YEZDI TYPES.

The numbers are from the left.

1. A qan’at maker. This is the man who digs the tunnels by which the water is brought from the base of the hills to the towns in the plain. The leather bag on his arm is a bucket.

2. A Parsi raiyat, or agriculturist, with his spade.

3. A porter.

4. A charvadar (muleteer) from Lāristān. These very big men often come to Yezd with caravans.

5. A Jew, who is divining from his book for the charvadar. The Jew has his boy with him.

6. An oil-seller. He carries the oil in gourds.

7. A darvish, or religious mendicant.

8. An Arab. These are sometimes seen in Yezd, but like the Lari charvadar they do not really belong to the town.

FIVE YEARS
IN A PERSIAN TOWN

BY NAPIER MALCOLM

NEW YORK
E. P. DUTTON AND COMPANY
1905

Printed in Great Britain.

PREFACE

I feel that this short sketch of a Persian town needs an apology. It will not improbably be mistaken for a book of travel. Stopping five years in one place is not travelling, and the experience of such a stay is not a traveller’s experience. The descriptions that will be found in this volume refer to a very small area, and consequently a good deal of minute work has been attempted that would have been out of place in the painting of a larger sphere.

Then, again, this is not a book upon mission work. There is comparatively little about the very interesting work which is being carried on in Yezd by the Church Missionary Society, but there is a great deal about the circumstances under which missionaries work, for the book is really a description of a Persian town from the missionary point of view. This will explain why certain details, such as the dress and food of the people, are left out altogether; for, although there may be some connection between these things and the kind of way in which missionary work ought to be conducted, it is not at present apparent to the writer. On the other hand, the general effects of house, street, and desert, which meet the Yezdi’s eye at every turn, have been rather elaborately described, for scenery and scenic surroundings have much effect on character, and the study of character is essential in missionary work.

In most of the descriptions I have taken special care to preserve the true proportion between good and evil, so far as I have been able to estimate it in the thing described. I have specially done this in the necessarily incomplete sketches which I have drawn of the Yezdi’s character and religious beliefs. But in dealing with the Persian Government I have consciously deviated from this practice. Consequently, I must ask the reader to regard all references to the Government as going no further than the actual statements. I have also, as far as possible, avoided alluding to political problems; for, in a country like Persia, for a man engaged in serious missionary work abstention from politics is almost a sine qua non.

It will, perhaps, be felt by some that more ought to be made of the points in common between Islam and Christianity. The fact is that when people come to the missionary they do not want to find agreement but disagreement, and consequently the missionary gets to think not so much of what they know as of what they do not know. So a missionary writer is, perhaps, inclined to pass over common points, whatever religion he is writing about. In the case of Islam there are really not many to note, and in support of this statement I may relate a story told by an officer of Indian troops. One day a Mohammedan, in the course of a conversation, said to him: “Of course, Sahib, your religion and ours are very near together. Your Christ is one of our prophets.” My friend replied: “What do you mean? Of course Christ is one of your prophets, but to us He is more than a prophet; He is the Son of God and the pattern of our lives. Besides there is hardly a single practical point where Mohammedans and Christians are not entirely at issue.” The man looked up and said: “Sahib, you have read the Quran, and you have read your Bible. I always make that remark to Christians: I made it to a padre the other day: and they almost always say, ‘Very true; Mohammedanism has a great deal in common with Christianity.’ Well, Sahib, when they say that, I know that they have not read the Quran and they have not read their Bibles.”

My best thanks are due to Miss Mary Bird, whose name is well known both in Persia and to all interested in that country, for the valuable assistance that she has given me out of the wide and unique experience that she possesses on the subjects handled in my book. I am also very grateful to the Rev. G. Furness Smith for several valuable suggestions.

I am indebted to the Rev. C. H. Stileman and to Mr Paul Peter for some of the photographs illustrating the book. The coloured prints and the picture of the School are from drawings by a native artist, Mirza Abu’l Qasim.

CONTENTS

PAGE
CHAPTER I
The Yezd district—Desert—Water supply—Villages—The town of Yezd—Gardens—Streets—Houses—Furniture—Cleanliness—Undurability of buildings—Built for heat—Hill villages—Effect of surroundings on intellect and character[1-35]
CHAPTER II
Isolation and insularity—The town the geographical and political unit—Extension of citizenship to strangers—Bigotry—Oppression and persecution of Parsis—Improvement in their position—Position of Jews—Fanaticism largely non-religious—Position of European colony[36-59]
CHAPTER III
Persian Mohammedanism—Mohammed—Founding of Islam—Shiahs and Sunnis—Laxity distinguished from infidelity—Central doctrines of Islam—The Divine Unity—The prophethood—Behāi view of the prophethood—The Bāb—The Behāullah—Behāīism—Its prospects—Islam—Predestination—Repentance—Savābs—Eating with unbelievers—Charge of pantheism—Effect of Islam on character[60-114]
CHAPTER IV
Results of Islam—Untruthfulness—Superstitions—Pilgrimages—Divining—Jins and Dīvs—The evil eye—Trivial commandments—Entertainments—Islam includes rather than controls the life—Two purposes better than one—Ceremonial uncleanness[115-135]
CHAPTER V
Character of the Yezdi—Systematised inconsistency—Loyalty to causes and individuals—Unreliability of evidence—Shame—Humour—Disregard of time—Language—Lack of initiative—Courage—The Yezdi soldier—Etiquette and manners—Triviality—Pride—Kindliness and cruelty—Dishonesty—Difficulty in obtaining anything—Tendency to fatalism—Latent strength of Persian character—Family ties—The jus paternum—Religious liberty—Open-handedness—Summary[136-187]
CHAPTER VI
Difficulties in dealing with enquirers—Language—Argument—Parabolic interpretations—Distrust of evidence—Ignorance—Attachment to Islam as representing whole scheme of life—The problem of converts—Industrial missions—Employment by missionaries—Helpful points—Readiness for religious discussion—Quickness in grasping single points—Yezdi wants distinctive and systematic teaching—And a concrete example—Difficulties in accepting converts—Tests[188-216]
CHAPTER VII
Getting into touch with the natives—The missionary’s style of life—Visiting and receiving visitors—Philanthropic work—Poor relief—School work—Medical work[217-255]
Conclusion[256]
Glossary[265]

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

YEZDI TYPES[Frontispiece]
HUJJATABAD, THE FIRST STAGE FROM YEZDTo face p.[6]
SWEET EATING IN A TALAR”[26]
DEHBALA”[34]
SMALL SQUARE IN YEZD”[76]
CORPSES EN ROUTE TO THE QUM CEMETERY”[120]
SANDY DESERT NEAR YEZD”[120]
CARRYING THE NAKHL IN THE BIG SQUARE IN YEZD”[134]
SQUARE OUTSIDE GOVERNOR’S RESIDENCE IN YEZD”[184]
A VIEW OF YEZD”[216]
SCENES IN YEZDI LIFE”[226]
THE SCHOOL”[242]
MAP[at the End]