On arriving at the Tekiè, we found that the service had not yet commenced, and we accordingly seated ourselves on a stone bench in the little outer court, to await the gathering of the fraternity. While we remained there, one of the principal Dervishes approached us, and offered, should I desire it, to admit me into the interior of the harem to visit the women; but, as the ceremonies were shortly to commence in the chapel, and I was already suffering extremely from the heat, I declined to profit by the indulgence.
The chapel, which was up stairs, was approached by an open entrance, having on the left hand a small apartment whose latticed windows looked into this place of mystery; and into this room we were admitted, after having taken off our shoes; while a couple of youths were stationed within the gallery of the chapel itself, in order to prevent the crowd from impeding our view.
A large square apartment surrounded by a low gallery, and ornamented like the mosques, with written passages from the Koràn; upon whose walls were suspended battle-axes, tambourines, and half a dozen small Arabian drums; and whose arched recess was shaded by three banners of the sacred green, and overlaid with a rich crimson rug, formed the chapel of the Howling Dervishes. Within the niche, framed and glazed, were suspended the names of the Prophets, a huge chaplet, and a green scarf; and on each side a small portion of the gallery was railed off for the convenience of a few individuals of rank. One of these was already occupied by a solemn-looking Turk, in a frock-coat and fèz, doubtlessly one of the sect, who had withdrawn from the public exercise of his religion.
I know not whether I have elsewhere noticed that every Musselmaun, however high his rank, has a trade and a peculiar faith—thus the Sultan is a Turning Dervish and a Tooth-pick maker—and I have consequently no doubt but the Turk in question had an individual interest in the ceremonial. He was accompanied by a child of about six years of age, dressed precisely like himself, and attended by a black slave. I was more confirmed in my opinion relative to the father by watching the gestures of the son, who imitated every motion of the Dervishes during the service with the most perfect exactness, and who was accommodated with a rug near the seat of the High Priest.
The throng which pressed into the chapel was immense, and the heat most oppressive; while the youths who guarded our windows were kept in constant action by the strenuous efforts made by the crowd to occupy the vacant space. I never saw a finer set of men—such bright black eyes, fine foreheads, and sparkling teeth.
At length a low chanting commenced in the court, and a train of Dervishes, headed by the High Priest, slowly ascended to the chapel. They had no peculiar costume, save the chief himself, who wore a magnificent green turban with a white crown, and a cloak of olive-coloured cloth. He was a pale, delicate-looking man of about one or two-and-twenty, whose father had been dead a couple of years; when, as the dignity is hereditary throughout all the sects of the Dervishes, he had succeeded to the painful honours of the crimson rug. There was something melancholy in seeing this sickly youth lead the nine fanatics who followed him to the upper end of the chapel, to commence their agonizing rites; and as he stepped upon the rug, with the palms of his hands turned upwards, and the attendant Dervishes cast themselves on the earth, and laid their foreheads in the dust, I felt a thrill of pity for the ill-judged zeal and blind delusion which was rapidly wearing him to the grave.
One of the causes adduced by this sect of their disinclination to admit Christians to their worship is the frequent recurrence of the name of Allah in their orizons, which should never be uttered in an atmosphere polluted by the breath of a Giaour. I presume that, in our case, their consciences were quieted by the intervention of the wooden lattices, and the reflection that we were not actually within the chapel.
The prayer was long and solemn; not a sound was audible, save the low monotonous chant of the High Priest, and the deep responses of his followers, who, ere it ended, had increased in number to about fifty. At its close, the whole of the Dervishes formed a ring round the chapel, and one of the elders, of whom there were four, spread in the recess a fine tiger skin, upon which the High Priest took his place; and then, turning his face towards Mecca, and murmuring a low prayer, to which the rest replied by stifled groans, he invested himself with the green scarf which I have already mentioned, and, resuming his seat upon the rug, commenced a species of chant, which was echoed by the whole fraternity: every individual swinging himself slowly to and fro, as he sat with his feet doubled under him upon the floor. Every moment added to their numbers, and each on his arrival cast off his slippers at the entrance, and advanced barefooted to the place of the High Priest; where, after praying silently for a moment with outstretched palms, he stroked down his beard, and, bending on one knee, pressed the hand of his leader to his lips and forehead, and then took up a position in the ring; which ultimately became so thronged that the individuals who composed it pressed closely upon each other, and, as they swung slowly to and fro, appeared to move in one dense mass.
The ceremony was at this point, when the Chief of the Turning Dervishes, accompanied by his two principal Priests, arrived to assist at the service of his fellow-Dervish. The chant ceased as they entered the chapel; the youthful leader of the Howling Dervishes bent down in his turn, and pressed the hand of his visitor to his lips, while the stately guest kissed the cheek of the pale stripling who passed forward to greet his companions, and after conducting them to the place of honour, seated himself beside them.
The chanting was then resumed, and after a time increased in quickness; while at intervals, as the name of Allah was pronounced, some solitary individual uttered a howl, which I can compare to nothing but the cry of a wild beast.