Richmond daily palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1876-1904, 1900-03-27
ROWLING DsRWSHES.
Strange Religious Rites Witnessed in
Cairo.
Riehnond Palladium.

When we arrived at CAIRO there
was a throng. Probably two hundred
of our number hid to be separated
from US for transfer on up the Nile to
Luxor. The other 325 were distribu-
ted to hotels. My lot was cast at
the Bristol, but not another one OF
our party. The accommodations are
excellent, and especially the cooking
is certainly quite well ahead OF the
average American hotel. Forty of our
company were brought to this place,
and we are all seated at one long
table and platters of food are passed
by the walters and each guest is to
take for himself what he wants of it.
There are from five to seven courses.
except breakfast has only bread, but
ter, coffee and eggs or meat and jam
or marmalade. If any are behind at
meals they are charged extra price.
The effect is apparent and we are a
prompt set of people.
1t was an interesting sight to WIT
ness the starting out for drives. The
carriages here have only one elevated
seat for driver and one for pas
sengers. So that only two persons,
or three by crowding, may ride IN
one vehicle. 1t will readily be een
that to carry three hundred persons
and to deliver them at the places ar
ranged for is somewhat prodigious.
But 1T was done successfully, al
thol.gh among the drivers and guides
there was much jabbering of Arabic
and Egyptian and Turkish and
French and a mixture generally. L
could here enumerate the places to
which we were driven, but will do
instead what will probably be of
more interest.
Among the places visited by two
of us was a mosque, where the howl
ing dervishes went through their re-
ligious performance. When we en-
tered we were given chairs at one
side of the large circular In
the central part was a carpet COM
posed of five widths of straw mating,
making it five yards wide and about
ten yards long. The ceremony had
already begun. The leader sat on
his feet at one end, and at the other
were ten men sitting in a similar
way, but others dropped in their
places one by n until there were
twenty-four, ranging in age, as l
should think, from eight years to
fifty. All were chanting in mono
tone and keeping time by moving
the body back and forth from sitting
posture to an almost horizontal posi-
ton. After a time they stopped a
little while, then there was respon-
sive chanting bv the leader and bis
men, the motions being kept up as
before. This gradually grew louder,
of higher pitch, more rapid and
violent and then ceased. A prophet
10Y entered and repeated passages
from the Koran in a Heavenly tune
very similar to some | have heard
elsewhere. Then followed a company
of men, threeof whom were the dane
ing dervishes, and were dressed in
white skirts falling about to the
ankles and girded at the waist and
having a large hem at the bottom,
filed with something, giving it an
appearance Of a roll of about two
inches diameter, and used evidently
to weigh the skirt down while the
dervish rotates rapidly. Next was
bling fhaatxo@ipfar ff5ff sncnans
Now followed a motion throw
ing the head and shoulders from side
to side with a grunt-umph and ac-
companied by the flute music. This
became very rapid, and
then changed into aSpirate emissions
astonishingly loud, and certainly ex-
haustive and producing dizziness, |
yet no such effects were perceptible
upon the performers.
The sound now changed to one
that might be best indicated by
.'hoo-ah, turning the head from
right to left and vice versa,
with each vocal utterance of it. As
before, this increased in rapidity,
force and pitch till it seemed to die
of its W extreme height. a few
utterances by the leader were now
followed by all rising from the sit
ting posture, and standing repeating
what l spell out as "La-ah-ha-lee-la-
NAH, first vocally on the increasing
scale rs before, then in an aspirate
sound. The prophet again repeated
from the Koran in his whining nasal
tune. Such actions and repetitions
continued increasing in viSor with
variations too many to describe in
detail. After a time the music vas
accompanied by drums unlike ours,
one of the dervishes advanced before
the leader, bowed, threw his arms
across each other upon his breast,
the hands reaching his shoulders,
moved his lips as in prayer, drew his
hands downward over his face, and
began slowly to turn round. The
other two followed in a similar way,
all the other men keeping up bodily
motions as before, and the dervishes
whirling in the center, the latter
having on high brown caps of the
moSlem style. This action grew very
rapid and vigorous, aud the dancers
again took position with the rest and
Allah was taken through the re
spectlve vocal and aSpirate utter
ances as before. Then again the
whirling motion of the dancers, and
the bodily movements of the other
twenty-one men We're performed,
keeping time to the music, which
increased its speed till all were going
like the whirling shafts and vibrating
movements OF machinery.
But another thing now attracted
our attention. We noticed that a
glass lamp iue had been given
TO a man who stood in the center not
far.from the whirling dervishes. |
asked our guide, Nahomet Ali, what
hat meant. He replied that the man
would eat it. Sure enough the man
put the upper end in his mouth,
crushed il off with his teeth and be-
gan chewing it and we could hear the
cracking of the glass between his
teeth. Again and again he bit off
pieces, meanwhile keeping up his