Pilgrimage, Book 3 · Chapter 12
CHAP. XII.
Of the Sepulchres, Funerall-rites, and opinions touching the dead, among the Turkes.
NOw, if you be wearie of viewing their Temples, and their prayers and other ceremonies seeme tedious, I hauehave thought fit to present you with another sight, and to conclude with (that which is the conclusion of all flesh) a discourse of their Funeralls. When aMenauino lib.2. 19. Policie of the Turkish Empire.a Turke is sicke and like to die, his friends visit him, and putting him in minde of his sinnes, aduise him with a penitent heart to bewaile them. Then doe certaine of their Priests, or one of his kinsmen, reade some Psalmes and Prayers. And if the pangs of death do still continue, they bring him the Alcoran, or Curaam wherein is one Legend called Thebara Echelezi, which they reade seuen times: and if hee shall die of that sickenesse, they thinke he will die before they hauehave thrice read it: and if they see breath still remaine, they reade another Psalme called Iasinnel Curanil Hecin, to the end that the Deuill cause no impediment to his soule. When hee is dead, they lay him forth in the middes of the house vponupon carpets, and place him on his right side, with his face toward the South. Then do assemble certaine Priests to bury him, bwho bring with them a string of beades (such as the Papists vse in mumbling and numbering their deuotions) being a thousand of them, of lignum aloes, and therewith compasse the body, and then say to eueryevery one Subahan Alla, that is, God hauehave merciemercy on him, and turne it about foure or fiue times. iIf it be a woman which is dead, the women take this care and pains about it, to lay her forth, &c.After this, their Priests (which are twenty or more) carry the corps into the garden, and lay it on a Table two handesbreadth from the ground, taking away his shirt, and, couering his shame with a new cloth made of fine bombast, with warme water and sope, wash him from top to toe: then doe they take two sheets of bombast, in which they wrap the corps, wetting the same with rose-water, perfumes, and odoriferous things, and laying him on the beere, couer him quite ouer with his best garments, placing his turbant at the head thereof, all bedecked with floures. Then do the Priests beginne their deuotions, and some of the company take vp the beere, carrying the same with the head forwards to the Meschit: the kinsmen follow, and the women remaine at home weeping, and make ready to eate for the Priests. When they come to the Church, they set him downe without doores, and goe and make an end of their seruice. After that, they carry him forth of the City to the buriall place: (for it is not lawfull to bury in their Cities) some prouide their Sepulchres in their life time, some hauehave them made after by their friends, either in their Gardens, or some solitary place: They hauehave also common buriall places, as are our Churchyards, wherein are many tombes of marble, bricke, or other matter, according to the qualitie of the person.
If the deceased were a man of high condition, his horses are led with his corps, and his toomb is adorned with many Epitaphs. And if he were a great Commander, those horses are sadled the contrary way, and richly furnished, having certain things hanged at their noses which cause them to neigh, as it were lamenting the losse of their Maister. They carry also the truncheons of their Launces with their Standards and Ensignes, trailing along the ground. There are planted also about their Sepulchres violets and other pleasant floures. The common sort hauehave their toombes of marble engrauen with letters.
When they are come to the place, with those sheetes they let it into the graue, couering him on eueryevery side with kGeorgiouitz lib.2. saith, that they make ouer the graue the sorm of an Altar, left the beasts should go ouer it, and defile it. They also often repaire thither with tears, and set on the monument flesh, bread, wheate, egs, milke, &c. which is done for the dead mans soule in almes to the poore, or to the birds, or ants, which they also account an act of mercy, no lesse meritorious then the other.boordes, only on the face they lay a little earth, and there leaue him, and returne home, where they finde store of cheate, and there make a prayer for his soule. The Priests hauehave fiue aspers a peece giuen them for their paines. And if the party be poore, they gather money, to pay the Priests, and to discharge the funeralls. They weare blackes eight dayes in token of mourning: and those that are of great account, three dayes: at which time the friends of the dead assemble, and vsing some words of mutuall consolation, from thenceforth resume their wonted habite. Howbeit their kindred, specially of the female sex, often repaire to the graues to lament there. Bellonius in his Obseruat. lBellon.li 3.ca.5.obserueth, that they sowe not the sheet at the head nor at the feet. The reason is, their dreame of certaine Angells, sent in commission presently after the burial, to examin the deceased party, into whom they say God hath then put a new spirit. These Angels Menavino calls Nechir and Remonchir, who come with dreadfull countenances and burning firebrands, & examine him of his life, which if they find wicked, they scourge him with fierie whips, if good, they become goodly Angels, and comfort him. Bellonius alittle otherwise telleth, that those Angels (which he calleth Guanequir and Mongir) come, the one with an yron hammer, the other with a hooke, which set the corps vponupon his knees, and put a new soule into it; and then aske if he hauehave belieued Mahumet & obserued his precepts, if he hauehave done good workes, kept their Lent, paid his Tithes, giuen almes. Of which, if hee can giuegive good account, they depart from him, and two other Angells come in their places, white as snowe, and one of them puts his armes in stead of a pillow vnderunder his head, the other sits at his feet, and defends him vntill the day of Iudgement. But if he satisfie not the demands of those blacke Angels, he with the yron mallet strikes him at one blow therewith nine fadome vnderunder the ground: and neither of them ceaseth, the one with his hammer, the other with his hooke, to torment the deceased party vntill the day of Iudgement. For this cause the Turks write vponupon their dead carkasses the name Croco, and make their Sepulchres hollow, that they may hauehave roome to kneele, and some lay boards ouer, that no earth fall in. The feare here of makes them in their morning prayer to say; Lord GOD from the questioning of the two Angells, the torment of the graue, and the euill iourney, deliuer mee, Amin. Yea, hence are the prayers which the Turks, men and women, say at the graues of the dead, for deliuery from these Angels.
Concerning the day of Iudgement, they mMenauino li.2.20, 21,22,23.holde that there is an Angell standing in Heauen named Israphil, holding alway a Trumpet in his hand prepared against God commaund to found the consummation of the World. For at the sound thereof, all men and Angells shall die, for so they find it written in their nThe Turkish Curaam doth not agree in al things with the Alcaran. as appeareth by comparing the text of the one & quotations of the other.Curaam, which booke is of high authoritie with them, and is sometimes called the Alcoran, though it seeme rather to bee taken out thereof then to be the Text it selfe. The Turkish Doctours would dissent from that opinion of the Angells mortality, if this Booke would giuegive them leaue: for to contradict the authority thereof is punished with fire, or else their tongues are pulled out of their heads. They hold, that after this dismall sound shal be a great Earthquake, which shall tumble mountaines and rockes from their places, and grinde them to meale. After this, GOD wil returne to make a new the light, and the Angels as before, and will cause to fall a pleasant raine called Rehemet sui, that is, the raine of mercy: and so shall the earth remaine fortie dayes, although those dayes shall be of a larger size then these. Many also hold, that from thencefoorth there shall be no darkenes of the night, as now, but that it shall be most cleare, neyther shall there need any more sleep for the sustentation of our bodies.
After forty daies God will command Israphil to sound his Trumpet the second time, at which sound all the dead oThe resurrection.shalbe raised againe by the will of God, the dead euen from Abel to the end of the world, throughout all the earth, hearing the sound thereof, and rising in maner as they were buried. Amongst them shall be seene diuers faces and countenances, some shining as the Sunne, many like the Moone, many as the Starres. Others shalbe obscure and darke, and others with hogges faces, with swolne tongues. Then shall eueryevery one cry, Nessi Nessi, that is, Woe is me wretch who hauehave suffred my selfe to be ouercome with my filthy lusts. The Angels shall with their fingers point at the faces which shine, which are they that hauehave wrought good workes, and shall shew them to one another. The wicked shall hauehave enuy thereat. They say, that those with faces like hogs, are such as hauehave bin vsurers: and those with the swolne tongues, liers and blasphemers. There shall be others troden vnderunder foot, to wit, the prowd persons of this world. God, say they, wil then demand account of the kings, princes, emperors, and tyrants, which vse oppression and violence. pThe Iudgement.Then shall God diuide this raysed company into seuenty parts, all which shall be examined, presenting their sins before their eies, & all that they hauehave in this world done well or ill: whereto he shal need no testimony; eueryevery member bearing witnes against it selfe of the deeds, yea and very thoughts. There shalbe also Michael the Angell holding in his hand the ballance of diuine Iustice, and shal weigh soules, & distinguish the good from the bad. There shalbe Moses with his Standard, vnderunder which shall all the obseruers of his lawe be assembled. Neare to him shalbe Iesus Christ the son of the virgin Mary with an other great Standard, and all his Christians, the obseruers of his faith. On the other side shalbe Mahomet with his standard and faithfull Mahumetans: they which hauehave done good shalbe all gathered vnderunder the said standards, where they shal hauehave a pleasant shadow; the rest shalbe extremely scorched by the heate of the Sunne, according to the measure of their sins. Thus shall both parts abide, till God shal pronounce his eternal sentence. When that doome is pronounced, the Angels shall stand diuided in squadrons, all alike adorned, the Seraphins on one side, the Cherubins on the other: of the which, one part shall sound instruments of diuers sorts, & the other shal sing hymnes: and many shall stand at the gates of Paradise singing & gratulating the blessed soules which hauehave obserued the diuine Precepts; Christians, Iewes, Turkes, and Moores, being all of equal beauty & beatitude, if they hauehave done wel. Paradise.But sinners shalbe knowne asunder. They affirme also, that God wil giuegive those soules of Paradise a large space in heauen for their euerlasting habitation, goodly and shining. They shal also hauehave Barachi, Sunne beames, on which they may ride and take their view round about Paradise, of the pretious delights therein. There shal they hauehave pleasant fruits, & if they eat one apple, two shall grow in the roome; and to quench their thirst, they shall hauehave riuers cleare as Cristall, sweet as sugar, by drinking of which their sight and vnderstanding shal increase, in such sort, that they shal see from one Pole to the other. The meats which they eate, shall consume by a subtile kind of sweat. Further they say, they shall hauehave their women called Vri, that is, shining, which shall eueryevery day be virgins, with which they shall continue for euer. Neither shall there be any danger of old age; the men alway being of thirty yeares old, the women of fifteene or twenty. Those three Standard-bearers shalbe the principall, each of them hauing a peculiar part of Paradise assigned him for his dominion.
Those which for their bad deeds shalbe condemned to hell, Hell.shalbe all knowen by proper names, which they shall beare in their forheads: and they shall beare the number and greatnesse of their sins on their shoulders. Thus shall they be led betweene two mountaines where Hell is situate, at the mouth whereof is a most venomous serpent: and from one mountaine to an other is a bridge thirty miles long, which is so made, that they ascend on the first part, the other part is plaine, the last descendeth. This bridge (say they) is made of thinne yron and sharpe: (they call it Serat Cuplissi, that is, the bridge of Iustice.) VponUpon this shall passe the sinners with the heauy weight of their sinnes vponupon their shoulders: and they which hauehave not beene altogether euill shall not fall into Hell, but into Purgatory: but the other shall sodainely be plunged into the bottome of hel, where they shall burne, more or lesse, according to the quantitie of the fire of their sins, which they hauehave carried out of this world: and after the burning they turne to be refreshed, and presently againe to the fire. In the middes of Hell they say is a tree full of fruit, eueryevery apple being like to the head of a Deuill, which groweth greene in the middes of all those flames, called Zoaccum Agacci, or the tree of Bitternes, and the soules that shall eate thereof, thinking to refresh themselues, shall so finde them, and by them and their paines in Hell, they shall grow madde. And the Deuills shall binde them with chaines of fire, and shall dragge them vp & downe through Hell. Those soules which sometime shall name God in their ayde, they say, after many yeares, shall goe into Paradise; and none shall remaine in Hell, but such qBell.Obseru.libr.3.cap.6. Resurrection of Rammes.as despaire of their saluation and Gods mercy. Thus farre Menavino. To this agreeeth Bellonius, and addeth, that in the day of Iudgement, they beleeue a resurrection of the birds and beasts: and that the Rammes which they kill at their Easter, shall goe into Paradise: and therefore, though one should serue, they kill many. For the Booke of Zuna saith, that those Rammes shall pray for their Sacrificers in the day of Iudgement. It telleth that the Stars are hanged in the aire by golden chains, to watch lest the deuills should learne the secrets of Paradise, and reueale them to Sooth-sayers. Also, that the Ramme which Abraham offered in stead of his sonne, was a black one, which had beene nourished fortie yeares in Paradise, that Mah. shall be turned at the end of the world into a Ramme; and the Turkes into Fleas, whom he shall carry sticking to him, out of Hell into Paradise, and there shake them off, where they shall againe receiue the formes of Turkes: That hee shall wash them with the water of that Fountaine in Paradise, to purge the blackenesse which they got by the scorching of Hell, from whence he will deliuer all good Turkes.