Archive image from page 605 of Discovery Discovery discovery0102londuoft Year: luxury of rock-cut t( mbs. Hcyoncl tlicin, nearer to the cultivation and almost in a line with our camp, lies a modem Muslim cemetery. The graves arc mostly conical mounds of sand, surmounted by a riG. I.—POET RliUlTlNG AND TWIRLING DKIM IN A .MODERN EGYPTIAK CEMETERY. palm branch or branches, stuck upright into the ground. In nearly all cases in this particular cemetery such an erection forms the only monument to the dead, the only indication of their last resting-place. A few more graves show a mo
Archive image from page 605 of Discovery Discovery discovery0102londuoft Year: luxury of rock-cut t( mbs. Hcyoncl tlicin, nearer to the cultivation and almost in a line with our camp, lies a modem Muslim cemetery. The graves arc mostly conical mounds of sand, surmounted by a riG. I.—POET RliUlTlNG AND TWIRLING DKIM IN A .MODERN EGYPTIAK CEMETERY. palm branch or branches, stuck upright into the ground. In nearly all cases in this particular cemetery such an erection forms the only monument to the dead, the only indication of their last resting-place. A few more graves show a more elaborate covering, made of mud, and slightly resembling in form some of the houses of the living. Usually an earthen pot con- taining a plant of ?abar (aloes) is placed en the side of or at the base of the mound. These plants are looked after with the greatest care, as both they and the palm branches stuck into the graves are believed to bestow blessings on the dead. This cemetery is a wind- and sand-swept place. The palm branches quickly wither and assume the same colour as the surrounding desert. Seen from our camp, the shadows which they cast on the mounds are so dark that they give the impression of black-clad figures kneeling in perpetual grief, keeping watch by each grave. Similar cemeteries are to be found at inter\'als all along the lower desert. Adjacent to the cemetery on its western side is the white-domed tomb of Hasan 'Ali. It stands sur- rounded by low walls of] mud, within which enclosure are a well and several graves ; trees and flowers are also planted here and are carefully tended. Many a time I witnessed and, indeed, took part in the ceremony, which is described below, in this ccmeterj'. E(-Tala', ' the coming forth ' or ' the going up,' is the name given to the periodical visits paid to the cemeteries by the relations and friends of the dead, the women expressing their grief by loud wailings. The name e(-Tala' is probably due to the fact that the peopl
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