DEGREE | fh. D, DATE t 29th AUGUST 1962 HAMS t ISSA S A U K MASSuU ProQuest Number: 11015821 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 11015821 Published by ProQuest LLC(2018). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 \ ~1 07 4-4s i INTRODUCTION The amount of material ever written on the subject of religious folklore of the Holy Places in general, and that of Bethlehem in particular, Is surprisingly small. The researcher In this enexplored field is thus bound to depend largely on first-hand Information from looal sources, and on close observation by long residence in the Dlstrlot, rather than on scattered writings. Cultural contacts and assimilation of western values in the area have naturally restricted folklorlc tendencies. Besides, the doyens of folklore are rapidly passing away. Perhaps there is no other science which faces this dilemma of rapid decline, and in which rescue work which is not at­ tempted at once will never be again practically possible. Much of the material collected here, characterised by its simplicity and vigour, has been recorded for the first time and virtually saved from extinction. In agreement with the general Oriental outlook, women are unfavourably viewed. An antl-olerloal Influence is 11 detected* Temporal chiefs are condemned probably because of corruption and tyranny* Fundamentally, religious folklore of the Bethlehem District, a main basis of the religious convictions of the unenlightened, indicates the Inherently Semitic nature of Its Inhabitants, their pronness to exaggeration and use of flowery language, and their persistence * In spite of adverse factors - of Biblical modes of speech and behaviour* The overall picture obtained is Christian, with a preponde­ rance of the Eastern Church lore* The deeply religious nature of the local Inhabitant, though within narrow limits, and excluding deep subtleties, is emphasized In his utter dependence on God and emotional imagination* The great Influence exerted by religion on a community which has been predominantly agricultural emerges clearly* Here the District concurs with the rest of Jordan, and the other countries generally, except that Its spiritual attitude appears to be more emphasized. CONTENTS page Introduction £ Foreword 1? CHAPTER ONE Stories of Places and Persons Connected With Religious Folklore •,«*»«•»*•.»•»•#** X CHAPTER TWO Rgliglous Proverbs and Sayings «»•****«*•#• 76 CHAPTER THREE Imprecations and Invocations ,*•,«.,,«••••• li^l CHAPTER FOUR Songs ..... 225 CHAPTER FITE King Solomon *•**•*•«««*«*»*«*••*••*••»*•• 292 CHAPTER SIX Religious Customs and Beliefs .... 36k Appendix A t The Mlrlamlya .... *.. •. k3k Appendix B ; The Shatweh U40 Appendix C i Informants ...... kk$ Bibliography • kSO Biblical References k$% Quranic References lj.62. iv FOREWORD It was In 1953 that Professor A. Guillaume, then Professor of Arable In the University of London and Head of the Hear and Middle East Department at the School of Orlen- tal and African Studies, first suggested to me the underta- king of research work on the folklore of the Holy Places, i Professor R,B, Serjeant, Professor of Modern Arable In the University of London warmly welcomed the Idea, The reasons for suggesting the subjeot were that almost nothing had been written about It, Its Importance, and the fact that I was a Bethlehemlte, Undeniably, there has been a general laek of Interest In the Arab World, to which the Bethlehem District is no exception, In a scientific and eyehemahde systematlsed study of the various fields of folklore. The reason Is not very far to seek. Though the Arabs have recorded, unintentionally, some folklore In their books of proverbs, yet their aim was purely linguistic. Probably the main reason why the Arabs a have neglected the study of folklore Is that Arable Litera- ture had, with few exceptions, an aristocratic orientation from the start, Indicated In Its close relation to the ru­ lers, and 4k disinterestedness with the people at large. ▼ Problems encountered in collecting the material were Immense* Informants, for fear of its being a bad cmsn* were extremely reluetant to impart any information about death traditions and songs, and imprecations* In general* the most fruitful method employed with my informants (scattered through* out the District) was found to be the indirect one* Direct questioning only led to distrust* reticence or embarrassment* Questions had to be tactfully put (only when the occasion arose naturally)* assuming a casual informality Intended to lead to the informant*s ease* Hence it proved unwise to ask a woman* "What do you take as a feast present to a fiance?" but instead* "Tell me of tho occasion when you presented your son's fiance with her feast present*" Then when the material was collected and analysed * and tho authenticity of the information assessed - thero came the intricacies of elassl- float Ion and the drawing of conclusions* Though this study of a limited area Is by its nature intensive, yot it does not imply a disregard of other parts of the country* The treatment, which has been severely objec­ tive, does not endeavour to idealize things* A map of the Bethlehem District (officially a sub-Distiict of Jerusalem) is appended to Chapter One* The population of its three chief towns, Bethlehem* Belt Jala* and Belt Sahftr* was until the outbreak of Arab-Jewlsh hostilities in 19l|>8* Vi predominantly Christian* mostly belonging to the Eastern Church. The villages and countryside have always been MusUjLau How a substantial percentage of the population are refugees, resulting in a Muslim majority. According to the latest census (1961) th© Bethlehem District population was 56344# Bethlehem 15777# Beit Jala 7374* and 3®lt Sahur 5155* I would like to extend my sincere thanks to Professor A. Guillaume and Professor R fB. Serjeant $ my adviser at the School of Oriental and African Studies for his great help and encouragementj to Dr, V/, *Araf£t, Reader in Arabic at the same School, and to Dr, T. Cgn'In for his valuable advice| and to to the Rev, II. Adkins and Messrs, R.A. Simcox and M. Leo for reading tho proofs of this thesis. My thanks are also due to Mr. F, Tarazi of tho Arable Department, American University of Beirut, and Mr. Kh. Jadallah for thdir general discussions, and to Mr. A, Barjghuthi for his help on the Chapter of Songsj mad to Mr. lusuf Sa*d the Curator and Librarian of tho Pales tin© Archaeological Museum and Library in Jerusalem, and to the authorities of the Dominican and American School of Oriental Research Libraries in Jerusalem, Xssa Mas sou Bethlehem, 2 3 rd July 1962, Tli TRANSLITEIiA? 10U OF THE ARABIC ALPHABET The transliteration and tashkil have aimed at reproducing the local dialects as far as possible* The following is the transliteration system followed in this thesis! a t b *• t c. « t. c. th & t t 3 G h c q j • kh c k d 4 1 J 3 dh m f r j n 0 ** z J h LT w $ A sh u* i ( s♦ CP y « 1 ) f i> The sign {-) over a vowel indicates that it la long* The silent t ( *) is omitted* CHAPTER ONE STORIES OF PLACES AND PERSONS CONNECTED WITH RELIGIOUS FOLKLORE The degree of circulation of the following stories varies to a very great extent* Same are quite well-known, while others are known to an extremely limited number of people* Most of them are commonly characterised by the miracle element which is so largely responsible for the maintenance of their circulation* It is to be noted that their nature remains predominantly Christian in essence and outlook in spite of the fact that the Christian population has now become a minority in comparison with the Muslim population in the district under discussion* Many stories are circulated among Christians and Muslims* Christians and Muslims who have been in contact with eduea- tlon for the most part doubt the truth of these stories, but some have a sincere belief in them and reverently cherish the memory of the saints who are associated with them* It is perhaps , not an overstatement that to simple-minded Christians and Muslims alike the belief in some of these stories forms an Inseparable part of the make-up of their religion, the heritage of primitive religion*(1) Naturally these stories with their concrete images and clear*cut descriptions would appeal to simple people more than theological subtleties or philosophical abstractions* (1) See H*A*R* Gibb, Modern Trends In Islam , pp. 22 , 23. — 2 — It will be seen from the material collected here that it resolves Itself into definite types of mlraole* Much of It is connected with Iltholatry* the cult of stone objects or rocks, which is of oourse world-wide, but nowhere more marked perhaps than in Arabia* The material b ears much relation to the same type of popular religion in Arabia Itself, which obviously hardly differs from that of popular Muslim religion in Palestine/ Jordan. While the Arabian saints seem to preserve the ideas in their earlier stronger forms, the Palestine saints perform miracles the significance of which in the earlier pagan religion has boon half forgotten*(1 ) Bethlehem Properf- It would seem strange that, in comparison with disputed places such as al-Khaftr* so little folklore material can be found f relating to the collection of convents and churches that have the grown up round the cave of^Nativity which is the undisputed place where Jesus Christ was born,(2) and which is held sacred by all Christian denominations* It is to be mentioned here that (1) I owe this to the courtesy of my adviser Professor ii*8 * Serjeant* (2) See The Problem of the Authenticity of the Site of the Nativity by B*W* Hamilton, Government of Palestine Department of Antiquities A Guide to Bethlehem , PP.