The Nestorians and their Rituals/Volume 1/Chapter 9
CHAPTER IX.
Six miles to the north-east of Nimrood is the old Syrian convent of Mar Behnâm. This is a large square edifice, with a low entrance, leading into an open court separated by a double row of apartments intended for the accommodation of the resident monks. A spacious portico extends along the entire front of the church, which is situated on the right of the court, and measures about 50 ft. by 60 ft. The interior of the building looked so extremely wretched, that I was not prepared to find here one of the finest specimens of ecclesiastical architecture in the country. Two noble entrances, constructed chiefly of marble, and ornamented with Estrangheli, or ancient Syriac, inscriptions, lead into the church. The nave is divided into two unequal portions by a double arch resting on a single isolated pilaster, opposite to which is a circular column supporting a kind of canopy, raised over the entrance into the chapel, on the right of the principal sacrarium. The high altar is situated in a semicircular recess beneath a beautifully carved dome, and a vaulted roof of still more exquisite workmanship covers the apartment which occupies the south-western wing. To the left of the sacrarium is the Beit Kaddeeshé, or cemetery, where several Syrian Bishops are buried, and over whose graves
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are elaborate inscriptions cut on marble slabs and fixed into the wall. On the eastern face of the large pilaster is a full-length bas-relief portrait of Sarah, the sister of Mar Behnâm, and on the altar-screen opposite, there is a similar representation of the saint himself mounted on a horse, both of which are much defaced. The annexed plan may serve to illustrate the above description.
Twenty yards distant from the convent is the baptistery: this is a plain building, of an oblong form, with a semicircular recess at the eastern end, in which the font is placed. The font is 3 ft. in diameter, and stands about 4 ft. above the ground. A passage through the floor in front of the recess leads into a subterranean chapel containing eight small recesses, evidently intended for tombs, and covered with a neat dome. Among the monumental records, we noticed one in large Armenian characters. A sarcophagus of black marble is pointed out as the burial-place of Mar Behnâm, but the epitaph, which appears to have stood in the wall behind, has been removed. In an adjoining niche, we found a Syriac inscription, of which the following is a translation:—
"Like the censer in the sanctuary,
So is Mar Behnâm in his convent;
And what rain and dew are to the earth,
So are his prayers to our souls."
The chapel is dedicated to the "Forty Martyrs," who suffered martyrdom with Mar Behnâm.
This convent has become the property of the Papal Syrians, while that of Mar Mattai still belongs to the Jacobites. When we first visited it in 1844, it was only tenanted by a few Coords, and the whole building was rapidly falling into decay; since then, however, it has been repaired, and service is now daily performed in the church by a resident priest. According to Syrian martyrology, the father of Mar Behnâm was a Persian king, who slew him and his sister Sarah for having embraced Christianity. Sarah is still regarded as a saint, and the ruins of a monastery dedicated to her memory are still to be seen in an adjoining village, called after her Zara Khatoon, or the Lady Sarah, which is now inhabited by a few Coords.
The convent of Mar Behnâm is highly venerated by the Mussulmans under the title of Khudhr Elias, or Elijah the Seer. What relation can ever have existed between the martyr and the prophet it is not easy to divine; the Jacobites solve the difficulty by saying, that the latter name was given to it in order to secure the respect of the Mohammedans; and they further add, that this stratagem has often saved the convent when other monasteries around them have been plundered and deserted.
The internal disposition of the Church is similar to that of Sheikh Matta, which shall be described anon, and not unlike the general arrangement of the Nestorian churches, of which more will be said hereafter. The ground floor clearly shows that the division of the nave was intended a form a separate chapel, to which the Beit Kaddeeshé served as a sacrarium. The baptistery occupies nearly the same position here as the font in the convent of Deir Zaaferân. There must be some reason why baptism among the Syrian Christians of old was administered so near the abode of the dead.[1] In the modern Jacobite churches, the font is generally placed within the bema, on the south side of the altar, as in the annexed sketch. In this case, however, it is clear, from the existence of the adjacent baptistery, as also from the comparative newness of the font now in the church, that its existence there was not coeval with the original plan.
In the month of October, 1843, during one of our excursions among the Christians near Mosul, we spent two days at the convent of Mar Mattai, generally known as Sheikh Matta, situated near the summit of Jebel Makloob, and about four hours' ride from the town. Rich visited this part in 1820, but since then the convent has undergone a great change. Old Mutran Moosa, who entertained him, died a few years after, and Rabban Matta was appointed abbot in his stead. In his time, the monastery was attacked by the Coordish Pasha of Rawandooz, whose soldiers defaced or destroyed most of the inscriptions, expelled the resident monks, and plundered all the church property.
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SYRIAN CONVENT OF MAR MATTAI OR SHEIKH MATTA.
The ascent to the convent is over a steep and rugged road leading through a deep defile, which it took us forty minutes to accomplish from the valley below. We found the building deserted, and entirely destitute of gates or doors. A row of dilapidated apartments surround a triple court, at the end of which is the church, a very substantial edifice, differing little in its internal arrangement from that already described at Mar Behnâm, and above this is a small chapel dedicated to the Blessed Virgin. The annexed is a correct plan of the church.
We found the following epitaph in Carshooni (i.e. Arabic written in Syriac characters), over the remains of Gregory bar Hebræus and his brother, who are buried in the Beit Kaddeeshé, to the north of the sacrarium.
"This is the grave of Mar Gregory John, and of Mar
Barsoma his brother, the children of the
Hebrew, on Mount Elpep."[2]
To which are added two lines in Syriac, said to have been penned by Gregory himself during his lifetime. They run thus:—
"O net of the world, in the year 1536[3] thou didst catch me;
But my hope is that in 1597 I shall not be in thee."
Then again in Carshooni:—
"He reached the Lord on the 30th of August."
The scoffer Gibbon, contrary to his wont, bears this testimony to a Christian Bishop: "Some strangers of merit have been converted to the Monophysite faith, and a Jew was the father of Abulpharagius, Primate of the east, so truly eminent both in his life and death. In his life, he was an elegant writer of the Syriac and Arabic tongues, a poet, physician and historian, a subtle philosopher, and a moderate divine. In his death, his funeral was attended by his rival, the Nestorian Patriarch, with a train of Greeks and Armenians, who forgot their disputes, and mingled their tears over the grave of an enemy."
A short distance from the convent is another sepulchral apartment, at the eastern extremity of which is a large natural cave. This is the burial-place of several Syrian Bishops, whose graves are covered with long epitaphs in the Estrangheli character. Thence we ascended to the traditional abode of Mar Mattai, the founder, consisting of two narrow grots, not far from the summit of the mountain, in one of which is a small altar hewn out of the rock, and in the other an oblong niche, evidently intended for a bed. Here our guide pointed out to us two holes in the ground, which are said to have been worn by the knees of the hermit. There is a Syriac inscription over the altar, but so defaced, that we could not decipher it. On the opposite side of the mountain, are the ruins of an ancient monastery dedicated to Mar Auraha, which once belonged to the Nestorians, but is now claimed by the Jacobites.
The view from the top of Jebel Makloob is at once grand and interesting: on the north the high hills of Akra hem in the extensive plain of Navkoor, where the waters of the Gomel are seen mingling with those of the Khazir, the ancient Bumudas. The united stream may then be traced in its course round Jebel Ain-oos-Safrâ, as it meanders by many an artificial mound of Assyrian origin, and by many a modern village and encampment of Coord and Arab, until it reaches the great Zab. On the east the prospect is bounded by the snow-topped mountains which separated Assyria from the Media of old; and on the west, the Tigris is seen flowing under the walls of Nineveh and Mosul, and making in its onward progress to the south the eastern limit of Mesopotamia.
Descending a little to the west of the convent is a large natural cave called Eu-Nakoot, the roof of which forms a dripping fountain. In the front of the cave are a few trees affording a cool and agreeable shade, and much frequented by the people of Mosul during the summer months. After examining all the objects of interest in the neighbourhood, we spread our carpets in the church porch, and talked over the faded fortunes of the Syrian Christians. Sleep was out of the question on account of the innumerable gnats which seemed to enjoy our visit amazingly. Our town servants and Coordish muleteers collected themselves into a separate group at a little distance, and whiled away the evening in singing some of their plaintive mountain airs. The moon shone resplendent till a late hour, and continued her calm and majestic course through a cloudless sky, long after the soft cadence of the Coordish song had given place to the hum of insects, and to the flittings of bats and owls, now the sole guardians of the tomb of Bar Hebræus.
The day following we took a trip to Ain-oos-Safrâ about two hours to the south-east of the convent. The spring from which the mountain derives its name, is situated on the verge of the plain where its waters are collected into a cistern swarming with small leeches and enormous frogs. This place is held in high veneration by the Yezeedees around, who have here a yearly dance in honour of one of their reputed saints. The branches of a wild fig-tree hard by were covered with rags of different colours, which we learned on inquiry betokened the visits of those people who resort hither to seek the divine intervention in their behalf. Such as are about to undertake a journey, barren women, and the sick and infirm, are the principal visitors on ordinary occasions, and these record their vows, by tearing off a shred from their garments, and tying it to the tree before mentioned. The same custom prevails extensively among the Mohammedans throughout Turkey, and it is not uncommon for the traveller to meet with shrubs and bushes on the road literally hid under these votive offerings.
Close by the spring are the ruins of the convent of Mar Gawrièl, and on the summit of the mountain we saw the remains of a similar building dedicated to Mar Danièl, both formerly tenanted by Nestorian monks. Once a year divine service is celebrated at the latter place, and the Chaldeans and other Christians who resort thither consider it a miracle that on their first arrival myriads of beetles are seen creeping up the walls and about the ruins which, they say, entirely disappear as soon as the prayers are ended. It is affirmed, and I believe with truth, that the more superstitious regale themselves with a mess of these noisome insects before returning home.
Since our first visit to Mar Mattai the convent has been partially repaired and is now the residence of Mutran Matta and two monks. Mutran Matta is the same person who has already been mentioned as the abbot who succeeded Mutran Moosa just before the attack of the Coords. His appointment to this place is another proof of the mal-administration of the ecclesiastical affairs of the Syrians; for whilst the extensive district of Jebel Toor is left to the care of three bishops, the only five Jacobite villages in this neighbourhood are formed into a diocese under Mutran Matta, separate from that of the town of Mosul, to which the episcopal jurisdiction of Mutran Behnâm is confined. We passed a few weeks here during the summer of 1850, and in that time had abundant opportunity of becoming acquainted with the internal economy of the establishment. Mutran Matta received me as an old friend, and placed at our disposal two of the best rooms in the convent. He is an illiterate man, but simple and kind-hearted, and after matins spends most of his time in superintending the repairs of the monastery and in looking after its revenue. He seemed busy all day long in attending to the crops, sheep, cows, fowls, wood, and other provisions; of which a large stock is kept for the use of the numerous visitors from Mosul and the surrounding villages who frequent the convent in the hot season. Several of these parties of pleasure thronged the place during our stay, and converted the sacred precincts into a common inn. Eating and drinking to excess seemed to be the sole object of their visit, and the noise of their revelry went on from day to day in spite of the entreaties and remonstrances of the Bishop. Every person on leaving is expected to make an adequate return for the provisions with which he has been supplied, as also for his accommodation in the convent, and the attempts made by some to avoid payment frequently gave rise to unpleasant altercation between the Bishop and the visitors. What a position this for a Christian prelate to occupy!
Mr. Rassam related to me that on going to reside for a week at Mar Mattai, three years prior to our visit, he found the interior of the convent in a most filthy state. As usual during the hot weather, the place was crowded with townspeople who only added to the accumulated nuisance and disregarded every solicitation to clear it away. What he failed to effect through the Bishop he now thought of accomplishing by stratagem, and accordingly wrote a feigned letter from the Pasha demanding of the convent, on account of government, a contribution of four hundred weight of bones to be made into manure. A mounted attendant was directed to bring this order as coming from Mosul, and on reaching the gate he delivered the letter into the hands of Mutran Matta, who kissed it respectfully in token of obedience. Not being able to read Turkish he requested Mr. Rassam to make known to him the contents, and on hearing what was demanded of him, his consternation knew no bounds: "What shall I do? what shall I do?" said the poor bishop; "If I slaughter all the cattle of the convent they will not yield one-fourth of that quantity of bones. And where can I go to procure bones? O Consul! Consul! use your influence to get me released from such an imposition." By this time many of the principal visitors had gathered about the bishop, who added their entreaties to his that Mr. Rassam would save them from a fine which it was impossible for them to pay. Knowing as he did the character of the Pasha, he could only promise them some abatement in the demand, say two instead of four hundred weight of bones; but even this he would only engage to do upon condition that the convent was thoroughly cleaned in the course of the day. This device acted like magic; in the twinkling of an eye, men, women, and children, some with brooms and fire-fans, others with their hands and clothes, entered upon the task, and in less than four hours not a vestige of rubbish was to be seen. Still the affrighted Bishop could not rest, and when Mr. Rassam was leaving the convent he laid hold of the reins of his horse and begged him for the sake of his church and people, not to forget to plead with the Pasha on his behalf. Mr. Rassam then disclosed to him the artifice, and the joy of the poor man on finding himself free from the threatened exaction was not a little heightened by the pleasure which he derived on looking at the altered appearance and cleanliness of his convent.
The names of the villages in this district which are under the jurisdiction of Mutran Matta are: Karakôsh, Bartolli, Ba-Sheaka, Ba-Hazâni, and Kôb near Akra, containing in all 350 Jacobite families. We visited each of these in succession, and found many both among the clergy and laity, who deplored the state of their church and wished for a reform. The complaint was that the Bishops were indifferent to their spiritual wants, and only came among them to collect tithe.
During another excursion in 1843 we visited the Chaldean convent of Rabban Hormuzd, situated in a deep gorge of the mountain range which bounds the plain of Mosul on the north, and about thirty miles from the town. We were met at the gate by the old abbot and by several of the monks, who ushered us into the convent, and spread carpets for us in the churchyard. The abbot was the same who twenty-three years before had entertained Mr. and Mrs. Rich, and he betrayed evident emotions of interest as he led us into one of the chapels and showed us the names of these travellers engraved on the walls. Since Rich's time, however, the convent has been twice plundered by the Coordish pashas of Rawandooz and Amedia. Traces of the excesses wrought by the infidel soldiery on these occasions were yet visible in the broken altars and disfigured walls of the chapels which they had converted into kitchens and stables. Everything of any value was carried away, several of the monks were inhumanly murdered, and the few MSS. which had survived the inundation recorded by Rich were torn in pieces or burned with fire.
At the time of our visit the convent contained thirty-five lay brethren and four priests including the abbot; the former are almost exclusively engaged in cultivating the fields, and in other manual labour connected with the establishment, or in collecting contributions from the villages around. The priests with one exception were illiterate men, who seemed to have no other occupation than that of reciting the daily prayers. They knew hardly anything of the contents of a few Syriac MSS. which formed the library, and confessed that the only book in common use among them was Antoine's theology in Arabic, printed by the Propaganda for the use of the Eastern Churches in communion with Rome.
According to historical tradition Rabban Hormuzd lived prior to the council of Ephesus, and was the chief founder of monasticism in this country. His name is held in high veneration by the Nestorians, to whom this, as well as all the other convents which once existed in the plains of Mosul, and are now claimed by the Chaldeans, belonged. The remains of the Rabban or monk are buried at the eastern end of the church called after his name, where his tomb now serves as an altar. In the ground
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CONVENT OF RABBAN HORMUZD.
below there is a deep hole from whence earth is taken, and after being mixed with water is made into small balls of clay which are carried away as a charm by such as attend the commemoration of the saint's festival. The church appears to be the only relic of the original structure, and like all the ancient edifices of the kind in these parts is of an oblong form, with an arched roof and entirely destitute of windows. Light is admitted into it from an upper chapel reached by a passage opening into the church, in which are the tombs of many Nestorian Patriarchs. This passage serves as the Beit Kaddeeshé, and an adjoining apartment is still called the Beitá d'Amâdha, or Baptistery, though not now used as such by the Chaldeans.
The tombs of the Nestorian Patriarchs are covered with elaborate epitaphs in the Estrangheli character, each containing a short declaration of the faith of the deceased. Wherever the confession of "two persons" in Christ has been inscribed on the marble, the zealous Chaldean monks have taken the pains to erase it, thus forcing the dead as it were to utter a doctrine which, while living, they professed to disbelieve.
There are two other chapels at Rabban Hormuzd of modern foundation, dedicated to the Holy Trinity and the Four Evangelists, These are simple structures, each consisting of a nave and sacrarium, the walls and altar of which are decked with tawdry pictures and other ornaments imported from Rome. The rocks around contain a number of natural caves which form the cells of the monks. The monastic order professed is that of S. Anthony, but the discipline observed is very lax compared with that of similar establishments in Egypt and Palestine. At the time of our first visit the monks were only allowed to eat meat twice a year, viz., on Christmas and Easter day; wine and spirits were also prohibited. Since then, however, the revenue of the convent has been increased by the plunder of the property belonging to the old patriarchal family, as will be related hereafter, and the Chaldeans themselves now say that none enjoy the good things of this world as much as the monks of Rabban Hormuzd. The only other Chaldean convent now in existence is that of Mar Gheorghees, two miles north of Mosul, on the eastern bank of the river, which was rebuilt by the late Patriarch Mar Zeyya, who intended to establish a school there; but the scheme was abandoned and the convent is now tenanted by a solitary monk. Thus besides the Propaganda, where a youth is occasionally sent to be educated, Rabban Hormuzd is the only seminary for supplying the ranks of the Chaldean clergy.
An hour's ride brought us to Alkôsh, celebrated as the burial place of the prophet Nahum, and the seat of the Nestorian patriarchs after they had abandoned Seleucia and Baghdad. This is a large village containing 300 Chaldean families and two churches, one of which is now in ruins. Mutran Yoosef, who styles himself Bishop of Amedia and Bahdinan, generally resides here; but he was absent on a visit to the valley of the Supna where he has succeeded in bringing over many Nestorians to the Church of Rome. Alkôsh, however, is not under his jurisdiction, but together with Mosul and the surrounding villages forms a part of the episcopal diocese of the patriarch.
In 1850 when we again spent a day here, I took up my lodgings in the old residence of the Nestorian patriarchs, where a few of their Chaldean descendants still find a miserable shelter. Though once a rather sumptuous abode, it is now nothing better than a heap of ruins; indeed the entire village is in a very dilapidated condition and the people looked sickly and miserable. Mutran Yoosef, who has succeeded Mar Zeyya in the patriarchate since our last visit, sometimes resides here with his brother, the surgeon and doctor of the village, a tall rough-looking man,—but he was then absent at Mosul.
We next went to the so-called grave of Nahum, who in holy writ is styled "Nahum the Elkoshite,"[4] though it is very doubtful whether this is the site either of the prophet's birth or burial. The building is the property of the Jews: they come on a pilgrimage hither once a year during the month of May from Mosul and the surrounding villages, and generally pass a week here in praying and feasting. A Chaldean who acts as guardian, (for no Jew resides at Alkôsh,) showed us the interior of the edifice, which is nothing more than a plain room, with a flat roof supported by several arches. The tomb occupies nearly the centre of the apartment, and consists of a wooden box, covered with green cloth, and enclosed within an ornamental marble screen. On the tomb I observed several printed copies of
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SHEIKH ADI, FROM THE SOUTH.
Nahum's prophecy and on the wall beyond a long inscription in Hebrew. The identity of this spot with the Elkosh of the prophet is believed by the Christians generally, the Chaldeans only excepted. In my booyoorooltu, or safe conduct, which I had obtained from the Pasha, it was styled the "grave of our lord Nahum."
The next place of interest to which I shall conduct my readers is Sheikh Adi, the principal shrine of the Yezeedees, sometimes called the devil-worshippers. This place is situated about twenty miles to the east of Rabban Hormuzd, in the same mountain range, but a little farther north. A deep ravine through which runs a limpid stream, lined with oak, poplar, and olive trees, forms a shady avenue to the temple, the whitened cones of which rise up in the distance from amidst a thick foliage, giving a picturesque and lively appearance to the lonely scenery around. Following the course of the rivulet we proceeded under a long covered archway to two large basins into which two separate streams flowed from a couple of springs over which two small buildings are erected. Turning to the right we entered the outer court of the temple, shadowed by large spreading mulberry trees, with eight recesses on each side which serve as stalls or shops during the season of pilgrimage. On the heights around, which are covered with dwarf oak, are numerous dwellings, of various sizes and shapes, destined for the accommodation of the pilgrims. Here we were met by the Nâzir or Guardian of the sacred shrine, and by two male and several female attendants, who immediately recognized me as having visited Sheikh Adi six months before. The women wore a smooth white cotton turban, and a long woollen robe of the same colour. The outer habit of the male attendants was a black woollen cassock bound round the waist with a leathern girdle, and a black turban. The dress of the Nâzir was made of the same material, but his turban was white, and his girdle, in which he always carried a small axe, consisted of a chain of copper rings fastened in front by a hook of the same metal. This and the white turban seemed to form the insignia of his office.
We then passed from the centre into the inner court through a covered passage leading between two lodges, where we were requested to take off our shoes. The inner wall of this building forms the western boundary of the temple yard, and is covered with a number of symbolical figures roughly cut on its surface. The court is enclosed on the left by a dead wall, and on the right by several small apartments, while the front of the temple, on which also are many rude engravings, makes up the quadrangle. Instead of attempting any description of these hieroglyphics, I shall refer the reader to the annexed plates where the whole is set down in detail. In one corner of the yard is the Nâzir's seat under a small niche where a lamp is kept burning during the night. On this is an imperfect inscription in Arabic, from which I could only make out the following. On one side:—
"Sultan Yezeed, the mercy of God be upon him."
And on the other side:
"Sheikh Adi, the mercy of God be upon him."
Over one of the apartments in the court-yard is another inscription to this effect:
"This is the epitaph of Hajji ibn Ismaeel. Blessedness is inscribed on her gates, therefore enter them in peace. Amen. In the year 1195."
A stream of water runs into a square basin in the yard floor, and thence flows under the walls of the temple; and in the niche of a raised seat hard by, we observed a number of small earthen balls, which we learned on inquiry, were made of the clay dug up from the vicinity of the principal tomb, to be taken away and used as charms by pious visitors. We were next ushered into the temple, which consists of an oblong apartment, divided into two aisles, (that on the left being raised a few feet above the other,) by a row of five arches, which support the roof. To the right of the entrance is a platform, and a square basin of running water, with a seat at each corner, evidently intended for the accommodation of such as come here to bathe.
Along the wall to the right are several empty niches, and in the aisle opposite, stands a wooden tomb, covered with a curtain. Lower down the same aisle is a large recess, with a long Arabic inscription, which, to my astonishment, I found to be a quotation from the Koran. Two openings a little beyond, lead into as many rooms, in each of which is a tomb, similar to that already
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A Nazir's seat.
FRONT OF THE ENCLOSURE FACING THE TEMPLE OF SHEIKH ADI.
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FRONT OF THE TEMPLE OF SHEIKH ADI
described; and in one a door to some subterranean apartment, which we were not allowed to enter. The tombs are surmounted on the roof by three cones as in the annexed sketch.
A door in the eastern extremity of the temple leads into another apartment of equal dimensions, but this we found quite empty, if we except a raised platform, on the left of the entrance. The accompanying ground plan will illustrate the above description.
In the vicinity of the temple, are scattered a number of covered walks, built without any apparent design, and from forty to fifty Shaks, the name given by the Yezeedees to the tombs which they profess to raise over their great Sheikhs. Almost every Yezeedee village has one or more of these monuments, which, however, are mere cenotaphs, made on the model of the different tombs at Sheikh Adi, where they tell you the reputed saints are buried. Thus, for instance, the Nâzir pointed out to us the Shaks corresponding to those at Ba-Sheaka, Ba-Hazani, Ain Sifni, and other places. The subjoined is the most common form of these monuments.
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YEZEEDEE SHAKS.
We found the interior of the tombs empty, and the only inscriptions were the following:
"This is the epitaph of Semdeen, the son of Sheikh Khadarset. Ziyanet [Shrine] in the year 1196."
"O Shems Ali Beg, and Faris! Be my good fortune and the good fortune of your house in this world and in the next."
If the above date corresponds with that of the Hegira, about one century has elapsed since it was set up. The Arabic inscriptions throughout are badly cut, and the language is still worse: a clear proof of the ignorance of these people.
Towards sunset, one of the attendants proceeded to fulfil his daily task of illuminating the sacred places in the vicinity. He held in his hand a copper vessel filled with cotton wicks, steeped in sesame oil, one of which he left at the entrance to each tomb, in the different covered passages, and close by every spring. These burned for a few minutes and then all was dark again. The same custom is observed by the Yezeedees in the different villages inhabited by them.
After witnessing this ceremony, we inquired of the Nâzir, whether there was any objection to our remaining the night at Sheikh Adi. This was in 1844, before which time, only one European had visited the temple, and none had ever slept within the sacred precincts. After some demur, we received his assent, and were permitted to spread our carpets in the outer court, where the Nâzir and his attendants joined us, with whom I had a long conversation, of which the following is the substance:—
Question. Where is Sheikh Adi?
Nâzir. Where is Jesus? Where is Mohammed? Where is Ali?
Q. Jesus is everywhere; but what has that to do with Sheikh Adi?
N. If Jesus is everywhere, so is Sheikh Adi.
Q. From whence is Sheikh Adi? who was his father?
N. Sheikh Adi has no father.
On manifesting some surprise at this answer, the Nazir added: "Why do you wonder? Had Jesus any father?" I answered "no," and then proceeded.
Q. Who was his mother?
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N. He has no mother.
Q. Then you make him greater than Jesus, whose mother was the blessed Virgin Mary?
N. So it is; Sheikh Adi is greater than Jesus. He is without parentage, and is from the light.
Q. When did Sheikh Adi die?
N. He is not dead, neither can he die.
Q. What will become of you after death?
N. I do not know.
Q. Do you believe in heaven and hell?
N. Yes.
Q. Who is the author of good ?
Elder Attendant. Khoodé, (the Coordish for "God,") or Sheikh Adi.
Q. Who is the author of evil?
E. A. Melek Taoos.
Q. Will evil have an end?
E. A. N. Will evil end while the world continues to exist?
Q. But will not the world have an end?
N. Yes.
Q. How long will good reign?
E. A. Good will reign for seventy years.
Q. What will then become of Melek Taoos?
E. A. God will give him another place.
Q. Is it true that adultery is allowed among you?
Younger Attendant. Yes ; men and women are allowed to do as they please when within the precincts of Sheikh Adi.
Q. Did Sheikh Adi commit adultery?
Y. A. God forbid! Did Jesus do such things?
Q. No; neither does He permit His followers to do them; but according to your admission, that is lawful which Sheikh Adi disallowed.
Here the elder attendant interposed, and contradicted his companion. He then pointed to a stone raised on the mountains above, and addressing me said: "Whenever the Yezeedees cross that limit, they are bound to forget all such things."
Q. Are you married?
E.A. No.
Q. Whose son is that who follows you about?
E. A. My brother's.
Q. Are you permitted to marry?
E. A. Yes, the Nâzir alone is not allowed to have a wife.
Q. Why did you light the wicks at the tombs?
E. A. In token of respect.
Q. When do you receive your names?
E. A. As soon as we are born.
Q. Where are you circumcised?
E. A. At the villages where we are born.
Q. When are you dipped into the water?
E. A. When we first come to Sheikh Adi, and every time afterwards.
Q. What prayers do you use at the feast of the pilgrims?
E. A. We don't pray; the Kawwâls pray, but we do not know what they say.
Q. Don't you worship towards the sun?
E. A. Yes, at sunrise and sunset.
I then endeavoured to obtain from them some explanation of the different symbols engraved upon the front of the temple; but their only answer was, that they knew of no secret meaning attached to them. The inscription over the entrance records the rebuilding of the edifice by Husein Beg, the grandfather of the present Emeer of that name, in the year of the Hegira 1221, and my informants stated, that the different representations of a comb were inscribed on the walls out of respect for his long beard. I have since spoken with many Kawwâls and others on the subject, and am of opinion, that if originally intended as mystical signs, their meaning is lost to the Yezeedees of the present day, who regard them as mere ornaments.
The Christians in these parts entertain an opinion that the temple of Sheikh Adi was originally a church dedicated to Mar Addai, or Thaddeus, of the Seventy, one of the great apostles of the East. Nothing in the arrangement of the interior favours this belief; and the adoration offered to the sun by the Yezeedees, sufficiently accounts for its being built east and west.
- ↑ May not this arrangement have some reference to our being "buried with Christ in baptism unto death?" Rom. vi. 4; Col. ii. 12, &c.
- ↑ "Elpep" is the name given to Jebel Makloob in all the ancient Syriac MSS.
- ↑ Of the Grecian era; corresponding to a.d. 1225.
- ↑ Nahum i. 1.