Coll 6/8(1) 'Printed Series: 1929 to 1938.' [‎281r] (566/1062)

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public dance in front of them. He was most graceful and he twirls a sword
very prettily. He wore an agreeable smile, though it became a little set
as the afternoon wore on—it is said that he collapsed at the end of the
similar dance in ilecca. Altogether he showed to infinitely greater advant
age than when he is conducting the foreign business of his country.
4. All the participants in th ft dance were N'jdis. The infantrymen of
the regular, army, most of whom Cc»me fiom that country intimated
a wish to join in alter they had gone through thrir new-fangled European
tricks. The King graciously accorded permission. Next day it was
announced that the people of Jedda had expressed a desire to show what
they could do in the way of a display. The King left Mr. Philby’s party on
February 28 somewhat early because be had p omised to return to the Palace
for this Jeddavi performance. I understand that it vas on the same lines
as the Nejdi display, although less formal. After that the habit of making
processions to the Palace with drums, singing and dancing appeared to grow
on the people of Jfidda and there were two or three demonstrations of the kind
during the remainder of the King’s stay, including one on March 5, when
the lead was said to have been taken by the Hadrawis and several gay
parties running to many hundred people in all surged past my house on their
way back from th^ Palace.
5. On March 2, Mr. Philby gave me his version of the dancing at Mecca.
It began more or less by accident, he said. On the first day of the festival
a crowd of Meccans made a popular demonstration before the palace there.
It was doubtful how the King would take it a question whether he would
say ? as it were “ Off with their heads ! ” or “On with the dance ! ” The
King was in a good humour and received the demonstration graciously.
Then his Nejdis said, “ Let ns have our national dancing too ” and the
King assented. When he saw it he was so carried away that he himself
joined in. It was a brave sight, said Mr. Philby, to see how the others
clustered round until the King was the centre of a thousand men or so, each
with his sword in the air. Sword-play, the firing of guns and pistols and the
beating of drums are a feature of all these dances.
6. The Mecca “ Umm-al-Qura ” of February 27 records the performance
at Mecca in an article headed “ The speech of the Sword . It makes no
mention of anything having happened on the first day of the festival but
says that on the second the King held a review of his Bedouin troops,
in which the Princes joined ; and that the King threw off ins clock, drew
his sword and played with it too, “ remembering the old days of his lights .
The writer The lowest of the four classes into which East India Company civil servants were divided. A Writer’s duties originally consisted mostly of copying documents and book-keeping. descrih s this swoid play an a voiceless speech, because every
g ance and gesture of the King meant many things.
7. The King himself mentioned in my hearing at one of the functions m
Jedda that the Nejdi war detnee was a revival, the custom having been m
abeyance for over fifteen years. Mr. Philby s version cf ^ ^ . w a{ i;
trations ignores the fact that there had been an organised ^
Fatma on January 9, but he too says that these things ar f p t vears
old practice and be puts the period of discontinuance at ahou y y *
This brings me to my reason for describing an official
despatch what so far reads merely like a record of the pi^ q
8. Ibn Sa’ud started the organisation of
about 1912. They were clearly designed Tho rebels
fighting forces fanned to zeal by the present Wa js difficult
of 1929 turned a portion of this instrument again j ue ®' { t i ie Akhwan
to judge how far the revolt permanently impair rebels was that the
as J a military machine b '^ ^^ue to the latent that, as
King had ceased to be a good \\ ahabi. r - eg w ith modern progress
he has risen, he has had to make many co geeg in pig toleration and
and some with less rigid forms of I indication of his desire to
encouragement of the repent manifestations t g ^ ^ ,. hinga re pugnent to
ride on a lesser ram a section °£ ms s d 1 { th drum for instence.
the true Wahhabi of the old school, the music ot me ui
mi r,i

Coll 6/8(1) 'Printed Series: 1929 to 1938.' [‎281r] (566/1062)

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Coll 6/8(1) 'Printed Series: 1929 to 1938.' [‎281r] (566/1062)

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