LIFE IN IRAQ

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 4, Issue 308, 21 May 1941, Page 6

LIFE IN IRAQ

LAND OF SUPERSTITION AND IGNORANCE UNCHANGING ARABI WAYS Very much in the public eye is Iraq and its Aral) people, one section of which has been bold enough to threaten the authority of Britain within the scope of the existing treaty. A Wellington resident who. lived for some time in Iraq is. Mirs Arthur Luke (nec Miss Mills), of Bolton Street,, who made a stay of eight months in Bagdad in 1934. Mrs Luke's brother, Dr, E, A. Mills, was then director of the Pasteur Institute in Bagdad. Since then he has been appointed director of the Institute of Preventive! Medicine. "If ever there was a country that wanted such an institute it is Iraq," said Mrs! Luke. Nobody can form any conception of the ignorance and superstition of these people—who, to a very great extent, are living just as their forefathers lived before the time of Christ. No Loyalties. Knowing those people as you do, do you think they have any loyalties, Mrs Luke was asked. ''None, I feel • sure, outside their own religion, " said Mrs Luke. "The idea of these people living loyal to the English,, or French, or anyone, is absurd. They simply live on in the ancient way, from day to day. [ do not imagine they could be loyal to anyone, except at a price, perhaps, and then it would be a doubtful business. "To imagine tha scene, you must know that they are, save for perhaps half a dozen in a thousand, very ignorant, knowing only about their religion and the teachings of the Koran. The scribes stil;l sit in the streets of Badgad writing letters fov anyone who wishes to send a missive to a friend, relative or lover. "Then to give an idea as to their ignorance and superstition, there was an eclipse of the moon while T was there. It nearly sent the Arab population crazy with fear. They thought the obstruction-, of the moon was the effect of evil spirits, so they beat drums and tin cans to make a hideous noise, and lit fires to frighten away the civil spirits. Marvellous Mosques. "On the the Arabs still paddPe their gufas (round boats made of twigs and leaves and a kind of plaster) from Basra to Badgad, a distance of 500 miles, as they did before the Flood. Great fun It caused by the annual gufa race for white men." Mrs Luke said the Arabs were extravagant in only one direction — theiir mosques. The wonders of these; edifices and their appointments in the four holy cities of Iraq—Kadhitnain, Nejif„ Kervala and Samarra —would fill a volume. The Meidan in Bagdad had a dome plated with real gold and turquoise blue. Even in the approaches to the mosques were displayed hangings and carpets of inconceivably rich materials and brocadcs, and the minarets gleamed like jewel's, so wero thqy decorated. Women of the common or coolie class did most of the Avork. They washed the water buffaloes in the river (the common drain) before they were milked, and from the rival* drew the water for drinking or other household purposes. Women in Black. Women of the superior class go heavily veiled always. They Avear black despite extreme of heat. From tho crown of their heads to their feet they are shrouded in a black cloak. The men wear a sort of long shirt underneath, with a dark brown or black coat over it! This makes for drabness in dressing. One nevessees till one visits the bazaars, where are displayed wonderful rugs and silks in every imaginable colour. But such are for the interiors of the houses of the. well-to-do A'rabs. Their houses are always divided into two parts, one for the harem, find, other for the men. The women arc never allowed out of their quarter* except on special occasions They arc regarded as chattel's. A City of Noise. Bagdad Avas a city of noise. Native, '.'rivers of cars tooted their horns incessantly, and always shrieked as though they M ould be at each other'.--throats the next moment, but i! meant nothing. The narrow streets Were often crowded Avith herds goats, donkeys, water buffaloes and camels.. It was all indescribably iiiLliV.