SERPENT CHARMERS, AND PERFORMERS OF LEGERDEMAIN TRICKS, ETC.
Many modern writers upon Egypt have given surprising accounts of a class
of men in this country, supposed, like the ancient “Psylli” of
Cyrenaïca, to possess a secret art, to which allusion is made in the
Bible,[483] enabling them to secure themselves from the poison of
serpents. I have met with many persons among the more intelligent of the
Egyptians who condemn these modern Psylli as impostors, but none who
have been able to offer a satisfactory explanation of the most common
and most interesting of their performances, which I am about to
describe.
Many Rifá’ee and Saadee darweeshes obtain their livelihood, as I have
mentioned on a former occasion, by going about to charm away serpents
from houses. A few other persons also profess the same art, but are not
so famous. The former travel over every part of Egypt, and find abundant
employment; but their gains are barely sufficient to procure them a
scanty subsistence. The charmer professes to discover, without ocular
perception (but perhaps he does so by a peculiar smell), whether there
be any serpents in a house; and if there be, to attract them to him; as
the fowler, by the fascination of his voice, allures the bird into his
net. As the serpent seeks the darkest place in which to hide himself,
the charmer has, in most cases, to exercise his skill in an obscure
chamber, where he might easily take a serpent from his bosom, bring it
to the people without the door, and affirm that he had found it in the
apartment; for no one would venture to enter with him after having been
assured of the presence of one of these reptiles within: but he is often
required to perform in the full light of day, surrounded by spectators;
and incredulous persons have searched him beforehand, and even stripped
him naked; yet his success has been complete. He assumes an air of
mystery, strikes the walls with a short palm-stick, whistles, makes a
clucking noise with his tongue, and spits upon the ground; and generally
says, “I adjure you by God, if ye be above, or if ye be below, that ye
come forth: I adjure you by the most great Name, if ye be obedient, come
forth; and if ye be disobedient, die! die! die!”—The serpent is
generally dislodged by his stick, from a fissure in the wall, or drops
from the ceiling of the room. I have often heard it asserted that the
serpent-charmer, before he enters a house in which he is to try his
skill, always employs a servant of that house to introduce one or more
serpents; but I have known instances in which this could not be the
case; and am inclined to believe that the darweeshes above mentioned are
generally acquainted with some real physical means of discovering the
presence of serpents without seeing them, and of attracting them from
their lurking-places. It is, however, a fact well ascertained, that the
most expert of them do not venture to carry serpents of a venomous
nature about their persons until they have extracted the poisonous
teeth. Many of them carry scorpions, also, within the cap, and next the
shaven head; but doubtless first deprive them of the power to injure;
perhaps by merely blunting the sting. Their famous feats of eating live
and venomous serpents, which are regarded as religious acts, I have
before had occasion to mention, and purpose to describe particularly in
another chapter.[484]
Performers of sleight-of-hand tricks, who are called “Höwáh” (in the
singular, “Háwee”[485]), are numerous in Cairo. They generally perform
in public places; collecting a ring of spectators around them; from some
of whom they receive small voluntary contributions during and after
their performances. They are most frequently seen on the occasions of
public festivals; but often also at other times. By indecent jests and
actions, they attract as much applause as they do by other means. The
“Háwee” performs a great variety of tricks; the most usual of which I
shall here mention. He generally has two boys to assist him. From a
large leather bag he takes out four or five snakes, of a largish size.
One of these he places on the ground, and makes it erect its head and
part of its body: another, he puts round the head of one of the boys,
like a turban; and two more over the boy’s neck. He takes these off;
opens the boy’s mouth, apparently passes the bolt of a kind of padlock
through his cheek, and locks it. Then, in appearance, he forces an iron
spike into the boy’s throat: the spike being really pushed up into a
wooden handle. He also performs another trick of the same kind as this:
placing the boy on the ground, he puts the edge of a knife upon his
nose, and knocks the blade until half its width seems to have entered.
Several indecent tricks which he performs with the boy I must abstain
from describing: some of them are abominably disgusting. The tricks
which he alone performs are more amusing. He draws a great quantity of
various-coloured silk from his mouth, and winds it on his arm; puts
cotton in his mouth, and blows out fire; takes out of his mouth a great
number of round pieces of tin, like dollars; and, in appearance, blows
an earthen pipe-bowl from his nose. In most of his tricks, he
occasionally blows through a large shell (called the Háwee’s zummárah),
producing sounds like those of a horn. Most of his sleight-of-hand
performances are nearly similar to those of exhibitors of the same class
in our own and other countries. Taking a silver finger-ring from one of
the bystanders, he puts it in a little box, blows his shell, and says
“’Efreet, change it!”—he then opens the box, and shows, in it, a
different ring: shuts the box again; opens it, and shows the first ring:
shuts it a third time; opens it, and shows a melted lump of silver,
which he declares to be the ring melted, and offers to the owner: the
latter insists upon having his ring in its original state: the Háwee
then asks for five or ten faddahs to recast it; and having obtained
this, opens the box again (after having closed it, and blown his shell),
and takes out of it the perfect ring. He next takes a larger covered
box; puts the skull-cap of one of his boys in it; blows his shell; opens
the box; and out comes a rabbit: the cap seems to be gone. He puts the
rabbit in again; covers the box; uncovers it; and out run two little
chickens: these he puts in again; blows his shell; uncovers the box; and
shows it full of fateerehs (or pancakes) and kunáfeh (which resembles
vermicelli): he tells his boys to eat its contents; but they refuse to
do it without honey: he then takes a small jug: turns it upside-down, to
show that it is empty; blows his shell; and hands round the jug full of
honey. The boys, having eaten, ask for water, to wash their hands. The
Háwee takes the same jug; and hands it filled with water, in the same
manner. He takes the box again; and asks for the cap; blows his shell;
uncovers the box; and pours out from it, into the boy’s lap (the lower
part of his shirt held up), four or five small snakes. The boy, in
apparent fright, throws them down; and demands his cap. The Háwee puts
the snakes back into the box; blows his shell; uncovers the box; and
takes out the cap.—Another of his common tricks is to put a number of
slips of white paper into a tinned copper vessel (the tisht of a seller
of sherbet); and to take them out dyed of various colours. He pours
water into the same vessel; puts in a piece of linen; then gives to the
spectators, to drink, the contents of the vessel, changed to sherbet of
sugar. Sometimes he apparently cuts in two a muslin shawl, or burns it
in the middle; and then restores it whole.—Often, he strips himself of
all his clothes, excepting his drawers; and tells two persons to bind
him, hands and feet, and put him in a sack. This done, he asks for a
piaster; and some one tells him that he shall have it if he will put out
his hand and take it. He puts out his hand free; draws it back; and is
then taken out of the sack bound as at first. He is put in again; and
comes out unbound; handing to the spectators a small tray, upon which
are four or five little plates filled with various eatables, and, if the
performance be at night, several small lighted candles placed round. The
spectators eat the food.
There is another class of jugglers in Cairo called “Keeyem” (in the
singular, “Keiyim”). In most of his performances, the Keiyim has an
assistant. In one, for instance, the latter places upon the ground
twenty-nine small pieces of stone. He sits upon the ground; and these
are arranged before him. The Keiyim having gone a few yards distant from
him, this assistant desires one of the spectators to place a piece of
money under any one of the bits of stone: this being done, he calls back
the Keiyim, informs him that a piece of money has been hidden, and asks
him to point out where it is; which the conjuror immediately does. The
secret of this trick is very simple: the twenty-nine pieces of stone
represent the letters of the Arabic alphabet; and the person who desires
the Keiyim to show where the money is concealed commences his address to
the latter with the letter represented by the stone which covers the
coin. In the same manner, or by means of signs made by the assistant,
the Keiyim is enabled to tell the name of any person present, or the
words of a song that has been repeated in his absence: the name or song
having been whispered to his assistant.
Fortune-telling is often practised in Egypt, mostly by Gipsies, as in
our own country. There are but few Gipsies in this country. They are
here called “Ghagar” or “Ghajar” (in the singular, “Ghagaree” or
“Ghajaree”). In general, they profess themselves descendants of the
Barámikeh, like the Ghawázee; but of a different branch. Many (I believe
most) of the women are fortune-tellers. These women are often seen in
the streets of Cairo, dressed in a similar manner to the generality of
the females of the lower classes, with the tób and tarhah, but always
with unveiled faces; usually carrying a gazelle’s skin, containing the
materials for their divinations; and crying, “I perform divination! What
is present I manifest! What is absent I manifest!” etc. They mostly
divine by means of a number of shells, with a few pieces of coloured
glass, money, etc., intermixed with them. These they throw down; and
from the manner in which they chance to lie, they derive their
prognostications: a larger shell than the rest represents the person
whose fortune they are to discover; and the other shells, etc.,
represent different events, evils and blessings, which, by their
proximity to, or distance from, the former, they judge to be fated to
befall the person in question early or late or never. Some of these
Gipsy-women also cry, “Nedukk wa-n’táhir!” (“We puncture and
circumcise!”).[486] Many of the Gipsies in Egypt are blacksmiths,
braziers, and tinkers; or itinerant sellers of the wares which are made
by others of this class; particularly of trumpery trinkets of brass,
etc.
Some Gipsies also follow the occupation of a “Bahluwán.” This
appellation is properly given to a performer of gymnastic exercises, a
famous swordsman, or a champion; and such descriptions of persons
formerly exhibited their feats of strength and dexterity, under this
name, in Cairo; but the performances of the modern Bahluwán are almost
confined to rope-dancing; and all the persons who practise this art are
Gipsies. Sometimes the rope is tied to the mád’neh of a mosque, at a
considerable height from the ground; and extends to the length of
several hundred feet; being supported at many points by poles fixed in
the ground. The dancer always uses a long balancing-pole. Sometimes he
dances or walks on the rope with clogs on his feet, or with a piece of
soap tied under each foot, or with a child suspended to each of his
ankles by a rope, or with a boy tied to each end of the balancing-pole;
and he sits upon a round tray placed on the rope. I have only seen three
of these bahluwáns, and their performances were not of the more
difficult kinds above described, and less clever than those of the
commonest rope-dancers in England. Women, girls, and boys, often follow
this occupation. The men and boys also perform other feats than those of
rope-dancing; such as tumbling, leaping through a hoop, etc.
The “Kureydátee” (whose appellation is derived from “kird,” an ape, or a
monkey) amuses the lower orders in Cairo by sundry performances of an
ape or a monkey, an ass, a dog, and a kid. He and the ape (which is
generally of the cynocephalus kind) fight each other with sticks. He
dresses the ape fantastically, usually as a bride, or a veiled woman;
puts it on the ass; and parades it round within the ring of spectators;
himself going before and beating a tambourine. The ape is also made to
dance, and perform various antics. The ass is told to choose the
handsomest girl in the ring; and does so; putting his nose towards her
face; and greatly amusing her and all the spectators. The dog is ordered
to imitate the motions of a thief; and accordingly crawls along on its
belly. The best performance is that of the kid: it is made to stand upon
a little piece of wood, nearly in the shape of a dice-box, about a span
long, and an inch and a half wide at the top and bottom, so that all its
four feet are placed close together: this piece of wood, with the kid
thus standing upon it, is then lifted up, and a similar piece placed
under it; and, in the same manner, a third piece, a fourth, and a fifth
are added.
The Egyptians are often amused by players of low and ridiculous farces,
who are called “Mohabbazeen.” These frequently perform at the festivals
prior to weddings and circumcisions, at the houses of the great; and
sometimes attract rings of auditors and spectators in the public places
in Cairo. Their performances are scarcely worthy of description: it is
chiefly by vulgar jests and indecent actions, that they amuse, and
obtain applause. The actors are only men and boys: the part of a woman
being always performed by a man or a boy in female attire. As a specimen
of their plays, I shall give a short account of one which was acted
before the Básha, a short time ago, at a festival celebrated in honour
of the circumcision of one of his sons; on which occasion, as usual,
several sons of grandees were also circumcised. The _dramatis personæ_
were a Názir (or Governor of a District), a Sheykh-Beled (or Chief of a
Village), a servant of the latter, a Copt clerk, a Felláh indebted to
the government, his wife, and five other persons, of whom two made their
appearance first in the character of drummers, one as a hautboy-player,
and the two others as dancers. After a little drumming and piping and
dancing by these five, the Názir and the rest of the performers enter
the ring. The Názir asks, “How much does ’Awad[487] the son of Regeb
owe?” The musicians and dancers, who now act as simple felláheen,
answer, “Desire the Christian to look in the register.” The Christian
clerk has a large dawáyeh (or receptacle for pens and ink) in his
girdle; and is dressed as a Copt, with a black turban. The Sheykh
el-Beled asks him, “How much is written against ’Awad the son of Regeb?”
The clerk answers, “A thousand piasters.” “How much,” says the Sheykh,
“has he paid?” He is answered, “Five piasters.” “Man,” says he,
addressing the felláh, “why don’t you bring the money?” The felláh
answers, “I have not any.” “You have not any?” exclaims the Sheykh.
“Throw him down.” An inflated piece of an intestine, resembling a large
kurbág, is brought; and with this the felláh is beaten. He roars out to
the Názir, “By the honour of thy horse’s tail, O Bey! By the honour of
thy wife’s trowsers, O Bey! By the honour of thy wife’s head-band, O
Bey!” After twenty such absurd appeals, his beating is finished, and he
is taken away, and imprisoned. Presently his wife comes to him, and asks
him, “How art thou?” He answers, “Do me a kindness, my wife: take a
little kishk[488] and some eggs and some sha’eereeyeh,[489] and go with
them to the house of the Christian clerk, and appeal to his generosity
to get me set at liberty.” She takes these, in three baskets, to the
Christian’s house, and asks the people there, “Where is the M’allim
Hanna, the clerk?” They answer, “There he sits.” She says to him, “O
M’allim Hanna, do me the favour to receive these, and obtain the
liberation of my husband.” “Who is thy husband?” he asks. She answers,
“The felláh who owes a thousand piasters.” “Bring,” says he, “twenty or
thirty piasters to bribe the Sheykh el-Beled.” She goes away, and soon
returns, with the money in her hand, and gives it to the Sheykh
el-Beled. “What is this?” says the Sheykh. She answers, “Take it as a
bribe, and liberate my husband.” He says, “Very well: go to the Názir.”
She retires for a while; blackens the edges of her eyelids with kohl;
applies fresh red dye of the henna to her hands and feet, and repairs to
the Názir. “Good evening, my master,” she says to him. “What dost thou
want?” he asks. She answers, “I am the wife of ’Awad, who owes a
thousand piasters.” “But what dost thou want?” he asks again. She says,
“My husband is imprisoned; and I appeal to thy generosity to liberate
him:” and as she urges this request, she smiles, and shows him that she
does not ask this favour without being willing to grant him a
recompense. He obtains this; takes the husband’s part; and liberates
him.—This farce was played before the Básha with the view of opening his
eyes to the conduct of those persons to whom was committed the office of
collecting the taxes.
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[Illustration: A SHA’ER, WITH HIS ACCOMPANYING VIOLIST, AND PART OF HIS
AUDIENCE.]
_Lane’s Modern Egyptians_] [_Page 359_
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The puppet show of “Kara Gyooz” has been introduced into Egypt by Turks,
in whose language the puppets are made to speak.[490] Their
performances, which are, in general, extremely indecent, occasionally
amuse the Turks residing in Cairo; but, of course, are not very
attractive to those who do not understand the Turkish language. They are
conducted in the manner of the “Chinese shadows;” and therefore only
exhibited at night.
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Footnote 483:
See Psalm lviii. 4, 5; Eccles. x. 11; and Jerem. viii. 17.
Footnote 484:
In the account of the Moolid en-Nebee, in the first of the chapters on
periodical public festivals, etc.
Footnote 485:
So called from his feats with serpents.
Footnote 486:
They tattoo, or make those blue marks upon the skin which I have
described in the first chapter of this work; and perform the operation
alluded to in a note inserted, page 48.
Footnote 487:
Thus vulgarly pronounced for “’Ewad.”
Footnote 488:
A description of this will be found in a subsequent chapter.
Footnote 489:
A kind of paste, resembling vermicelli.
Footnote 490:
This exhibition is called in Arabic “khayál ed-dill,” or, more
correctly, “— edh-dhill.”
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