The Eastern or Hauranitic Druses are less known, and preserve their ancient customs and characteristics perhaps more perfectly than their western brethren. The date at which they first settled in the district is not ascertained; but for many generations the Hauran has been the chosen refuge of rebels and malcontents from the west, and. has consequently increased its population at the expense of the Lebanon. The same process of emigration is still going on; and the Turkish Government has to be careful not to press too heavily on the defaulting Druse of the west, lest it needlessly augment the power of the more independent community. The number in the Hauran was stated by Cyril Graham at 7000 men in 1857; at present it must be much nearer 10,000. The principal town is Kunawat, the residence of the most influential of the Ockals.

In many respects the Druses are a mysterious people, and, in spite of the great additions made to our knowledge in the present century, many important questions in regard to them still await solution. Of their origin and ethnographical affinity no absolutely certain information has been obtained. Though they speak Arabic with a correctness that would do credit to the people of Mecca, and their feudal aristocracy refer to their Arab descent with feelings of pride, it is pretty generally agreed that, whatever may be true of certain families, the main body of the people does not belong to the Semitic family. Mr Cyril Graham regards them as of Indo-Teutonic race, and describes them as “fair-haired, of light complexion, strong and well-made, and often as tall as northern Europeans.” Their own tradition vaguely connects them with China, where they firmly believe that to this day there exist numerous adherents of their creed, and whence they expect the advent of their promised deliverer. The mere fact that they possess a knowledge of the Celestial Empire in such contrast to the geographical ignorance of the other Syrian races is in itself remarkable enough; though it would be rash to assert that it is practically significant. According to an opinion mentioned by Sandys, and pretty often to be met with in the older accounts, they derive their name from a count of Dreux, and are mainly the descendants of a band of the crusaders who were left behind, and finally forgot their country and language and creed; but this story is disproved by the fact that allusion is made to their existence at an earlier date by Benjamin of Tudela.

A more modern theory identifies them with one or other of the tribes introduced into Northern Syria by Esarhaddon in the 7th century b.c. If its generally but not universally received derivation from Ismael Darazi be accepted, their present name, which is properly Durus, dates no further back than about the 11th century, and throw»

no light on the question of affinity; and just as little is to be learned from the various explanations current among themselves—those put in possession (of the faith), from the Arabic verb dansa ; those who read the book of Hamze, as if from darasa; the clever ones, from Durs ; the shields, from Turs, and so on. It is well known, however, that the district which they now occupy has over and again received extraneous additions to its population; and, in the absence of more precise information, it seems at least certain that, whatever may have been the original nucleus of his race, the Druse of the present day carries in his veins the mingled blood of a various ancestry, in like manner as his religion combines the products of many different intellectual moments. The presence of a Kurdish element is undoubted, and its influence may probably be traced in the peculiar position granted to the women.

The rise and progress of the religion which gives unity to the race can be stated with considerable precision. As a system of thought it may be traced back in some of its leading principles to the Shiite sect of the Batenians, or Batiniya, whose main doctrine was that “every outer has its inner, and every passage in the Koran an allegorical sense,” and to the Karamatians, or Karamita, who pushed this method to its furthest limits; as a creed it is somewhat more recent. In the year 386 a.h. (996 a.d.) Hakim Biamrillahi (i.e., he who judges by the command of God), the sixth of the Fatimite caliphs, began to reign; and during the next twenty-five years he indulged in a tyranny at once so terrible and so fantastic that little doubt can be entertained of his insanity. As madmen sometimes do, he believed that he held direct intercourse with the deity, or even that he was an incarnation of the divine intelligence; and in 407 a.h., or 1016 a.d., his claims were made known in the mosque at Cairo, and supported by the testimony of Ismael Darazi. The people showed such bitter hostility to the new gospel that Darazi was compelled to seek safety in flight; but even in absence he was faithful to his god, and succeeded in winning over the ignorant inhabitants of Lebanon. According to Druse authority this great conversion took place in the year 410 a.h. Meanwhile the endeavours of the caliph to get his divinity acknowledged by the people of Cairo continued. The advocacy of Hasan ben Haidara Fergani was without avail; but in 408 a.h. the new religion found a more successful apostle in the person of Hamze ben Ali ben Ahmed, a Persian mystic, feltmaker by trade, who became Hakim’s vizier, gave form and substance to his creed, and by his ingenious adaptation of its various dogmas to the prejudices of existing sects finally enlisted an extensive body of adherents. In 411 the caliph was assassinated by contrivance of his sister Sitt Almulk; but it was given out by Hamze that he had only withdrawn for a season, and his followers were encouraged to look forward with confidence to his triumphant return. Darazi, who had acted independently in his apostolate, was branded by Hamze as a heretic, and thus, by a curious anomaly, he is actually held in detestation by the very sect wh : ch probably bears his name. The propagation of the faith, in accordance with Hamze’s initiation, was undertaken by Ismael Ben Muhammed Temimi, Muhammed ben Wahab, Abulkhair Selarna ben Abdalwahab ben Samurri, and Moktana Bohaeddin, the last of whom was known by his writings from Constantinople to the borders of India. In two letters addressed to the emperor Constantine VIII. and Michael the Paphlagonian he endeavours to prove that the Christian Messiah reappeared in the person of Hamze.

The full exposition of the Drusian creed thus brought into existence, even in the somewhat imperfect state of

European knowledge in regard to many of its details, would require a volume of considerable size: the following is a summary of its main doctrines. The Muahhidin or Unitarians, as the Druses call themselves, believe that there is one and only one God, indefinable, incomprehensible, ineffable, passionless. He has made himself known to men by ten successive incarnations in the persons of Ali, Albar, Alya, Moill, Kaim, Moezz, Aziz, Abu Zechariah, Mansur, and Hakim. No further incarnation can take place: in Hakim a final appeal was made to mankind, and after the door of mercy had stood open to all for twenty-six years, it was finally and for ever closed. When the tribulation of the faithful has reached its height, Hakim will reappear to conquer the world and render his religion supreme. The first of the creatures of God is the Universal Intelligence, impersonated in Hamze at the time of the last incarnation; he is the creator of all subordinate beings, and he alone has immediate communion with the Deity. Next in rank to him, and along with him supporting the throne of the Almighty, are four archangels, the Soul, the Word, the Right Wing, and the Left Wing, who were embodied respectively in Ismael Darazi, Mohammed ben Wahab, Selarna ben Abdalwahal, and Bohaeddin; and beneath these again are spiritual agents of various ranks The number of human beings admits neither of increase nor of decrease, and a regular process of metempsychosis is maintained. The souls of the virtuous pass after death into the bodies of Chinese Druses; those of the wicked may be degraded to the level of camels or dogs. All previous religions are mere types of the true, and their sacred books and observances are to be interpreted allegorically. As the admission of converts is no longer permitted, the faithful are enjoined to keep their doctrines secret from the profane; and in order that their allegiance may not bring them into danger, they are allowed to make outward profession of whatever religion is dominant around them. To this latter indulgence is to be attributed the apparent indifferentism with which they join the Mahometan in his prayers and ablutions, or sprinkle themselves with holy water in the Maronite churches. Obedience is required to the seven great commandments of Hamze, the first and greatest of which enjoins truth in words (but only of Druse towards Druse); the second, watchfulness over the safety of the brethren; the third, absolute renunciation of every other religion; the fourth, complete separation from all who are in error; the fifth, recognition of the unity of “Our Lord” in all ages; the sixth, complete resignation to his will; and the seventh, complete obedience to his orders. Prayer, however, is regarded as an impertinent interference with the Creator; while at the same time, instead of the fatalistic predestination cf Mahometanism, the freedom of the human will is distinctly maintained. Not only is the charge of secrecy rigidly obeyed in regard to th≥ alien world, but full initiation into the deeper mysteries of the creed is permitted only to a special class designated Ockals or Akals—probably from the Arabic Λkl, intelligence—in contradistinction from whom all other members of the Druse community, whatever may be their position or attainments, are called Djahel or Ignorant. About 15 per cent, of the adult population belong to this order. Admission is granted to any Druse of either sex who expresses willingness to conform to the laws of the society, and during a year of probation gives sufficient proof of sincerity and stability of purpose. There appears to be no formal distinction of rank among the various members; and though the emir Beshir Shehaab used to appoint a sheik of the Ockals, the person thus distinguished obtained no primacy over his fellows. Exceptional influence depends on exceptional sanctity or ability. All are required to abstain from tobacco and wine; the women are to wear neither gold nor silver, nor silk, nor brocade; and although neither celibacy nor retirement from the affairs of the world is either imperative or customary, unusual respect is shown to those who voluntarily submit themselves to ascetic discipline. While the Ockals mingle frankly with the common people, and are remarkably free from what in Europe would be called clerical pretension, they are none the less careful to maintain their privileges. They are distinguished by the wearing of a white turban, emblematic of the purity of their life. Their food must be purchased with money lawfully acquired; and lest they should unwittingly partake of any that is ceremonially unclean, they require those djahels whose hospitality they share to supply their wants from a store set apart for their exclusive use. The ideal Ockal is grave, calm, and dignified, with an infinite capacity of keeping a secret, and a devotion that knows no limits to the interests of his creed. On Thursday evening, the commencement of the weekly day of rest, the members of the order meet together in the various districts, probably for the reading of their sacred books and consultation on matters of ecclesiastical or political importance. Their meeting-houses, holowês, halwes, or khalwas, are plain, unornamented edifices, usually built in secluded spots, and not unfrequently on isolated eminences. “All have property attached to them, the revenues of which are consecrated to the relief of the poor and the demands of hospitality. In one at Necha, in the Shoof, a lamp is kept burning night and day.” Even while the Ockals are assembled, strangers are readily enough admitted to the holowês; but as long as they are present the ordinary ceremonies are neglected, and the Koran takes the place of the Drusian scriptures. In has been frequently asserted that the image of a calf is kept in a niche, and traces of phallic and gynaecocratic worship have been vaguely suspected; but there is no authentic information in support of either statement. The calf, if calf there be, is probably a symbol of the execrable heresy of Darazi, who is frequently styled the calf by his orthodox opponents. Ignorance is the mother of suspicion as well as of devotion; and accordingly the Christian inhabitants of the Lebanon have long been persuaded that the Druses in their secret assemblies are guilty of the most nefarious practices. Of this allegation, so frequently repeated by European writers, there seems to be little evidence; and it is certain that the sacred books of the religion inculcate what is on the whole a high-toned morality. Colonel Churchill, in his last volume, asserts that while the majority of the people follow the pure teaching of Bohaeddin, there still exists a party which indulges in the “dark and unscrupulous libertinism of Darazi.”

The Druses, like the Arabs, have a high reputation for hospitality, and they give special welcome to the English, whom they regard as their particular friends and allies. Whoever presents himself at their door in the quality of a suppliant or passenger is sure of being entertained with food and lodging in the most generous manner. Volney often saw the lowest peasants give their last morsel of bread to the hungry traveller; and their only answer to the accusation of imprudence was, “God is great and liberal, and all men are brethren.” Beggary at the same time is altogether unknown among the common people, and the Ockals are not a mendicant order. It would be easy to illustrate by many a striking incident the fidelity with which they keep inviolate the pledge tacitly given to the guest who has eaten of their bread and salt. Nor is their hospitality unassociated with other virtues. “There was nothing,” snys Lord Carnarvon, “which surprised me more than the self-possession, the delicate appreciation of wishes and feelings, the social ease, and to a great extent the refinement which distinguished the conversation and manners of those amongst the Druse chiefs whom I then met, and on which no drawing-room of London or Paris could have conferred an additional polish;” and a similar testimony is borne by Mr Chasseaud, who was brought up in the city of Beyrout, and had abundant opportunities of observation. There is a darker side, indeed, to the picture; though, after all, while his merits are in the main peculiarly his own, the Druse only gives additional intensity to the ruthlessness and revengefulness of so many of the Eastern nations.

Polygamy is not permitted. Among the old feudal families intermarriage is often restricted to one or two houses; and the daughter of a sheik will rather remain a virgin than bring disgrace on her blood by a mesalliance. The marriage of near relations is naturally the consequence; but, whatever may have been formerly the case, it no longer appears to be the custom for brother and sister to wed. All prenuptial arrangements on the part of the woman are conducted by the father, who cannot act, however, without her consent. On the wedding day a number of Ockals and a few of the bridegroom’s relations go to the bride’s house; the marriage contract is drawn up and read; and the bride, completely enveloped in a veil, is led off on horseback to her husband, accompanied by her friends, both male and female. As she approaches her future home, the bridegroom’s party sallies forth, and a mock contest, with blank cartridge, ensues. Ultimately the bride is successful; shouts of welcome follow her into the harem, where she is received and caressed by the women of her husband’s family. After a little she is left alone; the bridegroom enters, lifts her veil, takes his first glance at his wife, replaces it, and withdraws. The revels continue for several days. Divorce is freely allowed; but when once obtained it cannot be cancelled, though either party is free to marry again. Births are rarely celebrated with any public or private jubilation. When a sheik dies, all the sheiks in the mountain are at once informed. Next day they assemble, and the dead body is borne forth in an open coffin to meet all those whom it is especially wished to honour. All day long the mourners walk up and down tho medan, or tilt-yard, in parties of fifty and sixty, singing or reciting eulogy or dirge; and every now and then a number rush into the “lichroom” and kiss the dead man’s hands and face and beard. A little before sunset the burial takes place. The women watch afar off, while the men follow silently to the grave. A few passages from the Koran are read by the Ockals, and the ceremony is over. The family mausoleums are built without doorways, and the wall has to be broken down to admit each new tenant. Those who die in the odour of sanctity are buried in their own houses: the tomb is in the form of an altar, and stands east and west, and the body is laid on its side with the face looking to the south.

Education, according to Eastern ideas, receives considerable attention among the Druses; and all their ladies, in contrast to the majority of their countrywomen, can both read and write. The defence and the diffusion of their religion were originally undertaken in great measure by means of little books or treatises; and from an early period several of the wealthier sheiks have prided themselves on their collection of manuscripts. For a people so small in number, their literature, though almost purely theological, is remarkably extensive—a fact which may probably be ascribed to the influence of the Semitic element. In spite of the excessive care with which their manuscripts have been guarded (and they are enjoined if need be to kill any alien found in possession of their sacred books), a considerable number, undoubtedly genuine, have found their way to Europe. A copy of the Book of the Testimonies io the Mysteries of the Unity, consisting of seventy treatises in four folio volumes, was found in the house of the chief Ockal at Bakhlin, and presentedin 1700 to Louis XIV. by Nusralla Ibn Gilda, a Syrian doctor. Other manuscripts are to be found at Rome in the Vatican, at Oxford in the Bodleian, at Vienna, at Leyden, at Upsala, and at Munich; and Dr Porter got possession of the seven standard works of Druse theology while at Damascus. The Munich collection was presented to the king of Bavaria by Clotbey, the chief physician in the Egyptian army during its occupation...