232 REV. G. E. WBITE, ON THE SR1A TURKS. 
and the humble rustics feel unable to cope with the powers, 
natural or super-natural, that lie back of such calamities. 
Hence it is a question of constant and practical importance 
how to propitiate the unseen beings so as to retain their simple 
joys and escape their dreaded evils. For the solution of this 
problem tire Sbia puts his chief reliance in the saints who are his 
intercessors with God. These may be such persons as Ali, or 
Jesus, or any of the great prophets, but these renowned person- 
ages are beyond the acquaintance and reach of the ordinary 
villager. And so every village, as a rule, has its own shrine, 
frequently “ a high place,” and surrounded by a sacred grove, 
where there is a holy grave. The occupant of this grave, called 
an “ evliya,” was once a man, of great reputation for sanctity, 
and now, though dead, is regarded as lord of the region and the 
protector of his own people. He takes a lively interest in the 
affairs of his parish, and prayers presented by him to the 
Almighty cannot be lightly ignored or rejected. 
Here is the heart of Shia worship. When a man fears a reverse 
in business, attains some object or earnest desire, or wishes to 
engage in special devotion, when a wife longs for a child, like 
Hannah, or when a mother yearns for a sick or absent son, 
when a community engages in the annual ceremony of praying 
for rain, or unites in some common petition or thanksgiving, 
recourse is taken to the village shrine and saint, or a journey is 
made to some spot of more renown further away. In the real 
crises of life Shias turn to their saints. And in this respect all 
the inhabitants of Asia Minor are much alike. Christians and 
Mohammedans appeal to the Supreme Being through the agency 
of their various mediators. Different sects have different 
saints, for the most part, but the principle of offering worship 
by means of intercessors is acted upon in general by all. How 
these gropings show the need for the intercessory work of Christ ? 
All down the centuries the more important praises and 
petitions of all Anatolian people have been accompanied by 
sacrifices, and Shias keep up the old custom with more assiduity 
than any others now. The building of a house or a boat, the 
escorting of a bride to her new home, the setting out on a 
pilgrimage, the inauguration of any important public enterprise 
or personal venture, is consecrated by the shedding of blood. 
The meat is eaten by the persons chiefly concerned or is shared 
by them with the poor. A cock is sometimes sent from a 
house where there is sickness to some other family, where it is 
eaten, and the people who participate in the sacrificial food 
become thereby intercessors for the welfare of their sick friend. 
