in his coimtry. He replied that there were, and that they read the BLoran. He was requested to show how they prayed. * Who is without prayer ?* was the re- ply. But the sheik then wished to know in what manner prayer ought to be presented to God. The okkal proceeded to say : * When I enter the house of God,'l endeavor to do so with pure thoughts and a clean heart, and call out, " There is no God but God, and Mohammed is the prophet of God. ** I listen to the words of the Ixwk with an earnest and teachable spir- it. I look down in contrition and penitence, and, bowing down my head, kiss the earth, praying that I may be enabled to walk in humility and the fear of God, and to resign myself in all things to his will and decrees; to think tliat heaven is on my right hand and hell on my left; and to bear in mind that, wher- ever I go, I am always in the presence of God, and that he is ever before me. That is enough.' His host of the city, turning to those present, said, * All your prayers, compared to that, are useless.* The akkals are the more devoted professors of the Druse religion, and they may be of either sex. They are not priests, and neither teach nor exercise discipline. They must remain a year on trial before they can be admitted to the secrets of the fraternity; after that they may wear a white turban as an emblem of the purity they are to cultivate. They dress in plain gar- raents, wearing no ornament, and are required to be simple in their manners, and careful in their mode of speech. At their Minerals they receive marks of great respect ; and their tombs are afterwards visited by the superstitious, who worship the departed spirit, and de- posit candles or ornaments in the vault of the de- ceased. Hymns are sung in the Druse temjfies, and the people listen to the reading of the sacred liooks ; they eat figs and raisins together at the expense of the community ; and all matters of public interest are brought before a select council. They thus combine in one service the religions, social, and political ele- ments. They have a golden calf covered with secret characters, which is kept in a sacred chest, but wheth- er it symbolizes some object of veneration, or, as some say, is intended to remind them of the dangers attend- ant on the errors of Darasi, whom they call in derision 'the Calf,' is not ascertained with certainty. The Druses are extremely sensitive when inquiries are made of them respecting their religious practices, and usually parry the question by some evasive reply. A Druse, met with by Dr. Wilson at Hasbeiya, told him that there is little difference between their creed and observances and those of the orthodox Mussulmans, while others tell us that they respect Christ and abhor Mohammed. No one has been more favorably situa- ted than colonel Churchill for learning thehr real sen- timents and customs, but even he was not permitted to penetrate into the mysteries of their faith. * Two objects,' he says, * engrossed my attention — ^the religion of the Druses, and the past history of the races which now occupy the mountain range of the Lebanon. In vain I tried to make the terms of extreme friendship and intioiacy which existed between myself and the Druses available for the purpose of informing myself on the first of these points. Sheiks, akkals, and peas- ants alike baffled my inquiries, either by jocose eva- sions or by direct negation."
At a meeting of the Royal Asiatic Society, London, March 20, 1865, the Rev. A. Tien read a paper entitled " Druse Religion Unveiled," which throws light upon the present doctrines and usages of the Druses. ** Out- wardly the Druses conform to the observances of Mo- hammedanism, though they entertain really the ut- most aversion to that religion. They believe they are the descendants of Jacob, and in many respects they adhere to Jewish rites. Their Sabbath commences af- ter sunset on Friday, when they assemble in places of worship that are guarded from intrusion. They chant an invocation to Uie deity, a translation of which was
DRTJSILLA
902
DRUTHMAB
read by Mr. Tien, resembling a lamentation of the Is- raelites in captivity, imploring for th6 restoration of power in Jerusalem, to which they add a prayer for the destmction of Mecca. Their sacred books are con- tained in a silver casket carefully preserved, which is considered like the ark. They are inveterate to the Mohammedans and to Christians, though professing the religion of the former and attending the mosques. The doctrine of metempsychosis is strongly believed in, with some curious modifications. The deity whom they worship, under the title of El Hakim, is supposed to have appeared on the earth at two different periods, with diflforent names and attiibutes, and his principal agent, also, is believed to have assumed different forms. At the creation of the world, it is assumed that a cer- tain number of souls was created which has not since been added to nor diminished ; every soul, whether in human or in animal form, having been on death trans- ferred to some other body, either more elevated or more debased, according to the conduct of the individ- ual or animal during life. In one of the seven books there is a catechism, from which Mr. Tien read sevei^ al questions and answers, containing an exposition of the principal articles of faith of the Druses. The books are written in Arabic of very ancient character. The Druses are divided into three classes or castes, ac- cording to religious distinctions. To enable one Druse to recognise another, a system of passwords is adopted as by Freemasons, without an interchange of which no communication is made that may give an idea of their religious tenets.**