is explained as a manifestation of the tri- | told that as long as the beast remained une 'Amas.

amongst them unharmed they would be prosperous, but that, if any evil befel her, they would surely be punished. Disregarding the warning, they mocked the prophet, and slaughtered the camel and her foal, whereupon they were overtaken by so awful a voice of thunder from heaven that they all perished with the shock; Nebí Sàleh alone escaping alive.

In consequence of the above stories, divine honours are paid by the Nuseiríyeh to the dog, the cow, and the camel, which they believe to have been incarnations of 'Ali.

The souls of the good and learned Mohammedans will after death enter into the bodies of asses, those of Christians into pigs, and of Jews into apes; as for their own sect, the wicked will become cattle and serve for food; the initiated who have given way to religious doubts will be changed into apes; and the indifferent, that is, those who are neither quite good nor altogether bad, will again become men, but will be born in a strange sect and people.

Besides these avatars, 'Ali is said to have assumed at various times the forms of lower animals. Of these the first was the dog of the seven sleepers of Ephesus, whose story is told in the Korán, and who is believed to have been turned into a man, and is revered for his faithful attachment to his master. The Nuseiríyeh say that, when the seven youths fled from the persecution of Decius, and took refuge in the cave where they were miraculously preserved for many years, 'Ali appeared to them in the form of a dog, in order to try their faith; and, find- They believe also in the doctrine of ing them not wanting, restored them to transmigration of souls, dividing metemthe sky, where they now exist as shining psychosis into seven classes, each of stars. The second was the miraculous which has numerous subdivisions; accow which enabled Moses to determine cording to them, this is what is meant by the guilty persons in a case of homicide. the seven doors of hell, described in the The legend, as told in the Commentaries Korán, chap. 8, "hell has seven doors, upon the 2nd chapter of the Korán (where and every door its divisions." it is only slightly mentioned), is that a certain young man, of exemplary piety and filial affection, was sent by his mother to dispose of a cow which his father had bequeathed to him; on his way to the market he was met by the angel Gabriel, who tested his probity by offering him a much larger sum than he had demanded, on condition of his concealing the amount from his mother; and, the young man having resisted the temptation, the angel bade him reserve the cow until Moses should ask for it, and sell it to no one else. A case of murder occurred soon afterwards among the Israelites, and the evidence for and against the accused was so conflicting that Moses was unable to decide upon it, until it was revealed to him that, if a cow of a certain description were sacrificed, and the dead man smitten with its tail, the corpse would revive for a few moments and point out his murderNo cow could be found answering to the required description except that of the pious young man, who was thus enabled to sell it for a price sufficiently large to enrich him for the remainder of his life. The event turned out as had been predicted; the corpse revived, and the real murderers were duly punished. The third manifestation was the camel of Nebí Sáleh. This again is Koránic legend. Sáleh was a prophet sent to Thamúd, a certain ancient Arabic tribe, who, however, rejected his mission, and demanded a sign from heaven. The prophet smote the rock, and there issued from it a camel, which immediately brought forth a foal, and the people were

er.

If any one desires to be affiliated into the Nuseiríyeh sect, they believe that he was one of them in a previous state of existence, but that in punishment for some sin committed in his former life he has been brought into the world amongst unbelievers. If, on the other hand, one of their number forsake their religion for another, they attribute it to a laxity in the social relations between the apostate's mother and some member of the sect whose tenets he has adopted. When a man wishes to leave the seat, they purchase from him the spiritual benefit that is supposed to accrue from any prayers or sacrifices which he may previously have offered.

At one time the Nuseiríyeh in Syria would admit no proselytes but such as came from Persia, either because of the particular devotion paid by the Shiahs of that country to the memory of 'Ali, or, more probably, from some traditional sympathy with a nation whose tendencies are, like their own, entirely Sabean. It will be seen, from the preceding sketch of their tenets, that the religion professed by the

great mass of the Nuseiríyeh is a mere mélange of dogmas and superstitions, borrowed from the various creeds which have at different times been dominant in the country, and serving as a cloak for the more esoteric doctrine, which is nothing more nor less than a degenerate and idolatrous phase of Sabeanism.

The following is the explanation given by the Illuminati amongst them, and is not communicated to the members of the sect until some years of probation have elapsed since their first initiation :

The Nuseiríyeh are divided into several sects, the main difference between them consisting in their method of interpreting the esoteric doctrine; each adopting a different theory with regard to the identity of the Supreme Being. The most numerous and orthodox sect is that of the Shemáliyeh, or "Northerners," who regard the sky as the first person of the Trinity, and the true object of adoration. It is from their articles of faith that we have taken the esoteric explanation above given. In support of their doctrine they appeal to the description given, both in the Korán and in their own scriptures, of their Deity, who is repeatedly spoken of as "Infinite, Illimitable, and Incomprehensible." This, they say, applies exactThe rivers here spoken of are: 1st. The ly to the sky, but cannot be predicted of river of Wine, whereby is typified the Holy any other entity, real or imaginary; simName, or Mohammed, to whom the sky apilarly, they quote the passage of the pears red. 2nd. The river of Milk, signifying the sight of the door, that is of Selmán el Farsi, who beholds the sky white. 3rd. The river of Honey, referring to the angelic vision, for the angels behold the sky yellow; now the angels are the stars. 4th. The river of Water, which is mortal sight, looking upon the sky as

By 'Ali ibn Abi Talib is meant the sky, which is the real heaven, only darkly hinted at in the materialistic description of Paradise, as given in the Korán, wherein it is said that "beneath it rivers flow."

blue.

We, when we have put off our mortal garb, shall be lifted up amongst that glorious band of stars which form the milky way, and then we shall behold the sky yellow; but, if we leave ourselves a prey to doubt and unbelief, we shall again be imprisoned in fleshly abodes, and descend lower and lower in the scale of transmigration.

Our Lord Mohammed is the Sun, and every prophet that has appeared in the world is but an incarnation of this celestial orb. Our Lord, Selmán el Farsi, is the Moon.

Those whom men call the companions of Mohammed here on earth are angels who existed before the creation of the world; they are the five planets. Mikdad is the planet Saturn, whose heavenly name is Michael; he is the greatest of them all. Abu Durr is the planet Jupiter, whom the heavenly host call Israfil.

Abu Abdullah ibn Rawwáhah el Ansári is the

planet Mars; his name on high is Azrail, and

men call him the Angel of Death. Whenever

this planet sets, or is obscured, you may know that Azrail has descended upon earth to catch a parting soul. Othman ibn Madh'ú en Nájashi is the planet Venus, whom the angels call Dardíyáel. Camber ibn Kadan is Mercury, which in heaven is called Salsiyáel. The lower grade of celestial beings comprehends the souls of those who have been released from the torments of the flesh, and regained their place amongst the stars by confessing their faith in the Trinity, that is, in 'Amas, that is, in the sky, the sun, and the moon; and their belief in the manifestations of the Triune in all his avatars, from the first cycle to the person of 'Ali ibn Abi Talib.

Korán (Chap. ii. 6,109): Wherever ye turn yourselves, the face of God is there, for God is spacious and wise," interpreting literally the word wasiun spacious, which in Lane's version is rendered omnipresent, in accordance with the Mohammedan Exegesis. The Korán is made also to prove the divinity of 'Ali. In Chap. 36 V. 81 it says: "Is not he who created the heavens and the earth able to create the like thereof?" The preposition 'Ala, with which the verb cadir, "able," is construed, the Nuseiríyeh say, is a corruption introduced by Omar into the text, which instead of "fathah" should be read with 'kesra, which would make it Ali; the translation in that case is made out to be "Is not 'Ali, who created the heavens and earth, able to create the

like thereof?"

Truly Nuseiríyeh orthodoxy can place itself right royally above the grammarians.

The next most important sect is that of the Kelazíyeh (so called from their foudner, Sheikh Mohammed ibn Kelazu), who worship the moon. They, however, consider the three persons of their Trinity as coexistent and co-equal; and their doctrine approaches more nearly to the simple worship of light, as they believe it is one and the same power which appears in the sun, moon, and stars. The reason assigned by them for according the chief adoration to the moon, is that the Deity created it as a dwelling-place for himself; and their traditions say that the black spot visible in the centre of the disc, when the moon is at the full, is 'Ali ibn Abi Talib himself, crowned and seated on his throne. Our own children's fable of the Man in the Moon may be traced

to a similar superstition. If by reason of clouds or mist neither the sun nor the moon can be seen at the time of prayer, the Kelazíyeh place a silver coin in their hands, and dieect their prayers towards that. A similar relic of Sabean symbolism is found amongst the Metawileh, a Shiah sect of Mohammedans in Syria. These, at the time of prayer, place in the ground a little disc made of earth taken from the tomb of Hasan and Husein at Kerbela which they touch with their foreheads during their prostrations.

seem to have been nothing obscene or licentious; the most ancient temples of Venus recently excavated at Cyprus do not contain a single indelicate statue or representation. Another point which the Nuseiríyeh have in common with the ancient pagans is their intense objection to imparting their doctrines to the profane, no sin being so great in their eyes as to divulge the secrets of their religion. They accordingly conform outwardly to the religion of their neighbours, even attending the Mohammedan mosques, and The other sects are Sun-worshippers, making a pretence of following the Worshippers of the Shafk or red glow of prayers, while in reality they occupy sunrise and sunset, and Air-worshippers. themselves on such an occasion by seThese again differ from the Shemáliyeh cretly repeating a set formula of curses only in taking each of these phenomena upon Abu Bekr, Othman, Mo'awiyeh, respectively as their symbol of the Deity, and the other opponents of 'Ali ibn Abi the teaching and profession of all the Talib. They have a proverb justifying sects being virtually the same. The Air- their duplicity. "The Nuseiríyeh," say worshippers, however, seem to owe their they, "are the body of mankind, and origin to a misconception, for like most other sects the clothing. It matters not, Eastern sects the Nuseiríyeh have bor- then, what clothing a man wears, and rowed the idea of God expressed in the none but an idiot would walk naked Holy name of Jehovah, signifying that about the street." The pilgrimage to which is, i.e., the only real existence; Mecca and the Fast of Ramadhan, howthis in Arabic becomes Huwa, " He is," ever, they do not observe, explaining a favourite Mohammedan form of invo- away as allegorical the passages in which Ication which this branch of the Nusei- the Korán commands them so to do. ríyeh have distorted into the word Hawa, The pilgrimage to Mohammed's tomb at "air." These divisions are very inter- Madinah they consider as a positive sin, esting, preserving as they do traces of believing that none of the prophets who the various historical phases through have at any time appeared on earth ocwhich Sabeanism has passed. In the cupied real human forms, but only eidola, doctrines of the Shemáliyeh, the worship and could not, therefore, die or be buried. of the sky, we may recognize that ancient It is with them the worst form of heresy creed, the supplanting of which_by_sun- to assert that any prophet, at any time, worship is vaguely hinted at in the Greek ate, drank, or married. Exemplifying myth of Zeus supplanting Ouranos. In the universal truth of the fable of the the sun-worshippers we see the next pot and kettle, the Nuseiríyeh lament phase, which appeared in the cults of over their Mohammedan neighbours as a Baal, Helios, Jupiter, &c.; and in the pagan and idolatrous race. Keláziyeh, or moon-worshippers, we have the most popular worship of all, that of the Phoenician Ashtaroth, the Arab 'Ozza, and the Cyprian Venus. Curiously enough, this sect still preserves a trace of the licentious rites which seem to have been inseparable from the later worship of Venus we allude to the custom prevalent among the higher orders of their priesthood, when visited by another of the same rank, of the host presenting his own wife to his guest. This is called the "just right and duty," and may have given rise to the numerous disparaging stories circulated respecting the Nuseiríyeh by the Syrian peasantry, who do not scruple to accuse them of the grossest form of Venus-worship. In the earlier forms of this worship there would

In their rites and ceremonies they make use of hymns, sacrifices, and libations of wine. To describe these in detail would be out of place in this article, but a slight sketch of the proceedings which take place on their great festival may prove not uninteresting. The feast has its origin in a Mohammedan tradition, rejected, however, by the Sunni sect, as, if authentic, it would entirely confirm the claim of 'Ali and his family to be the successors of the Prophet, and would establish the orthodoxy of the Shiah faith.

When the day arrives for the celebration of the festival, the people of the neighbourhood assemble at the house of the person who is about to give the feast, and who (as among the ancient Greeks

upon his own hands, passing on the
basin to his assistant, who distributes a
spoonful to each one present, chanting as
he does so the words God has said:
"Do not the unbelievers see that the
heavens and the earth were narrow, but
we have widened them; and we have
given to all things life from water, yet
will they not believe. Glory be to him
who brings the dead to life by the power
of our Lord ‘Ali. God is Great!
Great! God is Great!"

and Romans) is generally some one of perfume is a type of the all-pervading eswealth or high social standing who de- sence of 'Ali," and pours a spoonful sires by this means to win the favour of his meaner co-religionists. The Imám, or high priest, then takes his seat in the midst, and has placed before him a white cloth, containing a kind of spice called mahleb, camphor, and some sprigs of olive or fragrant herb. Two other officers, called Nakibs, then take their seats on either side of him, while other attendants bring him a vessel filled with wine, and the master of the house, after appointing a third person to minister to them, kisses their hands severally, and standing in a respectful attitude before them, asks permission to provide the requisite materials for the ceremony.

The Imam then, after prostrating himself and kissing the ground, commences by uttering a short invocation to certain mystic personages, and distributing the sprigs amongst the congregation, who rub them in their hands and place them solemnly to their noses to inhale their fragrance.

God is

This part of the proceedings is called the Consecration of the Perfume.

Live embers are then brought in in a censer, and a similar ceremony takes place, called the Consecration of Incense, the Imám passing round the assembly in the manner of the Greek priest, and the persons incensed repeating after him an invocation to Mohammed and certain members of his family.

or Proclamation to the invisible world of the Nature and Godhead of 'Ali. This is called the Ceremony of Proclamation.

Another officer, called the Nakib or warden, then takes a wine-cup in his This ceremony is called the Consecra- hand, and, standing up, utters another tion of the Fragrant Herbs, and is un-long invocation purporting to be the Izán, questionably the same as that which Ezekiel (chap. viii. v. 17) describes when condemning the idolatrous practices of the Jews. Is it a light thing that they commit the abominations which they commit here? For they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke me to anger; and lo, they put the branch to the nose.*

66

The mention immediately before of women weeping for Tammúz (the Syrian Adonis), and of five-and-twenty men with their backs towards the Temple of the Lord and their faces to the East, renders it clear that the prophet is alluding to the particular form of idolatry prevalent in Syria, and borrowed thence by the Jews; and there is but little doubt that the religion of the Nuseiríyeh is the lineal descendant of that Syrian sun worship.

The priest next takes a basin of water, throws the camphor and mahleb into it, and after a long exhortation to the multitude to preserve a solemn demeanour and silence during the progress of the rites, explains that the "mixture of the

In this ceremony we can easily recognize the use of a bundle of twigs (bersom), and the rite of expressing and drinking the intoxicating juice of the Soma plant, which is common to the Izeshné sacrifice of the Parsees, and to the Soma sacrifices of the Brahmins. It forms an important link between the religions of India, Persia, and Syria, and proves the common Aryan origin of all.

At this stage of the proceedings, the Imám takes the bowl of wine, and, filling two cups from it, hands them to his two assessors, all repeating as they taste it a confession of faith in the Nuseiri Trinity. On handing the cup, the Imám says:

Take, oh my brother, this cup in thy right hand, and ask for grace of thy Lord ““Ali ibn Abi Talib, that he may counsel and assist thee:" and the recipient says, "Give, oh my brother, that which thou hast in thy right hand, and ask grace of thy Lord and Creator, who will assist thee in thy spiritual affairs. God grant that this may bring forth fruit to the honour of Mohammed and his people."

They then kiss each other's hands, and the Nakib standing up, with his right hand placed upon his breast, repeats a kind of deprecatory prayer in case of his neglecting any part of his ceremonial duties; after which they resume their seats, and the Imám, having again prostrated himself, kisses the ground and says:

Imám: God make your evening happy, oh my brethren, and your mornings pleasing to him. Oh ye faithful ones, do ye accept me as your servant this holy day, making feast at the expense of such an one? God bless him.

The Imam then recites a long formula, entitled "The Quittance," in which he curses all persons traditionally or historically hostile to 'Ali and to the Nuseiri faith, wiping his hand upon his breast, and calling upon all present to curse and renounce the individuals he has men- ibn Hamdan el Khasibi, who, after Motioned. After this he repeats the Fatihah, or opening chapter of the Korán, and several other passages, concluding with a long discourse upon the attributes of 'Ali.

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