STATE OF THE EXCAVATIONS ON MY RETURN TO MOSUL.--DISCOVERIES AT
KOUYUNJIK.--TUNNELS IN THE MOUND.--BAS-RELIEFS REPRESENTING ASSYRIAN
CONQUESTS.--A WELL.--SIEGE OF A CITY.--NATURE OF SCULPTURES AT
KOUYUNJIK.--ARRANGEMENTS FOR RENEWAL OF EXCAVATIONS.--DESCRIPTION OF
MOUND.--KIAMIL PASHA.--VISIT TO SHEIK ADI.--YEZIDI CEREMONIES.--SHEIKH
JINDI.--YEZIDI MEETING.--DRESS OF THE WOMEN.--BAVIAN.--DOCTRINES OF
THE YEZIDI--JERRAIYAH.--RETURN TO MOSUL.
On the morning after our arrival in Mosul, I rode at sunrise to Kouyunjik.
The reader may remember that, on my return to Europe in 1847, Mr. Ross had
continued the researches in that mound, and had uncovered several
interesting bas-reliefs, which I have already described from his own
account of his discoveries.[18] That gentleman had, to my great regret,
left Mosul. Since his departure the excavations had been placed under the
charge of Mr. Rassam, the English vice-consul, who was directed by the
Trustees of the British Museum to employ a small number of men, rather to
retain possession of the spot, and to prevent interference on the part of
others, than to carry on extensive operations. Toma Shishman, or "the
Fat," was still the overseer of the workmen, and accompanied me on my
first visit to the ruins.
But little change had taken place in the great mound since I had last seen
it. It was yellow and bare, as it always is at this time of the year.
Heaps of earth marked the site of former excavations, the chambers first
discovered having been again completely buried with rubbish. Of the
sculptured walls laid bare two years before no traces now remained. The
trenches dug under Mr. Ross's directions, in the southern corner, opposite
the town of Mosul, were still open. It was evident at a glance that the
chambers he had entered did not, as he had been led to suppose, belong to
a second palace. They formed part of the same great edifice once standing
on this angle of the mound, and already partly explored. The style of the
bas-reliefs, and of the inscriptions, marked them at once as of the same
epoch as those previously discovered.
The walls of two chambers had been laid bare. In one, the lower part of a
long series of sculptures was still partly preserved, but the upper had
been completely destroyed, the very alabaster itself having disappeared.
The bas-reliefs recorded the subjection by the Assyrian king of a nation
inhabiting the banks of a river. The captive women are distinguished by
long embroidered robes fringed with tassels, and the castles have a
peculiar wedge-shaped ornament on the walls. The towns probably stood in
the midst of marshes, as they appear to be surrounded by canes or reeds,
as well as by groves of palm trees. The Assyrians having captured the
strong places by escalade, carried the inhabitants into captivity, and
drove away cattle, camels, and carts drawn by oxen. Some of the men bear
large baskets of osier work, and the women vases or cauldrons. The king,
standing in his chariot, attended by his warriors, and preceded by an
eunuch registering the number of prisoners and the amount of the spoil,
receives the conquered chiefs. Not a vestige of inscription remains to
record the name of the vanquished people; but we may conjecture, from the
river and the palm trees, that they inhabited some district in southern
Mesopotamia. In the southern wall of this chamber was a doorway formed by
plain, upright slabs of a close-grained magnesian limestone, almost as
hard as flint; between them were two small, crouching lions, in the usual
alabaster. This entrance led into a further room, of which only a small
part had been explored. The walls were panelled with unsculptured slabs of
the same compact limestone.
The sculptured remains hitherto discovered in the mound of Kouyunjik had
been reached by digging down to them from the surface, and then removing
the rubbish. After the departure of Mr. Ross, the accumulation of earth
above the ruins, had become so considerable, frequently exceeding thirty
feet, that the workmen, to avoid the labor of clearing it away, began to
tunnel along the walls, sinking shafts at intervals to admit light and
air. These long galleries, dimly lighted, lined with the remains of
ancient art, broken urns projecting from the crumbling sides, and the wild
Arab and hardy Nestorian wandering through their intricacies, or working
in their dark recesses, were singularly picturesque.
Toma Shishman had removed the workmen from the southern corner of the
mound, where the sculptures were much injured, and had opened tunnels in a
part of the building previously explored, commencing where I had left off
on my departure from Mosul. I descended into the vaulted passages by an
inclined way, through which the workmen issued from beneath to throw away
the rubbish dug out from the ruins. At the bottom I found myself before a
wall forming the southern side of the great Hall, discovered, though only
partly explored, during my former researches. The sculptures, faintly seen
through the gloom, were still well enough preserved to give a complete
history of the subject represented, although, with the rest of the
bas-reliefs of Kouyunjik, the fire had nearly turned them to lime, and had
cracked them into a thousand pieces. The faces of the slabs had been
entirely covered with figures, varying from three inches to one foot in
height, carefully finished, and designed with great spirit.
In this series of bas-reliefs the history of an Assyrian conquest was more
fully portrayed than in any other yet discovered, from the going out of
the monarch to battle, to his triumphal return after a complete victory.
The first part of the subject has already been described in my former
work.[19] The king, accompanied by his chariots and horsemen, and leaving
his capital in the Assyrian plains, passed through a mountainous and
wooded district.[20] He does not appear to have been delayed by the siege
of many towns or castles, but to have carried the war at once into the
high country. His troops, cavalry and infantry, are represented in close
combat with their enemies, pursuing them over hills and through valleys,
beside streams, and in the midst of vineyards. The Assyrian horsemen are
armed with the spear and the bow, using both weapons whilst at full speed:
their opponents seem to be all archers. The vanquished turn to ask for
quarter; or, wounded, fall under the feet of the advancing horses, raising
their hands imploringly to ward off the impending deathblow. The triumph
follows. The king standing in his chariot, beneath the royal parasol,
followed by long lines of dismounted warriors leading richly caparisoned
horses, and by foot soldiers variously armed and accoutred, is receiving
the captives and spoil taken from the conquered people. First approach the
victorious warriors, throwing the heads of the slain into heaps before the
registering officers. They are followed by others leading, and urging
onwards with staves, the prisoners--men chained together, or bound singly
in fetters, and women, some on foot, carrying their children on their
shoulders, and leading them by the hand, others riding on mules. The
procession is finished by asses, mules, and flocks of sheep. As on the
bas-reliefs uncovered by Mr. Ross, there is unfortunately no inscription
by which the name of the conquered people can be determined. The
mountains, valleys, and streams, the vines and dwarf oaks, probably
indicate a region north of Assyria, in Armenia, Media, or Kurdistan,
countries we know to have been invaded by the royal builder of the palace.
The dress of the men consists of a short tunic; that of the women, of a
shirt falling to the ankles, and cut low in front of the neck.
In the side of the hall sculptured with these bas-reliefs was a wide
portal, formed by a pair of gigantic human-headed bulls. They had
suffered, like all those previously discovered, from the fire, and the
upper part, the wings and human head, had been completely destroyed. The
lower half had, however, escaped, and the inscriptions were consequently
nearly entire. Joined to the forepart of the bulls were four small
figures, two on each side, and one above the other. They had long hair,
falling in large and massive curls on their shoulders, wore short tunics
descending to the knee, and held a pole topped by a kind of cone in one
hand, raising the other as in act of adoration. At right angles with the
slabs bearing these sculptures were colossal figures carrying the
oft-repeated cone and basket.
In this entrance a well, cut through the large pavement slab between the
bulls, was afterwards discovered. It contained broken pottery, not one
vase having been taken out whole, apparently human remains, and _some
fragments of calcined sculptured alabaster_, evidently detached from the
bas-reliefs on the walls. It is doubtful whether this well was sunk after
the Assyrian ruins had been buried, or whether it had been from the
earliest times a place of deposit for the dead.
A small doorway to the right of the portal formed by the winged bulls, led
into a further chamber, in which an entrance had been found into a third
room, whose walls had been completely uncovered. Its dimensions were 26
feet by 23, and it had but this one outlet, flanked on either side by two
colossal figures, whose lower extremities alone remained, the upper part
of the slabs having been destroyed: one appeared to have been
eagle-headed, with the body of a man, and the other a monster, with human
head and the feet of a lion. The bas-reliefs round the chamber represented
the siege of a castle standing on an artificial mound, surrounded at its
base by houses. The besieged defended themselves on the walls and turrets
with bows, spears, and stones. The Assyrian army was composed of spearmen,
slingers, and bowmen, some of whom had already gained the housetops. Male
and female captives had been taken and heads cut off; the victorious
warriors according to custom, and probably to claim a reward,[21] bringing
them to the registrars. In the back ground were wooded mountains; vines
and other trees formed a distinct band in the middle of the slabs; and a
river ran at the foot of the mound. The dress of the male prisoners
consisted either of a long robe falling to the ankles, or of a tunic
reaching to the knees, over which was thrown an outer garment, apparently
made of the skins of animals, and they wore greaves laced up in front. The
women were clothed in a robe descending to the feet, with an outer fringed
garment thrown over the shoulders; a kind of hood or veil covered the back
of the head, and fell over the neck. Above the castle was the fragment of
an inscription in two lines, containing the name of the city, of which
unfortunately the first character is wanting. It reads: "_The city of_ ...
alammo I attacked and captured; I carried away its spoil." No name,
however, corresponding with it has yet been found in the royal annals, and
we can only infer, from the nature of the country represented, that the
place was in a mountainous district to the north of Assyria.
This doorway to a third outlet opening to the west, led into a narrow
passage, one side of which had alone been excavated; on it was represented
the siege of a walled city, divided into two parts by a river. One half of
the place had been captured by the Assyrians, who had gained possession
of the towers and battlements, but that on the opposite bank of the stream
was still defended by slingers and bowmen. Against its walls had been
thrown banks or mounds, built of stones, bricks, and branches of
trees.[22] The battering-rams, covered with skins or hides looped
together, had been rolled up these inclined ways, and had already made a
breach in the fortifications. Archers and spearmen were hurrying to the
assault, whilst others were driving off the captives, and carrying away
the idols of the enemy. The dress of the male prisoners consisted of a
plain under-shirt, an upper garment falling below the knees, divided in
the front and buttoned at the neck, and laced greaves. Their hair and
beards were shorter and less elaborately curled than those of the
Assyrians. The women were distinguished by high rounded turbans,
ornamented with plaits or folds. A veil fell from the back of this
head-dress over the shoulders.[23] No inscription remained to record the
name of the vanquished nation.
Such were the discoveries that had been made during my absence. There
could be no doubt whatever that all the chambers hitherto excavated
belonged to one great edifice, built by one and the same king. I have
already shown how the bas-reliefs of Kouyunjik differed from those of the
older palaces of Nimroud, but closely resembled those of Khorsabad in the
general treatment, in the costumes of the Assyrian warriors, as well as of
the nations with whom they warred, and in the character of the ornaments,
inscriptions, and details. Those newly uncovered were, in all these
respects, like the bas-reliefs found before my departure, and upon which I
had ventured to form an opinion as to the respective antiquity and origin
of the various ruins hitherto explored in Assyria.
At Kouyunjik there were probably few bas-reliefs, particularly those
containing representations of castles and cities, that were not
accompanied by a short epigraph or label, giving the name of the conquered
king and country, and even the names of the principal prisoners,
especially if royal personages. Unfortunately these inscriptions having
been usually placed on the upper part of the slabs, which has very rarely
escaped destruction, but few of them remain. These remarks should be borne
in mind to enable the reader to understand the descriptions of the
excavated chambers at Kouyunjik, which will be given in the following
pages in the order that they were discovered.
I lost no time in making arrangements for continuing the excavations with
as much activity as the funds granted to the Trustees of the British
Museum would permit. Toma Shishman was placed over Kouyunjik; Mansour,
Behnan (the marble cutter), and Hannah (the carpenter), again entered my
service. Ali Rahal, a sheikh of the Jebours, was appointed "sheikh of the
mound," and duly invested with the customary robe of honor on the
occasion.
The accumulation of soil above the ruins was so great, that I determined
to continue the tunnelling, removing only as much earth as was necessary
to show the sculptured walls. But to facilitate the labor of the workmen,
and to avoid the necessity of their leaving the tunnels to empty their
baskets, I made a number of rude triangles and wooden pulleys, by which
the excavated rubbish could be raised by ropes through the shafts, sunk
at intervals for this purpose, as well as to admit light and air. One or
two passages then sufficed for the workmen to descend into the
subterranean galleries.
Many of the Nestorians formerly in my service as diggers, having also
heard of my intended return, had left their mountains, and had joined me a
day or two after my arrival. There were Jebours enough in the immediate
neighbourhood of the town to make up four or five gangs of excavators, and
I placed parties at once in the galleries already opened, in different
parts of Kouyunjik not previously explored, and at a high mound in the
north-west walls, forming one side of the great inclosure opposite
Mosul--a ruin which I had only partially examined during my previous
visit.[24]
The shape of this great ruin is very irregular; nearly square at the S. W.
corner, it narrows almost to a point at the N. E. The palace occupies the
southern angle. At the opposite, or northern, extremity are the remains of
the village of Kouyunjik, from which the mound takes its name.[25] From
this spot a steep road leads to the plain, forming the only access to the
summit of the mound for loaded animals or carts. There are ravines on all
sides of Kouyunjik, except that facing the Tigris. If not entirely worn by
the winter rains, they have, undoubtedly, been deepened and increased by
them. They are strewed with fragments of pottery, bricks, and sometimes
stone and burnt alabaster, whilst the falling earth frequently discloses
in their sides vast masses of solid brick masonry, which fall in when
undermined by the rains. Through these ravines are carried the steep and
narrow pathways leading to the top of the mound.
The Khauser winds round the eastern base of Kouyunjik, and leaving it near
the angle occupied by the ruins of the palace, runs in a direct line to
the Tigris. Although a small and sluggish stream, it has worn for itself a
deep bed, and is only fordable near the mound immediately below the
southern corner, where the direct road from Mosul crosses it, and at the
northern extremity where a flour mill is turned by its waters. After rain
it becomes an impetuous torrent, overflowing its banks, and carrying all
before it. It then rises very suddenly, and as suddenly subsides. The
Tigris now flows about half a mile from the mound, but once undoubtedly
washed its base. Between them is a rich alluvium deposited by the river
during its gradual retreat; it is always under cultivation, and is divided
into corn fields, and melon and cucumber beds.[26] In this plain stands
the small modern village of Kouyunjik, removed for convenience from its
ancient site on the summit of the mound.
In Mosul I had to call upon the governor, and renew my acquaintance with
the principal inhabitants, whose good will was in some way necessary to
the pleasant, if not successful, prosecution of my labors. Kiamil Pasha
had been lately named to the pashalic. He was the sixth or seventh pasha
who had been appointed since I left, for it is one of the banes of Turkish
administration that, as soon as an officer becomes acquainted with the
country he is sent to govern, and obtains any influence over its
inhabitants, he is recalled to make room for a new ruler. Kiamil had been
ambassador at Berlin, and had visited several European courts. His manners
were eminently courteous and polished; his intelligence, and what is of
far more importance in a Turkish governor, his integrity, were
acknowledged. His principal defects were great inactivity and indolence,
and an unfortunate irritability of temper, leading him to do foolish and
mischievous things, of which he generally soon found cause to repent.
Soon after my arrival, my old friends Sheikh Abd-ur-rahman, of the Abou
Salman, and Abd-rubbou, chief of the Jebours, rode into the town to see
me; where I had scarcely settled myself, when Cawal Yusuf came in from
Baadri, with a party of Yezidi Cawals, to invite me, on the part of
Hussein Bey and Sheikh Nasr, to the annual festival at Sheikh Adi. The
invitation was too earnest to be refused.
I was accompanied in this visit by my own party, with the addition of Mr.
Rassam, the vice-consul, and his dragoman. We rode the first day to
Baadri, and were met on the road by Hussein Bey and a large company of
Yezidi horsemen. Sheikh Nasr had already gone to the tomb, to make ready
for the ceremonies. The young chief entertained us for the night, and on
the following morning, an hour after sunrise, we left the village for
Sheikh Adi. At some distance from the sacred valley we were met by Sheikh
Nasr, Pir Sino, the Cawals, the priests, and the chiefs. They conducted us
to the same building in the sacred grove that I had occupied on my former
visit. The Cawals assembled around us and welcomed our coming on their
tambourines and flutes; and soon about us was formed one of those
singularly beautiful and picturesque groups which I have attempted to
describe in my previous account of the Yezidi festival.[27]
The Yezidis had assembled in less numbers this year than when I had last
met them in the valley. Only a few of the best armed of the people of
Sinjar had ventured to face the dangers of the road now occupied by the
Bedouins. Abde Agha and his adherents were fully occupied in defending
their villages against the Arab marauders, who, although repulsed after we
quitted Semil, were still hanging about the district, bent upon revenge.
The Kochers, and the tribes of Dereboun, were kept away by the same fears.
The inhabitants of Kherzan and Redwan were harassed by the conscription.
Even the people of Baasheikhah and Baazani had been so much vexed by a
recent visit from the Pasha that they had no heart for festivities. His
excellency not fostering feelings of the most friendly nature towards
Namik Pasha, the new commander-in-chief of Arabia, who was passing through
Mosul on his way to the head-quarters of the army at Baghdad, and
unwilling to entertain him, was suddenly taken ill and retired for the
benefit of his health to Baasheikhah. On the morning after his arrival he
complained that the asses by their braying during the night had allowed
him no rest; and the asses were accordingly peremptorily banished from the
village. The dawn of the next day was announced, to the great discomfort
of his Excellency, who had no interest in the matter, by the cocks; and
the irregular troops who formed his body-guard were immediately incited to
a general slaughter of the race. The third night his sleep was disturbed
by the crying of the children, who, with their mothers, were at once
locked up, for the rest of his sojourn, in the cellars. On the fourth he
was awoke at daybreak by the chirping of sparrows, and every gun in the
village was ordered to be brought out to wage a war of extermination
against them. But on the fifth morning his rest was sorely broken by the
flies, and the enraged Pasha insisted upon their instant destruction. The
Kiayah, who, as chief of the village, had the task of carrying out the
Governor's orders, now threw himself at his Excellency's feet, exclaiming,
"Your Highness has seen that all the animals here, praise be to God, obey
our Lord the Sultan; the infidel flies alone are rebellious to his
authority. I am a man of low degree and small power, and can do nothing
against them; it now behoves a great Vizir like your Highness to enforce
the commands of our Lord and Master." The Pasha, who relished a joke,
forgave the flies, but left the village.
I have already so fully described the general nature of the annual
festival at Sheikh Adi, and the appearance of the valley on that occasion,
that I shall confine myself to an account of such ceremonies as I was now
permitted to witness for the first time.
About an hour after sunset, Cawal Yusuf summoned Hormuzd and myself, who
were alone allowed to be present, to the inner yard, or sanctuary, of the
Temple. We were placed in a room from the windows of which we could see
all that took place in the court. The Cawals, Sheikhs, Fakirs, and
principal chiefs were already assembled. In the centre of the court was an
iron lamp, with four burners--a simple dish with four lips for the wicks,
supported on a sharp iron rod driven into the ground. Near it stood a
Fakir, holding in one hand a lighted torch, and in the other a large
vessel of oil, from which he, from time to time, replenished the lamp,
loudly invoking Sheikh Adi. The Cawals stood against the wall on one side
of the court, and commenced a slow chant, some playing on the flute,
others on the tambourine, and accompanying the measure with their voices.
The Sheikhs and chiefs now formed a procession, walking two by two. At
their head was Sheikh Jindi. He wore a tall shaggy black cap, the hair of
which hung far over the upper part of his face. A long robe, striped with
horizontal stripes of black and dark red, fell to his feet. A countenance
more severe, and yet more imposing, than that of Sheikh Jindi could not
well be pictured by the most fanciful imagination. A beard, black as jet,
waved low on his breast; his dark piercing eyes glittered through ragged
eyebrows, like burning coals through the bars of a grate. The color of his
face was of the deepest brown, his teeth white as snow, and his features,
though stern beyond measure, singularly noble and well formed. It was a
byword with us that Sheikh Jindi had never been seen to smile. To look at
him was to feel that a laugh could not be born in him. As he moved, with a
slow and solemn step, the flickering lamp deepening the shadows of his
solemn and rugged countenance, it would have been impossible to conceive a
being more eminently fitted to take the lead in ceremonies consecrated to
the evil one. He is the _Peesh-namaz_, "the leader of prayer," to the
Yezidi sect. Behind him were two venerable sheikhs. They were followed by
Hussein Bey and Sheikh Nasr, and the other chiefs and Sheikhs came after.
Their long robes were all of the purest white. As they walked slowly
round, sometimes stopping, then resuming their measured step, they chanted
prayers in glory and honor of the Deity. The Cawals accompanied the chant
with their flutes, beating at intervals the tambourines. Round the
burning lamp, and within the circle formed by the procession, danced the
Fakirs in their black dresses, with solemn pace timed to the music,
raising and swinging to and fro their arms after the fashion of Eastern
dancers, and placing themselves in attitudes not less decorous than
elegant. To hymns in praise of the Deity succeeded others in honor of
Melek Isa and Sheikh Adi. The chants passed into quicker strains, the
tambourines were beaten more frequently, the Fakirs became more active in
their motions, and the women made the loud _tahlel_, the ceremonies ending
with that extraordinary scene of noise and excitement that I have
attempted to describe in relating my first visit. When the prayers were
ended, those who marched in procession kissed, as they passed by, the
right side of the doorway leading into the temple, where a serpent is
figured on the wall; but not, as I was assured, the image itself, which
has no typical or other meaning, according to Sheikh Nasr and Cawal Yusuf.
Hussein Bey then placing himself on the step at this entrance, received
the homage of the Sheikhs and elders, each touching the hand of the young
chief with his own, and raising it to his lips. All present, afterwards,
gave one another the kiss of peace.
The ceremonies having thus been brought to a close, Hussein Bey and Sheikh
Nasr came to me, and led me into the inner court. Carpets had been spread
at the doorway of the temple for myself and the two chiefs; the Sheikhs,
Cawals, and principal people of the sect, seated themselves, or rather
crouched, against the walls. By the light of a lamp, dimly breaking the
gloom within the temple, I could see Sheikh Jindi unrobing. During the
prayers, priests were stationed at the doorway, and none were allowed to
enter except a few women and girls: the wives and daughters of sheikhs and
cawals had free access to the building, and appeared to join in the
ceremonies. The Vice-Consul and Khodja Toma were now admitted, and took
their places with us at the upper end of the court. Cawal Yusuf was then
called upon to give a full account of the result of his mission to
Constantinople, which he did with the same detail, and almost in the same
words, that he had used so frequently during our journey. After he had
concluded, I endeavored to urge upon them to avail themselves of the new
privileges and opportunities for advancement and cultivation thus afforded
them. It was finally agreed that letters of thanks, sealed by all the
chiefs of the Yezidis, should be sent to the Grand Vizir, Reshid Pasha,
for the reception given to the Yezidi deputation, and to Sir Stratford
Canning for his generous intercession in their behalf.
Soon after sunrise on the following morning the Sheikhs and Cawals offered
up a short prayer in the court of the temple, but without any of the
ceremonies of the previous evening. Some prayed in the sanctuary,
frequently kissing the threshold and holy places within the building. When
they had ended, they took the green cloth covering from the tomb of Sheikh
Adi, and, followed by the Cawals playing on their tambourines and flutes,
walked with it round the outer court. The people flocked about them, and
reverently carried the corner of the drapery to their lips, making
afterwards a small offering of money. After the cover had again been
thrown over the tomb, the chiefs and priests seated themselves round the
inner court. The Fakirs and Sheikhs especially devoted to the service of
the sanctuary, who are called Kotcheks, now issued from the kitchens of
the temple bearing large platters of smoking _harisa_[28], which they
placed on the ground. The company collected in hungry groups round the
messes, and whilst they were eating, the _Kotcheks_ standing by called
upon them continually in a loud voice to partake of the hospitality of
Sheikh Adi. After the empty plates had been removed, a collection was made
towards the support of the temple and tomb of the saint.
These ceremonies occupied us until nearly mid-day; we then sat by the
fountain in the valley, and the men and women danced before us, the boys
climbing into the trees and hanging on the boughs to see the dancers.
Sugar, dates, and raisins were afterwards scrambled amongst the children.
The men soon took part in the amusement. A party of Kurds, bringing grapes
from the mountains to sell at the festival, were maliciously pointed out
as good objects for a joke. The hint was no sooner given than they, their
donkeys, and their grapes, were all rolled into one heap under a mountain
of human beings. The Kurds, who were armed, resisted manfully; and,
ignorant of our intentions, might have revenged themselves on their
assailants, but were soon restored to good humour when they found that
they were to receive ample compensation for their losses and personal
injuries. There was general laughing in the valley, and the Yezidis will
long remember these days of simple merriment and happiness.
In the afternoon the wives and daughters of the chiefs and Cawals called
upon me. The families of the Cawals, evidently descended from the same
stock, are remarkable for the beauty both of the men and women, all of
whom are strikingly like one another. Their complexion is, perhaps, too
dark, but their features are regular and admirably formed. The dresses of
the girls were elegant, and as rich as the material they could obtain
would allow. Some wove flowers into their hair, others encircled their
black turbans with a single wreath of myrtle, a simple and elegant
ornament. They all wore many strings of coins, amber, coral, agate, and
glass beads round their necks, and some had the black skull cap completely
covered with gold and silver money. A kind of apron of grey or yellowish
check, like a Scotch plaid, tied over one shoulder, and falling in front
over the silk dress, is a peculiar feature in the costume of the Yezidi
girls, and of some Christians from the same district. Unmarried women have
the neck bare, the married conceal it with a white kerchief, which passes
under the chin, and is tied on the top of the head. The brightest colors
are worn by the girls, but the matrons are usually clothed in plain white.
The females of the Cawal families always wear black turbans and skull
caps. Cawal Yusuf, to show how the Frank ladies he had seen at
Constantinople were honored by their husbands, made his young wife walk
arm in arm with him before us, to the great amusement of the bystanders.
At night the same religious ceremonies were repeated in the temple, and I
was allowed to sleep in the room overlooking the inner court from whence I
had witnessed them on the previous evening. After all had retired to rest,
the Yezidi Mullah recited, in a low chanting tone, a religious history, or
discourse, consisting of the adventures and teachings of a certain Mirza
Mohammed. He stood before the burning lamp, and around him were at full
length on the stone pavement, and covered by their white cloaks, the
sleeping Sheikhs and Cawals. The scene was singularly picturesque and
impressive.
Next morning I visited, with Mr. Rassam and Mr. Cooper, the
rock-sculptures of Bavian, which are not more than six miles from the
valley of Sheikh Adi in the same range of hills; but I will defer a
description of these remarkable monuments until I come to relate my second
journey to the spot.
Cawal Yusuf had promised, on the occasion of the festival, to show me the
sacred book of the Yezidis. He accordingly brought a volume to me one
morning, accompanied by the secretary of Sheikh Nasr, the only Yezidi, as
far as I am aware, who could read it. It consisted of a few tattered
leaves, of no ancient date, containing a poetical rhapsody on the merits
and attributes of Sheikh Adi, who is identified with the Deity himself, as
the origin and creator of all things, though evidently distinguished from
the Eternal Essence by being represented as seeking the truth, and as
reaching through it the highest place, which he declares to be attainable
by all those who like him shall find the truth.[29]
This was the only written work that I was able to obtain from the Yezidis;
their cawals repeated several prayers and hymns to me, which were purely
laudatory of the Deity, and unobjectionable in substance. Numerous
occupations during the remainder of my residence in Assyria prevented me
prosecuting my inquiries much further on this subject. Cawal Yusuf
informed me that before the great massacre of the sect by the Bey of
Rahwanduz, they possessed many books which were lost during the general
panic, or destroyed by the Kurds. He admitted that this was only a
fragmentary composition, and by no means "the Book" which contained the
theology and religious laws of the Yezidi. He even hinted that the great
work did still exist, and I am by no means certain that there is not a
copy at Baasheikhah or Baazani. The account given by the Cawal seems to be
confirmed by the allusion made in the poem to the "Book of Glad Tidings,"
and "the Book that comforteth the oppressed," which could scarcely have
been inserted for any particular purpose, such as to deceive their
Mohammedan neighbours.
I will here add a few notes concerning the Yezidis and their faith to
those contained in my former work; they were chiefly obtained from Cawal
Yusuf.
They believe that Christ will come to govern the world, but that after him
Sheikh Medi will appear, to whom will be given special jurisdiction over
those speaking the Kurdish language, including the Yezidis (this is
evidently a modern interpolation, derived from Mussulman sources, perhaps
invented to conciliate the Mohammedans).
All who go to heaven must first pass an expiatory period in hell, but no
one will be punished eternally. Mohammedans they exclude from all future
life, but not Christians. (This may have been said to avoid giving
offence.)
The Yezidis will not receive converts to their faith; circumcision is
optional. When a child is born near enough to the tomb of Sheikh Adi, to
be taken there without great inconvenience or danger, it should be
baptized as early as possible after birth. The Cawals in their periodical
visitations carry a bottle or skin filled with the holy water, to baptize
those children who cannot be brought to the shrine.
There are forty days fast in the spring of the year, but they are observed
by few; one person in a family may fast for the rest.[30] They should
abstain during that period as completely as the Chaldaeans from animal
food. Sheikh Nasr fasts rigidly for one month in the year, eating only
once in twenty-four hours and immediately after sunset.
Only one wife is strictly lawful, although the chief takes more; but
concubines are not forbidden. The wife may be turned away for great
misconduct, and the husband, with the consent of the Sheikhs, may marry
again; but the discarded wife never can. Even such divorces ought only to
be given in cases of adultery; for formerly, when the Yezidis administered
their own temporal laws, the wife was punished with death, and the husband
of course was then released.
The religious, as well as the political, head of all Yezidis, wherever
they may reside, is Hussein Bey, who is called the Kalifa, and he holds
this position by inheritance. As he is young and inexperienced, he deputes
his religious duties to Sheikh Nasr. Sheikh Nasr is only the chief of the
Sheikhs of the district of Sheikhan. The Cawals are all of one family, and
are under the orders of Hussein Bey, who sends them periodically to
collect the voluntary contributions of the various tribes. The amount
received by them is divided into two equal parts, one of which goes to the
support of the tomb of Sheikh Adi, and half of the other to Hussein Bey,
the remainder being equally shared by the Cawals. Neither the priests nor
Hussein Bey ever shave their beards. They ought not to marry out of their
own order, and though the men do not observe this rule very strictly, the
women are never given in marriage to one out of the rank of the
priesthood. Hussein Bey ought to take his wife from the family of Chul
Beg.
After death, the body of a Yezidi, like that of a Mohammedan, is washed in
running water, and then buried with the face turned towards the north
star.
I have stated that it is unlawful amongst the Yezidis to know how to read
or write. This, I am assured, is not the case, and their ignorance arises
from want of means and proper teachers. Formerly a Chaldaean deacon used to
instruct the children. Cawal Yusuf mentioned accidentally, that, amongst
the Yezidis, the ancient name for God was Azed, and from it he derived the
name of his sect. Their Kublah, he declared, was the polar star and not
the east.
On my way to Mosul from Sheikh Adi, I visited the ruins of Jerraiyah,
where excavations had been again carried on by one of my agents. No
ancient buildings were discovered. The principal mound is lofty and
conical in shape, and the base is surrounded by smaller mounds, and
irregularities in the soil which denote the remains of houses. I had not
leisure during my residence in Assyria to examine the spot as fully as it
may deserve.
[Illustration: Mound of Nimroud.]