of respect to his memory." Hired mourners were also employed to add, by their feigned demonstrations of grief, to the real lamentations of the family, and to heighten the show of respect paid to the deceased. "The men, in like manner, girding their dress below their waist ‡, went through the town smiting their breast," and throwing dust and mud upon their heads.§ But the greater number of mourners consisted of women ||, as is usual in Egypt at the present day; and since the mode of lamentation now practised at Cairo is probably very similar to that of former times, a description of it may serve to illustrate one of the customs of ancient Egypt.¶ As soon as the marks of approaching death are observed, the females of the family raise the cry of lamentation; one generally commencing in a low tone, and exclaiming, "O my misfortune!" which is immediately taken up by another with increased vehemence; and all join in similar exclamations, united with piercing cries. They call on the deceased, according to their degree of relationship, -as, "O my father," "O my mother," "O my sister," "O my brother," "O my aunt;" or ac * As the Egyptians mourned for Jacob. Gen. 1. 3. "Ut qui conducti plorant in funere dicunt Et faciunt prope plura dolentibus ex animo." (Hor. de Arte Poet. verse 429.) Conf. Jerem. ix. 17.; Matt. ix. 23. Herodot. ii. 85. Herodot. ii. 85. Επεζωσμένοι και ούτοι,” Vide passim. ||From the sculptures. In the Woodcut, No. 7. (Vol. I. p. 256.), are nine women, one man, and one child For minute details of this I refer to Lane's admirable work on the Modern Egyptians, vol. ii. p. 286. cording to the friendship and connection subsisting between them, as "O my master," "O lord of the house," "O my friend," "O my dear, my soul, my eyes;" and many of the neighbours, as well as the friends of the family, join in the lamentation. Hired mourning women are also engaged, who utter cries of grief, and praise the virtues of the deceased; while the females of the house rend their clothes, beat themselves, and make other violent demonstrations of sorrow. A sort of funeral dirge is also chanted by the mourning women to the sound of a tambourine, from which the tinkling plates have been removed. This continues until the funeral takes place, which, if the person died in the morning, is performed the same day; but if in the afternoon or evening, it is deferred until the morning, the lamentations being continued all night. Previous to, or immediately after, the departure of the vital spark, they take care to close the eyes and mouth †; which is always looked upon as a tender and dutiful office worthy of the kind feelings of a sincere friend; and soon after the mourners have collected, the body is given over to the moghussel (or washer), who, placing it on a bench, the eyes being closed, and the mouth bound up, washes it, the barber having previously performed his office. In the mean time prayers are read in an adjoining apartment by the fekkees, who officiate as * Like the "inconditum quoddam carmen," mentioned by Quintus Curtius, sung by matrons and virgins at the temple of Ammon. Vide suprà, Vol. I. (2d Series) p. 152. As did the Romans. Virg. Æn. ix. 487. &c. priests; and preparations are then made for carrying out the corpse to the grave. It is placed on a bier borne by four friends of the deceased, who, after a short distance, are relieved by four others, and so on, till arrived at the cemetery; the procession which accompanies it depending on the rank of the person, or the attentions of his friends. This has been so fully and so accurately described by Mr. Lane*, that I cannot do better than give it from his valuable book. "The first persons (in the procession), are about six or more poor men, called Yemenéeh, mostly blind, who proceed two and two, or three and three together. Walking at a moderate pace, or rather slowly, they chant in a melancholy tone the profession of faith, or sometimes other words: they are followed by some male relations and friends of the deceased, and in many cases by two or more persons of some sect of Dervishes, bearing the flags of their order.... Next follow three or four or more schoolboys, one of whom carries a copy of the Corán, . . . placed upon a kind of desk formed of palm sticks, and covered over, generally with an embroidered kerchief. These boys chant, in a higher and livelier voice than the Yemenéeh, usually some words of a poem descriptive of the events of the last day, the judgment, &c., commencing "(I assert) the absolute glory of Him who createth whatever hath form, And reduceth his servants by death: Modern Egyptians, ii. 289. Who bringeth to nought (all) his creatures, with mankind. The absolute glory of the Lord of the East* : The absolute glory of the Lord of the West +: The absolute glory of the illuminator of the two lights; His absolute glory: how bountiful is He!' "The schoolboys immediately precede the bier, which is borne head foremost. Three or four friends of the deceased usually carry it for a short distance; then three or four other friends; who are in like manner relieved. Behind the bier walk the female mourners; sometimes a group of more than a dozen or twenty, with their hair dishevelled, though generally concealed by the head-veil, crying and shrieking; and often the hired mourners accompany them, celebrating the praises of the deceased. Among the women the relations and domestics of the deceased are each distinguished by a strip of linen, or cotton stuff, or muslin, generally blue, bound round the head, and tied in a single knot behind, the ends hanging down a few inches. Each of these also carries a handkerchief, usually dyed blue, which she sometimes holds over her shoulders, and at other times twirls with both hands over her head, or before her face. The cries of the women, the lively chanting of the youths, and the deep tones uttered by the Yemenéeh, compose a strange discord. "The wailing of women at funerals was forbidden by the Prophet; and so also was the celebration of Literally, the two Easts,' or 'the two places of sunrise ;' the point where the sun rises in summer, and that where it rises in winter. "Or the two places of sunset.' the virtues of the deceased.... Some of these precepts are every day violated; ... and I have seen mourning women of the lower classes following a bier, having their faces (which were bare), and their head-coverings and bosoms, besmeared with mud. "The funeral procession of a man of wealth, or of the middle classes, is sometimes preceded by three or four or more camels, bearing bread and water to give to the poor at the tomb, and is composed of a more numerous and varied assemblage of persons." In this, besides the persons already mentioned, "the led horses of the bearers, if men of rank, often follow the bier; and a buffalo, to be sacrificed at the tomb, where its flesh is to be distributed to the poor, closes the procession." The funeral of a devout Shekh differs in some respects from that of ordinary mortals; and "the women, instead of wailing, rend the air with the shrill and quavering cries of joy, called zughareet: and if these cries are discontinued but for a minute, the bearers of the bier protest they cannot proceed, that a supernatural power rivets them to the spot.' Very often, it is said, a wélee impels the bearers of his corpse to a particular place; a curious anecdote of which is related by Mr. Lane*; and I have repeatedly witnessed instances of this at Cairo, having for some time lived in the main street leading to a cemetery near one of the gates of the city. * Lane, p. 294. Vide suprà, p. 298. note †. |
