An Account of The Manners and Customs of The Modern Egyptians, Volume 2 E-Book

Edward William Lane

• Herausgeber: Jazzybee Verlag
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 425

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2017

Beschreibung

It is now more than one hundred years since Lane gave to the world his admirable work on the Egyptians. It has become a classic, and no writer has given us such unsurpassed descriptions of the manners and customs of the people. Lane went to Egypt in 1825, and adopting the native customs, and with a good knowledge of Arabic, he mingled with the people, living at one time in a tomb, with bones, rags, and mummies for his companions. He associated, almost exclusively, with Moslems, of various ranks in society, lived as they lived, conforming with their general habits and their religious ceremonies, and abstaining from the use of the knife and fork at meals. He ascended the Nile to the Second Cataract, and everywhere recording his exact impressions, making plans and careful drawings, and taking the trouble to secure accurate knowledge. A second trip to Egypt, remaining two years, enabled him to still more completely enter into the life of the Egyptians. Upon his return to England he published this book. Its success was immediate, and many editions have been called for since. This is volume two out of two.

Leseprobe

An Account of The Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians

Volume 2

EDWARD WILLIAM LANE

An Account of The Manners and Customs of The Modern Egyptians, Volume 2, E. W. Lane

Jazzybee Verlag Jürgen Beck

86450 Altenmünster, Loschberg 9

Deutschland

ISBN: 9783849649661

www.jazzybee-verlag.de

[email protected]

Front Cover: By http://wellcomeimages.org/indexplus/obf_images/b1/43/eb191fd5057af3d1bc074420bfd1.jpgGallery: http://wellcomeimages.org/indexplus/image/L0071554.html, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=36271256

CONTENTS:

CHAPTER I. INDUSTRY.1

CHAPTER II. USE OF TOBACCO, COFFEE, HEMP, OPIUM, &c.17

CHAPTER III. THE BATH.21

CHAPTER IV. GAMES.27

CHAPTER V. MUSIC.34

CHAPTER VI. PUBLIC DANCERS.42

CHAPTER VII. SERPENT-CHARMERS, AND PERFORMERS OF LEGERDEMAIN TRICKS, &c.46

CHAPTER. VIII. PUBLIC RECITATIONS OF ROMANCES.52

CHAPTER IX. PUBLIC RECITATIONS OF ROMANCES-continued.58

CHAPTER X. PUBLIC RECITATIONS OF ROMANCES-continued.69

CHAPTER XI. PERIODICAL PUBLIC FESTIVALS, &c.78

CHAPTER XII. PERIODICAL PUBLIC FESTIVALS, &c.—continued.102

CHAPTER XIII. PERIODICAL PUBLIC FESTIVALS, &c.—continued.127

CHAPTER XIV. PRIVATE FESTIVITIES, &c.136

CHAPTER XV. DEATH, AND FUNERAL RITES.144

SUPPLEMENT.157

I. THE COPTS.157

II. THE JEWS OF EGYPT.175

III. THE LATE INNOVATIONS IN EGYPT.178

APPENDIX A. EGYPTIAN MEASURES, WEIGHTS, AND MONEYS.181

APPENDIX B. HOUSEHOLD EXPENDITURE IN CAIRO.184

APPENDIX C. PRAYER OF MOOS'LIM SCHOOL-BOYS.185

CHAPTER I. INDUSTRY.

IT is melancholy to compare the present state of Egypt with its ancient prosperity, when the variety, elegance, and exquisite finish displayed in its manufactures attracted the admiration of surrounding nations, and its inhabitants were in no need of foreign commerce to increase their wealth, or to add to their comforts. Antiquarian researches show us that, not only the Pharaohs and the priests and military chiefs, but also, a great proportion of the agriculturists, and other private individuals, even in the age of Moses, and at a yet earlier period, passed a life of the most refined luxury, were clad in linen of the most delicate fabric, and reclined on couches and chairs which have served as models for the furniture of our modern saloons. Nature is as lavish of her favours as she was of old to the inhabitants of the valley of the Nile; but, for many centuries, they have ceased to enjoy the benefit of a steady government: each of their successive rulers, during this long lapse of time, considering the uncertain tenure of his power, has been almost wholly intent upon increasing his own wealth; and thus, a large portion of the nation has gradually perished, and the remnant, ill general, been reduced to a state of the most afflicting poverty.

The male portion of the population of Egypt being scarcely greater than is sufficient for the cultivation of as much of the soil as is subject to the natural inundation, or easily irrigated by artificial means, the number of persons who devote themselves to manufactures in this country is comparatively small; and as there are so few competitors, and, at present, few persons of wealth to encourage them, their works in general display but little skill.

Painting and sculpture, as applied to the representation of living objects, are, I have already stated, absolutely prohibited by the Mohhammadan religion: there are, however, some Moos'lims in Egypt who attempt the delineation of men, lions, camels, and other animals, flowers, boats, &c., particularly in (what they call) the decoration of a few shop-fronts, the doors of pilgrims' houses, &c.; though their performances would be surpassed by children of five or six years, of age in our own country. The art in which the Egyptians most excel is architecture. The finest specimens of Arabian architecture are found in the Egyptian metropolis and its environs; and not only the mosques and other public buildings are remarkable for their grandeur and beauty, but many of the private dwellings, also, attract our admiration, especially by their interior structure and decorations. Yet this art has, of late years, much declined, like most others in this country: a new style of architecture, partly Oriental and partly European, and of a very plain description, being generally preferred. The woodwork of the doors, ceilings, and windows of the buildings in the older style, which have already been described, display considerable taste, of a peculiar kind; and so, also, do most of the Egyptian manufactures; though many of them are rather clumsy, or ill finished. The turners of wood, whose chief occupation was that of making the lattice-work of windows, were very numerous, and their work was generally neater than it is at present: they have less employment now; as windows of modern houses are often made of glass The turner, like most other artisans in Egypt, sits to his work. In the art of glass-making, for which Egypt was so much celebrated in ancient times, the modern inhabitants of this country possess but little skill: they have lost the art of manufacturing coloured glass for windows; but, for the construction of windows of this material they are still admired, though not so much as they were a few years ago, before the adoption of a new style of architecture diminished the demand for their work. Their pottery is generally of a rude kind: it mostly consists of porous bottles and jars, for cooling, as keeping, water. For their skill in the preparation of morocco leather, they are justly celebrated The branches and leaves of the palm-tree they employ in a great variety of manufactures: of the former, they make seats, coops, chests, frames for beds, &c.: of the latter, baskets, panniers, mats, brooms, fly-whisks, and many other utensils. Of the fibres, also, that grow at the foot of the branches of the palm-tree are made most of the ropes used in Egypt. The best mats (which are much used instead of carpets, particularly in summer) are made of rushes. Egypt has lost the celebrity which it enjoyed in ancient times for its line linen: the linen, cotton, and woollen cloths, and the silks now woven in this country are generally of coarse or poor qualities.

The Egyptians have long been famous for the art of hatching fowls' eggs by artificial heat. This practice, though obscurely described by ancient authors, appears to have been common in Egypt in very remote times. The building in which the process is performed is called, in Lower Egypt, ma'amal el-fira'kh, and in Upper Egypt, ma'amal el-furroo'g: in the former division of the country, there are more than a hundred such establishments; and in the latter, more than half that number. The proprietors pay a tax to the government. The ma'amal is constructed of burnt or sundried bricks; and cousin of two parallel rows of small chambers and ovens, divided by a narrow, vaulted passage. Each chamber is about nine or ten feet long, eight feet wide, and five or six feet high; and has above it a vaulted oven, of the same size, or rather less in height. The former communicates with the passage by an aperture large enough for a man to enter; and with its oven, by a similar aperture: the ovens, also, of the same row, communicate with each other; and each has an aperture in its vault (for the escape of the smoke), which is opened only occasionally: the passage, too, has several such apertures in its vaulted roof. The eggs are placed upon mats or straw, and one tier above another, usually to the number of three tiers, in the small chambers; and burning gel'leh (a fuel before mentioned, composed of the clung of animals, mixed chopped straw, and made into the form of round, flat cakes) is placed upon the floor of the ovens above. The entrance of the ma'amal is well closed. Before it are two or three small chambers, for the attendant, and the fuel, and the chickens when newly hatched. The operation is performed only during two or three months in the year; in the spring; earliest in the most southern parts of the country. Each ma'amal in general contains from twelve to twenty-four chambers for eggs and receives about a hundred and fifty thousand eggs, during the annual period of its continuing open; one quarter or a third of which number generally fail. The peasants of the neighbourhood supply the eggs: the attendant of the ma'amal examines them; and afterwards usually gives one chicken for every two eggs that he has received. In general, only half the number of chambers are used for the first ten days; and fires are lighted only in the ovens above these. On the eleventh day, these fires are put out, and others are lighted in the other ovens, and fresh eggs placed in the chambers below these last. On the following day, some of the eggs in the former chambers are removed, and placed on the floor of the ovens above, where the fires have been extinguished. The general heat maintained during the process is from 100° to 103° of Fahrenheit's thermometer. The manager, having been accustomed to this art from his youth, knows, from his long experience, the exact temperature that is required for the success of the operation, without having any instrument, like our thermometer, to guide him. On the twentieth day, some of the eggs first put in are hatched; but most, on the twenty-first day; that is, after the same period as is required in the case of natural incubation. The weaker of the chickens are placed in the passage: the rest, in the innermost of the anterior apartments; where they remain a day or two before they are given to the persons to whom they are due. When the eggs first placed have been hatched, and the second supply half-hatched, the chambers in which the former were placed, and which are now vacant, receive the third supply; and, in like manner, when the second supply is hatched, a fourth is introduced in their place. I have not found that the fowls produced in this manner are inferior in point of flavour or in other respects to those produced from the egg by incubation. The fowls and their eggs in Egypt are, in both cases, and with respect to size and flavour, very inferior to those in our country.—In one of the Egyptian newspapers published by order of the government (No. 248, for the 18th of Rum'ada'n, 1246, or the 3d of March, 1831 of our era) I find the following statement.

Lower Egypt.

Upper Egypt.

Number of establishments for the hatching of fowls' eggs in the present year

105

59

Number of eggs used

19,325,600

6,878,900

Number spoiled

6,255,867

2,529,660

Number hatched

13,069,733

4,349,240

Though the commerce of Egypt has much declined since the discovery of the passage from Europe to India by the Cape of Good Hope, and in consequence of the monopolies and exactions of its present ruler, it is still considerable.

The principal imports from Europe are woollen cloths (chiefly from France), calico, plain muslin, figured muslin (of Scotch manufacture, for turbans), silks, velvet, crape, shawls (Scotch, English, and French) in imitation of those of Kashmee'r, writing-paper (chiefly from Venice), fire-arms, straight sword-blades (from Germany) for the Nubians, &c., watches and clocks, coffee-cups and various articles of earthenware and glass (mostly from Germany), many kinds of hard-wares, planks, metal, beads, wine and liqueurs; and white slaves, silks, embroidered handkerchiefs and napkins, mouthpieces of pipes, slippers, and a variety of made goods, copper and brass wares, &c., from Constantinople:— from Asia Minor, carpets (among which, the segga'dehs, or small prayer-carpets), figs, &c.:—from Syria, tobacco, striped silks, 'abba'yehs (or woollen cloaks), soap:— from Arabia, coffee, spices, several drugs, Indian goods (as shawls, silks, muslin, &c.):—from Abyssinia and Senna'r and the neighbouring countries, slaves, gold, ivory, ostrich-feathers, koorba'gs (or whips of hippopotamus' hide) tamarind in cakes, gums, senna:—from El-Ghurb, or the West (that is, northern Africa, from Egypt westwards), turboo'shes (or red cloth scull-caps), boornoo'ses (or white woollen hooded cloaks), hhera'ms (or white woollen sheets, used for night-coverings and for dress), yellow morocco shoes.

The principal exports to Europe are wheat, maize, rice, beans, cotton, flax, indigo, coffee, various spices, gums, senna, ivory, ostrich-feathers:—to Turkey, male and female Abyssinian and black slaves (including a few eunuchs), rice, coffee, spices, hhen'na, &c.:—to Syria, slaves, rice, &c.:—to Arabia, chiefly corn:—to Senna'r and the neighbouring countries, cotton and linen and woollen goods, a few Syrian and Egyptian striped silks, small carpets, beads and other ornaments, soap, the straight sword-blades mentioned before, fire-arms, copper wares, writing-paper.

There are in Cairo numerous buildings called Weka'lehs, chiefly designed for the accommodation of merchants, and for the reception of their goods. The Weka'leh is a building surrounding a square or oblong court. Its ground-floor consists of vaulted magazines, for merchandize, which face the court; and these magazines are sometimes used as shops. Above them are generally lodgings, which are entered from a gallery extending along each of the four sides of the court; or, in the place of these lodgings, there are other magazines; and in many weka'lehs which have, apartments intended as lodgings, these apartments are used as magazines. In general, a weka'leh has only one common entrance; the door of which is closed at night, and kept by a porter. There are about two hundred of these buildings in Cairo; and three-fourths of that number are within that part which constituted the original city.

It has already been mentioned, in the introduction to this work, that the great thoroughfare streets of Cairo generally have a row of shops along each side, not communicating with the superstructures. So, also, have many of the by-streets. Commonly, a portion of a street, or a whole street, contains chiefly, or solely, shops appropriated to one particular trade; and is called the Soo'ck (or Market) of that trade; or is named after a mosque there situated. Thus, a part of the principal street of the city is called “Soo'ck en-Nahh'hha'see'n”, or the market of the sellers of copper wares (or simply “the Nahh'hha'see'n”—the word “Soo'ck” being usually dropped); another part is called “the Go'hargee'yeh,” or [market of] the jewellers: another, “the Khoordagee'yeh,” or [market of] the sellers of hardwares; another, “the Ghoo'ree'yeh,” or [market of] the Ghoo'ree'yeh, which is the name of a mosque situated there. These are some of the chief soo'cks of the city. The principal Turkish soo'ck is called “Kha'n El-Khalee'lee.”

Some of the soo'cks are covered over with matting, or with planks, supported by beams extending across the street, a little above the shops, or above the houses.

The shop (dookka'n) is a square recess, or cell, generally about six or seven feet high; and between three and four feet in width. Its floor is even with the top of a mus'tub'ah, or raised seat of stone or brick, built against the front. This is usually about two feet and a half, or three feet, in height; and about the same in breadth. The front of the shop is furnished with folding shutters; commonly consisting of three leaves; one above another: the uppermost of these is turned up in front: the two other leaves, sometimes folded together, are turned down upon the mus'tub'ah, and form an even seat, upon which is spread a mat or carpet, with, perhaps, a cushion or two. Some shops have folding doors, instead of the shutters above described. The shop-keeper generally sits upon the mus'tub'ah; unless he be obliged to retire a little way within his shop, to make room for two or more customers, who mount up on the seat; taking off their shoes before they draw up their feet upon the mat or carpet. To a regular customer, or one who makes any considerable purchase, the shop-keeper generally presents a pipe (unless the former have his own with him, and it be filled and lighted); and he calls or sends to the boy of the nearest coffee-shop, and desires him to bring some coffee, which is served in the same manner as in the house; in small china cups, placed within cups of brass. Not more than two persons can sit conveniently upon the mus'tub'ah of a shop, unless it be more spacious than is commonly the case: but some are three or four feet broad, and the shops to which they belong, five or six feet in width; and consequently these afford room enough for four persons, or more, sitting in the Eastern fashion. The shopman generally says his prayers upon the mus'tub'ah, in the sight of the passengers in the street. When he leaves his shop for a few minutes, or for about half an hour, he either relies, for the protection of his property, upon the next shop-keepers, or those opposite, or hangs a net before his shop. He seldom thinks it necessary to close and lock the shutters, excepting at night, when he returns to his house; or when he goes to the mosque, on the Friday, to join in the noon prayers of that day.— The apartments above the shops have been described in the introduction.

Buying and selling are here very tiresome processes to persons unaccustomed to such modes of bargaining. When a shop-keeper is asked the price of any of his goods, he generally demands more than he expects to receive: the customer declares the price exorbitant, and offers about half, or two thirds, of the sum first named: the price thus bidden is, of course, rejected; but the shop-keeper lowers his demand; and then the customer, in his turn, bids somewhat higher than before: thus they usually go on until they meet about half-way

between the sum first demanded and that first offered; and so the bargain is concluded. When a person would make any but a trifling purchase, having found the article that exactly suits him, he generally makes up his mind for a long altercation: he mounts upon the mus'tub'ah of the shop; seats himself at his ease; fills and lights his pipe; and then the contest of words commences, and lasts, often, half an hour, or even more. Sometimes, the shop-keeper, or the customer, interrupts the bargaining by introducing some irrelevant topic of conversation; as if the one had determined to abate his demand no further; or the other, to bid no higher: then again the haggling is continued. The bargain being concluded, and the purchaser having taken his leave, his servant generally receives, from the tradesman, a small present of money, which, if not given spontaneously, he scruples not to demand.—Among the lower orders, a bargain of the most trifling nature is often made with a great deal of vehemence of voice and gesture: a person ignorant of their language would imagine that the parties engaged in it were quarrelling, and highly enraged. The peasants will often say, when a person asks the price of anything which they have for sale, “Receive it as a present:” this answer having become a common form of speech, they know that advantage will not be taken of it; and when desired, again, to name the price, they will do so; but generally name a sum that is exorbitant.

It would be tedious and uninteresting to enumerate all the trades pursued in Cairo. The principal of them are those of the draper, or seller of materials for dress (who is simply called ta'gir, or merchant), and of the seller of ready-made dresses, arms, &c. (who has the same appellation); the jeweller (go'hur'gee); the goldsmith and silversmith (sa'igh), who only works by order; he seller of hard-wares (khoor'dagee); the seller of copper wares (nahh'hha's); the tailor (khei'ya't); the dyer (sab'ba'gh); the darner (ref'fa); the ornamental sewer and maker of sheree't, or silk lace, &c. (hhab'ba'k); the maker of silk cords, &c. ('ack'cka'd); the maker of pipes (shibook'shee); the druggist and perfumer ('at'ta'r), who also sells wax candles, &c.; the tobacconist (dakha'-khinee); the fruiterer (fa'kiha'nee); the seller of dried fruits (noock'alee); the seller of sherbet (shurbet'lee); the oil-man (zei'ya't), who sells butter, cheese, honey, &c., as well as oil; the green-grocer (khood! aree); the butcher (gezza'r); and the baker (far'ra'n), to whom bread, meat, &c., are sent, to be baked. There are many cooks' shops, where keba'b and various other dishes are cooked and sold: but it is seldom that persons eat at these shops; generally sending to them for provisions when they cannot conveniently prepare food in their own houses. Shopkeepers often procure their breakfast or dinner from one of these cooks, who are called tdb'ba'khs. There are also many shops in which fatee'rehs, and others in which boiled beans (foo'l moodem'mes), are sold. Both these articles of food have been described in a former chapter. Many persons of the lower orders eat at the shop of the fata'tiree (or seller of fatee'rehs), or at that of the fow'wa'l (or bean-seller).

Bread, vegetables, and a variety of eatables are carried about for sale. The cries of some of the hawkers are curious; and deserve to be mentioned. The seller of tir'mis (or lupins) often cries, “Aid! O Imba'bee! Aid!” This is understood in two senses: as an invocation for aid to the sheykh El-Imba'bee, a celebrated Moos'lim saint, buried at the village of Imba'beh, oil the west bank of the Nile, opposite Cairo; in the neighbourhood of which village the best tir'mis is grown; and also as implying that it is through the aid of the saint above mentioned that the tir'mis of Imba'beh is so excellent. The seller of this vegetable also cries, “The tir'mis of Imba'beh surpasses the almond!” Another cry of the seller of tir'mis is, “O how sweet are the little children of the river !” This last cry, which is seldom heard but in the country towns and villages of Egypt, alludes to the manner in which the tir'mis is prepared for food. To deprive it of its natural bitterness, it is soaked, for two or three days, in a vessel full of water; then boiled; and, after this, sewed up in a basket of palm-leaves (called furd), and thrown into the Nile, where it is left to soak, again, two or three days; after which, it is dried, and eaten cold, with a little salt.—The seller of sour limes cries, “God make them light [or easy of sale]! O limes !”—The toasted pips of a kind of melon called 'abdalla'wee, and of the water-melon, are often announced by the cry of “O consoler of the embarrassed '. O pips !” though more commonly, by the simple cry of “Roasted pips !”—A curious cry of the seller of a kind of sweetmeat (hhala'weh), composed of treacle fried with some other ingredients, is, “For a nail! O sweetmeat !” He is said to be half a thief: children and servants often steal implements of iron, &c., from the house in which they live, and give them to him in exchange for his sweetmeat.—The hawker of oranges cries, “Honey! O oranges! Honey!” and similar cries are used by the sellers of other fruits and vegetables; so that it is sometimes impossible to guess what the person announces for sale; as, when we hear the cry of “Sycamore-figs! O grapes!” excepting by the rule that what is for sale is the least excellent of the fruits, &c., mentioned; as sycamore-figs are not so good as grapes.—A very singular cry is used by the seller of roses; “The rose was a thorn: from the sweat of the Prophet it opened [its flowers].” This alludes to a miracle related of the Prophet.—The fragrant flowers of the hhen'na-tree (or Egyptian privet) are carried about for sale; and the seller cries, “Odours of paradise! O flowers of the hhen'na !”—A kind of cotton cloth, made by machinery which is put in motion by a bull, is announced by the cry of “The work of the hull! O maidens !”

As the water of the wells in Cairo is slightly brackish, numerous sack'ckas (carriers or sellers of water) obtain their livelihood by supplying its inhabitants with water from the Nile. During the season of the inundation, or rather during the period of about four months after the opening of the canal which runs through the metropolis, the sack'ckas draw their water from this canal: at other times, they bring it from the river. It is conveyed in skins by camels and asses, and sometimes, when the distance is short, and the skin small, by the sack'cka himself. The water-skins of the camel (which are called rei') are a pair of wide bags, of ox-hide. The ass bears a goat's skin (called ckir'beh): so also does the sack'cka if he have no ass. The rei contain three or four ckir'behs. The general cry of the sack'cka is “O! may God compensate [me].” Whenever this cry is heard, it is known that a sack'cka is passing. For a goat's skin of water, brought from a distance of a mile and a-half, or two miles, he obtains scarcely more than a penny.

There are also many sack'ckas who supply passengers in the streets of the metropolis with water. One of this occupation is called sack'cka shur'beh: his ckir'beh has a long brass spout; and he pours the water into a brass cup, or an earthen ckool'leh, for anyone who would drink.—There is a more numerous class who follow the same occupation, called hhem'alees. These are mostly durwee'shes, of the order of the Rifa”ees, or that of the Beiyoo'mees, and are exempt from the income-tax called fir'deh. The hhem'alee carries, upon his back, a vessel (called ibree'ck'), of porous grey earth. This vessel cools the water. Sometimes the hhem'alee has an earthen ckool'leh of water scented with mo'yet zahr (or orange-flower-water), prepared from the flowers of the na'rin'g (a bitter orange), for his best customers; and often, a sprig of na'rin'g is stuck in the mouth of his ibree'ck. He also, generally, has a wallet hung by his side. From persons of the higher and middle orders, he receives from one to five fud'dahs for a draught of water: from the poor, either nothing or a piece of bread or some other article of food, which he puts in his wallet. Many hhem'alees, and some sack'ckas who carry the goat's skin, are found at the scenes of religious festivals, such as the moo'lids of saints, &c., in Cairo and its neighbourhood. They are often paid, by visitors to the tomb of a saint on such occasions, to distribute the water which they carry to passengers; a cupful to whoever desires. This work of charity is called tesbe'l; and is performed for the sake of the saint, and on other occasions than moo'lids. The water-carriers who are thus employed are generally allowed to fill their ibree'cks or ckir'behs at a public fountain; as they exact nothing from the passengers whom they supply. When employed to distribute water to passengers in the streets, &c., they generally chant a short cry, inviting the thirsty to partake of the charity offered them in the name of God.

There are numerous other persons who follow occupations similar to that of the hhem'alee. Among these are sellers of 'er'ck-soo's, or infusion of licorice, mentioned in a former chapter. The 'er'ck-soo'see (or seller of this beverage) generally carries a red earthen jar of the liquid on his left side, partly supported by a strap and chain, and partly by his left arm: the mouth having some leef (or fibres of the palm-tree) stuffed into it. He also carries two or more brass or china cups, which he knocks together.—In the same manner, many shurbet'lees (or sellers of sherbet) carry about, for sale, zebee'b (or infusion of raisins). The shurbet'lee commonly bears, in his left hand, the glass vessel of a shee'skeh, filled with zebee'b, and a large tin or copper

jug full of the same, and several glass cups, in his right hand. Some shurbet'lees carry, on the head, a round tinned copper tray, with a number of glass cups of teen mebloo'l, or bel'ahh mebloo'l, which are figs and dates steeped in water; and a copper vessel , or a china bowl, of the same. Sahh'tab (a thin jelly, made of water, wheat-starch, and sugar, boiled, with a little cinnamon or ginger sprinkled upon it; or made as a drink, without starch) is likewise carried about in the same manner; and soo'biya (which is a drink made of the pips of the 'abdalla'wee melon, moistened and pounded, and steeped in water, which is then strained, and sweetened with sugar; or made with rice instead of the pips) is also vended in a similar way, and carried in vessels like those used for zebee'b; but the glass cups are generally placed in a kind of trough of tin, attached, by a belt, to the waist of the seller.

It has been mentioned before, that many poor persons in Cairo gain their livelihood by going about to clean pipes. The pipe-cleaner (moosellika'tee) carries a number of long wires for this purpose, in three or four hallow canes, or tubes of tin, which are bound together, and slung to his shoulder. A small leather bag, full of tow, to wind round the top of the wire with which the pipe is cleaned, is attached to the canes or tin tubes. The moosellika'tee generally obtains no more than a noos's fud'dah (or about a quarter of a farthing) for each pipe that he cleans.

A very great number of persons of both sexes among the lower orders in Cairo, and many in other towns of Egypt, obtain their subsistence by begging. As might

Moosellika'tee.

be expected, not a few of those are abominable impostors. There are some whose appearance is most 'distressing to every humane person who sees them; but who accumulate considerable property. A case of this kind was made public here a few months ago. A blind fella'hh, who was led through the streets of the metropolis by a young girl, his daughter (both of whom were always nearly naked), was in the daily habit of bringing to his house, a blind Turkish beggar, to sup with him. One evening, he was not at home; but his daughter was there, and had prepared the supper for his Turkish friend, who sate and ate alone; and, in doing this, happened to put his hand on one side, and felt a jar full of money, which, without scruple, he carried away with him. It contained the sum of a hundred and ten purses (then equivalent to rather more than five hundred and fifty guineas), in kheyree'yehs, or small gold coins of nine piasters each. The plundered beggar sought redress at the Citadel, and recovered his property, with the exception of forty kheyree'yehs, which the thief had spent; but was interdicted from begging in future.— Children are often seen in Cairo perfectly naked; and I have several times seen females from twelve to twenty years of age, and upwards, with only a narrow strip of rag round the loins, begging in the streets of this city. They suffer little from exposure of the bare person to the cold of winter, or the scorching sun of summer; being accustomed to it from infancy; and the men may, if they choose, sleep in some of the mosques. In other respects, also, their condition is not quite so bad as their appearance might lead a stranger to suppose. They are almost sure of obtaining' either food or money sufficient for supplying the absolute wants of nature, in consequence of the charitable disposition of their countrymen, and the common habit which the tradespeople have of eating in their shops, and generally giving a morsel of their food to those who ask for it. There are many beggars who spend the greater part of the day's gains to indulge themselves at night with the intoxicating hhashee'sh, which, for a few hours, renders them, in imagination, the happiest of mankind.

The cries of the beggars of Cairo are generally appeals to God. Among the most common are—” O Exciter of compassion! O Lord!”—“For the sake of God! O ye charitable !”—“I am seeking from my Lord a cake of bread !”—“O how bountiful thou art! O Lord !”—“I am the guest of God and the Prophet !”—in the evening, “My supper must be thy gift! O Lord !”—on the eve of Friday, “The night of the excellent Friday!”—and on Friday, “The excellent day of Friday !”—One who daily passed my door used to exclaim, “Place thy reliance upon God! There is none but God!” and another, a woman, I now hear crying, “My supper must be thy gift! O Lord! from the hand of a bountiful believer, a testifier of the unity of God! O masters!”—The answers which beggars generally receive (for they are so numerous that a person cannot give to all who ask of him) are, “God help thee ”—“God will sustain.”—“God give thee ”—“God content, or enrich, thee !”—They are not satisfied by any denial but one implied by these or similar answers. In the more frequented streets of Cairo, it is common to see a beggar asking for the price of a cake of bread, which he or she holds in the hand, followed by the seller of the bread. Some beggars, particularly durwee'shes, go about chanting verses in praise of the Prophet; or beating cymbals, or a little kettle-drum. In the country, many durwee'shes go from village to village begging alms. I have seen them on horseback; and one I lately saw thus mounted, and accompanied by two men bearing each a flag, and by a third beating a drum: this beggar on horseback was going from hut to hut asking for bread.

The most important of the occupations which employ the modern Egyptians, and that which (as before mentioned) engages all but a very small proportion of them, is agriculture.

The greater portion of the cultivable soil is fertilized by the natural annual inundation; but the fields in the vicinity of the river and of the large canals, and some other lands, in which pits are dug for water, are irrigated by means of machines of different kinds. The most common of these machines is the sha'doo'f, which consists of two posts or pillars of wood, or of mud and canes or rushes, about five feet in height, and less than three feet apart, with a horizontal piece of wood extending from top to top, to which is suspended a slender lever, formed of a branch of a tree, having at one end a weight chiefly composed of mud, and at the other, suspended to two long palm-sticks, a vessel in the form of a bowl, made of basket-work, or of a hoop and apiece of woollen stuff or leather: with this vessel, the water is thrown up to the height of about eight feet, into a trough hollowed out for its reception. In the southern parts of Upper Egypt, four or five sha'doo'fs are required, when the river is at the lowest, to raise the water to the level of the fields. There are many sha'doo'fs with two levers, &c., which are worked by two men. The operation is extremely laborious.—Another machine much used for the same purpose, and almost the only one employed for the irrigation of gardens in Egypt, is the sa'ckiyeh.

The sha'doo'f

This mainly consists of a vertical wheel, which raises the water in earthen pots attached to cords and forming a continuous series; a second vertical wheel fixed to the same axis, with cogs; and a large, horizontal, cogged wheel, which, being turned by a pair of cows or bulls, or by a single beast, puts in motion the two former wheels and the pots. The construction of this machine is of a very rude kind; and its motion produces a disagreeable creaking noise.—There is a third machine, called ta'boo't, used for the irrigation of lands in the northern part of Egypt, where it is only requisite to raise the water a few feet. It somewhat resembles the sa'ckiyeh: the chief difference is, that, instead of the wheel with pots, it has a large wheel with hollow jaunts, or fellies, in which the water is raised.—In the same parts of Egypt, and often to raise the water to the channel of the ta'boo't, a vessel like that of the sha'doo'f, with four cords attached to it, is also used. Two men, each holding two of the cords, throw up the water by means of this vessel, which is called ckut'weh,—In the process of artificial irrigation, the land is divided into small squares, by ridges of earth, or into furrows; and the water, flowing from the machine along a narrow gutter, is admitted into one square or furrow after another.

The rei lands, or those which are naturally inundated, are, with some exceptions, cultivated but once during the year. After the waters have retired, about the end of October or beginning of November, they are sown with wheat, barley, lentils, beans, lupins, chick-peas, &c. This is called the shit'awee (or winter) season. But the shara'ckee lands (or those which are too high to be subject to the natural inundation), and some parts of the rei, by artificial irrigation are made to produce three crops every year; though not all the shara'ckee lands are thus cultivated. The lands artificially irrigated produce, first, their shit'awee crops; being sown at the same period as the rei lands, generally with wheat or barley. Secondly, in what is called the sey'fee, or, in the southern parts of Egypt, the ckey'dee, or gey'dee (that is, the summer) season, commencing about the vernal equinox, or a little later, they are sown with millet (door'ah sey'fee), or with indigo, or cotton, &c. Thirdly, in the demee'reh season, or period of the rise of the Nile, commencing about, or soon after, the summer solstice, they are sown with millet again, or with maize (door'ah sha'mee), &c., and thus crowned with a third harvest.—Sugar is cultivated throughout a large portion of Upper Egypt; and rice, in the low lands near the Mediterranean.

For the purpose of separating the grain of wheat, barley, &c., and cutting the straw, which serves as fodder, the Egyptians use a machine called no'rag, in the form of a chair, which moves upon small iron wheels, or thin circular plates, generally eleven, fixed to three thick axle-trees; four, to the foremost; the same number, to the hindmost; and three, to the intermediate axle-tree. This machine is drawn, in a circle, by a pair of cows or bulls, over the corn. The plough, and the other implements which they use in husbandry, are of a rude and simple kind.

The navigation of the Nile employs a great number of the natives of Egypt. The boatmen of the Nile are mostly strong, muscular men. They undergo severe labour in rowing, poling, and towing; but are very cheerful; and often, the most so when they are most occupied; for then they frequently amuse themselves by singing. In consequence of the continual changes which take place in the bed of the Nile, the most experienced pilot is liable frequently to run his vessel aground: on such an occurrence, it is often necessary for the crew to descend into the water, to shove off the boat with their backs and shoulders. On account of their being so liable to run aground, the bouts of the Nile are generally made to draw rather more water at the head than at the stern; and hence the rudder is necessarily very wide. The better kind of boats used on the Nile, which are very numerous, are of a simple, but elegant form; mostly between thirty and forty feet in length; with two masts, two large triangular sails, and a cabin, next the stern, generally about four feet high, and occupying about a fourth, or a third, of the length of the boat. In most of these boats, the cabin is divided into two or more apartments. Sudden whirlwinds and squalls being very frequent on the Nile, a boatman is usually employed to hold the sheet in his hand, that he may be able to let it fly at a moment's notice.

CHAPTER II. USE OF TOBACCO, COFFEE, HEMP, OPIUM, &c.

THE interdiction of wine and other fermented and intoxicating liquors, which is one of the most important laws in the code of El-Isla'm, has caused the greater number of the disciples of this faith to become immoderately addicted to other means of inducing slight intoxication, or different kinds of pleasurable excitement.

The most prevalent means, in most Moos'lim countries, of exciting what the Arabs term “keyf” which I cannot more nearly translate than by the word “exhilaration,” is tobacco. It appears that tobacco was introduced into Turkey, Arabia, and other countries of the East, soon after the beginning of the seventeenth century of the Christian era: that is, not many years after it had begun to be regularly imported into Western Europe, as an article of commerce, from America. Its lawfulness to the Moos'lim has often been warmly disputed; but is now generally allowed. In the character of the Turks and Arabs who have become addicted to its use, it has induced considerable changes; particularly rendering them more inactive than they were in earlier times; leading them to waste, over the pipe, many hours which might be profitably employed: but it has had another and a better effect; that of superseding, in a great measure, the use of wine, which, to say the least, is very injurious to the health of the inhabitants of hot climates. In the “Tales of a Thousand and One Nights,” which were written before the introduction of tobacco into the East, and which we may confidently receive as presenting faithful pictures of the state of Arabian manners and customs at the period when they appeared, we have abundant evidence that wine was much more commonly and more openly drunk by Moos'lims of that time than by those of the present day. It may further he remarked, in the way of apology for the pipe, as employed by the Turks and Arabs, that the mild kinds of tobacco generally used by them have a very gentle effect: they calm the nervous system; and, instead of stupifying, sharpen the intellect. The pleasures of Eastern society are certainly much heightened by the pipe; and it affords the peasant a cheap and sober refreshment, and probably often restrains him from less innocent indulgences.

The cup of coffee, which, when it can be afforded, generally accompanies the pipe, is commonly regarded as an almost equal luxury. It is said that the discovery of the refreshing beverage afforded by the berry of the coffee-plant was made in the latter part of the seventh century of the Flight (or, of the thirteenth of the Christian era), by a certain devotee, named the sheykh 'Om'ar, who, driven by persecution to a mountain of the Yem'en, with a few of his disciples, was induced, by the want of provisions, to make an experiment of the decoction of coffee-berries, as an article of food; the coffee-plant being there a spontaneous production. It was not, however, till about two centuries after this period that the use of coffee began to become common in the Yem'en. It was imported into Egypt between the years 900 and 910 of the Flight (towards the end of the fifteenth or the beginning of the sixteenth century of our era, or a little more than a century before the introduction of tobacco into the East), and was then drunk in the great mosque El-Az'har, by the fackee'rs of the Yem'en and Mek'keh and El-Medee'neh, who found it very refreshing to them while engaged in their exercises of reciting prayers, and the praises of God; and freely indulged themselves with it. About half a century after, it was introduced into Constantinople. In Arabia, in Egypt, and in Constantinople, it was often the subject of sharp disputes among the pious and learned; many doctors asserting that it possessed intoxicating qualities, and was therefore an unlawful beverage to Moos'lims; while others contended, that, among many other virtues, it had that of repelling sleep, which rendered it a powerful help to the, pious in their nocturnal devotions: according to the fancy of the ruling power, its sale was therefore often prohibited, and again legalized. It is now, and has been for many years, acknowledged as lawful by almost all the Moos'lims; and immoderately used even by the Wah'ha'bees, who are the most rigid in their condemnation of tobacco, and in their adherence to the precepts of the Ckoor-a'n, and the Traditions of the Prophet. Formerly, it was generally prepared from the berries and husks together; and it is still so prepared, or from the husks alone, by many persons in Arabia. In other countries of the East, it is prepared from the berries alone, freshly roasted and pounded.

Cairo contains above a thousand Ckah'wehs- , or coffee-shops. The ckah'weh is, generally speaking, a small apartment, whose front, which is towards the street, is of open wooden work, in the form of arches. Along the front, excepting before the door, is a mus'tub'ah, or raised seat, of stone or brick, two or three feet in height, and about the same in width; which is covered with matting; and there are similar seats in the interior, on two or three sides. The coffee-shops are most frequented in the afternoon and evening; but by few excepting persons of the lower orders, and tradesmen. The exterior mus'tub'ah is generally preferred. Each person brings with him his own tobacco and pipe. Coffee is served by the ckak'weg'ee (or attendant of the shop), at the price of five fud'dahs a cup, or ten for a little bek'reg (or pot) of three or four cups. The ckah'weg'ee also keeps two or three na'rgee'lehs or shee'shehs, and go'zehs, which latter are used both for smoking the toomba'k (or Persian tobacco) and the hhashee'sh (or hemp): for hhashee'sh is sold at some coffee-shops. Musicians and story-tellers frequent some of the ckah'wehs; particularly on the evenings of religious festivals.

The leaves and capsules of hemp, called, in Egypt, hhashee'sh, were employed in some countries of the East in very ancient times to induce an exhilarating intoxication. Herodotus (lib. iv., cap. 75) informs us that the Scythians had a custom of burning the seeds of this plant, in religious ceremonies, and that they became intoxicated with the fumes. Galen also mentions the intoxicating properties of hemp. The practice of chewing the leaves of this plant to induce intoxication prevailed, or existed, in India, in very early ages: thence it was introduced into Persia; and about six centuries ago (before the middle of the thirteenth century of our era) this pernicious and degrading custom was adopted in Egypt; but chiefly by persons of the lower orders; though several men eminent in literature and religion, and vast numbers of fackee'rs (or poor devotees), yielded to its fascinations, and contended that it was lawful to the Moos'lim. The habit is now very common among the lower orders in the metropolis and other towns of Egypt, There are various modes of preparing it; and various names, as sheera, bust, &c., are given to its different preparations. Most commonly, I am told, the young leaves are used alone, or mixed with tobacco, for smoking; and the capsules, without the seeds, pounded and mixed with several aromatic substances, for an intoxicating conserve. Acids counteract its operation. The preparation of hemp used for smoking generally produces boisterous mirth. Few inhalations of its smoke, but the last very copious, are usually taken from the go'zeh. After the emission of the last draught, from the mouth and nostrils, commonly a fit of coughing, and often a spitting of blood, ensues, in consequence of the lungs having been filled with the smoke. Hhashee'sh is to be obtained not only at some of the coffee-shops: there are shops of a smaller and more private description solely appropriated to the sale of this and other intoxicating preparations: they are called mahh'shesh'ehs. It is sometimes amusing to observe the ridiculous conduct, and to listen to the conversation of the persons who frequent these shops. They are all of the lower orders. The term “hhash'sha'sh” which signifies “a smoker, or an eater, of hemp,” is an appellation of obloquy: noisy and riotous people are often called “hhash'sha'shee'n,” which is the plural of that appellation, and the origin of our word “assassin;” a name first applied to Arab warriors in Syria, in the time of the Crusades, who made use of intoxicating and soporific drugs in order to render their enemies insensible.

The use of opium and other drugs to induce intoxication is not so common in Egypt as in many other countries of the East: the number of the Egyptians addicted to this vice is certainly not nearly so great, in proportion to the whole population, as is the relative number of persons in our own country who indulge in habitual drunkenness. Opium is called, in Arabic, afiyoo'n; and the opium-eater afiyoo'nee. This latter appellation is a term of less obloquy than that of “hhash'sha'sh;” because there are many persons of the middle and higher classes to whom it is applicable. In its crude state, opium is generally taken, by those who have not long been addicted to its use, in the dose of three or four grains, for the purpose above mentioned; but the afiyoo'nee increases the dose by degrees. The Egyptians make several conserves composed of hellebore, hemp, and opium, and several aromatic drugs, which are more commonly taken than the simple opium. A conserve of this nature is called maagoo'n; and the person who makes or sells it, maagoon' gee. The most common kind is called bursh. There is one kind which, it is said, makes the person who takes it manifest his pleasure by singing; another which will make him chatter; a third which excites to dance; a fourth which particularly affects the vision, in a pleasurable manner; a fifth which is simply of a sedative nature. These are sold at the mahh'shesh'eh.

The fermented and intoxicating liquor called boo'zeh, which is drunk by many of the boatmen of the Nile, and by other persons of the lower orders in Egypt, has been mentioned in a former chapter. I have seen, in tombs at Thebes, many large jars, containing' the dregs of beer of this kind, prepared from barley.

CHAPTER III. THE BATH.

BATHING is one of the greatest luxuries enjoyed by the people of Egypt. The inhabitants of the villages of this country, and those persons who cannot afford the trifling expense incurred in the public bath, often bathe in the Nile. Girls and young women are not unfrequently seen thus indulging themselves in the warm weather, and generally without any covering; but mostly in unfrequented places. The rich, I have before mentioned, have baths in their own houses; but men who have this convenience often go to the public bath; and so also do the ladies, who, on many occasions, are invited to accompany thither their female friends.

There are, in Cairo, between sixty and seventy Hhamma'ms, or baths, to which the public have access for a small expense. Some of these are for men only; others, only for women and young children; and some, for both sexes; for men during the forenoon, and in the afternoon for females. When the bath is appropriated to women, a napkin, or any piece of linen or drapery, is hung over the entrance, to warn the men from entering: all the male servants having gone out a short time before; and females having taken their places. The front of the. bath is generally ornamented in a manner similar to that in which most of the mosques are decorated, but usually more fanciful, in red and white, and sometimes other colours, particularly over and about the entrance. The building consists of several apartments, all of which are paved with marble, chiefly white, with an inter-mixture, in some parts, of black marble, and small pieces of fine red tile, in the same manner as the doorcka”ah of a room in a private house, of which a sketch has been inserted in the introduction to this work. The inner apartments are covered with domes, which have a number of small, round, glazed apertures, for the admission of light. The materials chiefly employed in the construction of the walls and domes are bricks and plaster, which, after having been exposed to the steam that is produced in the bath when it is in use, are liable to crack and fall if the heat be intermitted even for a few days. A sa'ckiyeh (or water-wheel), turned by a cow or bull, is constructed upon a level with the higher parts of the building, to raise water from a well or tank, for the supply of the boiler, &c.

The bather, on entering, if he have a watch, and a purse containing more than a trifling sum of money, gives these in charge to the m'al'lim (or keeper of the bath), who locks them in a chest: his pipe, and sword (if he have one), he commits to a servant of the bath, who takes off his shoes, and supplies him with a pair of wooden clogs; the pavement being wet. The first apartment is called the mes'lukh. It generally has two, three, or four leewa'ns, similar to mus'tub'ahs, or considerably wider, cased with marble, and a fountain (called fisckee'yeh) of cold water, which rises from an octagonal basement constructed of stone cased with marble, &c., similar to that in the inner apartment represented in a section accompanying this description, in the, centre. One of the leewa'ns, being designed for the accommodation of persons of the higher and middle orders, is furnished with mattresses and cushions: upon the other, or others, which are for the lower orders, there is usually no furniture excepting mats. In many baths there is also, in the mes'lukh, a small kind of stall, for coffee.