THE STRICTEST MOHAMMEDANS 67
drink; one might mistake them for male Bacchanals.
I once tempted a party of five to let me photograph
them by offering to each a silver coin, but the pic-
ture was not a success, as they could not be per-
suaded to stop singing and swaying their bodies
backwards and forwards.
"What are they singing ?" I asked.
"They are praising God," was the reply.
It is strange how much respect the people have
for them, considering what a wild, worthless lot
they apparently are. I have heard that most of
them are dervishes because they are too lazy to
work for their bread and prefer to live at the ex-
pense of others. They wear a peculiar kind of
high cone-shaped cap, lined with black sheep's wool,
which hangs down over forehead and neck, and
mingles so completely with their lank, dishevelled
hair that it is almost impossible to tell where one
begins and the other ends. The upper part of the
cap is usually covered with green or red velvet. As
a money-box for collecting alms, the dervish carries
in his right hand a gourd with one end cut off and
replaced as a lid, while in his left hand he has
always a staff with an iron ring let into the end,
which can be used as a rattle to attract attention.
His only visible garment is a patchwork of rags
with numerous rents through which his bare flesh
is partially visible. His feet are bare winter and
summer, unless he indulges in a pair of dilapidated