The Portland daily press., 1897-07-13
MISCELLANEOUS.
PERSIAN RELIGIOUS FANATlclsM,
Ths Hassein and Hussein Day-A Blood
despatched Procession Staggering from
Self-Lnflicted Wounds.

Ths Hassein and Hussein Day-A Blood
despatched Procession Staggering from
Self-inflicted Wounds.
(Constantinople Correspondence of Globe
Democracy
Since coming to Constantinople some
seven months ago l have witnessed many
novel ceremonies. civic, military and re-
ligious-the Christmas fetes of the Greeks
Armenians and Turks the religious
Greek ceremony called ''the blessing of
the water;' the starting of the sacred
caravan to Mecca; the March and May
''Bairam'' festivals; the weekly 'sSela
milk.'' or the Sultan's procession to the
mosque, and other ceremonies of minor
lmportance-but they all pale into in
significance when compared with the re-
ligious ceremony l witnessed last Thurs
DAY night. That ceremony was the an
hual celebration by tie Persians of this
eity of the martyrdom of the two grand
children of the Prophet Mohammed, Has
sein and Hussein. am not sufficiently
versed in the religious history of Persia
to state how the wGr came about in which
these two distinguished individuals lost
their lives, but know from hearsay that
Mussulman, and their deaths are mourned
to this day by all believers in the Mo-
hammedan faith, especially the Persian S.
The accounts of this ceremony given
me by the consul general, who had wit
messed it some years ago, whetted my
curiosity, and kept careful watch on
my little "almanach de poche l'usage
du Levant," which shows the dates for
all the festivals, religious and otherwise,
taking place in the Turkish capital. The
Both of the month of Mouharem, CORE
spending with the 10th of June in our
calendar, at last arrived, and my chance
for verifying the strange stories which
had been told me of the "Hassein and
Hussein" ceremony was at hand.
Constantinople has a Persian popula-
ton of some 40, 600 souls, mostly resident
In the STEAMBOAT quarter The majority
of the male portion of this number are
in the mercantile business, and buy and
sell rugs, embroideries, spices, fine furni
ture, etc., and all of their places of bust
ness are in five great buildings called
'hans'' The Valdez han is the largest
of the five, and beneath its red-tiled roof
some 400 Persians have their homes and
shops. 1t is a great structure of gray
stone. built around an open square, in
the center of which is small mosque
where the inmates attend religious wor-
ship. The entrance to the numerous tiny
shops is had from the inside Of the square.
The building could well serve as for
tress, for after the massive iron gates at
the single entrance are closed and locked
the place is well nigh impregnable. 1t
is in the great square of the Valdez han
that the principal part of the ceremony
which am attempting to describe takes
place, and at 80 o'clock last Thursday
night our party was at it's entrance. The
big gates on this occasion were, of course
wide open, and through the opening
poured never-endfng throng of fantasti-
cally CARRIED humanity. Our party made
quite an imposing procession as we en-
tered the brilliantly illuminated square,
The gorgeously uniformed "cavasses'' of
the American legation and consulate
general, and the military attendant of his
excellency, Woods Pasha, headed the line
the crowd was SO dense that we had to
go in single fle-and then followed Minis
ter Terrell, Consul General Short. Woos
Pasha, the ladies of our party, number
ing four, and, bringing up the rear, your
humble servant, with Count d'Oyley,
PARKWAY Moses of "Innocents Abroad
fame. who was with us as guide, friend
and philosopher, and two or three guests
of the Pera Palace hotel, who had asked
permission to accompany the expedition.
The scene as we entered the square was
a most incongruous one, for In strong
contrast to the innumerable lights and
fercely blazing torches, all of the shop
fronts were heavily drapod in deepest
mourning. We threaded our way through
the ever increasing throng, and finally
reached the space which had been re-
served for our party by the friendly
Moses. There we found comfortable chairs
and, seating ourselves, were ready to wit
ness the ceremony.
Soon the sound of cheering, accompa-
MED by the beating of drums and the
playing Of flies, was heard, and presently
from around one corner of the mosque in
the center Of the square appeared the head
of the procession. First came a dozen
men bearing great torches, and immedi-
abely following dozen more dressed from
head to foot in robes of funeral black.
These last were giving utterances to the
most pitiful cries. wringing their hands
and sobbing as if their hearts were break
ing. L could distinguish the oft-repeated
words, 'Hassein and Hussein," and
Moses told me that they were telling the
story of the tragic death Of these two
sons of Ali. While watching the group
heard the sounds of sobbing at my side,
and, turning, saw man in Persian cos
tune sobbing bitterly. He was not alone
in his grief o. for every Persian in sight
was similarly occupied, and 1 rightly
ure was part of the ceremony.