Part L Travels into L e v a n t. ^ 5 3 
CHAP. XIX. 
Of the Ceremonies to he pr formed hy the Pilgrims of 
Mecha H^on their Journey. 
OF thofe that make the Pilgrimage of yî</i?c^^ i many go out of Devotion, ^'^'^ "J^J ."^^ 
others to trade and buy Commodities, and others to avoid the Punifti- ^f^^^^Jf -j™^ 
ment they have deferved for fome great Crime; for this Pilgrimage abfolves 
from all, and howfoever guilty a njan may be, if he can make his efcape and 
perform that Journey,he is not called in queflion afterward, but reckoned an ho- 
neft: Man. Now though the intentions of all that go thither, may be very dilFer- 
ent,yet they perform the Journey with a great deal of Devotion, either real or 
counterfeit; for all along the way they do nothing but ling verfes of the Alcoran-, 
and beftow Charity according as they are able. Two days before they arrive 
at Mecha, all ftrip themfelves flark naked at a place called Raback-, and have Eight days _ 
nothing upon their Bodies but a Napkin to cover their Privities, and another [)^e ^'^ffJi. 
about their neck ; they fay that it is out of refped" they do fo, and wear ^a-i^. ot' 
Sandals alfo, that they may not tread upon fo holy a Ground, and in this Mechx. 
ftate they continue eight days, during which it is not lawful for them to be GTeat cout;- 
fhaven, to buy or fell any thing, to kill any thing, no not a Loufe or Flea ; t]^gfl*^£;l"|[t.'"^ 
to quarrel with their Servants, nor to fpeak an unfeemly word : and if any j^yg^ 
trefpafs againfl; the leafl; of thefe things, he is obliged in Confcience to 
give fome Alms to the Poor, as to kill a Sheep after the eight days are over, 
and diftribute it among the Poor. Such as are indifpofed and fick ftrip not, 
but inftead of it give Alms. When they are come to Mecha, they ftay three Arrival at 
days there, duripg which they vifit the holy places, and on one of them ^"^^^ 
every one muft feven times go a pretty long way round the Kiaabe, faying 
certain Prayers, but it is a very pleafant way of Praying; for Don Philippe 
Prince of Tunis, (of whom I (hall fpeak hereafter) told me that being at 
Mecha, he fell fick, fo that he could not practice much Devotion, but that he 
could not forbear to laugh when he faw others fay their Prayers, efpecially 
a Brother of his own, who went with him. They have an Imam that goes 
before them, to fhew them how they are to ad, and all have their eyes fixed 
upon him, that they may imitate him in every thing. At firft they walk 
fofdy muttering their Prayers, then at certain intervals they run and skip, 
drugging and turning their fhoulders this way and that way in a moil ridicu- 
lous manner ; then fall to the gentle foft pace again, and fo continue by turns 
till they have done. After they have been three days at Mecha, they go to 
Minnet, where they arrive the Vigil of the little Bairam-, and the day of 
little Bairam or Eafter of Sacrifice, they all Sacrifice Sheep, every one accor- 
ding to his ability, diftributing a good part of them among the Poor ; and ^'"'^ Bairm 
that day they (have themfelves, put on their Cloaths, and appear in the 
fame condition as they were eight days before: Then they go to Mount '^^'^"'^ 
Arafat, which (as I think) is a Ihort days journey from thence ; but every /"welt'^^t^ 
one muft provide two and forty ftones by the way, for there are none to facrifice his 
be found there. They ftay there three days more, and the firft day -on. 
they go to the foot of the Hill, (after they have faid their Prayers) and r""^*'"S 
Ihrow feven ftones againft the Mount ; the fécond day they throw four- The^Sace 
teen, and the third, twenty one; faying that they throw thefe ftones at the where 
the 
Head of the Devil, who in that place tempted ^^r^W;, when he was going D^vil temp- 
to facrifice his .Son -Jflimael ; for they will have this to be the Mountain whe- Ibrahim. 
ther he led his Son, and that it was Iffmael, and not Jfaackj, Avhom he would '^^^ - 
have Sacrificed. They tell a great many other pleafant tales of this Mountain, andïi'/mTt ' 
where they fay that Adam and Eve fought one another for the fpace of two after a ftarch 
hundred and twenty years, after they were driven out of the Earthly Para- i^wo hun- 
dife, the one going up the Hill on one fide while the other went down on 
