Page:The Nestorians and their rituals, volume 1.djvu/170

116 these poems repeated, but they differ little in substance from that given above, except that they are shorter, and much more unconnected. The hymns are chanted by the Kawwâls at their principal festivals to the sound of flutes and tambourines, which style of worship some among them have learned from the Christians to support by a quotation from the 150th Psalm. Their tunes are monotonous in the extreme, and the strain, though sometimes plaintive, is generally loud and harsh, and would be deemed any thing but melodious to one accustomed to the solemn harmony of our church music. Twice a year they make the pilgrimage to Sheikh Adi, where they celebrate their religious rites with great rejoicing and festivity. Mr. Layard was present on one of these occasions, and describes the uncontrollable excitement which prevailed among those present during the performance of the Kawwâls. The above, so far as I have been able to learn, forms the substance of their direct worship of the Supreme Being.

The adoration of the sun by the Yezeedees may be regarded as a sort of indirect homage paid to the Deity. That great luminary, as being one of the noblest productions, and most powerful agents of the divine power and goodness, is looked upon by them as the purest symbol of Yezd, and hence they worship its rising and setting by kissing the ground with their faces turned either to the east or west. This is done every morning and evening by the priestly castes; but the common people frequently omit the ceremony, and some neglect it altogether. I have been informed that the duty is only incumbent upon these latter on particular occasions, such as during the pilgrimage to Sheikh Adi, when it is performed with more than common solemnity. Large parties frequently encamp at the foot of the mountain which hems in the sacred valley on the south, and begin the ascent at early dawn. As soon as the rays of the sun touch the ground beneath them, they bow down and reverently kiss a stone, which they then place upon some other close by. We crossed this mountain on our return from the shrine, and found its surface covered with these piles, which frequently consisted of eight or ten stones raised one above the other. The same practice is observed by the heathen in India,