Note15.It might seem unnecessary to say, that a King understood what he read, were it not explained that the style of Arabic epistolary compositions, like that of the literature in general, differs considerably from that of common conversation.
Note16.The party travelled chiefly by night, on account of the heat of the day.
Note17.—On the occasional Decorations of Eastern Cities.On various occasions of rejoicing in the palace of the king or governor, the inhabitants of an Eastern city are commanded to decorate their houses, and the tradesmen, in particular, to adorn their shops, by suspending shawls, brocades, rich dresses, women's ornaments, and all kinds of costly articles of merchandise; lamps and flags are attached to cords drawn across the streets, which are often canopied over; and when sufficient notice has been given, the shops, and the doors, &c., of private houses, are painted with gay colours.—Towards the close of the year 1834, the people of Cairo were ordered to decorate their houses and shops previously to the arrival of Ibráheem Báshà, after his victorious campaigns in Syria and Asia Minor. They ornamented the lower parts of their houses with whitewash and red ochre, generally in broad, alternate, horizontal stripes; that is, one course of stone white, and the next red; but the only kind of oil-paint that they could procure in large quantities was blue, the colour of mourning; so that they were obliged to use this as the ground upon which to paint flowers and other ornamental devices on their shops; but they regarded this as portending a pestilence; and the awful plague of the following spring confirmed them in their superstitious notions.
Note18.As the notes to this introductory portion are especially numerous, and the chase is here but cursorily alluded to, I shall reserve an account of the mode of hunting to be given on a future occasion.
Note19.—On the opinions of the Arabs respecting Female Beauty.The reader should have some idea of the qualifications or charms which the Arabs in general consider requisite to the perfection of female beauty; for erroneous fancies on this subject would much detract from the interest of the present work. He must not imagine that excessive fatness is one of these characteristics; though it is said to be esteemed a chief essential to beauty throughout the greater part of Northern Africa: on the contrary, the maiden whose loveliness inspires the most impassioned expressions in Arabic poetry and prose is celebrated for her slender figure: she is like the cane among plants, andis elegant as a twig of the oriental willow.47Her face is like the full moon, presenting the strongest contrast to the colour of her hair, which (to preserve the nature of the simile just employed,) is of the deepest hue of night, and descends to the middle of her back. A rosy blush overspreads the centre of each cheek; and a mole is considered an additional charm. The Arabs, indeed, are particularly extravagant in their admiration of this natural beauty-spot; which, according to its place, is compared to a globule of ambergris upon a dish of alabaster or upon the surface of a ruby.48The eyes of the Arab beauty are intensely black, large, and long; of the form of an almond: they are full of brilliancy; but this is softened by a lid slightly depressed, and by long silken lashes, giving a tender and languid expression, which is full of enchantment, and scarcely to be improved by the adventitious aid of the black border of koḥl; for this the lovely maiden adds rather for the sake of fashion than necessity; having, what the Arabs term, natural koḥl. The eyebrows are thin and arched; the forehead is wide, and fair as ivory; the nose, straight; the mouth, small; the lips are of a brilliant red; and the teeth, "like pearls set in coral." The forms of the bosom are compared to two pomegranates; the waist is slender; the hips are wide and large; the feet and hands, small; the fingers, tapering, and their extremities dyed with the deep orange-red tint imparted by the leaves of the ḥennà.49The person in whom these charms are combined exhibits a lively image of "the rosy-fingered Aurora:" her lover knows neither night nor sleep in her presence, and the constellations of heaven are no longer seen by him when she approaches. The most bewitching age is between fourteen and seventeen years; for then the forms of womanhood are generally developed in their greatest beauty; but many a maiden in her twelfth year possesses charms sufficient to fascinate every youth or man who beholds her.
The reader may perhaps desire a more minute analysis of Arabian beauty. The following is the most complete that I can offer him.—"Four things in a woman should beblack; the hair of the head, the eyebrows, the eyelashes, and the dark part of the eyes: fourwhite; the complexion of the skin, the white of the eyes, the teeth, and the legs: fourred; the tongue, the lips, the middle of the cheeks, and the gums: fourround; the head, the neck, the fore-arms, and the ankles: fourlong; the back, the fingers, the arms, and the legs:50fourwide; the forehead, the eyes, the bosom, and the hips: fourfine; the eyebrows, the nose, the lips, and the fingers: fourthick; the lower part of the back, the thighs, the calves of the legs, and the knees: foursmall; the ears, the breasts, the hands, and the feet."51
Note20.Mes'ood is a common proper name of men, and signifies "happy," or "made happy."
Note21.—On theJinn,or Genii.The frequent mention of Genii in this work, and the erroneous accounts that have been given of these fabulous beings by various European writers, have induced me to examine the statements respecting them in several Arabic works; and I shall here offer the result of my investigation, with a previous account of the Angels.
The Muslims, in general, believe in three different species of created intelligent beings; namely, Angels, who are created of light; Genii, who are created of fire; and Men, created of earth. The first species are called "Meláikeh" (sing. "Melek"); the second, "Jinn" or "Ginn" (sing. "Jinnee" or "Ginnee"); the third, "Ins" (sing."Insee"). Some hold that the Devils (Sheyṭáns) are of a species distinct from Angels and Jinn; but the more prevailing opinion, and that which rests on the highest authority, is, that they are rebellious Jinn.
"It is believed," says El-Ḳazweenee, "that the Angels are of a simple substance, endowed with life, and speech, and reason; and that the difference between them and the Jinn and Sheyṭáns is a difference of species. Know," he adds, "that the Angels are sanctified from carnal desire and the disturbance of anger: they disobey not God in what He hath commanded them, but do what they are commanded. Their food is the celebrating of his glory; their drink, the proclaiming of his holiness; their conversation, the commemoration of God, whose name be exalted; their pleasure, his worship: they are created in different forms, and with different powers." Some are described as having the forms of brutes. Four of them are Archangels; Jebraeel or Jibreel (or Gabriel), the angel of revelations; Meekaeel or Meekál (or Michael), the patron of the Israelites; 'Azraeel, the angel of death; and Isráfeel, the angel of the trumpet, which he is to sound twice, or as some say thrice, at the end of the world: one blast will kill all living creatures (himself included): another, forty years after, (he being raised again for this purpose, with Jebraeel and Meekaeel), will raise the dead. These Archangels are also called Apostolic Angels. They are inferior in dignity to human prophets and apostles, though superior to the rest of the human race: the angelic nature is held to be inferior to the human nature, because all the Angels were commanded to prostrate themselves before Adam. Every believer is attended by two guardian and recording angels; one of whom writes his good actions; the other, his evil actions: or, according to some, the number of these angels is five, or sixty, or a hundred and sixty. There are also two Angels called Munkar (vulg. Nákir) and Nekeer, who examine all the dead, and torture the wicked, in their graves.
The species of Jinn is said to have been created some thousands of years before Adam. According to a tradition from the Prophet, this species consists of five orders or classes; namely, Jánn (who are the least powerful of all), Jinn, Sheyṭáns (or Devils), 'Efreets, and Márids. The last, it is added, are the most powerful; and the Jánn are transformed Jinn; like as certain apes and swine were transformed men.52—It must, however, be remarked here, that the terms Jinn and Jánn are generally used indiscriminately, as names of the whole species (including the other orders above mentioned), whether good or bad; and that the former term is the more common. Also, that "Sheyṭán" is commonly used to signify any evil Jinnee. An 'Efreet is a powerful evil Jinnee:53a Márid, an evil Jinnee of the most powerful class. The Jinn (but generally speaking, evil ones) are called by the Persians "Deevs," the most powerful evil Jinn, "Narahs" (which signifies "males," though they are said to be males and females); the good Jinn, "Perees;" though this term is commonly applied to females.
In a tradition from the Prophet, it is said, "The Jánn were created of a smokeless fire."54The word which signifies "a smokeless fire" has been misunderstood by some as meaning "the flame of fire:" El-Jóharee (in the Ṣeḥáḥ) renders it rightly; and says that of this fire wastheSheyṭán (Iblees) created. "El-Jánn" is sometimes used as a name for Iblees; as in the following verse of the Ḳur-án:—"And the Jánn [the father of the Jinn;i. e.Iblees] we had created before [i. e.before the creation of Adam] of the fire of the samoom [i. e.of fire without smoke]."55"Jánn" also signifies "a serpent;" as in other passages of the Ḳur-án;56and is used in the same book as synonymous with "Jinn."57In the last sense it is generally believed to be used in the tradition quoted in the commencement of this paragraph. There are severalapparently contradictory traditions from the Prophet which are reconciled by what has been above stated: in one, it is said, that Iblees was the father of all the Jánn and Sheyṭáns;58Jánn being here synonymous with Jinn: in another, that Jánn was the father of all the Jinn;59here, Jánn being used as a name of Iblees.
"It is held," says El-Ḳazweenee, "that the Jinn are aerial animals, with transparent bodies, which can assume various forms. People differ in opinion respecting these beings: some consider the Jinn and Sheyṭáns as unruly men; but these persons are of the Moạtezileh [a sect of Muslim freethinkers]: and some hold, that God, whose name be exalted, created the Angels of the light of fire, and the Jinn of its flame [but this is at variance with the general opinion], and the Sheytáns of its smoke [which is also at variance with the common opinion]; and that [all] these kinds of beings are [usually] invisible60to men, but that they assume what forms they please, and when their form becomes condensed they are visible."—This last remark illustrates several descriptions of Jinnees in this work; where the form of the monster is at first undefined, or like an enormous pillar, and then gradually assumes a human shape and less gigantic size. The particular forms of brutes, reptiles, &c., in which the Jinn most frequently appear will be mentioned hereafter.
It is said that God created the Jánn [or Jinn] two thousand years before Adam [or, according to some writers, much earlier]; and that there are believers and infidels and every sect among them, as among men.61—Some say that a prophet, named Yoosuf, was sent to the Jinn: others, that they had only preachers, or admonishers: others, again, that seventy apostles were sent, before Moḥammad, to Jinn and men conjointly.62It is commonly believed that the preadamite Jinn were governed by forty (or, according to some, seventy-two) kings, to each of whom the Arab writers give the name of Suleymán (or Solomon); and that they derive their appellation from the last of these, who was called Jánn Ibn-Jánn, and who, some say, built the Pyramids of Egypt. The following account of the preadamite Jinn is given by El-Ḳazweenee.—"It is related in histories, that a race of Jinn, in ancient times, before the creation of Adam, inhabited the earth, and covered it, the land and the sea, and the plains and the mountains; and the favours of God were multiplied upon them, and they had government, and prophecy, and religion, and law; but they transgressed and offended, and opposed their prophets, and made wickedness to abound in the earth; whereupon God, whose name be exalted, sent against them an army of Angels, who took possession of the earth, and drove away the Jinn to the regions of the islands, and made many of them prisoners; and of those who were made prisoners was 'Azázeel [afterwards called Iblees, from hisdespair]; and a slaughter was made among them. At that time, 'Azázeel was young: he grew up among the Angels [and probably for that reason was called one of them], and became learned in their knowledge, and assumed the government of them; and his days were prolonged until he became their chief; and thus it continued for a long time, until the affair between him and Adam happened, as God, whose name be exalted, hath said, 'When we said unto the Angels, Worship63ye Adam, and [all] worshipped except Iblees, [who] was [one] of the Jinn.'"64
"Iblees," we are told by another authority, "was sent as a governor upon the earth, and judged among the Jinn a thousand years, after which he ascended into heaven, and remained employed in worship until the creation of Adam."65The name of Iblees was originally, according to some, 'Azázeel (as before mentioned); and according to others, El-Ḥárith: his patronymic is Aboo-Murrah, or Abu-l-Ghimr.66—It is disputed whetherhe was of the Angels or of the Jinn. There are three opinions on this point.—1. That he was of the Angels, from a tradition from Ibn-'Abbás.—2. That he was of the Sheyṭáns (or evil Jinn); as it is said in the Ḳur-án, "except Iblees, [who] was [one] of the Jinn:" this was the opinion of El-Ḥasan El-Baṣree, and is that commonly held.—3. That he was neither of the Angels nor of the Jinn; but created alone, of fire.—Ibn-'Abbás founds his opinion on the same text from which El-Ḥasan El-Baṣree derives his: "When we said unto the Angels, Worship ye Adam, and [all] worshipped except Iblees, [who] was [one] of the Jinn" (before quoted): which he explains by saying, that the most noble and honourable among the Angels are called "the Jinn," because they areveiledfrom the eyes of the other Angels on account of their superiority; and that Iblees was one of these Jinn. He adds, that he had the government of the lowest heaven and of the earth, and was called the Ṭáoos (literally, Peacock) of the Angels; and that there was not a spot in the lowest heaven but he had prostrated himself upon it: but when the Jinn rebelled upon the earth, God sent a troop of Angels who drove them to the islands and mountains; and Iblees being elated with pride, and refusing to prostrate himself before Adam, God transformed him into a Sheyṭán.—But this reasoning is opposed by other verses, in which Iblees is represented as saying, "Thou hast createdmeoffire, and hast createdhim[Adam] ofearth."67It is therefore argued, "If he were created originally of fire, how was he created of light? for the Angels were [all] created of light."68—The former verse may be explained by the tradition, that Iblees, having been taken captive, was exalted among the Angels; or perhaps there is an ellipsis after the word "Angels;" for it might be inferred that the command given to the Angels was also (andà fortiori) to be obeyed by the Jinn.
According to a tradition, Iblees and all the Sheyṭáns are distinguished from the other Jinn by a longer existence. "The Sheyṭáns," it is added, "are the children of Iblees, and die not but with him: whereas the [other] Jinn die before him;"69though they may live many centuries. But this is not altogether accordant with the popular belief: Iblees and many other evil Jinn are to survive mankind; but they are to die before the general resurrection; as also even the Angels; the last of whom will be the Angel of Death, 'Azraeel: yet notallthe evil Jinn are to live thus long: many of them are killed by shooting stars, hurled at them from heaven; wherefore, the Arabs, when they see a shooting star (shiháb), often exclaim, "May God transfix the enemy of the faith!"—Many also are killed by other Jinn; and some, even by men. The fire of which the Jinnee is created circulates in his veins, in place of blood: therefore, when he receives a mortal wound, this fire, issuing from his veins, generally consumes him to ashes.—The Jinn, it has been already shown, are peccable. They also eat and drink, and propagate their species, sometimes in conjunction with human beings; in which latter case, the offspring partakes of the nature of both parents. In all these respects they differ from the Angels. Among the evil Jinn are distinguished the five sons of their chief, Iblees; namely, Teer, who brings about calamities, losses, and injuries; El-Aạwar, who encourages debauchery; Sóṭ, who suggests lies; Dásim, who causes hatred between man and wife; and Zelemboor, who presides over places of traffic.70
The most common forms and habitations or places of resort of the Jinn must now be described.
The following traditions from the Prophet are the most to the purpose that I have seen.—The Jinn are of various shapes; having the forms of serpents, scorpions, lions, wolves, jackals, &c.71—The Jinn are of three kinds; one on the land; one in the sea; and one in the air.72The Jinn consist of forty troops; each troop consisting of six hundred thousand.73—The Jinn are of three kinds; one have wings, and fly; anotherare snakes, and dogs; and the third move about from place to place like men.74—Domestic snakes are asserted to be Jinn on the same authority.75
The Prophet ordered his followers to kill serpents and scorpions if they intruded at prayers; but on other occasions, he seems to have required first to admonish them to depart, and then, if they remained, to kill them. The Doctors, however, differ in opinion whetherallkinds of snakes or serpents should be admonished first; or whetheranyshould; for the Prophet, say they, took a covenant of the Jinn [probably after the above-mentioned command], that they should not enter the houses of the faithful: therefore, it is argued, if they enter, they break their covenant, and it becomes lawful to kill them without previous admonishment. Yet it is related that 'Áisheh, the Prophet's wife, having killed a serpent in her chamber, was alarmed by a dream, and, fearing that it might have been a Muslim Jinnee, as it did not enter her chamber when she was undressed, gave in alms, as an expiation, twelve thousand dirhems (about £300), the price of the blood of a Muslim.76
The Jinn are said to appear to mankind most commonly in the shapes of serpents, dogs, cats, or human beings. In the last case, they are sometimes of the stature of men, and sometimes of a size enormously gigantic. If good, they are generally resplendently handsome: if evil, horribly hideous. They become invisible at pleasure (by a rapid extension or rarefaction of the particles which compose them), or suddenly disappear in the earth or air, or through a solid wall. Many Muslims in the present day profess to have seen and held intercourse with them.
The Zóba'ah, which is a whirlwind that raises the sand or dust in the form of a pillar of prodigious height, often seen sweeping across the deserts and fields, is believed to be caused by the flight of an evil Jinnee. To defend themselves from a Jinnee thus "riding in the whirlwind," the Arabs often exclaim, "Iron! Iron!" (Ḥadeed! Ḥadeed!), or, "Iron! thou unlucky!" (Ḥadeed! yá mashoom!), as the Jinn are supposed to have a great dread of that metal: or they exclaim, "God is most great!" (Alláhu akbar!).77A similar superstition prevails with respect to the water-spout at sea, as the reader may have discovered from the first instance of the description of a Jinnee in the present work, which occasions this note to be here inserted.
It is believed that the chief abode of the Jinn is in the Mountains of Ḳáf, which are supposed (as mentioned on a former occasion) to encompass the whole of our earth. But they are also believed to pervade the solid body of our earth, and the firmament; and to choose, as their principal places of resort, or of occasional abode, baths, wells, the latrina, ovens, ruined houses, market-places, the junctures of roads, the sea, and rivers. The Arabs, therefore, when they pour water, &c., on the ground, or enter a bath, or let down a bucket into a well, or visit the latrina, and on various other occasions, say, "Permission!" or "Permission, ye blessed!" (Destoor! or, Destoor yá mubárakeen!").78—The evil spirits (or evil Jinn), it is said, had liberty to enter any of the seven heavens till the birth of Jesus, when they were excluded from three of them; on the birth of Moḥammad, they were forbidden the other four.79They continue, however, to ascend to the confines of the lowest heaven, and there listening to the conversation of the Angels respecting things decreed by God, obtain knowledge of futurity, which they sometimes impart to men, who, by means of talismans, or certain invocations, make them to serve the purposes of magical performances. To this particular subject it will be necessary to revert.—What the Prophet said of Iblees, in the following tradition, applies also to the evil Jinn over whom he presides:—His chief abode [among men] is the bath; his chief places of resort are the markets, and the junctures of roads; his food is whatever is killed without the name of God being pronounced over it; his drink, whatever is intoxicating; his muëddin, the mizmár (amusical pipe;i. e.any musical instrument); his ḳurán, poetry; his written character, the marks made in geomancy;80his speech, falsehood; his snares are women.81
That particular Jinnees presided over particular places, was an opinion of the early Arabs. It is said in the Ḳur-án, "And there were certain men who sought refuge with certain of the Jinn."82In the Commentary of the Jeláleyn, I find the following remark on these words:—"When they halted, on their journey, in a place of fear, each man said, 'I seek refuge with the lord of this place, from the mischief of his foolish ones!'" In illustration of this, I may insert the following tradition, translated from El-Ḳazweenee:—"It is related by a certain narrator of traditions, that he descended into a valley, with his sheep, and a wolf carried off a ewe from among them; and he arose, and raised his voice, and cried, 'O inhabitant of the valley!' whereupon he heard a voice saying, 'O wolf, restore to him his sheep!' and the wolf came with the ewe, and left her, and departed."—The same opinion is held by the modern Arabs, though probably they do not use such an invocation.—A similar superstition, a relic of ancient Egyptian credulity, still prevails among the people of Cairo. It is believed that each quarter of this city has its peculiar guardian-genius, or Agathodæmon, which has the form of a serpent.83
It has already been mentioned that some of the Jinn are Muslims; and others, infidels. The good Jinn acquit themselves of the imperative duties of religion; namely, prayers, alms-giving, fasting during the month of Ramaḍán, and pilgrimage to Mekkeh and Mount 'Arafát: but in the performance of these duties they are generally invisible to human beings. Some examples of the mode in which good Jinn pay the alms required of them by the law, I have given in a former work.84
Of the services and injuries done by Jinn to men, some account must be given.
It has been stated, that, by means of talismans, or certain invocations, men are said to obtain the services of Jinn; and the manner in which the latter are enabled to assist magicians, by imparting to them the knowledge of future events, has been explained. No man ever obtained such absolute power over the Jinn as Suleymán, Ibn-Dáood (Solomon, the Son of David). This he did by virtue of a most wonderful talisman, which is said to have come down to him from heaven. It was a seal-ring, upon which was engraved "the most great name" of God; and was partly composed of brass, and partly of iron. With the brass he stamped his written commands to the good Jinn; with the iron (for a reason before mentioned), those to the evil Jinn, or Devils. Over both orders he had unlimited power; as well as over the birds and the winds,85and, as is generally said, the wild beasts. His Wezeer, Aṣaf the son of Barkhiyà, is also said to have been acquainted with "the most great name," by uttering which, the greatest miracles may be performed; even that of raising the dead. By virtue of this name, engraved on his ring, Suleymán compelled the Jinn to assist in building the Temple of Jerusalem, and in various other works. Many of the evil Jinn he converted to the true faith; and many others of this class, who remained obstinate in infidelity, he confined in prisons. He is said to have been monarch of the whole earth. Hence, perhaps, the name of Suleymán is given to the universal monarchs of the preadamite Jinn; unless the story of his own universal dominion originated from confounding him with those kings of the Jinn.
The injuries related to have been inflicted upon human beings by evil Jinn are of various kinds. Jinnees are said to have often carried off beautiful women, whom they have forcibly kept as their wives or concubines. I have mentioned in a former work, that malicious or disturbed Jinnees are asserted often to station themselves on the roofs,or at the windows, of houses, and to throw down bricks and stones on persons passing by.86When they take possession of an uninhabited house, they seldom fail to persecute terribly any person who goes to reside in it. They are also very apt to pilfer provisions, &c. Many learned and devout persons, to secure their property from such depredations, repeat the words "In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful!" on locking the doors of their houses, rooms, or closets, and on covering the bread-basket, or anything containing food.87During the month of Ramaḍán, the evil Jinn are believed to be confined in prison; and therefore, on the last night of that month, with the same view, women sometimes repeat the words above mentioned, and sprinkle salt upon the floors of the apartments of their houses.88
To complete this sketch of Arabian mythology, an account must be added of several creatures generally believed to be of inferior orders of the Jinn.
One of these is the Ghool, which is commonly regarded as a kind of Sheytán, or evil Jinnee, that eats men; and is also described by some as a Jinnee or an enchanter who assumes various forms. The Ghools are said to appear in the forms of various animals, and of human beings, and in many monstrous shapes; to haunt burial-grounds and other sequestered spots; to feed upon dead human bodies; and to kill and devour any human creature who has the misfortune to fall in their way: whence the term "Ghool" is applied to any cannibal. An opinion quoted by a celebrated author, respecting the Ghool, is, that it is a demoniacal animal, which passes a solitary existence in the deserts, resembling both man and brute; that it appears to a person travelling alone in the night and in solitary places, and, being supposed by him to be itself a traveller, lures him out of his way.89Another opinion stated by him is this: that, when the Sheytáns attempt to hear words by stealth [from the confines of the lowest heaven], they are struck by shooting stars; and some are burnt; some, falling into a sea, or rather a large river (baḥr), become converted into crocodiles; and some, falling upon the land, become Ghools. The same author adds the following tradition:—"The Ghool is any Jinnee that is opposed to travels, assuming various forms and appearances;"90and affirms that several of the Companions of the Prophet saw Ghools in their travels; and that 'Omar, among them, saw a Ghool while on a journey to Syria, before El-Islám, and struck it with his sword.—It appears that "Ghool" is, properly speaking, a name only given to afemaledemon of the kind above described: the male is called "Ḳuṭrub."91It is said that these beings, and the Ghaddár, or Gharrár, and other similar creatures which will presently be mentioned, are the offspring of Iblees and of a wife whom God created for him of the fire of the Samoom (which here signifies, as in an instance before mentioned, "a smokeless fire"); and that they sprang from an egg.92The female Ghool, it is added, appears to men in the deserts, in various forms, converses with them, and sometimes prostitutes herself to them.93
The Seạláh, or Saạláh, is another demoniacal creature, described by some [or rather, by most authors] as of the Jinn. It is said that it is mostly found in forests, and that when it captures a man, it makes him dance, and plays with him as the cat plays with the mouse. A man of Iṣfahán asserted that many beings of this kind abounded in his country; that sometimes the wolf would hunt one of them by night, and devour it, and that, when it had seized it, the Seạláh would cry out, "Come to my help, for the wolf devoureth me!" or it would cry, "Who will liberate me? I have a hundred deenárs, and he shall receive them!" but the people knowing that it was the cry of the Seạláh, no one would liberate it; and so the wolf would eat it.94—An island in the sea of Eṣ-Ṣeen (or China) is called "the Island of the Seạláh," by Arab geographers, from its being said to be inhabited by the demons so named: they are described ascreatures of hideous forms, supposed to be Sheyṭáns, the offspring of human beings and Jinn, who eat men."95
The Ghaddár, or Gharrár (for its name is written differently in two different MSS. in my possession), is another creature of a similar nature, described as being found in the borders of El-Yemen, and sometimes in Tihámeh, and in the upper parts of Egypt. It is said that it entices a man to it, and either tortures him in a manner not to be described, or merely terrifies him, and leaves him.96
The Delhán is also a demoniacal being, inhabiting the islands of the seas, having the form of a man, and riding on an ostrich. It eats the flesh of men whom the sea casts on the shore from wrecks. Some say that a Delhán once attacked a ship in the sea, and desired to take the crew; but they contended with it; whereupon it uttered a cry which caused them to fall upon their faces, and it took them.97—In my MS. of Ibn-El-Wardee, I find the name written "Dahlán." He mentions an island called by this name, in the Sea of 'Omán; and describes its inhabitants as cannibal Sheyṭáns, like men in form, and riding on birds resembling ostriches.
The Shiḳḳ is another demoniacal creature, having the form of half a human being (like a man divided longitudinally); and it is believed that the Nesnás is the offspring of a Shiḳḳ and of a human being. The Shiḳḳ appears to travellers; and it was a demon of this kind who killed, and was killed by, 'Alḳamah, the son of Ṣafwán, the son of Umeiyeh; of whom it is well known that he was killed by a Jinnee. So says El-Ḳazweenee.
The Nesnás (above mentioned) is described as resembling half a human being; having half a head, half a body, one arm, and one leg, with which it hops with much agility; as being found in the woods of El-Yemen, and being endowed with speech: "but God," it is added, "is all-knowing."98It is said that it is found in Ḥaḍramót as well as El-Yemen; and that one was brought alive to El-Mutawekkil: it resembled a man in form, excepting that it had but half a face, which was in its breast, and a tail like that of a sheep. The people of Ḥaḍramót, it is added, eat it; and its flesh is sweet. It is only generated in their country. A man who went there asserted that he saw a captured Nesnás, which cried out for mercy, conjuring him by God and by himself.99A race of people whose head is in the breast is described as inhabiting an island called Jábeh (supposed to be Java), in the Sea of El-Hind, or India.100A kind of Nesnás is also described as inhabiting the Island of Ráïj, in the Sea of Eṣ-Ṣeen, or China, and having wings like those of the bat.101
The Hátif is a being that is heard, but not seen; and is often mentioned by Arab writers. It is generally the communicator of some intelligence in the way of advice, or direction, or warning.
Here terminating this long note, I must beg the reader to remark, that the superstitious fancies which it describes are prevalent among all classes of the Arabs, and the Muslims in general, learned as well as vulgar. I have comprised in it much matter not necessary to illustrate the introductory portion of this work, in order to avoid frequent recurrence to the same subject. Another apology for its length may also be offered:—its importance as confuting Schlegel's opinion, that the frequent mention of Genii is more consistent with Indian than with Arab notions.
Note22.This chest is described in some copies as formed of glass.
Note23.The term "'Efreet" has been explained above, in Note 21.
Note24.Most of the copies of the original, it appears, make the number of rings ninety-eight; therefore, I have substituted this, as less extraordinary, for five hundred and seventy, which is the number mentioned in the Cairo edition.
Note25.Almost every Muslim who can afford it has a seal-ring, for a reason shewn in a former note (No. 11).102
Note26.For the story of Yoosuf and Zeleekha (or Joseph and the wife of Potiphar), see the Ḳur-án, ch. xii.
Note27.—On the wickedness of Women.The wickedness of women is a subject upon which the stronger sex among the Arabs, with an affected feeling of superior virtue, often dwell in common conversation. That women are deficient in judgment or good sense is held as a fact not to be disputed even by themselves, as it rests on an assertion of the Prophet; but that they possess a superior degree of cunning is pronounced equally certain and notorious. Their general depravity is pronounced to be much greater than that of men. "I stood," said the Prophet, "at the gate of Paradise; and lo, most of its inmates were the poor: and I stood at the gate of Hell; and lo, most of its inmates were women."103In allusion to women, the Khaleefeh 'Omar said, "Consult them, and do the contrary of what they advise." But this is not to be done merely for the sake of opposing them; nor when other advice can be had. "It is desirable for a man," says a learned Imám, "before he enters upon any important undertaking, to consult ten intelligent persons among his particular friends; or, if he have not more than five such friends, let him consult each of them twice; or, if he have not more than one friend, he should consult him ten times, at ten different visits: if he have not one to consult, let him return to his wife, and consult her; and whatever she advises him to do, let him do the contrary: so shall he proceed rightly in his affair, and attain his object."104A truly virtuous wife is, of course, excepted in this rule: such a person is as much respected by Muslims as she is (at least, according to their own account) rarely met with by them. When woman was created, the Devil, we are told, was delighted, and said, "Thou art half of my host, and thou art the depository of my secret, and thou art my arrow, with which I shoot, and miss not."105What are termed by us affairs of gallantry were very common among the Pagan Arabs, and are scarcely less so among their Muslim posterity. They are, however, unfrequent among most tribes of Bedawees, and among the descendants of those tribes not long settled as cultivators. I remember being roused from the quiet that I generally enjoyed in an ancient tomb in which I resided at Thebes, by the cries of a young woman in the neighbourhood, whom an Arab was severely beating for an impudent proposal that she had made to him.
Note28.—On the cruelty ascribed toShahriyár. I wish that I could accuse the author of inventing, in this case, an incident of an incredible nature, and entirely unparalleled; but, alas, acts of equal cruelty are recorded of Arab princes: traits of benevolence, and crimes of the blackest hue, are related in their histories, sometimesin the same page. I have not read of any case exactly resembling that to which this note relates; but the following anecdote will shew, that if conduct still more atrocious had been described in the latter, it might have been founded on fact. "In the year of the Flight 423, the Khaleefeh of Egypt, Eẓ-Ẓáhir, the son of El-Ḥákim, collected together all the female slaves that were in the palace, and said to them, 'Assemble together, and I will make a day of pleasure for you, such as hath not before been seen in Egypt.' He ordered, also, that every person who had a female slave should bring her, and that none of them should come but with her ornaments of jewels and gold. They did so; and there was not a single one that did not come. He then placed them in a chamber, and, calling some masons, made them build up the door of the chamber upon them, and so they all died. This happened on Friday (the Mohammadan Sabbath,) the 6th of Showwál. The number of them was two thousand six hundred and sixty female slaves. After they had remained six months, he heaped lighted combustibles upon them, and burned them, together with their clothes and ornaments. May God [says the narrator] shew no mercy to him!"106
Note29.I here deviate a little from my original, in which Shahrazád is made to say, "Either I shall live, or I shall be a ransom for the daughters of the Muslims, and the cause of their deliverance from him." Upon this, the sheykh Moḥammed 'Eiyád has remarked in a marginal note, "It would seem that she had contrived some stratagem to prevent his marrying again if he determined to kill her: otherwise, the mere killing her would not be a means of rescuing the other maidens."
Note30.—On the Language of Birds, &c.It is commonly believed by the Muslims (learned and unlearned), that all kinds of birds, and many (if not all) beasts, have a language by which they communicate their thoughts to each other; and we are told in the Ḳur-án,107that Suleymán (or Solomon) was taught the language of birds.108I thought that I could boast of an accomplishment very rare in Christian countries, in having learned, in Egypt, somewhat of this language; for instance, that the common cry of the pigeon is "Alláh! Alláh!" ("God! God!"); that of the ringdove, "Keerem! Towwáb!" ("Bountiful! Propitious!"—an ejaculation addressed to God); that of the common dove, "Waḥḥidoo rabbakumu-llezee khalaḳakum, yeghfir-lakum zembakum!" ("Assert the unity of your Lord who created you, so will He forgive you your sin!") but I afterwards found that several specimens of this language were given by Ez-Zamakhsheree, and had been published in Europe: see "Alcoranus Marraccii," p. 511. The cock cries, "Uzkuru-lláha, yá gháfiloon!" ("Commemorate God, O ye negligent!"): the ḳaṭà (a kind of grouse),109"Men seket selim!" ("He who is silent is safe!"). The latter, however, would do better if it did itself attend to the maxim it utters; for its cry, which, to the uninstructed in the language of birds, sounds merely, "ḳaṭà! ḳaṭà!" as its own name, tells where it is to be found by the sportsman, and thus causes its own destruction. Hence the proverb—"More veracious than the ḳaṭà."
Note31.In the houses of persons of the middle classes in Arabian countries, there is generally an apartment on the ground-floor fitted up as a stable for a horse, mule, or ass, or for two or more such animals; and the cattle of the farmer, if not very numerous, are usually lodged during the night in similar quarters, or in an open court enclosed within, or immediately adjacent to, his house.
Note32.It is a common custom in the East to sprinkle the ground, during the summer, in order to cool the air.
Note33.Cut straw is the usual fodder of asses and other beasts of burden in Egypt and other countries of the East.
Note34.The phrase with which the bull commences his address to the ass, is one dictated by an indispensable rule of Muslim politeness, which requires that these or some similar words should be uttered by a person whenever he sees another with food before him, and does not partake of it. If this were not done, it would be feared that the food had been poisoned, or rendered of no avail, by an envious eye.
Note35.The peasants in the East use a hand-mill for grinding their corn. The larger mills used for this and other purposes are turned by cattle.
Note36.In the Calcutta edition of the first two hundred nights, the ass is made to quote verses to the bull. Hast thou not, he asks him, heard the poet say:—