Washington sentinel., 1898-07-02
IT, = az SENTINEL
The Great snhinx II 0hi1oh.

the cleaning sand beside the great
pyramid OF Ghizeh7 Hewn out OF
the solid limestone rock, it towers
above you to a height of seventy
feet, and il stretches away in the
form Of the body OF a lion, to a
length OF one hundred and fifty
feet in front of you. ScOlptured
with consummate skill, il reposes
in graceful ease on the sand. The
face gazes with a sublime patience
and mystery into the tar distance.
Its features have been much mutll-
ated BY the ravages OF time, and
many of the finer lines have been
worn away by the craving tool OF
the winds, holding as a cutting
edge the desert sand. But still the
eyes preserve their ancient human
look Of uniathomable mystery an
calm, eternal patience.
Why was this colossal figure con-
structedP Was it a mere caprice,
or was It meant to express a defn-
ite purpose? That question is not
involved in the meaning Of its sym
bolic shape. The people who FASH
Toned il we have reason to believe
were astronomers as well as sculp-
tors. They came from a land
where the stars were first observed,
and their phenomena studied in
connection with the affairs Of men;
where the priests watched the ris-
ing and seltina nt sun and stars, n
temples that were astr7ssy.t,iN-rli rli
obseIVatCries, and were orlentated
to certain astral movements. The
event of greatest importance in
Egypt has always been the annual
inuudation Of the Nile. The whole
welfare of the country depended
upon this event from time imme-
mortal We can imagine therefore
how profound would be the inter-
est manifested IN everything asso.
ciated with if, and especially in the
signs in the heavens that indicated
its approach. The two signs of
the zodiac through which the sun
passed at the time of this periodic
flood were Leo and Virgo. May
we not suppose then, that the
woman's head and the lions body
were carved in the rock in the COM
posite figure of the Sphinx, in
order 10 represent the combination
OF these two consultations, as a
perpetual neraldic record OF the
annual baptism and resuscitat,on
OF the land, under the benignant
influence cf these auspiCious starse
This theory is at least as plausi-
bic as any other that has been ad-
Vanced; and there are several
things that would seem 60 corrOb-
crate it, According 90 the primi-
tive legend, the rise Of the Nile is
caused BY the tears shed by Isis
over the tomb of her brother
Osiris. And the modern Egyptian
still believes that during one night
in the year, viz June y, mlrac-
ulous drop from heaven falls into
the river, and causes it to overflow.
This night is called the Lailet en-
Nuktah. May not Isis be the vir-
gin whose COuntenanCe looks
calmly at you from the body OF the
Sphinx2 Probably in connection
with this mourning of Isis, a
heather ceremony was performed
for many ages, IN which a virgin
was yearly sacrificed to the divin-
itY OF the river This human sac
TIfice, it is said, was abolished by
Amer, the acknowledgement who
took Cairo in 90, and a paper on
which a prayer to the Nile was
written was substituted. A relic
Oi the old custom still survives in
a pillar Of earth, called the bride
or girl being LETT in the middle OF
the khallg el Masri, the old canal
that flows through the heart of
Cairo, to be washed away by the
incoming water, when the canal is
opened TO receive the overflow Of
the inundation of the Nile. This
ceremony Of TIE annual cutting OF
the Khaig takes place betw cen
the fifth and the fifteenth OF Aug
ust, and is performed with extra
ordinary pOmp and splendor. All
the great dignirarics OF Egypt, in
cluding the Khedive, are present;
and amid the salvoes Of artillery
and a brilliant display OF fireworks
the embankment that blocks the
mouth Of the canal is removed by
the hoes Of Nubian slaves, and the
dark waters rush rejOicingly in,
filing the channel TO the brim, and
prophesYing the bursting out Of
the whole land into verdure and
fruitiulness, The ceremony is con-
cluded by the Shclk Of Islam,
thanking Allah for his goodness,
and invoking a blessing upon the
timeous flood; while bag Of silver
piastres is thrown into the water,
and is eagerly scrambled for by a
crowd Of divers. Ii was indeed a
common custom OF antiquity to
offer human sacrifices to propitiate
the divinity Of river, lest il should
do damage by its overflow, or
when a bridge was 10 be built over
it, or a ferryboat established to ply
upon its waters. This custom sur.
viVed in Rome TO a late period,
vshsn statuattas were Thrown irte
the TIber as substitutes for human
victims. And when the practice
Of throwing infants into the sea at
the mouth Of the Ganges, as a sac
Tifice 70 the goo dess Gunga, was
put an end TO by the British author
Ities, the mother who made a vow
to this representation OF the river
Ganges, cast a cOcoanut into the
WAVES as a cubefifufp for the