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 TVie Last Xsvaeli+lsii Bloocjl Sacrifice 
 
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Vol. XXXVII, No. 1 
 
 WASHINGTON 
 
 January, 1920 
 
 THE 
 
 ATQOMAL 
 
 ::OPVRIGHT, 1 920 
 
 THE LAST ISRAELITISH BLOOD SACRIFICE 
 
 How the Vanishing Samaritans Celebrate the Passover 
 on Sacred Mount Geri/im 
 
 Bv John D. Whiting 
 
 \uTHi R ( F "From Jerusalem to Aleppo." "Village Life in the Holy Lanp." an-d 
 "Jerusalem's Locust Plague," in the National Geographic Magazine 
 
 Illustrated icitli the only set of n'ujht pliotoyraphs ever taken of this aiieieiit cerc- 
 
 iiio)iv. and inmieroiis other unique pictures, by the American 
 
 Colony Photinjra pliers. Jerusalem. Palestine 
 
 SHECHEM, Samaria, and Neapolis 
 were once great cities of the ancient 
 civilized world. Today their glory 
 and importance are n6 more, save in his- 
 tory. Here alone we find a dying and al- 
 most extinct community of Samaritans, 
 the remnant of a once numerous sect, 
 whose persistent continuation and literal 
 performance of the i'assover Sacrifice 
 have attracted the attention of students 
 for more than three centuries. 
 
 Nablus, the modern Shechcm, the only 
 home of the Samaritans of today, is a 
 town of about 27.000 inhabitants, lying 
 some forty miles north of Jerusalem. The 
 jKipulation is chiefly Moslem, the remain- 
 der l)eing c()ni])osc'd of various Christian 
 sects, together with a mere handful of 
 Samaritans. But as yet no Jew has set- 
 tled there, the Biblical axiom still holding 
 good, "for the Jews have no dealings with 
 the Samaritans." 
 
 Besides being a center of trade, Nablus 
 has gained a little fame for its soap, made 
 of ])ure olive oil, a variety which, though 
 crudely manufactured, is used almost ex- 
 clusively by the people of the city, and is 
 
 much prized by the natives of Syria and 
 Egypt. 
 
 The town nests in a confined valley run- 
 ning east and west, between twin moun- 
 tains — Ebal, some 3,000 feet above sea- 
 level, which looms up on the north, and 
 the lesser Gerizim, about 150 feet lower, 
 which closes in on the south, with its base 
 in ])laces only a few hundred yards from 
 that of its mate. 
 
 From the lower slopes of Gerizim issue 
 numerous and copious springs. The mod- 
 ern town has therefore crept up in their 
 direction. These waters, after filling the 
 demand made upon them by the city, find 
 their way into extensive gardens to the 
 west, where flourish fig trees, laden with 
 delicious fruit, pomegranates hung with 
 scarlet bloom and fruit, yellow quinces, 
 walnuts, mulberries, olives, and occasional 
 bitter-orange trees raised for the perfume 
 extracted from the flowers. Among the 
 trees many varieties of vegetables grow in 
 abundance. 
 
 The houses of the town are dome- 
 roofed and lattice-windowed, constructed 
 from the soft, white limestone of Mount 
 
NAIJLUS (TITIv MODKRX SIIKCTTKm), T 1 1 Iv ONLY IIO.MK Ol' Till' S A M AK i lA XS TOP W 
 
 The town nestles in the valley which lies between Mount h'hal and Momit Geri/ini. 
 The i)icture is taken fmni the lower slopes of (".eri/'ini, near Has el Ain. while .Mount h'hal 
 is seen in the haeks^rouud (see map, pas^e -|6 ) . 
 
 l-lbal. The streets arc ])ictiires(|uelv nar- 
 row and most of them are i)a\-e(l with 
 col)])le-stones, with liere and there an arch 
 thrown across and sn])portini^" a room 
 al)ove. 
 
 Tiiiv TioMi", cnv Ol' Tin-: SA.\rAKn'Axs 
 
 Tn the "sotiks," or markets, as in most 
 Syrian towns, the stores are so smah that 
 the customer stands outside to examine 
 the meager display of European and na- 
 tive (Damascene) wares, llere are rows 
 of silversmith shops, where the artisans 
 
 work ci"oss-k\^"i:^ed. prodticin;.;' from crndc 
 silver elaborate ornaments for the peasant 
 women. Mere are the cofTee sho])S. the 
 sireel in front blockaded with men sittini^' 
 tipon low stools, sipping' the thick, hoi 
 beverage from tiny cii]is and smoking the 
 long. red-])i])ed, bubbling narghile as they 
 gossi]:) and play a game of "tawla." 
 
 Next are the sweetmeat venders, from 
 whose stalls large trays of "kanafie" ]iro- 
 trude into the street. This ])astry clish, 
 for which Nablus is noted, has a tilling of 
 fresh, sweet cheese. After it is baked. 
 
A STKKKT IN TIIK SAMAKnW.N l.lliyrTO 01-' NABLUS 
 
 From the main market-place, lung. dark, tnnncl-like lanes lead to tlie Samaritan Quarter, at 
 the foot of the sacred Alount Gerizini. 
 
'Ill I'i II II. I. Ol' SA.MAKIA 
 
 Oinri, the sixth king of Israel, in the ninth centurv B C honolu -,„ ; i . i i "ii r 
 
 „„les west of Shechc,,,, „„ere Ik- bu.h hi» capital ani „a„Ka U s"a','';r;a. a"!";- ' .-'uii'S 
 
Tiiiv ACKororjs oi" sa^fakia 
 
 'I'hc chv (if Samaria fmni its inception nvcTsliadowed its ruai. Slu'chrni, and perhaps 
 muler Roman rule attained the pinnacle of its .liiory. The luiiperor Angustus ])resented 
 it to Herod the Great, who rehuilt and emhellished it after the Roman style and renamed 
 it Schaste. 
 
 melted butter and thick syrtip are ]ii)tired 
 over il until il is literally soaked with tlu' 
 mixture. 
 
 k'rom the chief niarket-i)lace the Sa- 
 maritan Quarter of Nablus is a])|)roache<l 
 from the north through long, tunnel-like 
 lanes which lead to the very foot of the 
 sacred mountain. 
 
 Just above the city, Gerizim is steep 
 and rocky, and the trees disappear. In 
 summer the mountain side is gray and 
 barren, but in winter even the smallest 
 
 ])atches of earth are scratched with 
 ])rimitive ])lo\vs and sown with wheat or 
 barley. 
 
 Till': i"i<ii;m)I.v cactus 
 
 Across from the town the slo]:)es of 
 h'.bal present a very different ]>icture. 
 lujually rocky, they arc still j^erennially 
 green with cactus bushes planted among 
 the rock ledges, which are curiously stud- 
 ded with ancient sepulchers, whose open 
 doors from a distance reveal only the 
 
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RUINS OF 'nil'. ROMAN I'ORUM AT S.\-M.\KI\ 
 
 Note the weather-beaten tops of the cohimns, while tlie lower ])arts retain their original 
 wliitcncss, showing how deep these ruins were covered by debris when tlie work of excava- 
 tion was undertaken, with the aid of American rescarcli funds, under the auspices of tlie 
 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. 
 
 darkness within. Some of these tombs 
 were rifled centtiries ago ; others have 
 come to light within the past few years. 
 Many liave stone doors and stone hinges, 
 with stone locks still in working condition 
 if the keys, prohahU' of bronze, could br 
 fotind. 
 
 But the modern inhabitants do not 
 pride themselves on this interesting ceme- 
 tery, as did the peoples of bygone times. 
 To the Arabs of today antique relics are 
 of no import ; but they feel justly proud 
 
 (if the cactus or prickl\-pear btishes, which 
 present a weird spectacle and cover every 
 available space in this oriental God's 
 Acre. The fame of these bushes reaches 
 as far as the Hos])orus. where the much- 
 \)v\7.cd frtiit is a favorite gift among the 
 notables of Constantinople. 
 
 The prickly-pear cactus was first intro- 
 dticed into .Palestine by the Crusaders; 
 todav it is grown throughout the length 
 and breadth of the land, being valuable 
 not only for its fruit, but also as an ex- 
 
A Vli:\V OI'* MODKRX SKCASTl-: AND 'I'lII-; SURKOl'XDI XC. HILLS 
 
 After cliiubing to the zenith of luiglit, Sebaste slowly relapsed into insigiiiJicance. Today, 
 amid the ruins of a splendid past, a squalid mud village occupies the site and retains the 
 name. 
 
 cellent hedge. The natives, liowever, do 
 not yet a]:)pfeciate its great value as forage 
 for cattle. The camels helj) themselves 
 to il whenever they get a chance, their 
 months heing so tough that, regardless of 
 llie s])ines. they devour the leaves with 
 tnimistakahle reli>h. The h'.hal cactus' 
 superiority lies in the extra large size of 
 its frtiil, the tenderness of its seeds, and 
 its sweet and luscious flavor, due l)oth to 
 the j)eculiar soil and to the ])rotection af- 
 lorded from the cold north winds. 'IMie 
 Arabic name for the pear, sabbir (pa- 
 tience), seems eminently appropriate to 
 one who has innocentlv handled the un- 
 
 l)ealed fruit and had his hands filled with 
 the microscopic s])ines. which can be ex- 
 tracted onlv b\' ])aintul laboriotisness. 
 
 SlIl'X'll l-Ar, WIll'.Ki: Tilt: I'.IKLlv I XTKoniU'I'S 
 AllKAII AM 
 
 The first cit\- built in this valley w'as 
 Shechem, which occu])ied a site a short 
 distance to the east of Nablus. Mere, at 
 the highest point of the valley, where the 
 rains to the east find their way to the 
 Head v^ea and lliose to the west to the 
 Mediterranean, is a small artificial hill. 
 Kecent excavations by archeologists have 
 revealed a city wall encircling the re- 
 
TIIK SAMARITAN S\- N AC.OCUK 
 
 This, the only house of worsliip which the Samaritans possess, is a very ohin building 
 and only a few hundred years old. In the recess to the left behind nrmnXnZ^. bmlding 
 pnnnat ve safes and cupboards containing many pard;;ent;\1;d pX" " f ™l"Vem 
 liic noted Abishua Codex (see illustration, page 12). ^utuciib, among tnem 
 
OXK (Jl* TllK SYXAGOCLM; CLRTAIXS 
 
 Tliis silkrii curtain, heavily embroidered in gold, is used in the synagogue to hang in front 
 of the scroll chests. The designs represent the cup of manna, ark of the covenant, Aaron's 
 rod blossoming, the seven-branched candlestick, the table of shew-bread, the golden censer, 
 and other temple furnishings such as existed in the temple at Jerusalem. 
 
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 12 
 
mains of houses and have laid bare numer- 
 ous ancient eartlienware vessels. 
 
 As we look u])i)n these primitive habi- 
 tations, more than 3,000 years old, it is 
 hard to realize that we are not actually 
 IiKjkini^" on the oldest city built here, but 
 upon a town that, at this early date, had 
 ahx'adv had a long existence. 
 
 It is at Shechem, then called "Sichem," 
 and the ])lain of Aioreb, into which the 
 Shechem gorge opens at its eastern ex- 
 tremity, that Bil)lical history introduces 
 Abraham, the father of the Hebrews, in 
 Canaan. Likewise Jacob made this lo- 
 cality his first haU on returning from his 
 sojourn with Laban in Haran. Tdere he 
 purchased the parcel of ground whither, 
 at a later date, Joseph's bones were 
 brought from h'gypt to be buried, and 
 where today Jacol)'s well is pointed out 
 as the si)ot at which Jesus and the Sa- 
 maritan woman met (see map, page 46). 
 
 Immediately following the Israelitish 
 invasion of Canaan and the taking of 
 Jericho and Ai, Joshua built upon Ebal 
 the first altar of sacrifice erected by his 
 people in the new land. 
 
 The Shechem V^alley now became the 
 tlieater of the first general convocation, 
 and, according to the Mosaic injunction, 
 the whole congregation was assembled, 
 "half of them over against Mount Geri- 
 /-im and half of them over against Mount 
 i'vbal." From Ebal were to be proclaimed 
 the curses against those who should for- 
 sake the law of their God, and from 
 Gerizim the blessings that would result 
 in the following of YaJnvch (the unpro- 
 nounced Hebrew name for God). 
 
 Here also, just before his death, Joshua 
 addressed the last assembly of the people, 
 making a covenant with them. 
 
 We now come to the broader period of 
 its history. Ephraim. destined to figure 
 as the leading tribe of the Northern King- 
 dom, had the lot of its possession fall to 
 tlie district wherein v^hechem lay. This 
 territory was tiien known as "Mount 
 Ephraim." 
 
 'I^he town of Shechem itself was appor- 
 ti(jned to the Levites, since they, 1)eing 
 a tribe of priests, received no inheritance 
 except cities and their subiud)s in which 
 to dwell throughout all the tribes. She- 
 chem was also selected as one of the cities 
 of refuge, and throughout the Hebraic 
 occupation held an important j^lace. 
 
 .\i!u i;l hass.an, so.\ of tiiic L.vTiv iiic.ir 
 PRiKST j.\con 
 
 All llie Saniarilan priests wear long- hair, 
 wliicli tluy wind uiuk'r tiicir clonK'-sliaixii 
 fo//.LS. "And the Lord said unto Mose.s, speak 
 unto tile priests and say unto them that tliey 
 shall not make baldness upon their heads; nor 
 shall they shave ofif the corner of their beards" 
 (Lev. 21 : 1-5). 
 
 t3 
 
JACOH, SO.X OF AARON, LATlv SAMARITAN 1HGI1 I'RIKST 
 
 Members of the present priestly family trace their ancestry to the tribe of Levi The direct 
 
 Aaronic line that existed till modern times has now failed. 
 
 14 
 

 U 
 
 A ^■()lIl\(•. I'Kll'.S'l" WKITINT, A SAMAKIIAN I'l'. N T ATl'.Ti.' 1 T 
 
 All the Samaritan Pcntatcuclis ami praxer Ijooks. as well as the l)ot)ks u>cil by the school 
 children, arc hand-written. Parchment was used up to two centuries ago; since then paper 
 lias come into vogue. Aside from the fact that the poverty of the modern Samaritan com- 
 mends the use of paper, which is much clieai)er, the orthodox scholar will not write on 
 Icrither unless the hide from which it is prepared has been taken from an animal slaughtered 
 by a iirie«t. 
 
 It 
 
..t:iSlff& 
 
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 '^yrii 
 
 Tlllv VIF.LAGK ()!•• ASKAK. AXCIKXT SVCIIAK 
 
 Just behind the village is_ Jacob's well. The mountain in the backoroun.I i. Gerizim 
 while the mosque on its sumnnt marks the site of the Samaritan temple to whicli ' no doubt' 
 the bamantan woman pomted wlien conversing with Jesus. 
 
 Dtiring- the ])ei-i<Kl of the Jud.t^vs litllc of 
 importance is lieard of Alotmt I\i)hraini. 
 except that /\l)inielech, .son of Gideon bv 
 a Shecheniite concubine, was made "King" 
 of Shcchem, and ruled three }'ears. 
 
 With the advent of David came the 
 Golden Age of the Hebrews. The capi- 
 tal was moved to Jerusalem, where, upon 
 his succession, Solomon built the re- 
 nowned Temple and established thereby 
 a center of worship. 
 
 But this unified kingdom was short- 
 
 b\e(l, and with the death of Solomon, his 
 son, Rehoboani, ])roceeded to Shechem. 
 where all Israel was gathered to make him 
 kmg. Instead of this being consummated, 
 ten tribes revolted and luade Jeroboam, 
 an attache of Solomon's court, king. Jero- 
 boam selected Shcchem as his liome. 
 Thus the northern ten tribes established 
 the Kingdoiu of Israel, now forever rent 
 from the Kingdom of Judah, which was 
 composed of the two remaining tribes, 
 Judah and Benjamin. 
 
 i6 
 
NKAR SVCIIAR IS JACUP/S WKLL; ITS DKPTII IS IXDICATKD 1!V Till-; LIvXGTiI Oi- 
 
 TIIlv KOI'K 
 
 To tlie cast, towering above the encampment, is the loftiest of Gerizim's peaks, crowned with 
 ruins — a spot where once temples stood. 
 
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 TIIK SAMAklTAX l'ASS()\KK CAMl', TllK OM.V KKMAIXIXC 1 SK A Kl . ITIS 1 1 CAMP IN 
 
 Tlllv WOKI.I) 
 
 T.. the cast, t.nvuinK ul.ove the cnoain,.,UL-nt, is the lotticsl ,,f Gcri/iin's peaks, crowned with 
 rums — a spot uliere once temples stood. 
 
 i8 
 
LAMBS SELKCTP:!) FOR THE SACRII-ICE OF THE PASSOVER 
 
 THE CONGREGATION GATHEKING FOR THE SACRH-'ICIAL CEREMONY 
 
 As they assemble one by one they spread small prayer cloths upon the ground. Upon these 
 they stand with bare feet, having dropped tlieir prayer slippers behind them. 
 
 10 
 
'n.-: SAMAKITAX ,no„ ,.K,KST ,,ACcn ..KA.HN.; Ti.K i'ASS<.VKK SKKVC. 
 
 iden£^wl;V;lSrc;^^;he aUSs 'Th^^.,-;"" i ^'^^^ '^^^-^ ^'^^ P-yer-niche design 
 holy rock on the crest of Mount'Srizhi) wS" ws^ph.'^" '^" ^'"" ^°'^ °^ «°'^- ^^^e 
 
THK TRRXCTT-AI/PAR PKlCPARKn FOR TIIp; SAMARITAN 1* \SS()\!;R 
 
 Two large copper kettles filled with water are placed over this altar. At a short dis- 
 tance, and higher than the altar level, is the laiioor. or ground oven, for tiie sheep-roasting. 
 The men in the right background are tending the oven. 
 
 Omri, the sixth king of Israel, in the 
 ninth century B. C, bought an isolated 
 hill a few miles west of Shechem, on the 
 north side of the valley, and there bitilt 
 his capital, naming it Samaria, after its 
 original owner. At the time of the First 
 Captivity the Kingdom of Israel lost its 
 northernmost tribes and its possessions 
 beyond the Jordan. From them Galilee 
 was then created, while the remaining 
 southern part inherited the name of its 
 once important capital, Samaria, and be- 
 came a State subject to Assyria. Thus 
 was the land cut up into three districts — 
 Galilee, Samaria, and Judea. 
 
 SEBASTiv, CITY OF IIKROD 
 
 The city of Samaria, from its incep- 
 tion, overshadowed its rival. Shechem, 
 and probably attained the height of its 
 glory under Roman rule ; for the Em- 
 peror Augustus presented it to his pro- 
 curator, Herod the Great, who rebuilt 
 and embellished it after the Roman style, 
 and renamed it Sebaste (Greek for Au- 
 
 gusta). ]\luch of Herod's work still re- 
 mains, notably a double colonnade en- 
 circling the hill's crest. 
 
 An Arab proverb says. "IJeyond every 
 mountain ascent there is a descent."' And 
 Sebaste. after climbing to the zenith of 
 power, slowly relapsed into insignifi- 
 cance; so that today, amid the rttins of 
 its splendid past, a sfjualid mud village 
 hears the once grand title (the name in 
 Arabic being slightly altered to "Sebas- 
 tieh"). Here is a rare instance, possibly 
 the only one in Palestine, where the 
 (jreek name has outlived the older Se- 
 mitic form. 
 
 Sebaste had become a ]ilace of no im- 
 portance more than four centuries before 
 the Emperor Vespasian founded Xeap- 
 olis (New City) in the Shechem vale, 
 west of the older town, in 67 A. D. This 
 "New City" soon outstripped the older 
 Shechem, and in the fourth century be- 
 came one of the foremost cities of Pales- 
 tine — a distinction which it still enjoys 
 under its Arabic name of Nablus. 
 
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THE LAST ISRAKTJTTSTT P.LOOD SACRTFTCH 
 
 The Samaritan religion is closely akin 
 to that of the Jews, the chief differences 
 heing that the cult of the former centers 
 about Oerizim, while that of the Jews 
 centers about Zion, and that the Samari- 
 tan canon of Scri])tnre is restricted to the 
 Pentateuch, or "Five Books of Closes." 
 The later writings, including the Prophets 
 and Psalms, the Samaritans repudiate as 
 uninspired. 
 
 In view of the similarity in their be- 
 liefs and practices, it seems strange that 
 there exists and always has existed the 
 fiercest animosity between Jew and Sa- 
 maritan, but it is the animosity that in- 
 variably exists between an original and a 
 schism. 
 
 The Samaritans maintain that they are 
 the remnants and descendants of the once 
 great tribe of Ephraim, and that the split 
 between them and the Jews came about 
 through the maladministration of the 
 priesthood by Eli's sons. Followers of 
 the Jewish Church are looked upon as 
 dissenters from the pure faith of Israel, 
 and the forming of a center of worship 
 in Jerusalem by Judah is condemned 
 upon the ground that the land of Eph- 
 raim, with Shechem and its mountains, 
 figured in the earliest history of the He- 
 brews ; that here the first Israelitish altars 
 were erected, and that these were the onlv 
 'specific parts of the Land of Promise 
 mentioned by Moses in the wilderness. 
 
 Tim Rli;XOWNKD SAMARITAN SCROLL 
 PHOTOGRAPHED AT LAST 
 
 The most precious document of this 
 sect is the renowned Samaritan scroll 
 Pentateuch. This scroll is some seventv 
 feet long, and toward the end its columns 
 are divided vertically by a small gap. 
 often occurring between the letters of 
 the same word. Into this gap is carried 
 and written any letter that occurs in the 
 lines which fits into the writing of the 
 date, so that w lu-n reading the text it fills 
 its place, while on the other hand these 
 separated letters when read collectively 
 from the top of the column to the bot- 
 tom, like the Chinese, spell out the name 
 and date of the writer, etc., thus making 
 it impossible for the date to have been of 
 a later writing than that of the scroll 
 itself. 
 
 The Samaritans assert that the scroll 
 
 2?> 
 
 was written by Abishua. the great-grand- 
 son of Aaron, in the early years of the 
 entrance into Canaan, l)ut no impartial 
 student will allow it this very remote ori- 
 gin, although it is believed to be the most 
 ancient copy of the Pentateuch in exist- 
 ence. 
 
 So jealously guarded is this scroll that 
 few non-Samaritans have ever seen it. 
 and many of the Samaritans themselves 
 have not seen it except as it is exhibited 
 on rare occasions at feasts, rolled up and 
 covered with a silken cloth and with but 
 one column exposed. 
 
 The scroll has recently been photo- 
 graphed from end to end, and will soon 
 be published for ihe benefit of Hebrew 
 scholars. 
 
 It is. of course, impracticable to display 
 this very fragile parchment continually, 
 but it is unfortunate that the modern 
 Samaritans impose upon their guests by 
 sliowing them a scroll of much later date 
 tlian the one which all so covet to see. 
 The imposition has gone further, for all 
 photographs made heretofore supposedly 
 of the original Abishua scroll, as it is 
 called, have in reality been t)f the later 
 copy. 
 
 While the Jews have scattered all over 
 tlie world since the captivities and have 
 absorbed nnich that is foreign, in many 
 instances adapting their religious prac- 
 tices to their new environment, the Sa- 
 nicaritans have during the same lapse of 
 time lived in the land of their fore- 
 fathers, aiuong Semitic peo])les akni to 
 the Hebrews, and because of this fact 
 have handed down to the twentieth cen- 
 tury a glimpse of the old Jewish Church 
 almost in its purity. A notable instance 
 of the survival of an ancient religious 
 ceremony is the celebration of the Pass- 
 over Sacrifice. 
 
 One of the distinctive differences be- 
 tween the Samaritan and the Jew lies in 
 their methods of comj)uting the calendar. 
 Instead of adopting the lunar year solely, 
 the Samaritans base their calculations on 
 the moon but they are at the same time 
 also governed by the movement of the 
 sun. The system is so complicated as 
 to form one of the chief studies of the 
 young priests. Basing their authority on 
 the first chapter of Genesis for thus dif- 
 ferentiating from the Hebrew calendar, 
 
r',A.it 
 
 .v.* 
 
 --^ .-d" 
 
 Kii,i,i.\c, Till.; i'asS()\i-;k sacrifick 
 
 llic caldrons of water are already boiling. "Then shall all the c.ivocation ,,f the as- 
 sembly of Israel slay it between the two evenings." As these words are read, with one deft 
 stroke downward, each of the three slaughterers cuts the throat of one lamb and iunips to 
 
 24 
 
TIIK SI'ITTi:i) SAt'KI I'ICIAI. l.AMl'.S 
 
 Oil <i;ikrn si)its slii;hlly longer than tlic dcptli ..I tlu- .s^rcjiiihl .i\rii. the (hoscil Iambs arc 
 I)lac(.-(1 Irii.ulhwise. thf hrads lian.uini; down. "I'.at imt of it raw, nor mxMimi at all witli water; 
 his head with hi.s Irt^s, and with thr iinrtcnancc thm-ot."' 
 
 the\- puiiu out thai, ill llie liistofy ot' crca- iimcli acti\it\-. Mtilt-s and doiikevs arc 
 
 liciii. when lln- suii and moon ari' intro- loadrd with ti-nts and dllicr nc'ces-^ilic-^. 
 
 diircd, it i^ said of tlicm iointU . "Lcl wliili- yotmi^- and uM. sick and well. (|tiit 
 
 lliiMii ]>v f(»r ^i|^■n^. and for season^, and their lioini'^ lo make llii' piljiirimage to 
 
 fi>r daws and \i'ars" (('.en. i: 14). I'^or (K'fizim, in obedience to the command, 
 
 the al)i)\-e reaNoiis the Satnaritans some "'I'hoit ma\-est nut saoritice the Passover 
 
 \ear> celehrale their I 'ass(i\i-r with, oi" within an\- of thine own j^ates. but in the 
 
 nearly with, the Jews, while at olher ])lace wln'cli ^■ah web tliy God shall choo.se 
 
 time> their fourteenth of Abilj conies a lo make a habitation for J lis name." 
 
 month bihind. ( )ften, i)ers()n.s .seriously ill are carried in 
 
 their sick beds to the camp, and here not 
 
 i'Ki:i'AKi.xo loK nil.; i.'Kast oi' nn; infrequently babes are born. 
 
 I'AssovuR Prior to the date appointed, nuich time 
 
 A few days before the Passover the is spent in arranging the camp, rebuild- 
 
 Samaritan ghetto becomes the scene of ing the taiioor, or ground oven, used in 
 
 25 
 
26 
 
 THE XATTOXAL CKOGRAPHTC MAGAZTXE 
 
 roasting the sacrifice, and in procuring 
 the necessary wood and brush for fuel._ 
 The ascent to the camp spot on Geri- 
 zim requires usually an hour, whether 
 mounted or on foot. Nablus is left be- 
 hind by a ]Ydth leading up from its west- 
 ern suburbs, and passing tlie Samaritan 
 cemetery, an open field, its rocky and 
 stone-strewn surface overgrown with 
 weeds on which donkeys and cattle may 
 be seen browsing. The trail leads up in 
 short, stifif, winding courses through a 
 slight depression where olives and other 
 trees grow vigorously. The way soon 
 becomes so steep that beasts as well as 
 pedestrians are forced to halt at intervals 
 for breath. But the time is not wasted, 
 for the view of the town in its glaring 
 whiteness below, fringed with verdant 
 gardens and nestling between the twin 
 mountains, is a scene truly beautiful. 
 
 THE ENCAMPMENT OE THE ISRAELITES 
 
 Once up this steep ascent, the ridge is 
 gained. Along it the path, now fairly 
 level, leads to a slight depression in the 
 saddle, where suddenly the visitor sees 
 before him more than forty white Egyp- 
 tian and Damascus tents, the only ver- 
 itable Israelitish encampment of religious 
 significance in the world. 
 
 A pity it is that these more modern 
 tents are used instead of the primitive 
 goat-hair ones of the Bedouins, which 
 would more nearly, if not entirely, re- 
 semble those used during the Exodus. 
 
 To the east, towering above the en- 
 campment, is the loftiest of Gerizim's 
 peaks, crowned with ruins, a spot where 
 once temples stood. 
 
 It is Passover eve. Selected .sacrificial 
 lambs are contentedly wandering about, 
 uncon.scious of their impending fate. 
 They have been purchased some days in 
 advance of the Passover, in obedience to 
 the law, "in the tenth day of this month 
 they shall take to them every man a 
 lamb. . . . Your lamb shall be with- 
 out blemish, a male of the first year. . . . 
 And ye shall keep it up until the four- 
 teenth day of the same month." 
 
 But the scene is not cjuiet. Scores of 
 people, non-Samaritan, young and old, 
 have come up to "smell the air," for to 
 the Nablus people, and especially for the 
 
 lads, it is a day of excitement not to be 
 missed. 
 
 The camp ground is a small, elongated 
 field, the i)roperty of the Samaritans. 
 No special system is observed in pitching 
 the tents, beyond leaving a path between 
 the two uneven rows. Each family has 
 one tent ; a few have two. 
 
 At the eastern extremity of the camp 
 is the kinisch (synagogue), where the re- 
 ligious rites are observed while in cam]). 
 It is a small, oblong plot surrounded by 
 a low rubble wall except to the east, 
 where terrace above terrace, now much 
 dilapidated, rises in step form to the 
 mountain crest beyond. 
 
 THE TREXCII-ALT.\R 
 
 At the northern end of this space, or 
 prayer inclosure. a trench has been dug 
 and lined with uncut stone. "An altar of 
 earth shalt thou make unto me. . . . 
 And if thou wilt make an altar of stone, 
 thou shalt not build it of hewn stone ; for 
 if thou lift up thv tool upon it. thou hast 
 I)olluted it." 
 
 Across this altar two large copper ket- 
 tles, filled with water, are placed. Beyond 
 the northeastern end of the inclosure, 
 and higher than its level, is the tanoor, 
 or ground oven, for the sheep-roasting. 
 It is a pit, the depth equal to a man's 
 height, from five to six spans in diam- 
 eter, and lined in a circular form, like a 
 well, with rough stones. Here the rock 
 crops out so near the surface that, in 
 order to get the tanoor deep enough, it 
 has to be built partly above the surface 
 and a terrace filled in about it, thus of 
 necessity elevating it above the rest of 
 the space devoted to the Passover ob- 
 servances. 
 
 It is about three hours before dark as 
 we arrive, and since the Samaritan time 
 starts its count from sunset, let us forget 
 our \\^estern watches while we remain on 
 Gerizim's heights. 
 
 On approaching the camp, one of the 
 first things to attract our attention is the 
 cloud of smoke pouring forth from the 
 tanoor and curling skyward from beneath 
 the kettles, for five hours of steady heat 
 produced by burning "saris" brush and 
 thorn bushes are required before the 
 oven is ready for fleecing the sheep. 
 
Tin; SAivr c<)\i;.\A.\T 
 
 As the preparation of each lamb is completed much salt is rublx-d into the tk>h. "And 
 every oblation of thy meat offering shalt thou season with salt, neither shalt thon suffer the 
 salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking from thy meat offering" 
 
 27 
 
"ne;itiier shali^.ye break a bone thereof" 
 
 No forks, knives, or spoons are used at the feast and great care is observed not to break 
 a bone. The fingers are the Samaritan's only eating utensils on this occasion. 
 
 28 
 
I'ATIXC; Till'; I'ASSOVl'.K 
 
 The iiKiiibers of the ^ix fainihes collect, cacli aiduiid one of the 
 
 (Iri-n, and nursing hahies. 
 
 leii, women, chil- 
 
 To escape the confusion caused by the 
 swarms of sight-seers, boys ^^alloinng 
 about on their horses or urging on hizy 
 donkevs. hawkers calhng out in loud 
 voices as they ])eddle small cakes, 
 oranges, or sweetmeats, we follow a 
 friend, one of the priests, u]) to the crest 
 of Gerizim. This, to the Samaritan, is 
 the holiest ])art of the earth and crowded 
 with sacred spots and associations. 
 
 Tilli SACKED SITES OF GKRIZIM 
 
 Here one is shown the place where 
 Joshua built the first altar of sacrifice 
 
 with twelve stones taken from the Jor- 
 dan. Just above it are the foundations 
 of St. "Mary's Church, built by the Em- 
 peror Zeno and restored by Justinian. 
 Adjoining these ruins is a .siuall domed 
 mos(|ue. Sheik Ghanim, now iii a neg- 
 lected condition. A Moslem shrine and a 
 Christian church each in succession built 
 on the site from materials supplied by 
 the remains of a Roman temple ! 
 
 Proceeding southward along the out- 
 most ledge of the plateau, the priests 
 l)oint to spots where tradition says the 
 altars of .\dam and of Noah .stood. Be- 
 
 2Q 
 
YU SHALL LET NOTHING OF IT RKMAIxN UNTIL TllU MORNING 
 
 The feast itself is of short duration. After the meat has been eaten the high priest, 
 leaning picturesquely upon his staff, recites a short prayer. Every bit of bone remaining is 
 now collected and taken to the altar. "And that which remaineth until the morning ye shall 
 burn with fire." Note the two crouching figures in the foreground busily engaged in col- 
 lecting and eating fragments of the roasted meat. 
 
 .10 
 
Till- LAST iSK M'.l.l'i'lSII I'.l.non S \CM^: I l"IC' 
 
 M 
 
 low is tlic path 1)\ which Achim was ex- 
 pelled from i'aradise. after haviiij^ 1)ccn 
 created from the dust of Gcrizim. 
 
 r.eyond is the altar of Seth. a stone 
 circle with a ])avement of large uncut 
 stones (probably of megalithic orii;in). 
 
 Just beyond Seth's shrine, farilicr 
 south, is a ditch sunk into a rock i)rotni(l- 
 ing boldly from the mountain side, li i^ 
 the Samaritan rival to Blount M<iriali,iii 
 Jerusalem. Here the Samaritans hcliexe 
 that Abraham pre]xared to ofler up in 
 sacrifice his only son, and just behind 
 is the i)lace where the ram was found 
 caught in the thicket. 
 
 Almost at our feet, far below, in the 
 ])]ain of Askar (Sychar), lay Jacob's 
 well, concealed beneath an uncom]:)leted 
 church erected upon Crusader founda- 
 tions. Under the s]iell of the hour and 
 the scene, one could almost i)icture the 
 Samaritan woman pointing to Gerizim 
 and saying to Jesus, "Our fathers wor- 
 shiped in this mountain, and ye say that 
 in Jerusalem is the place where men 
 ought to worship" (John 4:20). 
 
 'nil-: SAMARITAN HOLY 01'' IIOLIi:S 
 
 Tn the center of the plateau is a large 
 flat rock which the Samaritans call 
 "Kuds el Akdas" ; for. according to their 
 tradition, it formed the Holy of Holie ; 
 of their temple. They approach it only 
 on certain festal occasions and with bared 
 feet. This rock at once calls to mem- 
 ory the rival Rock Moriah lying beneath 
 the gorgeous Dome of the Rock in 
 Jerusalem. 
 
 Although less extensive than that from 
 its taller mate. IN It. Ebal. which cuts oft 
 the distant Galilee view northward, the 
 scene from Gerizim is broad and grand. 
 In the spring the Plain of Moreh. or 
 Sychar. just at its feet, is a ixitchwork of 
 small fields in different stages of growth. 
 Near the village of Askar (v^ychar). 
 watered from a C(>i)ious spring, large 
 patches of onions and garlic llourish, 
 their green varying with that of the wav- 
 ing barley and wheat beyond and con- 
 trasting with the bare and rocky sur- 
 rounding hills. The elevations are dotted 
 with villages, and among them, to the 
 southward, is Awerta, where, under the 
 shade of a great tree, the t<imb'^ of 
 
 Aarons son and grandson, I'.leazer and 
 riiinehas, lie. 
 
 Directly to the east, se])arale(l from the 
 foreground by the dee]) Jordan chasm, rise 
 the Mountains of Gilead. Like Moab. of 
 which ihey are a continuation northward, 
 they are suffused with a mysterious and 
 fascinating translucent blue, resembling 
 some ]:)recious st(jne, and never cease to 
 ca])tivate the vision, especiall\- ui^on clear 
 (lays. The highest ]ieak, Jebel Osha, 
 crowned by the reputed tomb of Ilosea, 
 stands out conspicuously. T(jwering at 
 the head of the lordan \'alle\', Hernion, 
 with its perennial snow-cap, closes the 
 northern limit of this eastern view. 
 
 At the foot of .Mt. l^bal and bordering 
 upon the i)lain directly below us are the 
 excavations of ancient Shechem. Near 
 them a small white dome marks the tra- 
 ditional site of the tomb of Joseph. 
 Southward the view stretches over the 
 long mountain range which is the back- 
 bone of Pale.stine, rising between the 
 I'lKenician ])lain and the deep Jordan 
 chasm. When viewed from the Mediter- 
 ranean, the only break seen in the range 
 is this Valley of Nablus, while its rivals 
 in historic importance, Jerusalem and 
 Hebron, are hidden from view. ]\lizpah 
 is easily visible, but no glimpse of Jeru- 
 salem save a little of its suburbs under 
 favorable conditions. 
 
 Turning westward, the mountains and 
 hill country, dotted with villages, drop off' 
 gently into a plain which extends to the 
 l)lue Mediterranean. The ruins of C?esa- 
 rea, which under Ronriii rule became the 
 mo.-t important city and sea])ort in Pales- 
 tine, an(l often connected with the history 
 of the Apostles and the early Church, are 
 visible under favorable conditions; also 
 the orange groves of Jaffa. 
 
 Now the sun is soon setting, and we 
 sliall lia\-c- to huiT\- ])ack lo camp if we 
 ;ire to see all llu' service which com- 
 memorates the h'xodus from Ivgypt. 
 
 l•KA^ i:k I'osturk and kohks si.mii.au 
 
 TO MOSI-KMS 
 
 As we descend, white-robed figures are 
 seen collecting about the smoking trench- 
 altar. As they slowly gather one by one 
 they spread on the ground small prayer 
 cloths. n]-)on which (hey stand with bare 
 
TIllC KURA'T 01'l'i;uiXG 
 
 All the viscera are emptied of undigested food and then thoroughly salted and with the 
 fat from the inwards and kidneys are placed upon cloven pieces of wood laid across one end 
 of the trench-altar. The burning goes on slowly till the early morning hours. 
 
 2,2 
 
THE LAST ISRAELITISII BLOOD SACRIFICE 
 
 33 
 
 feet, having discarded their prayer shp- 
 pers. 
 
 While witnessing this ceremony we 
 were impressed by the striking resem- 
 blance to the Moslem garb and posture 
 during prayer. The clothing of the Sa- 
 maritan on this occasion is, in the main, 
 white, the outside garment being a jubbie 
 made of muslin, identical in cut with that 
 worn by Mohammedan religious sheiks 
 and by the old-style city Moslems, who 
 happily are not adopting western ideas 
 and modes of clothing. Around a dome- 
 shaped fez the priest winds a white tur- 
 ban, sometimes embroidered in amber 
 silk. 
 
 The older men of the laity use the same 
 turban, with the customary flat-topped 
 fez, while the young men and boys, 
 like the Mohammedan youths, wear no 
 turbans and are usually clad in white 
 shirts and drawers. The Samaritans, ex- 
 cept when in prayer, wear deep wine- 
 colored turbans, as the result of an edict 
 of one of the caliphs, to distinguish them 
 from their Mohammedan neighbors, for 
 originally they wore white and were often 
 mistaken for Moslem sheiks learned in 
 the Koran. Similarly, the Jews formerly 
 used black as a distinguishing hue. 
 
 Before all prayers, the Samaritan goes 
 through prescribed ablutions, washing 
 with water three times each the hands, 
 mouth, nose, face, ears, and feet, in this 
 order, and, like the Moslem, he spreads 
 the prayer cloth, which in some instances 
 has the mihrab design. 
 
 FACING THE HOLY OF HOLIES 
 
 Now all have congregated. The vener- 
 able high priest, Yakoub (Jacob), feeble 
 and infirm, clad in a pale-green jubbie, 
 takes his place in front of the congrega- 
 tion. The two second priests, Ishak 
 (Isaac) and Tewfik, stand slightly behind 
 the high priest. Then come in rows the 
 elders according to rank. Now all the 
 males of the community are present, the 
 smallest boys lining up at right angles to 
 the foremost ranks. 
 
 On every hand the walls and terraces 
 are jammed with onlookers, mostly boys 
 and youths of Nablus. 
 
 Facing the holy rock on the crest east- 
 ward, the worshipers now bow to the 
 earth in prayer, for the Samaritans al- 
 
 ways face their Holy of Holies wherever 
 they are. 
 
 The service begins with a prayer writ- 
 ten some seven centuries ago by the priest 
 Hassan el Suri. As it is repeated in con- 
 cert, the rows of the older men and the 
 priests kneel, or rather sit upon their 
 heels, with hands on the knees or out- 
 stretched to heaven whenever any peti- 
 tion is asked. They bow their heads in 
 unison, touching their foreheads to the 
 ground. Some of the younger men stand- 
 ing behind, also with outstretched hands, 
 join in the prayer. Throughout the serv- 
 ice it is most interesting to watch the tiny 
 little fellows, each beside his parent, while 
 all follow in the repetition with as much 
 earnestness as the grown-ups and entirely 
 unconscious of their surroundings. 
 
 Simultaneously with the beginning of 
 the service the sacrificial lambs have been 
 driven into the inclosure and wander 
 about at will, grazing upon the few tufts 
 of green or treading upon the high priest's 
 prayer rug till driven off. 
 
 The prayer is ended with a loud Amen ! 
 Whereupon all rise and remain perfectly 
 erect, while in silence they repeat another 
 prayer, called "Akid el Niyeh," a medi- 
 tation which denotes the consecration of 
 their souls to prayer. It consists of re- 
 peating the five articles of their creed — 
 belief in God, in Moses, the Pentateuch, 
 Mount Gerizim, and the Day of Judg- 
 ment. 
 
 This and the story of creation precede 
 all prayers. When ended a hymn is sung 
 in praise of Yahweh, the little fellows 
 stretching their mouths to their utmost 
 capacity, while the older leaders, turning 
 about from time to time, prompt and en- 
 courage the others to more fervent utter- 
 ances. All these prayers, readings, and 
 hymns are, of course, in the Samaritan 
 Hebrew, the oldest form of that language 
 in use. 
 
 Next, from the hand-written Penta- 
 teuch which each carries, they read in 
 unison 21 selections, in which Abraham. 
 Isaac, and Jacob are mentioned ("in mem- 
 ory of the fathers"). During the read- 
 ing each time God's name is mentioned 
 the men stroke their beards downward 
 thrice. Likewise whenever passages are 
 recounted enjoining them to remember 
 their God, thcv bow, swinging the body 
 
34 
 
 THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC AIAGAZINE 
 
 •-«»»- 
 
 JF J^ U/*. «i 
 
 P.K'I'KOI'IIl'lD 
 
 Among the Samaritans, as with most Ori- 
 entals, the parents of the children arrange the 
 matches. The hetrothal often takes place when 
 the hride and l)ridegroom are mere infants, 
 vvliile early marriages are the rnle. 
 
 forward from the hips, in token of rever- 
 ence and submission. 
 
 The high priest, who has been facing 
 the crest of Gerizim with the congrega- 
 tion, now turns about and repeats an anti- 
 phon, to which the leading men reply, and 
 in conclusion a psalm is sting. 
 
 The aged high priest now mounts the 
 fragment bf an ancient column and in a 
 low, cjuavering voice sings a short hymn. 
 
 With his eyes ui)on the setting sun. he 
 reads the first twelve verses of the twelfth 
 chapter of Exodus, wherein are given the 
 first commands regarding the observance 
 of the Passover. 
 
 KILI.ING THE SACRIFICE 
 
 In the meantime the youths and boys 
 have carried out the lambs and are hold- 
 ing them in a circle about the trench- 
 altar, where the caldrons of water are al- 
 ready boiling. 
 
 Over the lambs stand three slaughterers 
 with glistening knives of razor sharpness, 
 for, like the Jews, only those recognized 
 as knowing the laws regarding ^o,s7irr and 
 iaraf (ritually clean and unclean meat) 
 are allowed to do the killing. As the 
 reading proceeds, it is so arranged that, 
 as the passage "then shall all the convo- 
 cation of the assembly of Israel slay it be- 
 tween the two evenings" is spoken, at 
 the word "slay," with one deft stroke 
 downward, each of the three slaughterers 
 cuts one throat and jumps to the next. 
 
 In a few seconds all have been sacri- 
 ficed, the white clothing of the boys hold- 
 ing the struggling lambs being much be- 
 spattered with blood. Thus the passage 
 "between the evenings" the Samaritans 
 translate to mean between sunset and 
 dark, the twilight hour in these lands be- 
 ing very short. "Thou shalt sacrifice the 
 Passover in the evening, at the going in 
 of the Sim, at the very time thou camest 
 forth out of Egypt." 
 
 As the slaying commences the great 
 throngs of Samaritans and Gentiles cease 
 to crowd about the priest who is reciting 
 and press around the altar. All is a 
 veritable Babel, with prayers repeated, 
 shouting, singing, and clapping of hands. 
 
 The joy exhilDited is akin to that of 
 our children on Christmas morning or 
 when around the blazing tre?, and re- 
 minds one of the light-heartedness of the 
 Jews when celebrating the feast of Purim, 
 commemorating as it does the destruction 
 of their enemy, Haman. During all this 
 excitement some of the little Samaritan 
 girls and boys make their way among the 
 sacrifices, and the latter with their finger 
 ends dot their faces with datibs of the 
 paschal blood. 
 
 One of the voting j'jriests collects a 
 quantity of the fresh blood in a basin and 
 
THE LAST ISRAHLITISH BI.OOl^ SACKIllCE 
 
 with a bunch of wild thyme vigorously 
 stirs it ; then rushes away to put a dab of 
 it above each tent door. Upon returning 
 he empties the remainder into the tiery 
 ditch. "And ye shall take a bunch of hys- 
 sop, and dip it in the blood that i> in the 
 basin and strike the lintel, . . . ffjr 
 the Lord will pass through to smite the 
 Egyptians ; and when he seeth the blood 
 upon the lintel the Lord will pass oyer 
 (Passover) the door, and will not suffer 
 the destroyer to come unto your houses to 
 smite you" (Ex. 12:22, 23). 
 
 Incidentally it is of great interestthat 
 the thyme is used. Botanists have dift'ered 
 as to what herb the hyssop might be. 
 Here we learn that this wild thyme has 
 properties which keep the blood from 
 coagulating. Besides, this custom having 
 been handed down in unbroken succes- 
 sion, little if any room is left for doubt 
 as to its identity with hyssop. 
 
 UNLI-IAVENED nRI'AD AND BITTKR HERBS 
 
 While the lambs are giving their last 
 life struggle, youths pass among the peo- 
 ple bearing large trays piled high with 
 bitter herbs, a sort of wild lettuce that 
 grows on Gerizim, rolled in thin sheets of 
 unleavened bread. Rolls are distributed 
 among non-Samaritans as a token of 
 friendship. 
 
 As the killing of the lambs commemo- 
 rates the sacrifice that saved the first-born 
 of the Hebrews from the fate of their 
 Egyptian neighbors, so here also the eat- 
 ing of the bitter herbs and unleavened 
 bread i.s, a reminder of the bitterness of 
 the Egvptian tyrannv and the haste with 
 whicli 'Israel left the land of the Pha- 
 raohs. "And they baked unleavened bread 
 of the dough they brought forth out of 
 Egypt, for "it -was not leavened; because 
 they were thrust out of Egypt and could 
 not tarry, neither had they prepared for 
 themselves any victuals" (Ex. 12 :39). 
 The bread is identical with that used 
 by the Bedouin and journeying peasants, 
 since the baking ai)])aratus is simple and 
 portable, and quite likely is akin to that 
 used during the Exodus. The loaf re- 
 sembles a gigantic but very thin pancake, 
 being ])liable and not crisp like the "mot- 
 sis," or unleavened bread used by the 
 Jews at Passover. 
 
 M the sacrificial altar the older men 
 
 A SAMARITAN BABY 
 
 When pliotographed, this child was the pic- 
 ture of health. Shortl.v after, he became ill and 
 the mother always attributed the misfortune 
 to tlie "evil eye" of the camera or of the 
 photographer. 
 
 and some of the priests, who now .stand 
 about those to whom is delegated the 
 task of dressing the lambs, have kept up 
 the reading of the story of the Exodus 
 as far as to IMiriam's song of triumph. 
 Meanwhile, as soon as the lambs have 
 become lifeless, boiling water from the 
 caldrons is poured over them, while sev- 
 eral boys and men crowd about in the 
 semi-darkness and pluck oft' the wool in- 
 stead of skinning the victims, the object 
 being to protect thcT flesh while roasting 
 in the ground oven. 
 
 TIIE RITI-.\L INSPI-XTION- 
 
 Xext the ritual inspection takes place, 
 for as each lamb is fleeced it is suspended 
 
SAMAPaTANS AT PRAYER ON TIIK KVK OE TIIK PIT.GRIM \GF 
 During the entire week followino- the Fen^f- of fi.o td , r. 
 
 camped upon Mount Gcri.ini On the hst H . f f Passover, the Samaritans remain en- 
 pilgrimage to the crest of the sacred mount l{.f° /''^f•"'■''";P'"^"t ^'^^^ begin at dawn a 
 ever, the mpn spread their praver c oths "mi rf^oZV ^"^J""''^^ 7" ^^'^ Pil^rimage. how- 
 in silence, after which, in a loud voice ?hev r^nl • ' "■'''^ ^"^^'^" '^""'y ^^ the creation 
 first quarter of the Book of Exodus endim^viH .hi T''°" '.''', ^°^^ °^ ^^"^^^^^ ^"^' the 
 from Hgypt. -l^xouus, cndmg with the story of the Passover and the flight 
 
 36 
 
ox GKKIZI.M 
 
 COLLKCTING I'OK KVIvNING PRAVKK; 
 Before all pravcrs the Samaritan observes prescrilicd ablutions, almost identical xvith the 
 present customs of the Moslems, an.l like them he now spreads Ins prayer cloth. 
 
 hv its hind legs on a long pole resting on 
 the slioulders of two of the men. The 
 work of removing the offal, the heart, 
 liver, and lungs is done by lantern light. 
 Great care is taken throughout this in- 
 sjK'ction not to mutilate a hone, for the 
 command "neither shall ye break a bone 
 thereof" is strictly oljscrvcd. Any car- 
 cass found ritualiy unfit is put on the 
 burning altar and constmie(l with the 
 offal. 'Phis, however, is a rare exception. 
 The last time it happened was some five 
 years ago, when a lamb was found minus 
 a kidnev. 
 
 Unlike the Jews, who will not eat of 
 the hind (|uarters of any animal until all 
 the sinews have been entirely removed, 
 the Samaritans claim to know exactly the 
 cord the angel touched while wrestling 
 with Jacob at the ford of the Jabbok. and 
 now "a deeii incision is made in the t1ank 
 and it is taken out. "And Jacob was left 
 alone; and there wrestled a man Avith 
 him. And when be saw that be prevailed 
 not against him, he touched the hollow 
 of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's 
 thigh was out of joint. . . . There- 
 fore the children of Israel cat not of the 
 
 37 
 
88 
 
 THE XATlOx\AL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 
 
 A f . JT S^^^ARTTANS ASSKMBLED UPON THE SACRED ROCK 
 
 ^^^^^^;'e^n':^{::tz^^ ^ vs^^-y^rr - ^^^ -. .sen 
 
 Sinew which shrank, which is upon the 
 hollow of the thigh, unto this day" (Gen 
 32:24-32). ^ ^^^"• 
 
 . Deep gaslies are made in the fleshy parts 
 m order that the salt mav penetrate 
 while the right shoulder is cut off to be 
 roasted on a separate spit, being a priestlv 
 portion Pieces of the head a're Tlso r^ 
 
 ofXn 'J^r'^f^' Only the males 
 of the pnestjy family and women of the 
 same blood, if unmarried into other fam- 
 ilies may partake of them. "And this 
 shall be the priest's due from the people 
 from them that oft'er a sacrifice, whether 
 It be ox or sheep; and they shall give 
 
 cheeks '' ^'"''*' '^'' '''°"^'^'' ""^ ^^^^'^^^'o 
 Now an oaken spit, the length beino- 
 slightly greater than the depth of the 
 ground oven, is thrust thiugh each 
 dressed lamb lengthwise, the head hano-. 
 mg downward. To prevent the meat slip- 
 Pmg oft, a wooden pin is driven throucjh 
 the spit three or four spans above the 
 lower end, and on it rests a cross-board 
 
 As the preparation of each lamb is 
 completed, much salt is rubbed into the 
 Hesli._ And every oblation of thy meat 
 offering Shalt thou season with salt, nei- 
 ther shalt thou suffer the salt of the cove- 
 nant of thy God to be lacking from thy 
 meat offering: and with all thy offerings 
 thou Shalt offer salt" (Lev. 2. -'13). 
 
 THE BURNT OFFERING 
 . This mandate is also closelv observed 
 in the matter of the burnt offering for 
 the viscera as collected are emptied of 
 nndigested food and then thoroughlv 
 salted and with the fat from the inwards 
 and the kidneys are placed upon cloven 
 pieces of wood laid across one end of the 
 ditch-altar, and the fuel under it now is 
 Ignited from the fire beneath the cal- 
 (^rons. The burning goes on slowly till 
 the early morning hours. 
 
 But long before these preparations have 
 been completed the readings have come 
 to an end, while all those at work anS the 
 onlookers shout incessantly. 'AVe call and 
 
THE LAST ISRAHLITISH BLOOD SACRILICE 
 
 HANDS OUTSPREAD TO IIKAVEX 
 
 "And it was so. that when Solomon had made an end of praying all this prayer and sup- 
 plication unto the Lord, he rose from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread np to 
 heaven." It \yas then the custom with the Hebrew nation, as still with the small remnant 
 of the Samaritans, to spread forth the hands toward heaven. One object entirely out of 
 harmony with the picturesqueness of this scene is the 20th century steamer chair in the 
 center of the group of worshipers. It appealed to the Samaritans, however, as a convenient 
 resting place for the sacred scroll in preference to the quaint but clumsy wooden stands of 
 the svnagogue. 
 
 we affirm, there is no God btit God." In 
 fact, they aim to keep this tip all night, 
 btit there are numerous interruptions. 
 
 Once the service has come to an end. 
 all those not engaged bow 'forward and 
 kiss the hand of the high priest, saying 
 in Hebrew. "Every year may yoti have 
 peace." lie in turn gives each his bene- 
 diction and retires to his tent. 
 
 HOW TTTTv ^n^\T is cookkd 
 
 It is now only al)Out four hours before 
 midnight and the sides of the ground 
 oven are glowing with heat. The white- 
 robed figures, whh much ^houting and 
 commotion, bring the spits forward, 
 holding them in a circle about the fiery 
 pit. With loud voices they repeat, "Hear 
 O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord," 
 and passages of Scriptin-c in Avhich they 
 are admonished to observe diligently the 
 law. 
 
 Suddenly the spits are sinmltaneously 
 lowered into the oven and a wickerwork 
 lid made of sticks placed over the top. 
 the spits protruding slightly and so held 
 in place. Grass, sod, and mud, previ- 
 ously collected for the purpose, are placed 
 over this, closely sealing the lid, so that 
 no smoke or steam can escape, and thus 
 extinguishing the fire; but the heat of the 
 stones is sufficient to roast the tender 
 mutton. "Eat not of it raw. nor sodden 
 at all with water, but roast with fire ; his 
 head with his legs, and with the purte- 
 nance thereof" (Ex. 12:9). 
 
 TIIIJ EVENING I'RAVIvR 
 
 Once these duties are over the men 
 again collect for i)rayer. Tt is now well 
 into the night. Tieginning. as usual, in 
 silence, with their creed and the repeti- 
 tion of the story of creation, Pentateuch 
 selections jiertaining to the Passover and 
 
40 
 
 THE XATTONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 
 
 ■wf^»::rti^:::6£i 
 
 SA.MAKiT.\:\s CAKi.xr, i: .\ij;a\ .L;>i UD lrhad 
 
 The bread is made with flour quickly kneaded with water only and baked on a convex 
 disk of sheet-iron. It is identical with that used by the Bedouin and journeying- peasants. 
 vSince the baking apparatus is so simple and portable, the bread probably is much the same as 
 that used during the Exodus. The loaf resembles a gigantic but very thin prmcake. 
 
 the patriarchs are read. Between the 
 first selections hymns are sung. 
 
 A lengthy rotation now takes place: 
 Joshua's prayer, one that Samaritan tra- 
 dition asserts he was in the habit of 
 using; singing the song of Moses at the 
 Red Sea, and the "Angel's Song." The 
 main feature, however, is the clothing of 
 the high ])riest or his representative with 
 a silken cloth. The priest now presents 
 
 to view one of the ancient Pentatetichs. 
 one in book form, written on parchment 
 It is an impressive sight when these 
 white figures in the bright moonlight, 
 kneeling thrice and prostrating them- 
 selves to the ground, always toward their 
 1 loly of Holies, repeat in unison, "It is a 
 night to be nnich observed unto the Lord 
 for bringing them out of the land of 
 Egypt; this is that night of the Lord to 
 
THE LAST ISRAELITISH BLOOD SACRIFICE 
 
 41 
 
 be observed of all the children of Israel 
 in their generations." 
 
 Thus the three Passover services are 
 ended. The first, before the lambs are 
 slaughtered, is called "Salat el Dabih" 
 (Sacrificial prayers) ; the next, while the 
 fleecing is taking place, "Salat el Jismeet" 
 (Scalding prayers), and "Salat el Garub" 
 (Sunset prayers). Under ordinary cir- 
 cumstances prayers are always said at 
 even, but since the Passover service is 
 the more important, the evening prayer 
 is unavoidably delayed. 
 
 where; are the women? 
 
 During the afternoon and the early 
 evening the women have played no role 
 in the scene. They have kept to their 
 tents, while those unable to make their 
 ablutions, and therefore prohibited from 
 eating the Passover, are confined in one 
 tent. 
 
 Like the older but now passing Jewish 
 and native Christian custom, the Samari- 
 tan women do not strictly hide from men. 
 but only veil when on the street and 
 keep out of the way when strangers are 
 present. 
 
 The present paper is written after hav- 
 ing witnessed the Passover ceremony 
 four times — twice before the great world 
 conflict and twice during it. The first 
 occasion was when the author was a 
 youth, the second in 1914- 
 
 On both of those occasions the women 
 were hardly seen, eating their portion of 
 the sacrifice in the tents, some of the little 
 girls alone showing themselves. During 
 the years of the war this phase of the 
 scene materially changed. There were no 
 tourists or professors, with large cork 
 hats and western clothing; no note books 
 and pencils ; no inquisitive questions to 
 embarrass the women or to mar the an- 
 cient atmosphere of the spectacle. 
 
 Once the sacrifice had been slain, the 
 crowds from Nablus, smaller these years 
 than usual, descended and the Samaritans 
 were left alone. In the moonlight there 
 was no sight nor sound foreign to the 
 surroundings to distract one's attention, 
 and the imagination was given rein. The 
 conception wandered back thousands of 
 years, and one only awoke with a start to 
 the realitv of living in the twentieth cen- 
 turv when a sudden flash of magnesium 
 
 powder lit up the sky and then left all in 
 deep darkness. 
 
 The evening prayers over, some retire 
 to rest in their tents, some pray or read 
 to keep awake, while not a few sit around 
 the smouldering altar watching that every 
 scrap is burned. 
 
 No sooner are we left alone with the 
 Samaritans than the women begin to ap- 
 pear. They whose lives are so immersed 
 in small things that they seldom leave 
 their homes, the older women having no 
 education at all. find great pleasure in the 
 freedom of sitting around the sacrificial 
 altar, conversing in their native tongue 
 with Mrs. Whiting, and enthusiastically 
 displaying their babies, awake or asleep, 
 at this late hour. 
 
 OPKxiNG the; ro.vsting pit 
 
 Thus the three to four hours between 
 initting the lambs to roast and the time 
 of the feast roll quickly by. Incidentally 
 we retire to our tent and dine on roast 
 lamb, killed and prepared by peasants of 
 the neighboring villages in identically the 
 same style as the paschal lambs, except 
 that the skin is removed, for no non- 
 Samaritan is ever allowed to partake of 
 the sacrifice. "And the Lord said to 
 Moses and Aaron. This is the ordinance 
 of the Passover: There shall no stranger 
 eat thereof." 
 
 It is because of this injunction that the 
 Samaritans so scrupulously collect aiid 
 burn any scraps cut away during the in- 
 spection, and that the burning altar is so 
 rigorously guarded. 
 
 Even after the ceremony is at an end. 
 the ditch and oven are filled with stones 
 lest any remaining charred bone or frag- 
 ment fall into the possession of a Gentile. 
 
 As the midnight hour approaches, the 
 sleepers are awakened by callers and sud- 
 denly the camp is again astir. The youths 
 with hands and hoe remove the seal from 
 the oven, and clouds of steam pour out : 
 so that, even with the aid of a lantern, 
 little can be seen. It is interesting to no- 
 tice the air of hurry, although time is of 
 no consequence. The cover is now lifted 
 with much shouting and screaming, and 
 the same prayer said as when the lambs 
 were placed in the oven. At once the 
 spits are withdrawn and closely guarded 
 while the meat is slipped otT, each lamb 
 
WAVING THE SACRED SCROLL, O.XL OF THE CEREMONIES DURING THE SAMARITAN 
 
 PILGRIMAGE TO THE HOLY ROCK, WHICH FOLLOWS THE 
 
 CELEBRATION OF THE PASSOVER 
 
 exposed toward .„e dev'o'.ees: w.,o"lS-e rt^-frS a:,d"';/e:lt'i,rr ^fe,!?!. '''''"''"' '^ 
 
 42 
 
SAMARITAN PILGRIMS AT PRA^•|:R IX I'ROXT OF Tllli llOI.V ROCK 
 
 During the greater p;irt of tlic service the !iii;li priest with staff in hand stands facing 
 the sacred scroll, which has been placed before the Rock, lie leads the congregation in 
 reading. 
 
 4.3 
 
44 
 
 THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 
 
 THE BIBLICAL SALUTATION : PALESTINE 
 
 Embracing one another, the head is put on the other's shoulder or neck, the latter being 
 bent forward, and in doing so the cheek or neck is kissed, alternating from one shoulder to 
 the other. "And Esau ran to meet him (Jacob) and embraced him, and fell upon his neck, 
 and kissed him." The Samaritans are the tallest people in Palestine. 
 
 into one of the great copper pans, the 
 shoulders being put with the portion for 
 the priestly family and taken to the 
 prayer inclosure, just beyond the still 
 burning altar. 
 
 EATING THE MEATS OF THE PASSOVER 
 
 Some of the flesh, being overdone, falls 
 from the spits, and one of the men volun- 
 teers to rescue it. Winding bits of sack- 
 ing about his hands to prevent blister- 
 ing them, he is lowered into the oven. 
 Quicklv the meat is collected in a basket. 
 
 Only two men have remained near the 
 pit, and they become so engrossed with 
 the meat basket that the man in the pit is 
 temporarily forgotten. The heat is more 
 than anyone can endure longer than a 
 few seconds, but the shouts of the unfor- 
 tunate go unheeded until a Gentile sends 
 his fellows to the rescue. 
 
 The members of the six Samaritan 
 families have now collected each around 
 one of the lambs — men. women, children, 
 and nursing babies. The elders and the 
 priests arrive, each girded about his 
 
THE LAST ISRAELITISH BLOOD SACRIFICE 
 
 45 
 
 outer clothing, shod 
 and bearing a staff 
 
 or cane in imitation 
 of the equipment on 
 the flight from Egypt. 
 
 Now the meat is 
 
 sprinkled with minced 
 bitter herbs, and straw 
 
 trays of unleavened 
 
 bread are placed at 
 
 hand. The high priest, 
 
 in the midst, in qua- 
 vering tones, says : 
 
 "In the name of God 
 
 I call, 'Heaf O Israel, 
 
 our God is one God,' " 
 
 etc.. while all voices 
 
 join in singing an an- 
 cient Exodus hymn in 
 
 which mention is made 
 
 of the multitudes of 
 
 Israel that left Egypt 
 
 as the issue of only 
 
 seventy souls who 
 
 went down into that 
 
 land in the days of 
 
 Joseph. 
 
 Every one now be- 
 gins to eat ravenously, 
 
 jmlling the meat from 
 
 the bones with the 
 
 fingers. No forks or 
 
 knives are used, and 
 
 great care is observed 
 not to break a bone. 
 The flesh is consumed 
 c[uickly, for the de- 
 vout are truly hungry, 
 
 having eaten little sub- 
 stantial food during 
 the previous day. 
 "And they shall eat 
 the flesh in that night, 
 roast with fire, and unleavened bread ; 
 and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. 
 And thus .shall ye eat it : with your loins 
 girdled, your shoes on your feet, and 
 your staff in your hand : and ye shall eat 
 it in haste: it is the Lord's Pas.sovcr" 
 (Ex. 12:8 and 1 1 ). 
 
 Those who are unable to leave their 
 tents because of sickness have a portion 
 sent to them, and, no matter how ill, 
 they always ]xirtake of a little. Even the 
 nursingbabies have their li])s touched with 
 a morsel, all in literal compliance with 
 
 the: sacrkd scroli. of the; Samaritans uskd on gi-kizim 
 (rear view) 
 
 The scroll is contained in a copper case inlaid with silver and 
 gold, with designs representhig the temple sacrilkial altar, table of 
 shewbread, the golden censer, cup of manna, and other temi)lc 
 furnishings. 
 
 the command that any one refraining 
 from eating it shall be cut off from Israel. 
 Within a few minutes the meal is over 
 and the high priest, leaning picturesquely 
 upon his staff', recites a short prayer. 
 Every bit and bone remaining is now col- 
 lected and taken to the altar. Across the 
 end where the offal has been burned the 
 wnckerwork oven cover is now thrown, 
 and upon it all the spits are piled, to- 
 gether with the bones and leavings. A 
 "fire is lighted under them. Every person 
 now waslics with hot water from the ket- 
 
Drawn by A. H. Eumstead 
 
 A MAP OF ASIA MINOR AND THE HOLY LAND 
 
 Showing the home cities of the Seven Wise Men 'of ancient ^Greece (see the succeeding 
 article) and the land of the Samaritans. (Note, in the small inset map, the relative location 
 of Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal and the historic cities, ancient and modern, which 
 have clung to their slopes — see text, pages 1-21). 
 
 ties, pouring it over his hands from 
 ewers, so that it also flows into the ditch- 
 altar, lest even this infinitesimal qitan- 
 tity of the sacrifice should fail to be 
 destroyed by fire. "And ye shall let 
 nothing of it remain until the morning; 
 and that which remaineth until the morn- 
 ing, ye shall burn with fire" (Ex. 12 : 10), 
 
 Thus the sacrifice and ceremony com- 
 memorating the Exodus are ended. 
 
 Each celebrant now goes to his tent 
 for a few hours' sleep. Early the next 
 morning the congregation again gathers 
 for prayers, the day being observed as a 
 Sabbath ; the first day of the feast of un- 
 leavened bread. 
 
 As the onlooker retires to his tent or 
 descends the path to Nablus in the hush 
 of early morning, the scene, brightly lit 
 by the moon, is one not to be forgotten. 
 
 ;-■■ From; beyond the camp a great white 
 cloud of smoke curls skyward. Now 
 and then a red flame licks the skv or a 
 ^\■hite, ghost-like figure adds some fuel. 
 It is a picture which cannot be re]M-o- 
 duced with the camera ; only to the mind's 
 eye can it be painted. The wood-cuts 
 and steel-engravings found in our old 
 family Bibles, where the Israelitish camps 
 are shown with the pillar of cloud and 
 fire, come nearest the present reality, but 
 are lacking in color and atmosphere. 
 
 As we turn for one last glance at the 
 moon-lit camp and the redder glow of 
 the flame with the pillar of smoke, we 
 cannot but realize that here we have seen 
 the eating and burning of the last Hebrew 
 blood sacrifice, and there comes the 
 thought that it may never be seen again, 
 for the Samaritans are a dying people. 
 
 46 
 
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 The last Israelitish blood sacrifice 
 
 Princeton Theological Seminary-Speer Library 
 
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