We were so near some of these men in the narrow street that I had to withdraw my legs so as not to touch their blood-stained garments. They wore no turbans, and the awful wounds on their close-shaven heads made me feel sick. There were some without swords who preferred to flog their naked bodies with chains, and though this ordeal may have been worse than the other, it was, at any rate, less gruesome to behold. A small boy on a led white horse followed, and blood ran down his face and stained his white robes. I felt indignant that a child should take part in this ghastly orgy; but a suspicion that the blood had been skilfully placed there before the procession had started cooled my indignation.
I witnessed the above some fifteen years ago, and it is possible that some of the worst features may have been modified. It might well be prohibited, for these Sheeas are strangers in the land, and no orthodox Egyptian could object to the prohibition of practices carried on by those whom they consider heretics. When the Dóseh was stopped soon after the British occupation, it was a much greater interference with the religion of the people, for the Dóseh was not a Sheea practice; it was, on the contrary, one of the great events during the Moolid en-Nebi, the birthday of the Prophet. It was a barbaric performance and many people were seriously injured, though to this day Moslems have tried to assure me that when the Sheykh rode over the prostrate bodies of the faithful, none were injured by the horse’s hoofs, and all received great blessings through this act of faith. They have, however, quietly submitted to the prohibition of being trampled on, and would doubtless raise no objection to the heretics living in this country being similarly prohibited from practising the barbarities of the Ashura.
Towards the end of Safar, the second month, the return of the Mekka caravan may be expected, and we again witness the picturesque procession of the Mahmal which has been described.
The third month, or Rabeea el-Owwal, is the month of the Prophet. His birth and death are both said to have taken place on the twelfth day; and any one wishing to see as much of the life and character of the Egyptians as possible will find something of interest during the first two weeks of that month. With the exception of the Dóseh, all the ceremonies which Lane describes as having taken place in his day may now be seen during the latter end of the tourist season, for the first day of the Mohammedan year 1330 was on the twenty-second day of December 1911. Three lunar months added to that date takes us into the middle of March 1912. As these dates get a set-back of eleven days each year, visitors in the near future will not have to wait to as late a date to assist in the festivities of the Moolid en-Nebi.
A THEBAN HOMESTEAD
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If not pressed for time and a certain amount of heat can be borne, both April and May are delightful months in Egypt, always excepting the days of hamseen. Apart from this festival (which then fell in April) modern Cairo is beautified with its numerous blossoming trees. The trying hot winds cease early in May, and though that month is, I admit, a hot one, I consider it and also June to be the months when the painter may do his best work in Egypt.