Oral Poetry and Narratives from Central Arabia, Volume 3 Bedouin Poets of the Dawāsir Tribe: Between Nomadism and Settlement in Southern Najd (Studies in Arabic Literature) 9789004112766, 9004112766

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ORAL POETRY AND NARRATIVES FROM CENTRAL ARABIA IV A SAUDI TRIBAL HISTORY

STUDIES IN ARABIC LITERATURE SUPPLEMENTS TO THE JOURNAL OF ARABIC LITERATURE

VOLUME XVII/IV

Oral Poetry and Narratives from Central Arabia Vol. IV A Saudi Tribal History

P. MARCEL KURPERSHOEK

ORAL POETRY AND NARRATIVES FROM CENTRAL ARABIA IV

A SAUDI TRIBAL HISTORY Honour and Faith in the Traditions

ef the Dawasir

AN EDITION WITH TRANSLATION AND INTRODUCTION

BRILL

LEIDEN · BOSTON · KOLN 2002

This book has been published with financial support from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO).

This book is printed on acid-free paper. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Bedouin poets of the Dawasir tribe : between nomadism and settlement in southern Najd I [edited by] P. Marcel Kurpershoek. p. cm. - (Oral poetry and narratives from Central Arabia ; 4) (Studies in Arabic literature, ISSN 0169-9903; v. 17 /3) Includes Arabic text transcribed in roman script. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 9004112766 (cloth: alk. paper) 1. Dialect poetry, Arabic-Saudi Arabia-Najd-Translations into English. 2. Dialect poetry, Arabic-Saudi Arabia-Najd. 3. Arabic poetry-20th century-Translations into English. 4. Arabic poetry-20th century. 5. Dialect poetry, Arabic-Saudi Arabia-Najd-History and criticism. 6. Oral tradition--Saudi Arabia-Najd. 7. Dawasir (Arab tribe)- Poetry. 8. Dawasir (Arab tribe)-Folklore. I. Kurpershoek, P. M. II. Series. III. Series: Studies in Arabic literature, v. 17I4. PJ8005.65.E54073 1998 vol 3 2002 vol. 4 892. 7' l 608--dc2 l 98-49995 CIP Die Deutsche Bibliothek - CIP-Einheitsaufnahme Oral poetry and narratives from Central Arabia I Marcel Kurpershoek. - Leiden ; Boston ; Koin : Brill. (Studies in Arabic literature ; Vol. 17) Literaturangaben ISBN 90-04-12582-5 ISSN 0169-9903 ISBN 90 04 12582 5

© Copyright 2002 by Koninklgke Brill .Nv, I.eiden, 1he Netherland1 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or othemise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Brill provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to 1he Copyright Clearance Center, 22 2 Rosewood Drive, Suite 91 0 Danvers i\:L4 01923, USA. Fees are subject to change. PRl:\"TED IN THE NETHERLA'.'IDS

To Bep, my first critic, who keeps me going

CONTENTS

Notation Symbols and Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . x1 Illustrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xm Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1 3

Wahhabi Rule and Tribalism in History. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fieldwork among the Dawasir and the Historical Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Historical View as Presented by Najdi Chroniclers and Other Arab Sources... . . . . . . . . . . The Geographical Dimension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Perspective of the Saudi Chronicles . . . . . . . Bedouins and Townsmen in the Najdi Chronicles . . .

18 18

21 21 22 36

Islam, Settlers, and Nomads in the Wadi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Experience of Western Travellers . . . . . . . . . . . . The Dawasir Tribe in History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Traditional Social Characteristics of the Dawasir Tribe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Tree of the Dawasir Tribe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Map of Villages and Tribes in Wadi ad-Dawasir. . . . .

66 66 73 76 80 81

The Dawasir Today. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Economy of the Wadi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Territoriality and Class Consciousness of the Dawasir The Method of Research and This Edition . . . . . . . . .

84 84 89 97

The Oral Tradition of the Dawasir ................... The Self-Image of the Dawasir . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bedouin and Sedentary Dawasir ................... Camels & Palm Trees as Symbols of Bedouin Life in the Ha th t kh j dh sh Jd J'

z

q

j;

J

Xll

NOTATION SYMBOLS

In the English text Arabic words which also occur in the corpus of the Text will as a rule be rendered according to the system followed for the transcription of the oral text: 'Tebah, not 'Utaybah; Mter, not Mutayr; Sbe', not Subay'. In some cases the choice for one or the other system will depend on the context, e.g. in passages based on quotes from scriptural sources Muhammad will be preferred over Mhammad. The spelling of Arabic words in the English text uses the symbols lib M, !lJl, sh, rather than b x, d., S. In the appendix of place names the symbols and system of transliteration for literary Arabic are used whenever I was not sure of the dialect pronunciation of names mentioned by the authors of Saudi geographical works in connection with place names occurring in the text. Where well-known conventional English spellings for Arabic names exist, these have been followed rather than the systems of notation used for literary Arabic or the dialect, e.g. Mecca, Medina, Saudi etc., but Ha'il or Hayil (as it is rendered in the transcription of the oral text) rather than Hail. The sections of the Text are referred to by the following abbreviations: P = Camels & Palm Trees; B = The Time of Ibn Badran; M = Musliltah 'Peace Poem'; N = The Traditions of Al Nahish; H =The Poetry of Ibn Husn; Mx (1-4) =Defending the Wadi and Honour; G = Ibn Gwed, the Bedouin Chiefs; C = The Coffee Caravan of the Wuda'in; S = The Perspective of a Settled Tribe; 0 =The Ugly Knight. If the reference is to a footnote, the number of the paragraph concerned is given.

ILLUSTRATIONS 1-11 1

1 Most of these pictures were taken in Autumn 1989, with the exception of nos. 6 and 8 (which were taken in 1996), and 10 (1994).

ILLUSTRATIONS

Fig. l. Sagr ibn Masri of al-Walamln of al-Wuda'ln, the tra nsmitter of the 'Peace Poem' (Muslihah) (p. 258).

xv

XVI

ILLUSTRATIONS

Fig. 2. Si'ld ibn Mun)i, nicknamed Teshan, of Al Bree, a transmitter of the poetry of 'Isa ibn Hu~n of ash-Sharafa (p. 168).

ILLUSTRATIONS

Fig. 3. The rakish Bedouin raconteur Fahad ibn 'Abdallah, nicknamed ar-Ren, of Al Bree (pp. 169, 230).

xvu

XVlll

ILLUSTRATIONS

Fig. 4. Mihmas ibn 'Ali ar-Rbayyi' of al-Makharlm, a descendant of Rbayyi' ibn Zed who more than two centuries ago introduced the Wahhabi creed in the Wadi (p. 486).

ILLUSTRATIONS

Fig. 5. Bkhetan ibn pafi of al-Makharim, poet and connoisseur of the Wadi's tribal lore (pp. 103, 380).

XlX

xx

ILLUSTRATIONS

Fig. 6. The poet and transmitter Mhammad ibn ' Bed ibn Wthaylan of a recently settled clan of al-Misa'rah Bedouins (pp. 538, 714) .

ILLUSTRATIONS

Fig. 7. Mit' ib ibn Mit' ib ibn Gwed, a brothe r of the paramount she ikh of the Bedo uin sec tions of the Dawasir a nd a transmitte r of his lineage's o ral history (pp. 104, 537).

XXl

Fig. 8. The ostrich feathers (ar-nfah) kept at the residence of Marran ibn Gwed Dawasir, as a trophy said to h ave b een captured by a distant forefath e r in battle the Rwalah (p. 542).

ILLU STRATIONS

Fig. 9. The white camels of Ibn Gwed (p. 548).

xxm

XXlV

ILLUSTRATIONS

Fig. 10. The poet Mhammad al-Hanaya (pp. 104, 170, 4 79) .

ILLUSTRATIONS

xxv

Fig. I I. The poet and transmitter 'Bed ibn Hamdan, nicknamed al-'Aj'aj, born in I907, who took an active part in the wars of conquest waged by the armies of the ikhwan, ' the Brothers' (pp. 166, 631) .

INTRODUCTION

PREFACE

As this fourth volume of the series Oral Poetry & Narratives from Central Arabia is about to leave my hands and to set out on its independent course, it is natural for me to look back on a project that started twelve years ago and has now reached its conclusion. The four volumes were conceived as part of a comprehensive framework which, in order to be understood in full, must also include the travelogues published in Dutch 2 (available, in an abridged version, in an English translation 3 ) . Ideally this corpus should be read as part of the greater collective enterprise of scholars and writers whose fascination with Arabia and love for its culture continue to produce an ever-growing body of studies and text editions. It should be added that as far as my own contribution is concerned I have always found a rich source of inspiration and ideas in the standard-setting work of Saad A. Sowayan, whose friendship has moreover given me the privilege of sharing thoughts and experiences relating to our research and the benefit of his vast knowledge and insight which uniquely span both Arab and Western scholarship. And among the field's pioneering works none has stimulated me more than Alois Musil's The Manners and Customs of the Rwala Bedouins. Nevertheless each volume in my series can be read independently from the others, much as in the Arab literary tradition a verse of poetry, a bayt, as one pearl of a necklace, should be capable of being admired both in its own right and as part of the greater whole. This even applies to the various sections of the Text presented in each volume. And as the Text is identical with the words recorded from the poets and narrators, though the order of the sections has mostly been my choice, the easy-going style and rather loose structure ultimately reflect the quality of the material which imposed itself on these volumes.

2 Diep in Arabie, Meulenhoff, Amsterdam 1992; De Laatste Bedoezen, Meulenhoff, Amsterdam 1995). 3 Arabia of the Bedouins, Saqi Books, London 2001. Saqi Books also published an Arabic translation of the English version, al-Badawi al-Akhfr, London 2002).

4

INTRODUCTION

The first volume, The Poetry of ad-Dindiin, brings the reader in contact with a fiercely independent poet who in spite of the mounting odds against him remained stubbornly loyal to his Bedouin way of life and his natural gift for poetry in which he gave expression to his experience as a Bedouin until his death in 1998. In his verse the poet describes himself as standing on the peak of an isolated mountain, imploring God's assistance and cursing the Evil One, buffeted by gusty winds and without a living soul in sight, and giving vent to his pent-up feelings of distress and spleen. There-as it were, suspended between earth and sky, far from ordinary humankind and close to the supernatural forces and the spheres of the rain-bringing clouds-the poet is seized by the onset of inspiration and starts forging his verses, applying his well-honed skills to the images, words, and rhythms that keep gushing from the well of his inner self. On these wind-swept heights, poetry begins to flow and run down the slopes in small rivulets. Soon they join in a sel, a torrent, that rushes down gullies into a branch valley, a shiczb, and on to the broad wadi where its water seeps into the sand and the sediments are deposited according to the patterns sculpted by the elements and the recurrent cycles of nature. This fourth volume maps the broad confluence of an Arabian tribe's oral traditions-the old and weather-beaten landscape that absorbs the periodically coursing water, thanks to poets like ad-Dindan and Ibn Batla, and adds it to its ancient stores. When I explained to them my project and what I attempted to do many Saudis expressed amazement at my preference for staying with the Dawasir and concentrating on their oral culture (with the exception of Volume II featuring Shlewih al-'Atawi and other desert knights of the 'Tebah tribe). To a certain extent their slight disapproval stemmed from a sense of decorum and harmonious relations: it was not fair that one tribe should receive all the attentions of a foreigner with an interest in the literary achievements and oral traditions of (Saudi) Arabian tribal culture. In proceeding in this way I failed to do justice and pay proper respect to the many other tribes that boasted similar or even superior attainments in these fields. And in doing so I deprived myself of the rewards of experiencing the richness and variety of this culture in its plenitude. Also, Saudis from other parts of the country would sometimes frown on my choice of a fairly remote tribal area that was clearly lagging behind in its development compared to other re-

PREFACE

5

gions of the country. I was not insensitive to these arguments, nevertheless I kept to my original project and I have not regretted it, though initially I often felt tempted to pack my bags and make the suggested grand Arabian tour of oral culture. Most of the material presented in these volumes was recorded during the first three or four months of my stay in the area of Wadi ad-Dawasir in 1989. Ever since, my work has been driven by a desire to arrive at the fullest possible understanding of what was said on the cassette tapes recorded by me, partly from a proprietary interest. Subsequent visits to Saudi Arabia for spells "in the field" (almost yearly since 1994) were undertaken with the primary aim of clarifying what remained obscure to me in spite of the notes I had taken and the transcriptions I had made at the time of the original recordings. Naturally the resumption of earlier contacts not only brought answers to my questions, but also resulted in additional recordings and a growing insight into the larger social setting, which made it possible to trace the reasons underlying the perpetuation of the tradition in this tribal society. Thus the original material started to take shape through these intermittent refreshment courses in the field and through my daily reflection on it at home until I felt that it had done all the ripening that one could reasonably expect, like dates at the end of the hot Arabian summer. For all the exhilaration and the basic importance of the fieldwork, the pedestrian truth is that by far the largest part of this ripening process happens at home, listening over and over again to the tapes, poring over the transcriptions, and organizing one's materials and thoughts behind the computer. Thus the corpus gradually took shape and one fondly hopes that together with the work of fellow-researchers in the domain of Arabian oral culture it will become part of a Bedouin version of William Faulkner's artistic re-creation of the American south in a fictional microcosmos: an Arabian Yoknapatawpha County inhabited by poets, narrators, sheikhs and commoners, desert knights, beggars, peasants and cultivators of palm gardens, propagators of the faith and holy warriors, firebrands and peacemakers, nomadic herdsmen and sedentary villagers, immigrants and the land's tribal owners-a dreamland without a king and eminently of the people. All of these characters share an outlook that is strongly coloured by the tribal segmental lineage system and certain class distinctions; by the ethical ideals of the so-called desert code on which

6

INTRODUCTION

they pride themselves and which has been integrated in the Wahhabi doctrines and behavioural standards that are rigorously adhered to and enforced by the Wadi's society; and by the tribesmen's historical self-image which is nurtured, perpetuated and re-created through the recycling of traditional narratives and poetry, as well as through the occasional addition of new material, in the congenial ambience of the majlis, the social assemblies in people's private residences, and in the course of other contacts. Some of the events that are the subjects of poems and narratives can be dated with reasonable accuracy, like the struggle between the Shiyabln of 'Tebah and the Dawasir over the wells of a. mfaddir "incapacitating, wearing out; rendering incapable, powerless" JuA, 225 (CAJadira "to be stupid, foolish, unsound in intellect; to lack the power to cover," said of a stallion; "to become cold," said of cooked meat). Jida' "to break" Hu. tifadda' bi-lyllih "he exhausted himself' Su, ii, 102. maJdu' "thrown in, together, put jointly; (a sheep) served in its entirety on a tray" Fas, i, 203 (CA Jada' "a disease of the joints, deformity of the joints, lameness"). Jida "to be ransom for"; yaJdah "may he be ransom for him, may the person to be ransomed (a better person) live, prosper instead of the one given in his place as ransom (the worse person)." Jadda "to ransom" . Jida pl. Jidaya "ransom"; ya-na Jda "may we be ransom for (one we love more than we love ourselves)" (CA Jada "s.th. or a captive, who is given for a man, who is therewith liberated"). Jadd "benefit, profit" . Jirjah "great distance, desert crossing; large tract of desert" KhaAd, 320; Su, i, 159 (CAJurjah "opening, space"). Jiri~, yafra~ "to rejoice; to be glad" Glos . aJrah "to gladden, delight, make merry." Jara}J pl. aJra}J 'joy, gladness, happiness" (CA Jariha). iftirad, yiftirid "to be alone, by o.s., solitary" (CA inJarada). Jird al-aJrad "unique, unequalled in courage" (CA sayJ Jard, furud, Jarid "a sword unequalled in excellence"). Jarayid "high peaks, mountains, landmarks" .Jardah pl.Jrad "nosering" Hess, 130 . Jarr "to flee, run, escape" ; "to tear, rend" (CAJarra). minJarr "twisted, torn";Jarrah "dispersion, disruption, being rent" (cf. CA Jarjara "to break, rend, tears.th."). Jarras, yJarris "to spank, maul, beat up, pummel." Jarsah "killed prey, piece of meat, morsel" (CA Jarasa "to seize and break the neck of'; foris, Jarras "rapacious"). Jarsan Ji expl. as "to lash out against, inveigh against" .

GLOSSARY

Jrs

Jr'

879

Jars "carpets and cushions, covers" . muJris "rug that is thrown over the camel saddle" (CA Jarsh "what is spread, of household furniture"). Jara', yaJra' "to chase away, separate, disperse (e.g. the other camels from the water trough while filling it or from the well, in order to prevent them from falling in or wounding themselves by pushing against the rim)"; gaydin yaJra' l-idami "the dominant female rushes to the fore from among the gazelles and takes the lead in the herd's escape." Jarra' "to loosen" Musil, 204; "to separate; to migrate from the pastures of spring to those of early summer; to enter the season that comes after al-mirbii"' ; "to return to the Wadi from the pastures in the Hagb or further north; to go, move far away"; "when the wasmi and the spring grazing had ended, the Bedouins returned (farra'aw) to the south of Najd, migrating towards their own tribal territory," lbn Mish'i, i, 102; Jarra' min al-biib "he left, went away." mifra' pl. mifiin' is what comes after al-mirbii' in Najd, north of the Wadi, and then the Bedouins may return to their villages in the Wadi (farra') or they may go to pastures where herbage is found in the wake of rains in late spring or early summer ( al-misyaj); taJn' is al-malJ,al, migration, from the mirbii' to the mi~yaJ pastures or back to the Wadi, as in an expression by Abu Dhra' of al-Makharim (in connection with Mx3/l 7) jat IJ,l'ulih mifiin' "the time of the mifra' had come"; in that case it may be the sign for tasnzd "movement towards higher country" Fas, i, 328; in spring the Dawasir generally pasture their herds in Najd, towards the north, and in late spring or early summer they often move towards the higher grounds (sannad) of the southwest in the direction of Tathlith and the Sarawat mountains, where most of the sefi rains falls. rnfarri' "coming from far, migrating." farra' "one who separates two parties in a dispute or fight, stands as a barrier between them" (CAfara'a "to make a separation; to interpose, intervene as a barrier between; to smite"). Jara' ah "beating, blows" (CA Jara' a

880

Jrg

Jrg

Jrns Jrw Jzz

Jz'

GLOSSARY

"to make a separation; to interpose, intervene as a barrier between; to smite"; aljuru' "the heat at the season of the auroral rising of Orion and Gemini"). Jar' pl. Jru' "the starting point of a gully or valley; a branch gully of a side valley; watershed" Musil, 638, 677. Jarg expl. as syn. of masna, "path trodden by the semi, the camel drawing the bucket from the well" (CA Jarg "the front part of the basin into which the water from the bucket is poured"). Jirag "to divide, to collect money and other assistance, to divide a financial burden among kinsmen" (CA Jaraqa). Jarga "separation from one's loved one(s), parting" . Jarg pl. Jrug 'joint" ; Ji Jarg 'aJiytin see s.v. 'fy. mJiirig "departing, parting, leaving." tifarrag "to become separated, split, disunited, dispersed." Jirgah "group, section, part." Jing pl. Jirgiin "a group, party; a camp of 5-10 tents" Hess, 59; "a camp with less than ten tents; a partition of a tribe, households of close kin wandering together" Musil, 77; Doughty, ii, 250; Jariiftin "small camps, less than ten tents" Musil, 361-362 . Jransi "franc, a coin worth about four or five riyals" . Jarwah pl. Jra "sheepskin coat" Musil, 120 (CA Jarw, Jarwah pl. Jira' "furred garment"). Jazz "to spring up in fear" Musil, 396; "to jump to one's feet" . Jazziit "leaps, bolts; jumping up to welcome and assist guests who have just arrived at the tent"; min 'igb ma minnik lya gimt Jazzet 11 al-yam hattet al-'asa mink giddiim "Whereas before you used to jump to your feet when rising, I I Now you must use your stick in order to get up" juKha, 77 (CA Jazza "to be frightened," said of a gazelle; Jazzah "a leap with fright"). Jiza' "to ride in answer to a cry for help; to give aid, render assistance, to rush to the aid, rescue of' Glos . ifza'u, rab'akum wixd_u "come to our help quickly, your comrades have been robbed!" Musil, 525. Jazza' "to rally, incite; to call for help" Glos. aJza', istaJza' "to cry, ask for help" Musil, 579, 646 . Jaz' pl. aJza'

GLOSSARY

fsl

ftl!

ftk J~x

jt}J

ftr

Jtn

881

"fellow-tribesmen rushing to the assistance in event of a raid or attack" . jazz(/ pl. jazza'ah "men who rush to the help in event of an attack" . faz'ah "cavalry making the counter-attack in order to rescue the captured animals and to drive the raiders back" Musil, 524-525 (CAJaza'a "to aid, succour"; Jaza'a ila "to seek, demand aid, succour"). tifassal expl. as "to turn out differently, some good, some bad" . flan Jasil "So-and-So is bad, base, mean" (in the dialect of Yam). Jisll "palm seedling, palm shoot" (CA Jasula "to be low, base, ignoble, vile, without manly virtue or hardiness"; fasl, mafsul "low, base, mean"; Jas'il "young palm trees, which are plucked and then planted, palm seedling"). fasfah "to part s.o.'s legs, to put s.o. with spread legs on" . fasih "parting the legs" (CA Jashaha "to part the legs"; tajashsha}Jat "the she-camel parted her hind legs widely"). fifak (coll.) "cartridges" (CAjashak). Jassaxat "she cast her clothes off and became plainly visible." mitjassix "having taken off, thrown off one's clothes" (CA Jasakht 'annz thawb'i "I cast off my garment"). mfattahat ar.J-rjan "the rear side of the sheep's body" Hu ; to me it was explained as "(a sheep) served whole, in one piece including its feet and fat tail"; Jathah pl. jtah "the rear side of an animal's body, broad part of the body" juKha, 155 (CA Jata/Ja,Jattaha "to make broad, wide"; Jatu}J "bulky she-camel, wide in the ribs"). fatir pl. fitzr, fittar, fitayir "a she-camel older than twenty years" Musil, 334, or "older than 14 years" Hess, 74. Nowadays, however, any she-camel older than nine or ten years is called fii!ir, my own informants and Su, ii, 196; in poetry it generally has the meaning of "she-camel, mature she-camel used as a mount" (CAJatir "a camel whose nab, eyetooth, is emerging"). fitin "to remember, to realize all of a sudden; to think

882

Jr/4 f¢y

J'l

Jgr

Jg'

fkr fkk

GLOSSARY

of, understand" Musil, 200, 326. fitin li- "to mind, look after" Glos; "to pay attention to, be aware of, be considerate." fitin 'ala "to remember" Musil, 168. iftin al-Jadiy "keep an eye on the pole star!" Musil, 355. fattan "to call to mind, remind of' Musil, 188. fitzn, Jattan, mitfattin "perspicacious, intelligent, discerning person" (CAfatina "to be intelligent, knowing";fatin, Jatzn "intelligent, understanding"). far}4 "to flee, make off' Glos (CA Ja#a "to break, break asunder, destroy, scatter"). fitj,a "to penetrate, pierce, go through" Glos; "to defeat" . tifa¢¢aw "they were penetrated, defeated"; tifar)4a bali "my mind was cleared." aftj,a "to let loose, let go, flow; to divulge, reveal" (CA afdii "to make known, communicate"; afc/,ayt ilayh bi-s-sirr "I acquainted him with the secret"). fitj,a "a plain and wide expanse of land, vast plain" Musil, 259 (CA Jatj,a' "a wide, spacious tract of land"). fitj,a biil "a clear mind, good conscience" Musil, 261. fi'lpl.J'ul,Ja'ayil,Ja'al"noble, manly, courageous deed, exploit within the context of the desert code of chivalry" (CA fi'l pl. fi'al, af'al, afa'zl and Ja'al "good doing, generosity"). figir "bottom of a well, the kokab, the point in a well from which water issues and gushes out" (CA Jaqzr pl. Juqur "hollow dug in the ground, well, mouth of the well"). figarpl.figayir"the back ofa camel" , also mifagir (CAJaqar "the vertebrae of the back"). figa' "to hurt, injure" Hu ; nafga' rasih "we will crush his skull" . tifigga' "spattering, splashing (of the rain as it hits the ground)" (CA Jaqqa'a "to crack with a sound"; infaqa'a "to become cleft, fissured"). fikar, ficayir "thoughts, musings; ideas expressed in poetry" (CA fikrah pl. fikar "thought, idea"). Jakk, yifukk "to untie, loosen; to deliver, rescue, save, recover; to liberate; to set free, to free and recover persons or possessions captured by the enemy" Musil, 578 ; yamafakkena "how many times

GLOSSARY

fld. fig

flw fly

Jnjl

Jnx Jn' Jny

fhd fhg

883

have we freed (our captured herds)" Musil, 526. Jakkak "to loosen, untie" . inJakk "to disengage" . iftakk "to redeem, recover s.th." . Jakk "rescue, recovery"; Jakk ar-r'ig "loosening the spittle," i.e. breakfast Musil, 87, 148. Jakkak "arbiter, s.o. who intervenes to end a fight" . minJakk "set apart from" (CAJakka "to separate, untie, detach"; iftakka "to redeem, dissolve"). Julad. "steel" (CAJuladh). Jalag "to hit on the head, cause a head injury" Glos. maftug "cleft, cut in two halves." Jalgah "fissure" (CA Jalaqa "to split, divide lengthwise"). filwah "colt, foal" . Jawalah "weaning of a colt, foal" (CAJala "to wean a colt"; Jaluww, Jilw "colt"). Jalla, yJalli "to drive camels to the pasture, mafia" Musil, 336. Jala "a pasture with good grass and perennials" Musil, 262 . mafia pl. mifali "pasture" Musil, 209; "pasturing (from the morning until the 'a~r, afternoon)" . mJalli "grazing in the desert pasture, roaming the pasture and grazing" . Jallay pl. Jalali "one who collects fodder in the desert for his livestock" Su, iii, 82 (CAJalah "desert"; al-mafalz "the pastures, grazing grounds"). Jinjal pl. Janajll "small, earless cup, made of white porcelain or stoneware, into which the coffee is poured" Musil, 101; in love poetry, the small, firm breasts of the poet's sweetheart are compared to small, white china cups placed upside down on a tray, . Janax "to split, cleave, strike" (CAJanakha). sawwa al-aJna' "to ravage, play havoc with, devastate" (CA Jana' "much of anything"). Jana "to come to an end, cease to exist, pass away, perish" . tifani "forgetfulness; amusement" (CA taJana "to lose o.s., to give o.s. over wholeheartedly").fani "perishing, dying, ceasing to exist" (CA Janiya). Jahhad expl. as "to abate, die down" . Jahag "to move, push aside"; w-ra' al-ganam 'an mir"IJ,hum yajhagii,nih "They (the camel-breeding Bedouins) push aside the breeders of small cattle from the lying places

884

jhm

fwd

fwr

fwh

fylt

fyd

fyy gbb

gbr gbs

GLOSSARY

for the animals around the well," lbn Sbayyil, Faraj, 185. infihag "to make room, move over, up; to get up and sit down somewhere else" . tifiihag, ytifiihag "to spread wide, to make room." majhug "wide, set apart; forced backwards and forewards (said of locks and bolts), bent (neck)," Musil, 109, 112 (CA infahaqa "to be wide, gaping"; munfahiq "wide, gaping"). Jaham, tifahham "to understand, fathom, know well" . fihamah "understanding, discernment" (CA tafahhama "to understand, one thing after another," namely, speech or language). fad, Jawwad, ajad "to gain, bring booty" Musil, 566. tfzd "you capture booty" Musil, 538. fad, fed "booty" Musil, 566; Glos .Jayyad "gainer, winner" (CA istafada "to gain, acquire property"). Jar, yifur "to seethe, boil, boil over; to gush forth, well forth, shoot up; to seethe with anger" . fort ad-damm "the seething of the blood, anger" Musil, 490. Jayir "seething with anger, fury" (CAfara "to boil; to be angry; to well up"; Jawrah "anger, rage"). mfawwah "renowned, reputed, famed." Jahah "reputation, fame, good name" (CA Jaha "to utter, pronounce, n1ention"). Jayha pl. flh, i.e. aljittar aljzh "good-tempered, enduring she-camels, camels fit for riding" Musil, 4 75 . Jayha "orchard, garden" . JarJ "to overflow, pour forth; to be abundant" ; "to appear, come out" Glos . JayyarJ "to let down, lower into" Musil, 339; "to go downstream" Glos. ferJah pl. fyarJ "a fertile depression, the point where the wadi becomes wide and shallow" Glos; Musil, 678 (CA fada). Jayy, Jayyah "shadow" (CA fay'). gabba pl. gibb "horse with arched ribs, big-chested horse, fine horse" Glos (CA qabbii' pl. qubb; qubbun batnuh "the horse's belly was firmly compacted, so as to have a round form"). gibar "to bury; to keep buried, lying in" (CA qabara). gibas, yagbis "to explode" Glos; "to take glowing ashes from a fire in order to light another fire" Hess, 86. tigabas "to

GLOSSARY

gb
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