In The “Drawing-Room,” Which The Turkish Colonel Occupied When At
Meccah, The Kabirah Supplied Me With A Pipe, Coffee, Cold Water, And
Breakfast.
I won her heart by praising the graceless boy Mohammed; like
all mothers, she dearly loved the scamp of the family.
When he entered,
and saw his maternal parent standing near me, with only the end of her
veil drawn over her mouth, he began to scold her with divers
insinuations. “Soon thou wilt sit amongst the men in the hall!” he
exclaimed. “O, my son,” rejoined the Kabirah, “fear Allah: thy mother is in
years!”—and truly she was so, being at least fifty. “A-a-h” sneered the youth,
who had formed, as boys of the world must do, or appear to do, a very
low estimate of the sex. The old lady understood the drift of the
exclamation, and departed with a half-laughing “May Allah disappoint thee!”
She soon, however, returned, bringing me water for ablution; and having
heard that I had not yet sacrificed a sheep at Muna, enjoined me to
return and perform without delay that important rite.
[p.217]After resuming our laical toilette, and dressing gaily for the
great festival, we mounted our asses about the cool of the afternoon,
and, returning to Muna, we found the tent full of visitors. Ali ibn Ya
Sin, the Zemzemi, had sent me an amphora of holy water, and the carrier
was awaiting the customary dollar. With him were several Meccans, one
of whom spoke excellent Persian. We sat down, and chatted together for
an hour; and I afterwards learned from the boy Mohammed, that all had
pronounced me to be an ’Ajami.
After their departure we debated about the victim, which is only a
Sunnat, or practice of the Prophet.[FN#38] It is generally sacrificed
immediately after the first lapidation, and we had already been guilty
of delay. Under these circumstances, and considering the meagre
condition of my purse, I would not buy a sheep, but contented myself
with watching my neighbours. They gave themselves great trouble,
especially a large party of Indians pitched near us, to buy the victim
cheap; but the Badawin were not less acute, and he was happy who paid
less than a dollar and a quarter. Some preferred contributing to buy a
lean ox. None but the Sharif and the principal dignitaries slaughtered
camels. The pilgrims dragged their victims to a smooth rock near the
Akabah, above which stands a small open pavilion, whose sides, red with
fresh blood, showed that the prince and his attendants had been busy at
sacrifice. [FN#39] Others stood before their tents, and, directing the
victim’s face towards the Ka’abah, cut its throat, ejaculating, “Bismillah!
Allaho Akbar[FN#40]”
[p.218] The boy Mohammed sneeringly directed my attention to the
Indians, who, being a mild race, had hired an Arab butcher to do the
deed of blood; and he aroused all Shaykh Nur’s ire by his taunting
comments upon the chicken-heartedness of the men of Hind.
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