THE MOHURRUM AT CONSTANTI NOPLE.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1536, 6 January 1887, Page 2

THE MOHURRUM AT CONSTANTI NOPLE.

I went yesterday to see one of the most ghastly ceremonials it has ever been my lot to witness. If anyone had described it to me, I should have taken the liberty of doubting his words to a pretty considerable extent. I could not have believed that so bnrbarons a custom would have been tolerated in this nineteetb century of oure. What I saw was the Per-: sid'n festival, which is held once a year in two or three places in the world to cele* brate the annivery of the murder of Hassan and Husseinn, the sons of Ali. My friend and J, with two hamah In attendance, went over s*bont half-past six in the evening to a square in Stmmboul, and arrived just in tine for the commencement of the' orgies. They began with a procession of children dressed in black gowns, singing hymns in praise of Hassan and Husseibn to the sound of weird music. The square was guarded all round by Turkish soldiers, who kept a clear space in the centre; the crowd stood behind, and the windows of the square were filled with spectator, 1 The place was all draped in black; . thousands of lanterns were hung about, and burnirig braziers were stationsd at intervals of a few yards. In about ten minutes after our arrival a fearful <ilu of I toms-toms arose, and a number of men ! entered the square, those in the foremost ranks carrying braziers, while those in the centre supported a large canopy formed of Persian flags: and ensigns. Two white, horses were then led in. These carried howhahs with a child tied oo each to represent the two broth ars. Then came other horses decked out with embroidery stained with blood, and dead bodies lying acroßa their backs, A. pro* cession of priests and people then entered chanting songs of mourning, and these were followed by men with their bodies bare to their waist's, beating themselves with great chains, which tbey swung over their heads, first on their'backs and then on their chests, all sobbing and singing the while, the clang, of the chains as they all swung together against the flesh-being something Horrible to hear. ! Then came the awful part of the whole thing, which made one shudder, and turns my blood cold as I write it. About a hundred men entered the square with their heads shaved and dresßed entirely in white; these formed a huge circle arm in arm, all with their faces to the centre of the ring, those on one side shouting "H«ssani" those on the other "Husseinn." They ijradually worked themselves i ato a screaming frenzy,, and then brandishing the huge' sabres they carried they commenced hacking; at ' their bodies and heads till the blood poured down them, and pieces of flesh came on? the poor wretches, who as tbeybecame more excited, inflicted ghastly scalp wounds on each other;- r l> never saw such an awful eight, and never wish to again. They went twice round the square, shouting, screaming, and brandishing their sabre*, after which such oC them as were able to walk retired from the .scene, and the men with chain* took their, places, with their chests and backs black and bleeding. These marched twice round the square, followed by children singing and chanting. "A few prayers were now offered up by the priests; more 'shouts of ' Hassan' and Husseinn' and then their was a pause, and the people looked 'as' if they were about to disperse. Sickened and horrified by the scene we had witnessed, my friend and J quitted our window seat, and began a rapid walk to our hotel; but suddenly there were loud shouts from the people, and we saw the entire throng returning. We were the nnwilling spectators of a re» newal of this fearful carnage, which wa» only terminated by the death ef many of the actors in it, while those who yet lived sank exhausted to the ground, their features in many instances undistioguish'abte, their white dresses soaked with 'blood, and yet even in their dying agonies sustained by a mysterious fanaticism which teaches them that through these self inflicted tortures they go straight into he»von. This account may seem to you exaggerated but I can assure you it is impossible to convey to you in writing the ghastly > realities of the scene I have just described.—Globe. •■■•(,-