Hajji Baba, in his distress, becomes a saka, or water-carrier.
We reached Meshed in due time, and the prince made his solemn entry
amidst all the noise, parade, and confusion, attendant upon such
ceremonies. I found myself a solitary being, in a strange city,
distant from my friends, and from any creature to whom I might look
for assistance, and without even a pair of razors to comfort me. When
I looked at my present means, I found that they consisted of five
tomauns--which I had managed to secrete from the sack I had stolen in
the caravanserai, and which I put between the lining of my cap--of a
brown woollen coat, of a sheep-skin jacket, a shirt, a pair of trousers,
and a heavy pair of boots. I had lived upon the muleteer as long as he
enjoyed the daily allowance of provisions that he received during the
time when he was attached to the suite of the prince; but now that
he and his mules were discharged, I could not expect that he should
continue to support me. I thought of again taking to my profession; but
who would trust their throats to a man who had the reputation of being
a Turcoman spy? Besides, although I might purchase razors, yet my means
were not large enough to set up a shop, and I was determined not to
become a journeyman.
My friend the muleteer, who knew the ways and means of Meshed,
recommended me strongly to become a _saka_, or water-carrier. You are
young, and strong, said he: you have a good voice, and would entice
people to drink by a harmonious cry. You have besides a great talent
for cant and palaver, and for laughing at ones beard. The number of
pilgrims who come to Meshed to perform their devotions at the tomb of
the Imâm is great, and charity being one of the principal instruments
which they use for the salvation of their souls, they give freely to
those who promise them the best reward. You must sell each draught in
the name and for the sake Imâm Hossein, our favourite saint. Always
offer it gratis; but be sure you get money in hand before you pour it
out; and when your customer has drunk, say, with great emphasis,
May your draught be propitious! May the holy Imâm take you under his
protection! May you never suffer the thirst of the blessed Hossein!
and such like sort of speeches, which you must chant out so loud that
everybody may hear you. In short, to devotees who come some hundreds of
parasangs to say their prayers, you may say anything and everything, and
you will be sure to be believed. I myself have been a saka at Meshed,
and know the trade. It has enabled me to buy a string of mules, and to
be the man you see.
I followed my friends advice. I forthwith laid out my money in buying a
leather sack, with a brass cock, which I slung round my body, and also a
bright drinking cup. After having filled my sack with water, and let it
soak for some time, in order to do away the bad smell of the leather, I
sallied forth, and proceeded to the tomb, where I immediately began
my operations. The cry I adopted was Water, water! in the name of the
Imâm, water. This I chanted with all the force and swell of my lungs,
and having practised under the tuition of the muleteer for two days
before, I was assured that I acquitted myself as well as the oldest
practitioners. As soon as I appeared, I immediately drew the attention
of the other sakas, who seemed to question the right I had to exercise
their profession. When I showed myself at the reservoir, to draw water,
they would have quarrelled with me, and one attempted to push me in; but
they found I was resolute, and that my resolution was backed by a set
of strong and active limbs, and therefore confined themselves to abusive
language, of which being the entire master, I soon got the lead, and
completely silenced them. Nature, in fact, seemed to have intended me
for a saka. The water which I had a moment before drawn from a filthy
reservoir, I extolled as having flowed from a spring created by Ali in
person equal to the sacred well of Zem Zem, and a branch of the river
which flows through Paradise. It is inconceivable how it was relished,
and how considerable was the money I received for giving it gratis. I
was always on the watch to discover when a new set of pilgrims should
arrive, and before they had even alighted from their mules, all dusty
from the road, and all happy at having escaped the Turcomans, I plied
them in the name of the Prophet with a refreshing draught, and made them
recollect that, this being the first devotional act which they performed
on reaching Meshed, so out of gratitude for their safe arrival, they
ought to reward me liberally; and my admonitions were scarcely ever
disregarded.
The commemoration of the death of Hossein, which is so religiously kept
throughout Persia, was now close at hand, and I determined to put myself
into training to appear as the water-carrier, who on the last day of
the festival, which is held the most sacred, performs a conspicuous
character in the tragedy. This was to be acted in public before the
prince in the great open square of the city, and I expected to acquire
much reputation and profit from the feat of strength which I should
perform, which consists of carrying an immense sack full of water on
the back, accompanied by additional exertions. I had a rival, who
accomplished the task on the last festival; but as the sack I was about
to carry contained infinitely more water than he could support, my claim
to superiority was not to be disputed. However, I was advised to be
on my guard, for he was of a jealous character, and would not lose an
opportunity of doing me an injury if he could. When the day arrived,
the prince being seated in an upper room situated over the gate of his
palace, and the whole population of the city assembled to witness
the religious ceremonies, I appeared naked to the waist, with my body
streaming with blood, slowly walking under the weight of my immense
sack. Having reached the window at which the prince was seated,
I attracted his notice by loud exclamations for his happiness and
prosperity. He threw me down a gold coin, and expressed himself pleased
with my performance. In my exultation I invited several boys, who were
near at hand for the purpose, to pile themselves upon my load, which
they did, to the astonishment of the crowd, who encouraged me by their
cries and applause. I called for another boy, when my rival, who had
watched his opportunity, sprang forwards and mounted himself on the very
top of all, hoping, no doubt, to crush me: but, exerting myself to
the utmost of my strength, I carried my burden clean off, amidst the
animating shouts of the staring multitude. But although in the heat of
the exertion I felt no inconvenience, yet when I was disencumbered I
found that my back was sprained so severely, that I was totally unfitted
for the trade of a water-carrier for the future. I therefore sold
my sack and other articles, and, with the money that I had gained
in water-selling, found myself well off, compared to the deplorable
situation in which I was on my arrival at Meshed. My friend the muleteer
had departed some time before the festival with a caravan for Tehran, so
I was deprived of his counsels. I should have demanded justice for the
injury done me by my rival, and might have dragged him before the cadi;
but I was assured that in the Mohammedan law there is no provision made
for a sprain. It is written an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth;
but there is no sprain for a sprain. Had I had some powerful protector,
who would have prosecuted the business for me, perhaps I might have got
redress; but a miserable creature like myself, unknown and unfriended,
I could have gained nothing, and should perhaps have stood a chance of
losing the little money I had acquired.