82 BULLETIN 148, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



32. Mecca flag. — Used in the pilgrimage processions to Mecca. 

 Made of cotton; green ground with yellow and scarlet-colored trim- 

 mings; with passages from the Koran in white sewed on. In this con- 

 nection it may be mentioned that the pilgrim caravans starting from 

 Egypt (Cairo) and Syria (Damascus) are headed by an ornamented 

 baldachin, called maTimal. It is a square skeleton frame of wood with 

 a pyramidal top, and has a covering of black brocade richly worked 

 with inscriptions and ornamented embroidery in gold and bordered 

 with a fringe of sUk, with tassels surmounted by silver balls. On the 

 upper part is a view of the Temple of Mecca in gold. Inside the maJi- 

 mal are two copies of the Koran, one on a small scroll, and the other 

 in the form of a book, also small, each inclosed in a silver gilt case. 

 The mahmal is borne by a fine tall camel which is generally indulged 

 with exemption from every kind of labor during the remainder of 

 its life.'^ Height, 7 feet; width, 13 feet, 3 inches. Cairo, Egypt. 

 (Cat. No. 155090, U.S.N.M.) 



33. Shirt worn hy pilgrims. — The shirt is not the pilgrim's garment 

 proper which is worn in Mecca (the iJiram), but worn on the way to 

 Mecca. The long sleeves of the garment are used for tying up pro- 

 visions or luggage. Beirut, Syria. (Cat. No. 154567, U.S.N.M.) 



34. Girdle. — Worn by pilgrims on the return from Mecca. Made 

 of camel's hair and ornamented with shells from the Red Sea. Beirut, 

 Syria. (Cat. No. 154563, U.S.N.M.) 



35. Costume of a Persian imam. — Consisting of a linen shirt, (Jcamis) 

 linen drawers {lihas); pants, vest (sudru); inner coat (kajtan); girdle 

 Qiizan) ; middle coat, outer coat (juhhaJi) ; overcoat (henisJi) ; stockings, 

 and shoes of green morocco. 



As has been stated (p. 77), there is no sacerdotal class in the 

 Mohammedan religion. But each mosque has its imam, who leads in 

 prayer in public service and recites the Koran. In the larger mosques 

 two imams are usually employed — the imam ratih, who recites the 

 five daily prayers in the mosque, and the imam IcTiatih, whose duty it 

 is to lead the prayer and preach the sermon QcJiubbaJi) , on Friday, the 

 Mohammedan Sabbath. But in most of the smaller mosques both 

 these offices are performed by one imam. Each mosque has also one 

 or more muezzins who call the faithful to prayer from the minaret 

 five tunes a day. 



There are also generally attached to the mosques theologians 

 (Maulawis), for the instruction of students. Sometimes the iniam 

 and the maulawi are combined in one person, and sometimes a mau- 

 lawi will own the mosque, but pay an imam as his curate to say the 

 stated prayers. The imam is supported by endowments or offerings; 

 the maulawis by fees or offerings, and the students of a mosque are 

 supported either by endowments or by the benefactions of the people. 



13 Thomas Patrick Hughes, A Dictionary of Islam, 1885, p. 307. 



