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a cloth of black silk. And there is a door all of silver, of the height of a man, by which you enter into the said tower. On each side of the door there is a jar, which they say is full of balsam, and which is shown on the day of Pentecost. And they say that that balsam is part of the treasures of the Sultan. On each side of the said tower there is a large ring at the corner. On the 24th of May all. the people begin, before day, to go seven times around the said tower, always touching and kissing each corner. And at about ten or twelve paces distant from the said tower there is another tower, like one of your chapels, with three or four doors. In the centre of the said tower there is a very beautiful well, which is seventy fathoms deep, and the water is brackish. At this well there stand six or eight feet in height." Burton says it is 18 paces in breadth, and 22 in length; but as the Käabah was entirely rebuilt as it now stands in 1627, these measurements afford no test of the accuracy of Varthema's statement.

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1 The Kiswah, or curtain covering the Käabah. Burton says that the material now is a mixture of silk and cotton. It is renewed annually at the time of the Hajj.

2 The door of the present Käabah, according to Burckhardt, is" wholly coated with silver, and has several gilt ornaments; upon its threshold are placed every night various small lighted wax candles, and perfuming pans filled with musk, aloe-wood, etc."

Giovanni Finati (1814) restricts the opening of the Käabah to once a year. Burckhardt says it is opened two or three times a year. Burton, that "the house may now be entered ten or twelve times a year gratis ; and by pilgrims, as often as they can collect, amongst parties, a sum sufficient to tempt the guardians' cupidity."

Varthema was probably thinking of Good Friday and the Easter which follows, and connecting in his mind the Muhammedan sacrifices at Arafât with the solemnities of those Christian seasons, when he spoke of "the day of Pentecost."

3" These are the brazen rings which serve to fasten the lower edge of the Kiswah, or covering."-BURTON.

4 "Then commenced the ceremony of Tawâf, or circumambulation.... I repeated, after my Mutawwif, or cicerone : 'In the name of Allah, and Allah is omnipotent! I purpose to circuit seven circuits unto Almighty Allah glorified and exalted.”—Burton.

5 "A true description of the water of the well Zemzem." BURTON. The

men appointed to draw water for the people. And when the said people have gone seven times around the first tower, they go to this well, and place themselves with their backs towards the brink of the well, saying: "Bizmilei erachman erachin stoforla aladin," which means, In the name of God, God pardon me my sins.1 And those who draw the water throw three bucketsful over each person, from the crown of their heads to their feet, and all bathe, even though their dress be made of silk. And they say in this wise, that all their sins remain there after this washing. And they say that the first tower which they walked round was the first house that Abraham built. And all having thus bathed, they go by way of the valley to the said mountain of which we have before spoken, and remain there two days and one night. And when they are all at the foot of the said mountain, they make the sacrifice there.4

building which encloses the well (Varthema's "tower") was erected, according to Burckhardt, A.D. 1072. Burton estimates the distance between the well and the Käabah at forty cubits.

1 B'ism-Illáh er-rahmân er-rahim. Istaghfir lana. In the name of God, the Pitiful, the Compassionate. Pardon us.

"Many hadjis, not content with drinking it, strip themselves in the room, and have buckets of it thrown over them, by which they believe that the heart is purified as well as the body."—Burckhardt, Idem. vol. ii. p. 264.

3 "Mohammedan mythology affirms that the Käabah was constructed in heaven two thousand years before the creation of this world, and that it was then adored by the angels, whom the Almighty ordered to perform the Tawaf, or walk round it. Adam, who was the first true believer, erected the Käabah on earth on its present site, which is directly below the spot it occupied in heaven... The sons of Adam repaired the Käabah, and after the deluge Ibrahim [Abraham], when he abandoned the idolatry of his forefathers, was ordered by the Almighty to reconstruct it. His son Ismayl [Ishmael], who from his infancy resided with his mother Hadjer (Hagar) near the site of Meccah, assisted his father, who had come from Syria to obey the commands of Allah."-BURCKHARDT, Idem. p. 297.

* Burton justly observes that there is great confusion in this part of Varthema's narrative, and gives the following as the consecutive order of the ceremonies: "On the 9th of Zu'l Hijjah, the pilgrims leave Mount Arafat. On the 12th, many hasten into Meccah, and enter the Käabah.

THE CHAPTER CONCERNING THE MANNER OF THE SACRIFICES IN MECCA.

Every generous mind is the most readily delighted and incited to great deeds by novel events. Wherefore, in order to satisfy many of this disposition, I will add concisely the custom which is observed in their sacrifices. Every man and woman kills at least two or three, and some four and some six sheep; so that I really believe that on the first day more than 30,000 sheep are killed by cutting their throats, facing the east. Each person gives them to the poor for the love of God,1 for there were about 30,000 poor people there, who made a very large hole in the earth, and then put in it camels' dung, and thus they made a little fire, and warmed the flesh a little, and then ate it. And truly, it is my opinion, that these poor men came more on account of their hunger than for the sake of the pardon; and as a proof that it was so, we had a great number of cucumbers, which came from Arabia Felix, and we ate them all but the rind, which we afterwards threw away outside our tent. And about forty or fifty of the said poor people stood before our tent, and made a great scrambling among themselves, in order to pick up the said rinds, which were full of sand. By this it appeared to us

They then return to the valley of Muna, where their tents are pitched, and sacrifice the victims. On the 10th, the tents are struck, and the pilgrims re-enter Meccah."

1 "Others stood before their tents, and, directing the victim's face towards the Käabah, cut its throat, ejaculating: 'Bismillah! Allahu Akbar!""

"It is considered a meritorious act to give away the victim without eating any portion of its flesh.”—BURTON.

2 This extempore style of cooking is common among the Bedawîn. Niebuhr describes it with his usual accuracy: 66 Quelquefois ils [les Arabes du désert] mettent une boule de pâte sur des charbons de bois allumés, ou sur du fumier de chameau séché; ils la couvrent soigneusement de ce feu, afin qu'elle en soit pénétrée; ensuite ils en ôtent les cendres, et la mangent toute chaude."— Voyage en Arabie, vol. iii. p. 46.

that they came rather to satisfy their hunger than to wash away their sins.1 On the second day a cadi of their faith, like one of our preachers, ascended to the top of the said mountain and made a discourse to all the people, which discourse lasted for about an hour;2 and he made in their language a sort of lamentation, and besought the people that they should weep for their sins. And he said to them in a loud voice: "Oh, Abraham, well-wished for and wellloved of God!" And then he said: "Oh, Isaac, chosen of God, friend of God, beseech God for the people of Naby!" and then were heard very great lamentations. And when he had finished his sermon, the whole caravan rushed back into Mecca with the greatest haste, for at the distance of six miles there were more than 20,000 Arabs, who wanted to rob the caravan, and we arrived for the defence of

1 Burton remarks that "this well describes the wretched state of the poor Takruri and other Africans, but it attributes to them an unworthy motive." He gives a still more revolting instance of their abject poverty, which occurred on the road between El-Medînah and Meccah: "After the long and sultry afternoon, beasts of burden began to sink in considerable numbers. The fresh carcases of asses, ponies, and camels, dotted the wayside: those that had been allowed to die were abandoned to the foul carrion-birds, the Rakham (vulture), and the yellow Ukab; and those whose throat had been properly cut, were surrounded by troops of Takruri pilgrims. These half-starved wretches cut steaks from the choice portions, and slung them over their shoulders till an opportunity of cooking might arrive. I never saw men more destitute."-Ibid. vol. iii. pp. 7,8.

2 The Khutbat el- Wakfah, or Sermon of the Standing, usually preached by the Kadhi of Meccah from Arafât, the orator taking his stand on the stone platform near the top. In Burckhardt and Burton's time the sermon lasted nearly three hours, i.e. from three p.m. till towards sun

set.

Joseph Pitts, the first Englishman who visited Meccah, describes a similar scene during the Hajj of 1680:-" It was a sight, indeed, able to pierce one's heart, to behold so many thousands in their garments of humility and mortification [clad in the white ihrûm], with their naked heads, and cheeks watered with tears; and to hear their grievous sighs and sobs, begging earnestly for the forgiveness of their sins."-A Faithful Account of the Religion and Manners of the Mahometans, etc.

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Mecca. But when we had gone half way, that is, between Mecca and the mountain where the sacrifice is made, we found a certain little wall four fathoms high, and at the foot of the said wall a very great quantity of small stones, which stones are thrown there by all the people when they pass that way, for the objects which you shall hear. They say that when God commanded Abraham that he should go and sacrifice his son, he went before him, and he said to his son that he must follow after him, because it was necessary to fulfil the commandments of God. The son answered him: "I am well pleased to fulfil the commandment of God." And when Isaac2 arrived at the above-mentioned little wall, they say that the devil appeared to him in the form of one of his friends and said to him: "My friend Isaac, where art thou going?" He answered him: “I am going to my father, who is waiting for me in such a place.” The devil answered him: "Do not go, my son, for thy father will sacrifice thee to God and will put thee to death." And Isaac replied: "Let it be so; if such be the will of God, so let it be." The devil then disappeared, and a little farther on he appeared in the form of another dear friend of Isaac, and said to him the above-mentioned words. They relate that Isaac answered with anger: "Let it be so ;" and

On this particular occasion the return of the pilgrims may have been hastened by fear of an apprehended attack from the Bedawîn; but the same rush, often attended with fatal results, occurs at every Hajj, and has given to that part of the ceremonies the name of Ed-Defäa min Arafût, the Hurry from Arafat. "Every man," says Burton, "urged his beast with might and main: it was sunset; the plain bristled with tent-pegs, litters were crushed, pedestrians trampled, and camels overthrown; single combats with sticks and other weapons took place ;here a woman, there a child, and there a camel were lost; briefly, it was a state of chaotic confusion." The cause of this precipitation is that, in accordance with the example of Muhammed, the Salât el-'Esha, or Prayer shortly after Sunset, should be said at the mosque of Muzdalifah about three hours distant.

* Here Varthema is in error. According to Muhammedan theology it was Ishmael and not Isaac who was ordered to be sacrificed.

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