The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-10-31

! distinguished from the men by a cord
drawing in their robes around their waist.
| In front of them is the "Kabana," or
! lady superior. wearing a white tuft in her
| headaress. The end by which we entered
is occupied by the "koshaksN bearing the
| torches, the flare of which sheds titful
light over the assembly. In the center Of
the sanctuary is a square stone altar, and
behind this stand, on one side,
the spiritual head of the Yields,
on the other lay the head, or Emir
of the community. Between both is
| the ''Kak," or Chief of the F'akir Broth
erhood, who takes precedence of every
body, and whose person and clothing are
reckoned so holy that none ever venture
TO touch them. Above the altar hangs "a
single lamp, the solitary illuminant of the
underground temple, and in front of it,
stretched upon the bare ground lie two
human figures. One is attired in spotleSs
white cerements, the other CARRIED in the
full black robes of the fakir fraternity.
| One is the corpse of a dead mendicant
brother, the other the body of living
novice who is to become his successor in
/ the order. The faces of both are livid
and drawn. and in the titful gloom OF the
sanctuary it is impossible to distinguish
the living Yezidi from the dead fakir be-
| side him.
UNWILLING OF THE sANJAK.
1t is certainly a weird and impressive
| scene, and little eerie, presented by the
interior of the underground sanctuary in
! the semi-darkness, as the "pirs" and
| fakirs of tho "Malak Taus" procession
reach their places by the side of their
! brethren. The bearer of the sacred en-
! blem marches into the center, and, taking
| his stand beside the "Kak" unveils the
| Sanjak in sight of the whole assembly.
| The covering removed, the emblem is
clearly seen. 1t is the bronze image of
| a peacock perched on the central branch
| of triple candelabrum. The connection
of the peacock with the worship of the
devil is rather singular, but it is thus ex-
planned by the sectaries When the all
| benefcent Deity created the hawk, which
| destroys, satan created Il peacock which
is both beautiful and harmless, in order
| to show that all his works were not
necessarily evil. They say, moreover,
| that it was in the form of peacock that
the fallen angel tempted Eve in
| Paradise, and it is through a peacock that
| satan will regain his position hereafter
| in the celestial hierarchy. The sight Of
the emblem, the angel peacock. seems to
| galvanize the worshipers into life, for it
is no sooner unveiled than, with mechan-
zeal precision, they raise their hands
| above their heads, eXclaiming, "hhoda I"
"Khoda!" dropping them again as me-
chemically when they have done this.
| The "Kawals' then start the opening
symphony of hYmn-a plaintive melody
| in minor key-in which the women of
the ''Faikraya' join, and also the ''pirs. -
| The singers do not understand the words
of the hymn, for they know nothing but
Kurdish, and the invocation is in some
other dialect of Asia Minor, which it is
not easy to recognize. When the voices
are silent the ''Kak" begins the ceremony
of initiation At a sign from the chief
two of the black-robed fakirs step
| forward and raise from the ground the
neophyte, who has been in underground So
litude for forty days, fasting each day
from sunrise to nightfall, and is clad in
the cere-cloths of the dead, to mark the
| solemnity of tine occasion. He prostrates
| himself to the sacred symbol held alOft,
and instructed by his assistants proceeds
to divest himself of the white garment in
which he is attired, and, bending on his
| knee, shrouds with it the corpse of the
dead faSir, beside whom he has been
| lying When this is done the "Kak''
| comes round, and with his own hands
invests him with the robes of his order.
First he throws over the shoulders of the
novice a coarse black gown reaching be-
low the knees and over the white cotton
drawers and vest, which are obligatory
portions of a fakir's costume He is then
girded with a black cord about the
waist. The neophybe now produces q
black cap, which he must have made with
his own hands, and puts it on his head
while the ''Kak' throws over him the
'mahak'' or bride, twisted cord, which
goes round theneck and falls down like a
necklet. This cord must never leave him
night nor day so long as he lives, and
when he dies it is buried with him
There is this difference between the
"fakiI'' of the devil worshipers and the
other priests. The latter wear the cord
short, so that its ends are concealed be
meath their outer garment; the former
wear it over all, so that it is always seen
MARCH OF THE INITIATE.
| Invested with the mahak," the candi-
date is fully initiated, and walks slowly
round the temple, passing in front Of the
| "pirs" on the right hand, the 'kOshaks''
| at the end of the sanctuary, and his col
| leagues, the black-robed fakirs, on the
| left. AS he moves leisurely along, each
! of the persons before whom he passes
splits in his face. This is not done as a
mark of contempt, but to avert evil and
misfortune from the subject of this some
| what unpleasant proceeding. The first
| duty the new-made fakir takes upon
| himself is to minister to his brethren
present He procures from the Etshav-
! ish - who has the things in readiness. a
| pot of oil and some wick, which he i'm
merses in it and lights by means of the
! lamp in the center. He then walks round
| the temple holding the light in front of
| the "pirs" and "fakirs" Each bends
over the light, holds his hand out to
it as though to feel its warmth,
and then gently strokes his
| beard, afterward kissing his
fingers and tapping lightly his
| forehead. With this the ceremony ter
inmates. The peacock procession is re-
! formed and the party gain the open air
| by different ascent, which brings the
members out on the opposite side of the
little building above, where the sacred
white kline are installed. Strengthened
! by the addition of the ''Kak," the Emir
and Sheik, the "pirs," "kawals," and
'fakirs' who have taken part in the
! ceremony of the evening, the procession
! passes through the ranks of the white
robed worshipers outside, whose numbers
in the interval have been considerably
reinforced and include many women in
the white dress of the sect. The image
of the 'Malak Taus'' is now borne un-
covered and when the Yezidis see it they
fall PROSTATE upon the ground, the entire
body, between l 800 ana 1000 strong, ut
tering a shrek of ecstasy and devotion
that makes ones blood ruu cold, and
seems TO reecho through the valley for a
good five minutes afterward
The procession winds slowly down the
glen toward the tomb of SSheik Adj,
xvharr 1iUhfe ulaarra l,t.icrl, - H.,