[Tappan Introduction]
PERSIA is the land of ceremony, and serious offense is
sometimes the result of transgressing some minute requirement of etiquette. For the rule
of courtesy that demands promptness in meeting an engagement the Persians have no regard,
and appear mildly surprised and aggrieved that it should be expected of them. On the other
hand, they are generous and hospitable, and almost invariably kind to their servants and
animals.
The Persian House.
IT may be a surprise to learn that even the most costly mansions are constructed of
sun-dried bricks, and that the flat roofs are of mud. But in a climate like this, these
bricks are very durable. Some of the towers of Rhei, still standing after twelve
centuries, are of this seemingly perishable material. Lightness, combined with strength,
is often gained in Persia by ingeniously building a wall of square sun-dried bricks,
arranged in hollow cubes as in a block-house. They are cemented by a layer of mud mixed
with straw, over which in turn follows a coat of white plaster. Where great strength is
required, the angles are fortified by a layer of burnt bricks. Such a wall will stand for
ages. It is interesting to watch the builders at work. They wear long tunics, which are
tucked into their girdles when working, displaying a length and muscular development of
limb I have never seen equaled elsewhere. The one above sings out in musical tone,
"Brother, in the name of God, toss me a brick!" The one below, as he throws the
brick, sings in reply, "Oh, my brother! [or, ' Oh, son of my uncle!'] in the name of
God, behold a brick!"
Less can be said, however, in favor of the roofs of mud. The only reason why they
should be used is the rarity and costliness of wood in central Persia; perhaps, also,
because a roof of great density better protects the house from the long dry heat of
summer. In that temperature, also, lies the safety of these roofs. Heavy undressed timbers
are laid across the walls. Over these comes the lathing, or a layer of dry twigs. In the
better houses, square, broad burnt bricks are laid on the lathing, and over these is put a
layer of mud ten to twelve inches thick. But generally the bricks are dispensed with.
During the summer such a roof becomes very hard; and when the surface is slightly inclined
to allow the water to run off, long and heavy rains are required to penetrate it. After
the wet season the surface is rolled again for the next winter. With these precautions
such roofs last a long time in Persia. But there comes a time with most of them when a
little seam appears in the ceiling; then follows a trickling stream, and the occupants,
thus warned, remove the furniture without delay to the adjoining apartment. If the rain
continues, the ceiling falls in. Occasionally one hears of fatal accidents, or very narrow
escapes, from falling roofs in Teheran. But accidents may generally be avoided by proper
precaution.
The Audience Chamber of the Shah.
THE most imposing portion of the palace of the Nasr-ed-Deen Shah is the grand audience
chamber, which in dimensions and splendor of effect is one of the most imposing halls in
the world. The ceiling and mural decorations are of stucco, but so were those in the
Alhambra. The floor is paved with beautiful glazed tiles, arranged in the most exquisite
mosaic. In the center of the hall is a large table overlaid with beaten gold, and a long
row of armchairs are massively splendid with the same costly material covering every inch
of space. At the end of the hall, facing the entrance, is the famous Peacock Throne,
brought from Delhi by Nadi-Shah, covered with gold and precious stones in a profusion that
places the lowest estimate of its value at not less than thirteen millions of dollars.
The magnificence of the shah's audience hall is still further heightened by the fact
that here also are stored many of the crown jewels. The reserve of coin and bullion which
the shah has saved from his revenues, equal, it is said, to a sum of thirty millions of
dollars, is safely locked up in the vaults of the palace. But one need only see the
treasures in the audience hall to obtain an idea that Persia is still a land of wealth,
and that the tales of splendor recounted in Oriental story were not wholly the fictions of
a fancy steeped in opium or b'hang. Among the spoils of ages gathered in the shah's
treasury are superb crowns and jeweled coats-of-mail dating back four centuries, to the
reign of Shah Ismael. In a glass case one sees a large heap of pearls dense as a pile of
sand on the seashore. Diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and sapphires catch the eye at every
turn, sometimes flashing forth like a crimson or a green fire on the boss of a buckler or
a helmet worn at the front of battle ages ago. One ruby there is in that mine of splendor
which, on being placed in water, radiates a red light that colors the water like the blood
of the vine of Burgundy. There, too, is a globe of the world, twenty inches in diameter,
turning on a frame of solid gold; the surface of the earth is represented by precious
stones, different colors being used to indicate the divisions of land and sea. The ocean
is entirely of turquoise, and Persia is represented by a compact mosaic of diamonds. The
famous Dar-i-noor, or Sea of Light, the second of known diamonds in quality, size, and
value, is kept carefully locked in a double iron chest, but is shown on rare occasions,
and is worn by His Majesty on great state days.
How to Make Calls.
THE afternoon or the early morning is the time when the gentlemen of Teheran exchange
calls; never in the evening. A Persian gentleman never calls on a Persian lady; he does
not even venture to inquire after her health, or even to mention her to her husband. But
after her death it is proper to call on the male relatives of the deceased, to express
condolence. A father or a brother may visit a daughter or sister, unless forbidden by the
husband. Notwithstanding these restrictions, the exchange of visits among the ladies, or
among gentlemen, is a common custom at Teheran, and is a most formidable affair, affording
a complete display of the elaborate etiquette for which Persia has always been famous. All
the ceremonies attending such a visit are shaded down to the finest point, and form part
of the education of every Persian, becoming in fact a second nature to him.
Before making a social call, a servant is sent (generally the previous day) to announce
it. The rank of the servant who is sent is suited to the rank of the gentleman who is to
receive the visit. If a person of very high degree is to call on one of similar position,
it is considered eminently proper to announce and accept the visit in an autograph note.
If the caller be of the higher rank, he simply states that he proposes to call at such an
hour; if of equal or lower rank, he asks permission to call. The call must be made on
horseback or in a carriage, and the number of mounted attendants depends on the rank of
the person visited.
On approaching the house, the visitor, if of high rank, is met by mounted heralds, who
immediately return at full speed to announce the approach of the guest. If the host be of
very high rank, he will try sometimes to see the effect on his guest of coming into the
reception room after the arrival of the guest. Supposing he has not tried such a maneuver,
a courteous skirmish occurs when the guest enters the door; each seeks to outdo the other
in politeness, while each is exceedingly careful not to accept or allow a position to
which he is not entitled by rank. The corner of the room the most remote from the entrance
is the place of honor; the guest, if he outranks the host, while strenuously declining to
take that seat, will be very careful that his host does not occupy it instead, and quite
as careful not to accept it if infenor in rank, although urged, for to do so under such
circumstances would be to affront the host, and invite an affront in return. The host,
when in the apartment on the arrival of the guest, advances outside of the door of the
reception room to receive one of superior rank; meets him at the door if of equal rank,
and leads him by the hand to his seat; goes halfway the length of the apartment to meet
one of slightly inferior rank, but does not condescend to advance a step for a guest far
below in social or official position. When the host and guest are of equal rank, chairs or
cushions are arranged in corresponding position opposite the refreshment table,---and so
on through all the various social grades. Other things being equal, the left hand, and not
the right, is the place of honor.
The serving of refreshments is another important question regulated by undeviating
custom. The nazir or head steward of the household, enters in his stocking feet,
ushering a number of servants equal to the number to be served. If host and guest be of
equal rank, the cup is presented to each at exactly the same moment; but if one outranks
the other, he is first served. When there is present a member of the royal family, or one
of the cabinet or council of the shah, or a foreign minister, the servants must always
retire backward to the door. The number and character of the refreshments depend on the
rank, the hour, and the season. In the morning tea is served once. In the afternoon, the
guest being of equal or higher rank, he is first served with tea in dainty glasses. This
is followed by the kalean, or water-pipe. When several persons of equal rank are to
be served, it is the proper thing to bring an equal number of lighted pipes; but if one
present outranks all the others, only one pipe is brought in, which is handed to him.
Before smoking, he makes a feint of offering it in turn to all present; but woe to him who
incautiously accepts before he of higher rank has smoked, for in that case he will be made
to feel the withering scorn of which a Persian gentleman is capable.
After the first kalean, tea is served again, followed by a second pipe. After a
proper interval, the length of which is regulated by the acceptability of the visit,
coffee is served in tiny cups, followed in turn by the pipe. This is the signal that the
limit of the entertainment has been reached, and soon the guest in honeyed words expresses
his acknowledgment for the courtesy of the host, and requests permission to depart. When
the Persian New Year begins, with the spring equinox, the season is indicated by the
substitution of a cool sherbet for the first cup of tea, and sometimes of an ice in the
place of coffee; but after the September equinoctial the tea and coffee are resumed. These
may seem trivial matters, but in Persia they have great weight; and not only is the taste
of the host indicated by the quality and style of the refreshments, but the savoir-faire
and the rank of the guest are weighed by his bearing on such an occasion. It is of no
slight importance that a European in Persia should understand the force of these laws of
etiquette, otherwise he is liable to have his breeding as a gentleman misunderstood; while
by strongly asserting his claim to all the privileges which he has the right to demand,
suitable to his rank, he receives the respect which is his due, but which no Persian will
give except when he sees him firm on these points.
Making a Present to an Official.
THE mehmendar, or entertainer of the guests of the shah, who received me on
arriving in Persia, and accompanied me to the capital, was a man of agreeable disposition.
He had lived many years in Europe; he spoke French with facility, and his manners were
easy and gracious. On brief acquaintance, one would have set him down as a gentleman
comparing favorably with gentlemen and men of affairs in Europe; and it was easy to
believe that he would resent any attempt to present him with a trifling gift as a
recompense for the services he rendered officially for his Government, and for which he
had, presumably, been compensated by the shah. This would have been the conclusion reached
by one unacquainted with Oriental character; but my experience in the East led me to think
otherwise. I felt that it would be safer to venture to offer him an official tip than to
risk offending him by showing too much delicacy in the matter. On arriving at Teheran, I
therefore presented him with a new saddle and bridle I had brought with me. He showed not
the slightest hesitation at the proposal of such a present, but returned the saddle after
inspection, on the plea that it was shopworn, and that out of respect to me he would
prefer not to show to his friends a gift that seemed to be unworthy of a Minister of the
United States. As the saddle was entirely new and in perfectly good condition, I saw at
once that his object was to receive a more valuable present, possibly in the shape of
money. I therefore sent the saddle back to him with a message that I did not need
instructions as to what kind of a present I should give, and that he ought to be thankful
that I had remembered him at all. A European gentleman, who might have been consul for ten
years, and held the rank of general and receiver of the royal guests, to whom such a
message should be sent, would probably reply with a challenge; but I had not mistaken the
Oriental character. The saddle was accepted with a profusion of thanks.
Getting a Glass of Milk.
TOWARDS evening we were able to creep out of the tent; the cooler air suggested that a
glass of milk would meet our wants better than anything else. But in Persia it would never
do to send for the milk, for it would have been simply impossible to get it without water.
Therefore, after much difficulty, we succeeded in having a cow brought to our tent. But
even now the difiiculties did not vanish. According to Persian notions, a cow may not be
milked without the presence of its calf; it is a disgrace for a man to milk a cow, so a
woman had also to come; her husband was obliged to come likewise to look after her. She
was greatly embarrassed to conceal her face while milking, as the mantle would not remain
in place; but she at last avoided the difficulty by sitting on the farther side of the
cow, while we discreetly kept on the other side!
How a Persian Says His Prayers.
FIVE times a day are appointed for prayer---dawn, middle of the morning, noon, middle
of the afternoon, and sunset. Morning and evening the muezzin mounts a minaret or the roof
of a mosque, and gives the azan, or call to prayer: "God is great! I testify
that there is no God but God; I testify that Mohammed is the apostle of God, and Ali is
the vicegerent of God. Come to prayer! Come to security! Prayer is better than
sleep." The muezzin may be an educated mullah or an ignorant man. A wealthy neighbor
had the call given from his housetop by an illiterate scavenger or porter, who had simply
memorized the Arabic words, and was paid for his trouble with some loads of wheat. The
preparations for prayer are somewhat elaborate. Certain ablutions are preparative. The
ablutions are performed, not by dipping the hands in a basin, but by pouring water from a
ewer or from the palm of the hand. The Sunnis and Shia wash the hands differently. One
rubs toward the elbow, the other downward. They can be distinguished from each other by
the direction of the hair on the arm. The toes are also carefully rubbed with water, the
ears moistened, and the teeth cleaned. A spot of ink, or other defilement, may invalidate
the prayer.
When preliminaries have been finished, the worshiper takes his position on a
prayer-rug, with head uncovered and shoes removed, faces toward the Kebla, the Kaaba at
Mecca, and places a tablet of pressed earth from Kerbela before him, and holds a string of
beads of the same earth in his hands. These beads number ninety-nine, according to the
attributes of God. A long one at the end is called the molla; two double ones are called
the caliphs. With the beads he keeps tally of his petitions. The tablet is placed before
him because Mohammed enjoined that the worshipers should bow their heads to the earth. The
prayer is said according to a fixed rote, every motion being prescribed. With the
repetition of certain words the devotee raises his hands to heaven, with others his eyes;
at one time he kneels, at another prostrates himself with his forehead on the earth; again
he touches his knees, toes, palms of the hands, and forehead, to indicate his absolute
submission. He must not look backward during the exercise. He may, however, keep an eye on
those round about him, and on his goods lest they be stolen, or ejaculate a curse on his
apprentice, or tell a passing customer to wait a little while and he will attend to him.
He may interject a greeting to a guest or an order for tea, provided he proceeds without
mistake. The prayer consists of certain suras of the Koran in Arabic, which are understood
by few in Persia, the same words being repeated day after day.
All places are regarded as suitable for prayer. When the call sounds, the man stands up
among his guests, or in his shop, in the midst of the noise of manufacturing, or on the
housetop, or on the street-corner. The workmen throw aside the pick and shovel and begin
their devotions. The Gospel idea of closet prayer is unknown to them. At first
acquaintance a Christian is an enigma to them, never being seen to engage in prayer. A
native describing a Christian lady, said, "She does not revile, she does not steal or
lie, yet she has no religion."
Source
From: Eva March Tappan, ed., The World's Story: A History of the World in Story,
Song and Art, (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1914), Vol. II: India, Persia,
Mesopotamia, and Palestine, pp. 446-460.
Scanned by Jerome S. Arkenberg, Cal. State Fullerton.
Note: Many Western sources about Islamic countries exhibit what has
come to be known as orientalism. The terms used ("Mohammedan" for
instance rather than "Muslim"), and the attitudes exhibited by the writers need
to be questioned by modern readers.