Muwassaì, Zajal, Kharja. Bibliography of Strophic Poetry and Music from Al

92837_BIOR_2009/5-6_01 17-03-2010 15:30 Pagina 599

679 BOEKBESPREKINGEN — ARABICA 680

term existed: a fusion of Arab music from the East with local songs from the Iberian Peninsula. New genres of poetry set to music, such as the strophic poems called muwashshaÌ (plural muwashshaÌat) and zajal (plural azjal), emerged as a result of this fusion. In 822 the professional singer and lute player Ziryab came from Baghdad to the court of Cordova.1) He was welcomed enthusiastically, since the courtiers were eager to adopt East- ern arts, etiquette and fashions from the Abbasid court in Bagh- dad. He founded a conservatory in Cordova where he instructed the Andalusian musicians in the refined culture of Eastern music. He was the first to introduce the Eastern nawba to the Andalusian court. This nawba, which literally means ‘turn’, was a musical practice involving a circle of musicians who played or sang in turn. The nawba gradually developed into a specific musical suite: a fixed sequence of instrumental and vocal compositions, interspersed with improvisations. It is not clear when the genre of muwashshaÌ was invented, but it is assumed that these strophic poems were set to music in the eleventh century. Later they became an impor- tant part of the repertory of the nawba and thus the new musi- cal tradition of al-Andalus was born. The muwashshaÌ has a typical pattern of stanzas which can be divided into two sections, one with a few lines with independent rhyme, varying in each stanza, and a second part with common rhyme. The generic term muwashshaÌ is derived from the substantive wishaÌ, a belt ornamented with precious stones. The term also refers to the symbolic ‘belt’, namely the recurring rhyme or stanzas in the musical perfor- mance of the muwashshaÌ. The rhyme scheme of the stanzas and the structure of the musical sentences are interrelated, and therefore the songs are easy to memorize, which may have added to the popularity of the genre. The muwashshaÌ was composed in classical Arabic, except the closing lines, the so-called kharja (‘exit’), written in colloquial Arabic. The counterpart of the muwashshaÌ, called zajal, was entirely expressed in the colloquial Arabic of al-Andalus and had a comparable structure. Both poems developed in the eleventh century and the art reached its sum- mit in the thirteenth century. The musical tradition which accompanies the poetry is called Musiqa Andalusiyya (Andalusian Music) in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya. Reminiscents of this tradition are still heard in the Andalusian nawbas or nubas of this region, where the muwashshaÌat and azjal form an important part of the repertory. ARABICA For centuries these songs were orally transmitted by musi- cians, although song text books such as the Kunnash by MuÌammad b. al-Îusayn al-Îaˆik from Tetouan (second half HEIJKOOP, H., and O. ZWARTJES — Muwa aÌ, Zajal, ss eighteenth century)2) were compiled. This canonical tradition Kharja. Bibliography of Strophic Poetry and Music from of songs enjoys a great prestige and is considered the national al-Andalus and Their Influence in East and West. (The heritage of Morocco. A few collections of the musical nota- Medieval and Early Modern Iberian World, Volume 21). tions of from the Algerian tradition were pub- Brill Academic Publishers, Leiden, 2004. (24,5 cm, XX, muwashshaÌat lished, for instance the collection of Yafil in 1904.3) 379). ISBN 90-04-13822-6, ISSN 1569-1934, / 121,-. The book under review is a comprehensive bibliography of publications on strophic poetry and music which originated 1) H.G. Farmer, A History of Arabian Music to the XIIIth Century, Lon- in the urbanized society of al-Andalus in the ninth century don, 1929, pp. 128-129. Ziryab was the nickname of Abu l-Îasan ¨Ali ibn Nafi¨. A.D. and later spread over the Iberian Peninsula, Southern 2)MuÌammad b. al-Îusayn al-Îaˆik, Kunnash, eds. Malik Bennana and France, North Africa, Egypt and the Near East. ¨Abbas al-Jarrari, Rabat, 1999. The culture of al-Andalus was influenced by Arabic, North 3) E.N. Yafil, Répertoire de musique arabe et maure. Collections de African, Judean, Christian and European elements. Thus, the Mélodies, Ouvertures, Noubet, Chansons, Préludes, etc. recueillie par M. Edmond-Nathan Yafil sous la direction de M. Jules Rouanet, 3 vols. Alger, music of Andalusia was a kind of ‘world music’ before the 1904. 92837_BIOR_2009/5-6_01 17-03-2010 15:30 Pagina 600

681 BIBLIOTHECA ORIENTALIS LXVI N° 5-6, september-december 2009 682

Nowadays, the muwashshaÌ and zajal are still beloved ZAKERI, M. (ed. and trans.) — Persian Wisdom in Arabic genres of poetry. Many people in the Arab world know a few Garb. ¨Ali b. ¨Ubayda al-RayÌani (D. 219/834) and his of these poems by heart and can sing or hum their tunes. Pro- Jawahir al-kilam wa-faraˆid al-Ìikam. (2 vols.). (Islamic fessional singers accompanied by small chamber music Philosophy Theology and Science, Texts and Studies, ensembles perform these songs on stage and many record- 66). Brill Academic Publishers, Leiden, 2006. (Vol. 1: ings are now available on CD. XVI, 378; Vol. 2: VI, 1138). ISBN 978-90-04-15168-0 This bibliography by Heijkoop and Zwartjes contains an (set). ISSN 0169-8729. / 299,-; $ 446.00. alphabetic catalogue of 2800 titles: books, articles, congress Although the influence of the Middle Persian literary tra- papers, reviews, CD’s and a movie. The catalogue is followed dition on the Arabic in the early 9th century is well known, by a register of s and two useful indices: of names and kharja there is much still to discover in this field, and there are few subjects. A short introduction precedes the catalogue and a specialists sufficiently equipped to work in this area. So there selective discography ends the volume. is all the more reason to welcome the appearance of a book The introduction of the book explains the historical back- such as the one under review, which, as the preface says, is ground of the genres and in Andalusia and muwashshaÌ zajal intended to be a compendium of everything that is known the dissemination of both in the Arab world. The poems as about ¨Al b. ¨Ubayda al-RayÌ n (d. ca. 219/834). It presents well as their musical renditions became very popular, not i a i a bio-bibliographical study and an edition, with ample com- only in the Islamic world, but also in the Hebrew secular and mentary, of all that is still available of his work. liturgical tradition. The Hispano-Hebrew poets started writ- Al-RayÌ n was, among other things, active in translat- ing in Hebrew from the eleventh century on. a i muwashshaÌat ing and transmitting Middle Persian literary material into In the Christian territories of medieval Europe analogous Arabic. To judge by the number of titles of his hand that can strophic forms were developed, such as the in France virelei be found in later bibliographical works such as the and the in Galicia. Fihrist cantigas de Santa María (about 60), he was a very prolific author. His special field The bibliography comprises 2714 titles of books and arti- was collecting, composing, and occasionally translating cles in alphabetical order. The oldest title is written in 1782, , ‘proverbs and wise sayings.’ The vast but most titles date from the 1970ties until 2002. According amthal wa-Ìikam majority of his works are no longer extant. Zakeri’s to the authors the bibliography is not a critical one. However, Persian consists of two volumes: the first they occasionally give information on a work, particularly Wisdom in Arabic Garb offers an exhaustive inventory of the information about al- when a certain title does not exactly reveal relevant infor- RayÌ n and his works that could be unearthed from later mation on the subject. a i (mostly Arabic) sources, while the second (1131 pp.) con- The articles deal with a broad scope of subjects, such as tains his surviving work. This completely consists of the origin of and , the compendia of these amthal muwashshaÌ zajal , and the editor has given the items a continuous types of poetry, their metrical and rhyme systems, their ren- wa-Ìikam numbering throughout the four text corpora, 2591 items in ditions in the various Arab countries, their influence on the all. Thus we have here a vast treasury of wisdom literature, poetry and music of medieval Europe, their role in Arabic continuing the ground-breaking work of Dimitri Gutas in and Hebrew literature, song texts, and the (contemporary) this field ( , musical performance practice. However, most books and arti- Greek wisdom literature in Arabic translation 1975). cles describe the and of the traditions of muwashshaÌat azjal The majority of the items (2090 of them) are from al- Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. RayÌ n ’s . The edi- In the discography recordings available on CD are included a i Jawahir al-kilam wa-fara’id al-Ìikam tion, translation and commentary of the , based on in the list. One of the oldest collections of was Jawahir muwashshaÌat the unique Cairo MS of the text, takes up most of vol. II (922 recorded in 1932 at the Congress on Arabic Music in Cairo. pages). In addition to that the volume includes It was originally recorded on gramophones, later released on Ikhtiyar al- cassette-tapes in 1992, and now available on CD’s after re- Wazir Abi Qasim al-Maghribi min al-kutub al-madhkura li- mastering. Also, the records produced by the UNESCO are ¨Ali b. ¨Ubayda al-RayÌani (70 pp.), a selection and abridge- nowadays re-mastered and their titles are included in the ment of some of al-RayÌani’s lost works, made in 412/1021 discography. Relatively few recordings are found from the by al-Wazir al-Maghribi. He was a member of an illustrious nineteen eighties. Persian vizier family, contemporary of Abu Îayyan al- ¨ The majority of the CDs, however, was produced in the TawÌidi and friend of the poet al-Ma arri. Then there is Adab nineties of the last century. The most recent recording dates al-faylasuf Mahadharjis al-mu¨allim (18 pp.), which, if I have from 2001. Most performers are of Moroccan origin such as understood it rightly, is a text translated from Persian by al- Omar Metioui and Amina Alaoui, but also Tunisian, Alger- RayÌani which was incorporated in ps.-Îunayn’s Adab al- ian, Libyan, Egyptian and Lebanese artists are listed in the falasifa. The complicated discussion about this latter text and discography. its ascription to various authors as well as the provenance of In short, this bibliography is an extensive book of refer- its component parts is found in vol. I, pp. 59-73. An inter- ence, in the historical sense as well as the range of topics. esting part of the discussion is that Zakeri withdraws or mit- The selective discography completes the picture. This work igates some of his earlier statements on the topic. It took me is indispensable for researchers in the fields of literature, cul- some effort, by the way, to locate the discussion relevant to tural history, or music. the Mahadharjis text in vol. II, but the index was most use- ful in this respect. Finally, there is a section called Poems and scattered pieces, consisting of al-RayÌani material gleaned Leiden University, May 2009 Anne VAN OOSTRUM from a variety of works (100 pp.). It would have been helpful if the author had been a little ** more explicit about his organization of the material and his * 92837_BIOR_2009/5-6_01 17-03-2010 15:30 Pagina 601

683 BOEKBESPREKINGEN — ARABICA 684

principles of dealing with the various texts in Vol. II. In vain done with a final check, and missing items in the bibliogra- the reader looks for an introduction explaining these matters, phy. We should be grateful for all the information that has or introductory paragraphs to the individual texts. As it is, been put at our disposal about al-RayÌani and the literary one has to dig through various sections of Vol. I looking for context that he formed part of. the relevant information, which I not always managed to find (my mistake, I am sure). This has to do with the organization Leiden, June 2009 Remke KRUK of the material in Vol. I, of which I did not quite grasp the systematics. ** Zakeri’s attempt to present an overview as complete as * possible of al-RayÌani’s work has been the result of exten- sive philological research, starting with the problem of cor- SMOOR, P. — Waz ra, the Killer of Many Husbands. rectly interpreting the titles handed down in the bio-biblio- a (Textes arabes et études islamiques, 43). Institut graphical tradition. This clearly was no easy task. In a Français d’Archéologie Orientale du Caire, Cairo, 2007. number of cases, the correct reading and vocalization of the (27,5 cm, VI, 412). ISBN 978-2-7247-0475-4. ISSN book titles ascribed to al-RayÌani was doubtful. His method 0257-4136. / 40,-. of dealing with the material (explained on p. 93) consisted of first establishing an inventory, largely based on the The present monograph portrays the history of the late Fihrist, which is the source of most later bibliographical Fatimid vizierate during the years from 549/1154 to 559/1164 information on al-RayÌani. Then followed the problem of as viewed primarily through the eyes of the Yemenite poet deciding what the book denoted by a certain (often doubt- ¨Umara al-Îakami, who, after an earlier visit lived in Cairo ful) title was likely to be about. This was done by a kind of from 552/11 until his death in 569/1174. In one of his poems “profiling”: authors usually write about topics that bear of praise addressed to the vizier Shawar, ¨Umara describes some relation to each other and have an obvious connection the Fatimid vizierate (wazara) as a proud and beautiful lady to the author’s particular interest and expertise, so this attracting numerous suitors and husbands who end up being narrows down the possibilities of interpreting the rasm killed. This poetical image provided the title for the book. In and vocalization of the title in question. Another point the period under discussion four viziers, ™alaˆi¨ b. Ruzzik, his to be taken into account was whether the topic suggested son Ruzzik, Δirgham b. Sawar, and Shawar b. Mujir, were by the title was one that authors at that time and place could all murdered or executed. be expected to write about. This had to be demonstrated ¨Umara’s memoirs, excerpts from his Diwan of poetry and by the existence of books by other authors on the same a few letters were first published by H. Derenbourg over a topic, or on closely related topics. Of course this involved century ago. An annotated edition of the full Diwan has been collecting very substantial amounts of bibliographical infor- published more recently by ¨Abd al-RaÌman YaÌya al-Iryani mation. and AÌmad ¨Abd al-RaÌman al-Mu¨allimi on the basis of an The latter point also meant that the author/editor had to unidentified Yemenite manuscript (2 vols., Damascus 2000), decide how much of all this information to include in the but apparently was not available to Smoor. For his edition final publication. Zakeri evidently opted for extensive inclu- and English translation of ¨Umara’s poetry he relies directly sion of the information that he gathered in trying to make on three manuscripts from St. Petersburg, Gotha and Rabat. sense of the book titles ascribed to al-RayÌani. The infor- The Rabat manuscript is of special interest as it contains some mation, by the way, is mostly from Arabic sources: Zakeri poems not preserved in the other manuscripts. Besides remarks that including Persian literature as well would have ¨Umara’s poetry Smoor occasionally quotes and translates widened the scope to a virtually unmanageable extent. While poems by Ibn Qalaqis and al-Qa∂i al-Fa∂il. this approach certainly presents a lot of useful information ¨Umara’s panegyric poetry composed in the popular style to scholarship, it also has its disadvantages. A major one is developed by al-Mutanabbi, full of hyperbole and heavy use that scholars not particularly at home in a specific field may of figures of speech, is often not easy to interpret, especially assume that the bibliographical information provided is com- when it refers to specific events and circumstances which plete and up to date, while this is not always the case. This were known to his audience at the time but escape the mod- is of course excusable, given the huge variety in topics, but ern reader. Smoor extensively cites the relevant accounts of also somewhat regrettable. Checking the section on zoology, the historical sources for the period, al-Maqrizi, Ibn al- one of my own particular interests (I, 259-66), I noted that Muyassar, Ibn Taghri Bardi, Severus Ibn al-Muqaffa¨, and Zakeri was not aware of the existence of another edition of ¨Umara’s own memoirs in order to elucidate the background. the Arabic translation of Aristotle’s Parts of Animals, (the He adroitly analyzes potential allusions and explains literary, one that appeared in 1979 in the series Aristoteles Semitico- historical, geographical and astronomical references. The Latinus, a series co-edited by Hans Daiber) than the one by book thus offers a colourful and fascinating image with a per- Badawi, which definitely is not up to scholarly standards. sonal touch of a turbulent and often violent period in Egypt- Badawi’s edition, in fact, suffers from all the same manco’s ian history, when the ambitions and rivalry among powerful that Zakeri notes of Badawi’s edition of Îunayn’s Adab al- warlords composing the Egyptian army inevitably led to for- Falasifa (I, 59). The other information on literature about eign intervention and the eventual overthrow of the Fatimid Arabic zoology is also incomplete and out of date; even Ull- caliphate. mann’s Die Natur- und Geheimwissenschaften im Islam is In the absence of a critical edition of ¨Umara’s Diwan, lacking. Smoor quotes the text of the three manuscripts available to Given the impressive Fundgrube of material that Zakeri him and mostly treats differences between them as legitimate has made available to scholarship, it is a bit petty to dwell variants. Only rarely does he suggest necessary emendations too long on matters such as the English, which could have against the manuscript readings. There are, however, clear 92837_BIOR_2009/5-6_01 17-03-2010 15:30 Pagina 602

685 BIBLIOTHECA ORIENTALIS LXVI N° 5-6, september-december 2009 686

signs that all three manuscripts contain numerous mistakes. Pp. 45, 54-56: It is difficult to see in line 45 of the poem in While there are some genuine variants which may go back rhyme khalidi, where the prophets Shu¨ayb and Moses are to the poet himself, the bulk are the result of corruption in mentioned, an allusion to the extremist Shi¨ite sect of the the transmission, as is evident from broken metres, faulty Mukhammisa, who espoused reincarnation of the spirits of rhyme words, and missing or misplaced diacritical dots. Imams. The comparison of the Regent ™alaˆi¨ and the Caliph- Translation of such corrupted lines of poetry without appro- Imam al-¨A∂id with the two prophets here is obviously pro- priate emendation obviously may result in unnecessary and voked by the prospective marriage ties between them. There misleading speculation. is no suggestion that the Imam “should be regarded as on the A case in point are the two lines on the building activity same level as Moses who bore the tablets of the Law.” In lines of the vizier Ruzzik quoted on p. 116 (ll. 6-7), where ¨Umara 44-45 it is expressly emphasized that there cannot be describes Ruzzik as surpassing the activity of the earlier metempsychosis in history and that the two prophets could not Fatimid vizier al-Af∂al b. Badr al-Din. The correct reading be reincarnated. Smoor also sees Mukhammisa doctrine behind of the second hemistich of line 6 is certainly: aÒbaÌna af∂ala the mention of the five ahl al-kisaˆ in a document quoted by min binaˆ al-Af∂ali, and of the second hemistich of line 7: al-Qalqashandi (p. 85, n. 7). The ahl al-kisaˆ, however, are ven- a¨la wa-anna binaˆahu min asfali, as in the Rabat manuscript. erated by all Shi¨ites as the original ahl al-bayt of MuÌammad, This is also the reading which H. Derenbourg gives for the not by the extremist Mukhammisa sect in particular. St. Petersburg manuscript (¨Oumâra du Yémen sa vie et son P. 50, Ar. poetry l. 1: “wa-jiddin”: wa-jaddin. L. 12: oeuvre, Paris 1897, I 313). Smoor, however, reads the latter “tazal”: yazal. manuscript as: aÒbaÌna afÒala min nabaˆ al-Af∂ali, and: a¨la P. 51, Ar. poetry l. 25: “shababun tamuttu”: sababun wa-anna nabaˆahu min asfali. The latter reading cannot be yamuttu. correct as the word form nabaˆ does not exist in Arabic and P. 52, poetry l. 11: “her fire has been kindled”: her fire the reading nabaˆahu breaks the metre (kamil) of the poem. has not been kindled. This reading thus should not be accepted as a valid variant P. 62, Ar. poetry l. 27: “raÌalta”: The metre (kamil) as Smoor proposes, suggesting that ¨Umara here is alluding requires to read raÌalat, and in l. 30: “wa-tabawwaˆta”: the to the vizier al-Af∂al’s notorious network of spies (pp. 112- metre requires wa-tabawwaˆat. In the translation (p. 64) “You 115). have departed”: correct: She has departed, and “you took The description of Ruzzik’s building in lines 7 and 8 as your place”: correct: she took a place. higher than al-Af∂al’s suggests that Ruzzik raised the roof of P. 68, Ar. poetry l. 19: “ashraqat”: the metre (†awil) the vizierial palace (Dar al-Wazara) originally built by al- requires fa-ashraqat. Af∂al. As noted by Smoor, there is no evidence that Ruzzik P. 70, poetry l. 25: “by your well-assured reputation”: in built any palace. ¨Umara presumably mentions al-Af∂al here the firm text of the Qurˆan (fi muÌkam al-dhikr). merely because he had built the lower parts of the building. P. 71, Ar. poetry l. 41: “ila yanqa∂i”: ila ma yanqa∂i. Nothing here or elsewhere suggests that ¨Umara saw al-Af∂al P. 76, Ar. poetry l. 4: “mujazamatan”: mujazafatan. b. Badr al-Din somehow as the ideal vizier of the past whose P. 78, Ar. poetry l. 41: “fa-ni¨matu wablin”: The metre example should be followed by Ruzzik b. al-™alaˆi¨. It must (†awil) requires fa-ni¨matuhu wablun. seem quite unlikely that in merely using the common term P. 79, Ar. poetry l. 58: “an†i”: an†u. L. 64: “siwaka”: af∂al in respect to Ruzzik (p. 104, poem l. 10), ¨Umara siwakum. wanted to describe him as resembling the vizier al-Af∂al. P. 93, Ar. poetry l. 45: “wa-†anna”: wa-Âanna. Some necessary corrections and suggested readings may P. 96, poetry l. 46: “in royal yellow”: in a conflict, or a be noted here: riot. L. 52: “those tasks which are allotted to you”: the ser- Pp. 2, 8, 84: The Fatimid caliph al-Faˆiz was five years old vices which I have rendered to you. at the time of his accession, not at the time of his death. He P. 99, l. 10: “al-Faˆiz”: al-¨A∂id. was ten or eleven when he was killed in 555/1160, as cor- P. 105, Ar. poetry l. 19: “mutaÌammi†an”: mutakham- rectly stated on p. 11. mi†an. The missing rhyme word is af†ala. P. 5, second poem l. 5: “Have compassion upon me”, cor- P. 106, Ar. poetry l. 37: “bi-rizqi”: bi-zurqi. L. 55: rect: Do not have compassion with me. “tanaqqulan”: tanaffulan. P. 15, poetry l. 9: “the bay¨a which Ri∂wan gave (to the P. 108, poetry l. 12: “the viewing platform”: the nobility. Prophet)”, correct: the bay¨a of Consent, or: the Pledge of P. 111, poetry ll. 63-64: “for him… his fasting”: for the good Pleasure. fast… its fasting. P. 16, poetry l. 17: “the ™ud mountain”: the towering P. 117, Ar. poetry l. 18: “al-khalqi”: al-Ìaqqi. Poetry l. mountain (†awd). 3: “aunts”: uncles. P. 21, Ar. poetry l. 4: “Âilmihi”: Âulmatin. P. 122, Ar. poetry l. 24: “bi-mashyi”: The metre (kamil) P. 26, Ar. poetry l. 31: “wa-yaghdu”: wa-taghdu. requires bi-tamashshi. Pp. 27-28, poetry l. 39: “paternal uncle”: maternal uncle. P. 127, poetry l. 15: “you tired them”: you pursued them. P. 31 n. 22: “giving almonds”: giving alms. P. 130, Ar. poetry l. 51: “shurufati”: sariqati. P. 38, poetry l. 30: “He is”: They are. Ar. poetry l. 35: P. 136, Ar. poetry l. 32: “wa-man la”: wa-la man. “sababun”: sababan. P. 138, poetry l. 34: “pieces of wood set on top of them”: P. 45, l. 25-26; “it appears that the poem is obliquely propped up timbers. The expression is Qurˆanic (63:4). implying that the Imam is more important than the Prophet P. 140, Ar. poetry l. 68: “al-shaw†i”: al-saw†i. L. 69: himself”: This is certainly not the case since the Imam, like “thuyiru”: tuthiru. the Prophet is of the tribe of Quraysh, and in the following P. 144, Ar. poetry l. 35: “wa-l-lahazimi”: wa-l-lahadhimi. line of poetry (p. 51, poetry l. 36) ¨Umara states that the P. 145, Ar. poetry l. 57: “¨ajibat”: ¨ajjabat. Imams branched off from the Prophet. P. 148, poetry l. 33: “you departed”: you appeared. 92837_BIOR_2009/5-6_01 17-03-2010 15:30 Pagina 603

687 BOEKBESPREKINGEN — ARABICA 688

P. 158, Ar. poetry l. 5: “wa-naÒira l-majdi”: wa-naÒiran P. 264, poetry l. 11: “from which no ascent is possible”; li-majdihi. which have no ropes. P. 159, Ar. poetry l. 18: “ula… adhanta”: al-ula… adnat. P. 266: “The Liwa†a Tribe”: The Lawa†a Tribe. P. 165, Ar. poetry l. 14: “wa-tabassa†ta”: wa-basa†ta. P. 267, poetry l. 1: “the idle”: the liars (unbelievers). P. 167, Ar. poetry l. 28: “fa-abramat”: fa-ubrimat. L. 37: P. 276, poetry l. 25: “receiving”: giving. “tamathalat”: tamayalat. P. 281, Ar. poetry l. 11: “abnatat”: anbatat. P. 177, 178, Ar. poetry l. 15: “taÂfaruhu”: taÂfar. P. 283, Ar. poetry l. 1: “al-amruka”: li-amrika. P. 178, Ar. poetry l. 22: “hajwun aw raddun intashaˆa”: P. 284, Ar. poetry l. 23: “(min) dhukhri… kafili l-khu- hajwan waraˆa ntishaˆin. The poem is in the rare metre muj- lafa”: dhukhru… kafilu l-khulafaˆi. tazz. L. 27: “waqafta”: wafaqa. L. 28: “wa-Ìabbi”: wa-jabbi. P. 286, poetry l. 3: “he wishes”: you wish. P. 180, Ar. poetry l. 1: “¨arrat”: ¨azzat. L. 4: “yaÌdu P. 290, poetry l. 30: “protected by the owner of the veils”: abha”: yaÌdu biha. L. 13: “Ìanabatiha”: janabatiha. covered by these curtains. “dhi” is here feminine demon- P. 181, Ar. poetry l. 20: “fi zaha”: zaha. L. 29: “ghayrun strative pronoun, not in the meaning of “owner”. li-l-badhdhi”: ghayra l-badhdhi. L. 30: “al-tafri†i”: al- P. 293, Arab. poetry l. 2: “tufarri†u”: tuqarriÂu. L. 7: taqriÂi. L. 31: “∂araqta”: ∂ara¨ta. “minha”: biha. P. 190, Ar. poetry l. 2: “wa-ghtada shamatan”: wa-ghta- P. 294, Ar. poetry l. 11: “Òillabikum”: Òalibikum. L. 16: dat laka shamatan. “bi-innahu”: bi-annahu. P. 192, poetry l. 16: “Destroyer of the mountain passes”: P. 295, Ar. poetry l. 47: “shawkatu”: shawku. Uprooter of the gates. P. 296, poetry l. 7: “that ¨Ad had been fair to the Banu P. 193, Ar. poetry l. 31: “an”: in. L. 37: “al-janatati”: Quraysh”: that the ¨Ad of the Banu Quraysh had been fair. al-janabati. The Banu Umayya are meant. L. 14: “tapestry”: carpets. P. 195, Ar. poetry l. 42: “¨uziqat… bi-muˆabbadi”: P. 297, poetry l. 20: “the eyes of the rebels”: the rebel- ¨aliqat… bi-muˆayyadi. L. 49: The second hemistich is lious eyes. incomplete. P. 299, poetry l. 50: “invisibility”: eclipse. P. 196, poetry l. 45: “Through worthiness he brought P. 302, Ar. poetry l. 44: “Ìallaqa”: wa-Ìallaqa. Youth to the forefront”: He coupled youth with dignity. P. 304, poetry l. 13: “sour”: bitter. P. 206, Ar. poetry l. 27: “†u¨mu”: †u¨ima. P. 312: Faris al-Muslimin seems to refer to Badr b. Ruzzik P. 207, Ar. poetry l. 31: “an”: in. L. 38: “qanatin”: al- rather than to his brother ™alaˆi¨. qanati. L. 44: “yusakkiru”: yusakkinu. P. 314, Ar. poetry l. 15: “Òabrun fihi”: Òarfayhi. P. 208, Ar. poetry l. 68: “wa-khu††at”: wa-Ìu††at. P. 322, Ar. poetry l. 42: “fa-annama”: fa-innama. P. 217, Ar. poetry l. 16: “maÌ∂alun”: maÌ∂arun. L. 17: P. 326, poetry l. 29: “Accompanying the days”: The pro- “miÌtadan”: maÌtidan. noun in biha refers to horses and camels. L. 34: “yet sup- P. 223, Ar. poetry l. 10: “wa-an”: wa-in. pose you had been able to do evil things then the all-power- P. 227, Ar. poetry l. 37: “†ahruha”: Âahruha. ful would not have forgiven you”: yet had they been able to P. 237, Ar. poetry l. 2: “khaÒrun”: khaÒruhu. hurt you their powerful one would not have forgiven you. P. 239, Ar. poetry l. 15: “rawiyathu”: rawiyyatuhu. L. 16: P. 328, poetry l. 55: “and I am the one who regulates the “wa-muwa††a”: wa-muwa††aˆu. L. 18: “min akhdhina li l- world”: The following line (56) requires the reading of MS quti”: mimman akhadhna l-quta. Gotha: and You are the one who regulates the world. ¨Umara P. 240, l. 1: “¨Amr ibn Shabba”: ¨Umar ibn Shabba. is not claiming to be the regulator of the world. P. 241, Ar. poetry l. 30: “mustaÌsati”: mustaÌsanati. P. 331, Ar. poetry l. 8: “¨alayhi”: ¨alayhim. L. 11: “fa- P. 242, poetry l. 24: “was sufficient in”: is dripping. L. wa-faˆla”: fa-wafaka. L. 15-16: “wa-inna… wa-innaka”: 27: “acts of murder”: ravages. wa-anna… wa-annaka. L. 17: “baÒruhu”: naÒruhu. P. 246, Ar. poetry l. 23: “¨a∂bun”: ¨uÒabun. P. 332, Ar. poetry l. 29b: “bullighat”: balaghat. L. 35b: P. 247, Ar. poetry l. 42: “al-ima”: al-imaˆu. “la stajraw idha yaÌramu”: la stajzaw idha tajarramu. P. 249, poetry l. 21: “the she-camels”: the Egyptian vul- P. 334, poetry l. 17: See Qurˆan 8:17. tures. P. 341, Ar. poetry l. 8: “¨ulaka”: ¨idaka. P. 253, Ar. introd.: “al-Ma∂i janaba”: Aba l-Ma∂i P. 351, Ar. poetry l. 1: “al-tafÒila”: ¨ani l-tafÒili. Îusaman. P. 352, Ar. poetry l. 7: “ajabta”: ujiba. P. 254, Ar. poetry l. 10: “illa jalla”: al-ajalla. L. 11: “munkaru”: munkara. L. 16: “Òa¨datun”: mu¨tara. L. 22: Oxford University, August 2009 Wilferd MADELUNG “yakuffu”: bi-kaffi. L. 25: “wa-taÌta††u l-rubu¨u”: wa- . L. 28: “ … ”: yakhta††u l-rubu¨a raˆyu l-ÒaliÌu akhdara raˆa ** … . l-ÒaliÌa ajdara * P. 255, Ar. poetry l. 32: “thaghri”: ta¨azza. L. 36: “u†ri”: L. 37: “ ”: . a†ra. wa-Abi l-Ma∂i wa-Abu l-Ma∂i JULLIEN, D. — Les amoureux de Schéhérazade; variations P. 257, poetry l. 22: “Îus m defends… the butterflies”: a modernes sur les Mille et une nuits. (Histoire des Idées A sword in the hands of… the thin bones. et Critique Littéraire 450). Librairie Droz, Genève 2009. P. 258, Ar. poetry l. 36: “ ”: . ¨An†ara b. misery fortitude (23 cm, 224). ISBN 978-2-600-01253-9. ISSN 0073- Shaddad lived in the 6th century CE, not in the 4th century 2397. / 47,06. Hijra. P. 261, Ar. poetry l. 11: “madaˆiru”: maraˆiru. After the publication of the first French translation of P. 262, Ar. poetry l. 18: “a-fa-lam”: fa-lam. the Thousand and one nights by Antoine Galland, at the P. 263, Ar. poetry l. 37: “wa-lawlaka fiha”: wa-lawlaka. beginning of the 18th century, Shahrazad’s tales swiftly and 92837_BIOR_2009/5-6_01 17-03-2010 15:30 Pagina 604

689 BIBLIOTHECA ORIENTALIS LXVI N° 5-6, september-december 2009 690

massively invaded European literary culture. Numerous of radical change. In any case the novel shows how motifs reworkings of the tales appeared in the major European lan- and narrative models taken from the Thousand and One guages, mostly inspired by the curious form of the frame Nights lend themselves to inspire a new literary genre, which story, the smooth shifting between the real and supernatural was typical for modern life in the European metropolises. worlds, the abundance of types and stereotypes of Oriental The fin de siècle aestheticism is treated in a discussion of life, and the interplay between human ingenuity and fate. Mardrus’ famous — or notorious — translation of the Thou- The tradition of the Thousand and One Nights in European sand and One Nights, which first appeared in 1899-1904 in literature was repeatedly revitalized and strengthened by the Revue blanche, a journal epitomizing the main artistic other characteristic and influential translations, such as those currents of the period. The translation was praised in literary by Maximilian Habicht (1825), Edward Lane (1838-1840), circles, but fiercely criticized by scholars, who were outraged Richard Burton (1885-1888), and Joseph Mardrus (1899- by the many liberties that Mardrus afforded himself with the 1904). Each of these translations reflected or contributed to text. It is clear that Mardrus’ version was in harmony with new trends, illustrating not only new perceptions of the work the temperament of his age, which was hungry for a new and the way it represented the Orient, but also ways in vocabulary and aesthetic form for its taste for exoticism. which these representations were incorporated into European Paradoxically, according to Alfred Jarry the changes made literature. by Mardrus in the original text did not harm the work, but Many studies have appeared on the influence of the Thou- rather enhanced its ‘esprit arabe’. It is clear that in this case sand and One Nights on European authors, especially in the taste of the public triumphed over scholarly accuracy. For England, France and Germany in the 18th and 19th centuries, Mardrus, the Thousand and one nights was not a ‘text’, but but the field is far from exhausted. This is especially true rather represented ‘matière d’Orient’, an inexhaustible source for what may be called the ‘modernist’ and ‘postmodernist’ of exotic enchantment, which could be modified and adapted periods, which for several reasons show a remarkable to conform to the tastes of the audience. revival of interest in the collection. This was partly due to The feminist point of view with regard to the Thousand the appearance of Mardrus’ edition of the Nights, which and One Nights is discussed in an elaborate analysis of the generated a widespread vogue of Orientalism throughout novels of the Algerian author Assia Djebar about two women Europe linked to the artistic currents created by the Ballets enclosed in their home, seeking liberation and educating each Russes and Art Nouveau. Moreover, the tales, with their lay- other by telling the stories of their lives. The emancipatory ered representation of reality, its willful exoticism, and its element is of course obvious in the framing story of the textual complexity, were a suitable source of inspiration for Nights and was already noticed in the 1920s. According to all kinds of literary experiments, which was gratefully Dominique Jullien this element was introduced by Mardrus exploited by typical modernist and postmodernist authors in his version of the framing story. However, although it is such as Marcel Proust, James Joyce, Jorge Luis Borges, and true that Mardrus made this component of the story explicit, John Barth. it can be argued that for the Arab reader it has always been An effort to increase our knowledge and understanding evident, since the work is clearly a parody on the genre of of the traces of the Thousand and One Nights in modern the mirrors for princes, which were compiled to educate French literature is presented by Dominique Jullien in her future kings. Shahrazad refers to this genre in an oblique way, Les amoureux de Schéhérazade; variations modernes sur but the educational and feminist elements cannot be over- les Mille et une nuits. In four chapters essays are presented looked. about the roman-feuilleton, a typical genre of 19th century In the final chapter the complex world of Michel Butor is Paris, the translation of Mardrus, the feminist novels by explored through the prism of the Thousand and One Nights, Assia Djebar, and the novel Portrait de l’artiste en jeune especially the story of the ‘Third qalandar’, which Butor has singe by Michel Butor. The common denominator of these retold in his novel Portrait de l’artiste en jeune singe. The texts, apart from their being ‘parodies’ of the Thousand and novel is a kind of autobiography, showing a formative phase One Nights, is their combination of educational intentions of the author’s development as a writer, related to a mass and narrative aesthetics: they are all intended to convey a of, mainly esoterical, texts. The analysis emphasizes Butor’s political or social critique, or a form of initiation, hidden in narrative as a coded text, hiding information between lay- new and sometimes experimental narrative forms. In this ers of the story and references to other texts, to illuminate sense they fit neatly into the tradition of European rework- processes of transformation and the fluidity of meanings. ings of the Thousand and One Nights, which began in the The work is a portrait of the genesis of Butor’s authorship, 18th century. an initiation into a secret world of texts, through an intro- Through the way in which they are referring to the Thou- spective retelling of the story of the ‘Third qalandar’. Typ- sand and One Nights, the texts that are analyzed show the ically, the narrative seems meant as much to hide as to dis- varied imaginative power of the work. The emergence of the close Butor’s true self. roman-feuilleton in the 19th century is linked to the figure of The essays of this book are a valuable contribution to the Harun al-Rashid, who, on sleepless nights, wanders through study of the ‘afterlives’ of Shahrazad in the (post-) modernist the city to inspect the circumstances of his subjects. Like- period. They are written in a precise and clear style and con- wise, in the roman-feuilleton, such as Les mystères de Paris tain many useful ideas and starting points for future research. by Eugène Sue, which appeared in the 1840s, the protagonist roams through Paris to evaluate the situation of the people University of Amsterdam, Richard VAN LEEUWEN and criticize the authorities. Curiously, the social criticism August 2009 expressed in the story attracted the disapproval of Karl Marx, who deemed this kind of literature ‘reformist’ instead of ** ‘revolutionary’, too much based on notions of charity instead * 92837_BIOR_2009/5-6_01 17-03-2010 15:30 Pagina 605

691 BOEKBESPREKINGEN — IRANICA 692

YAMANAKA, Y., and T. NISHIO (ed.) — The Arabian Nights and Orientalism. Perspectives from East and West, I.B. Tauris, London & New York, 2006, (22,5 cm, XVII, 269). ISBN 978-1-85043-768-8. £ 42,50. One of the interesting developments in Thousand and One Nights studies in recent years is the emergence of scholarly attention for the tales in Japan. The Japanese tradition of the Thousand and one nights goes back to the end of the 19th cen- tury, when a — partial — translation of the work was made by Nagamine Hideki (1875), based on an English anthology by Townsend. A second translation, entitled The most curi- ous book in the whole world and made by Inoue Tsutimu, appeared in 1883, also based on an English anthology. From that period onwards many translations of separate stories were published, besides complete translations of the English versions of Edward Lane and Richard Burton and the French version of Mardrus. Only in recent years a complete transla- tion from the Arabic was published, made by Maejima Shinji and Ikeda Osamu. This brief but rich tradition of translations generated a gen- uine popularity of the Thousand and One Nights in Japan and secured the influence of the tales in Japanese literature and culture on several levels. Traces of the Nights can be found in poetry and the theatre, in youth literature and pornography, and, more recently, in the cinema. Two well-known modern authors who explicitly refer to the Thousand and One Nights are Junichiro Tanizaki (Some prefer nettles, 1929) and Yukio Mishima (Arabian naito, 1966). Besides, a tradition of illus- trations of the Thousand and one nights developed whose main representative was Furusawa Iwami (1912-2000). This information can be found in the contribution of Hideaki Sugita to the collection The Arabian Nights and Ori- entalism; perspectives from East and West, which contains the proceedings of a conference held in Osaka in 2002. The contributions relate to the fields of folklore-studies (Mar- zolph, El Shamy, Müller), the narratological and philologi- cal analysis of stories (Aoyagi, Yamanaka), Japanese Orien- talism (Sugita, Nishio), and illustrations (Kobayashi, Suni/ Clüver, Sironval). The quality of the articles varies and new information is especially to be found in the articles on the Japanese Thousand and One Nights tradition and the tradi- tion of illustration. It is especially the latter field which has received little attention until now and which would deserve further research, both from an art-historical and iconographic perspective and from a philological perspective. Kobayashi’s survey will be a useful starting point for further research.

University of Amsterdam, Richard VAN LEEUWEN August 2009