EDUCATION IN CAIRO.
Cairo may be called the seat of learning in the East. It is celebrated
for its eminent professors, particularly those of Mohammedan theology
and law.
Attached to the mosque of Ezher is a university, or college, with quite
a large Oriental library. Grammar, arithmetic, algebra, rhetoric, and
other branches are taught in the university; while lectures on logic,
theology, law, and the articles of the Koran are delivered there.
Students from all parts of the Mohammedan world congregate to the number
of two thousand to receive this instruction, which is free to all. The
professors draw no regular salary, but are dependent upon presents from
the wealthy and upon what they may receive from private pupils.
In addition to the university there are several schools where grammar,
arithmetic, and penmanship are taught. There are still others which are
devoted to the arts and sciences, and to engineering. At Abou Zabel is
the school of anatomy, medicine, and surgery.
The Arabic language is spoken at Cairo. Although it is not of the purest
form, yet it is far superior to that spoken in Syria.
The manners and customs of the population of Cairo may serve as types of
those of the cultured people in the various parts of the Mohammedan
world. Serious attention is paid not only to the smallest details of
social life, but special regard is had to the many precepts of their
religion.
Perhaps in no way are the Mohammedan observances more strictly adhered
to, and the religious institutions more rigidly enforced, than in the
rearing and in the education of children.
In the most trivial matters religious precepts and rules direct the
management of the young child. The first duty of the Mohammedan parent
is to see that the babe is wrapped in clean white linen. If this cannot
be obtained, any other color may be used, provided it be not yellow.
After the babe has been wrapped in linen, it is the duty of some male
to utter the summons to prayer in its ear. This custom is followed
religiously by all good Mohammedans in remembrance of the act of the
Prophet at the birth of El Hasan.
It is the custom to chant the Mohammedan summons to prayer from the
minarets of the mosques just before the service.
It is to this effect: "_God is most great!_" repeated four times. "_I
testify that there is no deity like God!_" twice in succession. "_I
testify that Mohammed is God's apostle!_"--"_Come to prayer!_"--"_Come
to security!_"--"_God is most great!_" each repeated twice in
succession, followed by the closing sentence, "_There is no deity but
God!_"
In former times it was usual for a father to give a grand feast of seven
days' duration when a little son was born. The gift of a little daughter
was not regarded as an occasion for so much rejoicing.
The general custom of modern times is to give an entertainment when the
child is seven days old. The mother receives the guests, exhibits the
young child to them, and accepts presents of gold or silver coins. These
are usually intended as ornaments for the child's headdress. In the
evening the father usually entertains his friends in honor of the young
child.
The Mohammedan children are most carefully reared, and from their
earliest years are taught to show the greatest respect to their fathers.
A most tender relation exists between father and child in spite of the
ceremonious greetings they exchange.
Each morning the child greets his father by imprinting a kiss upon the
hand. He then stands before him in an attitude of respect, covering his
left hand with his right while he awaits directions, or until he
receives permission to go. Often, however, when he has kissed his
father's hand, he is taken affectionately upon his lap. After the days
of his babyhood have passed the well-trained boy is seldom allowed to
sit when in the presence of his father.
The natives of all Mohammedan countries are very fond of their children,
yet they do not mourn for them to any great extent after the death of
the little ones.
This feeling of resignation comes from a religious belief that children
who die at an early age are able to intercede for their parents and
obtain for them blessings greater than any that can be enjoyed in this
world.
There is a popular belief in the promise of the Prophet, that all infant
children of true believers shall, on the great judgment day, when the
dead shall rise again, refuse to enter into Paradise unless their
parents can go too. Then, in answer to their prayers and petitions, the
gates of Paradise will be opened to all true Mohammedans.
Just as soon as a son is old enough to understand instruction, his
father begins to teach him the most important rules of conduct. One of
his first lessons is as follows:--the father places some food before his
son and orders him to take it in his right hand. On no account can he
employ the left hand, which must be reserved for menial services.
He is then trained to say, "In the name of God," as he commences to eat
what is before him. He is also instructed not to hurry nor to spill any
of his food, while it is impressed upon his mind that on no account is
he to eat too much.
In addition to the instruction he receives in table manners, he is
admonished not to be covetous nor miserly. He is forbidden to spit in
the presence of others, or to commit any other rudeness. He is warned
against talking too much, turning his back upon any one, standing in a
slovenly position, and speaking evil against any one.
The obligations of the father are most binding. He must keep his child
from evil companions, teach him the Koran, and all necessary religious
and special observances and ordinances. He must give him instruction in
the arts of swimming and archery, and see that he is taught some useful
trade, as a protection against poverty. In addition, he must counsel him
to show respect to his mother, and to endure patiently and submissively
the corrections and punishments of his teachers.
Before a boy is old enough to go to school he has to submit to a
religious rite which is observed with much pomp and with sumptuous
feasts.
Before the observance of this rite, the boy, if he belong to the higher
or middle class, is usually paraded about the neighborhood near his
father's home, gayly attired, generally in the dress and ornaments of a
female, with a boy's turban upon the head.
Accompanied by a group of his female friends and relatives, who follow
behind the horse upon which he is mounted, he rides about, preceded by a
band of musicians to herald his coming.
Rich gifts are bestowed upon the young lad by the great men and
merchants, till the storehouses and magazines of the household are
filled to overflowing with various supplies, as rice, honey, sugar,
coffee.
Players and performers of various kinds are engaged to amuse the public.
Often at some of the more pretentious entertainments a recital of the
entire Koran is given. At others a dance is given by male and female
performers in the courtyard before the mansion, or in the street before
the doorway.
Very few children of Arab parentage receive much instruction in
literature. Instances are rare where they receive even the rudiments of
any of the higher sciences. Every town, however, has numerous schools;
even the most moderate-sized village can usually boast of one school at
least.
The schools of the towns are generally attached to the mosque and other
public buildings. Most of these structures and the schools connected
with them--like that attached to the mosque of Ezher here in Cairo--have
been endowed by princes, men of rank, and wealthy tradesmen.
The schoolmaster's duties are light. Generally he teaches his pupils
nothing more than to read the Koran and to recite the whole of it by
heart.
After a pupil has committed the first chapter of the sacred book to
memory, he learns the rest of the chapters in inverse order. This is
done to simplify the task, as the chapters generally decrease in length
towards the end of the book. Hence, he learns on the principle of taking
the easiest lessons first. Instruction in writing and arithmetic he
usually receives from another master.
One more duty the Arab father has to perform, and one which he deems
most important, when his son has arrived at a proper age, which is
considered by some to be twenty years. It is the custom of the father to
select then a suitable wife for his son.
It is an old saying among the Arabs, "When a son has attained the age of
twenty-five years, his father, if able, should marry him, and then take
his hand and say, 'I have disciplined thee, and taught thee, and married
thee; I now seek refuge with God from thy mischief in the present world
and in the next.'"
The girls of an Arab family are seldom taught even reading. Although
admission to the schools where the boys are under instruction is
allowed, yet very few parents permit their girls to get any benefit from
this privilege. They prefer, rather, to give them such literary
instruction as they wish, by employing a learned woman to teach them at
home.
The duties of such a teacher are to instruct her pupils in the forms of
prayer, and to teach them to repeat by heart a few chapters from the
Koran.
Instances are rare where the whole book is committed to memory; for
parents are instructed not to give their daughters a full knowledge of
the laws of the Koran.
Needlework is to some extent taught to the daughters of an Arab
household, but it is not a common custom. In the poorer families the
daughters frequently busy themselves with the spindle and many learn to
weave.
In the families of the higher and middle classes the daughters are
taught to embroider and to do other ornamental work. This is taught to
them at home, or in special schools.
Formerly, singing and playing upon the lute were considered necessary
accomplishments for the daughters of wealthy Arabs. Now, however, such
performances are confined to professionals, or to the slaves of the
royal household.
It is very rare now that any musical instrument, other than a species of
drum or a tambourine, is ever seen in the hands of an Arab lady. These
instruments are used largely by the ladies of the wealthy households and
are beaten by the fingers.
In many households the mothers bestow much care in teaching their
daughters to acquire a fine gait and elegant carriage, as well as
various little details of deportment, to render them attractive and
pleasing in the eyes of others.
Those of you who were so fortunate as to visit the World's Fair at
Chicago doubtless remember the representation of the streets of Cairo.
Not the least among its many unique features was the facsimile of a
wedding procession.
Very slowly such a procession wends its way, headed by the quaint
musicians, who, with lutes, tambourines, flutes, clarionets, and the
peculiar drum of the Arabs, make the air hideous with their so-called
music.
The married women, following behind, look like bats, arrayed as they
are in long black silk wrappers. Behind them, wrapped in white veils,
come the young friends of the bride, and at last the bride herself, so
carefully enveloped in a red cashmere shawl that not a feature can be
seen, and but the barest outline of her figure. Her only ornament is a
costly gold coronet.
She is accompanied by two relatives, who with much dignity walk on each
side of her. A canopy of bright red material, supported on four poles,
waves over her, and richly embroidered scarfs hang from it or flutter in
the breeze. More musicians bring up the rear.
From time to time the procession halts in order to afford what is
considered a rich treat for eye and ear to the people who dwell upon the
streets through which the procession passes.
It is the custom of the Arab women to go heavily veiled, in order that
their features may be hidden from mankind. When the young bridegroom
receives his bride from her family, it is his privilege to lift her veil
as he utters the words, "In the name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful!" For the first time, usually, he now beholds the face of the
bride, who, with eyes modestly downcast, stands before him.
The life of a young wife is not an enviable one, for she but leaves the
seclusion of her father's home for the still closer seclusion of her
husband's, where, surrounded by her women slaves, she passes the time in
a monotonous routine.
The slaves of an Arab household are, many of them, fairly educated and
possess some little knowledge of sewing. In the wealthy households many
of the slaves have been taught to sing and to dance, or have been
trained to repeat lyric poetry for the entertainment and amusement of
their owners.
In every Arab household the women's apartments are set off from the
others; for it is part of the Mohammedan religion that women shall lead
a life of seclusion, surrounded only by their children and female
slaves.
The duties of these slaves are not laborious, though they may be
monotonous. They consist mostly in waiting upon and serving their
mistresses, who have scarcely more liberty than they. The negro slaves
are a decided contrast to the white slaves, and are employed mainly in
the kitchen and other domestic apartments.
Most of the slaves are well treated and lead happy and contented lives,
since they can have no conception of a free, unfettered life such as the
humblest tiller of the soil may enjoy when he lives in the land where
the "red, white, and blue" floats in the air, a symbol of liberty to all
who claim its protection.