Imperium and Officium Working Papers (IOWP)iowp.univie.ac.at/sites/default/files/IOWP_procházka_zir...3 Stephan Procházka NFN Imperium and Officium. Comparative Studies in Ancient

Imperium and Officium Working Papers (IOWP)

The Story of Sālim az-Zīr Abū Laylā al-Muhalhil in Cilician Arabic

Version 01

July 2011

Stephan Procházka (University of Vienna, Department of Oriental Studies) Abstract: The story about the pre-Islamic hero az-Zīr Sālim and the forty-year war of Basūs between the two tribes Taġlib and Bakr has been recorded by the author in South-Eastern Turkey. It is one of the best-known Arabic popular epics, and has been recited by a storyteller in Cilician Arabic. The article is dealing with oral literature as an expression of a non-literate society, where the spoken word and memory perform the functions of communication and record for which writing is used in literate societies. Although existent, script plays no part in those non-literate societies.

© Stephan Procházka 2011 [email protected]

1 Stephan Procházka

NFN Imperium and Officium. Comparative Studies in Ancient Bureaucracy and Officialdom

The Story of Sālim az-Zīr Abū Laylā al-Muhalhil in Cilician Arabic STEPHAN PROCHÁZKA, Vienna

The story about the pre-Islamic hero az-Zīr Sālim and the forty-year war of Basūs between the two tribes Taġlib and Bakr is doubtless one of the best-known Arabic popular epics1, but one of those which apparently has been very rarely recited by story-tellers in recent times.2 However, one morning in February 1995, when my wife Gisela and I came to the small village of Qaraḥmatli3, which is the last in a long line of tiny Arab settlements along the River Sayḥān (Turkish Seyhan; the Saros of antiquity), we met about a dozen men sitting in front of a tea-house listening to a version of the az-Zīr story being told to them by an approximately 50 year-old man. He had just begun, so we convinced him to start again and got his permission to tape him. The recording, a little less than an hour long, is a full version of the Story of Zīr in Cilician Arabic and here is presented in transcription and English translation.4 I hope that this modest piece of oral culture belonging to an endangered Arabic speaking minority in Turkey will meet with the interest of Professor Ján Pauliny, through whom I first became acquainted with popular Arabic narratives when he gave several lectures at the University of Vienna in the early 1990s.

The Arab community in the Cilician Plain (called Çukurova in Turkish) lives in the three large cities of Adana, Tarsus, and Mersin and about two dozen villages situated between these towns and the Mediterranean Sea. Virtually every one in this Arab comunity adheres to the (Nuṣayrī) ʿAlawī faith. Up to forty years ago they all spoke Arabic; but today the number of those who still speak this archaic Arabic dialect, which resembles that spoken along the Syrian coast, is rapidly decreasing.5

The Story of Zīr is one of the shortest of the sīras 6, but it is clear that the one-hour performance presented here is only an abridged version of this popular epic. However, almost all of the important scenes of the traditional plot are presented by our narrator – which is

1 For the terminology used for that genre cf. OTT, CLAUDIA: Metamorphosen des Epos: Sīrat al-Muǧāhidīn (Sīrat al-Amīra Ḏāt al-Himma) zwischen Mündlichkeit und Schriftlichkeit. Leiden (CNWS), 2003, p.8 with further references. 2 Cf. REYNOLDS, DWIGHT F.: “Sīrat Banī Hilāl.” In: R. ALLEN & D. S. RICHARDS (eds.): Arabic Literature in the Post-Classical Period. Cambridge (University Press) 2006, p.313: “Sīrat Banī Hilāl is unique among the Arab folk epics in having survived primarily as an oral tradition and only secondarily in written form. Though the other folk epics presumably were at some point written down from oral tradition, little is known about the process by which they were committed to writing and in the past two centuries at least, there have been no corresponding oral traditions with which to compare” [our italics]. – This paper was written under the auspices of the research project “Imperium and Officium” funded by the FWF Austrian Science Fund. 3 Today its official Turkish name is Mürseloğlu: the village’s former name was Karaahmetli. In the year 2000 it had 650 inhabitants. 4 As has been mentioned, oral recitations of this sīra are very rare. See also GAVILLET MATAR: « Les enregistrements de récits oraux sont malheureusement très peu nombreux, et, forcément récents, ils témoignent essentiellement de l’état de la tradition orale au 20ème siècle, tradition déjà appauvrie et sur son déclin, voire morte pour certaines gestes. » (GAVILLET MATAR, MARGUERITE: “À propos de quelques manuscrits et éditions de la geste de Zīr” in: Quaderni di Studi Arabi 15/1997, p.165). 5 For information on their history, settlements, and religious customs cf. PROCHÁZKA-EISL, GISELA & STEPHAN PROCHÁZKA: The Plain of Saints and Prophets: The Nusayri-Alawi Community of Cilicia (Southern Turkey) and its Sacred Places. Wiesbaden (Harrassowitz) 2010, esp. pp.49-110. A detailed study of their dialect is PROCHÁZKA, STEPHAN: Die arabischen Dialekte der Çukurova (Südtürkei). Wiesbaden (Harrassowitz) 2002; a short overview in English is PROCHÁZKA, STEPHAN: “Cilician Arabic” in: K. Versteegh (ed.): Encyclopaedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics. Leiden (Brill) 2006, vol. I, 388-396. 6 The manuscripts and prints described in GAVILLET MATAR, Geste de Zīr, 165-182, range between 24 pages and 267 folia. Only one Syrian manuscript is considerably larger, with 484 folia. The printed editions used by us have 256 and 169 pages, respectively (Qiṣṣat az-Zīr Sālim Abū Laylā al-Muhalhil al-kabīr. Al-Qāhira (Maktabat Madbūlī) s.a.; and Qiṣṣat az-Zīr Sālim Abū Laylā al-Muhalhil. Bayrūt (al-Maktaba aṯ-ṯaqāfīya) s.a.). In contrast to this, the average size of the 13 sīra-manuscripts in the Berlin National Library is 2,810 pages: the Sīrat al-Muǧāhidīn even has 11,940 pages (cf. OTT, Metamorphosen, p.21, fn. 87).

The Story of Sālim az-Zīr 2


remarkable given that here we are dealing with a purely oral transmission because nobody in Cilicia but a few learned sheikhs can read or write Arabic, and for at least a century the Arabs of this region have been cut off from the rest of the Arabic speaking world. Thus, in contrast to most other performances, our text is neither read7 nor shows any traces of literary Arabic, which would have been completely unintelligible to the audience. The language is pure local dialect, and even the protagonists’ names – which are remarkably consistent to those found elsewhere – have been subject to the phonological rules of the vernacular.8 There are very few linguistic peculiarities worth mentioning. Typical features of the dialect heard in this text include the use of the relative pronoun illizi (instead of il), and the fact that there are fewer Turkish loanwords than in common speech. Stylistic devices characteristic of this text are the imperative ʿāyin ‘look!’ which is several times used to prompt the attention of the audience (e.g. § 1, 62, 66)9, and the use of the invariable verb qāl in the sense of ‘it is said; so they say’ – i.e. § 23: qāl ǧō laqṹ nāyim ‘it is said that they came and found him sleeping’ (other instances occur in § 34, 39, and 57).

The isolation of the Arab community of Cilicia and the complete absence of any influence of a literary or educated culture has led to a couple of stylistic simplifications in this text. This story-teller has used few (if any) of the common formulae, tautologies, similes, hyperboles, and epithets usually found in this genre.10 Nor are there any traces of the rhymed prose (saǧʿ) which is widely used in modern printed versions of the Story of Zīr.11 Another striking feature is the lack of poetic insertions: these were, according to our older informants, never found in the Story of Zīr anyway, only in the local versions of the Banū Hilāl epic.12 This text does, however, display the frequent use of dialogues and direct speech13 which is a feature typical of oral story-telling.

Our original recording also includes audience interaction with the story-teller, among them cries of amazement, expressions of affirmation, laughter, and an occasional short question from someone who could not follow the plot. The story-teller made sparse use of gestures and never indulged in any histrionic devices.14

7 Most ḥakawātīs of the present day recite their stories by reading from written copies (cf. OTT, Metamorphosen, p.216-218). 8 E.g. Kulayb > Klēb, Ǧassās > Ǧissās, al-Muwaḥḥid > li-Mwaḥḥid; and the leading character is always referred to as Sālim iz-Zīr and not the more usual iz-Zīr Sālim. The former is sometimes attested in printed versions too, e.g. in Qiṣṣat az-Zīr (al-Qāhira), p.153: fa-waḍaʿat fīhi Sālim az-Zīr (but in this instance probably because of the saǧʿ, as az-Zīr has to rhyme with kabīr). Slight changes in names are Ḍbayʿa instead of Ḍibāʿ, and the name of the horse, Aḥǧal. 9 For the use of the imperative cf. “La narrateur cherche à maintenir l’attention de son auditoire qu’il appelle régulièrement à écouter le récit. L’impératif ismaʿ (écoute) apparaît dans les manuscrits des conteurs comme un démarcatif” (GAVILLET MATAR, MARGUERITE: “Situation narrative et fonctions de l’extra-narratif dans les manuscrits des conteurs. L’exemple de la geste de Zīr Sālim” in: Oriente Moderno N.S. 22/2003, p.388f.). 10 Cf. OLIVERIUS, JAROSLAV: “Erzähltechnik, Stilmittel und Sprache im arabischen Volksbuch von Zīr Sālim” in: P. ZEMÁNEK (ed.): Studies in Near Eastern Languages and Literatures: Memorial Volume of Karel Petráček. Praha (Oriental Institute), 1996, 481-497; MADEYSKA, DANUTA: “The language and structure of the sīra” in: Quaderni di Studi Arabi 9/1991, 193-218; cf. also OTT, Metamorphosen, pp.144-150. 11 Compare, for instance, the long sequences in rhymed prose used to describe battles and duels given in OLIVERIUS, Erzähltechnik, p.489f. and MADEYSKA, Language, pp.204-206, with the very simple b-yinzalu hawdi ʿa-l-ḥarb that is frequently found in our version. 12 Si Mloud, the story-teller of Marrakech, whose readings were analysed by OTT, often used to skip the poems found in the copy of the book he read. OTT, Metamorphosen, p.203 reports that Si Mloud was imperfectly familiar with the poems anyway and often made mistakes while reciting them. 13 Cf. OTT, Metamorphosen, p.150, esp. fn. 57. 14 Cf. KRUK, REMKE: “Sīrat ʿAntar bin Shaddād.” In: R. ALLEN & D. S. RICHARDS (eds.): Arabic Literature in the Post-Classical Period. Cambridge (University Press) 2006, p.303.



Content: Space does not allow a detailed comparison between this and other versions of the Story of

Zīr.15 Suffice it to say that in spite of the relatively short duration of the performance, the plot-line here is fairly complete. A major omission from this version are the episodes relating to the King of Yemen.16 There is also no hint of the passage where Ǧlīle refuses to sleep with her husband Klēb until he has killed his brother iz-Zīr, whom she accuses of having molested her: the sīra starts by saying that Klēb’s wife does not like iz-Zīr but gives no reasons (§ 1).17 It can be assumed that the whole story about the Yemeni ruler Ḥassān at-Tubbaʿ and his war against the Northern Arabs is left out because the local people usually know nothing about pre-Islamic Arab history and thus would probably be bored by such a theme. This assumption is corroborated by the fact that the story-teller does not give even the slightest hint about the story’s (fictitious) historical background.18 The only mention of a place name is in the episode about the Jewish king Ḥakmūn, whose capital is said to be Mersin (§ 28-29),19 the largest port of southern Turkey. This is also the only instance in the story of something like local colour. Given all this, it is not surprising that in this version of the Story of Zīr we do not learn anything about the era in which the heroes lived nor about the tribes involved in the conflict. As tribal structures were abandoned by the Arabs of Cilicia long ago, there is not even a word for ‘tribe’ in the local dialect and therefore a traditional audience like the one present at our recording would not have been able to make anything of an account of a tribal war or the legendary rivalry between the Southern and the Northern Arabs. Thus our version simply reflects the rivalry between two clans which are called Bayt Maṛṛa and Bayt ǝRbīʿa (§ 15), “bayt” being the usual term for extended families in Çukurovan Arabic.20 Thus it is only logical that in the sīra here, iz-Zīr is a “lonesome hero” who is not even accompanied by a “sidekick” – a theme otherwise very common in heroic epics (beginning with Enkidu in the Gilgamesh Epic). In contrast to other versions, neither side in our story is accompanied by a large group of tribesmen, let alone an army. Hence we do not find descriptions of large and bloody battles, only personal duels between the main characters. But even these, except for the final fight between iz-Zīr and his nephew Ǧarw against Ǧissās ibn Maṛṛa, (§ 81-83), lack detail.

Themes and motifs: Many of the frequent motifs given by J. OLIVERIUS in his depth analysis of the Story of Zīr

are found in our version too.21 The main motif is vendetta: roughly two-thirds of the story is dedicated to the fight between iz-Zīr and his brother-in-law, Ǧissās, who killed iz-Zīr’s brother Klēb. The revenge is complete and brutal: at the end iz-Zīr sucks his opponent’s blood and his nephew Ǧarw gnaws the flesh of his father’s murder – who is in fact also his own maternal uncle (§ 83). The completely un-Islamic practice of drinking the blood of an enemy – the consumation of even animal blood is totally contradictory to Islamic dietary rules – 15 The most elaborate version of this epic is found in GAVILLET MATAR, MARGUERITE: La geste de Zir Salim d’après un manuscrit syrien. Dimašq (al-Maʿhad al-Faransī li-š-Šarq al-Awsaṭ) 2005. 16 Cf. LYONS, M. C.: The Arabian Epic: Heroic and Oral Story-Telling. 3 vols. Cambridge (University Press) 1995, III, 651-653 (sections 1-3). 17 Since the episode about the camels entering Klēb’s vineyard which eventually leads to Klēb’s killing Ḥarb’s camel is also missing from our text, the reason for the enmity between Klēb and Ǧissās is not provided either (cf. LYONS, Arabian epic, III, p.655, section 6). 18 For a study comparing the “historical” figure of al-Muhalhil of the Arab historians with the hero al-Muhalhil of the sīra see NASSER, SHADY H. “Al-Muhalhil in the historical akhbār and folkloric sīrah” in: Journal of Arabic Literature 40/2009, 241-272. 19 In most other versions it is Beirut: cf. NASSER, Al-Muhalhil, p.260. 20 That is, Çukurovan Arabic always uses the word Bayt ‘Family’, never Banū ‘Sons of’. 21 Cf. OLIVERIUS, JAROSLAV: “Themen und Motive im arabischen Volksbuch von Zīr Sālim.” Archiv Orientální 39/1971, 129-145. Of the more important motifs discussed by Oliverius, our version lacks the motifs of ‘wounded vanity’ (p.136f.) and of ‘the hero’s best friend’ (p.137f.).



seems to have been practised among Bedouins up to the 20th century: ALOIS MUSIL reports that “there are still many who drink the blood of the stricken enemy”22. According to LYONS’ study on the Arabian epic, this practice is practically not reflected elsewhere in the sīra literature. It appears only once in the Story of the Banū Hilāl, but there it is a pagan Indian “who drinks the blood of those whom he kills.”23

Divination, in particular divination by sand, plays an important role in the Arabian epics24 and is mentioned in our version, although it is not, as in the longer forms of the story, integral to the decisions made by the leading persons. It appears here as one reason for Ǧlīle’s enmity against iz-Zīr (§ 13).25 There is only one prophetic dream in our story, the ominous vision Ǧissās has shortly before the story reaches its climax (§. 74-75).26

An extremely frequent plot device are the numerous deceptions and tricks. Ǧlīle tries to get rid of iz-Zīr by pretending to need the milk of a lioness to be cured of an illness so iz-Zīr will be obliged to fight lions (§ 2-3). Ǧarw’s sister fights her own brother in disguise, and then advises him to use a bit of trickery to force his mother to tell him the truth about his ancestry (§ 69-70). And, as in all other versions of the story27, iz-Zīr and Ǧarw win the final showdown by using a deception (§ 80-81).

Another recurrent theme in the epics is the theft of the hero’s horse. This motif is slightly modified in our story because Ǧissās buys rather than steals iz-Zīr’s horse il-Axraǧ from the boatman (§ 52). This horse and its sibling il-Aḥǧal were both products of the liaison of a mare and a sea monster – another common motif in popular Arabic literature.28

Lion fighting is a very common way of showing the hero’s strength and bravery, and the lion is often killed by the hero with his bare hands.29 In our version iz-Zīr kills so many lions that he can build a castle out of their heads (§ 12). Nevertheless in § 6 near the beginning of our story, we find our hero ingloriously climbing a tree to escape a single lioness.

Because of his great strength and skill, the enemies of iz-Zīr can overcome him only when they catch him drunk.30 But even then they are too cowardly to attack him directly but only throw their swords upon him from a safe distance (§ 22-24). When iz-Zīr helps the Jewish king Ḥakmūn fight the Christians, the latter offers iz-Zīr his daughter Sitt Hind; but iz-Zīr refuses because of his bad experiences with his sister-in-law (§ 42-43). Such misogamy is rare (see also § 10: ʿimru mā ǧǧawwaz iz-Zīr): in the epics it is more frequently women than men who are adverse to marriage.31

At the end of the story (§ 84) the narrator mentions the connection between the vanquished Maṛṛa family and the gypsies. This motif, which exists in many versions of the Story of Zīr, has been given an in-depth analysis by G. CANOVA.32

22 Cf. MUSIL, ALOIS: The Manners and Customs of the Rwala Bedouins. New York 1928, p.528. He also gives a concrete example: “ʿAwde Abu Tāyeh shouted: ‘O Allāh, give Daʿsān to me that I may drink his blood!’ Daʿsān al-Hemš was a brave Šarāri warrior. Meeting him in a battle, ʿAwde Abu Tāyeh with a well aimed bullet swept him from the saddle, jumped down on him, and, putting his mouth to the wound, drank his blood. Then he cut open his breast, tore out the still beating heart, and ate it.” – For a discussion and further references regarding this practice cf. PROCHÁZKA, STEPHAN: “Strategien und Ethik der Kriegsführung bei den Beduinen Arabiens im Lichte ihrer mündlichen Erzählungen” in: W. Madelung et al. (ed.): Proceedings of the 17th Congress of the UEAI. St. Petersburg 1997, 194-208 (p.202 and fn.53-55). 23 LYONS, Arabian epic, III, p.255. 24 Cf. LYONS, Arabian epic, II, p.285 and 376. 25 Cf. OLIVERIUS, Themen und Motive, p.132. 26 Cf. OLIVERIUS, Themen und Motive, p.134. 27 Cf. OLIVERIUS, Themen und Motive, p.135f. 28 Cf. OLIVERIUS, Themen und Motive, p.139f.; LYONS, Arabian epic, II, p.294. 29 Cf. OLIVERIUS, Themen und Motive, p.140f. 30 For this motif cf. OLIVERIUS, Themen und Motive, p.143f. and LYONS, Arabian epic, II, p.398f. 31 LYONS, Arabian epic, II, p.302 and 439. 32 CANOVA, GIOVANNI: “Osservazioni a margine della storia di Zīr Sālim.” In: Quaderni di Studi Arabi 3/1985, 115-136 (esp. 118f.).



In the following we present a full transcription of the Arabic text as we tape recorded it on

the 22nd of February, 1995. Besides linguistic remarks, comments regarding the content and comparisons with other versions are given below with the translation. Transcription: 1. kān iz-Zīr, iz-Zīr, yqillū-lu33 Abu Lēla l-Muhalhil, Abu Lēla l-Muhalhil, kān hū w-ʾaxṹ,

hū w-ʾaxṹ, kān ʾaxṹ silṭān il-balid, kān ʾaxṹ silṭān il-balid. ʿāyin in-nisaw ḥaṭṭit ʿlā, la-z-Zīr, mart xū

2. qāmit w-waqʿit bi-l-maraḍ ǝktīr, mart xū, w-xū ʾismo Klēb, ʾismo Klēb. qāl, qālit-lo: ʾana mrīḍaw, qālit-lo: ʾana mirḍāne. qālit-lo: waṣṣaf-li l-ḥakīm dawaw. waṣṣaf-li l-ḥakīm dawaw min ḥalīb sabʿaw, min ḥalīb sabʿaw.

3. qālu: mīn b-yiḥsin bi-yǧību hādaw? qālit-lu: baʿda bi-ykūn xūk issa fī hādaw, yabanǧi34 ta-yǧib-lak ḥalīb. qām ha-z-zalame, qal-lu la-xū, qal-lu: pēki, ǝb-taʿṭīni slāḥ ta-rūḥ, ʾana ǧību ʿa-l-ḥalīb35 w-ǧē.

4. qal-lu: xṭayya ʿlayk! qal-lu: is-sabiʿ b-yivzaʿ min qiṭṭ il-barr, min qiṭṭ il-barrīy36. sawwấ la-s-sabiʿ qiṭṭ, w-hū riǧǧāl w-hū riǧǧāl sawwa sabiʿ qiṭṭ. qām axad is-slāḥ, bi-yḥiṭṭu la-waṣṭow w-b-yisḥab w-bi-yrūḥ.37

5. b-yirbiṭ – ḥaša ḥaša min hōn – b-yirbiṭ li-ḥmāṛ bi-ʾiǧir is-sabiʿ, bi-ʾiǧir is-sabiʿ. b-yiṭlaʿ hādaw, mn-il-bīr, ma-ydawwir la-s-sabʿaw, ta-yāxid minna ḥalīb. b-yiqšaʿ ʿa-s-sabiʿ ʾēklu ʿa-li-ḥmāṛ, ʾēklu ʿa-li-ḥmāṛ.

6. b-yiǧǧādalu hū w-s-sabiʿ, bi-yhibbu ʿa-s-sabiʿ, is-sabiʿ ǝb-yinhizim, is-sabiʿ ǝb-yinhizim, ǝb-yiqšaʿ ma… ʾintayt is-sabiʿ w-xalfaw sabʿ ǝfrāx, sabʿ il-intāyāt. b-yivzaʿ minna b-yiṭlaʿ ʿala saǧṛaw.

7. baʿd-il b-yiṭlaʿ ʿala saǧṛaw tibrim hāya ḥwāla minnuw. ʾā bi-yqūlu, is-sabiʿ bi-yʿāyin il-wlād, bi-yqūlu l-mōt xayir mn-il-ḥayyaw, il-mōt xayir mn-il-ḥayyaw.

8. b-yinzil min fōq is-saǧṛaw b-yirkab bi-raqibtaw, la-s-sabʿaw. w-b-tibrim taḥto w-b-tibrim taḥt minno mitil yirmāni38, mitil ṭāḥūn. b-yimsika b-yiḍriba bi-l-xanǧaṛ.

9. b-yiḍriba bi-l-xanǧaṛ, bi-tʿiqq il-arḍ ǝb-tiqlib, bi-yǧīb il-qirbi, qirbi maṭṛa yaʿni hā, ʾēxid miʿu wʿē mitil bīdōn mitil šaġli-šayt. b-yimsika b-yiḥliba bi-yʿabbīya la-l-qinnīy. bi-yʿabbīya, la-kill illizi ʾēxdaw bi-yʿabbīya ḥalīb.

10. w-b-yisḥab w-bi-yǧi la-Klēb. bi-yǧi b-yaʿṭīha l-ḥalīb. kam yōm bi-ṣṣiḥḥ baʿdaw bi-tkūn mirḍit ǝṭrīqtaw, ḥēṭṭa ʿlā ta-tmawwtuw. ʿimru mā ǧǧawwaz hāka min wičč mart xū ʿimru mā ǧǧawwaz iz-Zīr, Sālim iz-Zīr yqillū-lu, Šālim39 iz-Zīr.

33 When the present tense of the verb yqūl ‘to say’ is combined with a suffix indicating an indirect object, the long vowel is shortened to i. Many speakers (like the narrator of this text) double the following l. Hence this verb is conjugated as if belonging to a geminated root (cf. Procházka, Çukurova, p.112). 34 Turkish yabancı ‘stranger’. 35 A very typical syntactical feature of Cilician Arabic, which certainly can be regarded as an Aramaic substrate, is the use of the two prepositions la and ʿala as accusative markers. In this case the verb receives a proleptic personal suffix. The many examples in this text show that the use of this construction is much more widespread than in the Iraqi and Syrian dialects, where it is restricted to certain uses which lie in the field of stylistics and emotion and only found with reflexes of la-, never with ʿalā. A similar construction is used together with kinship terms instead of a normal substantive annexion, see the example below in § 17: ʾixtu la-Klēb ‘Klēb’s sister’ (cf. Procházka, Çukurova, p.158 and p.153). 36 For -īya > -īy in this dialect see Procházka, Çukurova, p.48. 37 A calque of the colloquial Turkish phrase çekti gitti ‘he left without saying good-bye’. 38 Turkish değirmen ‘mill’. 39 The speaker sometimes pronounced š instead of s. See also below (§ 27): šandūq instead of sandūq. The variation of s and š in Cilician Arabic is found in other words as well (e.g. in the adverb ḥabbūsi ~ ḥabbūši ‘a little’) and has a striking, but certainly not directly connected, parallel in the dialect of the Ǧabal Fayfāʾ region in SW Saudi Arabia. Cf. PROCHÁZKA, Çukurova, p.20; ALFAIFI, ABDULLAH AHMAD M. & BEHNSTEDT, PETER:



11. ʿāyan hādaw ʾā-baddu yxalliṣ minnaw, qām ṭiliʿ hāka mi-ǧ-ǧbāl, qal-lu la-xū: hint bi-ṣṣīr silṭān il-balid, qal-lu, ʾana b-iṣīr silṭān is-sībāʿ. la-Klēb ma-yqūlu, la-xū, la-Klēb. qal-lu: ʾana b-iṣīr silṭān is-sībāʿ.

12. qal-lu: pēki! rāḥ, ʿammar qaṣir mi-r-rūs is-sībāʿ. kill-ma qišiʿ sabiʿ yiqtilo w-yḥiṭṭ ṛāsu la-ǧanib mitil ḥayṭ, mitil ḥayṭ. sawwa, ʿammar qaṣir. ʾē, ǧīna dalġa la-Klēb. hūwe w-qāynātow40 ḥaṭṭu ʿlā.

13. kānit martu rimmāli. tišlaḥ ir-ramil. mart ǝKlēb, falǧīy41. ʿarfit, ǝKlēb, hūwi baddu yiqtilu la-Klēb, w-baddu yiṭlaʿ Sālim iz-Zīr, baddu yiqtil ʿāyilta killaw, baddu yinhayya42 killayta min ʿayn ʾaṣlaw.

14. hūwe ʾēxid mahra ma-yikabbsaw, ma-yiḍrib iǧ-ǧrīdey43 wi-yrūḥ xalf iǧ-ǧrīdey. qām qāynow liḥiqo. liḥiqo qāyno, qāyno liḥiqo. qal-lo: ǧāy ta-ḍribak. saraḥ bi-farsow harab ǝnhazam, ǝnhazam la-xalf.

15. baʿid haftāy hū ma-yʿallim il-mahir bi-yǧi qāyno ʾā b-yiʿṭi xabaṛ, bi-yqūm b-yiḍribu bi-ǧ-ǧrīdey, tiḍrib min ḍahro tiṭlaʿ min qiddāmo. – qāyin b-yiḍribo? – qāyno! hawkey bi-yqillū-lin bayt Maṛṛaw w-hawkey bi-yqillū-lin bayt ǝRbīʿaw – qāyin bayt Maṛṛaw? – ʾē, bayt Maṛṛaw.

16. baʿd-illizi b-yiqtil bi-yqil-lin: ṣḥabūni la-ʿand li-blāṭaw ta-ktib ǝktībi bass. yisḥabṹ ʿa-l-blāṭaw, b-yiktib ǝktībi la-xū, mitil masāǧ44 – yaʿni bi-š-šifre b-yiktib? – ʾē, w-b-yiqṭaʿu ṛāsow w-b-yāxdṹ, w-b-yāxdṹ bi-yrūḥu b-yišlaḥṹ.

17. baʿd-illizi b-yiqṭaʿu ṛāso, b-yāxdṹ, bi-yrūḥ wēḥid ʾēxid ʾixtu la-Klēb, kmayn min bayt Maṛṛaw, bi-yqūl: ʾana škīf baddi rūḥ aʿṭi xabar45 la-z-Zīr, la-Sālim iz-Zīr, ta-yǧi la-hōne, ta-yǧi la-hōne ta-nṣāliḥ niḥna wiyyấ?

18. bi-ykūn hādaw b-yisḥab w-bi-yrūḥ. hōni bi-yʿidd-illu bi-yqil-lu: hint ǧāye la-hōney, bi-ʾayna sabab ǧāye la-hōne? – iz-Zīr bi-yqil-lu? – iz-Zīr, qal-lu: ʾanaw, ǧāye, qal-lu: ta-ʿṭīk il-xabar, qal-lu: wiqiʿ ǧamilna w-ǧamilkin bi-l-ḥarb, bi-l-qatil.

19. qal-lu: ǧamilnaw, nayyab la-ǧamilkin, nayyabu la-ǧamilkin. qal-lu: lā ykūn, lā ykūn hint ṣihri ʾēxid ʾixtiy46 tā hallaq taʿṭi ṛāsak hōni w-rmaytak. rūḥ! qal-lu: bass lā tinzal la-qtāli ʾanaw! kān bad-tinzil la-ḥarb, lā tinzil qārši47 ʾili!

20. b-yisḥab bi-yrūḥ hādaw bi-yqūm iz-Zir, Sālim iz-Zīr, b-yirkab bi-ḍahr ǝḥṣānow w-biyǧi la-l-balid – b-yiftihim čünkü – b-yiftihim xū qatīl.

21. qal-lin: waynu hawk qatīl xayyē? qālū: maṭraḥ ǝflān ǝflēni. bi-yqūm bi-yrūḥ bi-yʿāyin kētib ǝktībi min dammow. w-bi-ywaṣṣi w-bi-yqil-lu ktīr, kētib li-ktībey. w-bi-yqūm bi-yballiš hāda fīy ṭaṣṣ bi-bayt Maṛṛaw.

22. b-yiqtil ǝzġīr w-li-kbīr, ʾā b-yirmi minnin, ǝktīr qalīl ǝzlām. baʿd-illizi b-yiqtil minnin ǝzlām ǝktīr, b-yinṭifro, yaʿni b-yitʿarru […] la-yōm il-wēḥdey, bi-yqūmu hawdey bi-ysawwū-lu tūzāqaw48, qālu: ʾiz kān qēʿid la-širb il-xamir, la-širb il-xamir b-yišrab xābey, w-yākil xārūf ġanim.

“First notes on the dialect of Ǧabal Fayfāʾ (Jazan Province/Saudi Arabia)” in: Zeitschrift für Arabische Linguistik 52/2010, p.54f. 40 The Turkish word kayın is used like the English ‘in-law’, e.g. kayın anne ‘mother-in-law’. In Çukurovan Arabic the plural qāynāt designates the whole family of one’s wife or husband. 41 Turkish falcı. 42 One would expect badda tinhayya. 43 In Turkish the word cirit < Arabic ǧarīda means also ‘spear’. 44 Turkish mesaj < French message. 45 A calque of Turkish haber vermek ‘to give notice, to inform’. 46 See Qiṣṣat az-Zīr (Bayrūt), p.71: qāl az-Zīr li-Hammām: ʾanta min dūn Banī Murra ṣadīqī wa-nadīmī wa-zawǧ ʾuxtī. 47 Turkish karşı. 48 Turkish tuzak.



23. iz-Zīr, Sālim iz-Zīr, qām širib hāda širib tak-maaaa ʾā baqa yaʿrif darbu waynaw. qāl ǧō laqṹ nāyim. qāl b-yimsik hāda wēḥid ta-yqarrib ʿlā, ʾā ma-yistiǧir49 ta-yqarrib. qāl: išlaḥ is-sayf fōq minnow w-inhizim la-xalf.

24. yišlaḥ is-sayf fōqo tā ḥatta ta-ykawwmu s-syūf fōq minnu ha-l-ʿēlīy – ʾā ma-yiḥsinu yqarrbu ʿlā – ma-yišlaḥu s-sayf fōq minno, w-yinhizmu. qāl, qālu la-ʾixto: Ḍbayʿa ʾismaw, ʾēxdīna bayt Maṛṛa yā!

25. hāy, ʾilik xūki, qatal-lik ǧawzik, w-qatal-lik wlādik50, w-qatal-lik ǝʿyālik w-qatal ʾawwil w-il-ʾēxir. mā rama šayt, qāl is-sāʿaw, lammt-illizi yǧō wlāda bi-ʿaqla yǧū... ǧawzaw qāmit ʿaḍḍit fī.

26. qālu lammt-illizi ǧō xwāta bi-ʿaqlaw, tibki. hōni b-iqil-lak kilmi. bi-yfattiḥ ʿaynāh ʾā mayyit bi-yqil-la: Ḍbayʿa yā Ḍbayʿaw, Ḍbayʿa yā Ḍbayʿaw! bi-yqil-la: kilīni, marmišīni yā Ḍbayʿaw, Alla lā yǧīrik, Alla lā yǧīrik min bala!

27. qālit-lu: yā ʿayn xayytak issātak bi-qayd il-ḥayya? mā mayyit. qal-la: ʾissātni bi-l-ḥayya. bi-tqūm bi-ssawwī-lu šandūwq, ssawwī-lu šandūq w-bi-yzafftu la-s-sandūq w-bi-tqūm bi-tḥiṭṭu bi-ha-s-sandūq51

28. w-bi-ṣṣirru bi-l-qiṭin, yarayātu52 ʾawwiltu ʾēxirto, w-b-tišlaḥu bi-l-baḥir, w-b-tišlaḥuw bi-l-baḥir. mawǧi bi-tqīmow, mawǧi bi-ǧǧikkow, mawǧi bi-tqīmow, mawǧi bi-ǧǧikkow, b-yiṭlaʿ hōni bi-Märsīn, bi-Ḥakmūn.

29. hōni bi-Ḥakmūn bi-yqillū-lo, Märsīn. b-yiṭlaʿ hōni w-hōni ḥēkim fīya silṭān, bi-yqillū-lo Ḥakmūn il-yahūdi, Ḥakmūn il-yahūdi bi-yqillū-lu. iš-šbaykaǧīy53 baqaw, hāka yqūl: ʾili ha-ṣ-ṣayda, hāda yqūl ʾili ha-ṣ-ṣayda hākaw. qatlu minnin tlat arbaʿ ǝzlām baʿḍin baʿḍ.

30. qāmu šālṹ la-hādaw, fatḥū́ la-s-sandūq: balwi bi-blādin, balwi bi-blādin! ʾā-fi maṭraḥ hēki blā ǧirḥ. qālu: hāda lā ykūn balwi bi-blādo, mā ṣār fi hēke ṣār. qālu: mā ṣār hēki ṣār.

31. in-nēs yqūluw: ta-nzittu xalli yrūḥ ṭrīqaw bi-l-baḥir. in-nēs yqūlu: lā waḷḷa, ta-naʿṭi xabar ʿa-s-silṭān, la-Ḥakmūn! qālu: daha ʾaḥsan. bi-yrūḥu b-yiʿṭu la-Ḥakmūn xabar. b-yāxdū́ la-hāda, bi-ydēwî, kān doktōr, kān profesōr, bi-ydēwî la-hāda ta-yṣīr yiḥya la-ha-d-dinyaw, ʾā-baqa ḥālu šīt.

32. qal-lu: šū ʾismak? qal-lu: ʾismi li-Mwaḥḥid, li-Mwaḥḥid qāl ismi. – hāda, yqil-lu z-Zīr baddu yiqtilu – bad-yiqtil-luw, hūwi li nṭafar minnuw ṭifrān, Ḥakmūn il-yahūdi min iz-Zīr ṭifrān. kān yqil-lu z-Zīr bad-yiqtilu.

33. qal-lu: ʾismi li-Mwaḥḥid. qal-lu: šū tištiġil bi-blādak? qal-lu: ʾana sāyis. qal-lu: b-sīs, rāʿi l-xayl, qal-lu d-dabbāt; qal-lu: hāda b-yinfaʿna, waḷḷa. qālu b-yimsikin la-ha-d-dabbāt hawdey ma-yirʿāyin killin b-yāxdin la-r-raʿīy bi-yǧībin …dabbāt il-xayl.

34. qāl hawkey54 baddi waqqif ta-naqqi, baddi naqqi minnin mahir. qāl ʿāyan ʿaṭṭašin tlatt īyēm, la-dabbāt il-xayl, ʿaṭṭašin tlatt īyēm mā dāqu l-mayy, w-b-yirmīyin ʿa-l-mayy w-b-yibʿaq fīyin baʿd-il baddin yǧu ta-yišrabu.

35. tʿay! wēdi ʾaṣīley ʿallit ṛāsa mā širbit. qāl: hāya b-tinfaʿni ʾana. b-yisqīyaw, w-b-yimsika bi-šaṭlaw55 w-b-yirmīya la-taxm il-baḥir. b-yiṭlaʿ darfīn mi-l-baḥir, b-yiṭlaʿ ʿa-d-dabbi b-yāxdaw tiṭlaʿ ʿiššāra, id-dabbi, tiṭlaʿ ʿiššāra id-dabbiy.

36. bi-ǧǧīb mahir bi-ysammī́ l-Axraǧ, bi-ysammī́ l-Axraǧ. bi-yqūm bi-š-šaṭla ṭrīqa la-taxm il-baḥir w-b-yirmīyaw, b-yiṭlaʿ ʿlēha d-darfīn ǝṭrīqaw, b-yiṭlaʿ mi-l-baḥir b-yiṭlaʿ b-yāxda ʿa-d-dabbi, b-yirkabaw, bi-ǧǧīb ikinǧi56 mahir.

49 Cf. Procházka, Çukurova, p.94. 50 See Qiṣṣat az-Zīr (al-Qāhira), p.151: la-qad ʾataynāki bi-qātil waladiki. 51 See Qiṣṣat az-Zīr (al-Qāhira), p.153: ʾinnahā ǧāʾat bi-ṣandūq kabīr fa-waḍaʿat fīhi Sālim az-Zīr wa-zaffatathu. 52 Turkish yara ‘wound’. 53 Colloquial Turkish şebekeci ‘fisherman who catches fish with a net’. 54 Incorrectly for hāka. 55 Probably related to šaṭan ‘rope’. 56 For the ordinal numbers in Cilician Arabic see Procházka, Çukurova, p.149f.



37. bi-yrabbīyin la-hawdey, ʾawwil xiliqtin yʿāyin fīyin yā šiḥḥār! mā-lin ḍāt57. šaʿrin ǝmsabsalīn, firx darfīn yā! bi-yrabbīyin hawdi, la-hawdi tnaynin, čift ǝmhūraw tā yikbaru ta-ykabbsin.

38. la-yōm il-wēḥdi qāyim la-Ḥakmūn silṭōn58, silṭōn ma-yitḥārab hū wiyyā́. hōni b-yirkab la-l-ḥayṭ b-yirkab ʿa-l-ḥayṭ, iz-Zīr, qāl lammt-illizi tihǧim il-yahūd la-n-naṣāraw, yqūl: ḍribūhun, ḍribūhun, qtilūhun!

39. qal-lu: lammt-illizi n-naṣāra yihǧimu la-l-yahūd, yqūl, yā ʿayb ǝʿlaykum! w-ma-yiḍrib sīqāno fōq il-ḥayṭ, qāl id-damm hēk ma-ytizz min sīqāno.59 bi-tʿāyin, tiqšaʿu bitt, bitt Ḥakmūn il-yahūdi.

40. tiqšaʿu la-hādaw, qālit-lu: škēk, yā bayyi? bi-ǧǧi la-ʿand būwa, la-ʿand Ḥakmūn. qāl, qālit-lu: qšaʿt-illak fiʿl min ǝMwaḥḥid, ʾama ṣārit ʾama brūǧ ʿaqlo xāfqa, ʾama mḍayyaʿ ʿaqlo. ʾama ṣārit… ʾama mḍayyaʿ ʿaqlo hāda.

41. qal-la: rūḥi bad-tiftihmi minnu! qālit-lu: lammt-illizi l-yahūd… yihǧimu l-yahūd la-n-naṣāraw, yqūl: ḍribūhun, qtilūwin! qal-lu waqt tihǧim in-naṣāra la-l-yahūd yqūl: yā ʿayb ǝʿlaykin. qal-la: rūḥi siḥī-lu fīki! rāḥit qālt-lu: yā Mwaḥḥid, yā Mwaḥḥid!

42. qālt-lu: bayyi ma-yṣiḥ-lak, ta-trūḥ la-ʿanduw, qālt-lu: ʾiz kān b-yaʿṭīk min Laṭāyaw qil-lu: baddi Sitt Hind! bittu la-s-silṭān, la-Ḥakmūn. qil-lu: baddi ʾanaw Sitt Hind. qal-la: ḥrām ʿlayyi n-nisaw.

43. baʿd bitt Maṛṛaw, mart xū mikrāme la-bitt Maṛṛaw, la-Īmāl, šū ʾismaw? baʿd-illizi bi… š-ismin, bi-yrūḥ la-ʿando, Ḥakmūn. bi-yqil-lu: tfaḍḍal, yā sīd! qal-lu: ʾiz kān ǝltammit il-imāraw ǝb-tiqʿad bi-ṣ-ṣidir yoqṣa min waṛaw? qal-lu: waḷḷa qʿidt bi-ṣ-ṣidir.

44. qal-lu: ʾiz kān ballšit li-mġannaǧīy, qal-lu: hint mi-l bi-yġannow yoqṣa hint ǝb-tistammaʿ60 l-ġini? qal-lu: ʾana mi-l b-yistammʿo. qal-lu: hint mīn bi-yqillū-lak? qal-lu: ʾana, ma-taʿrif mīn bi-yqillū-li?

45. qal-lu: mīn? qal-lu: ʾana bi-yqillū-li Sālim iz-Zīr, Abu Lēla l-Muhalhil. qāl hāka: yā kitrit balāy! qāl hāka: yā kitrit balāy! qal-lu: ʾāmir! šū baddak? qal-lu: ʾā b-rīd minnak ġēr sayfak w-dirʿak. qal-lu: w-ḥṣāni l ʾana mrabbā́.

46. qal-lu hū: lā! qal-lu: mā baddi sayfak. mā ṭalab is-sayf minnu. qal-lu: baddi minnak sayf, w-diriʿ w-ḥṣān. qal-lu: rūḥ fūt la-ḍabbtu. qal-lin: ʾiʿṭṹ s-sayf! b-yimsik is-sayf, bi-yhizz-lu hēkey, b-yiksiru, b-yiksiru ʿa-s-sayf. qal-lu: fūt ǝlbēs diriʿ wlāk!

47. b-yilbisu la-d-diriʿ bi-ysawwi b-dayyāto hēk, bi-yfattqu killaytin. qāl: xudṹ ʿa-ṭ-ṭawli61, ṭawlit dabbāt il-xayl. qāl yirkib la… ta-ynaqqi ha-li-ḥṣān. hū w-mḥaḍḍar ḥālo šiġlu. qal-lu: ǝrkēb ha-li-ḥṣān! yqūl: ha-li-ḥṣān kayyis hāda.

48. rikib bi-ḍahro, bi-ykūn yiʿṣiru bi-sīqāno, ykūn kassar-lu ḍahro. qal-lin: ʾana, fī ʿindi ḥṣān. ǧībū-li ḥṣān ǝflān w-flēni! hāda la tirbiṭ ʾīdi ʾana mrabbā́. qal-lu: ʾana baddi sayfak w-drāʿak, la-Ḥakmūn. b-yiḥsin bi-yqil-lu lā waḷḷa?

49. ʾā b-yiḥsin bi-yqil-lu! bad-yiqtiluw. b-yiʿṭî hinni b-yisḥab bi-yǧē. b-yirkab bi-l-gāmi62 qal-lu: bass baddi minnak ta-twaddīni la-blādi. qal-lu: bad-ǝtwaddīni bass la-blādi. qal-lu ʿa-l-gāmiǧi, qal-lu: hāmān rakkbu waḷḷa bi-l-gāmi w-xudu la-maṭraḥ il bi-yqūl.

50. bi-yǧi hōne hāda b-yāxdu… b-yinzil min il-gāmīy bi-blādow. bi-yʿāyin, ʿāyan il-bayt ǝRbīʿaw mithiyyāy, mithiyyāy mixfīy, ḥēṭṭīn ʿlēha bayt Maṛṛa, ḥēṭṭīnu ʿlēhin ḥikim w-fī wlād xū, sabʿ ǝbnāt, sabʿ ǝbnāt w-ʾibnu, ʾibnu la-Klēb, ismu Ǧarw.

57 Standard Turkish tat ‘taste’; in the local Turkish dialect pronounced dat. 58 For ā > ō see Procházka, Çukurova, p.37f. 59 See Qiṣṣat az-Zīr (al-Qāhira), p.166: wa-huwa rākib ʿalā l-ḥayṭ ka-mā yarkabu l-ḥiṣān wa-yaḍribuhu bi-riǧlayhi. 60 Cf. Procházka, Çukurova, p.90. 61 Turkish tavla ‘horse stable’. 62 Turkish gemi.



51. ʾēxidtu ʾimmow, ʾimmu maʿaw maʿaw w-riyḥa ʿala ʿand ǝxwāta. ǝmyassaq63 ʿlēhin srēǧ mā biddu ta-yšaʿʿlṹ. qāl hāda bi-ydawwir bi-ydawwir bi-yʿāyin b-yiftihim mi-l-durūm64 bi-yridd ta-yǧīb li-ḥṣān, ramā́ bi-l-gāmi, hū rēmî bi-l-gāmi ʿa-li-ḥṣān.

52. ǧāy Ǧissās ibin Maṛṛaw, mʿāyin gāmi hūnīk ǝmʿāyin ha-li-ḥṣān ǧōfāt minnow. qal-lu: baddak taʿṭīni ha-li-ḥṣān? qāyil-lu l-qapṭān: haqqāy ʾilak dahab? qāyim bāyʿu ʿa-li-ḥṣān, bāyʿu ʿa-li-ḥṣān. baʿd-il bāyʿu ʿa-li-ḥṣān bi-yqūm hādaw, qal-lu: biʿt-illak li-ḥṣān bi-haqqāy ǝmṣēri. qal-lu: lā ykūn hallaq baddi ridd ǝṭrīqa la-xalf. qal-lu: lā ykūn baddi-ridd ǝṭrīqa la-Ḥakmūn.

53. qal-lu: tā kint taʿṭu la-ṛāsak waḷḷa rmaytak … qal-lo: ʾana bad-tāxidni ṭrīqa la-xalf. bi-yqūm, bi-yridd la-xalf, b-yirkab bi-yǧību la-ʾAḥǧal bi-yqillū-lu, xū la… la-hāk il-mahir. bi-yǧību la-hāk-il-mahir w-bi-yǧē ta-yilḥaq la-š-šaṭṭ w-ʾā baqa b-yistanna, ʾā b-yirmî ǧūwāt il-gāmi, b-yivzaʿ ʿlā, yrūḥ ybīʿu ṭrīqaw.

54. b-yiḍribu bi-l-baḥir, lammt-il b-yiḍribu bi-l-baḥir mitil bi-tkūn samke w-riyḥa. ta-yiṭlaʿ ʿala baṛṛa, la-š-šaṭṭ. qāl bi-yǧi hāda mšaršaḥ ǝmmarmaḥ waḷḷa fištahān ʿatīq w-sayfu taḥt ǧibbīto, sayfu taḥt iǧ-ǧibbīy65.

55. qāl bi-yǧi hādaw la-bayt xū. bi-yʿāyin b-yiqšaʿa la-bitt xū li-kbīri Īmāmi bi-yqillū-law. qal-la: mā-fi ʿindkin maṭraḥ bi-tlaffūni l-yōm? qālt-lu: niḥni myassaq ʿlēnaw fi ha-l-maṭraḥ. qal-la: yā, ʾā b-yitḥaddad ʾā hēk falān fištān, ʾana riǧǧāl faqīr, maḥḥad lā b-yiqšaʿni w-laḥḥad bi-yṣir-lu xabri66 bile.

56. qālit-lu: yā qāʿid hōni taḥt iš-…, taḥt iṣ-ṣaffāy. b-yiqʿad hādaw, ǝmraṭṭab mayya, qal-la: ʾā bi-ǧǧē bi-tšaʿʿlī-li ḥabbūši baṣbūṣit nāṛ ta-daffi tyēbi. qālit-lo: ʾama lā ybayynu la-bayt Maṛṛa la-hnīk. yasaq ʿlēhin iḍ-ḍaww wi-n-nāṛ.

57. qāl bi-yšaʿʿlu hēk baṣbūṣāt maṣbūṣāt falan tak-ma ḥatta, š-ismin, qāl hī bi-ddīr ḍahraw bi-yǧib-lik kōwmik min ha-l-ḥaṭab w-b-yišlaḥu fōq minnaw w-bi-tqiǧǧ ha-n-nāṛ w-b-tiʿla. lammt-illizi b-tiʿla ha-n-nāṛ qāl b-yiqšaʿa ʾibin Maṛṛaw: yā zift ǝqnāti! hawdi ʾana hēki myassaq ǝʿlēhin hinne ta-yšaʿʿlu hāk-in-nāṛ.

58. b-yirkab la-ḥṣānu w-bi-yǧi. la-li-ḥṣān illizi štarā́ minnow, bi-l-gāmi. – hū šērī́? – ʾē, hū šērī́. bi-yǧē: yā zift ǝqnātik, qal-la. bi-tqarrib ʿlā qālit-lo: hāda riǧǧāl faqīr hōni šiʿʿalnā-lo ḥabbtēn nāṛ. b-yiḥmaq minnaw, b-yiḍriba bi-s-sayf. b-yiḍriba bi-s-sayf, tinǧiriḥ, tinǧiriḥ ǝb-tibʿaq: ʾax yā ʿammi, bi-ykūn ʿammi hōn hallaq!

59. bi-yqil-la: yā rūḥ ʿammik! hūwi z-Zīr. b-yirkab la-ḥṣānow w-bi-yḥiṭṭ xalf minnow, b-yinhizim hāka. ʾā bi-yḥaṣṣlu. ǝḥṣāno firx, ʾā bi-yḥaṣṣlu. w-baqa kill yōm b-yinzil ʿlēhin qāl lammt-illizi bi-y… š-ismin kill yōm baqa b-yinzil ʿa-l-ḥarb.

60. qālu hawdi: šū baddna nsayyfu la-hādaw? qarraḍna tiqrīḍ killaytnaw. baddu yhayyinna, ʾā baddu yiḍqir. ʿirfū́ la-z-Zīr baqaw ʿarraf ḥāluw. w-b-yismaʿu xwātu mahzūmīn bi-ǧ-ǧbēl; ʾilu xayyayn il-ixra, ibin Maṛṛa, šēy, ʾimmu, ʾayri, ʾimmin ʾayri hawkey.

61. hawki b-yisḥabu bi-yǧu b-yinzalu miʿo. w-b-tiltamm ʿāyiltu ṭrīqt il-ixra, baʿd tiltamm qālu: hāda fī ʾibin xū, ʾibin xū, iǧ-Ǧarw. qālu ba-nnazzlu ʾilo. ʾiz kān hāka b-yiqtil hākaw, bi-ykūn ǝstraḥna min hākaw. w-hāka b-yiqtil hākaw, bi-ykūn ǝstraḥna minno. baʿda hāka m-niqtilu.

62. qāl nazzlū́ la-ḥarbuw, šabb, ʿāyin ta-yiḍribu la-bin xū, ʾā ma-yʿarrifu, ʾā ma-yiʿrifu baʿḍin. qāl hū ma-yiḍribu bi-ḍarb, šū ismuw, ʾanǧaq iz-Zīr ma-yiḥsin ykarrid ʿan ḥālu bass. ma-yiḥsin ykarrid ʿan ḥālo.

63. ma-yǧi ta-yiḍribuw, ʾīdu ma-tibyas ʾā ma-yiḥsin yiḍribu.67 qal-la la-bitt xū, qal-la: baddik ǝtqillī-li: ʾimmik lammt-ir rāḥit min hōni ḥāyle yoqṣa ḥāmli yaʿni ḥibli yoqṣa…68

63 Derived from Turkish yasak ‘forbidden’. 64 Turkish durum. 65 Probably a re-loan from Turkish cübbe. 66 A calque of Turkish haberi olmak ‘to get notice’. 67 Cf. Qiṣṣat az-Zīr (Bayrūt), p.148f.: wa-kāna al-Muhalhil qad māla qalbuhu ʾilayhi wa-taḥarrakat ǧamīʿ ʾaʿḍāʾuhu bi-ʾiḏn Allāh naḥwahu.



qālt-lu: waḷḷāhi kānit ḥiblit bi-tisʿ ǝšhūr, lammt-ir rāḥit. qal-la: ʿāyin lakat qal-la baddik tilbisi qal-la hinti bikra baddik tilbisi baddik tinzali maṭraḥi ʿa-l-ḥarb.

64. la-bitt xū, qal-la: hinti baddik tinzali maṭraḥi ʿa-l-ḥarb. ʾēy, škīf baddi nzal? qal-la: b-tāxdi bi-ǧēbik ǝtlat tiffāḥāt, tlat tiffāḥāt, qal-la: ʾiz kān bi-ssawwī-li mitla baddi ʿallim-lik, tišlifi bi-ʾawwil tiffāḥa, ʾiz kān b-yiḍriba bi-s-sayf b-yiqsima qisimtayn hū li-hāy ʾawwil ǝʿlāme.

65. w-ikinǧi tiffāḥaw, tišlifi fīyaw, ʾiz kān b-yiḍriba bi-z-zangīy69, bi-zangīt id-dabbi, li-ḥṣān. bi-ysawwīya bi-ṭrīq trātīš. hāy ikinǧi ʿlāme. hallaq tišlifi ʾüčünǧi tiffāḥaw. ʾiz kān b-yilqiṣa bi-ʾīdu l-ʾēmīn qūli: hāda xayyi min immi w-bayyi!70

66. nizlit hāya ʿalambikraw, w-iš-šabb, ʿāyin, mitil xūwaw, qal-lu: rūḥ yā walad, yā walad, qal-lu, rūḥ, ʾana bʿat-li z-Zīr, iz-Zīr! qālit-lu: rūḥ hint šū bi-yʿarrfak bi-ḥarb iz-Zīr? qālit-lu, qālit-lu: ʾana ǧāy il-yōm qāršītak. lēffi ǧimmta, ḥēṭiṭta taḥt il-ǝʿqāl.

67. w-iš-šabb hawdi b-yihǧimu la-baʿḍin tišlifu bi-t-tiffāḥa, b-yiḍriba bi-s-sayf la-t-tiffāḥa. tišlifu ʾikinǧi t-tiffāḥaw, w-yiḍriba bi-z-zangīy, bi-trūḥ trātīš. tišlifu ʾüčünǧü tiffāḥa b-yilqiṣa bi-ʾīdo l-ʾēmīn.

68. bi-tqil-lu: kila yā ʿayn ixtak, tqil-lu, kila yā ʿayn xayytak! qal-la: hinti maṛaw, ma-tḥārbīni, ʾāh qālit-lu […]. qālt-lu: ʾana, qālt-lu, ykūn ǧāk ʿammak qatalak min ǝzmān. ʾā ma-yiḥsin yiḍribak. qālt-lu: ʾā ma-yiḥsin yiḍribak, ma-tibyas īdi. hint, qālt-lu, mīn, mīn būk? qal-la: bayyi Hiǧris. mā qāylī-lu! qālt-lu: ʾimmak mīn? qal-la: ʾimmi bitt Maṛṛaw, ǝǦlīli.

69. qālt-lu: ʾana ʾimmi Ǧlīli. qālt-lu: ʾana ʾimmi Ǧlīli, hint būk, qālt-lu, Klēb. šū ʾismak hint? qal-la: ʾismi Flān, qālt-lu: ʾismak iǧ-Ǧarw, la-laqab būk. qālt-lu: baddak ǝtrūḥ, baddak ǝssawwi ḥālak ǝmǧarraḥ. bad-tqūl: ʾana, z-Zīr hēk sayyafni, hēk sayyafni, hallakni halk.

70. w-baddak xalli tiġlī-lak immak mayy, w-baddak ǝtqarrira la-ʾimmak. ʾasās būk mīn? bi-yrūḥ hādaw, qal-lin: ʾōf ʾana hilkān, ʾana taʿbān ʾana hēk kassarni z-Zīr, ʾana hēk ǧarraḥni ʾana hēk, qal-la ġlī-li dist mayy! baddi txassal.

71. ta-yaxsil ǧrūḥāto. tiġlī-lu ʾimmu dist il-mayy, ʾimmu Ǧlīli tak-ma ǧǧē bi-tqil-lo: tʿa ta-nazzla yā ʾimmi! b-yimsika ʾīd w-ʾiǧir w-baddu yḥiṭṭa ǧūwāt id-dist. qal-la: bad-tqillī-li ḥaqīqt il-ḥaqīq, bayyi mīn? qālt-lu: waḷḷa būk ǝKlēb.

72. qal-la z-Zīr, mīn hū? qālt-lu: z-Zīr ʿammak, xū būk, qālt-lu: hawdi xwālak qatlṹ la-būk w-ʿammak ma-yčāliš71 ta-yāxid bi-tār būk. ḥakit-lu kill šēy bi-l-ačǝq72, qālit-lu: lakat hawdi rabbūk, hawdi lā tḥārib miʿin! qal-la: lā, baddi ʾāxid, qal-la, kmayn baddi qtilu la-z-Zīr. baddi-qtilu w-xalli xwāli yistirḥu minnu. ʾēy, miššān šū, prensīp.

73. qal-lin: b-tiẓbirūni ta-yinzal la-l-ḥarb yā! qal-lin: tiẓbirūni ʾarbʿit īyēm, ʾarbʿit īyēm. b-arbʿit īyēm, qal-lin, baddi ǧību la-…ṛās iz-Zīr la-ʿandkin. qal-lin: baddi ǧib-ilkin hū la-ʿandkin, hintu b-tiqtilṹ.

74. w-kān qabil minnaw qēʿid hū Ǧissās ibin Maṛṛaw, hū w-ma-yākil. hū qēʿid ma-yākil b-yixfa73, b-yikbi naʿisto, b-yiġfa bi-… yaʿni bi-š-ismin… b-yiqšaʿ bi-nvāmu bi-sabiʿ qaraf raqibto w-ma-ymiṣṣ bi-dammow, wi-ǧarw ma-yinhiš bi-likkit ṭīẓu, bi-laḥmuw.

75. b-yivzaʿ hāda, qāl la-ʾimmo: hēk hēk ǝqšiʿt bi-nvāme. qālū-lu: yāw bi-ykūn iz-Zīr hallaq issāto hōney, qabil min … qabil ma-yinharib iz-Zīr, ykūn hōney, yqil-lin kinna mi-nqūl: ʾī waḷḷa, hū bi-l-ḥayya, bi-l-mīdān. baʿd-illizi bi-yrūḥ hāda la-ʿand ʿammow bi-yqil-lin: baʿd ǝtlatt īyēm baddi ǧību la-ṛāsu yā! baddi ǧib-ilkin hū la-hōni, hintu qtilū́!

68 Cf. Qiṣṣat az-Zīr (al-Qāhira), p.229: ʾaʿlimīnī hal kānat ʾummuki al-Ǧalīla ḥāmila lammā ḏahabat ʾilā bayt ʾabīhā? 69 Turkish üzengi. 70 Cf. Qiṣṣat az-Zīr (al-Qāhira), p.231: ʾahlan wa-sahlan yā ʾaxī ibn ʾummī wa-ʾabī! 71 Turkish çalışmak ‘to try’. 72 Turkish açık ‘open’. 73 < b-yiġfa



76. bi-yrūḥ hādaw, b-yiqšaʿu la-ʿammu. bi-yqil-lu: ʿmēl dīr li-ḥṣān maṭraḥ-il mitil-ma tibqa būk mʿallamu la-li-ḥṣān. dīru fōq li-qnāq. bi-ydarriǧ tāāāā ʾikinǧi kat, la-fōq. w-hōnīke birk… ǧirin, ǧirin il-ʾakil […] hādaw w-ǧirin il-mayy.

77. min hōnīki b-yiqšaʿu la-xwātuw, b-yiltammu sabʿitin ʿlā w-b-yiwqaʿu qāršīn fōq baʿḍin baʿḍ. fi wēḥid ma-yʿāyin ʿlēhin yaʿni ma-ydīr bālu ʿlēhin wēḥid mitil xizmetčītin hā! w-b-yirgid hāda la-ʿand iz-Zīr.

78. bi-yqil-lu: ḥaqqa ṣar-li ʾanaw, bi-xidmit wlād xūk li-bnāt, qal-lu ta-yiqšaʿu wēḥid šabb wi-yiʿšaqu killaytin sabʿaw. qal-lu: lā wlak. qal-lu: biššart, ʾama, qal-lu, mā biššart kayyis. qal-lu: šūw? qal-lu: wlak hāda ʾibin sīdak, hāda Ǧarw. qal-lu: hāda ʾibin sīdak.

79. baʿd-illizi bi-yqil-lu ʾibin sīdak hāda bi-yharwilu xalf baʿḍin baʿḍin, b-yitrāgdu, b-yiqšaʿin qēʿdīn sabʿ ǝbnāt ṣāḥīyīn sabʿ ǝbnāt w-xūwin baynātin. ʾē qal-lu yā ʿammi, šū ba-nsawwi baqa škīf hallaq baddna niqtilu la-ʾibin Maṛṛaw?

80. qal-lu: ʿāyin, qal-lu, yōm-il ǝflān w-flēni, qal-lu, b-yinzal ʾana w-hint la-l-ḥarb, qal-lu, b-yinzal ʾana w-hint la-l-ḥarb, qal-lu b-tiḍribni b-iḍribak, b-tiḍribni b-iḍribak, qal-lu bi-tḥiṭṭ ǝmṣārīn damm, qal-lu b-tinṣarr bi-mṣārīn damm, la-z-Zīr ma-yqillū-lu w-bi-t… ʾama qal-lu b-iḍribak bi-l-ḥarbīy, tiḍrib bi-mṣārīn damm bi-yxirr id-damm.

81. qal-lu w-b-tišlaḥ ḥālak hint ʿan li-ḥṣān la-taḥt ʿa-l-arḍ. qal-lu: bass anaw, qal-lu ta-lqiṣu la… la-lǧēm ǝḥṣānu. b-yinzalu hawdi ʿa-l-ḥarb, b-yiḍrib hāka b-yiḍrib hāka w-hāka b-yiḍrib hākaw bi-yʿāynu b-yinkilu bi-mṣārīn id-damm, bi-yxirr ha-d-damm ǝb-yišlaḥ ḥālu z-Zīr ʿa-l-arḍ. hōni bi-yqūl:

82. ǝvzaʿt hāy ʾawwil fazʿa. bi-yqūl: ʿimri mā vzaʿt ha-l-fazʿa hādey. baʿd-illizi, š-ismin, bi-yqil-lu: qṭāʿ ṛāso! bi-yqil-lu: qṭāʿ ṛāsu, la-Ǧarw. qal-lu: hint silṭān w-hū silṭān. qal-lu: hint ǝnzāl m-il-faṛas, xinǧārak b-īdak, qal-lu.

83. hāda b-yinzal ʿan š-ismin w-hāda b-yilqiṣu la-lǧēm ǝḥṣānu w-bi-yqil-lu: ʿammi yā ʿammi qūm ʿlā! w-bi-yfizz hāda b-yilqiṣu b-yikrifa la-raqibto, b-yikrifa la-raqibto w-yballiš ymiṣṣ bi-dammo. w-hākaw hū ma-ysawwi la-ṣawt ṣār yinhiš baqa bi-laḥmo,74 mitil-ma šāf bi-nvāmu.

84. bi-hākey b-yiqtilūwin la-Bayt Maṛṛa. bi-yqarrṭūwin, bi-yqarrṭūwin, la-hallaq bi-yǧu hēk qrābwīṭ. bi-yqillū-lin traḥmū-lin? la-bayt iz-Zīr, bi-yqūl lā waḷḷa! lakat ʾā bi-traḥmū-lin. waḷḷa bayt Maṛṛa, hinne min ʿaylit Bayt Maṛṛa yā, qrābīṭ la-hallaq!

Translation75: 1. (Once upon a time) there was iz-Zīr, iz-Zīr: They used to call him Abu Lēla l-Muhalhil,

Abu Lēla l-Muhalhil. There was he and his brother, he and his brother, who was the Sultan of the country. His brother was the Sultan of the country. Look! The women, (one of them) was unyielding towards him, towards iz-Zīr; (this was) his brother’s wife.

2. His sister-in-law often fell ill – his brother’s name was Klēb, his name was Klēb. She said to him; “I’m ill, I’m sick. The doctor has prescribed a medicine for me. The doctor has prescribed for me a medicine of lion’s milk, milk of a lion.”76

3. They said, “Who will be able to bring this?” She said, “It should be your brother, he is still here. A stranger, should he bring you milk?” So this man asked his brother, who said, “Okay, you give me a weapon and I’ll bring you the milk.”

4. He (Klēb) said, “It’s a real pity for you!” (Iz-Zīr) responded, “The lion is even afraid of the pussycat.” That means he thought of the lion as a cat. And he was a man, a man who made the lion out to be like a cat. He took the weapon, belted it onto his waist, and departed.

74 Cf. Qiṣṣat az-Zīr (Bayrūt), p.155: az-Zīr qaṭaʿa raʾsahu ṯumma waḍaʿa az-Zīr famahu ʿalā ʿunq Ǧassās wa-šariba damahu wa-kāna al-Ǧarw yanhišu fī laḥmihi. 75 I would like to thank my friend Craig Crossen for his efforts in helping me to make a translation which is both close to the original and good English. 76 For this motive cf. LYONS, Arabian epic, II, p.434.



5. When iz-Zīr had reached the forest – Let us be far away from that place! – he bound the donkey to the foot of the lion, to the lion’s foot. He came out from the well (where he had hidden) and looked for the lioness to take milk from her. When he saw the lion, it had eaten the donkey.

6. He and the lion began to fight each other. He attacked the lion and defeated it. (After) the lion had been defeated (iz-Zīr) saw the lioness and behind her seven cubs, seven females. Being afraid of her, he climbed a tree.

7. After he had climbed the tree, she began to circle around him. Don’t they say, “(If) the lion has (lit. sees) children,” they say, “death is better than life, death is better than life.”77

8. He came down from the tree and got onto the back of the lioness. She rolled beneath him, she rolled beneath him like a mill, like a mill. He grabbed her and stabbed her with the dagger.

9. He stabbed her with the dagger. She stumped to the ground and turned (on her side). He brought the water skin, a water skin, a small water skin. He had brought a vessel, like a canister with him – something like this. He grasped her and milked her. He filled the vessel – he filled all what he had brought with him – he filled it with milk.

10. He went away and came to Klēb. He gave her the milk. For a couple of days she was fine, but then she fell ill again, because she was determined to kill (iz-Zīr). Because of his sister-in-law, this one never did marry: Iz-Zīr never did marry. Sālim iz-Zīr they called him.

11. He realized that he wouldn’t get rid of her and prepared to set off for the mountains. He said to his brother, “You will be the Sultan of the country and I will be the Sultan of the lions.” This he said to Klēb, his brother. He told him, “I’ll be the Sultan of the lions.”

12. He said, “Okay!” He (iz-Zīr) went away and built himself a castle of lions’ heads. Everytime he saw a lion, he killed it and put its head in place like a wall, like a wall. So he made, he built, a castle. Yes, now let’s come back to Klēb. He and his brothers-in-law, they were determined (to kill iz-Zīr)78.

13. His wife was one who could read the future in the sand, by throwing sand. Klēb’s wife was a fortune teller. So she knew that he (her brother) would slay Klēb and that Sālim iz-Zīr would come and slay her whole family. Her whole family would be wiped out completely.

14. Klēb had a filly which he used to train. He threw a spear and rode after it (to fetch it). Then his brother-in-law came up to him; his brother-in-law came up to him and said to him, “I have come to kill you.” (But Klēb) mounted his horse and fled.

15. A week later he was training his foal again when his brother-in-law came. Without warning he stabbed him with the spear, which went into his back and came out from his chest. – His brother-in-law killed him? Yes, his brother-in-law. They were called the Maṛṛa family. The others were called the Rbīʿa family. His brother-in-law was from the Maṛṛa family? Yes, from the Maṛṛa family. –

16. After he had stabbed him, he (Klēb) said to them (the Maṛṛas), “Pull me to the rocks so that I can write down something!” They pulled him to the rock and he wrote an inscription for his brother, like a message. – That means he wrote it in a code? Yes. – Then they cut off his head, and took it and threw it away.

17. After they had cut off his head and taken it away, the one who had married Klēb’s sister and who was also of the Maṛṛa family, said, “How can I go to iz-Zīr, to Sālim iz-Zīr and inform him, that he should come here so that we can reconcile?”

18. This one set off and (when he came there) he was talking and talking and talking to him (iz-Zīr). He (iz-Zīr) said, “You came here. What is the reason for your coming?” – Did

77 Because the lioness will kill you anyway, a sudden death is preferable. 78 This is probably a slip of the tongue, because his brother Klēb did not want to kill him.



iz-Zīr say this to him? Yes, iz-Zīr. – The other said, “I came here to bring you the news that war and killing has happened between our camels and yours.”

19. He said, “Our camels fought your camels, they fought your camels.”79 He (iz-Zīr) said, “If you weren’t my brother-in-law, who has taken my sister, you would give me your head right now and I would leave it here. Go!” He (the man) said, “But don’t come down to kill me! When you go down to fight, don’t fight against me!”

20. So this one went away and iz-Zīr, Sālim iz-Zīr, mounted his horse and came to that country – because he had understood – he had understood that his brother had been murdered.

21. He said, “Where is the place where my brother was murdered?” They said, “At such-and-such a spot.” He went there and saw that he (Klēb) had written an inscription with his blood.80 He had disposed by will a lot of things when writing down the inscription. So iz-Zīr started to do it, to slaughter the Maṛṛa family.81

22. He killed the old and the young: he did not spare any of them, only a very few men (remained). After he had killed so many of them, they fled, they … One day they set a trap for him. They said, “When he sits down to drink wine, he drinks a whole jar and eats a whole sheep.”

23. Iz-Zīr, Sālim iz-Zīr, began to drink and he drank until he no longer knew his way. It is said that they came and found him sleeping. One wanted to approach him, but he did not dare to approach him. He said to himself, “Let’s throw the sword upon him and run!”

24. He threw the sword upon him and (they continued) until they had piled swords on him up to this height. They were unable to approach him; they only threw their swords onto him and ran. Then they said to his sister – Ḍbayʿa was her name and the Maṛṛa family had taken her (as a bride).

25. “Here, your brother is yours. He is the one who has killed your husband, he has killed your children, and he has killed your family, the first and the last. He has left nobody.” It is told that when her children and her husband came to her mind she started to bite him (iz-Zīr).

26. But when her brothers82 came to her mind, she cried. (She said,) “I want to tell you something.” He opened his eyes. He was not dead (after all) and said to her, “Ḍbayʿa, O Ḍbayʿa! Eat me and tear me to pieces, O Ḍbayʿa! May God not help you! May God not protect you from disasters!”

27. She said, “O eye of your sister, you are yet alive?” He was not dead. He said, “I am yet alive.” She made a box for him, she made a box for him. She waterproofed the box with pitch and then put him inside.

28. She bandaged all his wounds with cotton and then she threw him into the sea, she threw him into the sea. One wave took him up, one wave took him down, one wave took him up, one wave took him down, until he came here, in Mersin, to Ḥakmūn’s place;

29. here, in Mersin, at (the place of) Ḥakmūn, as they called him. He came here where a Sultan was reigning whom they called Ḥakmūn the Jew. Ḥakmūn the Jew, so they called him. As for the fishermen (who found him) one of them said, “This haul is mine!” And another said, “This haul is mine!” So three or four of them began to quarrel.

79 The fact that the camels are mentioned here is perhaps a reminiscence of the story about the camels in the vineyard that is absent from our version (see above). 80 For messages written in blood cf. LYONS, Arabian epic, II, p.435. 81 What is missing here, is Zīr’s oath not to bury his brother until he has fetched Ǧassās’ head. Also the following episodes about the hiding of a young man in Kulayb’s grave are not told here (LYONS, Arabian epic, III, p.656f.). 82 She thought that iz-Zīr had been killed, as Klēb had been earlier.



30. They pulled it out (from the sea) and opened the box. “A disaster (must have happened) in their country!” There was no spot on him without a wound. They said, “If there hadn’t been a disaster in his country, something like this could not have happened.” They said, “It doesn’t happen in this way.”

31. Some of them said, “Let’s throw him back into the sea!” But others said, “No, let’s inform Sultan Ḥakmūn!” “That’s better”, they said. They went and brought the news to Ḥakmūn. They brought (iz-Zīr) to him and he was a doctor, a professor, and he cured him bringing him back to life and nothing was any longer wrong with him.

32. He said to him, “What’s your name?” He said, “My name is li-Mwaḥḥid, li-Mwaḥḥid is my name.” If he had said ‘iz-Zīr’ he would have killed him, because he once had fled from him. Ḥakmūn the Jew had escaped from iz-Zīr, and if he had told him that he was iz-Zir, he would have killed him.83

33. So he said, “My name is li-Mwaḥḥid.” He asked him, “What is your work in your country?” He said, “I am a herdsman. I tend horses, I tend animals.” He said, “This one will be helpful to us. He will take the horses and tend them all: he will take them to and bring them from the pastures, the horses.”

34. Iz-Zīr said (to himself), “Let’s stop and select a foal for me!” Look! He let the horses go thirsty for three days: For three days they did not have a taste of water. Then he let them go to the watering place. But after they had come to drink he called to them.

35. “Come here!” One thoroughbred mare raised her head and did not drink. He said, “This one is useful to me.” He let her drink; then he took her with a rope and left her at the beach. A monster came out from the sea and took the mare, which became pregnant; the mare became pregnant.

36. She gave birth to a foal which he named il-Axraǧ, he named it il-Axraǧ. He took the rope again and left her at the beach. The monster came a second time over her; it came out of the sea, took the mare, and covered her. She gave birth to a second foal.

37. He brought them up. At first, when she had given birth to them, he took a look and (said), “Oh how ugly!” They were not nice; their hair was long and straggly. They were kids of a monster, weren’t they? He brought them both up, this pair of foals, until they were grown and he trained them.

38. One day a Sultan began a war against Ḥakmūn. Iz-Zīr climbed on the wall, he climbed on the wall and they say that when the Jews attacked the Christians he said, “Beat them, beat them, kill them!”

39. But when the Christians attacked the Jews he said, “Shame on you!” while banging his feet against the wall until blood spurted from his feet. A maiden saw him, the daughter of Ḥakmūn the Jew.

40. She saw that one and said to him, “Why, my father?” She had come to her father, to Ḥakmūn, and said to him, “I have seen for you an act of li-Mwaḥḥid, but ‘the constellations of his mind have set’. But he has lost his mind, but it has become… he has lost his mind.”

41. He said to her, “Go and try to understand (his behaviour)!” She said, “When the Jews attack the Christians he says: ‘Beat them, kill them!’ And when the Christians attack the Jews he says: ‘Shame on you!’” He said to her, “Go and call him!” She went and shouted, “O Mwaḥḥid, O Mwaḥḥid!”

42. She said to him, “My father summons you and wishes you to come to him.” And she added, “If he wants to give you Laṭāya (as a wife), then tell him that you want Sitt Hind, the Sultan’s daughter, Ḥakmūn’s daughter. Tell him, ‘I want Sitt Hind!’” He said to her, “No, women are forbidden to me.”

83 Giving a false name is a frequent motif (cf. LYONS, II, p.292 and 399). The reason given here, that Ḥakmūn had fled from iz-Zīr, is not found in other versions.



43. This was because of Maṛṛa’s daughter, his sister-in-law, because of Maṛṛa’s daughter, Īmāl or whatever her name was. Then he went to Ḥakmūn, who said to him, “Please, sir, (sit down)!” He asked him, “When the emirs meet, do you sit in front of them or in the back?” He said, “In front.”

44. Then (Ḥakmūn) asked him, “When the singers start to sing, are you one of those who sing or one of those who listen to the songs?” (Iz-Zīr) said, “I am one of the listeners.” He said, “You, what is your name?” He said, “Me? Do you know how they call me?”

45. He said, “Who are you?” He answered, “They call me Sālim iz-Zīr, Abu Lēla l-Muhalhil.” That one said, “Oh, how great is my disaster! How great is my disaster! Just command! What do you wish?” He said, “I don’t wish for anything from you but your sword, your armour, and the horse which I have trained.”

46. He said, “No!” (Iz-Zīr) said, “Well, I don’t want your sword.” That means he did not ask for his sword. (Iz-Zīr) said, “I just want any sword, any armour, and any horse.” He said: “Go inside […] and give him the sword!” Iz-Zīr took the sword, flourished it and broke it into pieces. He broke the sword into pieces. Ḥakmūn said, “Hey, dress him in armour!”

47. He put on the armour, did like this with his arms, and tore it to pieces. He said, “Bring him to the stable, to the horse stable, so that he can select the horse.” He had prepared everything. He said, “Mount this horse! This is a good horse.”

48. Iz-Zīr mounted the horse, pressed it with his legs and almost broke its back. He said to them, “I (already) have a horse. Bring me such-and-such a horse! The horse which I have tied with my own hands, which I have trained myself.” And to Ḥakmūn he said, “I want your sword and your armour.” Could he refuse?

49. No, he couldn’t. He would have killed him. So they gave him everything (he wanted) and he went away. He got on a boat and said to the boatman, “I only want you to bring me back to my own country. Just bring me back to my own country!” He (Ḥakmūn) said to him, “Let him get on the boat and take him to the place he told you!”

50. So he came here… he got off the boat in his own country and was looking around. He recognized that the Rbīʿa family had been wiped out, they had disappeared. The Maṛṛa family had gained control over them and there were (left only) his brother’s children, seven girls and one boy, Klēb’s son; his name was Ǧarw.

51. His mother had taken him with her and had gone to her brothers. Lamps were forbidden to them; he (her brother) did not want them to light (lamps).84 It is said that iz-Zīr wandered around until he understood the whole situation. Then he went back to get the horse, the horse which he had left on the boat. He had left the horse on the boat.

52. (Meanwhile) Ǧissās ibn Maṛṛa came. He saw the boat over there and he saw the horse on it. He said (to the boatman), “Would you give me this horse?” The captain said, “How much gold do you have?” …and sold the horse to him. After he had sold the horse to him, (iz-Zīr) came back and he told him, “I have sold the horse for you for such-and-such an amount of money.” He answered, “If it is like this (here), I now have to go back again. If it is like this (here) I want to go back to Ḥakmūn.”

53. He (the boatman) said, “Even if you give me your head, I will leave you (here).” He said, “You will take me back again!” So he went back, mounted Aḥǧal, as they called it,85 the brother of the other foal. He brought this foal and when he approached the coast he did not wait, he did not leave it inside the boat, because he was worried that he (the boatman) would sell it again.

54. He drove it (the horse) into the sea. And when he had driven it into the sea, it began to swim like a fish until it reached the land, the coast. It was said that he looked ragged

84 Cf. LYONS, Arabian epic, III, p.569. 85 Usually its name is Abū Ḥaǧlān which is, however, derived from the same root ḥ-ǧ-l.



and tattered, with old clothes; and his sword was (hidden) under his bornous, under the bornous.

55. He came to the house of his brother. He looked around and saw his brother’s eldest daughter – her name was Īmāmi86 – and he asked her, “Do you have somewhere to shelter me today?” She said, “This is forbidden to us here.” He said, “That’s not fixed, there’s nothing like this, I am a poor man and nobody will see me, nobody will even notice me.”

56. She said, “Sit down here under the… under the balcony!” He sat down, wet from the water, and said, “Would you light me a small fire so I can dry my clothes?” She said, “But it cannot be seen by the Maṛṛa family over there.” This, because light and fire were forbidden to them.

57. They set fire to some pieces of wood until … she turned her back to him. Suddenly he took a heap of wood and threw it on the fire. The flames blazed up. When the flames blazed up, Ibn Maṛṛa saw them and said, “Damn! Haven’t I forbidden them to light a fire!”

58. He mounted his horse and came. The horse which he had bought from him (the boatman) on the boat. – He had bought it? Yes, he has bought it. – He came and said to her, “Damn!” She approached him and said, “This is a poor man and we only lit two pieces of wood for him.” But he got angry with her and beat her with the sword. He hit her with the sword and she was wounded. She was wounded and cried out, “Ahh, O my uncle! If my uncle were here now!”

59. He said to her, “O dearest of your uncle!” It was iz-Zīr. He mounted his horse. The other chased him, but he escaped. (Ibn Maṛṛa) could not catch up to him; because his horse was young, he could not catch up to him. Thereafter iz-Zīr fought them every day. When he… every day he fought them.

60. They said, “What should we do with him? He will slaughter all of us. He will finish us off and he will not stop.” They already knew iz-Zīr; iz-Zīr had revealed himself. Then their brothers who had fled to the mountains heard about it. He had two other brothers, Ibn Maṛṛa; but their mothers were different.

61. Those came and fought together with him. Another time the (Ibn Maṛṛa) family assembled and said among themselves, “There is his nephew, his nephew who is named iǧ-Ǧarw. Let’s send him to fight (iz-Zīr)! If he (iz-Zīr) kills him, we’ve got rid of him. And if he (iǧ-Ǧarw) kills him (iz-Zīr), we’ve got rid of that and later we’ll kill him (iǧ-Ǧarw).”

62. So they send him to fight. Look, he was a young man and he (iz-Zīr) would without knowing kill his own nephew. They did not know each other. It is said that he (iǧ-Ǧarw) made the first stroke, but iz-Zīr managed not to reveal himself, he could not reveal himself.

63. But when he wanted to strike him (his nephew), his hand grew stiff87 and he was not able to hit him. (After the fight) he said to his niece, “Tell me, when your mother left this place, was she pregnant or not?” She said, “By God, when she left, she was pregnant and in her ninth month.” He said to her, “Well, then, tomorrow you will put on (the armour) and fight in my place.”

64. This he said to his brother’s daughter; he said to her, “You will fight in my place.” She replied, “How should I fight?” He said, “Put three apples in your pocket, three apples, and do what I will tell you. Throw the first apple, and if he cuts it into two pieces with his sword, then this is to be regarded as the first sign.

86 Al-Yamāma in the other versions. 87 Literally: his hand dried.



65. The second apple, throw it too! And if he smashes it with the stirrup, then this is to be regarded as the second sign. Now throw the third apple! If he catches it with his right hand, then you say, ‘This is my true brother – (a child of) my mother and my father!’”

66. Early in the morning she went down, and there was this young man, look, like her brother. He said to her,88 “Go away, boy! Go away, boy! Send me iz-Zīr!” She said, “What can iz-Zīr teach you about fighting? Today I have come to fight you.” She had tied up her hair and put it under her headscarf.

67. And the young man… they attacked each other and she threw the first apple at him. He hit the apple with the sword. She threw the second apple at him and he smashed it with the stirrup. She threw the third apple at him and he caught it with his right hand.89

68. She said, “Eat it, O eye of your sister! Eat it, O eye of your sister!” He said, “But you are a woman who is fighting me!” She said, “If your uncle had come, he had killed you long ago. (But) he cannot strike you, he cannot strike you. He says, ‘My hand had frozen.’ Who, who is your father?” He said, “My father is Hiǧris.”90 – That means she (his mother) has not yet told him (the truth). – She said, “And who is your mother?” He said, “My mother is Ǧlīli, the daughter of Maṛṛa.”

69. She said, “Ǧlīli is also my mother. My mother is Ǧlīli. And your father is Klēb! What is your name?” He said, “My name is so-and-so.” She said, “Your (true) name is Ǧarw, after your father.”91 She said, “Go and pretend to be wounded. Tell them that iz-Zīr has done that to you, that he has beaten you up.

70. And let your mother boil you some water; and demand that your mother tell you who your real father is.” So he went away and said to them, “Ah, I am exhausted! Iz-Zīr smashed me good. He has wounded me. Boil me a cauldron of water: I wish to wash myself.”

71. His mother boiled a cauldron of water for him, to wash his wounds. His mother Ǧlīli, who then said, “Come! Here we are, my dear!” But he took her by one hand and one foot, and threatened to put her into the cauldron saying, “Tell me the truth, only the truth! Who is my father?” She said, “By God, your father is Klēb.”

72. He said, “And who is iz-Zīr?” She said, “iz-Zīr is your uncle, the brother of your father. Your maternal uncles killed your father and your paternal uncle now tries to take revenge for your father.” She told him everything frankly. She added, “They have brought you up, so don’t fight with them!” He said, “I also want to kill iz-Zīr. I will kill him and thereby I will relieve my uncles of him. Yes, because this is (my) code.”

73. He said to them (his uncles), “Be patient until he comes to fight! Be patient for four days. Just give me four days, and after four days I will bring iz-Zir’s head to you. No, I will bring him to you and you will kill him.”

74. Before that Ǧissās ibn Maṛṛa was sitting and eating and then fell asleep, he dozed off. In a dream he saw a lion breaking his neck and sucking his blood. And he saw a young dog tore at the meat from his buttocks.92

75. He was afraid and said to his mother, “I saw thus-and-thus in my dream.” They said, “If iz-Zīr is still here, if he is here, (something like that could happen), before he can be destroyed.” He said to them, “We told you he is still alive, still near.” Before, this one (Ǧarw) had gone to his uncle he had said to them, “After three days I will bring you his head. I will bring him here and you will kill him.”

88 In the original he addresses her in the masculine form, because he does not know that she is a woman. 89 For this motif cf. OLIVERIUS, Themen und Motive, p.145. 90 Usually Hiǧris is his own name, Ǧarw being his nickname. 91 Klēb means ‘small dog’ and Ǧarw means ‘young dog’. 92 For this parable cf. also OLIVERIUS, Erzähltechnik, p.487.



76. He went to see his (paternal) uncle. He said to him, “Let the horse circle around the place like your father used to train the horse to do. Let it circle around the konak!”93. He went up the stairs to the second floor. There was a vat with food and a vat with water.

77. From there he could see his sisters. All seven had gathered and (when they saw him) they were overjoyed. There was somebody who was looking after them, someone like a butler. This one ran to iz-Zīr.

78. He said, “Truly I am in charge of the children of your brother, the girls. When they saw a (certain) young man they fell in love with him, all seven of them.” He said, “You brought a message but it was not a good message.” He said, “Why?” He said, “He is the son of your master, it’s Ǧarw. This is the son of your master.”

79. After he had told him that this young man was the the son of his master, they rushed one after the other, they ran (to the place) and finallly saw them sitting: seven nice girls, seven nice girls and their brother amidst them. He (Ǧarw) said, “My uncle, what should we do now? How can we kill Ibn Maṛṛa?”

80. Moreover he said, “Look, on a certain day, we shall (pretend) to fight each other, we shall enter a combat. You will strike me and I will strike you. You will strike me and I will strike you. You will take bowels filled with blood. You will be wrapped with bowels filled with blood… and then I will strike you with the lance and it will pierce the bowels and the blood will flow.

81. Let yourself fall from the horse onto the ground! And I will try to catch the reins of his horse.” So they entered combat and smote each other. (Ǧarw) struck him and slit the bowels filled with blood. The blood flowed and iz-Zīr fell to the ground shouting,

82. “I am so afraid! In my whole life I have never been afraid like this!” (Ǧarw) now said to (Ǧissās), “Sever his head!” He said to Ǧarw, “You, you sever his head!” He responded, “No, you are a Sultan and he is a Sultan. Dismount! The dagger is in your hand!”

83. When he dismounted, Ǧarw took the reins of his horse and shouted, “My uncle! Get him!” He (iz-Zīr) jumped up, grabbed him, broke his neck, and began to suck his blood. Ǧarw let out a shriek and tore at his (Ǧissās’) flesh like he had seen in his dream.

84. So they killed the Maṛṛa family, they snuffed them out. And to this day they are gypsies. The (people) said to iz-Zīr’s family, “Will you have mercy on them?” But he said, “No way! You are not to mercy on the Maṛṛa family.” And so the members of the Maṛṛa family are gypsies even to our days.

* * * * *

93 A konak is a large building belonging to rich people or to the state.

Documents

Imperium and Officium Working Papers (IOWP)iowp.univie.ac.at/sites/default/files/IOWP_procházka_zir...3 Stephan Procházka NFN Imperium and Officium. Comparative Studies in Ancient