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The Moslem Mukams Palestine Exploration Quarterly ISSN: 0031-0328 (Print) 1743-1301 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ypeq20 The Moslem Mukams Claude R. Conder To cite this article: Claude R. Conder (1877) The Moslem Mukams, Palestine Exploration Quarterly, 9:2, 89-103, DOI: 10.1179/peq.1877.9.2.89 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1179/peq.1877.9.2.89 Published online: 20 Nov 2013. Submit your article to this journal Article views: 7 View related articles Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=ypeq20 Download by: [Universite Laval] Date: 13 May 2016, At: 01:52 THE MOSLEM MUKAMS. 8~ The proportionate distances agree, though the mile usod seems to have been longer than the English mile. This is almost the only caso I have met of a.town retaining a Crusading name; there were many others to which the Crusaders gave new names, as Casal Blanc (Kueildit), Casale Lambert, Casal Beroard (Jlfzuet cl Ki1l'ah), Casale Royal, whicu have lost their mediroval names. C. R. C. THE 1\IOSLEM MUICAMS. I. NEXT to the study of the language of the peasantry in Palestine there is probably nothing which ,vill throw more light on the question of thQ origin of their race than that· of the vulgar faith as exemplified in the local sanctuaries scattered over the country, a study which is also of no little importance in relation to the ancient topography of Palestine, as. is shown by the various sites which have been recovered by means of the tradition of sacred tombs preserved after the name of the site itself had been lost. In his interesting paper on the Peasantry (Quarterly Statement, Oct., 1875) M. Ganneau remarks: "A methodical search for these lIfilkams i~ of the greatest importance." This search has been lnade during the course of the Survey, so that tho names of no fewer than 300 sacred places are now luarkec1 on the map, many of which are of the greatest value. It is proposed here to give a sketch of the character of these eite8,. abstracted from the notes which are to form part of the memoir. It IHust be sta.ted first that there is a marked difference between the- Bedouin and the Fellahin in regard to the },{tt!dims. In the country occupied by the nomads no such buildings exist, with exception of one or two fallen into ruins. The Arabs, or Bedouin, are by pl'ofessioll MoslCllls, by practice (at all events east of Jordan) heathen and nloon- ,vorshippers, as in the tinw of Mohammed. Their sacred places are the tOlubs of their ancestors, and the ancient history of Palestine formr> no part of the religion of n. race which only entered and conquered the country a thousand years after Christ. 'Vith the Fellahin it is far different. In their religious observances and sanctuaries we find, as in their language, the true histol'] of the Downloaded by [Universite Laval] at 01:52 13 May 2016 country. On a basis of polytheistic faith which most probably dates back to pre-Israelite times, we find a growth of the IUOstheterogeneous. description; Christian tradition, Moslenl history, and foreign worship are Iningled so as often to be entirely indistinguishable, and the so-called Moslem is found worshipping at shrines consecrated to Jewish, Samari- tan, Christian, and often Pagan mmnories. It is in worship at these shrines that the religion of the peasantry consists. Moslem by profession, they often spend their li".es without· entering a Ino~que, and attach l1101'eimportance to the fayou~ and Pl'O- 90 l'lIZ MOSLEY :llUKAMS. tection of the village J.lliilcr1m than to Allah himself, or to Mohammed his prophet. The word 2Jli17d.im (the Hebrew ll!al •.om) nleans simply "a place" or " station," but the use as Ineaning a " sacred place" dates back to the Bible times, and it is found in Deuteronomy (chap. xii. v. 2) applied to the places of false worship existing' throughout Palestine at the time of Joshua's conquest. *' Other titles are applied to the sacred sites. liaTwn (" sanctuary"), ]tllbbeh (" dOlne"), . Jiiml:'a (" nweting-house" or "mosque "), J.llazar (" shrine "), .illesh-hed (" monument "). The latter is used also for the little piles of stones (lliesltfl-hed) raised by pilgrims at the various high poiuts (1.1Ieslulrij), whence the sanctuaries first become visible. The divinities are also knowll.by various titles: Neby (Hebrew }teby), " the prophet," only applied to the luore important and generally the most ancient; Sidna, "our Lord," applied to the patriarch a and to Moslem saints of the first order; lVely, "favourite," or saint, a term often applied by a very simple ellipsis to the building itself; Sheil..:1t, " chief" or " elder," by far the conuuonest term; and liaJ, "pilgrim," .applied very rarely. The llfiikams are not always supposed to stand over the tombs of the saints to whom they are dedicated. A cenotaph is indeed almost always to ,be found there, but often they are regarded merely as " stations," like those in Ronlan Catholic countries, not necessarily connected with the history of the saint, though very often erected on .spots where it is considered probable that he once stood. The white dome of the lllilldim is the most conspicuous object in a Syrian village. The sacred chapel on the hill-top, or the sacred tree by the road-side, is of constant occurrence, and brings forcibly to mind the words of Scripture denouncing the idol altars on mountain-tops and "under every green tree." Few who have visited Palestine 'will doubt that in the llfllldbns we see the survival of the Canaanite false worship; and in one case (Sheikh Abu, ,..d'Jm·)I found beside the chapel a huge plat- form of unsquared stone and a pit cut in rock, which seemed not impos- sibly to be the remains of the ancient altar of this divinity, ,vhose present title means simply" the father of worship." The lI11llcams ·differ very luaterially in their importance. Mr. Drake, writing on the subject (Quarterly Statement, October, 1872, p. 179) relnarks that whilst in one instance the llfi,karn is a mosque, in another Downloaded by [Universite Laval] at 01:52 13 May 2016 it is Iuerely a rude"circle of stones. In some cases nothing is to be seen at all, in others (as at TibJ~elt) the name is attached to a sacred tree, to the branches of which rags are attached as votive offerings. The reverence shown for the3e sacred spots is unbounded. Every .;t The woru. is also used in Exod. xx. 24, as follows: "In all places (Ham- llIakom) where I record my name 1 will come unto thee, and I will bless thee." The passage in Deuteronomy is as follows: "Ye shall utterly destroy all the places (Ham-llIalcmoth) wherein the nations which ye shall possess served their .gous upon the high mountainR, and upon the hills, and lindeI' every green tree." THE MOSLEM :MUKA:MS. 91 fallen stone from the building, every withered branch of the tree, is carefully preserved. The chapels are sanctuaries in which property can be left with perfect safety. Thus a plough is often to be found put n. way inside, and one of the sheikhs reeeives the title "the trustee," trom the fact that articles of value to the peasantry are left under his care. The ordinary ~1itkarn is a little squarp. building, some 10 feet side and 8 feet high, surmounted by a dome, generally having a rude st')ne crescent in the centre. 'rhe building is generally lllodern, of rude masonry, whitewashed, and therefore very conspicuous. In the south wall, in the interior, i:i a llfihl'((,b, or " prayer niche," and very generally there is a rude grave in the corner-a cenotaph resOlnbling a modern Moslem tomb. A few niats cover the floor, the door is often ornamented with henna., and a pitcher of water is left for the pilgrims. A largo tree, also held sacred, very generally grows close by, a carob, or oak, or terebillth being the most common. There is frequently a custodian to the site-a religious sheikh, a derwlsh, or perhaps the elder of the neighbouring village. The sanctuary is never entered except with bare feet, and the expres- .sion destllr (" permission") or destilr ya 1nnb(lrct1ceh (" your leave, 0 blessed one") is used on crossing the threshold. It is stated that sacrifices are offered at these places, but this I have never witnessed; votive offerings are given, and when a person is sick a little earthenware lamp is lighted at the J.'Uil1dlm. Processions round the chapel are also often made, especially at the feast of Beir{lm ..•. The fear of the anger of the local divinity is deep-rooted in the hearts ·ofthe people. To forswear oneself by the sacred tOlub is thought sure to bring disaster and death on the offender. :Many persons state that they have received blows frOln invisible fists, supposed to proceed from il,ll enraged Neby. The influence of a powerful 8heild~ is thought to extend ten or twenty miles round his lIliikam. The llIiikllrns may be divided into seven categorieg, though the dis- tinction is not observed by the natives, and saints or lVelys are now living ·who will at death be honoured with Mtt.leams. The separate species are as follow:-1st. Biblical characters. These are, no doubt, generally the oldest, and can often be traced back to Jewish tradition. :!nd. Christian sites venerated by the Moslem peasantry, and not always distinguishable from the first class, but often traceable to the teaching of the monasteries or to lllonkish sites.
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