DISCOVERY 



13 



retired to their homes to rest and to discuss the 

 pleasures of the day. 



Festival at Manial 



On the following day the annual mftlid of the Sheikh 

 5abr was celebrated at Manial, a small village pictur- 

 esquely situated on the bank of the Bahr el-Yusuf. 



At one end of the village stands a large tree of 

 considerable age, said to mark the resting-place of 

 the sheikh, though perhaps originally there was a 

 domed tomb as well, which has now disappeared. 

 However, the sheikh is at the present time definitely 

 associated with the tree. I noticed that several large 

 nails had been driven into the trunk, many of them 

 having human hair twisted round them, the hair 

 varying in colour from very fair to dark brown. These 

 nails are hammered into the tree by a suppliant, when 

 he or she makes a request to the sheikh. Thus a 

 man or woman suffering from headache or other 

 ailments will come to the tree, offer up a petition for 

 recovery, knock a nail into the trunk, and then often 

 twist round the nail some of his or her hair ; a cure 

 being, it is supposed, sure to follow this procedure. 

 Childless women also visit the sacred tree in order 

 to be cured of their barrenness. The Sheikh Sabr 

 is much venerated, not only by the inhabitants of his 

 own village, but also by those of the surrounding 

 villages. He is looked upon as a very good man and 

 as most benevolent to those who seek his aid. 



A Religious Dance and other Features of this 

 Festival 



In view of the veneration paid to this sheikh, a very 

 large crowd had assembled in the neighbourhood of 

 his tree by the time that I arrived on the scene — some 

 time before noon. As I rode on my way to the village 

 through the cultivation, I passed a number of people, 

 both old and young, on their way to the festival. 

 When I joined the crowd I found the usual brisk trade 

 going on, some of the vendors of wares having erected 

 rough booths, under which they could take shelter 

 from the fierce rays of the sun. Toys, cheap orna- 

 ments, brilliantly coloured sweetmeats, and other 

 delicacies, were being eagerly purchased. A fairly 

 large zikr was taking place under the shade of the 

 branches of the sacred tree. It was executed by a 

 number of men forming a circle round a sheikh who 

 conducted this religious exercise. The men swayed 

 rhythmically from side to side, nodded their heads, or 

 bent backwards and forwards, as they pronounced 

 over and over again the name of Allah. The presiding 

 sheikh beat time by clapping his hands, while now 

 and then a fikih would chant passages from the 

 ICur'an. The whole ceremony was conducted with 



great earnestness and solemnity. Close to where this 

 religious performance was taking place was to be found 

 the usual large wheel, with its hanging seats, where 

 the children congregated in large numbers, all clamour- 

 ing for a ride, as they are to be seen doing about the 

 whirligigs provided at the big fairs in England. At 

 another spot a poet had collected a large audience, 

 that listened with evident enjoyment while he recited 

 to the accompanying beats of two tambourines and a 

 shallow, single- membrane drum. He was the same 

 poet who had attended the mulid at El-Lahtin. The 

 banners were much in evidence at this festival, and 

 I managed to secure a good photograph of them and 

 their bearers as they stood grouped together under 

 the sheikh's tree, along with a few musicians, and the 

 inevitable crowd (Fig. 2). 



Having been most hospitably entertained by the 



Fig. 2.— banners OF THE SHEIKH AX MANI.AI, UNUEK. THE 

 SACRED TREE. 



'omdah of the village, and the festival having come 

 to an end, I returned to El-Lahun, passing, as I rode 

 along, the sacred banners, which were being carried 

 back by a party of boys to their resting place at 

 Hawara. 



Festival at DimishkIn 

 The third mfdid at which I was present, namely, 

 that celebrated at Dimishkin, took place on Friday, 

 April 21. As this village lies a considerable distance 

 from El-Lahun, I started fairly early in the morning, 

 riding in company with a goodly number of people. 

 The regular starting-off point was the little railway 

 station at El-Lahun, where several primitive- looking 

 vehicles were waiting to convey the would-be visitors 

 to the miilid. The children, as is customary, were 

 decked out in their brightest and best clothes, and 

 several of them, along with some women, were closely 



