The second day of the feast at Muna was passed in the same manner as the first; but the putrefying carcases of the sheep became excessively offensive in some parts of the valley, as very few of the richer hadjys can consume the victims which they kill. The Hanefys are not even allowed by the laws of their sect to eat more than one-eighth of a sheep. The greater part of the flesh falls to the lot of the poorer hadjys, and the entrails are thrown about the valley
[p.283] and the street. The negroes and Indians were employed in cutting some of the meat into slices, and drying it for their travelling provision. [Until the sixteenth century, it was an established rule with the Sultans of Egypt, and afterwards with those of Constantinople, to furnish, at Muna, all the poor hadjys with food at the expense of the royal treasury. The Pagan Arabs distinguished themselves more particularly during the Hadj for their hospitality; and such of them as went on the pilgrimage, were gratuitously entertained by all those whose tents they passed on the road; they having previously prepared for that purpose large supplies of food. (See Kotobeddyn.)—Among the wonders which distinguish Muna from other valleys, El Fasy relates that it occasionally extends its dimensions to accommodate any number of pilgrims; that on the day of sacrifice, no vultures ever carry off the slaughtered lambs, thus leaving them for the poor hadjys; and that, notwithstanding the quantity of raw flesh, no flies ever molest the visiters at this place. That the last remark is false, I can declare from my own experience.]
To-day many hadjys performed their prayers in the Mesdjed el Kheyf, which I found crowded with poor Indians, who had taken up their quarters in it. The pavement was thickly spread with carrion; and on cords extended between the columns were suspended slices of meat, for the purpose of being dried. The sight and smell were very disgusting; and many hadjys seemed surprised that such indecencies should be allowed. In general, foreign hadjys see many practices at Mekka, which are not calculated to inspire them with great veneration for the holy places of their religion; and although some may, nevertheless, retain all their religious zeal undiminished, others, we may be assured, lose much of it in consequence of what they witness during the Hadj. It is to this loss of respect for religion, and to the nefarious and shameful practices in some measure legitimatised by their frequent occurrence in the holy city, that we must attribute those proverbs which reflect upon the hadjys as less religious and less trustworthy than any other persons. But our Christian holy-land is liable to some censure, for practices of the same kind. The most devout and rigid Mohammedans acknowledge and deplore the existence of this evil; and prove that they are either more clear-sighted or more sincere than the Christian pilgrim Chateaubriand. [Mons. C. may have had very statesman-like motives for giving in his Itinerary so highly coloured a picture of Palestine and its priesthood; but, as a traveller, he cannot escape blame for having departed from the truth, and often totally misrepresented the facts that fell under his observation.]
[p.284]At mid-day on the 12th of Zul Hadj, immediately after having thrown the last twenty-one stones, the hadjys left Muna, and returned along the valley to Mekka, evincing their high spirits by songs, loud talking, and laughter; a contrast to the gloom which affected every body in proceeding here four days ago. On arriving at Mekka, the pilgrims must visit the Kaaba, which in the mean time has been covered with the new black clothing brought from Cairo, walk seven times round it, and perform the ceremony of the Say: this is called the Towaf el Ifadhe. He then takes the ihram once more, in order to visit the Omra; and on returning from the Omra, again performs the Towaf and Say, and with this the ceremony of the Hadj is finally terminated.
The principal duties incumbent upon the hadjy are, therefore:—1. that he should take the ihram; 2. be present, on the 9th of Zul Hadj, from afternoon till sun-set, at the sermon preached at Arafat; 3. attend a similar sermon at Mezdelfe, at sun-rise of the 10th of Zul Hadj; 4. on the 10th, 11th, and 12th of Zul Hadj, throw on each day twenty-one stones against the devils pillars at Muna; 5. perform the sacrifice at Muna; or, if he is too poor, substitute for it a fast at some future time; and, 6. upon his return to Mekka, visit the Kaaba and the Omra. The law makes so many nice distinctions, and increases so greatly the number of rules which are to guide the pilgrim at every step, that very few can flatter themselves with being quite regular hadjys; but as no ritual police is kept up during the ceremony, every one is completely his own master, and assumes the title of hadjy, whether he has strictly performed all the duties or not. It is enough for such that they have been at Arafat on the proper day—this is the least distinction: but a mere visit to Mekka does not authorise a man to style himself hadjy; and the assumption of this title without some further pretensions, exposes him to ridicule. There is not any formal certificate given to hadjys at Mekka, as at Jerusalem; but many of the great people purchase a few drawings of the town, &c.; annexed to which is an attestation of four witnesses, that the purchasers were
[p.285] regular hadjys. If the 9th of Zul Hadj, or the day of El Wakfe, falls upon a Friday, it is held to be particularly fortunate.
Some hadjys are anxious to acquire the title of Khadem el Mesdjed, or servant of the mosque, which may be obtained at the expense of about thirty dollars; for this sum, a paper, bestowing that appellation upon him, is delivered to the purchaser, signed by the Sherif and Kadhy. It is not uncommon to permit even Christians to obtain the privilege of calling themselves servants of the Mesdjed, and the honour is particularly sought for by the Greek inhabitants of the islands and shores of the Archipelago; as, in case of their being captured by the Barbary pirates, such a certificate is often respected by the most rigid Moggrebyns. I saw a Greek captain who obtained one for two hundred dollars; he had commanded one of Mohammed Alys dows, and was now on his way home; and he felt satisfied that, whatever ship he might hereafter take under his charge in the Archipelago, would be secured by this certificate from the pirates. In former times, this title of Khadem appears to have been of more importance than it is now; for I find, in the historians of Mekka, many great people mentioned, who annexed it to their names.
After the return of the Hadj from Muna, the principal street of Mekka becomes almost impassable from the crowds assembled there. The Syrian hadjy merchants hire shops, and make the best use of the short time which is granted to them for their commercial transactions. Every body purchases provisions for his journey home; and the pursuit of gain now engrosses all minds, from the highest to the lowest. The two caravans usually leave Mekka about the 23d of Zul Hadj, after ten days stay in the town. Sometimes the leaders of them are prevailed upon by the merchants, who pay highly for the favour, to grant a respite of a few days; but this year they did not require it, as the caravan was detained by Mohammed Aly, who, preparing to open his campaign against the Wahabys, thought proper to employ about twelve thousand camels of the Syrian Hadj in two journies to Djidda, and one to Tayf, for the transport of provisions. As to the Egyptian caravan, which, as I have already mentioned, contained no private hadjys, it was wholly detained by Mohammed Aly, who ordered all
[p.286] the horsemen and camels that had accompanied it, to assist him in his campaign. The Mahmal, or sacred camel, was sent back by sea to Suez, a circumstance which had never before occurred. The Syrian caravan did not leave Mekka till the 29th of Zul Hadj; and the incessant labour to which its camels had been subjected, weakened them so much, that numbers of them died on their return through the Desert. The caravans of unloaded camels which were hourly leaving Mekka for Djidda, to take up provisions there, facilitated the short journey to that place of those hadjys who wished to return home by sea.
Having heard that the supply of money for which I had written to Cairo on my first reaching Djidda, had been received there, I rode over in the night of the 1st of December, and remained in that town six or seven days. The hadjys who had, in the mean while, daily flocked into it on their return from Mekka, were seen encamped in every quarter, and thus it soon became as crowded as Mekka had just been. Among the ships in the harbour, ready to take hadjy passengers on board, was a merchant-vessel lately arrived from Bombay, belonging to a Persian house at that presidency, and commanded by an English captain, who had beat up to Djidda against the trade-winds, at this late season. I passed many agreeable hours in the company of Captain Boag, on board his ship, and regretted that my pursuits should call me away so soon. Two other Europeans had arrived at Djidda about the same time, by way of Cairo; the one an Englishman, who was going to India; the other a German physician. This gentleman was a Hanoverian by birth, and a baron: misfortunes of a very distressing nature had driven him from his home, and he had thought of practising his profession at Djidda, or of proceeding to Mokha; but his mind was too unsettled to determine upon any thing; and he was of too independent a character to receive either counsel or assistance. I left him at Djidda when I returned to Mekka, and learnt afterwards that he died there in the month of March, of the plague, and that he was buried by the Greeks of Djidda upon an island in the harbour.