They Told Me, That When Abraham Was Going To
Sacrifice His Son, Instead Of Striking Him, Providence Directed His
Hand To This Stone, Which He Clave In Two.
It must be a good stroke
indeed!
“Here they all pitch their tents (it being in a spacious plain), and
spend the time of Curbaen Byram, viz. three days. As soon as their
tents are pitched, and all things orderly disposed, every individual
Hagge, the first day, goes and throws seven of the small stones, which
they had gathered, against a small pillar, or little square stone
building.[FN#36] Which action of theirs is intended to testify their
defiance of the devil and his deeds; for they at the same time
pronounce the following words, viz. Erzum le Shetane wazbehe[FN#37];
i.e. stone the devil, and them that please him.[FN#38] And there are
two other of the like pillars, which are situated near one another; at
each of which
[p.377] (I mean all three), the second day, they throw seven stones;
and the same they do the third day. As I was going to perform this
ceremony of throwing the stones, a facetious Hagge met me; saith he, ‘You
may save your labour at present, if you please, for I have hit out the
devil’s eyes already.’ You must observe, that after they have thrown the
seven stones on the first day (the country people having brought great
flocks of sheep to be sold), every one buys a sheep and sacrifices it;
some of which they give to their friends, some to the poor which come
out of Mecca and the country adjacent, very ragged poor, and the rest
they eat themselves; after which they shave their heads, throw off
Hirrawem, and put on other clothes, and then salute one another with a
kiss, saying, ‘Byram Mabarick Ela,’ i.e. the feast be a blessing to you.
“These three days of Byram they spend festivally, rejoicing with
abundance of illuminations all night, shooting of guns, and fireworks
flying in the air; for they reckon that all their sins are now done
away, and they shall, when they die, go directly to heaven, if they don’t
apostatize; and that for the future, if they keep their vow and do
well, God will set down for every good action ten; but if they do ill,
God will likewise reckon every evil action ten: and any person, who,
after having received the title of Hagge, shall fall back to a vicious
course of life, is esteemed to be very vile and infamous by them.[FN#39]
“Some have written, that many of the Hagges, after they have returned
home, have been so austere to themselves as to pore a long time over
red-hot bricks, or ingots of iron, and by that means willingly lose
their sight, desiring to see nothing evil or profane, after so sacred a
sight as the temple at Mecca; but I never knew any such thing done.
[p.378] “During their three days’ stay at Mina, scarce any Hagge (unless
impotent) but thinks it his duty to pay his visit, once at least, to
the temple at Mecca. They scarce cease running all the way thitherward,
shewing their vehement desire to have a fresh sight of the Beat-Allah;
which as soon as ever they come in sight of, they burst into tears for
joy; and after having performed Towoaf for a while, and a few Erkaets,
they return again to Mina. And when the three days of Byram are
expired, they all, with their tents, &c., come back again to Mecca.
“They say, that after the Hagges are gone from Mina to Mecca, God doth
usually send a good shower of rain to wash away the filth and dung of
the sacrifices there slain; and also that those vast numbers of little
stones, which I told you the Hagges throw in defiance of the devil, are
all carried away by the angels before the year comes about again. But I
am sure I saw vast numbers of them that were thrown the year before,
lie upon the ground. After they are returned to Mecca, they can tarry
there no longer than the stated time, which is about ten or twelve
days; during which time there is a great fair held, where are sold all
manner of East India goods, and abundance of fine stones for rings and
bracelets, &c., brought from Yeamane[FN#40]; also of China-ware and
musk, and variety of other curiosities. Now is the time in which the
Hagges are busily employed in buying, for they do not think it lawful
to buy any thing till they have received the title of Hagge. Every one
almost now buys a caffin, or shroud of fine linen, to be buried in (for
they never use coffins for that purpose), which might have been
procured at Algier, or their other respective homes, at a much cheaper
rate; but they choose to buy it here, because they have the advantage
of dipping it in the holy water, Zem Zem. They are very careful to
carry the said
[p.379] caffin with them wherever they travel, whether by sea or land,
that they may be sure to be buried therein.
“The evening before they leave Mecca, every one must go to take their
solemn leave of the Beat, entering at the gate called Babe el Salem,
i.e. Welcome Gate, and having continued at Towoaf as long as they
please, which many do till they are quite tired, and it being the last
time of their paying their devotions to it, they do it with floods of
tears, as being extremely unwilling to part and bid farewell; and
having drank their fill of the water Zem Zem, they go to one side of
the Beat, their backs being towards the door called by the name of Babe
el Weedoh i.e., the Farewell Door, which is opposite to the welcome
door; where, having performed two or three Erkaets, they get upon their
legs and hold up their hands towards the Beat, making earnest
petitions; and then keep going backward till they come to the above
said farewell gate, being guided by some other, for they account it a
very irreverent thing to turn their backs towards the Beat when they
take leave of it.
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