Sheikh

“ These people, over whom the Sheik seemed to possess great control and authority, are quite pastoral in their pursuits, and own such enormous flocks and herds as would astonish any ordinary mortal. These are every night driven in from grazing to a large zareeba on the river-bed. I was irresistibly reminded here of the patriarchs of old. Here was this Sheikh with four wives and I don’t know how many children, the leader or petty sovereign of a large and powerful tribe, over whom he possessed absolute power, and, as I said before, owning these flocks and herds. ”

“ When the fire of repentance burns, it consumes everything. He made his ablutions, resumed his Moslem garb, and departed for Mecca, where he and his old disciples embraced with tears of joy.
In the meantime the young Christian saw the Prophet appearing to her in a dream, and saying, "Follow the Sheikh! Adopt his doctrine; be the dust under his feet. Thou who wert the cause of his apostasy, be pure as he is." When she awoke from her dream, a strong impulse urged her to seek for him. With a heart full of affection, though with a feeble body, she went to seek for the Sheikh and his disciples. ”

“ One special group, distinguished both by its size and by the peculiar shapes of the pillars of stone, has such terrors for the Arabs that they dare not pass it at night, from their firm belief in the legend which gave the place its name of the Accursed Baths. For once there was a sheikh, a rich and powerful man, who had one only sister, beautiful as a flower. He loved her with an exceeding great love, and thought her so supremely fair that no man could be found worthy of her. ”

“ The culprit appearing at this moment to take leave, the sheikh threw himself back on his carpet, wept like a child, and suffered Barca Gana, who had crept close to him, to embrace his knees, and calling them all his sons, pardoned his repentant slave. No prince of the most civilized nation can be better loved by his subjects than this chief; and he is a most extraordinary instance, in the eastern world, of fearless bravery, virtue, and simplicity. ”

“ You will send to the great Sheikh; he will listen——'
'I send to the great Sheikh! You know not your grandfather, and you know not me. The truth is, the Sheikh and myself mutually despise each other, and we have never met without parting in bitterness. ”

“ The Sheikh's ears were sharper than those of other men and he heard very clearly what was said.
'This Bedouin,' said the hunchback, 'is a near relation of our Sheikh, and holds him in great veneration, coming frequently to see him even from a considerable distance, and always bringing him a present of food. And you may see by his mare and by his weapons that he is a person of consideration in his tribe. For our Sheikh is not a negro, nor the son of a Syrian camel-driver, but an Arab of the best blood in the desert, and wise enough to sit in the council in the Sultan's palace. ”

“ On the road, to-day, we fell in with a tribe of the Biddomah, who had, during the last three months, taken up their abode on the sheikh’s land, and asked for what was instantly granted them, permission to remain. Internal wars cause these fallings off of one tribe from another, which the sheikh encourages: only one of their chiefs could ever be induced to proceed so far as Kouka. The sheikh takes no notice, and suffers them to do as they please: he sent them tobes, and a fighi, and desired they would learn to pray: and they are now beginning, as my guide said, to have the fear of God. ”

“ The typical Arab sheikh of modern fiction (if he does not turn out to be an Englishman) is a young, dashing, handsome and intensely fascinating individual, well mannered and well washed; but in real [244] life one rarely meets such a person—I myself have never seen him. The typical sheikh at Siwa or on the Western Desert was elderly, bearded and only moderately clean. ”

“ C. R. Conder, the eminent Palestinian archæologist, points out that Arabic grammar necessitates our translating Jebel esh-Sheikh “Mountain of the Sheikh,” and derives the appellation from the fact that in the tenth century the founder of the Druse religion took up his residence in Hermon (Hastings, Dictionary of the Bible, s. v. “Hermon”) . But no one who has seen the white head of the tall, strong mountain can help thinking of Hermon as itself the proud, reverend sheikh of the glorious tribe of Syrian peaks. ”

“ When he reached the top of the wall, he clapped his hands and gazed fixedly down into the city; whereupon the folk below cried out to him with one accord, saying, ‘O Sheikh Abdussemed, for God’s sake cast not thyself down!’ And they said, ‘Verily, we are God’s and to Him we return! If the Sheikh fall, we are all dead men.’
Then he laughed long and loud and sat a great while, reciting the names of God and repeating the Verses of Safety ”

“ Bethlehem thus formed the first stage from Jerusalem, on the way to Egypt. The duty and honour of providing and maintaining these khans devolved upon the sheikh or head man of the village, who was empowered to levy a tax upon the villagers for their support. Sometimes only a space of ground was staked out and fenced with thorns, so as to furnish protection against thieves and wild beasts. But often a wealthy sheikh would erect a substantial edifice, either defraying the cost himself or seeking aid in the work from the inhabitants. ”

“ The Sheikh sat in his courtyard, inside his house, and gave audience to all men, after the fashion of Islam. I entered and spoke to him. 'Oh, Sheikh,' I said boldly, 'Allah and the Khedive have prospered you with exceeding great prosperity. You have oxen and asses, buffaloes and camels, men-servants and maid-servants, much millet and cotton and corn and sugar-cane; you drink Frank wine every day of your life, and eat the fat of the land; and your harem is full of beautiful women. Now in the village where I live is a Nusráni girl, whose name is Laila. ”

“ Most of them have scars on different parts of their faces: these generally denote their rank, and are considered as an ornament. Our sheikh had one under each eye, with one more on each side of his forehead, in shape resembling a half moon. Like the Arabs of the north, their chieftainships are hereditary, provided the heir is worthy; any act of cowardice disqualifies, and the command devolves upon the next in succession. Our Gunda sheikh, Mina Tahr-ben-Soogo-Lammo, was the seventh in regular succession. This tribe is called Nafra Gunda, and are always near Beere-Kashifery. ”

“ In a wealthy tribe, the tent of their sheikh is often a capacious affair, twenty-five by one hundred feet, containing, among other compartments, stabling and hay-room for the sheikh's horses in winter. My breakfast is brought in from the culinary department by a young woman of most striking appearance, certainly not less than six feet in height; she is of slender, willowy build, and straight as an arrow; a wealth of auburn hair is surmounted by a small, gay-colored turban; her complexion is fairer than common among Koordish woman, and her features are the queenly features of a Juno ”

“ So she lifted me up and I said, "Support me, that I may walk." So she supported me and I went along thus, still stumbling in my skirts, till we came to the river-bank, where we saluted the Sheikh and I said to him, "O uncle, art thou Aboul Muzeffer?" "At thy service," answered he, and I said, "Take these dirhems and buy me somewhat from the land of China: haply, God may vouchsafe me a profit of it." Quoth the Sheikh to his companions, "Do ye know this youth?" "Yes," replied they; "he is known as Abou Mohammed the Lazy, and we never saw him stir from his house till now." ”

“ Village of Mis'hal
We always liked Sheikh Seil very much. He was the sheikh of Dirgheg. His hair and his shaggy chest were not white, but a lovely sky-blue. In that part of the world old people's hair is not dyed red with henna, as it is in other parts of Arabia and Asia Minor and in Persia, so the effect of the indigo can be seen. [422]
From a distance we could see the preparations. There was a long line on the sandy plain of between two and three hundred Bedouin, naked save for a blue scarf round their waists, with dagger, powder-horn, &c., stuck in. ”

“ Hero resides the sheikh, a very potent personage, thanks to his great wealth, to the heroic traditions of the Bujuda family, of which he is the representative, to the patronage he is able to exercise over the neighbouring Tuareg tribes, and to the protection he affords to passing caravans. ”

“ Abdullah ibn Mohammed, though a young man, was now the sheikh of a considerable tribe which had frequently done good service to the late Sultan, Zehowah's father, and which had also borne a prominent part in the recent war. Abdul Kerim, whom Almasta had murdered, had been the sheikh during his lifetime, and if the claims of birth had been justly considered, his son, though a mere boy, should have succeeded him. ”

“ Thus, in these latter days, has the patriarch found in the modern saint a rival in popular regard; the dark man thinking little of Job and much of his own Sheikh Saʿad, while the native fellah, overborne by the majesty of hoary tradition, bows in reverence before the old-world saint, esteeming the village sheikh a mere upstart. ”

“ The power of a Sheikh, a spiritual leader, is very great. The following account of the admission of a Novice, called Tawakkul Beg, into an Order, and of the severe tests applied, will be of some interest. [88] Tawakkul Beg says:—"Having been introduced by Akhúnd Moollá Muhammad to Sheikh Moolla Sháh, my heart, through frequent intercourse with him, was filled with such a burning desire to arrive at a true knowledge of the mystical science that I found no sleep by night, nor rest by day. ”

“ Hut each tribe and Arab commune still retains its own headman, who in towns and villages takes the title of sheikh-el-beled. Their functions, supposed to be exercised gratuitously, are . in reality the most burdensome to the unfortunate people, for justice is dispensed, for the most part venally, by the sheikhs. ”

“ Here we find the sheikh es suk (or sheikh of the market) , together with the judge, some soldiers, and (latterly only) a few Arabs, as a police guard. The sheikh generally rides to the court at eight o'clock every morning on a donkey. One of his guards places his sheepskin on a small straw rukuba (latterly this has been constructed of clay) , and on this the sheikh seats himself. He has the Kuran beside him.
The parties in dispute arrive, and the case turns, for example, on fraudulent dealing, debts, payment in false coinage, &c. As there are no lawyers, each party must defend himself. ”

“ The first in dignity is Sheikh Nâsir, who may be regarded as the patriarch or supreme Pontiff of the whole sect. This office is hereditary in the family, and generally descends to the first-born son. It is the province of the Great Sheikh to direct all the religious affairs of the community, to lead in their sacred rites at certain times and to send teachers to the different districts. The present incumbent possesses considerable property, and engages in extensive agricultural pursuits. ”

“ In this state of dilemma I determined on applying to the sheikh’s chief karouash, who professed himself greatly my friend, and to offer him fifty dollars if he could obtain the sheikh’s permission. The request instantly opened my eyes as to which quarter the wind of the court blew from. “Could not you make the sheikh,” said he “some pretty present? At the same time he is only afraid of your getting into danger: egal rais khaleel rajal meliah yassur (he says the rais is an excellent person) .” ”

“ The sheikh generally receives a present of a dress in remuneration for the readiness with which he has performed his services. Very few hills, however, submit to the voice of power thus tacitly on a mere challenge; for the majority of the villages, advantageously situated on steep declivities or inaccessible heights, and only to be scaled with the utmost difficulty, defend themselves most sturdily, and [313] fight for their liberty with a courage, perseverance, and resolution equalled by few instances we find recorded in history. ”

“ When the hour for commencing the ceremony drew near the entire courtyard, several acres in extent, was covered with worshipers arranged in rows about eight feet apart from north to south, all facing the west, with their eyes toward Mecca in expectant attitudes. The sheikh has a powerful voice, and by long experience has acquired the faculty of throwing it a long distance, and, as he intoned the service, mullahs were stationed at different points to repeat his words so that everybody could hear. ”

“ It was needful, however, to act with prudence, for we were practically prisoners at the discretion of this powerful chief, whose camp was only a mile distant from our own, and who could muster a large number of spears at his call. We therefore promised the Sheikh a sum equal to £5 if he would engage that we should not be molested during the rest of our journey to the territory of the Ghawarneh at Es Safieh; to this he agreed, and he kept his promise. We all considered Sheikh Arari "a gentleman." ”

“ Every probability is against such a barter being preferred by the African black. Let the words of the sheikh himself, addressed to us in the hearing of his people, speak the sentiments that have already found a place in his bosom:—“You say true, we are all sons of one father! You say, also, that the sons of Adam should not sell one another, and you know every thing! God has given you all great talents, but what are we to do? The Arabs who come here will have nothing else but slaves: why don’t you send us your merchants? ”