild dervish applies charms aud anu
Iettes, but in vain. The wife sits By the
pillow, yelled and weeping, holding to
her husbands nos rils a bit OF mud or pas=
ter torn from the wall and wetted with
some aromatic liquid. The doors and win
dows arc shut. A dozen pipes I'LL the air
with tobacco smoke and from a huge urn
cups Of stsaming tea are drawn and passed
about. AS a last resort, they kill fowl
and place 1t, warm and bleeding, at the
dying mans feet But even this proves
undvailing, and he presently breathes his
last.
Then the widow leaves the bedside and
priest takes her place. He fills the mouth,
ears and nostrtis of the corpse with moist
ened cotton wool, composes the limbs aud
places cup Of water by the pillow. Then
he reAds aloud some passages from the
Koran, while all the others loudly testify
that the man was a good aud true follower
Of the prophet. Another priest goes upon the
roof, and, at the top of his voice, recites other
passages from the Koran, thus announcing
TO the neighbors and to all passers by that
the man is dead. Soon the house is filed
| with lamenting friends and kindred, above
whose tumult rises high and clear the shriu
| yelling OF the professional mourners The
| women relatives put on mourning costumes
and the men take knives aud rip open some
| OF the seams of their own garments to give
them tao appearance of having been rent
asunder in paroxysms of grief. They also
| daub their hats with mud in lieu of throw
! ing dust upon their heads. Finally the
washers of the dead' come. They are de-
| spised outcasts, who gain a livelihood by
the performance of this work They wash
the corpse, wrap it In a shrOud, place cam
phor about it, and put it in a frail wooden
coffin.
The burial always occurs within twenty
four hours Of tie death The coffin is placed
upon bier and the relatives contend with
| each other for the honor Of bearing it to the
! grave. This is esteemed great privilege in
Mahometan countries. The graveyard is a
bare spot outside the town, the home OF the
| jackal and the hyena. There are no waving
Expresses, as in Turkey. A few small
shrines mark where some holy msu have
! been inferred. GroUesque stone lions Of life
size mark the graves OF those wac were war
riors; while little square inches a yard high
contain highly oolored pictures Of I'M
welded youths, OF OF those slain in
war. AS rule, however. small fiat stones
| record the names OF the dead, a few
texts from the Koran marking the piety of
their relatives; but often the little mounds
| have merely a row of flints that loving
hands placed there, or q rough bit Of rock,
or tile at the head and foot The nearest
relatives lay the body in the SHALLOW grave,
priest says prayer, the shroud is loosened
that the dead man may be enabled to arise
at the resurrection without trouble, aud the
coffin lid is replaced. Then another prayer
is read. The "Fatihat." or first chapter of
the Koran, is recited by all-it Is merely a
short prayer-the grave is closed, little
water Is sprtnkled on it, and all is over If
the family Of the deceased osn afford it, q
tiny tent Is pitched. and priest remains to
pray and to read the Koran over the grave
for many days.
The whole OF the attendants of the fun
! eral are entertained at dinner at the house
Of the deceased. The mourning is continued
for short period-a few days or a month,
according to the wealth OF thu family. Then
another lavish exercise Of hospitality and
dole to the poor take place; and this is the
sign that the days OF mourning are over.
Somoer garments are cast aside; the family
go to the public bath; once more they dye
their hair with henna also the soles OF their
feet and the palms of their hands, their
nails and finger-tips. The women sgnalEs
the end OF their mourning by visit to the
cemetery, taking with them sweetmeats
and peculiar kind of bread they eat at
the graveside small quantity Of these, and
what remains is given to the poor. A
widow will often vow a monthly or yearly
dole at her husbands grave; and the vow is
always piously carried out.
Often among the rich or religious the
body is merely placed in some mosque or
shrine, as ''amanat"-that is to say, on de-
posit After some months, or weeks, or