Texts in English / Iraq
Iraq
People dance before the Caliph of Bagdad, Iraq, 1164
Tudela, Benjamin of: The itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela. Critical text, translation and commentary by Marcus Nathan Adler. New York, Philipp Feldheim, first edition London 1907. Project Gutenberg. [p.57]
In the Caliph's palace are great riches and towers filled with gold, silken garments and all precious stones. He does not issue forth from his palace save once in the year, at the feast which the Mohammedans call El-id-bed Ramazan, and they come from distant lands that day to see him. He rides on a mule and is attired in the royal robes of gold and silver and fine linen; on his head is a turban adorned with precious stones of priceless value, and over the turban is a black shawl as a sign of his modesty, implying that all this glory will be covered by darkness on the day of death. He is accompanied by all the nobles of Islam dressed in fine garments and riding on horses, the princes of Arabia, the princes of Togarma and Daylam (Gil[=a]n) and the princes of Persia, Media and Ghuzz, and the princes of the land of Tibet, which is three months' journey distant, and westward of which lies the land of Samarkand. He proceeds from his palace to the great mosque of Islam which is by the Basrah Gate. [p.58]
Along the road the walls are adorned with silk and purple, and the inhabitants receive him with all kinds of song and exultation, and they dance before the great king who is styled the Caliph. They salute him with a loud voice and say, "Peace unto thee, our Lord the King and Light of Islam!" He kisses his robe, and stretching forth the hem thereof he salutes them.
Fire-dancing in Wasit, Iraq, 1340~
Gibb, H.A.R. (ed. & transl.): The travels of Ibn Battuta, 1325-1354. Cambridge, Hakluyt Society, 1962, 2 vols.
When we halted at the city of Wäsit the caravan stopped outside it for three nights in order to trade. This gave me the opportunity of visiting the grave of the saint Abu’l-‘Abbas Ahmad al-Rifä‘ï, which is at a village called Umm ‘Ubaida, one day’s journey from Wäsit. I asked the shaikh Taqï al-Dïn to send someone with me to conduct me to it, and he sent with me three Arabs of the Banü Asad, who are the occupants of that region, and mounted me on one of his own horses. I set out at noon and after spending that night in the enclosure of the Banü Asad we arrived at the hospice at noon on the following day. It is a vast convent in which there are thousands of poor brethren. Our visit coincided with the arrival of the shaikh Ahamad Küjak, the grandson of the Friend of God Abu’l-Abbäs al’Rifä ‘ï, whose tomb we had come to visit. The shaikh had come from his place of residence in the land of Rüm [Anatolia] in order to visit his grandfather’s tomb, and it was to him that the headship of the hospice had descended.
When the afternoon prayers had been said, drums and kettle-drums were beaten and the poor brethren began to dance. After this they prayed the sunset prayer and brought in the repast, consisting of rice-bread, fish, milk and dates. When all had eaten and prayed the first night prayer, they began to recite their dhikr, with the shaikh Ahmad sitting on the prayer-carpet of his ancestor above-mentioned, then they began the musical recital. They had prepared loads of firewood which they kindled into a flame, and went into the midst of it dancing; some of them rolled in the fire, and others ate it in their mouths, until finally extinguished it entirely. This is their regular custom and it is the peculiar characteristic of this corporation of Ahmadï brethren. Some of them will take a large snake and bite its head with their teeth until they bite it clean through.
Anecdote. I was on one occasion at a place called Afqänbür in the district of Hazär Amrühä, which is at a distance of five nights’ journey from Dihlï, the capital of India. We had encamped there on a river called the river of al-Sarw. This was in the season of the shakäl (shakäl in their language meaning rain), which falls at the time of the summer heats. The river was coming down in flood from the mountains of Qaräjïl. Now everyone who drinks from it, whether man or beast, dies because of the falling of the rain on poisonous grasses. We stayed by this river for four days without anyone going near it. There came to me there a company of poor brethren who had iron rings on their necks and arms, and whose chief was a coal-black negro. They belonged to the corporation known as the Haidarïya and they spent one night with us. Their chief asked me to supply him with firewood that they might light it for their dance, so I charged the governor of the district, who was ‘Azïz known as al-Khammär (an account of him will be given later), to furnish it. He sent about ten loads of it, and after the night prayer they kindled it, and at length, when it was a mass of glowing coals, they began their musical recital and went into that fire, still dancing and rolling about in it. Their chief asked me for a shirt and I gave him one of the finest texture; he put it on and he began to fall about in the fire with it on and to beat the fire with his sleeves until it was extinguished and dead. He then brought me the shirt showing not a single trace of burning on it, at which I was greatly astonished.
Jesters made to dance on hot bricks by the caliph of Bagdad, Iraq, 1842-1850
Neale, Frederick Arthur: Eight years in Syria, Palestine and Asia Minor, from 1842 to 1850, in 2 volumes. London, Colburn, 1851. Reprinted by Elibron Classics, 2002..
“In those good old times it was the practice at the Caliph’s Court to employ jesters, as a kind of animal necessary to digestion and good-humour; and upon the same principle that the Caliph bought a horse to ride when he wanted exercise, he bought a jester by whose wit he might be made merry when dull and weary. The Caliphs were not over particular in the method of extracting mirth from the Court jesters. They made them dance upon hot bricks to sharpen their intellect, whilst the bricks made them caper to the great amusement of beholders.
“After these practical jokes, the jesters were wont to lie at death’s door for weeks and months together; and then the more humane feelings of the Caliphs were brought into play, and they daily heaped presents on them, an sent their most experienced hakims to look after the invalids, threatening them with immediate destruction if they failed in curing their sufferings.
Kurds at Hassan Kaif on the river Tigris, Iraq, 1920~
Jebb, Louisa (Mrs Roland Wilkins): The desert ways to Baghdad. London, Thomas Nelson, 1920?
That night we moored the raft at Sheveh, a village backed by high hills, the last spurs of a great range of snow mountains, at whose base we had been winding in and out. We arrived at sunset, just as the women were trooping down, with jars on their heads, to fetch water from the river. I went and sat on a rock above them, and one by one, having filled their jars, they filed up past me, and, stopping for an instant, fingered my garments and gently stroked my hair. Many and various questions they asked me, of which I could understand nothing beyond the note of interrogation, and they sailed on with that free and graceful carriage which is the gift of uncivilised races, balancing the jars at an angle on their white-veiled heads.
We had finished supper and had stretched ourselves out on the raft under the stars, enjoying the quiet and beauty of the scene. The boatmen belonging to the two rafts had joined forces and pitched a tent on the shore close by. Most of the village had straggled down to the river and were flitting mysteriously about in waving white garments. All of a sudden a wild, savage noise of screaming and singing arose. "The men have bought a piece of meat", said Ali, "and are singing to it".
It was a weird sight : a roaring fire blazed in the gloaming ; in the centre hung a large black pot containing the meat which was the object of this adoration. The men had joined hands and were dancing round the fire in a circle, dark figures in long white flowing robes which waved about in the semi-darkness as their owners flung their feet up or swung suddenly round. All at once the men dropped on the ground with a prolonged dwindling yell, which finally died off into an expectant silence. The head boatman fished out the meat and began to tear it to pieces with his hands, distributing it amongst his companions. A deathly silence reigned while the carcass was being consumed. This gave place, as time went on, to a murmuring ripple of satisfaction, which developed a little later into bursts of contented song. Then they sprang to their feet and flung themselves once more into a dance.
"Let's join in", said X. We each seized a Zaptieh by the hand and were included in the circle. We sprang and kicked and stamped ; we turned and hopped and stamped. One man stood in the middle clapping the time with his hands as he led the song. It was a war-dance ; the circle broke into two lines and we dashed against one another. Then the lines receded and the song became a low murmur as of gathering hordes, whilst our feet beat slow time. The murmur swelled and our feet quickened ; louder and louder we shouted, quicker and quicker we moved, and finally with a great roar the two lines dashed against one another. We gave one great stamp all together and stopped dead ; another great stamp and a roar, then a hush, and the lines receded. Thoroughly exhausted, I fell out of the line while this proceeding was repeated. By this time the moon shone out bright and strong. On one side a great desert stretched away into the starry night ; on the other the waters of the Tigris swept darkly past us. The wild shrieks flew up into the clear, silent air. X danced furiously on between Hassan and Ali. Her face was strangely white, lit up by the moon, amongst the dark complexions of her companions. They sprang and hopped and stamped, they turned and hopped and stamped ; a white robe here, a red cloak there, a naked foot and a soldier's boot, hopping and turning and stamping.
"X", I said to myself, "you are mad, and I, poor sane fool, can only remember that I once did crotchet work in drawing-rooms". A feeling of wild rebellion took hold of me ; I sprang into the circle. "Make me mad !" I cried out ; "I want to be mad too !" The men seized me and on we went, on and on with the hopping and turning and stamping. And soon I too was a savage, a glorious, free savage under the white moon.
Before the caliph of Bagdad, Iraq, 1164
The Khalif leaves his palace but once every year, viz. at the time of the feast called Ramadan; on which occasion many visitors assemble from distant parts, in order to have an opportunity of beholding his countenance. He then bestrides the royal mule, dressed in kingly robes, which are composed of gold and silver cloth. On his head he wears a turban, ornamented with precious stones of inestimable value; but over this turban is thrown a black veil, aw a sign of humility, and as much as to say: «see all this worldly honour will be converted into darkness on the day of death.» He is accompanied by a numerous retinue of Mohammedan nobles, arrayed in rich dresses and riding upon horses, princes of Arabia, of Media, of Persia, and even of Tibet, a country distant three months’ journey from Arabia.
The procession goes from the palace to the mosque at the Bozra gate, which is the metropolitan mosque. All who walk in procession, both men and women, are dressed in silk and purple. The streets and squares are enlivened with singing and rejoicing, and by parties who dance before the great calif. He is saluted loudly by the assembled crowd, who cry: “Blessed art thou, our lord and king.” He thereupon kisses his garment, and by holding it in his hand, acknowledges and returns the compliment.
Along the road the walls are adorned with silk and purple, and the inhabitants receive him with all kinds of song and exultation, and they dance before the great king who is styled the Caliph. They salute him with a loud voice and say, "Peace unto thee, our Lord the King and Light of Islam!" He kisses his robe, and stretching forth the hem thereof he salutes them. Then he proceeds to the court of the mosque, mounts a wooden pulpit and expounds to them their Law.
Another translation of the text
The Khalif leaves his palace but once every year, viz. at the time of the feast called Ramadan; on which occasion many visitors assemble from distant parts, in order to have an opportunity of beholding his countenance. He then bestrides the royal mule, dressed in kingly robes, which are composed of gold and silver cloth. On his head he wears a turban, ornamented with precious stones of inestimable value; but over this turban is thrown a black veil, aw a sign of humility, and as much as to say: «see all this worldly honour will be converted into darkness on the day of death.» He is accompanied by a numerous retinue of Mohammedan nobles, arrayed in rich dresses and riding upon horses, princes of Arabia, of Media, of Persia, and even of Tibet, a country distant three months’ journey from Arabia.
The procession goes from the palace to the mosque at the Bozra gate, which is the metropolitan mosque. All who walk in procession, both men and women, are dressed in silk and purple. The streets and squares are enlivened with singing and rejoicing, and by parties who dance before the great calif. He is saluted loudly by the assembled crowd, who cry: “Blessed art thou, our lord and king.” He thereupon kisses his garment, and by holding it in his hand, acknowledges and returns the compliment.
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Along the road the walls are adorned with silk and purple, and the inhabitants receive him with all kinds of song and exultation, and they dance before the great king who is styled the Caliph. They salute him with a loud voice and say, "Peace unto thee, our Lord the King and Light of Islam!" He kisses his robe, and stretching forth the hem thereof he salutes them. Then he proceeds to the court of the mosque, mounts a wooden pulpit and expounds to them their Law.