ALLAH'S ACROBATIC SAINTS.

New Zealand Times, Volume LVIII, Issue 2847, 16 June 1896, Page 1

ALLAH'S ACROBATIC SAINTS.

STRANGE CUSTOMS AND PERFORMANCES

OF THE DERVISHES. WHIRLERS AND HOWLERS. Their Fanatical Services are the Chief Sights of the Orient. Tho dervishes, of whom wo liavo hoard bo much, hold themselves iu many ways independent of the Sultan, and oven of some doctrines of tho Mohammedan faith. They do not recognise the legal exposition of thojKoran, nor acknowledge tho authority of any other than their spiritual chief, or ot Allah himself speaking directly to them. They set at naught the teachings ot tho Koran in regard to spirituous liquors, and during their public performances often drink wine or brandy to stimulate their flagging energies.

They live in monasteries. They take vows' of poverty, chastity and obedience, although tho second of those vows is occasionally so far relaxed as to allow certain individuals among them to go out from their monasteries and marry. Hut oven the few benedicts must pass at least two nights every week within the convent walls. They support themselves by bogging from door to door. Tho very name dervish indicates this. It comes from w Persian word moaning door-sill. TIU'.W FOUNDER’S GREAT FEAT. An alternative name by which they aro known is Movolavites, from their founder, Movelava. This venerable gentleman flourished in tho thirteenth century, lie was a poet of some eminence, but was mainly distinguished for his acrobatic feats. It is recorded that on one memorable occasion ho spun round and round like a sacrosanct humming top for fourteen days at a stretch. No wonder that at. the close of this extraordinary performance .ho fell into an ecstasy, and had visions in which Allah revealed his wishes concerning the settlement of tho order. The modem dervishes strive iu their poor little fin-dc-necU manner to imitate their great protagonist. But tho best they can do is to whirl around for an hour or so every Tuesday and Friday to tho accompaniment of flutes and tambourines. Tho flute is especially esteemed by them, inasmuch as its use was sanctified by Jacob and other shepherds of tho Old Testament. ' fbupobman'oes of the dervishes. Thos® bi-weekly seances are public, and constitute one of tho “ sights ” to visitors in the East. Fanatical ns they are, tho people witness them with the deepest earnestness. Some years back a fearful tumult was raised m Cairo because in tho middle of the spinning one of tho dervishes stopped short and declared that a European was laughing at them- Tho person gifted with this 100 abundant sisnso of humour narrowly escaped being tom to pieces by tho mob. The dervishes are divided into two classes, tho whirlers, or dancers, and tho howlers. Tho former are many of thorn persons of high rank. But if they do not go beyond the first stage they may fill all requirements by saying a few prayers at homo and wearing for a few minutes every day tho sacred white cap or " tag. If, however, they aim at tho attainment of tho full dignity they must undergo *x novitiate of hard labour lor 1001 days* During this probationary period they havo to. submit to tho additional indignity of boing styled “jackals/* When tho term has expired tho jackal emerges into a fullfledged Mevolavite. In token qjf this ho receives a woollen belt, with its cftbulislio u stone of contentment ** ; the tag, tho earrings shaped like tho horseshoe of Ali, and tho rosary with tho^ ( J9 names or God. DANCERS AND HOWLERS. In tho public services the dancers wear high hats without a rim, and short skirts which stand out at right angles to their bodies as they whirl around upon tho left heel, ring within ring, without touching one another, their hands outstretched, their eyes flxod ©statically, all tho timi> quietly but closely watched by the sheik. They keep up this extraordinary performance with brief intervals of rest .for an hour. , . Meanwhile the howling dervishes a,re not idle. These wear white felt hats and longgowns, encircled by a bolt, in which are two or three big stones. Over their shoulders is a mantle edged with green. They way themselves backward and forward, cither in line or a ring, shouting tho name of Allah ever faster and louder as the mut-ui gets more uproarious, until the whole sounds like the baying of multitudinous hounds, than two or three make a dive afc the bare walls, striking them again and again with their heads until somebody seizes the frenzied fanatics and lays them, just breathing, on their backs. .Running daggers through the cheeks is still done, though rarely, but the mystery remains how they escape all injury, and how tho butting of tho head against marble walls leaves any brains. It must ho that tho excitement sustains the system that fervour of feeling makes up for tho injury done to the frame. DAILY LITE. In their daily life the dervishes practise tho utmost austerities. They go about almost naked, and fast every Thursday from sunrise until sunsot, besides tho ordinary fast of Ramadan. Like all other Mohammedans they pray five times every day. Tho high tenor of the muezzin itf heard calling the hours of prayer from the minarets of the mosques in every part of the Mohammedan world, morning, noon and night, and these words ring out: “ Como to prayer ! There is no God but the one God I Mohammed is tho prophet of God! Come to tho Temple of Salvation! Great God! God the Moat High! There is no God but God!** The first prayer is in the morning and it is made just upon tho rising of tho sun. Tho next and most important prayer is at noon, aud the last prayer is just as tho sun goes down. wash before they pray, and each of tho great mosques has its fountain of ablution about which you. may seo the Turks washing theiv hands and feet and other prescribed parts of tho body. The Mohammedans believo in this, that “ Cleanliness is next to Godliness/* Tho postures of prayers are fixed j the worshipper begins by putting his hands to the lobes of his ears, and ho next holds them a little below his girdle. He falls upon his knees and bows his head to the ground during his prayer, in the direction of Mecca.

Besides the members of the regular orders there are many dervishes in the Mohammedan world who wander about and support themselves and even acquire considerable wealth from the voluntary contributions of tho faithful. They euro diseases or drive away evil spirits by incantations, charm snakes or perform feats of legerdemain and other hinds of more or less conscious imposture. It is in Egypt and Hxndoostan that tho extreme degrees of squalor, fraud and also of self-mortification are found among the peripatetic dervishes. Some spend their lives in absolute' nakedness, their bodies smeared with wood-ash, their unkempt hair twisted into a turban j some roll head over heels for hundreds of miles; some spend hours in contemplating tho tip of their noses in 84 different postures. Stylus.