CHAPTER XVI.
SUPERSTITIons of the MoDERN Egyptians.
AFTER recounting the above long journey, it may be proper to direct our attention a little to certain notions and manners characteristic of the people of the country. We were, it will be remembered, in the great capital of the “Arabian Nights,” the centre of the circle of Islam, where whatever is most remarkable in the habits or opinions of the eastern world may be said to flourish in greatest perfection. It would seem at first sight What the Arab inhabitants of Egypt, being brought frequently into contact with Europeans, ought by this time to have adopted something of our way w thinking, and to have imbibed some small portion at least of our learning. But this is not really the case. The two races regard each other
* Wilde. “Narrative.” T
rather with suspicion than with sympathy; and it will be many ages before the Arabs at least project themselves, if they ever do, into the sphere of our ideas and opinions. There appears to be some hidden influence in the climate and atmosphere of every country, which affects more or less powerfully the minds of its inhabitants. The operation of this principle, whatever it may be, is more easily discernible in the East than elsewhere; and, having existed from the earliest ages of the world up to this time, it seems fair to infer that it will always continue in activity. Nor does this appear to me matter of any very poignant regret, so long as what we denominate superstition does not lead to crime. Some inconvenience may possibly arise at times from the belief in Efrits and Jinn; but, upon the whole, it may well be doubted whether it does not serve to render the life of the Arab more agreeable. His imagination requires to be excited by something, and there is no means more generally at hand than those fantastic hobgoblins with which he peoples the elements. It is unphilosophical, therefore, to lament his illusions. He derives satisfaction from the relations which he supposes to exist between himself and those supernatural beings, and it would be inhuman, and therefore unwise, to deprive him of whatever pleasure the notion may impart. His sources of enjoyment, Heaven knows, are not too numerous ! All the evils of bad government press with their full weight upon him. He has to struggle with poverty, with contempt, and every form of active oppression ; and he would sink under the accumulated load of misery, were he not buoyed up by the thick stratum of elastic superstitions which extend under him, and break the force of his frequent falls. Every time I have conversed with an Arab, I have become more and more convinced of this truth. He turns away from the real evils which beset him, from his sordid hut, tattered garments, and empty board, to the palace, and magnificent raiment, and costly feasts, and beautiful harem, which he possesses in his ideal world, and in this way manages to taste some sort of happiness. No one can doubt this who has ever heard an Arab tell a story. He does not recount languidly a narrative which he knows to be fiction. By the plastic power of fancy he converts imaginary beings and events into realities, and moves among them as an actor, generally as the principal actor, moulding circumstances as he pleases, and feeding his appetite for pomp and splendour and physical enjoyment in a way unintelligible to colder natures. His eyes flash, his pulse quickens, his cheeks redden and pale by turns, he smiles, laughs outright, or indulges in tears and sorrow, as the incidents of his tale appear to require. Generally he is in a trance of delight; he beholds around him spiritual existences, some good, others malevolent, but all capricious ; who may, some day or other, take it into their heads to make a Sheikh or an Emir of him, to shower on him boundless wealth, and render him master of the lawful number of fair wives. I used to observe this especially in my interpreter, Suliman. He had known what it was to be poor and in bad health, but whenever he walked abroad at dawn or twilight, it was obvious that he expected some benevolent Jinneh to appear and discover to him a hidden treasure. His eye and his smile were full of this anticipation, more especially when on the Nile at midnight, in the delicious calm of
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THEORY OF THE JINN. 207
those latitudes, and surrounded by the nodding ruins of temples or palaces,
he used to keep me awake by recounting the wild adventures of some Arab
hero or heroine.
Mr. Lane, therefore, is perfectly correct, when he describes the inhabit-
ants of Egypt as a very superstitious people. It is true, too, that many
of their superstitions constitute a part of their religion, being sanctioned by
the Koran. The most prominent of these is the belief in Jinn, with whose
character and attributes everybody has been rendered familiar by the
“Thousand and one Nights.” The Jinn are said to be of pre-Adamite origin,
and a class of beings intermediate between angels and men, created of fire,
and capable of assuming the forms and material fabric of men, brutes, and
monsters, and of rendering themselves invisible at pleasure. Like mortals,
they eat and drink, and become the parents of children, their helpmates being
generally selected from among the descendants of Adam. They are subject,
moreover, to death, though in most cases their lives are protracted through
many centuries. Their principal abode is in the chain of mountains,
called Kaf, which, by the Moslems, who believe the earth to be a plane
surface, is supposed with the ocean to encompass the habitable world.
Some of these spirits are believers in El-Islam; others are infidels. Of
both these classes the Arabs stand in great awe; and for the former they
entertain a high degree of respect. It is a common custom of this people,
in pouring water on the ground, to exclaim or mutter, destoor, that is,
to ask the permission or crave the pardon of any Jinneh that may chance
to be there; for the Jinn are supposed to pervade both the solid matter of
the earth and the firmament. They are also believed to inhabit rivers,
ruined houses, wells, baths, and ovens; hence persons, when they let down
a bucket into a well, or light a fire, and on other occasions, say “Permis-
sion” or “Permission ye blessed s” which words they sometimes preface
with a prayer for God’s protection against all evil spirits. These customs
present a commentary on the story in the “Thousand and one Nights,” in
which a merchant is described as having killed a Jinneh, by throwing aside
the stone of a date which he had just eaten (almond shells in the old trans-
lation). In the same story, and in others of that collection, a Jinneh is
represented as approaching in a whirlwind of sand or dust; and it is the
general belief of the Arabs of Egypt that the Zobaáh, or whirlwind, which
carries the sand or dust in the form of a pillar of prodigious height, so
often seen sweeping across the fields and deserts of this country, is
caused by the flight of one of these beings; or in other words, that the
Jinneh rides in the whirlwind. A charm is usually uttered by the
Egyptians to avert the Zobaáh when it seems to be approaching; some
of them exclaim, “Iron, thou unlucky’ ” as Jinn are supposed to have
a great dread of that metal; others endeavour to drive away the monster
by exclaiming “God is most great.” What we call a falling star, is com-
monly believed to be a dart thrown by God at an evil Jinneh; and the
Egyptians, when they see it, exclaim, “May Allah transfix the enemy of
# See, in the “History of the Manners and Customs of Ancient Greece,” an account of similar *”Perstitions among the Hellenes.
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the faith !” The evil Jinn are commonly termed Efrits. The existence of Efrits must be believed by the Moslems, on account of the occurrence, in the Koran, of these words:– “An Efrit from among the Jinn answered.” They are generally believed to differ from the other Jinn in being very powerful, and always malicious; but to be, in other respects, of a similar nature. Connected with the history of the Jinn are many fables, not acknowledged by the Koran, and therefore not credited by the sober Moslems, but only by the less instructed. The latter believe that the earth was inhabited before the time of Adam by a race of beings differing from ourselves in form, and much more powerful; and that forty (or, according to some, seventy-two) pre-Adamite kings, each of whom bore the name of Sooleyman or Solomon successively governed this people. The last of the Sooleymans was named Ga’n Ibn Gan, and from him, it is said, the Jinn, who are also called Ga’n, derive their name. Hence some believe the Jinn to be the same with the pre-Adamite race here mentioned; but others assert that they were a distinct class of beings, and brought into subjection by the other race. Jinn are believed often to assume, or perpetually to wear, the shapes of cats, dogs, and other brute animals. The Sheikh Khaleel El-Medabighee, one of the most celebrated of the ulema of Egypt, and author of several works on various sciences, who died at a very advanced age, during the period of my former visit to this country, used to relate the following anecdote:—He had, he said, a favourite black cat, which always slept at the foot of his bed. Once at midnight he heard a knocking at the door of his house; and his cat went and opened the hanging shutter of his window, and called, “Who’s there ?” A voice replied, “I am such-a-one (mentioning a strange name), the Jinneh; open the door.” “The lock,” said the Sheikh’s cat, “ has had the name of God pronounced upon it.” “Then throw me down,” said the other, “two cakes of bread.” “The breadbasket,” answered the cat at the window, “ has had the name pronounced upon it.” “Well,” said the stranger, “at least give me a drink of water.” But he was answered that the water-jar had been secured in the same manner; and asked what he was to do, seeing that he was likely to die of hunger and thirst. The Sheikh’s cat told him to go to the next house, and went there also himself, and opened the door, and soon after returned. Next morning the Sheikh deviated from a habit which he had constantly observed; he gave to the cat half the fateereh upon which he breakfasted, instead of a little morsel, which he was wont to give; and afterwards said, “O my cat, thou knowest that I am a poor man; bring me then a little gold;” upon which words the cat immediately disappeared, and he saw it In O more. It is commonly affirmed that malicious or disturbed Jinn very often station themselves on the roofs, or at the windows of houses in Cairo, and other towns of Egypt, and throw bricks and stones down into the streets and courts. I was once told of a case of this kind, which had alarmed the eople in the principal street of the metropolis for a whole week; many pricks having been thrown down from some of the houses every day during z1bis period, though nobody was killed or wounded. I went to the scene
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THE JINN IN ENGLAND. 209
of these pranks of this Jinneh to witness them, and to make inquiries on the subject; but on my arrival there, I was told that the regm or throwing had ceased. I found no one who denied the falling down of the bricks, or doubted that it was the work of the Jinn ; and the general remark on mentioning the subject was, “God avert from us this evil doing.” One of my friends observed to me on this occasion, that he had met with some Englishmen who disbelieved in the existence of Jinn; but he concluded that they had never witnessed a public performance, though common in their country, of which he had since heard, called Koomedyeh (Comedy), by which term he meant to include all theatrical performances. Addressing one of his own countrymen, and appealing to me for the confirmation of his words, he then said—“An Algerine a short time ago gave me an account of a spectacle of this kind which he had seen in London.” Here his countryman interrupted him by asking, “Is not England in London ? or is London a town in England 2* My friend with diffidence, and looking to me, answered, that London was the metropolis of England, and then resumed the subject of the theatre. “The house,” said he, “in which the spectacle was exhibited cannot be described ; it was of a round form, with many benches on the floor, and closets all round, in rows one above another, in which people of the higher class sat ; and there was a large square aperture closed with a curtain. When the house was full of people, who paid considerable sums of money to be admitted, it suddenly became very dark ; it was at night, and the house had been lighted up with a great many lamps; but these were almost entirely extinguished, all at the same time, without being touched by anybody. Then the great curtain was drawn up; they heard the roaring of the sea and wind; and indistinctly perceived through the gloom, the waves rising and foaming and lashing the shore. Presently a tremendous peal of thunder was heard ; after a flash of lightning had clearly shown to the spectator the agitated sea ; and then there fell a heavy shower of real rain. Soon after the day broke ; the sea became more plainly visible; and two ships were seen in the distance; they approached, and fought each other, firing their cannons; and a variety of other extraordinary scenes were afterwards exhibited. Now, it is evident,” added my friend, “that such wonders must have been the work of Jinn, or, at least, performed by their assistance.” During the month of Ramad’han, the Jinn, it is said, are confined in prison; and hence, on the eve of the festival which follows that month, some of the women of Egypt, with the view of preventing these objects of dread from entering their houses, sprinkle salt upon the floors of the apartments, saying as they do it, “In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful.” A curious relic of ancient Egyptian superstition may here be mentioned. It is believed that each quarter in Cairo has its peculiar guardian genius, or Agathodamon, which has the form of a serpent. The ancient tombs of Egypt, and the dark recesses of the temples, are commonly believed by the people of this country to be inhabited by Efrits.
The term Efrit is commonly applied rather to an evil Jinneh than any
other being ; but the ghosts of dead persons are also called by this name;
and many absurd stories are related of them; and great are the fears
which they inspire. There are many persons, however, who hold them
in no degree of dread. I had once a humorous cook, who was somewhat
addicted to the intoxicating hasheesh ; soon after he had entered my
service I heard him one evening muttering and exclaiming on the stairs,
as if in surprise at some event; and then politely saying, “But why are
you sitting here in the draught ! Do me the favour to come up into the
kitchen, and amuse me with your conversation a little.” This civil
address not being answered, was repeated and varied several times;
till I called out to the man, and asked him to whom he was speaking.
“The Efrit of a Turkish soldier,” he replied, “is sitting on the stairs,
smoking his pipe, and refuses to move ; he came up from the well below;
pray step and see him.” On my going to the stairs, and telling the
servant I could see nothing, he only remarked that it was because I had
a clear conscience. He was told afterwards that the house had been
haunted; but he asserted that he had not been previously informed of the
supposed cause: which was, the fact of a Turkish soldier having been
murdered there.
Stories of haunted houses are quite as common in Cairo and other parts
of the East as they are in the remoter districts of our own island.* Fre-
quently many excellent dwellings are deserted and suffered to fall to decay,
because Efrits are supposed to have taken up their abode in them. Some-
times these reports may be traceable to the malice of neighbours, though
generally noises, occasioned by unknown causes, give rise to them. In
order to illustrate the popular belief of the Arabs on this subject, I shall
here introduce the story of a haunted house in Cairo, premising that the
narrator is a lady now residing with her family in that city.
“After having searched for a habitation during a month in vain,
we were delighted with the offer of an exceedingly good one, which
appeared in every respect eligible, and in which we are now residing. But
our domestic comfort in this new abode has been disturbed by a singular
trouble, which has obliged us to arrange as soon as possible for a removal.
The house is an admirable one, being nearly new, though on the old
construction. –
“We were much surprised, after passing a few days here, to find that our
servants were unable to procure any rest during the night; being disturbed
by a constant knocking, and by the appearance of what they believe to be
an Efrit. The manner of the servants’ complaint was very characteristic.
Having been much annoyed one morning by a noisy quarrel under our
windows, my brother called one of our servants to ascertain how it had
arisen, when he replied, ‘It is a matter of no importance, O Efendi; but
the subject which perplexes us is, that there is a devil in the bath.’ My
brother being aware of their superstitious prejudices, replied: “Well, is
there a bath in the world that you do not believe to be a resort of evil
spirits, according to the well known tradition on that subject 7” “True, 0
* See on this subject three extremely curious and interesting articles on “Dreams, NightNoises, &c.,” by Mr. Ollier, in “Ainsworth’s Magazine.”
STORY OF THE HAUNTED HOUSE. 211
my master,’ rejoined the man, “the case is so ; this devil has long been the resident of the house, and he will never permit any other tenant to retain its quiet possession for many years; no one has remained more than a month within these walls, excepting the last person who lived here, and he, though he had soldiers and slaves, could not stay more than about nine months; for the devil disturbed his family all night.’ I must here tell you that during our short stay in the house, the maids have left us, one after another, without giving us any idea of their intentions, and have never returned; and the cause of their sudden disappearance was now explained by the men their fellow-servants. Certainly our own rest was grievously disturbed; but we had attributed all the annoyance to a neighbour’s extraordinary demonstrations of joy on the subject of his own marriage, and whose festivities were, perhaps, the more extravagant, because he is an old man, and his bride a young girl. The noise was deafening during the whole of eight nights, and, when we were becoming accustomed to the constant din, we were roused by three tremendous reports of fire-arms, which rang through the apartments of our own and the neighbouring houses, and shook our dwellings to the very foundation. It is, therefore, not remarkable that we did not hear the sounds which disturbed our poor servants, in addition to the sufficient uproar without. “It appeared, on inquiry, that the man to whom this house formerly belonged, and who is now dead, had, during his residence in it, murdered a poor tradesman who entered the court with his merchandise, and two slaves: one of these (a black girl) was destroyed in the bath, and you will easily understand how far such a story as this, and a true one too, sheds its influence on the minds of a people who are superstitious to a proverb. We can only regret that my brother engaged the house in ignorance of these circumstances; had he known them, he would also have been aware that the prejudice among the lower orders would be insurmountable, and that no female servant would remain with us. The sudden disappearance of our maids was thus gravely explained by our door-keeper. “Why did Amineh and Zeyneb leave you?’ ‘Verily, O my master, because they feared for their security. When Amineh saw the Efrit, she said at once: “I must quit this house; for if he touch me I shall be deranged, and unfit for service;” and truly,” he added, “this would have been the case. For ourselves, as men, we fear not; but we fear for the harem. Surely you will consider their situation, and quit this house.’ This, he thought, was putting the matter in the strongest light. “Try a few nights longer, said my brother ‘and call me as soon as the spirit appears; we might have caught him last night, when you say he was so near you, and after giving him a sound beating, you would not have found your rest disturbed.’ At this remark it was evident that the respect of both servants for their master had received a temporary shock. “Oh Efendi, exclaimed one of them, ‘this is an Efrit, and not a son of Adam, as you seem to suppose. He assumed last night all imaginary shapes, and when I raised my hand to seize him, he became a piece of cord or any other trifle.’ Now these men are valuable servants, and we should be sorry to lose them, especially in our present predicament; therefore my brother merely answered, that if the annoyance did not cease, he would make inquiries respecting another house. “I have omitted to observe, that the inhuman wretch to whom this house belonged bequeathed it to a mosque, perhaps as an expiation for his crimes, but left it, for the term of her life, to the person who is our present landlady; and now a circumstance was explained to our minds which we had not before fully understood. On the day before we desired to remove here, we sent one of our servants to hire some women, and to superintend the clearing of the house; and on his arrival there, the landlady, whose name is Lálah-Zār, or bed of tulips, refused him admission, saying, ‘Return to the Efendi, and say to him that I am baking cakes in the oven of his kitchen, that I may give them away to-morrow at the tomb of the late owner of the house, to the poor and needy. This is a meritorious act for your master’s sake, as well as for my own, and your master will understand it.’ “Poor woman it is now evident to us that she hoped by this act of propitiation to prevent further annoyance to her tenants, and consequent loss to herself. “The morning after the conversation I have related took place, the servant’s report was considerably improved. They had passed, they said, a comfortable night, and we hoped we might arrange to remain here; but the following day a most singular statement awaited us. The doorkeeper, in a tone of considerable alarm, said that he had been unable to sleep at all; that the Efrit had walked round the gallery all night in clogs / and had repeatedly knocked at his door with a brick, or some other hard substance. Then followed the question, why one of the men had not called my brother, evidently because neither of them dared pass the gallery round which the supposed Efrit was taking his midnight walks, striking each door violently as he passed it. For many nights the noise continued, and many evenings they began before we retired to rest; and as we could never find the offender, I sadly feared for my children; not for their personal safety, but lest they should incline to superstition : and nothing impoverishes the mind so much as such a tendency. “Another singular circumstance attending this most provoking annoyance was our finding, on several successive mornings, five or six pieces of charcoal laid at the door leading to the chambers in which we sleep, conveying in this country a wish, or rather an imprecation, which is far from agreeable ; viz., “May your face be blackened ‘ ‘ However, under all these circumstances, I rejoiced to find my children increasingly amused by these pranks, and established in the belief that one or more wicked persons liked the house so well, that they resolved to gain possession, and to eject, by dint of sundry noises and other annoyances, any persons who desired its occupation. It is, however, a more serious matter to poor Lálah-Yár than to us; for it is certain that the legacy of the late possessor will never produce a great benefit to her. You will be surprised when I tell you, that the rent of such a house as this does not exceed twelve pounds per annum. It is a very superior dwelling, and infinitely beyond the usual run; therefore always styled by the people of the country the house of an Emir.”
CONTINUED PERSECUTIONS OF AN EFRIT. 213
To continue the story of the ghost or Efrit. “Ramad’han arrived, and we were for a time freed from his visitation; but when it ended, the comparative quiet of our nights ended also. To describe all the various noises by which we have been disturbed is impossible. Very frequently the door of the room in which we were sitting late in the evening, within two or three hours of midnight, was violently knocked at many short intervals: at other times it seemed as if something very heavy fell upon the pavement close under one of the windows of the same room, or of one adjoining ; and as these rooms were on the top of the house, we imagined at first that some stones or other things had been thrown by a neighbour, but we could find nothing outside after the noise I have mentioned. The usual sounds continued during the greater part of the night, and were generally like a heavy trampling, like the walking of a person in large clogs, varied by knocking at the doors of many of the apartments, and at the large water-jars, which are placed in recesses in the galleries. Our maids have come and gone like shadows ever since our residence here, excepting during Ramad’han ; and sauce qui peut seems to have been their maxim, for they believe that one touch of an Efrit would render them demoniacs. “A little while ago, a girl who had only passed two days in the house, rushed to our usual sitting room, whence she had just removed our supper, exclaiming that a tall figure in white was standing with outspread arms at the entrance of the upper gallery, to prevent her passing. We all immediately returned with her, and as you will anticipate, found nothing. This white figure our servant called a Saint, and they assert that the house is haunted by a Saint and an Efrit. One man assures us that this same Saint, who is, to use his expression, of dazzling whiteness, applied himself one night to the bucket of the well in the court, and, having drawn up water, performed his ablutions and said his prayers. Frightening servantmaids is, I ween, rather inconsistent with such conduct. Certainly the servants do not complain without reason, and it is particularly grievous, because there is not, throughout the whole healthful part of the city, one comfortable house vacant. “During Ramadhan, the Moslems believe that Efrits are imprisoned, and thus our attendants accounted for our freedom from annoyance during that month. We, on the other hand, believed that we had bolted and barred out the offender, by having discovered his place of ingress, and were much disappointed at finding our precautions useless. “A few days since, our door-keeper, a new servant, complained that he not only could not sleep, but that he never had slept, since his arrival, more than a few minutes at a time, and that he never could sleep consistently with his duty, unless the Efrit could be destroyed. He added, that he came every night into the upper gallery, leading to our sleeping-room, and there he found the figure I have mentioned, walking round and round, and concluded with an anxious request that his master would consent to his firing at the phantom, saying that devils have always been destroyed by the discharge of fire-arms. We consented to the proposal, provided he used neither ball nor small shot. Two days and nights passed, and we found on the third that the door-keeper was waiting to ascertain whether the spectre were a saint or a devil, and had therefore resolved to question him on the ensuing night before he fired. “The night came, and it was one of unusual darkness. We had really forgotten our recent intentions, although we were talking over the subject of the disturbances until near midnight, and speculating upon the cause in theroom where my children were happily sleeping, when we were startled by a tremendous discharge of fire-arms, which was succeeded by the deep hoarse voice of the door-keeperexclaiming * There he lies, the accursed !’ and a sound as of a creature struggling and gasping for breath. In the next moment the man called loudly to his fellow-servants, crying, ‘Come up, the accursed is struck down before me!’ and this was followed by such mysterious sounds, that we believed either a man had been shot, and was in his last agony, or that our man had accidentally shot himself. “My brother went round the gallery, while I and my sister-in-law stood like children trembling hand in hand, and my boys mercifully slept (as young ones do sleep) sweetly and soundly through all the confusion and distress. It appeared that the man used not only ball cartridges, but put two charges of powder, with balls into his pistol. I will describe the event, however, in his own words : —“The Efrit passed me in the gallery and repassed me, when I thus addressed it, “Shall we quit this house or will you do so?’ ‘You shall quit it,” he answered; and, passing me again, he threw dirt into my right eye. This proved he was a devil,” continued the man, “and I wrapped my cloak around me and watched the spectre as it receded. It stopped in that corner, and I observed its appearance attentively. It was tall and perfectly white. I stooped, and before I moved again discharged my pistol, which I had before concealed, and the accursed was struck down before me, and here are the remains.” So saying, he picked up a small burnt mass, which my brother showed us afterwards, resembling more the sole of a shoe than anything else, but perforated by fire in several places, and literally burnt to a cinder. This the man asserted was always the relic when a devil was destroyed, and it lay on the ground under a part of the wall where the bullets had entered. The noise which succeeded the report, and which filled me with horror, is and must ever remain a mystery. On the following morning we closely examined the spot, and found nothing that could throw light on the subject. The burnt remains do not help us to a conclusion; one thing, however, I cannot but believe that some one who had personated the spirit suffered some injury, and that the darkness favoured his escape. It is truly very ridiculous in
Egyptian Cradle.
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DEATH OF A GHOST. 215
these people to believe that the remains of a devil resemble the sole of an old shoe. It reminds me of the condensed spirits of whom we read in the ‘Thousand and One Nights,” who were bottled up, hermetically sealed, and thrown into the sea by order of Suleyman, the son of Da-ood. “I need scarcely say that the servant was reprimanded for disobeying his orders with regard to charging the pistol. With this exception he has proved ever obedient, most respectful, and excellent in every point. I really believe the man was so worn out by want of sleep, and exasperated by finding the same figure nightly pacing round the galleries and preventing his rest, that he became desperate.” “
fynm 