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.
A SHA’ER, WITH HIS ACCOMPANYING VIOLIST, AND PART OF HIS AUDIENCE.
Lane’s Modern Egyptians]
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