Page 106 - Personal Column (Charles Belgrave)_Neat

into bundles, twisting white or coloured cloths round their waists,
ululating of women and I saw, reflected on die walls of houses, yellow,
leaving chests and arms bare, formed a circle in the centre of the hall; moving lights. The noise became louder as the head ot che procession
then another and yet another circle. The circles ot men revolved slowly came slowly into die road below, and the women oil the houses opposite
round, each man with one arm clasping the waist ot his neighbour while added their shrill cries to the sound ot the music. First came a tew police­
with his other arm he beat his own chest, chanting die words, ‘Ya Hasan, men carrying ‘lathis’—staves, making sure that the way was clear, then a
Ya Husain,’ stamping violently in rhythm to the tune of the chant. 1 stood group of men arid boys carrying flags and banners on call poles with che
by the door watching this savage scene. What a subject it would make for winbol of a hand on the point of the poles; they chanted and threw dust
an artist! Many times I had tried to paint it but it needed someone with on cheir heads. Musicians followed them playing different types of drums
the skill of Gustave Dore to do justice to the mass of glistening, naked and flutes; the tune was sad and dirge-like. Then came che * cabins’, each
bodies, the yellow lamplight, the dim arches in the background and the carried by four men. They were models of the mosques in the Holy Cities
sombre figure of the mullah on his seat above the crowd, absorbed by the with gleaming gilt domes and tail minarets, illuminated inside by candles;
sight of the men whom he had roused to such a pitch of excitement. the whole procession was lie by men carrying torches. Men led horses,
For some minutes the matem was lull of the sound of hoarse chanting, cheir caparisons smeared with red paint rcprcscncmg blood, and some had
stamping feet and the pistol-like smack of hundreds of open palms on arrows sticking into che trappings. The horses were usually lent by the
bare chests, which has a curiously sensual effect. Then the leader ot one Shaikh and as they were not trained to crowds cliey occasionally bolted
of the circles edged towards the door and in a moment the crowd of men, among the spectators.
four or five hundred of them, poured out into the street where they One of the horses carried a man with a sword splitting his skull, a
formed into a procession to join the other bands of men from other realistic piece of stagecraft, so were the corpses borne along on biers; one
matems. All that remained were a few old men, too old to take part in of them had two live pigeons fastened to it, apparently pecking the body,
the procession, who began slowly to collect the coffee cups and pipes and, which symbolized birds of prey. Every figure and every animal, and
one by one, to put out the lights. everything which appeared in the procession, represented something
I walked to the Persian matem. It was the largest one in the town but connected with the story of Ali, Hasan and Husain. A crowd of small
an unattractive building. The streets were full of people hurrying to children in black, tied by ropes, were beaten, with palm branches, by
places where they could best see the procession and crowds of women, ‘soldiers’ in red coats; another corpse was carried past, being devoured
looking like black crows, perched along the edges of the roofs of the by a man dressed as a leopard. Husain, in a green turban and a black
houses which lined the route. I was led up a flight of stairs on to a flat roof cloak, riding a white horse, was one of the principal figures. The only
where one could look down, through windows, into the matem where character who was allowed some licence for buffoonery was the
the Persian mullah was ending his recital, and from where I overlooked ‘Christian General’ who according to legend was present at Kerbala. His
the street where the procession passed. There were chairs on the roof and part was taken by a man sitting at a table, wearing a sun helmet, with a
people brought glasses of sweet Persian tea. Soon the men surged into the telescope in one hand and a bottle of whisky in the other. As each feature
of the procession passed the women on the roofs cither shrieked and
street; it was quite a wide road, packed on each side by spectators who
sobbed and beat their breasts or yelled imprecations at the actors who took
were kept away from the centre by the police. It was a difficult time for
the police, they had been on duty during the previous eight nights, che villains’ parts.
Next came the swordsmen, marching to a slow tune, in two lines
keeping an eye on the matems and escorting the night processions.
Trouble invariably occurred if parties of men from two matems met in a facing each other. They looked like surgeons ready for an operation as
they wore white overalls. The fronts of their heads were shaved and each
narrow road because neither would give way. We used to arrange a time­
table with the Shia leaders in order to avoid any clashes, but it did not man carried a sharp Arab sword. The actual blood-letting only took
always work. When everyone was tense and excited anything might place during the daytime procession, it could not be done twice.
The most spectacular part of the procession were the flagellants, con­
happen and sometimes things did happen.
Soon I heard a thudding of drums in the distance and the shrill sisting of several hundred active young men dressed in black caps, shorts
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