The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night Volume I Part 27

[FN#375] This is the popular p.r.o.nunciation: Yakut calls it "Bilbis."

[FN#376] An outlying village on the "Long Desert," between Cairo and Palestine.

[FN#377] Arab. "Al-Kuds" = holiness. There are few cities which in our day have less claim to this t.i.tle than Jerusalem; and, curious to say, the "Holy Land" shows Jews, Christians and Moslems all in their worst form. The only religion (if it can be called one) which produces men in Syria is the Druse. "Heiligen- landes Juden" are proverbial and nothing can be meaner than the Christians while the Moslems are famed for treachery.

[FN#378] Arab. "Shamm al-hawa." In vulgar parlance to "smell the air" is to take a walk, especially out of town. There is a peculiar Egyptian festival called "Shamm al-Nasim" (smelling the Zephyr) which begins on Easter-Monday (O.S.), thus corresponding with the Persian Nau-roz, vernal equinox and introducing the fifty days of "Khammasin" or "Mirisi" (hot desert winds). On awakening, the people smell and bathe their temples with vinegar in which an onion has been soaked and break their fast with a "fisikh" or dried "buri" = mullet from Lake Menzalah: the late Hekekiyan Bey had the fish-heads counted in one public garden and found 70,000. The rest of the day is spent out of doors "Gypsying," and families greatly enjoy themselves on these occasions. For a longer description, see a paper by my excellent friend Yacoub Artin Pasha, in the Bulletin de l'Inst.i.tut egyptien, 2nd series, No. 4, Cairo, 1884. I have noticed the Mirisi (south-wester) and other winds in the Land of Midian, i., 23.

[FN#379] So in the days of the "Mameluke Beys" in Egypt a man of rank would not cross the street on foot.

[FN#380] Arab. Basrah. The city is now in decay and not to flourish again till the advent of the Euphrates Valley R.R., is a modern place, founded in A.H. 15, by the Caliph Omar upon the Aylah, a feeder of the Tigris. Here, according to Al-Hariri, the "whales and the lizards meet," and, as the tide affects the river,

Its stream shows prodigy, ebbing and flowing.

In its far-famed market-place, Al-Marbad, poems used to be recited; and the city was famous for its mosques and Saint- shrines, fair women and school of Grammar which rivalled that of Kufah. But already in Al-Hariri's day (nat. A.H. 446 = A.D. 1030) Baghdad had drawn off much of its population.

[FN#381] This fumigation (Bukhur) is still used. A little incense or perfumed wood is burnt upon an open censor (Mibkharah) of earthenware or metal, and pa.s.sed round, each guest holding it for a few moments under his beard. In the Somali County, the very home of incense, both s.e.xes fumigate the whole person after carnal intercourse. Lane (Mod. Egypt, chapt. viii) gives an ill.u.s.tration of the Mibkharah).

[FN#382] The reader of The Nights will remark that the merchant is often a merchant-prince, consorting and mating with the highest dignitaries. Even amongst the Romans, a race of soldiers, statesmen and lawyers, "mercatura" on a large scale was "not to be vituperated." In Boccacio (x. 19) they are netti e delicati uomini. England is perhaps the only country which has made her fortune by trade, and much of it illicit trade, like that in slaves which built Liverpool and Bristol, and which yet disdains or affects to disdain the trader. But the unworthy prejudice is disappearing with the last generation, and men who formerly would have half starved as curates and ensigns, barristers and carabins are now only too glad to become merchants.

[FN#383] These lines in the Calc. And Bul. Edits. Have already occurred (Night vii.) but such carelessness is characteristic despite the proverb, "In repet.i.tion is no fruition." I quote Torrens (p. 60) by way of variety. As regards the anemone (here called a tulip) being named "Shakik" = fissure, I would conjecture that it derives from the flower often forming long lines of red like stripes of blood in the landscape. Travellers in Syria always observe this.

[FN#384] Such an address to a royalty (Eastern) even in the present day, would be a pa.s.sport to future favours.

[FN#385] In England the man marries and the woman is married: there is no such distinction in Arabia.

[FN#386] "Sultan" (and its corruption "Soldan") etymologically means lord, victorious, ruler, ruling over. In Arabia it is a not uncommon proper name; and as a t.i.tle it is taken by a host of petty kinglets. The Abbaside Caliphs (as Al-Wasik who has been noticed) formally created these Sultans as their regents. Al-Ta'i bi'llah (regn. A.H. 363 = 974), invested the famous Sabuktagin with the office; and as Alexander-Sikander was wont to do, fas.h.i.+oned for him two flags, one of silver, after the fas.h.i.+on of n.o.bles, and the other of gold, as Viceroy-designate. Sabuktagin's son, the famous Mahmud of the Ghaznavite dynasty in A.H. 393 = 1002, was the first to adopt "Sultan" as an independent t.i.tle some two hundred years after the death of Harun al-Ras.h.i.+d. In old writers we have the Soldan of Egypt, the Soudan of Persia, and the Sowdan of Babylon; three modifications of one word.

[FN#387] i.e. he was a "Hafiz," one who commits to memory the whole of the Koran. It is a serious task and must be begun early.

I learnt by rote the last "Juzw" (or thirtieth part) and found that quite enough. This is the vulgar use of "Hafiz": technically and theologically it means the third order of Traditionists (the total being five) who know by heart 300,000 traditions of the Prophet with their ascriptions. A curious "spiritualist" book calls itself "Hafed, Prince of Persia," proving by the very t.i.tle that the Spirits are equally ignorant of Arabic and Persian.

[FN#388] Here again the Cairo Edit. repeats the six couplets already given in Night xvii. I take them from Torrens (p. 163).

[FN#389] This nave admiration of beauty in either s.e.x characterised our chivalrous times. Now it is mostly confined to "professional beauties" or what is conventionally called the "fair s.e.x"; as if there could be any comparison between the beauty of man and the beauty of woman, the Apollo Belvidere with the Venus de Medici.

[FN#390] Arab. "Shash" (in Pers. urine) a light turband generally of muslin.

[FN#391] This is a lieu commun of Eastern worldly wisdom. Quite true! Very unadvisable to dive below the surface of one's acquaintances, but such intimacy is like marriage of which Johnson said, "Without it there is no pleasure in life."

[FN#392] The lines are attributed to the famous Al-Mutanabbi = the claimant to "Prophecy," of whom I have given a few details in my Pilgrimage iii. 60, 62. He led the life of a true poet, somewhat Chauvinistic withal; and, rather than run away, was killed in A.H. 354 = 965.

[FN#393] Arab. "Nabiz" = wine of raisins or dates; any fermented liquor; from a root to "press out" in Syriac, like the word "Talmiz" (or Tilmiz says the Kashf al-Ghurrah) a pupil, student.

Date-wine (ferment from the fruit, not the Tadi, or juice of the stem, our "toddy") is called Fazikh. Hence the Masjid al-Fazikh at Al-Medinah where the Ansar or Auxiliaries of that city were sitting cup in hand when they heard of the revelation forbidding inebriants and poured the liquor upon the ground (Pilgrimage ii.

322).

[FN#394] Arab. "Huda" = direction (to the right way), salvation, a word occurring in the Opening Chapter of the Koran. Hence to a Kafir who offers the Salam-salutation many Moslems reply "Allah- yahdik" = Allah direct thee! (i.e. make thee a Moslem), instead of Allah yusallimak = Allah lead thee to salvation. It is the root word of the Mahdi and Mohdi.

[FN#395] These lines have already occurred in The First Kalandar's Story (Night xi.) I quote by way of change and with permission Mr. Payne's version (i. 93).

[FN#396] Arab. "Farajiyah," a long-sleeved robe worn by the learned (Lane, M.E., chapt. i.).

[FN#397] Arab. "Sarraf" (vulg. Sayrafi), whence the Anglo-Indian "Shroff," a familiar corruption.

[FN#398] Arab. "Yahudi" which is less polite than "Banu Israil" = Children of Israel. So in Christendom "Israelite" when in favour and "Jew" (with an adjective or a participle) when nothing is wanted of him.

[FN#399] Also called "Ghilman" = the beautiful youths appointed to serve the True Believers in Paradise. The Koran says (chapt.

lvi. 9 etc.) "Youths, which shall continue in their bloom for ever, shall go round about to attend them, with goblets, and beakers, and a cup of flowing wine," etc. Mohammed was an Arab (not a Persian, a born pederast) and he was too fond of women to be charged with love of boys: even Tristam Shandy (vol. vii.

chapt. 7; "No, quoth a third; the gentleman has been committing-- --") knew that the two tastes are incompatibles. But this and other pa.s.sages in the Koran have given the Chevaliers de la Pallie a hint that the use of boys, like that of wine, here forbidden, will be permitted in Paradise.

[FN#400] Which, by the by, is the age of an oldish old maid in Egypt. I much doubt p.u.b.erty being there earlier than in England where our grandmothers married at fourteen. But Orientals are aware that the period of especial feminine devilry is between the first menstruation and twenty when, according to some, every girl is a "possible murderess." So they wisely marry her and get rid of what is called the "lump of grief," the "domestic calamity"--a daughter. Amongst them we never hear of the abominable egotism and cruelty of the English mother, who disappoints her daughter's womanly cravings in order to keep her at home for her own comfort; and an "old maid" in the house, especially a stout, plump old maid, is considered not "respectable." The ancient virgin is known by being lean and scraggy; and perhaps this diagnosis is correct.

[FN#401] This prognostication of destiny by the stars and a host of follies that end in -mancy is an intricate and extensive subject. Those who would study it are referred to chapt. xiv. of the "Qanoon-e-Islam, or the Customs of the Mussulmans of India; etc., etc., by Jaffur Shurreeff and translated by G. A. Herklots, M. D. of Madras." This excellent work first appeared in 1832 (Allen and Co., London) and thus it showed the way to Lane's "Modern Egyptians" (1833-35). The name was unfortunate as "Kuzzilbash" (which rhymed to guzzle and hash), and kept the book back till a second edition appeared in 1863 (Madras: J.

Higginbotham).

[FN#402] Arab. "Barid," lit. cold: metaph. vain, foolish, insipid.

[FN#403] Not to "spite thee" but "in spite of thee." The phrase is still used by high and low.

[FN#404] Arab. "Ahdab," the common hunchback; in cla.s.sical language the Gobbo in the text would be termed "Ak'as" from "Ka'as," one with protruding back and breast; sometimes used for hollow back and protruding breast.

[FN#405] This is the custom with such gentry, who, when they see a likely man sitting, are allowed by custom to ride astraddle upon his knees with most suggestive movements, till he buys them off. These Ghawazi are mostly Gypsies who pretend to be Moslems; and they have been confused with the Almahs or Moslem dancing- girls proper (Awalim, plur. of Alimah, a learned feminine) by a host of travellers. They call themselves Baramikah or Barmecides only to affect Persian origin. Under native rule they were perpetually being banished from and returning to Cairo (Pilgrimage i., 202). Lane (M.E., chapts. xviii. and xix.) discusses the subject, and would derive Al'mah, often so p.r.o.nounced, from Heb. Almah, girl, virgin, singing-girl, hence he would translate Al-Alamoth s.h.i.+r (Psalm xlvi.) and Nebalim al- alamoth (I. Chron., xv. 20) by a "song for singing-girls" and "harps for singing-girls." He quotes also St. Jerome as authority that Alma in Punic (Phoenician) signified a virgin, not a common article, I may observe, amongst singing-girls. I shall notice in a future page Burckhardt's description of the Ghawazi, p. 173, "Arabic Proverbs;" etc., etc. Second Edition. London: Quaritch, 1875.

[FN#406] I need hardly describe the tarbush, a corruption of the Per. "Sar-push" (headcover) also called "Fez" from its old home; and "tarbrush" by the travelling Briton. In old days it was a calotte worn under the turban; and it was protected by scalp- perspiration by an "Arakiyah" (Pers. Arak-chin) a white skull- cap. Now it is worn without either and as a head-dress nothing can be worse (Pilgrimage ii. 275).

[FN#407] Arab. "Tar.": the custom still prevails. Lane (M.E., chapt. xviii.) describes and figures this hoop-drum.

[FN#408] The couch on which she sits while being displayed. It is her throne, for she is the Queen of the occasion, with all the Majesty of Virginity.

[FN#409] This is a solemn "chaff;" such liberties being permitted at weddings and festive occasions.

[FN#410] The pre-Islamitic dynasty of Al-Yaman in Arabia Felix, a region formerly famed for wealth and luxury. Hence the mention of Yamani work. The caravans from Sana'a, the capital, used to carry patterns of vases to be made in China and bring back the porcelains at the end of the third year: these are the Arabic inscriptions which have puzzled so many collectors. The Tobba, or Successors, were the old Himyarite Kings, a dynastic name like Pharaoh, Kisra (Persia), Negush (Abyssinia), Khakan or Khan (Tartary), etc., who claimed to have extended their conquests to Samarcand and made war on China. Any history of Arabia (as Crichton I., chapt. iv.) may be consulted for their names and annals. I have been told by Arabs that "Tobba" (or Tubba) is still used in the old Himvarland = the Great or the Chief.

[FN#411] Lane and Payne (as well as the Bres. Edit.) both render the word "to kiss her," but this would be clean contrary to Moslem usage.

[FN#412] i.e. he was full of rage which he concealed.

[FN#413] The Hindus (as the Katha shows) compare this swimming gait with an elephant's roll.

[FN#414] Arab. "Fitnah," a word almost as troublesome as "Adab."

Primarily, revolt, seduction, mischief: then a beautiful girl (or boy), and lastly a certain aphrodisiac perfume extracted from mimosa-flowers (Pilgrimage i., 118).

[FN#415] Lit. burst the "gall-bladder:" In this and in the "liver" allusions I dare not be baldly literal.

[FN#416] Arab. "Usfur" the seeds of Carthamus tinctorius = Safflower (Forskal, Flora, etc. lv.). The seeds are crushed for oil and the flowers, which must be gathered by virgins or the colour will fail, are extensively used for dying in Southern Arabia and Eastern Africa.

[FN#417] On such occasions Miss Modesty shuts her eye and looks as if about to faint.

[FN#418] After either evacuation the Moslem is bound to wash or sand the part; first however he should apply three pebbles, or potsherds or clods of earth. Hence the allusion in the Koran (chapt. ix), "men who love to be purified." When the Prophet was questioning the men of Kuba, where he founded a mosque (Pilgrimage ii., 215), he asked them about their legal ablutions, especially after evacuation; and they told him that they used three stones before was.h.i.+ng. Moslems and Hindus (who prefer water mixed with earth) abhor the unclean and unhealthy use of paper without ablution; and the people of India call European draught- houses, by way of opprobrium, "Kaghaz-khanah" = paper closets.

Most old Anglo-Indians, however, learn to use water.