Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-04-07

On the third day we all donned the
hiram or pilgrim garb, which necessi-
tated very thorough additions before
hand. MY enthusiastic servant woke
me at 6 am. just as was DOING OF
after night Of literal torture--the
heat had been so intense In the etuf1y
cabin that could not bear to lie down
but we did not manage to enter the
bathroom till nearly noon.
The necessary additions consist OF q
bath, washing the head, cutting the
nails, and shaving all hair from the
body. When Bahia and I finally forced
our way into the bathroom, we found
every one frantically scrubbing each
others backs In an effort to be friendly
and helpful. Then there was much
consultation as to how to put on the
hiram.
The mems garments were of extreme
simplicity, for they consisted simply OF
two sheets of rough bath towels, one
wound around like q kilt and the Other
slung across the shoulders. In the case
of the fat and the portly. there was
always considerable hiatus which af-
forded some amusement TO their friends,
but the sheeted men looked rather well,
because their draperies were long and
one end could be flung In graceful folds,
toga-wise, over the shoulders.
The women wore straight white
galabia made of coarse thick calico,
Ike a very cheap night-dress. Over a
close-fitting white handkerchief that
hid all the hair, they donned a flowing
transparent scarf that could be ar
ranged to hide as much of the face as
one wished and, over ALL a "n1eliya''-
merely q large bed sheet. This last
item was the difficulty. and 1t very
soon got draggled.
The pilgrim crowd has sometimes
been described as reminiscent Of q
Turkish bath Certainly individual in
stances are distinctly humorous, but
taken generally. the mass Of snowy
robed figures, tense, eager. lit with a
common purpose, the men bare-headed
under the intolerant sum-. the women
tshrouded and spotless as white Carmel
lite nuns, Is an imposing sight.
| A IL through the hot afternoon w
crouched in our few square feet OF
deck, waiting anxiously for the siren
blast that would announce our entry
into "Haramein"--the sacred territory
As we were all feeling particularly clean
and immaculate, we amused ourselves
by criticizing Europeans, and Iremem-
Der, we decided that the English were q
very dirty race. 4
When at pm the longed-for blast
thrilled the ship to sudden life, 1t wa
drowned in the great wave of SOUND
that burst from 900 threats. Few knew
quite what they were shouting, but
everybody shouted something. The
Imams formed circles of their follower.
all over the decks. and blared forth
the prayers Of their sects and contra.
ternities. Ancient "ulema," with shaw.
en- heads and horn spectacles, reat
aloud page after page from we'll thumb
ed books, while the ignorant gathered
around them for instruction. The
simpler pilgrims contented themselves
with crying repeatedly: u am here.
am here, oh Allah, I am herel"
A couple Of long-haired dervishe:
fiung their tortured bodies from side tt
side, shouting repetitiye prayer til
foam frothed from their mouths anC
their upturned eyes showed dxed ar1t
CLASSY
Everybody tried to explain most en-.
Enthusiastically to his neighbor the com.
plete rites Of the pilgrimage, Conse.
quently, after the FIRST hour, we gath.
cred so much information that we were
obliged to 60 and sit at the feet of 9
noted Aim to have 1t all sorted out
TELL me. oh my Father asked
/ what Is sin and what Is not siil2'
The old man had done the pilgrimage
five times, so he was fluent.
For the 'Omrah,'" he said, "yri
must use no scent and no kohl ant
| you must not take off the hiram fol
four days and four nights, neither mus
you battle nor comb your hair
He paused ana the full horrors o
| It sank into my mind--not, TO bath,
or to change ones stiff, hot clothes fol
! 90 hours In climate where everything
was literally soaked In less than on,
hour! The prohibition of kohl ais
worried me, for without their darl
| fantastic rings, my eyes were a yer,
English gray. ~
On the evening of the fourth day w
anchored in the open roadstead out
| side Jedda and thereafter commenced ;
period OF 40 hours that can only b
! described by one word-heI. As sool
as the boat stopped, there was an up
roar, as every pilgrim started shouting
| questions lat his neighhor and. with ;
| brief interval, during which docto
rushed on board and looked at the ship
papers, it continued all night and ros
| to . babel of inarticulate yells slaortl
after dawn, when a crowd Of felucca
| gathered around the boat and every on
! tried to get into the same one at once
Some three hours were spent in low
| ering the luggage, arranging 1t, rear
! ranging 1t, and wedging the unfor
/ tunate passengers on 1t and between
very often underneath IL.
A felucca should hold comfortably a
| or as people. Ours contained 81, wit
immense quantities of inccnyeniently
shaped luggage, and we drifted fort
into q dead calm sea without q breatl