The Thousand and One Nights Volume I Part 48

A remarkable faculty is displayed by some Arabs in catching the meaning of secret signs employed in written communications to them; such signs being often used in political and other intrigues. The following is a curious instance.--The celebrated poet El-Mutanebbee, having written some verses in dispraise of Kafoor El-Ikhsheedee the independent Governor of Egypt, was obliged to flee, and hide himself in a distant town. Kafoor was informed of his retreat, and desired his secretary to write to him a letter promising him pardon, and commanding him to return; but told the writer at the same time, that when the poet came he would punish him. The secretary was a friend of the poet, and, being obliged to read the letter to the Prince when he had written it, was perplexed how to convey to El-Mutanebbee some indication of the danger that awaited him: he could only venture to do so in the exterior address; and having written this in the usual form, commencing "In shaa-llah" (If it be the will of G.o.d) "this shall arrive," &c., he put a small mark of reduplication over the "n" in the first word, which he thus converted into "Inna;" the filial vowel being understood. The poet read the letter, and was rejoiced to see a promise of pardon; but on looking a second time at the address, was surprised to observe the mark of reduplication over the "n." Knowing the writer to be his friend, he immediately suspected a secret meaning, and rightly conceived that the sign conveyed an allusion to a pa.s.sage in the ?ur-an commencing with the word "Inna," and this he divined to be the following:--"Verily the magistrates are deliberating concerning thee, to put thee to death."[374] Accordingly, he fled to another town.--Some authors add, that he wrote a reply, conveying, by a similar sign, to his friend, an allusion to another pa.s.sage in the ?ur-an:--"We will never enter the country while they remain therein."[375]--It is probable that signs thus employed were used by many persons to convey allusions to certain words; and such may have been the case in the above-mentioned instance: if not, the poet was indeed a wonderful guesser.

NOTE 19. Perhaps it is unnecessary to explain that the actions here described are those of a dyer, dipping a piece of linen into a red dye, and then wringing it. The shop of the dyer is generally, like most other shops, a small chamber or recess open towards the street. Pans containing the different dyes are imbedded in its floor.

NOTE 20. "Ma?'ad" is a name generally given to a chamber in which male guests or visiters are received, having an open front with two or more arches, and looking into the court or garden of the house. Its floor is elevated about ten or more feet above the ground, and the front is usually towards the north, or nearly so.

NOTE 21. I suppose it to be meant, that these designs were executed in a kind of mosaic work; for the pool of the fountain is generally ornamented with black and white marble, and pieces of fine red tile, inlaid in complicated and tasteful patterns. A view and plan of a fountain of this kind are inserted in the Introduction to my work on the Modern Egyptians.

NOTE 22. "Ba?laweh," from the Turkish "ba?lava," is a name given to a kind of pastry, which is generally thus prepared:--A paste made of fine flour with clarified b.u.t.ter is rolled thin, and laid upon a tray: upon this paste is then spread a composition of clarified b.u.t.ter and blanched almonds (and sometimes walnuts and currants) beaten small; and over this is put another layer of paste. Eight of these double layers of paste with the composition above mentioned between them are placed one upon another, making the whole about an inch thick. It is baked in an oven; cut into lozenge-shaped pieces, about three inches long, and two inches wide; and after it is thus cut, some honey or treacle is poured over.

NOTE 23. See Note 99 to Chapter v.

NOTE 24. It is a general belief of the Muslims that the wicked will rise to judgment with their faces black; and hence the origin of the imprecation, "May G.o.d blacken thy face!" But it is often used to signify "May G.o.d disgrace thee!" for a person's face is said to be black when he is in any disgrace; and in the reverse case, it is said to be white.[376]

NOTE 25. "Zardeh" (which is a Persian word) is a name given to rice dressed with honey and saffron; but here it appears to be applied to a sweet drink infused with saffron.

NOTE 26. By the play-bone and the ?ab-stick an allusion is conveyed to two games common among the Arabs. The play-bones are used in the same manner as dice, of which they are probably the origin; and both bear the same name in the Arabic, in the singular "ka?b" or "ka?beh," that is, "a cube." Of the game of ?ab I have given a full account in my work on the Modern Egyptians (vol. ii. ch. iv.). I need only mention here, that the ?ab-stick is of a flat form, about a span (or eight inches) in length, and two-thirds of an inch in breadth, generally formed of a piece of a palm-branch; one side of which, being cut flat and smooth, is white; the other, green, or, if not fresh, of a dull yellow colour. Four such sticks are used in playing the game.

NOTE 27. The more simple interpretation is this:--Idle games are more suited to thee than affairs of love.

NOTE 28. El-?azweenee makes a remark somewhat similar to this at the close of his account of the date; but the interpretation of the meaning conveyed by the date-stone in our text is very far-fetched: my sheykh, in a marginal note, gives one perfectly apposite: the date-stone is called "nawayeh," and more properly "nawah" and "nawa;" and the last of these words signifies also "distance," "absence," &c., and is often used to express the state of one who is far from loving or being a lover: it implies also, in this case, that, if he slept again, she would cast him off.

NOTE 29. The locust-fruit, by its dark colour, and the length of time it remains in a state of preservation after it has been plucked, is rendered a fit emblem of a heart long enduring separation from the object of its love.

NOTE 30. "Dirhem," I have before mentioned, is the name of a silver coin: it is also the name of a weight, very nearly equivalent to forty-eight English grains; and being here described as of iron, we must understand it in the latter sense.

NOTE 31. I suppose the iron dirhem to be symbolic of the eye because it is round, and perhaps likewise because the Arabic term for "iron"

(namely "?adeed") has also the signification of "sharp" or "piercing;"

in which sense it is often applied to the sight (as in the ?ur-an, ch.

l. v. 21). See the next note.

NOTE 32. From this double oath, it seems to me probable, that, by the circular form of the dirhem, an allusion was meant to G.o.d (as being without beginning or end), and that the matter of which it was composed (from what I have said in the note immediately preceding), as well as its form, conveyed the allusion to the eye.

NOTE 33. This gentle kneading or pressing of the limbs, which is one of the operations performed in the bath, is often practised by the Arabs for the purpose of inducing sleep.

NOTE 34. This is a kind of nebeedh. (See Note 22 to Chapter iii.) The same fruit is also stewed with meat. It is called in Arabic "'onnab."

NOTE 35. See Note 18 to Chapter vii.

NOTE 36. It is seen that 'Azeezeh speaks of herself in the masculine gender in the verses here inserted; but this is in accordance with a common Arab custom.

NOTE 37.--_On the Ceremony called_ Zikr. Zikrs are very often performed after a death; the merit of the performance being transferred to the soul of the deceased.

I have before mentioned these ceremonies (in Note 63 to Chapter iii.); but in a vague manner; and as it is my object in the present work to give such ill.u.s.trations as will satisfy the general reader, without obliging him to refer to other books, I shall here insert an abridged extract, descriptive of a zikr, from my Account of the Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians.

The zikkeers (or performers of the zikr), who were about thirty in number, sat, cross-legged, upon matting extended close to the houses on one side of the street, in the form of an oblong ring.[377] Within this ring, along the middle of the matting, were placed three very large wax candles; each about four feet high, and stuck in a low candlestick. Most of the zikkeers were A?medee darweeshes, persons of the lower orders, and meanly dressed: many of them wore green turbans. At one end of the ring were four muns.h.i.+ds (or singers of religious odes), and with them was a player on the kind of flute called "nay." I procured a small seat of palm-sticks from a coffee-shop close by, and, by means of a little pus.h.i.+ng, and the a.s.sistance of my servant, obtained a place with the muns.h.i.+ds, and sat there to hear a complete act, or "meglis," of the zikr; which act commenced at about three o'clock (or three hours after sunset), and continued two hours.

The performers began by reciting the Fat'?ah (or opening chapter of the ?ur-an) all together; their sheykh, or chief, first exclaiming, "El-Fat'?ah!" They then chanted the following words;--"O G.o.d, bless our lord Mo?ammad among the former generations; and bless our lord Mo?ammad among the latter generations; and bless our lord Mo?ammad in every time and period; and bless our lord Mo?ammad in the highest degree, unto the day of judgment; and bless all the prophets and apostles among the inhabitants of the heavens and of the earth; and may G.o.d (whose name be blessed and exalted!) be well pleased with our lords and our masters, those persons of ill.u.s.trious estimation, Aboo-Bekr and 'Omar and 'Osman and 'Alee, and with all the favourites of G.o.d. G.o.d is our sufficiency; and excellent is the Guardian! There is no strength nor power but in G.o.d, the High, the Great! O G.o.d! O our Lord! O Thou liberal of pardon! O Thou most bountiful of the most bountiful! O G.o.d! Amen!"--They were then silent for three or four minutes; and again recited the Fat'?ah; but silently. This form of prefacing the zikr is commonly used, by almost all orders of darweeshes in Egypt.

The performers now commenced the zikr. Sitting in the manner above described, they chanted, in slow measure, "La ilaha illa-llah" ("There is no deity but G.o.d") to the following air:--

[Ill.u.s.tration: Lyrics:

La i - la - ha illa - l - lah.

La i - la - ha i - l - la - l - la - h.

La i - la - ha illa - l - lah.

bowing the head and body twice in each repet.i.tion of "La ilaha illa-llah." Thus they continued about a quarter of an hour; and then, for about the same s.p.a.ce of time, they repeated the same words to the same air, but in a quicker measure, and with correspondingly quicker motions. In the meantime, the muns.h.i.+ds frequently sang, to the same, or a variation of the same, air, portions of a ?a?eedeh, or of a muweshsha?; an ode of a similar nature to the Song of Solomon, generally alluding to the Prophet as the object of love and praise; and at frequent intervals, one of them sang out the word "meded," implying an invocation for spiritual or supernatural aid.

The zikkeers, after having performed as above described, next repeated the same words to a different air for about the same length of time; first, very slowly; then, quickly. The air was as follows:--

[Ill.u.s.tration: Lyrics:

La i - la - ha illa - l - la - h.

La i - la - ha illa - l - la - h.

La i - la - ha illa - l - lah.

Then they repeated these words again, to the following air, in the same manner:--

[Ill.u.s.tration: Lyrics:

La i - la - ha il - la - l - lah.

La i - la - ha il - la - l - lah.

They next rose, and, standing in the same order in which they had been sitting, repeated the same words to another air. After which, still standing, they repeated these words in a very deep and hoa.r.s.e tone; laying the princ.i.p.al emphasis upon the word "La" and the first syllable of the last word "Allah;" and uttering it, apparently, with a considerable effort: the sound much resembled that which is produced by beating the rim of a tambourine. Each zikkeer turned his head alternately to the right and left at each repet.i.tion of "La ilaha illa-llah." One of them, a eunuch, at this part of the zikr, was seized with an epileptic fit, evidently the result of a high state of religious excitement; but n.o.body seemed surprised at it; for occurrences of this kind at zikrs are not uncommon. All the performers now seemed much excited; repeating their e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.i.o.ns with greater rapidity, violently turning their heads, and sinking the whole body at the same time: some of them jumping. The eunuch above mentioned again was seized with fits several times; and I generally remarked that this happened after one of the muns.h.i.+ds had sung a line or two and exerted himself more than usually to excite his hearers: the singing was, indeed, to my taste, very pleasing. The contrast presented by the vehement and distressing exertions of the performers at the close of the zikr, and their calm gravity and solemnity of manner at the commencement, was particularly striking. Money was collected during the performance for the muns.h.i.+ds.

The zikkeers receive no pay.

NOTE 38. From the last of these verses it appears that the flowers are described as _laid_ upon the tomb (in accordance with the custom mentioned in the last paragraph of Note 16 to Chapter i.), and not as _planted_ upon it; though this is frequently done in some countries of the East; the monument being filled with mould, and the whole of its top open.

NOTE 39. See Note 25 to Chapter v.

NOTE 40. See Note 35 to Chapter ii.

NOTE 41. The "rod" (in Arabic "?a?abeh") was, according to the Egyptian measurement, until lately reduced, about twelve English feet and a half.

NOTE 42. See Note 12 to Chapter iii.

NOTE 43. It is common (as my sheykh has remarked) to say, of a very s.p.a.cious chamber, that a horseman might gallop in it. The playing at goff by hors.e.m.e.n has been mentioned in a former tale. It was a common exercise in Egypt as well as Persia and other Eastern countries.

NOTE 44. "Deleeleh" is an epithet used in modern Arabic as indicative of artifice, machination, or fraud.[378] It is often employed as a female nickname.

NOTE 45. From this point to the end of the story of 'Azeez and 'Azeezeh I omit some portions which are tedious, and others which are more objectionable.

NOTE 46. Any one may enter the public bath, but none can go out of it, without paying.[379]