PRIVATE FESTIVITIES, ETC.
As the modern Egyptian does not become a housekeeper until he is married
(and not of necessity _then_; for he may live with his wife in the house
of his or her parents), his first marriage is generally the first event
which affords him and his wife an occasion of calling together their
respective friends to a private entertainment. Whenever a great
entertainment is given on any occasion of rejoicing, it is customary,
for the persons invited, to send presents (such as I have mentioned in
describing the ceremonies attendant upon a marriage), a day or two
before. The husband always has his separate party, generally in the
lower apartment or apartments of the house; and the wife entertains her
female relations and friends in the hareem, or upper apartments. It is
also the usual custom for the wife to entertain her guests (among whom
no males are ever admitted, excepting very young boys) during the six
middle hours of the day; and for the husband to receive his guests
afterwards; after sunset, or after the ’eshë prayers: but sometimes his
guests assemble while the wife is engaged with her own party in the
hareem.
On these occasions, the female singers who are called “’Awálim” (or
“’A’l’mehs”) are often hired to amuse the company. They sit in one of
the apartments of the hareem; generally at a window looking into the
court. The wooden lattice-work of the window, though too close to
allow them to be seen by persons without, is sufficiently open to let
them be distinctly heard by the male guests sitting in the court or in
one of the apartments which look into it. In many houses, there is a
small elevated apartment, or closet, for the ’Awálim, which I have
before described, adjoining the apartment in which the male guests
assemble (as well as another adjoining the principal saloon of the
hareem), screened in front by wooden lattice-work, to conceal these
singers from the view of the men.—The dancing-girls (“Ghawázee,” or
“Gházeeyehs”) are also frequently hired to attend on the occasions of
private festivities. They dance (with unveiled face) before the men,
in the court; so that they may be seen also by the women from the
windows of the hareem: or perform in an apartment in which the men are
assembled; or in the street, before the house, for the amusement only
of the women. When they or the ’Awálim perform for the entertainment
of a party, one of the friends of the host usually collects for them
small sums of money upon the tambourine, or in a handkerchief, from
the guests: but sometimes, the host will not allow this custom to be
observed. The contributions are called “nukoot.” It is the general
practice for the person who gives the entertainment to engage the
Ghawázee for a certain sum: he receives the nukoot; which may fall
short of, or exceed, the promised sum: in the former case, he pays the
difference from his own purse: in the latter case, he often pockets
the surplus. Or he agrees that they shall receive all the nukoot,
with, or without, an additional sum from himself. In some parties,
where little decorum is observed, the guests dally and sport with
these dancing-girls in a very licentious manner. I have before
mentioned (in a former chapter), that, on these occasions, they are
usually indulged with brandy, or some other intoxicating liquor, which
most of them drink to excess. It is a common custom for a man to wet,
with his tongue, small gold coins, and stick them upon the forehead,
cheeks, chin, and lips, of a Gházeeyeh. When money is collected for
the ’Awálim, their servant, who is called “khalboos,” and who often
acts the part of a buffoon, generally calls out, at each contribution,
“Shóbash ’aleyk yá sáheb el-farah!” that is, “A present is due from
thee, O giver of the entertainment [on a similar occasion, and in the
same way],”[592] and adds, “Such a one has given so many ‘mahboobs,’
or ‘kheyreeyehs’”—turning a few piasters into a much larger number of
gold coins of considerably greater value; or, if gold be given,
exaggerating the sum in the same manner. This he does to compliment
the donor, and to stimulate the generosity of others. His mistress, or
another of the ’Awálim, replies, “’Okba le-’anduh!” (“May he have the
like [rejoicing]!”[593]—or “May he have a recompense!”)—The guests are
also often entertained with a concert of instrumental and vocal music,
by male performers (“A′láteeyeh”), who sit in the court, or in the
apartment in which the guests are assembled. Two “dikkehs” (or high
wooden sofas) are often put together, front to front, in the court,
and furnished with cushions, etc., to form an orchestra for the
musicians; and a lantern is usually placed in the middle. The
A′láteeyeh generally receive contributions from the assembly for whose
entertainment they perform, like the ’Awálim; their khalboos calling
out to them in the same manner after each gift.
But performances of a different kind from those above mentioned are more
common, and are considered more proper, on the occasions of private
festivities. These are the recitations of a “khatmeh” (or of the whole
of the Kur-án), by three or more fikees, who are hired for the purpose;
or of a “zikr,” by a small party of fakeers.[594] That the khatmeh may
not be too fatiguing to the performers, the fikees relieve one another
by turns; one only chanting at a time; and each, usually, chanting a
ruba. They generally come to the house a little after the ’asr, and get
through the greater part of their task before the guests assemble: one
of them then chants more leisurely, and in a more musical manner: after
him, in the same manner, another; and so on. Sometimes a khatmeh is
performed in the day-time, and after it, in the evening, a zikr. It is a
rule that the zikr should always be performed after sunset.
In Egypt, persons who habitually live with the utmost frugality prepare
a great variety and profusion of dishes for the entertainment of their
friends. But very little time is devoted to eating. The period of
conviviality is mostly passed in smoking, sipping coffee, drinking
sherbet, and conversing: the Turks, however, generally abstain from
smoking during the recitation of the Kur-án; and the honour which they
pay to the sacred book on every occasion has given rise to a saying,
that “God has exalted A′l-’Osmán [_i.e._ the race of ’Osmán, or the
’Osmánlees] above other Muslims, because they exalt the Kur-án more than
do others.” In these parties, none of the guests ever attempts to amuse
his companions, except by facetious conversation, or sometimes by
telling a story; though all of them take great delight in the
performances of the hired dancers, musicians, and singers. The Egyptians
seldom play at any game, unless when only two or three persons meet
together; or in the privacy of their own families. They are a social
people; and yet they but rarely give great entertainments. Festivities
such as I have described above are very unfrequent: they occur only on
particular occasions which really call for rejoicing. Excepting on such
occasions, it is considered improper to hire dancing-girls to perform in
a house.
The marriage festivities I have described in a former chapter; I
therefore proceed to give an account of the festivities which _follow_ a
marriage; and shall do so in the order of their occurrence.
On the seventh day (“Yóm es-Subooa”[595]) after a marriage, the wife
receives her female relations and friends during the morning and
afternoon; and sometimes, the husband entertains his own friends in the
evening; generally hiring persons to perform a khatmeh or a zikr. It is
a custom of husbands in Egypt to deny themselves their conjugal rights
during the first week after the conclusion of the marriage with a virgin
bride; and the termination of this period is a due cause for
rejoicing.[596]—On the fortieth day (“Yóm el-Arba’een”) after the
marriage, the wife goes, with a party of her female friends, to the
bath. Her companions return with her to her house, about the ’asr;
partake of a repast, and go away. The husband, also, sometimes receives
visitors in the evening of this day, and again causes a khatmeh or zikr
to be performed.
The next festivities in a family are generally those consequent on the
birth of a child.—Two or three or more days before the expected time of
delivery, the “dáyeh” (or midwife) conveys, to the house of the woman
who requires her assistance, the “kursee el-wiládeh,” a chair of a
peculiar form, upon which the patient is to be seated during the
birth.[597] This chair is covered with a shawl, or an embroidered
napkin; and some flowers of the henna-tree, or some roses, are tied,
with an embroidered hand-kerchief, to each of the upper corners of the
back. Thus ornamented, the chair (which is the property of the dáyeh) is
conveyed before her to the house.—In the houses of the rich, and of
those in easy circumstances, the mother, after delivery, is placed on a
bed, and usually remains on it from three to six days: but poor women,
in the same case, seldom take to a bed at all; and after a day or two,
resume their ordinary occupations, if not requiring great exertion.
On the morning after the birth, two or three of the dancing-men called
Khäwals, or two or three Gházeeyehs, dance in front of the house, or in
the court.—The festivities occasioned by the birth of a son are always
greater than those on account of a daughter. The Arabs still show relics
of that feeling which often induced their ancient ancestors to destroy
their female offspring.
A few days after the birth, generally on the fourth or fifth day, the
women of the house, if the family be of the middle or wealthy classes,
usually prepare dishes of “mufattak′ah,” “kishk,” “libábeh,” and
“hilbeh;” which they send to the female relations and friends. The first
of these consists of honey with a little clarified butter and oil of
sesame, and a variety of aromatics and spices pounded together: roasted
hazel-nuts are also added to it.[598] The kishk has been described in a
former page.[599] The libábeh is composed of broken or crumbled bread,
honey, clarified butter, and a little rose-water: the butter is first
put into a saucepan over the fire; then, the broken bread; and next, the
honey. The dish of hilbeh (or fenugreek) is prepared from the dry grain
boiled, and then sweetened with honey over the fire.
On the “Yóm es-Subooa” (or Seventh Day) after the birth of a child, the
female friends of its mother pay her a visit. In the families of the
higher classes, ’Awálim are hired to sing in the hareem; or A′láteeyeh
perform, or fikees recite a khatmeh, below. The mother, attended by the
dáyeh, sits on the kursee el-wiládeh, in the hope that she may soon have
occasion for it again; for her doing this is considered propitious. The
child is brought, wrapped in a handsome shawl, or something costly; and,
to accustom it to noise, that it may not be frightened afterwards by the
music, and other sounds of mirth, one of the women takes a brass mortar,
and strikes it repeatedly with the pestle, as if pounding. After this,
the child is put into a sieve, and shaken; it being supposed that this
operation is beneficial to its stomach. Next, it is carried through all
the apartments of the hareem, accompanied by several women or girls;
each of whom bears a number of wax candles, sometimes of various
colours, cut in two, lighted, and stuck into small lumps of paste of
henna, upon a small round tray. At the same time, the dáyeh, or another
female, sprinkles, upon the floor of each room, a mixture of salt and
seed of the fennel-flower, or salt alone, which has been placed during
the preceding night at the infant’s head; saying, as she does this, “The
salt be in the eye of the person who doth not bless the Prophet!” or,
“The foul salt be in the eye of the envier!” This ceremony of the
sprinkling of salt is considered a preservative, for the child and
mother, from the evil eye: and each person present should say, “O God,
favour our lord Mohammad!” The child, wrapped up, and placed on a fine
mattress, which is sometimes laid on a silver tray, is shown to each of
the women present, who looks at its face, says, “O God, favour our lord
Mohammad! God give thee long life!” etc., and usually puts an
embroidered handkerchief, with a gold coin (if pretty or old, the more
esteemed) tied up in one of the corners, on the child’s head, or by its
side. This giving of handkerchiefs is considered as imposing a debt, to
be repaid by the mother, if the donor should give her the same occasion;
or as the discharge of a debt for a similar offering. The coins are
generally used, for some years, to decorate the head-dress of the child.
After these nukoot for the child, others are given for the dáyeh. During
the night before the subooa, a water-bottle full of water (a dórak in
the case of a boy, or a kulleh in that of a girl), with an embroidered
handkerchief tied round the neck, is placed at the child’s head, while
it sleeps. This, with the water it contains, the dáyeh takes, and puts
upon a tray, and presents to each of the women; who put their nukoot for
her (merely money) into the tray.—In the evening, the husband generally
entertains a party of his friends, in the manner usual on other
occasions of private festivity.
During a certain period after childbirth (in most cases, among the
people of Cairo, forty days, but differing according to circumstances,
and according to the doctrines of the different sects), the mother is
regarded as religiously impure.[600] The period here mentioned is called
“Nifás.” At the expiration of it, the woman goes to the bath.
The ceremonies and festivities attendant upon the _circumcision_ of a
boy are the next that I shall describe.—In most cases, the boy about to
be circumcised (who is called “muttáhir”) is paraded through the streets
in the manner which has been related in a former chapter; that is, if
his parents be of the middle or higher class of citizens: but most of
the learned, people of religious professions, fikees, and some rich men,
in Cairo, prefer performing a ceremony called “Siráfeh,” of which the
following account will convey a sufficient notion.
The schoolfellows of the muttáhir, all dressed in their best clothes, or
in borrowed clothes if they have none of their own good enough, which is
generally the case, repair, a little before noon, to one of the
principal mosques, as that of the Hasaneyn, or the Azhar, or that of the
seyyideh Zeyneb. Thither also go the men and the women and many of the
female friends of the family of the muttáhir, with the muttáhir himself;
and sometimes about six sháweeshes (or sergeants) of the Nakeeb
el-Ashráf. The barber who is to perform the operation also attends, with
a servant bearing his “heml” (or sign), which has been described in the
account of the more common ceremonies of circumcision. All these
persons, with some others who will presently be mentioned, having
assembled in the mosque, wait there until after the noon-prayers, and
then depart in procession through the streets to the house of the
muttáhir’s parents. The first person in the procession is the barber’s
servant, with his heml. He is sometimes followed by five or six fikees,
chanting a lyric ode (“muweshshah”) in praise of the Prophet. Then
follow the schoolboys, two, three, or four abreast. The foremost of
these boys, or half their number, chant, as they pass along,—“O nights
of pleasure! O nights of joy!”—The other boys then take up the strain,
adding,—“Pleasure and desire, with friends assembled!”—Then, again, the
former,—“Favour, O our Lord, the Perspicuous Light!”—then the latter,
“Ahmad,[601] the Elect, the chief of Apostles!”—Thus the boys continue
to chant the whole of the way. Behind them walk the male relations of
the muttáhir. These are followed by about six boys; three of them
bearing each a silver scent-bottle (“kumkum”) full of rose-water or
orange-flower-water, which they occasionally sprinkle on some of the
spectators; and each of the others bearing a silver perfuming-vessel
(“mibkhar′ah”) in which benzoin, frankincense, or some other odoriferous
substance, is burning. With these boys walks a sakka, bearing, on his
back, a skin of water covered with an embroidered napkin: he gives
water, now and then, in brass cups, to passengers in the street. Next
follow three servants: one of these carries a silver pot of coffee, in a
silver “’áz’kee” (or chafing-dish suspended by three chains): another
bears a silver tray, with ten or eleven coffee-cups, and “zarfs” of
silver: the third carries nothing; it is his office, when the procession
passes by a well-dressed person (one sitting at a shop, for instance),
to fill, and present to him, a cup of coffee: the person thus honoured
gives the servant something in return: half a piaster is considered
amply sufficient. The sháweeshes occupy the next place in the order of
the procession. Sometimes they are followed by another group of boys
with kumkums and mibkhar′ahs. Next follows a boy bearing the writing
tablet of the muttáhir, hung to his neck by a handkerchief: it is
ornamented for the occasion by the school-master. Behind the boy who
bears it walks the muttáhir, between two others. He is dressed either as
in the zeffeh before described (that is, in girl’s clothes, with the
exception of the turban, and decked with women’s ornaments), or simply
as a boy; and holds a folded embroidered handkerchief to his mouth. The
women follow him, raising their shrill cries of joy (the “zagháreet”);
and one of them is constantly employed in sprinkling salt behind him, to
prevent any ill effects from an evil eye, which, it is thought, some
person may cast at the lad from envy. In this order and manner, the
procession arrives at the house.—On halting before the door, the
foremost of the schoolboys sing,—“Thou art a sun! Thou art a moon! Thou
art a light above light!”—The others add,—“O Mohammad! O my friend! O
thou with black eyes!”—They enter the house repeating this address to
the Prophet; and repeat it again after entering. The young boys go
upstairs: the others remain below. The former, as they go up, repeat,—“O
thou his paternal aunt! O thou his maternal aunt! Come! prepare his
siráfeh.”—On entering the “ká’ah,” or principal apartment of the hareem,
a Kashmeer shawl is given them to hold: they hold it all round; and the
ornamented writing-tablet is placed in the middle of it. The “’areef,”
or head boy of the school, who (together with the muttáhir and the
women) stands by while they do this, then recites what is termed
“khutbet es-siráfeh:” each clause of this is chanted by him first, and
then repeated by the other boys. It is in unmeasured rhyme; and to the
following effect:—
“Praise be to God, the Mighty Creator!—the Sole, the Forgiver, the
Conservator!—He knoweth the past and futurity,—and veileth things in
obscurity.—He knoweth the tread of the black ant,—and its work when in
darkness vigilant.—He formed and exalted heaven’s vault,—and spread the
earth o’er the ocean salt.—May He grant this boy long life and
happiness,—to read the Kur-án with attentiveness;—to read the Kur-án,
and history’s pages,—the stories of ancient and modern ages.—This youth
has learned to write and read,—to spell, and cast up accounts with
speed:—his father, therefore, should not withhold—a reward of money,
silver and gold.—Of my learning, O father, thou hast paid the price:—God
give thee a place in Paradise:—and thou, my mother, my thanks
receive—for thine anxious care of me, morn and eve:—God grant I may see
thee in Paradise seated,—and by Maryam[602] and Zeyneb[603] and
Fátimeh[604] greeted.—Our fakeeh[605] has taught us the alphabet:—may he
have every grateful epithet.—Our fakeeh has taught us as far as ‘The
News:’[606]—may he never his present blessings lose.—Our fakeeh has
taught us as far as ‘The Dominion:’—may he ever be blest with the
world’s good opinion.—Our fakeeh has taught us as far as ‘The
Compassionate:’—may he ever enjoy rewards proportionate.—Our fakeeh has
taught us as far as ‘Yá-Seen:’—may his days and years be ever
serene.—Our fakeeh has taught as far as ‘The Cave:’—may he ever the
blessings of Providence have.—Our fakeeh has taught us as far as ‘The
Cattle:’—may he ne’er be the subject of scandalous tattle.—Our fakeeh
has taught us as far as ‘The Cow:’—may he ever be honoured, in future
and now.—Our fakeeh amply merits of you—a coat of green, and a turban
too.—O ye surrounding virgin lasses!—I commend you to God’s care by the
eye-paint and the glasses![607]—O ye married ladies here collected!—I
pray, by the Chapter of ‘The Ranks,’[608] that ye be protected!—O ye old
women standing about!—Ye ought to be beaten with old shoes, and turned
out!—To old women, however, we should rather say—Take the basin and
ewer; wash and pray.”
During the chanting of these absurd expressions, the women drop, upon
the ornamented writing-tablet, their nukoot; which are afterwards
collected in a handkerchief. The boys then go down, and give the nukoot
to the fikee below.[609]—Here, the muttáhir is now placed on a seat. The
barber stands on one side of him, and the servant who holds the heml on
the other. The heml is rested on the floor; and on the top of it is
placed a cup, into which the guests put their nukoot for the barber.—The
female visitors dine in the hareem; and then leave the house. The boys
dine below; and go to their homes. The men also dine; and all of them,
excepting those of the family, and the barber and his servant, take
their leave. The barber then conducts the muttáhir, with one or two of
his male relations, to a private apartment; and there performs the
operation; or sometimes this is done on the following day. About a week
after, he takes the boy to the bath.
The next occasion of festivity in a family (if not the marriage of a son
or daughter) is generally when a son is admitted a member of some body
of tradesmen or artisans. On this occasion, a ceremony which I am about
to describe is performed in certain cases; but not on admission to every
trade: it is customary only among carpenters, turners, barbers, tailors,
book-binders, and a few others. The young man having become an adept in
the business of his intended trade, his father goes to the sheykh of
that trade, and signifies his wish that his son should be admitted a
member. The sheykh sends an officer, called the “nakeeb,” to invite the
masters of the trade, and sometimes a few friends of the candidate, to
be present at the admission. The nakeeb, taking in his hand a bunch of
sprigs of any green herb, or flowers, goes to each of these persons,
hands to him a sprig or little piece of green, or a flower, or leaf, and
says—“For the Prophet, the Fát’hah:”—that is “Repeat the Fát’hah for the
Prophet.” Both having done this together, the nakeeb adds,—“On such a
day and hour, come to such a house or place, and drink a cup of
coffee.”—The guests thus invited meet (generally at the house of the
father of the young man, but sometimes in the country), take coffee, and
dine. After this, the nakeeb leads the young man before the sheykh:
states his qualifications; and then desires the persons present to
recite the Fát’hah for the Prophet; which done, he girds the young man
with a shawl over his outer coat; and ties a knot with the ends of this
girdle. The Fát’hah is then recited again, generally for the seyyid
El-Bedawee, or some other great saint; and a second knot is tied. Then,
a third time the Fát’hah is recited; and a bow is tied. The young man is
thus completely admitted. He kisses the hand of the sheykh, and that of
his fellow-tradesmen; and gives the nakeeb a small fee.—This ceremony is
called “shedd el-weled” (the binding of the youth), and the person thus
admitted is termed “meshdood,” or bound.
There remain only to be described the ceremonies occasioned by a death.
These will be the subject of a separate chapter, here following, and
concluding my account of the manners and customs of the Muslims of
Egypt.
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Footnote 592:
“Shóbash” is synonymous with “nukoot,” being an Arabic corruption of
the Persian “shábásh,” which also signifies “well done!” “excellent!”
Footnote 593:
The phrase was thus written and explained to me by a sheykh; but I
suspect it should be, “Ikbál le-’anduh,” which is an expression
vulgarly used to signify, “access to him,” and would mean, in this
case, “[May we have] access to him!”
Footnote 594:
These customs remind us of St. Paul’s advice to the Ephesians, chap.
v., ver. 19; which shows the antiquity of social pastimes of this
kind. The Egyptians highly enjoy the religious love-songs of the
munshids at zikrs.
Footnote 595:
The Subooa after the birth of a child is celebrated with more
rejoicing; and therefore, in speaking of the Yóm es-Subooa, the
seventh day after childbirth is generally understood.
Footnote 596:
It was not such a festival as this alone that is alluded to in Genesis
xxix. 27, and in Judges xiv. 12. It was, and I believe is still, the
custom of wealthy Bedawees (and such was Laban) to feast their friends
seven days after marriage (as also after the birth of a male child);
and every respectable Muslim, after marriage, if disappointed in the
expectations he has been led to form of his wife, abstains from
putting her away for about a week, that she may not be disgraced by
suspicion; particularly if it be her first marriage.
Footnote 597:
See Exodus i. 16.
Footnote 598:
Some women add another ingredient; not when it is to be sent to
friends; but for a particular purpose, which is, to make them fat:
they broil and mash up a number of beetles in the butter; and then add
the honey, etc. This has been alluded to in the chapter on the
Domestic Life of the Women.
Footnote 599:
In a note to the second paragraph of the preceding chapter.
Footnote 600:
In like manner, the Jewish law pronounces a woman unclean during forty
days after the birth of a male child; but double that time after
bearing a female child. See Leviticus xii. 2, 4, 5.
Footnote 601:
A name of the Arabian Prophet.
Footnote 602:
The Virgin Mary.
Footnote 603:
The daughter of the Imám ’Alee.
Footnote 604:
The daughter of the Prophet.
Footnote 605:
Vulgo “fikee.”
Footnote 606:
This and the following words distinguished by inverted commas are the
titles of chapters of the Kur-án, which the boys, as I have mentioned
on a former occasion, learn in the reverse order of their arrangement,
after having learned the first chapter. The chapter of “The News,” is
the 78th: the others, afterwards named, are the 67th, 55th, 36th,
18th, 6th, and 2nd.
Footnote 607:
The looking-glasses. This is said to amuse the ladies.
Footnote 608:
The 37th chapter of the Kur-án.
Footnote 609:
What follows this describes the ceremonies which are performed both
after the siráfeh and after the more common zeffeh, of which I have
given an account in a former chapter.
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