Page:The Nestorians and their rituals, volume 1.djvu/178

124 ducted to the recess, where Husein Beg, two Peers, and a few Sheikhs were seated. At the end of the apartment on a raised platform, was the famous Senjak, which we were permitted to examine as near as we chose. The figure is that of a bird, more resembling a cock than any other fowl, with a swelling breast, diminutive head, and wide spreading tail. The body is full, but the tale flat and fluted, and under the throat is a small protuberance intended perhaps to represent a wattle. This is fixed on the top of a candlestick, round which are two lamps, placed one above the other, and each containing seven burners, the upper being somewhat larger than the under. The whole is of brass, and so constructed, that it may be taken to pieces and put together with the greatest ease. Close by the stand was a copper jug, filled with water, which we understood was dealt out to be drunk as a charm by the sick and afflicted. A Fakîr was in the room relating all the benefits that had been conferred on Christians and Mohammedans, as well as on Yezeedees, by the contributions to the Senjak, and calling upon all present to give liberally to the same object. The following is a sketch of the famous symbol which I committed to paper on my return home."