Arabic in Yemen

Bedouins Without Arabic: Language, Poetry and the Mahra of
Southeast Yemen
by
Samuel Joseph Liebhaber
A .B . (Dartmouth College) 1996

M .A . (University of California, Berkeley) 1999
A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the

requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
in
Near Eastern Studies
in the
Graduate Division
of the
University of California, Berkeley
Committee in charge:
Professor Margaret Larkin, Chair
Professor Bridget Connelly
Professor John Hayes
Professor James Monroe
Spring 2007
R eproduced with perm ission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
UMI Number: 3275487
Copyright 2007 by
Liebhaber, Samuel Joseph
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Bedouins W ithout Arabic: Language, Poetry and the M ahra o f Southeast Yemen
2007
b y S a m u e l J o s e p h L ie b h a b e r
A b stract
Bedouins Without Arabic: Language, Poetry and the Mahra of Southeast Yemen
by
S am uel Jo sep h L ieb h ab er
D o cto r o f P h ilo so p h y in N e ar E astern S tudies
U n iv ersity o f C alifo rn ia, B erkeley
P ro fesso r M a rg a re t L arkin, C hair
T he M ah ri lan g u ag e o f S o u th east Y em en is one o f the few rem ain in g in d ig en o u s
languages o f th e A rab ian P en in su la. T he geo g rap h ic iso la tio n o f th e M ahri lan g u ag e has ensured
its su rv iv al to th e p resen t tim e; this iso latio n has also ca u sed it to be o v erlo o k ed in A rab-Islam ic
fo rm u latio n s o f lan g u ag e and h istory. T he M ah ri lan g u ag e rem ains u n w ritten , d esp ite the fact
th a t it has ro u g h ly 100,000 sp eakers and is by m o st m easures a vital language. H ow ever, as
pav ed ro ad s, c e ll p h o n es and n atio n al g o v ern an ce h av e m ad e th e ir w ay to al-M ah ra, M ahri
speakers m u st n o w c o n ten d w ith p o litica l and lin g u istic con fig u ratio n s th a t ch allen g e the
trad itio n al lin g u istic and so cial lan d scap e o f al-M ahra. L o o k in g to reach an acco m m o d atio n w ith
n atio n al m odels o f “Y em en i h e ritag e ,” the M ah ra have sim u ltan eo u sly em b raced and eschew ed
th e ir ow n, p a rtic u la rizin g o ral culture.
T his d issertatio n u n d ertakes tw o p rim ary tasks. T he first is to o ffer a survey o f M ahri
o ral cu ltu re w ith referen ce to tra d itio n al m o d es o f po etic co m p o sitio n and sung p erform ance.
L ike o th e r trib al p o etic trad itio n s in A rabia, M ahri po etry is a co m p lete suite o f exp ressio n and
th e prim ary m o d e o f co m m u n ic a tin g social order. F o rm al structure, m u sical a cco m p an im en t and
ev en p o etic v o cab u lary lo cate co m p o se r and p erfo rm an ce in th e rich w orld o f in tertrib al and
in terp erso n al netw orks.
T h e seco n d o b je c tiv e o f th is d issertatio n is to describ e M ahri p o etics in th e p o st
rev o lu tio n ary (1 9 6 7 ) an d p o st-u n ificatio n (1990) eras. T he leading p h en o m en o n o f this last
p erio d has b een th e co ale sc e n ce o f the “N ew S c h o o l” : a group o f poets and perfo rm ers w ho have
d efin ed th e M ah ri stan ce vis a vis n atio n al ideas o f cultu re and heritage. O ne im p o rta n t
co n trib u tio n o f th e “N ew S c h o o l” has been the in v en tio n o f a w riting system fo r th e M ahri
language. T h e sh ift fro m o ral p erfo rm an ce to w ritten te x t has en tailed a re stru c tu rin g o f poetic
g ram m ar, syntax and lexicon. T his is am ply d em o n stra ted in the M ah ri-lan g u ag e Diwan o f H agg
D ak o n , p resen ted in its en tirety in this dissertation.
B etw een th e se tw o ap p roaches, I ho p e to p ro v id e a h o listic acco u n tin g o f M ah ri poetry
an d song fro m h isto rical, lin g u istic and eth n o -p o etic p erspectives. A t th e sam e tim e, th e gathered
co rp u s o f 4 5 + p o em s w ill lay th e gro u n d w o rk fo r fu tu re analysis o f th e M ahri lan g u ag e and the
o ral cu ltu re o f S o u th ern A rabia.
(P ro fesso r M arg aret L arkin, C hair)
T his d issertatio n is d ed icated to D r. A lex an d e r Sim a, 1969-2004.
Table of Contents
Map of Yemen and al-Mahra...................................................................................................... iv
Key to Transcriptions in Arabic and Mahri............................................................................v
Introduction.....................................................................................................................................vi-xxi
Acknowledgements.......................................................................................................................xxii-xxiii
Chapter 1: L in g u istic O v erv iew o f the M ahri L a n g u a g e ........................................................ 1-32
I. T h e M o d e m S outh A rabian L anguages - B ackground,

D isco v ery and Sources
II. T he M S A L an g u ages and C o m p arativ e Sem itics
III. T he M ah ri L an g uage - In tern al C onsiderations
IV . M ahri and the O ther M S A L anguages
V . M ah ri D ialecto lo g y
Chapter 2: In te rse c tio n s o f M ahri and A r a b ic .................................................................................... 33-78
I. L an g u ag e Id eo lo g y in the M id d le E ast
II. M ahri FushaP.
III. A rab ic Fusha in C lassical and C on tem p o rary
S ch o larsh ip
IV . P aram eters o f M ahri Fusha
V . T he M ah ri L an g uage in C lassical A rabic Sources
V I. B o rro w in g s from M ahri in to A rabic?
V II. A l-M ah ra in R ecen t H isto ry and C on clu sio n s
Chapter 3: T ra d itio n a l M ahri P oetics In P ractice - T he T ripartite B ranch ............................. 79-122
I. D e fin itio n o f th e T erm s

II. T he T rip artite B ranch
III. Ragaz, Ragza and Ragzit
IV . C o llectiv e P erfo rm an ce - Ragzit M aydanl
V. D u elin g Ragzit
V I. T he T ribal O de - ’O dl w a-K rem Krem
Chapter 4: T rad itio n al M ahri Poetry In P ractice - T he B ipartite B r a n c h ................................123-169
I. F u n d am en tals o f B ipartite V erse

II. D andan Poetry
III. Dandan L ayll (“N ig h t-tim e D andan ”)
IV . D andan Tanwl\ - W o m e n ’s D ance Poetry
V. D anidan - L y ric-T h em ed Poetry
ii
Chapter 5: T h e “N ew S c h o o l” o f M ahri S ung-P oetry 170-224
I. L y ric P o etry and M o d ern ity

II. A rab ic L an g u ag e P o etry in al-M ah ra
III. T he R en ew al o f S ung-P oetry in L ahg and H adram aw t
IV . T he R en ew al o f S ung-P oetry in al-M ahra
V . “N ew S ch o o l” N arratives
V I. S em itic P h ilo lo g y in al-M ah ra
V II. C o n te stin g H eritage
V III. C h an g in g T unes
IX . C o n clu sio n
Chapter 6: T he Diw an o f H ag g D akon 225-261
I. T rad itio n and the Individual

II. A B io g rap h ical S ketch o f H agg D akon
III. L iteracy and G ram m ar in the Diwan o f H agg D akon
IV . E x p an d in g T hem es in the Diw an
V . T he N ass JCsIdat
V I. M ix in g G enres
Conclusion 262-264
Appendix A: M ah ri P ro so d y an d B evond , 265-273
Appendix B: T h e C o m p le te Diwan o f H agg D akon , 274-282
Appendix C: O th e r P o em s C ited in D issertation .283-288
Bibliography 289-300
in
Reproduced with perm ission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without perm ission.
Map of Yemen and al-Mahra
Yemen
BedSm
From “Yemen Maps: Country Maps (Political) CIA 1991,”

http://www.reisenett.no/map_collection/yemen.html (accessed April 12, 2007); modified by author.
tv
Key to Transcriptions in Arabic and Mahri
A rab ic M ahri (IPA )
3
°/0
b b
t t
f ( th ) r
g (j) g/g
h h
h (kh) h
d d
d (dh) d
r r/J
z z
s s
s (sh) s
— g (c ’)
- s ( t)
s ? (s’)
d !(* ’)
t t ( t ’)
z f ( 6 ’)
c c/0
g (gh) g
f f
q lc ( k ’)
k k
1 1
- 2 (3 )
m m
n n
h h
w w
y y
a/I/u a/I/u
a/i/u a (s)
long a: (long 3 )
Introduction
Is th e re an A rab ian p o e tic s w ith o u t A rab ic? C an oral trad itio n s b e b ilin g u a l? H ow is an
A rab ian in d ig e n o u s m in o rity c o n tex tu alized in an A rab republic?
T h ese are so m e o f th e q u e stio n s th at led m e to S o u th east Y em en w here I conducted
field w o rk in Y em en reco rd in g , tran scrib in g and tran slatin g oral poetry in the M ahri language.
F rom a p h ilo lo g ic a l an d lin g u istic p ersp ectiv e, the M o d em S outh A rabian lan g u ag es, (and the
M ahri la n g u a g e am o n g st th em ), are relativ ely w ell-d o cu m en ted thanks to the w ork o f T hom as
M u ir Jo h n sto n e , M arie-C lau d e S im eo n e-S en elle, A n to in e L onnet, B ertram T h o m as and others.
On the o th e r h an d , sch o larsh ip on the p o etic tra d itio n s o f al-M ah ra has been far less sy stem atic.
A lth o u g h sam ples o f M ah ri p o e try w ere co llected by the V iennese S iidarabische E x p ed itio n from
1898 to 1902, they w ere co llected as p h ilo lo g ic al sp ecim ens and very little attention w as given to
th e social, h isto rical and p o litic a l m ean in g o f these p o e m s .1 W e are left w ith M ahri po etry as
u n related n arrativ es and son g s in stead o f a coherent system o f expression. L ik ew ise, th ere have
b een n o an th ro p o lo g ical o r so c io lin g u istic studies to address the role o f the M ahri lan g u ag e in
shaping lo cal, reg io n al, n atio n al and even su pra-national identities. Since “b e lo n g in g ” in A rab ia
is g en erally ex p ressed th ro u g h p o etry o r o th e r related form s o f oral cu ltu re, w e w ould expect
M ahri p o e try to be an u n tap p ed m ine o f rich h isto rical, po litical and social info rm atio n . F ro m the
p ersp ectiv e o f eth n o g rap h y and the related field o f eth n o -p o etics, al-M ah ra rem ain s a blank
stretch b etw een H ad ram aw t and O m an.
I h o p e th is d issertatio n w ill reso lv e tw o ou tstan d in g issues. T he first is to p ro v id e a survey
o f the M ahri oral cu ltu re w ith re feren ce to trad itio n al m o d es o f co m p o sitio n and perfo rm an ce.
T im e is a lim itin g fa c to r on a stu dy o f this nature since the M o d em South A rabian (M SA )
lan g u ag es are g en erally b elie v e d to b e in decline as the p rim ary languages o f nativ e speakers in
1 O f the five collections oral narratives, songs, riddles and poem s collected by the Siidarabische Expedition, two
contain sam ples o f Mahri poetry and songs: Alfred Jahn, D ie M ehri-Sprache in Siidarabien (Vienna: Alfred Holder,
1902), 133-157 and W ilhelm H ein, M ehri- und H adram i-Texte (Vienna: Alfred Holder, 1909), 152-183.
vi
O m an and Y em en. B ased on m y ow n ex p erien ce in the field, young M a h ra show a p referen ce
fo r p o etic co m p o sitio n in A rabic; only eld erly in fo rm an ts d isplayed any p ro d u ctiv e ease w ith
M ahri p o etry .
W h ile co g n izan t o f th e d an gers in h eren t in cate g o riz in g d iscourse, I ho p e to describ e M ahri
p oetry as a co m p lete suite o f ex p ressio n and as the p rim ary m ode o f co m m u n ica tin g social order.
M y d ata ap p ear to in d icate a fo rm al cleav ag e in M ahri p o etry betw een the po etry o f sentim ent
(an o n y m o u s and n o n -ev en t sp ecific) and the “o cc a sio n a l” p o e try o f p u b lic disco u rse; the fo rm er
is com p o sed o f tw o stichs o f v erse and only the la tter m ay be com posed o f th ree stichs. T his
form al d istin ctio n , in turn, rip p les o u t in to con trastin g m o d es o f perfo rm an ce, differin g audience
ex p ectatio n s, and in the latter, a h e ig h ten ed poten tial fo r political and social su b v ersio n . A
structural tem p late app ears to b e in effect as w ell; as trib al and historical po etry has w aned due to
th e d isco u rag em en t o f tribal a ffilia tio n s, the d ancing so n g s o f p rep u b escen t girls have m oved into
th is dom ain b y ad o p tin g the trap p in g s o f trib al-h isto ric p o e try such as lack o f an o n y m ity , the
m eter an d m elo d y o f tribal o d es, and even its tim e-slo t in the hig h ly p ro g ram m atic w edding
celeb ratio n s o f al-M ahra.
The second o b jectiv e o f this w ork is to describ e M ahri p o etics in c o n tem p o rary p ractice,
a to p ic d istin g u ish ab le from the first since local and reg io n a l regard tends to b e so h eavily
w eighted to w ard s th e d o cu m en tatio n o f traditional co m p o sitio n s and perfo rm an ces. In fact, m uch
o f w hat I fo u n d to b e truly ex h ilaratin g in m y field w o rk w as in w itnessing shifts in style and
idiom d riv en by the few , y o u n g er, M ahri lan g u ag e p o e ts w ho are still active p artic ip an ts in the
M ahri oral culture. M o reo v er, th e recen t ex tension o f an au th o ritativ e N orth Y em eni p resen c e in
al-M ah ra h as created n ew artistic dem ands and p o ssib ilitie s fo r M ahri p o ets. F o r the first tim e,
M ahri p o e ts face p ressu res to in te g rate th eir in d ig en o u s cu ltural and lin g u istic trad itio n s into a
“national c u ltu re .” A resp o n se to this pressu re has b e en fo rm u lated by the “N ew S ch o o l,” a
gro u p o f p o ets and p erfo rm ers w ho m ix contrary c o n c ep ts o f profanity and p iety , trib alism and
vii
n atio n alism and fo lk lo re and in n o v atio n th ro u g h genres o f po etry and song b o rro w e d from the
A rabic p restig e-cu ltu re.
T hus, alo n g sid e a tax o n o m y o f trad itio n al M ahri oral p erfo rm an ce, I w ill also d isc u ss M ahri
p o etry in its m o st recen t e v o lu tio n s as an arb ite r o f id en tity and status vis-a-vis th e Y em eni Arab
R epublic.
In o rd er to p u rsu e th ese o b jectiv es, I w ill rely on a fe w different appro ach es to m y data.
To b eg in w ith, it is n ecessary to ask w hat, ex actly, the M ahri lan g u ag e is. A lth o u g h historical
lin g u istic sch o larsh ip has g en erally a ssig n ed the la b el o f “ S outheast S em itic” to the M ahri
language, (and to the o th e r M o d e m S outh A rabian lan g u ag e s as w ell), this sub -g ro u p in g tends to
b e one o f geo g rap h ical c o n v en ien ce. In C h a p ter 1 , 1 w ill analyze the d ata th at has b een used
assign the M ahri lan g u ag e to the “S o u th east S e m itic” su b -g ro u p in o rd er to in terro g ate traditional
m odels o f the S em itic lan g u ag e fam ily. M y p rim ary q u e stio n : are th ese m o d els adeq u ate to
reso lv e th e am b ig u ities that g ath er aro u n d the S o u th east S em itic lang u ag es?
M y seco n d lin e o f in q u iry co n ce rn s th e in flu e n ce o f A rabic lan g u ag e id e o lo g ie s on the
M ahri lan g u ag e. In itially , th is in q u iry w ill lead us to ex p lo re the no tio n o f the “M ahri fu sh a ”
(clear, e lo q u en t M ah ri), that is c o m m o n ly held by the M ahra. E x am ining the v ario u s iteratio n s o f
“M ahri fu sh a ,” I w ill u se this d ata to shed lig h t on the fo rm u latio n o f A rab ic fu sh a in p re-h isto ric,
p re-literate A rab ia. S eco n d ly , I w ill lo o k at re p resen tatio n s o f the M ahri lan g u ag e in the A rabic
scholarly trad itio n and an aly ze th e v ario u s m eans th at th e M ahri lan g u ag e has been “w ritten o u t”
o f classical and m ed iev al A rab ic scholarship.
C h ap ters 2-3 w ill focus on co m p o sitio n , structure and language o f M ahri po etry in its
“trad itio n al” an d /o r p re-1 9 6 7 p rax is. H aving co llected M ahri po etry in a variety o f shapes and
guises, I h av e attem p ted to sy stem atize th ese oral tra d itio n s according to th eir form al
ch aracteristics, p erfo rm an ce co n tex ts and social o b jec tiv es p o sited by each perfo rm an ce. T his
leads u s to ex p lo re the b ifu rcatio n o f M ahri p o etics in to trip artite verse (C h ap te r 3) and b ip artite
viii
verse (C h a p te r 4), and to an aly ze o f all th at this b ifu rc atio n m eans fo r the cultural p re stig e o f
in d iv id u al genres.
In C h a p te r 5 , 1 w ill sh ift to the M ahri p o e try that has been co m p o sed o v e r th e la st ten
years, and in p articu lar, to th e c o n trib u tio n o f the “N ew S ch o o l” in fo rm u latin g a n ew p o etic
idiom . G iven the p ro fo u n d cu ltu ral and p o litica l shifts w itnessed by al-M ah ra since Y em eni
U n ificatio n in 1 9 9 0 ,1 w ill ex p lo re h o w M ahri po etry and song has been p a ck ag ed fo r national
co n su m p tio n , d esp ite the p ro b le m a tic o f in co rp o ratin g a n o n -A rab ic substrate in to th e prestig e
cu ltu re o f the m o d e m Y em eni state.
M y final ap p ro ach (C h a p ter 6) is deriv ed from the studies o f o rality and literacy . T hough
larg ely irrelev an t u n til recen tly , M ahri-lan g u ag e literacy has been in itiated b y the M ah ri po et
H agg D akon in his w ritten Diwan, a m an u scrip t o f h is co llected w orks. U sing “tra d itio n a l”
M ahri p o e tic s as o u r b aselin e, w e can see ho w H a g g ’s b rie f e n co u n te r w ith w riting has
p ro fo u n d ly altered p o etic g ram m ar, structure and them es in h is Diwan. F ro m a p ractical
stan d p o in t, the M ahri case p ro v id es an ob jectiv e standard b y w hich to m easure sim ilar shifts in
early A rabic p o etry . In d eed , m uch o f w h at can b e said about M ahri po etry in the late 20th century
C E can be said fo r A rabic p o etry in the earliest c en tu ries o f its attestation.
In short, these ap p ro ach es w ill facilitate a h o listic accounting o f M ahri p o etry and song
from the trad itio n alist and c o n tem p o rary p ersp ectiv es; at the sam e tim e, the gath ered corpus o f
4 5+ p o em s w ill lay th e g ro u n d w o rk fo r fu tu re analyses o f the M ahri lan g u ag e and the oral culture
o f S outhern A rabia.
T he p resen tatio n o f the d ata that I gath ered fro m O cto b er 2003 to N o v em b er 2004 ought
to be p reced ed b y a b rie f sketch o f the circu m stan ces o f m y research and the social e n v iro n m en t I
found in al-G h ay d h a, since th e tw o deep ly in fo rm the n atu re o f the m aterial th at I c o llected . I
cannot w rite m y se lf out o f th e d ata since m uch o f it w as d eterm in ed b y the fact th at I, as an
ethnic, re lig io u s and lin g u istic fo reigner, w as co llecting it. In teractio n s w ith the M ah ra and non-
ix
M ahri Y em en is w ere in ev itab ly m ed iated b y these facto rs. T h ro u g h o u t the pro cess o f co llectin g
and an aly zin g d ata, I w as alw ays stru ck by h o w m u ch o f m y tim e w as sp en t in m erely getting by,
w h eth er that m ean t sparring w ith the in tern al security ag en cies, arranging tran sp o rtatio n fo r
field w o rk o r n e g o tia tin g the u n certain social o b lig atio n s o f a fo reig n er, g u est and interlo p er.
Since so m u ch o f m y tim e w as sp ent on th ese tasks, I th in k it app ro p riate to dev o te th e rest o f this
in tro d u ctio n to th e social and en v iro n m en tal setting o f th is w ork. A t the very least, it w ill add
flav o r to w hat fo llo w s and g ive a sense o f ch ro n o lo g y to the p ro je ct as a w hole.
A t th e start o f th e p ro ject, I sp en t six w eeks in S a n a ’a w aiting fo r m y resid e n ce p e rm it
and research p e rm it to be ap proved; as soon as th ey w ere, I m oved to A den in m id -S ep tem b er. I
had h oped to find n a tiv e speakers o f M ahri in A den w ith am ple stores o f poetry at th e ir recall and
en ough free tim e fo r d aily reco rd in g sessio n s and b asic tu to rin g in th e ir native languages.
U n fo rtu n ately , in fo rm an ts w ho m et th ese co n d itio n s w ere n o t to b e fo u n d in A d en w here
p o ten tial in fo rm an ts w ere e ith e r to o y o u n g to h av e delv ed deeply in to th e ir p o e tic trad itio n s o r
too b u sy to reserv e re g u la r p erio d s o f tim e fo r daily m eetin g s. T his p e rio d w as n o t w ith o u t its
bright p o in ts, am o n g st th em , a m eetin g w ith M u h am m ad cA kkus, fo rm er g o v e rn o r o f th e M ahri
G overn o rate and a m b a ssa d o r to T an z an ia u n d e r the P e o p le ’s D em o cratic R ep u b lic o f Y em en
(P D R Y ). It w as th ro u g h h is g e n ero sity and h o sp ita lity th at m y first in tro d u ctio n s to th e poetry
and p eo p le o f al-M a h ra w ere m ade in A den, and later, in al-M ah ra itself.
In early O cto b er, I m ade m y first trip to the capital o f the G o v ern o rate al-M ah ra, al-
G haydha (M h r. G ay jat), and rem ain ed th ere fo r tw o w eek s acq u ain tin g m y se lf w ith the
p erso n alities o f th e local cultu ral netw ork: a clo se ly -k n it co m m u n ity o f p o ets, m u sician s and
singers w ho reh earse to g eth er, rely on one an o th er fo r m aterial and collab o rate in p erfo rm an ces.
T he al-G h ay d h a cliq u e o f p e rfo rm ers is the p u b lic face o f co n tem p o rary M ahri cultural
perfo rm an ce. A s the m o st p ro m in e n t p e rfo rm e rs in th e ir re sp ectiv e field s, they are on re ta in e r to
the M in istry o f C u ltu re fo r pe rfo rm a n ces at cultu ral, political and d ip lo m atic fu n ctio n s. F o r
in stan ce, a v isit to al-G h ay d h a b y a h ig h -ran k in g O m ani delegation in A pril 2004 w as g reeted by
a p e rfo rm a n c e o f p o e try and m u sic th at stressed the clo se b o n d s betw een the tw o n a tio n s; indeed,
a n u m b e r o f the d eleg ates from the p ro v in ce o f D h o far (M hr. ^ a fo r) in O m an w ere related to
Y em en i M a h ra in a tte n d a n c e.2 T he artistic ou tp u t o f the al-G haydha gro u p ten d s to b e hy g ien ic
in its a v o id an ce o f p o litic a lly critical, trib ally sen sitiv e and im m odest to p ics that are b ro ach ed
m o re re a d ily b y o ld e r p o ets liv in g o u tsid e o f al-G haydha. F urther, p e rfo rm an c es by th ese artists
are often d irected to w ard s a p u re ly A rab ic speaking aud ien ce w ith its ow n preferen ces fo r A rabic
p o etic and m u sical m odes. T h is cliq u e has b e co m e the kernel o f a n e w m o v em en t o f artistic
ex p ressio n in al-M ah ra; I shall return to the resu lts o f th e ir collaboration in C h ap ter 5 o f this
d issertatio n .
D u rin g m y first v isit to al-G h ay d h a in O ctober, I grew to know H agg D akon, a
p ro fessio n al p o e t o rig in ally fro m Q isn (M hr. K asan) and a current resid en t in H a y fif (M hr.
MhayfTf) ab o u t fiv e k ilo m e te rs fro m al-G h ay d h a, (and the only village in m ainland A rabia
dam ag ed b y th e A sian T su n am i o f D ecem b er 2004). In the course o f a few taping sessions at the
ho tel aW Asad ,, I reco rd ed th e b eg in n in g s o f h is M ahri-lan g u ag e Diw an and b egan to tack le the
p ro b lem s o f tran scrib in g th e M ah ri lan guage in to an IP A -related scrip t.3 A fter these initial
sessio n s, H ag g an d I d eterm in ed th at w e could w ork to g e th er since o u r tim e spent to g e th er w as
also tim e p le a su ra b ly spent. F o r the rest o f m y field w o rk , H agg w as m y p rim ary in fo rm an t; to
o th e r M ah ra, I w as “ H a g g ’s fo re ig n er.”4 T he greatest achievem ent o f o u r co llab o ratio n w as the
2 _ _ _
This latter event w as not without its artistic frictions behind the scenes. Hagg D akon’s w elcom ing (tarhlbl) qaslda
w as rejected by the Department o f Political Security for failing to praise the Yem eni president, CA1I cAbdallah Salih,
and payment for the qaslda was denied. D espite H agg’s argument that a w elcom ing qaslda should praise the guest and
not the host, a replacement poet w as found and the ceremony went o ff without hitch in the (defunct) Al-Ghaydha
C inem a H ouse. T here are alw ays occasions for reciting qasldas in public: w hen tw o com peting cell-phone providers,
SpaceTel and Saba3 Phone, established service in al-Mahra in the winter and spring o f 2004, local poets com posed
enthusiastic praise poem s for both com panies and received free cell-phone SIM -chips (sarihat), in appreciation. H agg
got one sarih a from each company.
I am deeply indebted to A lexander Sim a to whom 1 o w e the basic method o f the vocalic transcription, an outstanding
issue in Mahri phonology that had previously baffled m y attempts at systematization. Issues relating to the phonology
and transcription o f the Mahri language are dealt with in Chapter 1 o f this dissertation.
4 In three other cases that I am fam iliar with, foreign researchers were paired with a Mahri informant through a
combination o f convenience, expertise and personal preference. This informant becom es so closely associated with the
researcher that the latter is com m only believed to “belong” to the informant. Though rooted in friendship and the
xi
tran scrip tio n and tran slatio n o f H a g g ’s en tire M ah ri-lan g u ag e Diwan into b o th A rab ic and
E nglish. T h o u g h v alu ab le in its ow n rig h t as a co llectio n o f co n tem porary lyric p o etry , the
Diwan is also th e first w ritten w ork in the M ahri language.
In N o v e m b e r 2 0 0 3 ,1 retu rn ed to A den in o rd er to rev iew the reco rd ed co n v e rsa tio n s I
had taped th e p rev io u s m o n th and to b e g in tran scrib in g H a g g ’s Diwan. A lo n g sid e the b asic w ork
o f tran scrip tio n , I d isco v ered an o pen qu estio n in the in terp lay betw een regional id e n tific atio n
w ith al-M ah ra and N orth Y em en , a d isc o u rse th at garbs its e lf in local and n atio n al constru ctio n s
o f lan g u ag e, cu ltu re and h isto ry . In d e ed , th ese are the very topics ex p ressed by con tem p o rary
M ahri p o e try itself; to d iscu ss one req u ires a discu ssio n o f the other. I b eliev e th at the ro le o f
id en tity and th e re su lta n t frictio n b etw een its local and national facets h av e b e co m e m o re acute
fo r c o n tem p o rary M a h ra in recen t y ears. T he advent o f p a v ed roads, cell-phones and p o litical
stability in Y em en and O m an h av e c o n v erg ed to m ake al-M ah ra su d denly relev an t and accessib le
to the Y em en i g o v ern m en t an d has b ro u g h t im m ig ratio n from N orthern Y em en at an
u n p reced en ted rate. I w an ted to b e at th e en c o u n te r site betw een al-M ah ra and N orth Y em en in
o rd e r to w itn ess th e co n seq u en ces o f this social ferm en tatio n first hand and to b e at the ep icen ter
o f w hat w as sh ap in g u p to b e a v ig o ro u s, new m o v em en t in M ahri art and lan g u ag e. T hese
interests, alo n g w ith th e n ecessity o f reliab le, daily se ssio n s w ith a M ahri in fo rm an t, m ade it clear
to m e that I w o u ld need to b e p e rm an e n tly based in al-G h ay d h a in o rd er to co m p lete m y pro ject
accurately.
M y d ecisio n to m ove to a l-G h ay d h a w as settled once I realized th at I h ad u n d erestim ated
the travel tim e and trav el co sts b etw een A den and al-G h ay d h a. In D ecem b er, I decid ed to m ove
to al-M ah ra and b y early Jan u ary , I had retu rn ed to al-G h ay d h a and w as ren tin g an ap artm en t in
an o u tly in g n e ig h b o rh o o d called G ihl th at tops the flan k o f a lo w ridge crow ned by go v ern m en t
host’s responsibilities towards a guest, the proprietary sense is also related to cash-boon that the researcher brings to a
full-time informant along with the hope for future travel outside o f Yem en. The negative consequence o f this
relationship is the wariness that other Mahra may feel about intruding on the relationship, i.e., poaching som eone e ls e ’s
“cash cow ,” and this leads to a reliance on a sole informant over the long term.
xii
offices and lies th ree km . east o f the ocean along W adi G lz, and is ten m inutes w alk in g d istance
from the cen tral suq.
T h e m o v e to al-G h ay d h a p re se n ted a few logistical pro b lem s. F o r one, al-M ah ra is the
eastern m o st p ro v in c e o f Y em en and u n til a few years ago, al-G h ay d h a w as n o t yet co n n ected to
S a n a ’a o r a l-M u k a lla b y p av ed ro ads. E ven w ith the recen tly asphalted h ig h w ay th at co n n ec ts al-
M ahra to H ad ram aw t, trav el b e tw ee n al-G h a y d h a and S a n a ’a takes at least tw e n ty -fo u r h o u rs by
c ar o r bus. L eav in g from al-G h ay d h a, the ro u te cu rv es far to the north and east to sk irt the
southern rim o f th e E m p ty Q u arter and the S audi fro n tier b efo re descen d in g in to W adi
H ad ram aw t n e a r T arim . F ro m th ere, the road goes to S h ab w a and across the R am lat al-S ab a°tay n
to M a ’rib w h ere it sn ak es u p the e n sca rp m e n t o f the Y em eni h ig h lan d s befo re arriving at B ab al-
Y am an in S a n a ’a. T h e o th e r o p tio n , fly in g on the d o m estic airline, Y em enia, w as u n ex p e cted ly
ex p en siv e at ap p ro x im ately $ 3 0 0 ro u n d trip fo r non-Y em eni nationals; as a resu lt, the only
foreig n ers w ho e v e r arriv ed b y p lan e d id so on the tab o f the U N D P o r a foreign em b assy .
T he trip fro m al-G h ay d h a to A den b y the southern ro ute is even m ore arduous than the
north ern one, alth o u g h it is m o re scenic b y far. L eaving by m otorboat fro m the p o rt o f N istun
(M hr. N istaw n ), (52 k m w est o f al-G h ay d h a), the tra v ele r passes o v er c le a r blu e w ater and u n d e r
co lo rfu lly striated cliffs w here G abal F artak m eets the sea. D isem barking at th e fish in g v illag e o f
H ay§it, h o p efu lly a fo u r-w h eel drive je e p ( salun ) is w aiting to w hisk all arrivals o v e r the sand
dunes to Q isn. A fte r a n ig h t in Q isn, an o th er salun is needed fo r the jo ltin g drive o v e r the low
m o u n tain ran g es that sep arate th e co a sts o f Q isn from S ay h u t, a sm all tow n lying at the coastal
d eb o u ch m en t o f th e W ad i M aslla (M hr. HwodT M selat). I f the tim ing is good, a lu ck y tra v e le r
m ay y e t catch a shared taxi fo r th e eig h t-h o u r drive to a l-S ih r and then a short, 4 0 -m in u te ja u n t to
al-M u k alla. A ll th at is left is a tw elv e -h o u r bus ride to A den. In short, m oving to al-G h ay d h a
req u ired th e reso lv e to d o so, and a w illin g n ess to leave m o st co n n ectio n s w ith the o u tsid e w orld
behind.
xiii
W h y d id I ch o o se al-G h ay d h a? H isto rically speaking, Q isn to the w est w as certain ly the
m o st im p o rtan t to w n in al-M ah ra since it w as the original seat o f the cA frari S u ltan ate o f Q isn
and S o q o tra. H o w ev er, th e S u ltan h im se lf k e p t his re sid e n ce in S o q o tra and ru le d al-M ah ra in
absentia. F u rth er, co n flicts b etw een the S u ltanate o f Q isn and S oqotra and the K afiri S ultan ate o f
H ad ram aw t on o n e h and and w ith the P o rtu g u ese on th e o th e r retarded th e g ro w th o f Q isn, and
led to its u ltim ate ec lip se b y a l-S ih r and al-M ukalla. Q isn still retains rem n a n ts o f a m ore
im p o rtan t p ast: ro w s o f trad itio n al, lo w slung ho m es stretch along the coastal p lain and la rg er
v illas and forts, n o w m eltin g b ack in to elem en tal m u d , p u n ctu ate the o ld e r qu arters. A t the tim e I
v isited Q isn in 2 0 0 3 , it w as the larg est tow n in Y em en y et u n co n n ected to any o th e r settlem en t o r
city by a p a v ed ro a d .5 T his m ay h av e b een to its b en e fit; Q isn has rem ain ed a u n iq u e ly so cialist
enclav e w ith th e larg est g irls ’ school in H ad ram aw t o r al-M ahra. It still flies th e flag o f the
Y em eni S o cialist P arty alo n g sid e the national flag o f Y em en and b o a sts an en erg e tic local civil
adm in istratio n .
I d isco v ered that a l-G h a y d h a has its ow n, p a rtic u la r charm s. It b e c a m e Y e m e n ’s new est
regional capital w hen it w as d eclared as such u n d e r the P D R Y in 1965, no d o u b t to break w ith the
feudal trad itio n s asso ciated w ith the o ld er M ahri capital at Q isn. H o w ev er, it w a sn ’t u n til 1994
that it co n sisted o f m uch m ore than the central suq and th e go v ern m en t b u ild in g s in G ihl. B efo re
it becam e an a d m in istrativ e cen ter, the in h ab itan ts o f al-G h ay d h a farm ed the a llu v ial flats on
eith er side o f W ad! G lz, alth o u g h the m odern v isito r w ould be hard p ressed to im ag in e this since
a p recip ito u s d ro p in th e w ater tab le in rec en t tim es has m ad e m uch o f this p la in n o n p ro d u ctiv e to
agriculture. C u rren tly , all agricu ltural p ro d u ce goes to feed livestock, and only tu rn ip green s are
set aside fo r h u m an co n su m p tio n . T h e close p ro x im ity to the ocean m eans that fresh fish,
generally sard in es, is av ailab le fo r h u m an s and w hen d ried out, fo r cam el fo d d er as w ell.
5 In 2006, Qisn will be united with Nistun, (and therefore al-Ghaydha), to the east via a tunnel, (the longest in the
Middle East), to be excavated under Gabal Fartak and by a paved road running w est to Sayhut.
xiv
A l-G h a y d h a w as also a m in o r gath erin g p o in t fo r the fran k in cen se co llected in lan d befo re
it w as sh ip p ed to H ad ram aw t; as late as 1936, F rey a S tark rep o rted that 50 tons o f it w ere m oved
th ro u g h al-G h ay d h a an n u a lly .6 It should b e n o ted , h o w e v er, th at al-G h ay d h a w as the sm allest
c o llectio n p o in t w hen co m p ared to the figures fo r S audah (2 5 0 tons), M irb at (1 5 0 -2 0 0 tons),
R ak h iu t (2 0 0 to n s), Jad ib (1 0 0 -1 5 0 to n s), H adhbarm , D a m g h at and D h ab u t (100 tons each), and
Q ishn (2 0 0 -2 5 0 to n s).7
P rio r to 1965, al-G h a y d h a ’s o n ly fam e w as as the site o f a tribal assem bly co n v en ed in
th e earlier h a lf o f th e 2 0 th cen tu ry in o rd er to n eg o tiate th e term s o f a tribal truce b etw e en the
tribes o f Q um ayrf, Ra°f!t and K alsat. T he P o rtu g u ese m ay h av e visited al-G h ay d h a; alth o u g h the
W ad i G iz is n o w larg ely silted in, I w as told th at it w as once n av ig ab le as fa r in lan d as cA brf, tw o
kilo m eters n o rth o f al-G h ay d h a. T he v illag e o f Y arub, 23 km . to the east o f al-G h ay d h a, m ay
once h av e b een m ore im p o rtan t than al-G haydha; h o w ev er, it w as sacked by the P o rtu g u ese in the
16th century and n o w only a larg e, m an -m ad e m ound in the cen te r o f the m o d em v illa g e attests to
its p rio r im p o rta n c e .8
S im ilarly , the v illag e o f D habut, located ap p ro x im ately 30 km . to the w est o f al-G haydha,
has architectu ral lan d m ark s and asso ciated h isto ries, (such as a fort called Hlp^:), in m arked
co n trast to th e an o m ie o f al-G h ay d h a w hose only lan d m ark o f note is a grav e and sh rin e that still
stands at the m outh o f the G lz estuary th ree km . fro m al-G h ay d h a itself. In the ab sence o f firm
arch aeo lo g ical o r h isto rical data, the a ctiv ities o f the P o rtu g u ese or o th e r regional p o w ers in the
v icin ity o f al-G h ay d h a rem ain a m atter o f half-m e m o ry and speculation.
T he p rim ary in terest th at al-G h a y d h a has held fo r b o th the P D R Y and the Y em eni A rab
R ep u b lic (Y A R ) is m ilitary and strategic, an in terest w itn essed by arm y b ases th at d o m in ate the
b lu ffs to th e e ast and w est o f al-G haydha. C lose (but n o t to o close!) to the O m ani bo rd er, one
6 Freya Stark, The Southern G ates o f A rabia (London: John Murray, 1940), 14.
7 To put the abundance o f South Arabian, (Hadrami, Mahri and Dhofari), frankincense into perspective, the total
exports o f British and Italian Somaliland ranged between 9 0 0 - 1000 tons o f lesser quality frankincense, (Ibid., 14).
8 Salim Luhaymir al-Qumayri. A l-M ahra: B aw abat al-Yam an a l-sarqlya (Sana’a: Markaz cIbadI li- ‘l-Dirasat w a -‘l-
Nasr, 2000), 12.
XV
assu m es that al-G h ay d h a w as a co n v en ien t staging gro u n d and defen siv e p iv o t fo r the P D R Y
d u rin g h e r p e rio d ic co n flicts w ith O m an. T he p o rt o f N istu n w as also b u ilt d u rin g this p erio d ,
o sten sib ly fo r th e b u rg eo n in g fish in g in d u stry b u t m ain ly to supply tro o p s and m ilitary h a rd w a re
to the eastern fro n tier. T o th is day, half-b u ried , d erelict tanks still d o t the O m an -fa cin g beach es.
P eace w ith the n eig h b o rs and internal stab ility have been a b o o n to al-G h ay d h a. M u lti
storey, h o tels and ap artm en t b lo cs w ro u g h t in the no rth ern style have ra d iated in all d irectio n s
fro m th e central suq, y ield in g p u n g en tly nam ed new d istricts such as S affron S treet, ( sa ric
z a cfa ra n ), and D og Q uarter, (hayy al-kilab).9 C o m m o d ities bro u g h t from the G u lf via O m an are
a m ajo r attraction to Y em en is w illin g to m ake the trek to al-G haydha. T w ice a w eek, Y em en ia
A irlin es b rin g s e a g e r p u rc h a se rs o f used cars, m ainly S U V s and S uzuki je e p s, th at h av e b een
re fitte d in th e G u lf and b ro u g h t in to Y em en via O m an and th at have m y sterio u sly c ircu m v en ted
c u sto m s. T hese N orth ern Y em en i bu y ers have fuelled th e hotel in d u stry in al-G h ay d h a; every
o th e r n ew b u ild in g in a l-G h a y d h a seem s to bo ast an eco n o m y hotel and attach ed restau ran t
o fferin g n o rth ern fav o rites lik e b ro asted chicken and salta. O ther north ern ers h av e arrived to fill
spo ts in a service in d u stry that caters to the civil servants and m ilitary p e rso n n el stationed in al-
G hay d h a. T he qat suq o ffers th e poten tial o f lu c ra tiv e em p lo y m en t to a n u m b e r o f these
n ew co m ers; all o f a l-M a h ra ’s qat m ust be tru ck ed in every d ay from M aY ib ab o u t tw enty ho u rs to
th e w est and then resh ip p ed to reg ional m arkets. T he lo g istics o f the qat trad e in al-M ah ra is
sta g g e rin g .10 Qat in a l-G h a y d h a sells fo r th ree to fo u r tim es the am ount th at a sim ila r am o u n t o f
9
That is, apartment buildings m odeled on a vaguely Sana’ani style, constructed from poured concrete and cinder
blocks, featuring qam artya-esque design elem ents and tile interiors. The pros are that the building materials are cheap
and the apartments are easy to clean. The cons are that they trap heat since they have no circulation and are rarely built
with prevailing wind patterns in mind, unlike traditional Mahri houses. Further, they are veritable echo chambers when
children play inside o f them since all exposed surfaces are concrete and tile. This architectural style is the one
inescapable mark o f the Yem eni Unification: it binds together private residences and governm ent buildings o f the north
and the south in a com mon idiom inspired by Northern Yem eni tastes. That this style m ay not be suited to hot and
humid coastal lowlands in Aden or al-Ghaydha is irrelevant from the standpoint o f forging a national culture. S e e Paul
Bonnenfant, “U nite Yem enite et M odem ite dans 1’Architecture D om estique,” La Revue du M onde M usulm an et d e la
M editerranee 67 (1993): 141-159.
101 was told that once or tw ice a year the two qat trucks fail to deliver their cargo due to hold-ups along the route. I
once waited for two hours in the q a t suq when the delivery trucks were late. The anxiety and simmering frustration
were palpable. When the trucks finally arrived, there was a collective sigh and then sudden chaos as panicking
customers rushed the trucks w hile they were still slow ly rolling to a halt.
XVi
lesser q u a lity qat w o u ld g o fo r in a N o rthern Y em eni m arket; the p rice in creases even m o re in the
reg io n al M ah ri m ark ets. I assum e th at civil serv an ts are paid a h a rd sh ip allow ance to co v er the
co st o f th is d a ily n e c e ssity , alth o ugh I d id n o tic e that the traffic po lice w o u ld statio n th em selv es
at all th e strateg ic en try -p o in ts to the qat suq e v ery d ay and shake d o w n in co m in g traffic. M any
locals av o id in d ire c t tax atio n b y w alk in g the la st 50 0 m eters to the suq.
M u ch o f th e e co n o m ic activ ity in a l-G h ay d h a is b a ld ly illicit, o r at least, deeply
q u estio n ab le. O m an is take a d v an tag e o f the strength o f th eir cu rrency to v isit al-G h ay d h a in
o rd er to ch ew qat, d rin k sp irits, (sm u g g led in to Y em en from S o m alia), and v isit the b ro th els that
h av e m etastasized th ro u g h o u t al-G haydha. A l-G h ay d h a has b ec o m e the first stop fo r foreig n
p ro stitu tes from S o m a lia and Iraq d esp ite crack d o w n s and d ep o rtatio n s by the local p o lice.
Furth er, since so m u ch o f a l-M a h ra ’s co a sts are u n w atch ed and u n g u ard ed , drugs b ro u g h t from
E ast A frica find c o n v e n ie n t entry th ere. A t one p o in t, th ere w as e v e n a ru m o r flo atin g around
th at U sam a b in L ad in w o u ld m ak e lan d fall in al-M a h ra on a speedboat.
In short, a l-G h a y d h a is g en e rally a last reso rt fo r N o rthern en trep ren eu rs and laborers
w ho w ere u n ab le to m ak e it elsew h ere in Y e m en ; they jo k in g ly refe r to them selves as eith e r
“debto rs, m illio n aires o r in sa n e ” ( m adyun, milyun, m agnun ). D e sp ite the lack o f an aesth etic, the
heat, th e h u m id ity and its c ast o f ro g u es, i t ’s d ifficu lt n o t to feel an affectio n fo r al-G h ay d h a ’s
b u stle and en erg y .
W estern fo reig n ers are an o d d ity in al-G haydha. W ith the e x cep tio n o f the rare
b a c k p a c k er h itch h ik in g p assin g th ro u g h to o r fro m O m an, th ere is little to attract the atten tio n o f
outsid ers. T he Y em eni M in istry o f the In terio r w as clearly u n h ap p y ab o u t h av in g m e ren t an
ap artm en t in a l-G h ay d h a, b u t w as o b lig ed to let m e th an k s to a p e rm it fro m the Y em en C en ter fo r
S tudies and R esearch and the p ersonal g u aran te e o f M u h am m ad cA kkus. O ther than the three
R ussian d o cto rs w o rk in g at the h o sp ital in al-G h ay d h a, I w as th e o n ly w estern er liv in g in the
entire G o v ern o rate o f a l-M ah ra and the M in istry o f the In te rio r feared I w ould m ake an o b v ious
xvii
targ et fo r p o litic a l and n o n -p o litical v iolence. F o r th e first tw o m onths, secu rity p re ca u tio n s
req u ired th at I b e a cco m p an ied o u tsid e o f m y h o u se by three soldiers and th at one so ld ier liv e in
m y h o m e at n ig h t. A ll o f m y m o v em e n ts o u tsid e o f al-G h ay d h a req u ired arm ed acco m p an im en t
and tra n sp o rt in an arm ed m ilita ry veh icle. N eed less to say, these p re cau tio n s w ere q u ick ly and
q u ietly sid estep p ed , larg ely th an k s to the sy m p ath y o f m y prim ary guard and m in d er, °A bd al-
S a y f al-Q ah tan i, w ho re c o g n iz e d the d ifficu lty o f co n sisten tly adhering to his orders. W ith each
su ccessiv e m o n th , the secu rity p re ca u tio n s grad u ally d im in ish ed , and by the last m o n th , I w as
able to w alk aro u n d al-G h ay d h a w ith relativ e free d o m u n d er the co n d itio n that I not leave tow n
w ith o u t first in fo rm in g th e O ffice o f P o litical S ecu rity ( °Idarat al- ’Am n al-Siyasl). M y co n stan t
co m p an io n th ro u g h o u t w as °A bd al-S ayf; if I ap peared in the suq w ithout him , I w ould in v ariably
b e ap p ro ach ed b y p eo p le co n cern ed ab o u t his health.
T h ere w ere also c o n cern s th at m y m o tives m ig h t n o t b e en tirely sch o larly and the O ffice
o f P o litical S ecu rity p re fe rred th a t m y research b e clo sely m onitored. Such acco m p an im en t and
su rv eillan ce d id n ’t m ak e it easy to speak to and reco rd the M ahra in an in fo rm al atm osphere; the
M ah ra are g en erally leery o f sp eak in g freely about th e ir language and tribal custom s and po etry
in front o f N o rth ern Y em en i o fficers fro m a l-3Am n al-Siyasl. cA bd a l-S a y f reco g n ized this and
tried to k eep a casual d istan ce d u rin g reco rd in g sessions; h is interest in the to p ic grad u ally
ov ercam e h im and w e o c c a sio n a lly in terp reted the p o e try together. D esp ite e v e ry o n e ’s quiet
u n certain ty , I still m an ag ed to c o lle c t p o etry on a range o f topics w hile m ain tain in g good
relatio n s w ith th e M in istry o f th e In te rio r and w ith the local M ahra as w ell - a b alan cin g act I am
p ro u d of.
F o r th e su cceed in g n in e m onths, (w ith a h iatus in M ay and Ju n e fo r a trip b ack to the
U S A ), I altern ated re sid e n c e b e tw ee n al-G h ay d h a and th e A m erican In stitu te fo r Y em eni S tudies
in S a n a ’a. W h ile in al-G h a y d h a , I estab lish ed a pattern o f sorts: m eeting w ith H agg fo r one to
th ree h o u rs in the m o rn in g in o rd e r to tran scrib e and tran slate poetry that I had p rev io u sly
xviii
collected, a w alk along W a d i G lz to the seashore, lunch at one o f the fresh fish n ’ rice restau ran ts
in G ihl, a v isit to th e qat suq in th e cen ter o f al-G h a y d h a and then the re st o f th e aftern o o n and
early ev en in g chew in g qat at m y h o u se o r at o n e o f the p u b lic “lo u n g es” ( istirahas ) in al-
G h ay d h a w h ere Y em en is and M a h ra g ath er to sp en d the h o tte st hours o f the day ch ew ing qat and
w atch in g T V . I m ig h t ch ew qat alone o r w ith frien d s, in clu d in g H agg, and if the m ood w as rig h t,
w e w ould c o n tin u e o u r w ork to g e th e r u n til the ev en in g . O ne o f our fav o rite sp ots to spend an
aftern o o n w as at a istiraha o n th e b each ; it w as a P D R Y -era co m p o u n d , slig h tly decrep it and
id o lated , w ith m ilitary tents and cab an as equ ip p ed w ith cu sh io n s and ru g s w here w e co u ld w atch
th e sun set and flo ck s o f m ig rato ry b ird s w heel o v er the estu ary at the m o u th o f W adi G lz. A t
night, I w o u ld w alk u p to G ih l to a fav o rite H a d ra m i-sty le restaurant: a ro o fless p atio w ith low
w alls and a seatin g -flo o r cov ered w ith m ats and sm o o th p eb b les and w here m y b o d y g u ard , cA bd
al-S ayf, o n ce fo u g h t and k illed a cen tip ed e the len g th o f m y fo re a rm ."
W h en I first arriv ed , I d evoted m y se lf to co llectin g as m uch po etry as p o ssib le from the
th ree d istricts, ( m u d m y a t ), read ily ac cessib le to m e: al-G haydha, H a w f to the east and Q isn to the
w est. I v iew ed this research as salvage d o cu m en tatio n o f an artistic trad itio n th at m ay soon be
eclip sed b y A rab ic-lan g u ag e p o etry and song. T hough y o u n g e r M ah ri-lan g u ag e p o ets w ere not
easily fo u n d , m y d isap p o in tm en t w as assuaged b y the stores o f poetry stored in the m em o ry o f
o ld e r in fo rm an ts.
M y first trip to Q isn w as rew ard in g b e y o n d all ex p ectatio n s. W h eth e r this is due to an
echo o f th e p o etic cu ltu re th a t o n ce rev olved around the co urt o f the S ultan o r w h eth er it is due
m erely to th e assistan ce o ffered b y the D irecto r o f the D istrict o f Q isn, S acd S alim al-G id h l, and
th e D irecto r o f C ulture fo r th e D istrict o f Q isn, B ah lt S alim al-G idhl, I c a n ’t b e certain b u t in any
case I am d eep ly in d eb ted to b o th fo r th e ir g racious h elp and in terest in m y project.
U n fo rtu n ately , I w as u n ab le to v iew o r even listen to the b u lk o f po etry and d iscu ssio n s th at I
collected in Q isn since m y v id eo cam e ra stopped w o rk in g due to an in filtratio n o f sand that
11 These centipedes deliver a shockingly painful bite and are known as s a b a ‘ w a -sa b a ‘in (“7 7 ”).
xix
w reck ed th e tap e -e je ctio n m ech anism . It w o u ld b e necessary fo r m e to retu rn to the U S A fo r
rep airs and then b a c k to al-M ah ra b efo re I co u ld an aly ze the m aterial I had g a th ered there.
M y th ree re se a rc h trip s to H a w f netted som e v aluable m aterial, in clu d in g p o etry recited
to m e b y th e sole fem ale p o e te ss I reco rd ed du rin g m y tim e in al-M ahra. O n the m o st e x ten siv e
o f these trip s, I w as a cco m p an ied by a rep re se n tativ e o f a Y em eni N G O th a t w as u n d erta k in g a
p ro ject on th e o ral lite ra tu re o f Y em en; I w ill discu ss aspects o f this p ro je ct in C h a p te r 5 o f this
d issertatio n .
O nce I had c o llected a su fficien t q u an tity o f recorded m aterial, I tu rn ed to tran scrib in g
an d tran slatin g it w ith th e h e lp o f H agg D akon. T his w as n o t an easy task. I h ad n o p ractical
ex p erien ce in the M ah ri lan g u ag e befo re I arrived in al-G h ay d h a since m y attem p ts at fin d in g a
M ahri tu to r in A den n e v e r w orked out. P erh ap s the m o st difficult asp ect o f this p ro ject w as
w ritin g out p h o n e tic tra n sc rip tio n s in a m o dified In tern atio n al P h o n etic A lp h ab et (IPA ); th at is,
d ecid in g w hat p h o n em es are m in im ally co n tra stiv e and w hat ph o n em es are not. W hen the
ad d itio n al facto r o f th e d iv e rsity o f M ahri dialects w as added to the eq u a tio n , (plus the d ialectic
b ia s o f H agg D akon w hen h elp in g m e w ith o th e r p o e ts’ w ork), as w ell as the p ecu liarities o f
p o e tic d ictio n and m eter, th e p ro cess o f tran scrip tio n could grow fru stratin g .
R ath er than g ettin g lo st in the variety o f d ialects and genres o f p o etry th at I had co llected
in the field, in itially I fo cu sed on the ly ric p o e try from H agg D a k o n ’s D iw an. I did this in o rd er
to get a feel fo r the lan g u ag e and the p o etic id io m w ith the c o m p o ser in atten d an ce, befo re
m o vin g to taped reco rd in g s from the field. A m o n g st th ese recorded p o em s, I found tw o an tique
tribal odes, a co m ic p o e m ab o u t a dow ry d isp u te b etw een a c o w ’s c a lf and a S u ltan , a co m p lain t-
p o em about a m an w hose car h as been h eld “fo r ra n so m ” by the rep airm an , and m any o th er
m ov in g , quirky, b u t alw ay s original w orks in the M ahri language
B ack in th e U S A , I h av e h ad the tim e to d istill the m ixed array o f m aterial, b ack g ro u n d
in fo rm atio n and im p ressio n s that I have co llected during m y sixteen m o n th s in Y em en . Sixteen
xx
m o n th s w as p ro b a b ly ju s t en o u g h tim e to co lle ct en ough m aterial to b e fru strated by it; h ad I
spent less tim e in al-M ah ra, I w ould h av e a less p ainful co n sciousness o f ho w m uch m aterial I
h av e m issed . I h o p e th at th is d issertatio n is the b eg in n in g o f a larg er pro ject; al-M ah ra co n tin u es
to ex ert a m ag n etic fo rce o v er the im ag in atio n . In the w ords o f the O m ani p o et, cA lI S u h ay l al-
M a csani:
W e h a v e co m e to H a w f and seen its v irtu es // d au g h ter o f m o u n ta in ’s escarp m en t and

th e o c e a n ’s child
W e h av e a scen d ed to G adab and h av e seen there // to w erin g fo rtresses o f strength
and size
S ource o f th e G afarf trib es, w hose springs irrigate the land // h o w often I h a v e h eard
o f it and m y b reast h as y earned fo r it!
W e h av e trav elled to al-G h ay d h a and h av e visited there // fo lk and friends b o th ,
w h o se co m p an io n sh ip is sought
F ro m w h en ce w e v isited D habut, w hose fo rtress w as c o n stru cted // by the an c e sto r o f
o u r an cesto rs, if o n ly you k n ew th e m !12
12 Muhammad cAkkus, K alim at a l-h a 3ira cala sa w a ti al-M ahra (no publishing information available, -2 0 0 3 ), 27.
xxi
Acknowledgements
F ro m start to finish, th is d issertatio n w as m ade p o ssib le through a F u lb rig h t-H a y s D D R A
F ello w sh ip (2 0 0 3 -2 0 0 4 ), an A m erican Institu te fo r Y em eni S tudies F e llo w sh ip (2 0 0 4 ), a S ultan
cA bd a l-cA z!z G rad u ate F e llo w sh ip from the C en ter fo r M id d le E astern S tudies at the U n iversity
o f C alifo rn ia (2 0 0 5 -2 0 0 6 ) an d a C h a n c e llo r’s D issertatio n -Y e ar F ello w sh ip (2 0 06-2007). I w ould
also like to th an k the A m erican In stitu te fo r Y em eni S tu d ies, le C entre F ranâis d 'A rch e o lo g ie et
de S ciences S ociales de San a'a and the Y em en C en te r fo r S tudies and R esearch fo r o fferin g m e
th e ir h o sp ita lity and access to th e ir scholarly reso urces. W ith o u t the gen ero u s su p p o rt o f th ese
in stitu tio n s, I w ould n e v e r h av e fo u n d the w h erew ithal to p u rsu e m y field research n o r found the
tim e tran sfo rm m y d ata in to a d issertatio n .
I w ould lik e to ex p ress m y d eep est g ratitu d e to the m em bers o f m y d issertatio n
com m ittee: D r. B rid g et C o n n elly , D r. John H ayes, Dr. M arg aret L ark in and D r. Jam es M onroe.
E ach g racio u sly o ffered the tim e and e n co u rag em en t to see this pro ject th ro u g h , and each offered
th e w isd o m o f h e r o r his resp ectiv e field. W ith o u t th e ir careful read in g s o f m y ea rlie r drafts, I
h esitate to th in k w hat th e final p ro d u ct w ould h av e lo o k ed like.
I w ould like to th an k D r. M iran d a M orris fo r h e r in v alu ab le help in read in g early d rafts o f
th is d issertatio n and fo r sharing h e r u n iq u e ex p ertise on po etry and lan guage in S outhern A rabia.
I w ould like to th an k D r. C h risto p h er E d en s fo r h is en d less h elp, sound adv ice and
generous frien d sh ip . M y field w o rk in Y em en w ould n e v er h av e b een so fruitful and p leasu rab le
w itho u t D r. E dens at th e h e lm o f the A IY S .
If th is d issertatio n p ro v es to b e an accurate an aly sis o f M ahri p o etry , lan g u ag e and
society, it is d u e to the h elp, g u id an ce, goodw ill and k n o w led g e o f m y co llab o rato rs and friends
in al-M ahra: M u h am m ad cA k k u s, cA bdallah H abrays, cA sk ari H ugayran, B u K azim , M u h am m ad
M u sa cg il, S alim al-Q u m ay rl, and T am m am Bu S a cd. I ow e m y pro fo u n d est th anks to cA bd al-
S a y f al-Q ah tan i, w ho p u t u p w ith m y erratic b e h a v io r and ill-hum ors w ithout ev e r lo sin g his cool.
xxii
F in ally , I w o u ld like to th ank H agg b ir A ll D ak o n , w ith o u t w hose frien d sh ip and
in stru ctio n th is d issertatio n n e v e r w ould h av e gone anyw here.
xxiii
Chapter 1: Linguistic Overview of the Mahri Language
I. T he M o d ern South A rab ian L an g u ag es - B ack g ro u n d . D iscovery and Sources:
M ahri is a S outh S em itic lan g u ag e, the m o st w idely sp o k en M o d e m S outh A rabian lan g u ag e
today w ith so m e 100,000 sp e a k e rs.1 T he M o d ern S outh A rabian (M S A ) lan g u ag es are the
rem n an t o f a p re -A ra b ic lin g u istic su b strate th at once stretched from O m an in the east to the
h ig h lan d s o f Y em en in the w est, in clu d in g the m o rib u n d O ld South A rab ian (O S A ) languages
w hich w e are fa m ilia r w ith from S abaean, M in aean , Q atab an ian and H ad ram ic epigraphic
sources. A cross th e R ed S ea, the sw ath o f S o uthern S em itic lan g u ag es ex ten d ed in to the
h ig h lan d s and littoral o f E ast A frica, giv in g rise to the E th io sem itic lan g u ag e s such as G e Dez and
m odern A m h aric and T ig rin a.
T he S outh S em itic lan g u ag e b ranch to w hich M ahri b elo n g s is, p erh ap s, the m ost p erp lex in g
m em b er o f th e S em itic lan g u ag e fam ily. On one h an d , S outh S em itic has the m o st clearly
d elin eated geo g rap h ical b o u n d a ries o f any S em itic su b -fam ily. T he E m p ty Q u arter and the
m o u n tain s and p la te a u s (gols) along its southern rim h av e in h ib ited the en cro ac h m en t o f A rabic
(C en tral/N o rth ern S em itic) from the A rabian h eartlan d , w hile the G ibal a l-Q am ar and the G ibal
al-Q ara o f O m ani D h o far p ro tect the eastern flank o f the S outh S em itic co re territo ry . In w estern
and northern Y em en , th e elev ated p late au s and ru g g ed m o u n tain s o f the Y em eni M a ssif have
h isto rically enabled a g ricu ltu ralists to ev o lv e in social and lin g u istic in d e p en d en ce from th eir
n o rth erly n eig h b o rs in th e W e st A rab ian H igaz. M o v in g fu rth e r w est, the R ed Sea and the coastal
low lan d s o f th e D anakil h av e p erm itted the E th io sem itic languages to ev o lv e on the E ast A frican
h ig h lan d s w ith little in terferen ce from o th e r S em itic lan g u ag es. F in ally , sep arated from the
nearest p o in t on the A rabian m ain lan d by 305 km . o f ocean , the in d ig en o u s M S A lan g u ag e o f the
1 Anda H ofstede, “M odem South Arabian Languages: An O verview ,” Foundation for Endangered Languages,
http://ww w.ogm ios.org/105.htm (accessed February 22, 2006).
islan d o f S o q o tra has e v o lv ed in n ear-co m p lete iso latio n ; all b u t the m ost rec en t effo rt fro m the
m ain lan d to co lo n ize o r in co rp o rate S oqotra h av e been ephem eral and lim ited to the coasts.
A cco rd in g to trad itio n al classificatio n s o f the S em itic language fam ily, no o th e r su b -group
p o ssesses such a n a tu ra lly d efin ed territory. F o r in stan ce, if we co n sid er the g en etic affiliatio n o f
A rabic, w e are in e v ita b ly led to ask w h eth er it ou g h t to b e included u n d e r the ru b ric o f N o rth w est
S em itic, S outh S em itic o r in a g ro u p o f its o w n, C entral S em itic. T he issue th at lies at the heart
o f th is p ro b lem is one o f geo g rap hy. It is n early im p o ssib le to define a b o u n d ary en circlin g the
A rab ian co re b e y o n d w h ich A rab ic, in som e fo rm o r another, w as n o t spoken o r un d ersto o d . It is
d ifficu lt to im ag in e C en tral S em itic n o t in terp en etratin g , and being in terp en etrated by, the
su rro u n d in g Sem itic lan g u ag es. T he sam e can be said concerning the b o u n d ary b etw een the
N o rth w estern an d E astern S em itic languages. T he lin g u istic classificatio n o f E b laite as E astern
o r W estern S em itic, (alread y p ro b lem a tized due to an am biguous w ritin g system and its early date
o f attestatio n ), is c o m p licated b y an in term ed iate lo catio n betw een M eso p o tam ia and the L ev an t
and th e lack o f any su b stan tial p h ysical barriers th at w ould suggest a c lo ser genetic affiliation in
o n e d irectio n o r th e o th er. C ertain ly the Syrian P lateau , straddling M eso p o tam ia and the
M ed iterran ean litto ral, has p u m p ed its ow n lin g u istic influence east and w est, co m p licating
g en etic m o d els o f h isto rical lin g u istics through the spread o f areal fea tu res.2
T hus, p ro b lem s in th e classificatio n o f the o th er S em itic sub-fam ilies are as m uch
g eo g rap h ical an d ch ro n o lo g ical as they are lin g u istic; cen turies o f o v erlap m ake it d ifficu lt to
d istin g u ish in h eritan ce fro m in flu e n c e.3 W ith few er ov erlap p in g p re stig e centers and little
2
This is the “am ortization” o f Giovanni Garbini w ho sees linguistic influence emanating from the Aramean Plateau to
as far away as the southwestern tip o f Arabia. See Giovanni Garbini, Le lingue semiriche, Studi d i storia linguistica
(Naples: Istituto Orientale di Napoli, 1972).
For instance, the controversy over the classification o f Ugaritic boils down to whether Ugaritic ought to be looked at
as an ancestral form o f Phoenician or as a separate branch o f Canaanite. See John H ayes, ‘T h e Lexical Relationship
Between Epigraphic South Arabic and Ugaritic,” in Sem itic Studies in H onor o f W olf Leslau, ed. Alan Kaye (Otto
Harrassowitz: W eisbaden, 1991), 1:610. To make an obvious point, this would not be an issue at all if Ugaritic didn’t
have to be considered in light o f previous and subsequent layers o f urban, Canaanite civilization, with attendant
documentation o f the various phases and trends in Northwest Semitic.
in d icatio n o f lan g u ag e su b strates, the classificatio n o f S outh S em itic o u g h t to b e a m uch sim p ler
task.
S u rp risin g ly , th e S outh S em itic lan g u ag es show little o f the lin g u istic co h esiv en e ss th at w e
w o u ld o th erw ise expect. A larg e p a rt o f the p ro b le m is in the nature o f the sources. T he O ld
S o u th A rabian lan g u ag es are esse n tia lly lim ited in attestatio n to m onum ental in scrip tio n s w ritten
in the m usnad script. T h o u g h attested fo r a p e rio d lastin g ap p roxim ately 1,200 y ears (fro m the 8th
c. B C E th ro u g h the 6th c. C E ), th e form and co ntent o f O S A epig rap h y do n o t go far b eyond
solem n, fo rm u laic d ed icatio n s. T he very fact th at th e S abaic language rem ain e d the principal
lan g u ag e o f O SA ep ig rap h y from its earliest attestatio n s u n til the last d ateab le in scrip tio n s
testifies to the co n serv atism o f th is cultural p ractice. T h e rigid co n so n an tism o f the m usnad scrip t
h as fu rth er im p ed ed the classificatio n o f th e O SA la n g u a g es since the v o calic m o rp h o lo g y is all
b u t in v isib le. A g reat deal o f lin g u istic div ersity m ay, in fact, be h idden by the m usnad script. A s
a h y p o th etical argum ent, one w onders w h eth er an early stage o f A rabic w ould n o t b e co n fu sed for
a d ialect o f O S A w ere it w ritten in m usnad c h ara cters.4
S up p lem en tin g the m usnad texts, the d isco v e ry in 1970 o f p a lm -le a f sticks in scrib ed w ith an
O S A lan g u ag e has y ield ed m o d est gains in b ro a d en in g o u r fam iliarity w ith O S A lex ico n and
m o rp h o lo g y .5 U n fo rtu n ately , o u r interp retatio n o f th ese texts is beset b y p ro b lem s relating to the
leg ib ility o f the m in iscu le scrip t, (know n as zabur), and o u r u n fam iliarity w ith the lexicon o f day-
to -d ay b u sin e ss in ancient Y em en .6 W ith one p o ssib le ex ception, I h av e yet to com e across a
4 This may, in fact, be the case for inscriptions from the region o f Haram that are written in an idiom called “Harami”
by Alfred Beeston and “Arabian” by Christian Robin. Whether the language o f these inscriptions represents a dialect
o f Sabean, a previously unattested O SA language or even a Central Sem itic language with som e features m odelled on
Sabean has yet to be resolved. See Alessandra A vanzini, “Linguistic Data and Historical Reconstruction: Between
Sem itic and Epigraphic South Arabian,” in Sem itic Studies in H onor o fW o lfL esla u , ed. Alan Kaye (W eisbaden: Otto
Harrassowitz, 1991), 1:110.
5 These texts have clarified one outstanding problem for the classification o f OSA. The 2 nd pers. verbal suffix in - k
clearly aligns the language o f the inscribed palm -sticks with the Ethiosem itic and M SA languages. This was by no
means a foregone conclusion prior to the discovery o f the palm -sticks since monumental Sabaic, at least, show s som e
suggestive Northwest and Central Sem itic features.
6 The characters o f the sets c/b/l/y, 7s/k, r/g and w/h/t are easily confused due to their orthographical similarity. See
Jaques Ryckmans, “Inscribed Old South Arabian Sticks and P alm -Leaf Stalks: An Introduction and Palaeographical
Approach,” P roceedin gs o f the 2 6 ,h Sem inar f o r A rabian Studies 23 (1993): 130.
m ore p re c ise d esig n atio n fo r the idiom o f th ese letters.7 U ntil w e can answ er w h eth er th ey w ere
w ritten in a v ersio n o f a k n o w n O S A lan g u ag e, a d iale ct th e re o f o r in a new id io m entirely, the
in scrib ed p alm -stick s w ill lik ely raise m ore q u estio n s th an th ey solve in the n e a r term .
F in ally , th e few p o ssib ly literary in scrip tio n s that w e d o possess in the m o n u m en tal script
defy attem p ts at tra n sla tio n .8
R em ark ab ly , O S A ep ig ra p h ic trad itio n s stopped at H adram aw t; v irtually no nativ e texts
d eriv in g from the m usnad tra d itio n h av e b een d isc o v ered fu rth er e ast in al-M a h ra.9 In scrip tio n s
and graffiti on ro ck are k n o w n fo r the reg io n , (p articu larly in D hofar), though th ey h av e yet to be
sy stem atically an aly zed as lin g u istic artefacts d e sp ite the efforts o f CA1I A hm ad al-S ahrf to
pu b licize them in Lugat cA d, (2 0 0 0 ).10
In co n trast to the an tiq u ity o f O S A sources, the E th io sem itic lan g u ag es are only w ell attested
from the 12th c. C E o n w ard s, (that is, in ecclesiastical w orks translated fro m G reek in to G e ’ez).
E arlier A k su m ite in scrip tio n s d ating from the m id-4th c. C E give us a sen se o f early G e ’ez,
alth o u g h th ese tex ts are w ritten in the unv o calized m usnad script and only late r texts are w ritten
in the fu lly v o calized E th io p ic sc rip t.11 T he states o f attestatio n fo r the O S A lan g u ag es and the
E th io sem itic lan g u ag es are p e rfe c tly com p lim en tary ; aro u n d the tim e th at the O S A lan g u ag es
ceased to b e w ritten o r sp o k en , the E th io sem itic lan g u ag es step into the gap. U nfo rtu n ately , this
7 Serguei Frantsouzoff, “Hadramitic docum ents written on palm -leaf stalks,” P roceedin gs o f the Sem inar f o r A rabian
Studies 29 (1999): 55-65. In light o f the brevity o f the texts from Raybun thus far published, it would be hasty to apply
a specific dialectal designation as Hadramitic or otherwise, particularly since these texts appear to have been the
product o f a scribal tradition that worked in an idiom distinct from local dialects, (Ryckmans, 1993, 134). M y feeling
is that Frantsouzoff intends Hadramitic to be understood in terms o f geographical provenance and not as a dialectal
designation.
8 Tw o texts have com e to light that w e may be able to classify as literary. One appears to be a hymn to the Sun-
goddess and is monorhymed in -hk (see Y u su f ‘Abdallah, “Naqs al-qaslda al-himyarlya ’aw tarnTmat al-sam s,” Raydan
2 [1988]: 9 0 -100) and another is a fragmentary hymn rhyming m ostly in - / (see Muhammad Bafaqlh and Christian
Robin, “M in nuqus mahram B ilqts,” R aydan 1 [1978]: 1-56). W hile som e progress has been made in understanding the
former text, the latter is broken down the middle, m aking future translation and interpretation exceedingly unlikely.
9 M usnad texts have been found east o f Wadi Hadramawt but generally appertain to trading colonies established there
by the Kingdom o f Hadramawt for the sake o f the frankincense trade. One such eastern outpost o f the m usnad tradition
was the Hadramite colony at Hor Rorl in Omani Dhofar.
10 cA li ’Ahmad Al-Sahri, L ugat 'A d (Abu Dhabi: al-M u’assasa al-W atanlya li-‘l-T aglif w a-‘l-Tibaca, 2000).
11 Gene Gragg, “G e’ez (Ethiopic),” in The Sem itic Languages, ed. Robert Hetzron (London: Routledge, 1997), 242-
243.
d o e sn ’t leav e us w ith th e cap acity to m ake a sy n ch ro n ic co m p ariso n b etw een the tw o lan g u ag e
clu sters - th e b e st w ay to d eterm in e the p re c ise n atu re o f th eir genetic relatio n sh ip .
A lth o u g h classical A rab g eo g rap h ers and h isto rian s w ere aw are th at p re-A rab ic lan g u ag es
w ere spoken east o f H ad ram aw t, they seem ed u n in tereste d in co llecting actual p h ilo lo g ical data.
Lexica] d ata fo r th e M S A lan g u ag es first ap p eared in 1835 w hen L ieu ten an t Jam es R ey n o ld
W ellsted o f th e B ritish A rm y v isited S o q o tra on h is w ay to In d ia and co llected around 25 0 w ords
in the S oqotri lan g u ag e; he later p u b lish ed a n o th er 37 w ords in M ahri in 18 4 0 .12 E x cited to
rheto rical h eig h ts b y the n o v elty o f h is d isco v e ry , W ellsted announced: “A t this p o in t, ho w ev er,
w e h av e eno u g h to p ro n o u n c e th at a new S em etic [sz'c] lan g u ag e is p ro b ab ly b efo re us, w hich
m ay, in an cien t tim es, h av e ex ten d ed o v er A sia, and w hich by future research es p ro m ises to add a
new B ible to th e c o lle c tio n o f ou r P o ly g lo ts.” 13 R eco g n izin g the in ad eq u acy o f h is ow n ra th e r
lim ited data, he e n co u rag ed fu rth e r co llectio n : “ [To] p lac e the m atter b ey o n d d oubt, let us
fo rthw ith o b tain a co p io u s v o cab u lary fro m A rabia. A n y one o f the C o m p a n y ’s vessels o f w ar,
on h er w ay b etw een In d ia and E gypt, can touch at K isseen [Q isn], w here m en w ill b e found
speaking th e M ah rah la n g u a g e .” 14 U n fo rtu n ately , there w ould be no acad em ic ex p e d itio n s to al-
M ah ra fo r an o th er 6 0 y ears u n til the S iidarabische E x p ed itio n arrived there in 1898.
D o cu m en tatio n o f a third language, Ehhkili, (know n vario u sly as E h k ali, S hauri, S ahri, Sheri
o r the n o n -p erjo rativ e and p referab le, G ib b ali), com es by w ay o f F u lg en c e F resnel, the F rench
C onsul in Jid d a w ho reco rd ed basic g ram m atical in fo rm atio n about this hhim yarique lan g u ag e,
in clu d in g an in sig h tfu l an aly sis o f its rich in v en to ry o f sib ilan ts and th e ir allo p h o n e s.15 It should
be added that alth o u g h W ellsted collected h is S oqotri and M ahri w ord lists befo re F resnel,
F re sn e l’s p u b lic a tio n s on Ehhkili p reced ed W e llste d ’s M ahri w ord list by fo u r years. In fact, it
12
James Reynold W ellsted, “M emoir on the island o f Socotra,” Journal o f the R oyal G eograph ical S ociety 5 (1835):
220-229 and James Reynold W ellsted, T ravels to the C ity o f the C aliph s (London: H. Colburn, 1840), 26-27.
13 W ellsted, 1 8 4 0 ,3 1 -3 2 .
14 Ibid., 27.
' Fulgence Fresnel, “Quatrieme letter sur l ’histoire des Arabes avant l ’islam ism e,” Journal A siatiqu e 3:5 (1836): 4 97-
544; Fulgence Fresnel, “N ote sur la langue himyarite. Extrait d ’une lettre a M.J. M ohl datee de Djedda, 12 decem bre
1837,” Journal A siatiqu e 3:6 (1838): 77-84; Fulgence Fresnel, “C inquieme lettre sur l ’histoire des Arabes avant
rislam ism e,” Journal A siatiqu e 3:6 (1838): 529-570.
w as F re sn e l’s p u b lish e d rep o rts on Ehhkili th at in sp ired W ellsted to look back on his ow n
m aterial and p u b lish a w ord list in City o f the Caliphs, (1840).
T he related lan g u ag es o f B athari, H arsusi and H o b y o t w ere n o t d o c u m en ted u n til m uch
later. H arsusi and B ath ari w ere first an n o u n ced to the w orld by B ertram T h o m as in Four Strange
Tongues fro m South Arabia, The Hadara Group, (1939), w here he lists M ah ri, H arsusi and
B athari as b e lo n g in g to one g ro u p o f closely related lan g u ag es, w hile an o th er lan g u ag e, S hahari,
(Sheri, i.e. G ib b ali) is listed as the sole co n stitu e n t o f a second g ro u p .16 A lo n g sid e som e basic
eth n o lo g ical data, T h o m as p ro v id es p h o n o lo g ical, m orp h o lo g ical and lexical in fo rm atio n as w ell
as a list o f co m p arativ e p h rases w ith sy n tactic analysis.
T he d isco v ery o f H o b y o t w ould have to w ait even lo n g er. A lthough Jo h n sto n e deserves
credit fo r first m en tio n in g H o b y o t in a p u b licatio n in 1981, he conceded th at this new lan g u ag e
w as a m ix ed d ialect o f M ahri and G ibbali and n o t a distin ct lan g u ag e in its ow n rig h t.17 H o b y o t
w ould n o t d e fin itiv e ly b e describ ed as a separate lan guage - n eith er a dialect o f M ahri o r o f
G ibbali - until 1985 w hen the M issio n F ranqaise u n d e r A n to in e L o nnet and M arie-C lau d e
S im eo n e-S en elle co llected eno u g h d ata to estab lish the ex istence o f this sixth and final M S A
la n g u a g e .18
T h e first full tex ts in M ahri and S oqotri, (and n o t ju s t lexical lists o r gram m ars), w ere
co llected b y the S iid arab isch e E x p ed itio n b eg in n in g in 1898 and w ere p u b lish e d by A lfred Jah n ,
D av id M u lle r and W ilh e lm H ein betw een 1902 and 1909.19 T he field o f M S A p h ilo lo g y and
lin g u istics really b e g in s at th is p o in t; the sudden abundance o f texts and gram m atical d esc rip tio n s
en abled a c o m p reh en siv e co m p arativ e analysis vis a vis the o ther S em itic lan g u ag es fo r the first
16 Bertram T hom as, F o u r Strange Tongues fro m South A rabia, the H adara G roup (L ondon: O xford U niversity Press,
1939), 5.
17 Thomas Johnstone, Jibbali Lexicon (London: Oxford University Press, 1981), xii.
18 Marie-Claude Sim eone-Senelle, “Bilan et Perspectives des Recherches sur les Langues Sudarabiques M odernes
Parlees au Y em en,” Chroniques Yemenites, http://cy.revues.org/document48.html (accessed on January 18, 2006). For
an updated discussion o f the discovery o f H obyot, see M arie-Claude Sim eone-Senelle, “Les Langues Sudarabiques
M odernes a TAube de T An 2000: Evaluation des C onnaissances,” in Sem itic Linguistics: The State o f the A rt a t the
Turn o f the Tw enty-F irst Century, ed. Shlom o Izre’el (W inona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 2002), 382.
19 In addition to Jahn, 1902 and Hein, 1909, see David M uller, D ie M ehri- und S oqolri-Sprache I-III (Vienna: Alfred
Holder, 1902, 1905, 1907 respectively).
tim e. O ddly, n o sy stem atic co llectio n s o f p o e try o r verse have been attem p ted since, only
in d iv id u al p o em s cast in a few , u n related a rticle s.20
II. T h e M S A L an g u ag es an d C o m p arativ e S em itics:
T he p ro b lem w ith the so u rces fo r the S outh S em itic languages, (th eir scarcity , am b ig u ity and
relativ e recen tn ess), is co m p o u n d ed by the d isp o sitio n o f the field o f C o m p arativ e S em itics itself.
R ead in g th e literatu re, w e are left w ith the im p ressio n th at the standard defin in g iso g lo sses o f
S outh S em itic are th e lefto v ers, i.e., w h atev er shared features rem ain o n ce the d efin in g iso g lo sses
o f the E ast, N orth and W estern S em itic su b -fam ilies h av e been factored out. T he w orking
assu m p tio n h ere is th at S outh S em itic is at the tail end o f an initial S e m itic diffu sio n and is
therefo re d efin ab le b y re la tiv e ly m in o r shared in n o v a tio n s, (such as the verb al n eg a tiv e ’al), o r in
pu rely n eg ativ e term s, (lack in g a co m m on d efin ite article o r pho n o lo g ical co n se rv a tism , fo r
instance). In o th e r w o rd s, S outh S em itic is defin ed lin g u istically by the p rev a le n ce o f archaism
and g eo g rap h ically b y its iso latio n on the southern S em itic periphery. O ddly, the p rev alen ce o f
arch aism in S outh S em itic seem s d ifficu lt to b a lan c e a g ain st the fact th at m o st o f our
u n eq u iv o cally S outh S em itic d ata com e from lan g u ag es that are only w ell attested from the 16 th c.
C E onw ards!
T he South S em itic su b -fam ily has the essen c e o f a shape-shifter; it seem s to m ove in and out
o f focu s d ep en d in g on the an g le o f incidence. F o r instance, w hen w e d ra w up the ev id en ce o f
gen etic a ffiliatio n b etw een S em itic lan g uages, the m o st reliab le m ethod is to look at shared
20
For Socotran oral traditions, see Vitaly Naumkin, “M yth, Gender and Eroticism in Socotran Folklore,” P roceedin gs
o f the Sem inar f o r A ra b ic Studies 31 (2000): 189-194; Vitaly Naumkin, Island o f the Phoenix, trans. Valery Epstein
(Reading; Ithaca Press, 1993), 401-406 and Vitaly Naumkin and Victor Porkhomovsky, “Oral Poetry in the Socotran
Socio-cultural Context: The Case o f the Ritual Song The G irl a n d The Jinn," P roceedin gs o f the Sem inar f o r A ra b ic
Studies 33 (2003): 315-318. Miranda Morris has published two articles that discuss Jibball and Bathari poetry: “A
Poem in Jibbali,” Journal o f Oman Studies 1 (1985): 121-130 and “Som e Preliminary Remarks on a C ollection o f
Poem s and Songs o f the Batahirah,” Journal o f Oman Studies 6 (1983): 129-144. To date, these articles represent the
extent o f scholarly treatments o f ethnopoetics in the M SA languages.
in n o v atio n s ra th e r th an c o m m o n ly m ain tain ed arch aism s. T he und erly in g p rin c ip le is that
archaism s co u ld ju s t as lik ely re fle ct descent fro m a com m on Sem itic a n cesto r as th ey co u ld stem
from k in sh ip at a lo w e r n o d e. H o w ever, the task o f sep aratin g inn o v atio n fro m arch aism is n o t as
easy as it seem s, a p ro b le m ack n ow ledged by R o b ert H etzro n , A lice F ab er and o th e rs.21
L oo k in g at a recen t d istillatio n o f the in n o v atio n s th at define the S outh S em itic group
again st A rab ic, (and p resu m ab ly , against its clo sest n o n -S o u th ern S em itic re lativ es), w e fin d four
b a sic iso g lo sse s th at are shared b y lan g u ag es co m m o n ly labelled as S outh S em itic. T h ey are: 1)
g lo b a liz e d p h o n em es in lieu o f the p h ary n g e alized series, 2) 1st and 2nd pers. verbal suffixes in - k ,
3) b isy llab ic verbal stem fo r th e im p erfect in d ic ativ e , and 4) verbal n eg atio n w ith ’al.22
On c lo se r ex am in atio n , w e d isco v e r o u rselv es on q u icksand. T he first iso g lo ss, (the
g lo b a liz e d series), is a retain ed archaism that is re co n stru c tab le for P ro to -S e m itic , (and even
A fro asiatic!), and is th ereb y d isq u alified as ev id e n ce o f a d istin ctiv e S outh S em itic lan g u ag e su b
fam ily. T he sam e can be said fo r the second iso g lo ss: the 1st and 2nd perso n v erbal suffix in - k ,
(only so recen tly co n firm ed fo r all three South S em itic sub-branches), has b een p o sited as an
arch aism and n o t as a shared in n o v atio n as is c o m m o n ly assu m ed .23 A d ifferen t p ro b lem besets
th e third iso g lo ss. T he b isy lla b ic im p erfect in d icativ e in M S A and E th io sem itic m ay not deriv e
from the sam e p ro to -S o u th S em itic fo rm .24 F u rth e r evid en ce fo r the b isy llab ic verb stem from
O S A so u rces is in co n clu siv e d u e to the lack o f v o w els o r m arkers fo r g e m in atio n in the m usnad
21 See A lice Faber, “Genetic Subgrouping o f the Sem itic Languages,” in The Sem itic Languages, ed. Robert Hetzron
(London: Routledge, 1997), 3-15 and Victor Porkhom ovsky, “Modern South Arabian Languages from a Sem itic and
H am ito-Sem itic Perspective,” P roceedin gs o f the Sem inar f o r A rabian Studies 27 (1997): 220.
22 For the first three isoglosses, see David Appleyard, “The South Sem itic Languages,” in Sem itic Linguistics: The State
o f the A rt a t the Turn o f the Tw enty-F irst Century, ed. Shlom o Izre’el (W inona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 2002), 405. The
final isogloss is proposed by Faber in Faber, 1997, 11.
23 Karel Petracek view s the spread o f the suffix in - k from the second person to the first person in light o f a similar
neutralization in Eblaitic and Cushitic and is, in his words, “a conspicuous archaism.” See Karel Petracek, “The South
Arabian Periphery,” in A M iscellany o f M iddle Eastern A rticles In M em oriam Thomas M u ir Johnstone 1924-83, eds. A.
Irvine, R. Serjeant and G. Rex Smith (Harlow: Longman Group, 1988), 218. If this is indeed an archaic (Proto-
Sem itic?) retention, then the Akkadian stative suffixes would necessarily have gone through a process o f dissim ilation
to -aku in the first person singular and -a ta /i in the second person singular. I remain hesitant about accepting
Petracek’s position until more conclu sive evidence o f a historical shift in the East Sem itic/Akkadian branch is offered.
24 Appleyard, 2002, 406. Appleyard expresses his own uncertainty about the provenience o f the M SA bisyllabic verb
stem and chooses to leave the question unresolved, (as does Porkhom ovsky, 1997). A large part o f this question relates
to the difference between gem ination o f the second radical for indicative verbs in Akkadian and Ethiosem itic
(yVqVttVl), and vocalic lengthening in M SA (yV qV .tV l). The question o f which o f the tw o is the original and which
is the secondary formation remains an open one.
script. In general, sch o larly co n sen su s is ag ain st p o sitin g this form fo r O S A . B e e sto n ’s survey o f
Sabaic im p erfect v erbs w ith m id d le w eak ro o ts n etted a sin g le p o ssib le ex am p le o f an altern atio n
betw een m o n o - and b isy lla b ic stem s fo r th e in d ica tiv e and su b ju n ctiv e m oods: ym w tn/lym tn. T he
p au city o f e v id en ce fo rced h im to co n clu d e th at the d ifferen ce is m ore lik ely grap h ic than
m o rp h o lo g ic a l.25 In any case, the b isy llab ic verb stem h a s also been re co n stru cte d fo r P roto -
S em itic and should th erefo re be v iew ed as a retain ed arch aism w here it ex ists in S outh S e m itic.26
O f the fo u r c h a ra c teristic iso g lo sses o f South S em itic, o n ly the final one - the verbal
n eg ativ e Dal - is d em o n strab ly an in n o v atio n , alth o u g h even this in n o v a tio n d o es n o t entail
m o rp h o lo g y - g en erally co n sid ered to b e the th u m b p rin t o f a la n g u a g e ’s iden tity . T he o th e r th ree
iso g lo sses m ay, in fact, h av e o n ly co n firm ed m istak en assu m p tio n s ab o u t the k in sh ip o f the S outh
S em itic lan g u ag es in th e first place.
In lig h t o f these p ro b lem s, recent g en etic m o d els h av e begun to ch allen g e the co n v en tio n al
schem e o f an early cleav ag e o f P ro to -S em itic in to an E astern S em itic b ra n c h and a W estern
S em itic b ran ch , th e la tte r o f w hich is fu rth er d iffe re n tia ted in to N o rth ern and S outhern su b
b ran ch es w ith A rab ic o c c u p y in g an in term ed ia te p o sitio n betw een N o rth w est and S outh Sem itic.
T h is is m o re o r less the co n v en tio n al m odel p ro p o se d b y F aber, itse lf a d istillatio n o f the w ork o f
R ob ert H etzro n , (1972, 1973, 1975, 1976) and John H u ehnergard, (1 9 9 2 ), w ho b ase th eir
co n clu sio n s strictly on shared m o rp h o lo g ical in n o v a tio n s.27 The larg est o u tstan d in g p ro b lem w ith
th is m odel co n cern s the classificatio n o f A rab ic, w ith the p receeding sch o lars in clu d in g A rabic
am o n g st th e N o rth w est S em itic lan g u ag es in a W est-C en tral group in o p p o sitio n to a W est-
25 Alfred Beeston, Sabaic G ram m ar (Manchester: University o f Manchester, 1984), 16. A lso, see Norbert N ebes, “Zur
Form des Imperfektbasis des unvermehrten Grundstammes im Altsiidarabischen,” in Festschrift E w ald W agner zum 65
G eburtstag, eds. Wolfhart Heinrichs and Gregor Schoeler (Beirut: F. Steiner Verlag, 1994), 1:59-81. A vanzini argues
against this position and offers another exam ple o f a m ono-/bisyllabic stem alternation in Sabaic as demonstrated by
the assim ilation o f the root initial Ini in imperfect indicative verbs; however, like B eeston, she cautions against the
conclusiveness o f the evidence, (Avanzini, 1991, 111).
26 Porkhomovsky, 1997, 222.
27 Faber, 1 9 9 7 ,6 .
9 .
S ou th ern g ro u p th at in clu d es M S A , O S A and the E th io sem itic languages.
28 T here c o n tin u e to be
q u estio n s ab o u t th e intern al arran g em en t o f the S o u thern S em itic su b -fam ily u n d e r this m odel b u t
th e relativ ely clo se affiliatio n o f its th ree c o n stitu en t p arts is a foregone co n clu sio n .
R ev isio n s to th is m odel h a v e so u g h t to realig n the S outh S em itic b ran ch in rela tio n to the
o th e r b ra n c h e s and som e h av e ev en gone so far as to split th e South Sem itic gro u p apart en tirely
and re a ssig n its co n stitu en ts elsew here. F o r in stan ce, th e b isy llab ic im perfect v erb stem has long
been seen as ev id en ce o f a close g en etic affiliation betw een E thiosem itic, M S A and the E ast
Sem itic lan g u ag es o f M eso p o tam ia, (A kkadian et al.). T his p o sitio n has been p u t on an em pirical
b asis b y S im o P a rp o la w ho argues fo r it in lig h t o f lin g u istic evidence from E b la and textual and
arch aeo lo g ical in d icatio n s o f “liv ely co n tact betw een M e so p o tam ia and O m an in the late 4 th and
early 3rd m ille n iu m B C E .”29 T he realig n m en t o f South and E ast S em itic is appro ach ed from a
d ifferen t ang le b y G arb in i w ho, in rejectio n o f the g en e tic m odel o f h istorical lin g u istics, (the
Stam m baum ), sees the arch aism o f S outh S em itic as the re su lt o f a lin g u istic m ig ratio n from
M e so p o ta m ia th at arrived in S outh A rab ia b eg in n in g in the first m illennium B C E and that
asserted its e lf o v e r a C u sh itic su b stra te.30 T he archaic lan g u ag es o f the S em itic p erip h ery —
E astern and S o u th ern - th ereb y stand in co n trast to the core S em itic lan g u ag es that w ere m ore
open to th e “am o rriz a tio n ” o rig in a tin g from the S yrian plateau.
T his is sim ila r to the approach taken by Y aakov G ru n tfest and C haim R abin w ho p ro p o se a
m odel o f lin g u istic spread cen tered on an axis o f in flu en ce ru n n in g from the L ev an t to the
h ig h lan d s o f W estern Y em en along the w estern spine o f A ra b ia .31 A t tim es, this m ethod o f
28 This position is countered by Werner D iem in “D ie G enealogische Stellung des Arabischen in den semitischen
Sprachen,” in Studiert aus A rabistik und Semitistik, eds. Werner D iem and Stefan W ild (W iesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz,
1980), 69, and by Joshua Blau in Topics in H ebrew an d Sem itic L inguistics, (Jerusalem: The M agnes Press, 1998), 30,
who prefer to see a closer affiliation o f Arabic and the South Sem itic languages on the basis o f the shared innovation o f
a verb stem with a long first vow el, (kdtaba and takataba) and the communal patterns o f broken plurals.
29 Sim o Parpola, “Proto-Assyrian, ” in W irtschaft und G esellschaft von E bla, eds. Harald Hauptmann and Hartmut
W aetzoldt (Heidelburg: Heidelburger Orientverlag, 1988), 293-298.
30 Giovanni Garbini, “Qualche riflessione sui pronomi personali sem itici,” O riens Antiqua 27 (1988), 85-104.
31 Yaakov Gruntfest, ‘T h e Problem o f C lassifying Southern Sem itic Languages,” in IV C ongresso Internazionale di
Studi E tiopici, (Rome: A ccadem ia N azionale D ei Lincei, 1974), 2:105-114 and Chaim Rabin, ‘T h e Origin o f the
Subdivisions o f Sem itic,” in H ebrew an d Sem itic Studies P resen ted to G odfrey R olles D river, eds. D . Thom as and W.
McHardy (Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1963), 104-115.
10
analysis ten d s to lo se p e rsu a siv e fo rce w hen the lan g u ag e co re is view ed as in n o v ativ e and
c o n serv ativ e as a g ain st a lan g u ag e p erip h ery , w hich can likew ise b e seen as in n o v a tiv e and
co n serv ativ e d e p e n d in g on th e d a ta at hand.
M o st re c e n tly , A le x a n d e r M ilitarev has pro d u ced a classificato ry m odel b ased alm o st
entirely on le x ic o sta tistic s.32 A cco rd in g to h is m e th o d o lo g y , h e has reso lv ed on a v a stly d ifferen t
classificato ry sch em e. In it, P ro to -S em itic bifu rcates in to a South S em itic bran ch , (the M S A
lan g u ag es), and N o rth S em itic w hich u n d erg o es fu rth er bifu rcatio n in to N o rth w est S em itic and
N orth E a st S em itic. N o rth w est S em itic then bifu rcates in to P eripheral (E th io p ian ) and C entral,
(A rabic and L ev an tin e, the la tte r o f w hich m ay in clu d e S abaic). S een h ere, all th ree trad itional
co n stitu en ts o f S o u th Sem itic are assig n ed to co m p letely different branches: E th io sem itic to
P eripheral N o rth w est an d S ab aic (p ro v isio n a lly ) to C entral N o rthw est w hile M S A occu p ies its
ow n p rim o rd ial b ran ch fo llo w in g th e b rea k -u p o f P ro to -S em itic. T his radical d e p artu re from the
co n v en tio n al schem e has som e a p p ealin g ch aracteristics: no tab ly , the d iv isio n o f N orth S em itic
in to P erip h eral an d C entral categ o ries w hich appears to b e a w ell-w rought sy n th esis o f th e genetic
m odel, (a la H etzro n ), and the w av e m odel, (a la R ab in ), o f h istorical lin guistics.
T w o o th e r stu d ies that h av e relied on lexico statistics, (H ayes, 1991 and R ogers, 1991),
b u ttress th is arg u m en t.33 T o w it, O S A and U garitic share a c lo ser lexical re latio n sh ip th an O S A
shares w ith A k k ad ian o r A rab ic, and th at E thiosem itic and O S A are m ore closely affiliated than
eith er is to M S A . T he p ro b lem w ith M ilita re v ’s m odel is that it fails to take in to account
m o rp h o lo g ical ev id en ce, w hich, d e sp ite the sho rtco m in g s prev io u sly o u tlin ed , should not be
discard ed en tirely .
L e a v in g asid e the m o re radical aspects o f M ilita re v ’s m odel fo r the tim e b ein g , three
p rim ary su b -b ran ch es - O S A , E th io sem itic and M S A - are gen erally acknow ledged as the
co n stitu en ts o f th e S outh S em itic bran ch .
12
Leonid Kogan and Alexander M ilitarev, Sem itic E tym ological D iction ary (Munster: Ugarit-Verlag, 2000), xl-xli.
33 For H ayes, 1991, see footnote #3. Jonathan Rodgers, ‘T h e Subgrouping o f the South Sem itic Languages” in Sem itic
Studies in H onor ofW o lfL esIa u , ed. Alan K aye (Weisbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1991), 2:1328.
11
N arro w in g th e field even further, S em iticists have g en erally agreed on a b ifu rc atio n
b etw een a W estern , (O S A and E th io sem itic), and an E astern , (M S A ), sub -b ran ch o f S outh
S em itic. T h is is reflected in th e Stam m baum schem e o f H etzon, F a b e r et al., and is b ased on the
fo llo w in g in n o v a tiv e features:
1) W estern S ub -G roup: verbal n o uns u sed as finite v erb s
2) E astern S ub-G roup: d ev elo p m en t o f a definite article, p articip les used to
ex press fu tu re action and ad option o f A rabic num erals 2 0 -9 0 .34
T h is b ifu rcatio n o f S outh S em itic into E astern and W estern sub-b ran ch es is su pported by
th e lex ico statistic an aly sis o f R o g ers w ho finds a 56% rate o f shared co gnates b etw een S abaic and
E th io sem itic as o p p o sed to 4 6 % betw een M S A and S abaic and 32% b etw e en M S A and
E th io se m itic .35
A t c lo ser in sp ectio n , ev en the d o u b led -lo b ed schem e o f the S outh S em itic lan g u ag e group
b eg in s to lo o k a little shaky. T he d iv ersity o f the O S A languages has long b ee n noted in
sch o larsh ip and th is d iv ersity p o in ts to the p ro b ab ility that the ancient b ranch o f S o uthw est
S em itic is a p a lim p se st o f S em itic lan g u ag es w hose ep ig raphic n o tation hides the essential
d ifferen ces b etw een th e m .36 F o r in stan ce, som e features o f the Sabaic lan g u ag e urge a closer
a ffiliatio n o u tsid e o f the S outh S em itic su b -fam ily, (su ch as h- for the p refix o f the cau sativ e
verbal th em e and 3rd p erso n p ro n o m in al m o rp h o lo g y as ag ainst s ' in the o th e r O S A languages);
th ese fe a tu re s h av e b een related to the arrival o f m igrants from N orthern o r C entral A rabia in the
6th-5th c. B C E . O thers d isag ree. Q atabanian has been reg arded as p a ttern in g c lo ser to A rabic on
th e b asis o f a b -prefix that d istin g u ish es the in d icativ e fro m the su b ju n ctiv e m oods w hereas
34 Ibid., 1328. It is interesting, though entirely conjectural, that the three distinguishing characteristics o f SE Sem itic,
(that is, the M SA languages), pattern after northerly Sem itic languages. The M SA prefixed definite article in jh, h, 3)
+ V or V + gemination looks remarkably similar to Arabic and N W Sem itic definite articles, and, o f course, the
numerals 20-90 have been borrowed, without change, from Arabic. Once again, out o f a list o f South Semitic
characteristic features, only two out o f four, (usage o f verbal nouns and participles as finite verbs), are unequivocably
distinctive and unique to their branch.
35 Ibid., pp. 1326.
36 Confronted with this variety, Beeston chose to restrict his grammar o f O SA languages to Sabaic and to account for
the principle divergencies between Sabaic and the other O SA languages in an appendix, (Beeston, 1984).
12
S abaic - w ith a m o n o sy llab ic vs. b isy lla b ic d istin ctio n - is view ed as re fle ctin g a m ore archaic
v ersion o f O S A .37
A t th e Fifth In tern atio n al C onference on Y em eni C iv ilizatio n at the U n iv ersity o f S a n a ’a,
(A u g u st 3 0 - S ep tem b er 1, 2 0 0 4 ), A lex a n d er S im a w as due to p resen t d ata d e m o n stra tin g th at the
E th io p ic lan g u ag es and th e M S A lan g u ag es b o th d eriv ed from a S outh S em itic su b strate that w as
la te r p u sh ed to th e eastern and w estern p erip h e ries o f So u th ern A rab ia b y the arrival, (in stages),
o f intru siv e O SA lan g u ag es around 1300 B C E . T his c h ro n o lo g ically layered approach to the
S outh S em itic lan g u ag es is also argued by A n to in e L onnet: “ [The settlem en t o f S oqotra by p ro to -
Soqotri speakers 3 ,0 0 0 y ears ago] w as m ost lik ely one o f the conseq u en ces o f the retre at o f the
in d ig en o u s p o p u latio n s o f southern A rab ia w ho fled the ad v an ce o f the S abaeans and o ther
p eo p les w ho cam e from n o rth -eastern Y em en and w ere at the o rigin o f the an cien t Y em enite
'I O
civilisation .”
In short, a split en v isio n e d b etw een an E th io sem itic/O S A sub-branch and a M S A sub-branch
is g iving w ay to a m odel in w h ich certain O S A lan g u ag e s are seen as an in tru siv e w edge
sep aratin g th e w estern E th io sem itic and eastern M S A flan k s o f a S o u th S em itic substrate.
W e are le ft w ith a lin g u istic sub-fam ily th at m ay n o t qualify as such. W h at is the p o in t in
sp eaking ab o u t a S outh S em itic lan guage su b -fam ily th en ? L eaving aside the p rev io u sly
m en tio n ed scholarly arg u m en ts fo r the m o m ent, I d o u b t anyone w ould den y th at the lan g u ag es o f
th e S outhern S em itic p erip h ery are in d eed d istin c tiv e e n o u g h to w arrant th e ir sep aratio n fro m the
central, n o rth ern and eastern S em itic lan guage stocks. T he desire to see a sep a ra te su b -fam ily is
no d o u b t b ased on th e co llectiv e gestalt o f sm aller lin g u istic item s and n o t on tw o , th ree o r fo u r
m ajo r iso g lo sses. In fact, co n trary to the p o sitio n th at m o rphological in n o v atio n is the best
m easu re o f d iv erg en ce, w e m ay n eed to rely on the lu m p sum o f shifts in p h o n o lo g y , lexicon and
37 See A vanzini, 1991, 111.

3S Antoine Lonnet, ‘T h e Soqotri Language: Past, Present and Future” in P roceedin gs o f the F irst International
Sym posium on Soqotra Island: P resent an d Future, Aden, M arch 24-28, 1996, ed. H.J. Dumont (N ew York: United
Nations Publication, 1996), 299.
13
p ro so d y in o rd er to classify , b o th in te rn ally and e x tern ally , the S em itic lan g u ag es o f S outhern
A rab ia and E ast A frica.
R eg ard less o f th e ir p recise classificatio n , the O S A lan g u ag es w ere u ltim ately rep lac ed by
A rab ic w hich h ad in filtrated S o u thw est A rab ia b y th e earliest cen turies o f the com m on era. E ven
i f S abaic co n tin u ed to b e used in H im yari in scrip tio n s through the 6th c. C E, the m o st w idely
spoken lan g u ag e o f th is p erio d w as d o u b tless a v a ria n t o f A rabic o r a “ H im y ari” d ia le ct clo sely
related to it. W ith th e ex cep tio n o f som e p re-A rab ic featu res that survived in a few d ia lec ts o f
Y em eni A rabic, (such as a verbal co n ju g a tio n en d in g in - k in som e dialects in and around T a°izz
— 39
and Y a fa c), the O S A lan g u ag es e ffectiv ely ceased to exist.
III. T he M ahri L an g u ag e - Internal C o n sid eratio n s:
Iso lated in the d eserts, coasts and m o u n tain s east o f W ad i H ad ram aw t and on islan d s in the
A rab ian Sea, ancestral M S A avoided rep lac em en t by A rab ic and ev o lv ed in to c o n tem p o rary
B athari, G ibbali, H arsu si, H o b y o t, M ahri and S oqotri. T he features o f the M o d em S outh A rabian
languages th at d istin g u ish them from th e ir n o rth erly and w esterly n eig h b o rs are clearly au d ib le in
p h o n o lo g y , nom inal fo rm atio n s and verbal co n ju g atio n s. It w ould b e ap p ro p riate here to d escrib e
h o w a few o f these featu res are ex pressed in M S A , if o n ly to dem o n strate h o w d istin ct the M S A
lan g u ag es are from the A rab ic lan g u ag e that su rro u n d s it on three sides. S ince the M ahri
lan g u ag e has been w ell co v ered from a p h ilo lo g ic al stan d p o in t, I w ill lim it m y se lf to th o se p o in ts
th at con trast w ith standard im p ressio n s o f M ahri p h o n o lo g y in o rd er to ju stify m y tran scrip tio n
techniques.
T o b eg in w ith, the m o st striking featu re to an au d ito r u n fam iliar w ith the M S A lan g u ag es is
in the area o f p h o n o lo g y . L ike the E th io sem itic lan g uages, the M S A lan g u ag es preserv e
39
Theodore Prochazka, “The Perfect T ense Ending K (-) in the Spoken Arabic o f T acizz,” Bulletin o f the School o f
African an d O riental Studies 37 (1974): 439 - 442 and Martine V anhove, “N otes on the Arabic Dialectal Area o f
Y a fiY ’ P roceedin gs o f the Sem inar f o r A rabian Studies 25 (1995): 145-152.
14
eje c tiv e /g lo tta lize d p h o n em es w h ere th e o th e r S em itic lan g u ag es have lo st th em , (o r in the case o f
A rab ic, re a liz e th em as p h a ry n g e a liz ed /em p h atic p h o n e m es). In aco u stic term s, ejective
p h o n em es are so m e o f th e m o st en e rg e tic so u n d s a v ailab le in the p h o n etic rep erto ire and they
ten d to stan d out to the casu al liste n e r.40
T w o actio n s are req u ired to p ro d u c e an e jectiv e p h onem e: first, the p o in t o f articu latio n is
set and seco n d , th e g lo ttis is clo sed and lifted u p w ard s, com pressing air trapped in the oral cavity.
W hen th e re q u isite d eg ree o f p re ssu re is reach ed , the p o in t o f articulation is released w ith a pop
and a h iss w h o se tim b re is d eterm in ed by the p o in t at w h ich the articulation w as m ade. G en erally
sp eak in g , th e p o in t o f articu latio n can n o t b e to o far fo rw ard o r the p re ssu re w ill be to o low
relativ e to th e size o f th e c h a m b e r fo rm ed even after the g lo ttis is closed and lifted. A cco rd in g ly ,
ejectiv e p h o n e m e s tend n o t to ex ist p a st the dental articu latio n ; labial ejectiv es such as /p 7 are
only rarely attested and te n d to b e u n stab le, as in G e ’ez.
A seco n d co n strain t is th at v o icin g is im p o ssib le at the tim e o f release since the vocal chords
are im m o b iliz e d w ith a g lo ttal clo su re. A vo iced ejectiv e is therefore a pho n o lo g ical
im p o ssib ility .41 H o w ev er, th e g lo ttis m ay n o t b e clo sed co m pletely in the p ro d u ctio n o f an
ejectiv e p h o n em e. T h is resu lts in vo iced lary n g e als o r in creaky voice w ith a su b sequent loss o f
th e ejectiv e fe a tu re .42
40 It is surprising that the ejective phonem es o f M SA were not noted by the linguists o f the Siidarabische Expedition.
This may have been due to the weaker and less perceptible glottalization o f ejectives in Qisn where the Siidarasche
Expedition collected its data. Other visitors to the region before and for the next half century after the Siidarabische
Expedition w ere not trained linguists nor did they have experience with the Ethiosem itic languages that still preserve
ejective phonem es; in short, they tended to focus on the more “sensational” find o f the lateral sibilants. W o lf Leslau,
w hose experience in Ethiosem itic languages needs no preface, apparently worked from written data and not from
personal fieldwork; this may account for his inability to account for the ejectives in his scholarship on the M SA
languages. In fact, the ejective phonem es were not mentioned until Johnstone’s 1970 presentation “Contrasting
Articulations in the M odem South Arabian Languages” and published under the same title in H am ito-Sem itica:
P roceedin gs o f a Colloquium H eld a t the School o f O riental a n d African Studies, U niversity o f London on the 18'1’, 19'
an d 2 0 th o f March, 1970, eds. James Bynon and Theodora Bynon (Paris: M outon, 1975), 155-159. The other
possibility - that the ejectives are an innovation o f the past century - doesn’t need to be entertained seriously since this
innovation would necessarily have been adopted by all the M SA languages within a relatively short time. Given the
range and diversity o f the M SA languages, this seem s exceedingly unlikely.
41 “W e do not know o f any linguistic use o f voiced ejectives. Sounds that have been described in the literature as
voiced ejectives are, in our opinion, m isnam ed” (Peter Ladefoged and Ian M addieson, Sounds o f the W o rld ’s
L anguages [Oxford: B lackw ell Publishers Ltd., 1996], 80.
42 M arie-Claude Sim eone-Senelle, “The Modern South Arabian Languages,” in The Sem itic Languages, ed. Robert
Hetzon (London: Routledge, 1997), 382-383.
15
In th e ca se o f th e Q isn d ialect o f M S A w here the g lo ttis is often m ore relax ed in the
p ro d u ctio n o f ejectiv es, th e d e n ti-a lv e o la r ejectiv e / s ’/ o r /s / is realized as a v o ice d d en ti-alv e o lar
w ith creak y v o ice.43 R eg ard less o f its rea liz atio n , (w h e th e r w ith full v o iced , creak y vo ice o r none
at all), I h a v e tran scrib ed th is p h o n e m e as /s / in k e ep in g w ith co m m on p ra c tic e .44
T h e c a se o f th e v o iceless in terd en tal e jec tiv e IX/, (co g n ate w ith the p h ary n g ea liz ed
in terd en tal A rab ic /z/), is a b it m o re co m p lex since the in sta b ility o f th is p h o n e m e leads to a
n u m b er o f d iffe re n t realizatio n s in the M ahri d ia le c ts.45 F o r instance, in the dialect o f Q isn,
L onnet and S im e o n e -S e n e lle n o te th at IX/ has coalesced w ith It/; th at is, it has turned into an
o cc lu siv e .46 T h is is a log ical re sp o n se to co n strain ts on the p ro d uction o f ejectiv e fricatives. I f
w e co n sid e r ejectiv es in strictly m ech an ical term s, an o cclu sio n is necessary at the p o in t o f
articu latio n to ach iev e the h e ig h te n ed air p re ssu re w ith in the oral cavity. In the case o f the Q isn
d ialect, th is need m ay h av e led to an u n co n d itio n e d c h an g e o f a fricativ e /XI to a stop, It/. F u rther,
th is shift m ay b e th e re su lt o f a c o n stra in t on the p ro d u c tio n o f ejectives articu lated at a p o int
forw ard o f th e d ental strictu re; in effect, the in terd en tal articulation o f IXJ is p u lled b ack to a m ore
crisp ly au d ib le /(/.
E lsew h ere, this p h o n em e h as sh ifted clo ser to an A rab ic /z / th ro u g h the loss o f the
g lo ttalizatio n and th e d e v e lo p m e n t o f la ry n g ealizatio n . T his exactly p a ra lle ls the tran sfo rm atio n
o f / s/ to a creak y v o iced /z / in th e Q isn dialect. Jo h n sto n e arrives at n early the sam e con clu sio n
b u t th ro u g h th e o p p o site re aso n in g : fo r him , a voiced, h isto rica lly g lo b aliz ed , d en ti-alv e o lar is
ren d ered “p a rtia lly v o ic e le ss.”47 I do not ag ree w ith him here that the u n d erly in g form is a voiced
43 Antoine Lonnet and Marie-Claude Sim eone-Senelle, “La P honologie des Langues Sudarabiques M odernes,” in
P honologies o f A sia a n d A frica, ed. Alan Kaye (W inona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 1997), 349.
44 Throughout this work, I have transcribed all M SA ejectives with a subscript dot in keeping with standard practice for
transcribing emphatic phonem es in the Sem itic languages, as opposed to IPA ejectives / s ’/, It’/, /k 7 etc. 1 have
transcribed ejective A / and /I/ as !%./ and /(/ with a cedille since I am unable to supply a subscript dot for these two
characters.
451 w ill leave aside the other M SA languages for the time being since I am only familiar with the Mahri data.
46 Lonnet and Sim eone-Senelle, 1997, 361.
47 Thomas Johnstone, M ahri L exicon a n d E nglish-M ehri W ord-List, (London: University o f London, 1987), xiii. In an
earlier presentation, Johnstone described a voiced, non-ejective phonem e, (d), in free variation with the ejective
interdental IV in Sheri, (see Johnstone, 1975, 156). This seem s closer to the mark than his later, (1987), publication
16
ejectiv e; p h y sio lo g ic a lly , th is is u n ten ab le and m o reo v er, does not fit the re co n stru cte d P roto-
S em itic triad o f {unvoiced, vo iced, u n v o iced e je c tiv e /p h a ry n g e a l} fo r the o b stru en ts /s/, /t/, fkl,
III.
I fo u n d th a t III g en erally re m a in ed u n v o iced in rapid speech - n o t as the den tal stop, /t/, but
as th e fricativ e III. M y im p ressio n is th at an ejectiv e featu re w as also retain ed fo r this ph o n em e.
If this is in d eed the case, then p e rh ap s the in terd en tal articu latio n is sufficient to p ro v id e a
strictu re as th e air p ressu re b u ild s up b eh in d the teeth. C ertainly a rigid glottal stricu tu re is n o t an
ab so lu te req u ire m e n t at th e m o m en t o f release; p re-g lo ttalizatio n m ay g iv e the im p ressio n o f
ejectiv ity w ith o u t v io latin g any aero d y n am ic law s.48 H ow ever, given th at this articu latio n o f III is
not airtight and is lo cated at a fo rw ard p o sitio n in the oral cavity, it should com e as no surprise
that this p h o n em e la c k s stab ility in M ah ri and seem s to vary even w ithin the speech p attern s o f a
sin g le speaker.
W h ile in som e cases III h as added v o icin g and lo st the ejective featu re as the b y -p ro d u ct
o f acou stic co n strain ts, it is also likely th at M ahri sp eak ers in recent years have b eg u n to
co n scio u sly im itate its co g n ate p h o n e m e in A rabic, /z/. T his im itativ e trend m ay b e so recen t, in
fact, that d ata co llected b y Jo h n sto n e and others m ay n o t y et reflect it. F o r ex am p le, a fish in g
village 3 0 k m . w est o f al-G h ay d h a is called by M ah ra and n o n -M ah ra alike “D h a b u t,” in w hich
the initial sou n d is clearly realized as the A rab ic p h ary n g ealized in terd en tal. S ince the n am e o f
th is villag e app ears on ro ad sig n s im m ed iately o u tsid e o f al-G haydha and is sp elled w ith the
A rabic c h a ra c te r fo r /z/, I w ould hazard a guess that the original M ahri voiceless in terd en tal III is
g iving w ay to an A rab ized articu lation. S im ilarly, w hen I asked H agg D akdn, m y prim ary
in fo rm an t, to p ro d u ce th is p h o n e m e in iso latio n , he p ro d u ced a sound in d istin g u ish ab le from
A rab ic /z/. In rap id sp eech, h o w ev er, the v o icelessn ess w as restored, leading m e to su sp ect that
although it still does not entirely correlate with my ow n experience that the voiced variant is rarer than the unvoiced
variant and that it occurs in Mahri as well.
48 Ladefoged and M addieson, 1996, 53. A lthough Ladefoged and M addieson do not see a contradiction in ejective
fricatives, I would like to thank Ryan Shosted at the University o f California (Berkeley) for pointing out “the un
likelihood o f a robust distinction between /th’/ and /th/ in any language” due to the aerodynamic constraints described
above, (personal e-mail correspondence, Ryan Shosted, January 13, 2006).
17
he w ould im ita te th e A rab ic /z / w hen given an o p p o rtu n ity to express h is aw areness o f the
re la tio n sh ip b etw een th e n a tiv e M ahri p h o n e m e and its A rabic cognate.
F o r th e sake o f c o n sisten cy , I h av e tran scrib ed th is p h o n em e as III th ro u g h o u t this
d issertatio n in o rd e r to e x p ress th e in terd e n tal, fricativ e articu latio n as w ell as the g lo b a liz e d or
p h ary n g eal fe a tu re s that d istin g u ish th is p h o n em e fro m III o r its voiced co u n terp art, /d/.
A p art fro m th e e jectiv e series o f p h o n em es in M ah ri, tw o laterals b e y o n d III d istin g u ish the
M S A lan g u ag es fro m all o th e r c o n te m p o rary S em itic lan g u ag es. T hough re co n stru cta b le fo r
P ro to -S em itic, th ese tw o p h o n em es h av e c o n v erg ed w ith no n -laterals in all b u t M S A . T h e first o f
th ese laterals is an u n v o iced a p ic o -a lv e o lar sib ilan t Is/ w here air is released o v er b o th sides o f the
tongue. In A rab ic, th is lateral sib ilan t p h o n em e has c o n v erg ed w ith the p alatal sib ilan t Is/;
acco rd in g ly , A rab ic sa y J (“th in g ”) is M ahri s i (“th in g ”) and A rabic haslm (“m o d est, sh y ”) is
M ahri hsaym , (“p o lite ”).
T he seco n d u n iq u e lateral is a v o ic ele ss, lateral ejectiv e that I h av e chosen to tran sc rib e as l\l
in o rd er to av o id co n fu sio n c au sed b y tran scrip tio n s such as /z / (Johnstone) o r Is/ (L onnet and
S im eo n e-S en elle). In th e first case, th is lateral is not th e vo iced co u n terp art o f o f Is/ as the
ch aracter Izl w o u ld in d icate. In fact, a vo iced palatal fricativ e 111 d o es ex ist in M ah ri, (albeit
rarely ), in w ords b o rro w ed fro m G ibbali w h ere it is an allo p h o n e o f /l/ in env iro n m en ts
co n d itio n ed b y a h ig h fro n t v o w el, (A zi < cA li). S eco n d ly , III has a d ifferen t p o in t o f articulation
from Is/ and is th erefo re n o t its ejectiv e h o m o lo g u e, (as is im plied by the tran scrip tio n / s/).
R ather, th e p o in t o f articu latio n o f l\l is alo n g the side o f the tongue, (g enerally the rig h t side),
and not at a sin g le p o in t on the a lv e o lar rid g e as is the case fo r Is/.
T his p h o n e m e is co g n ate to the A rab ic vo iced dental em p h atic stop Idl, w ith a few cases
w here M ahri l\l is th e reflex o f A rab ic /z /.49 A few ex am p le s w ill suffice to rep resen t the /(/ - Id/
49 _ ' - — _
For instance, Mahri ha/hark against Arabic 'azhartu (“I revealed,” D iw an o f H agg Dakon, A :3) and Mahri f a (or
against Arabic Zufar (place name, Dhofar). The reflex o f Arabic /z / as Mahri l\l is understandable given the
coalescence o f /d/ and /z / in the Arabic dialects o f the region. The Mahri realization o f this phonem e as /[/ may result
from a misinterpretation o f an original Arabic /z/.
18
altern atio n in M ah ri and A rabic: lot! (“tak e!”) < A rabic D .B .T , h o la r /h a d ir (“p re se n t”) and d r/ /
’ard (“la n d ” ). In fact, th e dad o f fu sh a A rabic shared its p o in t o f articulation w ith M ahri /(/ at the
tim e S lb aw ay h i (d. 7 9 6 C E ) w ro te h is p h ilo lo g ical w ork, al-Kitab. In a p h o n e m e -b y -p h o n em e
acco u n t o f A rab ic, S lbaw ayhi d escrib es the articu latio n o f dad as “b etw een the b e g in n in g o f the
to n g u e ’s ed g e and th e co rresp o n d in g m o lars.”50 It is c le a r from this descrip tio n th at in the 8th c.
C E at least, th e p referred realizatio n o f dad w as a unilateral, (asy m m etrical), articu latio n along
th e to n g u e ’s ed g e, asso ciated in m a n n e r and m o d e o f articulation w ith lam.
I o u g h t to m en tio n th at u n lik e M ahri /[/, the A rabic dad o f S lb aw ay h i’s tim e w as not an
ejectiv e b u t a v o iced fricativ e; in term s o f th eir n o n -artic u lato ry features, the tw o p h o n em es w ere
q u ite d iffe re n t.51
M ore re c e n tly , th e p h o n em es Idl and Izl in som e dialects o f spoken A rab ic in S outhern and
South E astern A ra b ia h a v e p re se rv ed the lateral articu latio n , (though voiced, n o t ejectiv e), until
th e early p a rts o f th e 2 0 th cen tu ry . T hese d ialects in clu d ed the S outhern Y em eni A rabic o f D aflna
and W ah ld l, sep arated fro m al-M ah ra to the east b y the intervening W ad i H adram aw t. T he lateral
articu latio n o f Idl is th erefo re n o t ex p licab le as a b o rro w in g o r an areal feature th at radiated
o utw ards fro m a l-M ah ra in recen t tim e s.52 In trig u in g ly , T hom as rep o rted th at zabl, (as in A bu
D h ab i), w as p ro n o u n ced w ith an initial voiced fricative lateral “in the m o d em A rab ic o f the
b o rd erlan d trib es o f th e eastern R u b c a l-K h ali.”53 H ow ever, this statem ent h as n e v e r been
co n firm ed b y any o th e r so u rces. W ith this data in m ind, I im agine th at the p h o n etic characteristics
o f the M S A lan g u ag es w ere o n ce m ore w idely spread than today as a cro ss-lin g u istic areal feature
th at w as fe lt to b e p re stig io u s e n o u g h to be co n stitu en t o f the p h onology o f A rabic fusha.
50 “mm bayn 1aw w ali haffati ‘l-lisan i w a-m a ya lih i min a l- 3adras" (translation by Richard Steiner in The C ase fo r
F ricative-L aterals in P roto-Sem itic (N ew Haven: American Oriental Society, 1977), 60.
511 believe that Richard Steiner confounds this point in The C ase f o r F ricative-L aterals in P roto-Sem itic, (1977),
which, despite otherwise sound scholarship, is based on the mistaken assumption that the second o f the two laterals
described in M SA - /(/ in this work - is a voiced, not ejective, fricative. A s an ejective, (neither voiced nor fricative), /(/
actually bears only half o f the relationship that he ascribes to the putative voiced laterals o f the other Sem itic languages.
52 Carlo Landberg, E tudes su r les D ialects de I’A ra b le M eridionale (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1901), 637.
53
Thomas, 1937, 105. See Steiner, 1977, 19, for a more detailed discussion o f this point.
19
In ad d itio n to th e m ore co n serv ativ e aspects o f M ahri p h o n o lo g y , th ere are som e in n o v atio n s
to the P ro to -S e m itic p h o n etic in v en to ry as w ell. I h av e already m en tio n ed the co n d itio n ed
chan g e o f /l/ -> 111 in som e w ords b o rro w ed fro m G ib b ali. O ne occu rren ce o f th is allo p h o n e
app ears in a M ahri p o e m attrib u ted to T a n n a f b ir S a cd H am to t from the in te rio r b e d o u in trib e o f
fCamsayt: agizw alut (“sm all m o u ntain o r h ill,” C h ap ter 4, A: 1). D uring a tra n sc rip tio n session,
H agg D ak o n called m y atten tio n to the /z/ and w as em p h atic that it w as a sep arate p h o n em e ,
n e ith e r /z / n o r Igl. H o w ev er, I w as un ab le to find any an o th er in stance o f 111 in the p o etry th at I
co llected .
T h ere are a co u p le o f w ays to ex p lain the p re se n ce o f 111 in agizwalut, o th e r than by
d ism issin g the entire w ord as a hapax legom ena fro m a p rev io u sly u n a tte sted root, *G .L .L . On
o n e h an d , it is p o ssib le that agizw alut is a fem in in e d im in u tiv e o f gezal, (“b ig ro c k ” ), in w hich /z /
h as (u n acco u n tab ly ) shifted to a palatal /z /.54 O r c o n v ersely , agizw alut could be related to G ib b ali
giyel pi. °agelat, (“m o u n ta in ”) < G .B .L .55 In the latte r case, an in terv o calic Ibl has b een lo st, the
radical /l/ u n d erw en t g em in atio n and then shifted to 111 in the presen ce o f the high front v o w e l.56
In the a b sen ce o f oth e r attestatio n s o f 111, it is very d ifficu lt to determ in e the co n d itio n in g factors
th at give rise to it in M ah ri o th e r than to argue its p ro v en ie n ce in lex em es o rig in ally fro m G ib b ali.
A d d itio n ally , M ahri h as d ev elo p ed a palatal ejectiv e affricate Igl. T his is a rare p h o n e m e in
M ahri and is fe lt to be an arch aism by m ost M ahri sp eak ers. In the p o e try that I h av e c o llected , I
54 Johnstone, 1987, 129. There are a number o f diminutive patterns in Mahri, o f which the pattern (a)CwaCeCut, (i.e.,
kw aresot “little stom ach”), seem s closest to the term under consideration. See Thomas Johnstone, “D im inutives in
M odem South Arabian,” Journal o f Sem itic Studies 28:1 (1973): 101. For this to be the case, w e would posit a switch
in the vocalization from (a)CwaCeCut -> *(a)CeCwaCut -> (a)CiCwaCut.
55 A k i’o Nakano, C om parative V ocabulary o f Southern A ra b ic ~ Mahri, G ibbali a n d Soqotri (Tokyo: T oyo Publishing
& Printing C o., 1986), 108. For the sake o f sim plicity, all transcriptions are rendered according to the system I have
previously described.
In Gibbali, it is typical for Ibl and /m / to be lost in non-initial and non-final positions, i.e., *jcalb -> jcob (“heart”).
See Antoine Lonnet, “Quelques Resultats en Linguistique Sudarabique M odem e,” Q u a d em i d i studi a ra b i 11 (1993):
54. Secondly, the gemination o f the final radical occurs not infrequently in Mahri, (gbilul, “mountain” [Appendix C,
C:9]) or after another consonant has been elided. “Enfin, le tableau se com plique encore a cause des gem inations
com pensatoires que se produisent lorsqu’une consonne est elidee ou vocalisee” (Lonnet, 1 9 9 3 ,5 2 ). A ccordingly, w e
may view the formation o f a gizw alu t as the outcom e o f the follow in g shifts: gbflUlat (fern.) -> * g w lM d t - > *gii( ‘)iildt
- > *gilwuldt -> * g izw u ld t-> agizw alut. One should not discount the further possibility that shifts in gender, accent
and syllabification may be the result o f prosodic licence necessary to fill the meter in a line o f poetry, (see Appendix
A).
20
n ev er cam e acro ss any o cc u ra n c es o f Iql, alth o u g h it m ay occu r m ore freq u en tly in the daily
lexicon. T h is p h o n em e is arriv ed at th ro u g h the p a lataliz atio n o f /(/, Idl and Is/, alth o u g h the
co n d itio n in g en v iro n m en ts that p red ica te this shift have yet to be elu cid ated . F o r ex am p le, gafdet
< *)afdet (“fro g ” ), fu g h l < *fakhl (“tw o h alv e s” ) and hagba < *hasba (“fin g er”). O f course, /?/
also appears in a n u m b e r o f lex em es th at m ay b e u n iq u e to M S A , such as gofa (a species o f fish,
A r. ruby an).
C o n trary to m o st o f th e A rab ic d ialec ts o f S outhern A rab ia, coastal M ah ri and O m ani M ahri
tend n o t to p re se rv e p h ary n g eal / 7 . T y p ic ally , it is rep la ced w ith a glo ttal / 7 and in flu en ces the
length and q u a lity o f the su cceed in g vow el b y giv in g it a b ack -v o w el tib re (/a/ o r lol) versus a
m ore cen tralized /a:/; co n sid e r 3Aden < cA dan (“po rt o f A d e n ”), m anbad < min b a cd (“a fte r” ),
and gema < g a m ic (“a ll”). S in ce the d eg ree o f loss o f th e p h ary n g eal / 7 tends to shift from
d ialect to d ialect as d o th e tib re o f the v o w e ls th em selv es, it is im p o ssib le fo r m e to outline
specific and co n siste n t ru les th at d e sc rib e this shift.
A n o th er in terestin g d e p a rtu re fro m the n eig h b o rin g A ra b ic p h o n o lo g y is the co n ditioned
change in articu latio n o f /r/ from an a lv eo la r tap to a p ala tal retroflex IrJ in en v iro n m en ts directly
p reced in g a d ental o r alv eo lar c o n so n a n t.57 T his shift first b ecam e ev id en t to m e in a poem by
3!sa K ad h ay t from G adab in w h ich h e declares o f som e p arsim o n io u s k in ; tagaft-ham kal! (“T hey
are all b u sin e ssm e n !” C h ap ter 4, B :21). It took a n u m b e r o f rep etitio n s befo re I realized that °Isa
w a sn ’t c o n fu sin g /l/ fo r /r/ in tagart ; in fact, the re tro flex l\l in M ahri is easily con fo u n d ed w ith an
/l/ b y n o n -M ah ra, foreig n ers and Y em en is alike.
In a sim ilar fashion, lary n g eal /h / can b e easily m istak en fo r a phary n g eal /h / in M ahri. The
laryngeal /h / ten d s to b e p ro n o u n c ed m ore en erg etically and w ith g reater frictio n than its A rabic
co u n terp art, cau sin g M ahri sp eak ers and listen ers to o cc asio n a lly p arse /h / as a p h ary n g eal /h/.
T his is m o st ev id en t in w o rd s b o rro w ed fro m A rabic. F o r in stan ce, w e find (da)-ghot in p lace o f
th e ex p ected *ghbt (“d ire c tio n s”) in C h a p ter 5, C :8. A ltern ately , ghot m ay be d eriv ed from M ahri
57 Sim eone-Senelle, 1997, pp. 385.
21
gehi, (“flat d esert, d esert p la in ”), w hich, h o w e v er, is re alize d in H adram i A rabic as g a h l w ith a
lary n g eal /h /.58 In e ith e r case, /h / easily sw itches p la ce w ith /h / in M ahri, e ith er th ro u g h the
p h o n etic sh ift o f an o rig in al M ah ri /h / o r th ro u g h m isu n d erstan d in g an ety m o lo g ical /h / in A rabic.
I sh o u ld add m y ow n le ss-th a n -sc ie n tific o b serv atio n th at I o ccasio n ally m isto o k /h / fo r /h i w hen
tran scrib in g M ah ri p o e try and w ould h av e to ask m y in fo rm an ts to re p ea t th em selv es; th is is a
p ro b lem I h av e n e v e r b e fo re en co u n tered w ith A rabic.
T he aco u stic sim ilarity b etw een these tw o p h o n e m es in M ahri has, in m y view , caused som e
co n fu sio n in u n d erstan d in g th e h istorical d ev elo p m en t o f the d efinite article in M ahri. It h a s no w
b een w id ely accep ted th at th e d efin ite article in M ahri is form ed b y p refix in g one o f the elem en ts,
a/a-, h(a)- o r h(a)-, to a n o u n .59 T he p re cise n atu re o f the p refix d ep ends on the initial c o n so n an t
o f the w ord itself. F o r e x a m p le , w ords b eg in n in g in { D, w, y , r, 1, n, m} m ay take e ith e r the h(a)-
or h(a)- p refix w ith th e lo ss o r alteratio n o f initial {3, w , y}. N ouns b eg in n in g in voiced stops and
ejectiv es m ay tak e a/a.60 M y ow n ex p erien ce has show n th at gem ination o f som e initial
co n so n an ts m ay o ccu r as w ell, although this m ay b e a recen t phen o m en o n in im itatio n o f the
h u ru f samsTya in A ra b ic .61
T he tw o fo rm s, h(a) and h(a), ap p ear to ex ist in free variation from dialect to d ialect; the
w estern d ialects, (su ch as th o se fro m Q isn), seem to p re fe r h(a)- w hile the m ore easterly d ialects,
(in clu d in g H arsu si and O m ani M ahri fro m D h o far), p re fe r h(a)-.
In m an y cases, th e d e fin ite articles h(a)- and h(a) have becom e in sep erab le from the
fo llo w in g n oun; th is is p articu larly true fo r m o n o sy llab ic k inship term s, b o d y p a rts and o ther
b asic v o cab u lary . F o r in stan ce: hayb/haybl (“fath er/m y fath e r”), ham /hammi (“m o ther/m y
58 Johnstone, 1987, 118.

59 See Faber, 1997, 11 and Rogers, 1991, 1329.
60 Thus, w r i t -> h ayrit (“m oon”), b a r -> habre (“son”) and ga -> aga (“brother”). For a thorough discussion o f the
definite article in M SA , see Thom as Johnstone, “A D efinite Article in the M odem South Arabian Languages,” Bulletin
o f the School o f African a n d A sian Studies 33 (1970): 295-307.
61 This is certainly the case for dsslorn (“greetings”) and assin (“China”) in the D lwan o f H agg Dakon, 1:15 and K:7
respectively, where the definite article appears to violate the rule in Mahri against explicit markings o f definiteness
before initial voiceless consonants. In contrast, atm (“m oist soil”) in the preceding line, (D lw an o f H agg Dakon, K:6),
sticks to the rule, no doubt because tin is also a Mahri word.
22
m o th er”), hoyden (“e a r”), hayd (“h a n d ”), hayum (“su n ” ), haytam (“sk y ”). N one o f the preced in g
n o u n s o ccu r w ith o u t th e in itial h(a)/h(a)- elem en t in co n tem porary M ahri.
T h e d efin ite article in M ah ri is g enerally felt to b e lo sin g its p ro d u ctiv ity ; th is is p articu la rly
tru e fo r th e w estern dialects. In th e case o f the in se p erab le definite articles, ( hayb, ham, etc.), its
ro le is to au g m en t m o n o sy llab ic ro o ts and it appears to h av e lost all m o rp h o lo g ical v alue. T his
m o v em en t tow ard s n o n -p ro d u ctiv ity is perhaps related to the phen o m en o n in M ahri o f m arking
n o u n s th a t b e a r a p o ssessiv e suffix w ith the defin ite artic le.62 T his red u n d an cy m ay b e hasten in g
th e g radual lo ss o f th e d e fin ite article in M ahri since A rabic, w ith its strict ru les ag ain st do u b le
m ark in g fo r d efin iten ess, is b eco m in g m ore deeply in g rain ed in M ah ri-sp eak in g co m m u n ities.
C o n trary to S im eo n e-S en elle, I do not b eliev e that the d efinite article h(a)/h(a)
seco n d arily develo p ed out o f an e arlier d efin ite article 3a/a.63 Further, I w o u ld d isag ee w ith
Jo h n sto n e and N ak an o that th e h(a)- defin ite article is an allom orph o f an u n d erly in g h(a).64 M y
feeling h e re is that b o th Jo h n sto n e and N akano have gen eralized fro m th e ir field w o rk in O m an
and in fo rm an ts fro m eastern al-M ah ra w here the laryngeal h(a)- p red o m in ates. T h e S iidarabische
E x p ed itio n at th e turn o f th e 2 0 th cen tu ry found the opposite: th eir w ork in Q isn in w estern al-
M ah ra g en erally fo u n d a d e fin ite article h(a)-. It is the la tte r form that I b eliev e to b e m ore
arch aic, d esp ite th e general b e lie f that the M ahri dialects o f D h o far are m ore c o n serv ativ e than
Y em en i M ah ri. T his v iew m ay have m ore to do w ith socio-econom ic issu es th an lin g u istic ones.
I h av e three reaso n s fo r suspecting that the u n d erlay in g d efinite article is h(a)- fo r M ahri
and the o th e r M S A lan g u ag es, n o t °a/a- o r h(a)-. F irst, as I have p re v io u sly p o in ted out, /h / is
easily co n fu sed fo r fh/ in M ahri d ue to its en erg etic p ro d u c tio n . T hat is, fh/ is grad u ally
en cro ach in g on th e aco u stic ra n g e o f /h/; at a certain p o in t, any lexem e o r m o rp h em e w ith /h /
62 For instance, abath (“his hou se”), hberhci (“his cam el”) and harm ah, (“his road”), (Johnstone, 1987, xv-xvi).
“In Mehri, H obyot, Harsusi, the initial and non-etym ological h and h may be the developm ent o f the laryngeal
MQn, M L hsber, HL hsbycir ‘fem ale cam els’; MQn, ML hayb, Fib heb, ‘father’” (Sim eone-Senelle, 1997, 383-84).
64 Johnstone asserts as much in his introduction to the phonem e H in his M ehri Lexicon (1987, 163-64) and Nakano
states this explicitly: “The ‘definite’ article /h/, though transcribed always as such in this report, has in m any cases
varies (sic) with /h/” (Nakano, 1986, v).
23
co m es to b e p e rc e iv e d as th o u g h it w ere fo rm u lated w ith an und erly in g /h/. S eco n d ly , I d o u b t the
n atu raln ess o f a shift fro m a h isto ric defin ite article * 'a/d- -> h(a)- and th ence to h(a)-. T he
fo rm e r sh ift w o u ld stand in co n trast to ra th e r g en eric ru les o f lenition in w hich h(a)- -> ’a/d
w o u ld b e th e ex p ected p ro g ressio n , an alo g o u s to the shift o f h- -> ’a- in the p refix o f the
cau sativ e v erbal stem in A rab ic, fo r instance.
F in ally , an h isto rical d efinite article h(a)- w ould align M ahri, (and p erh ap s the o th er
M S A lan g u ag es such as S oqotrf w here ’a/d- is gen eralized ), w ith the m ore n o rth erly S em itic
lan g u ag es such as P h o e n ic ia n and the E astern C an a an ite languages, in c lu d in g A m m o n ite w here
th e sam e shift o f *ha- to { c-, h + V ) o c cu rred .65 C lo ser to hom e, the d efin ite article *ha-/*han-
is featu red in P re-C lassical N o rth A rabic, (S afaitic, T ham udic, et al.), in scrip tio n s. R abin argues
th at the am- d e fin ite article attested in som e c o n tem p o rary dialects o f Y em en and O m an and
h isto ric a lly attested fo r th e A rabic o f T a y y i5 in C entral W estern A rab ia is deriv ed fro m an e arlie r
d efin ite article, han-.66 T his m ay suggest a d efin ite article iso g lo ss draw n around the S em itic co re
th at an nexes th e M S A lan g u ag es to earlier d ialects o f A rabic w hile ex clu d in g the O S A lan g u ag es
w here d efin iten ess is m ark ed w ith a su ffix ed - n o r - m elem ent. T his p o ssib ility has n o t yet b een
ad d ressed in any sch o larly w ritings.
T he v o w els in M ah ri, an d the o th er M S A lan g u ag es in general, h a v e caused lin g u ists som e
tro u b le. It h as b een n o ted b y ju s t about ev ery re se a rc h er in the region that v o calic tim bre can
v ary sig n ifican tly even w ithin the speech p attern s o f an individual sp eak er.67 M y ow n d ata b ears
th is out. F o r in stan ce, /o / and /u / vary as the line-final rhym e vow els in the D lwan o f H agg
D ak o n , {hlfof and hayfuf, E :7 -8 ), as do /I/ and /e/, ( w a-ftaherl & tsahblrl, G :9-10). T his is in
65 Stanislav Segert, “Phoenician and the Eastern Canaanite Languages,” in The Sem itic Languages, ed. Robert Hetzron
(L ondon: R outledge, 1997), 178.
66 Chaim Rabin, A n cien t W est-Arabian (London: Taylor’s Foreign Press, 1951), 34-35.
67 “The long vow els I and e, and also u and o are phonetically very similar and this has posed considerable problem s in
the past accounting, e.g., for a high proportion o f the inconsistencies in the [South Arabian Expedition] texts”
(Johnstone, 1987, xiv). The variability o f the vow els amongst the M SA languages presents a challenge in
reconstructing earlier form s and accordingly, how the vo w els have evolved into their present form. “ [On] constate que
les voyelles s’organisent dans des system es phonologiques structurellement tres differents; il en resulte des
correspondences tres com plexes encore obscurcies par une harmonisation vocalique partielle dans certaines langues et
des discordances m orphologiques entre les langes portant precisement sur les voyelles, la structure syllabique et
l ’accent” (Lonnet and Sim eone-Senelle, 1997, 352).
24
addition to th e d ip h th o n g iz a tio n o f lul -> /a w / and /!/ to /a y / after gutteral and g lo b a liz e d
co n so n an ts.58
T he v ariatio n in articu latio n fro m reg io n to reg io n and even fro m sp eak er to sp e ak e r m akes
it d ifficu lt to u n eq u iv o cally state the c o n trastiv e v o w els o f M ahri. In short, the fo llo w in g long
vow els ap p ear to b e rep resen tativ e o f the v o c alic rep e rto ire o f m ost varieties o f M ahri: long lal,
/a :/ (d o u b le-len g th m id -cen tral lal), III, lei, lol, lu l and sh o rt lal, lal, 111 and /u/. L ong /a :/ is often
an allo p h o n e o f lal, alth o u g h I d isag ree w ith Jo h n sto n e ’s analysis th a t it “ [indicates] the p resence
o f a n o n -e x p lic it / c/.”69 F o r a n u m b e r o f speakers, I h eard the opposite; n am ely , th at lal w as a
co n d itio n ed v arian t o f /a :/ in the p re se n ce o f a n o n -ex p licit /7 . T his seem ed p a rtic u larly true fo r
speakers fro m H aw f; certain ly speakers fro m the w est such as Q isn raised the lal w here / 7 had
been lost.
In term s o f sh o rt v o w els, lal and lal ap p eared to be n o n -co n trastiv e alth o u g h a m ore skilled
p h o n etician m ay p ro v e m e w rong on that account. In general, lal occu rs in stressed sy llables and
lal in all o thers. T he sh o rt vo w els 111 and /u / occu rred o n ly in stressed closed syllab les w here 111
and /u / h av e b een sh o rten ed ; e.g., *asslt -> assiyyat, (Dlw an o f H agg D akon, J:4 ).70
IV . M ahri and th e O th er M S A L anguages:
G iven th e relativ ely deep tim e scale o f th e ir d iv erg en ce from a co m m o n an cesto r, the
M o d em S outh A rab ian lan g u ag es show sig n ifican t v ariatio n s in p h o n o lo g y , syntax and lexicon.
Since th is to p ic is b e st exp lo red b y o th e r scholars w ith m ore experien ce in co m p arativ e M S A
lin g u istics, I w ill avoid all but the m ost general observ atio n s. T his first is that M ahri and Soqotri
are m u tu ally in co m p reh en sib le as m any M ah ra w ill attest. S oqotris h av e an ea sier tim e p ick in g
68 Johnstone, 1987, xiv. For instance, tsahbiri and fayn in the aforementioned poem from the D lw an o f Hagg Dakon,
G :10-l 1.
69 Johnstone, 1987, xiii.
701 ow e a debt o f gratitude to Alexander Sim a for putting m e on the right track in hearing and transcribing Mahri
vow els in a more accurate fashion.
25
u p the M ah ri lan g u ag e d u e to th e fact th at S o q o tris are m ore likely to travel to the m ainland than
vice versa.
In te r-c o m p reh e n sib ility is m ore flex ib le am ongst the co n tinental M S A lan guages. I found
m any M ah ra w ho claim ed th at G ibbali is a M ah ri d ialect, although this assertio n d o u b tless ow es
m ore to social and p o litical n o tio n s then to lin g u istics, since m y M ahri in fo rm a n ts co u ld only
b arely u n d erstan d p o etry that I p resen ted to th em in G ibbali. H obyot p rese n ts a d ifferen t situation
since m u ch o f its lex ico n w as b o rro w ed fro m the m ore socially prestig io u s M ahri language; in
fact, p o etry b y n a tiv e H o b y o t sp eakers is ty p ica lly ren d ered in M ah ri.71 I have no firm d ata
reg ard in g B athari, alth o u g h B ath ari texts p ro v id ed by M iran d a M orris d em o n strate such a
sig n ifican t d iv erg en ce fro m M ahri th at I su sp ect th at th ey m ig h t b e in co m p re h en sib le to a M ahri
from Y em en .72 H arsusI, spoken in O m an, is c lo sely relate d to M ahri and M ahri speakers report
m utual c o m p reh en sib ility . In te r-co m p reh e n sio n , o r the lack o f it, b etw een the continental M S A
lan g u ag es is a su b jectiv e m a tte r and p ro b ab ly d e p en d s on the personal h isto ries, in clin atio n s, age
and social status o f in d iv id u al M S A sp ea k ers.73
In term s o f p ro sp ects fo r th e fu ture o f the M S A lan g u ag es, I w ould arg u e th at the p resence
o r absen ce o f p o etry is a g o o d m easu re o f a la n g u a g e ’s vitality . If a m in o rity lan g u ag e is used fo r
h ig h e r re g iste r ex p ressio n s, (as o pp o sed to the lim ited d isco u rse range o f “k itch en la n g u ag e s”
heard in th e ho m es o f seco n d g en eratio n im m ig ran ts, fo r exam ple), it m ay hold onto the p restig e
necessary to en su re its reten tio n . B y this m easu re, H o b y o t is clearly at the cu sp o f lan g u ag e death
since m y attem p ts to so licit p o etry in H o b y o t w ere answ ered w ith M ahri po etry o r shrugged o ff
71 A s noted earlier, Johnstone felt that H obyot was a hybrid o f Mahri and Gibbali, a logical claim since the core Hobyot
territory straddles Mahri and Gibbali speaking regions to the west and the east. In recent tim es, Hobyot has been
considered a negative prestige language by native speakers, perhaps rendering it more open to borrowings from Mahri
and Gibbali as a result. I found that descendents o f Africans living in H aw f were more w illing to speak H obyot in
public than Arabian Hobyot speakers. If H obyot had becom e an unwelcom e caste-marker for the youth o f Gadab and
Rehan, this might answer for its gradual replacement by Mahri and Arabic.
72 S ee Morris, 1983 and Morris, 1985. The intercomprehensibility o f H obyot, Bathari and the other M SA languages
may be a m oot topic since the number o f H obyot and Bathari speakers, if there are any left, is probably minimal.
Antoine Lonnet and M aire-Claude Sim eone-Sennelle’s experience generally concurs with my own. “II faut preciser
que Tintercomprehension est exclue entre le soqotri et les langues SA M ‘continentales’. Parmi celles-ci, le jibbali est
difficilem ent com prehensible aux locuteurs des autres langues, c ’est-a-dire du mehri et des trois langues qui en sont tres
proches” (Lonnet and Sim eone-Senelle, 1997, 340).
26
entirely. G ib b ali m ay rem ain vital fo r som e tim e yet since you n g G ibbali speak ers are p ro u d o f
th e ir oral tra d itio n s and w o u ld o c c asio n a lly try to entice m e aw ay fro m M ahri p o e try to w ards
th e ir ow n p o etry . F u rth er, G ibbali has b en efited from the in terest show n to w ard s it by n o n -n ativ e
and n ativ e scho lars alik e and has accrued som e m easu re o f p restig e; th is is m o st re a d ily ev id en t
from cA li DA h m ad a l-S a h ri’s Lugat cA d, (2000).
T h o u g h M a h ri-lan g u ag e p o etry is still b ein g com p o sed , I am n o t o p tim istic about the future
p ro sp ects o f th e M ah ri lan g u ag e since talen ted , y o ung M ahri p o ets and p erfo rm ers p re fe r A rabic
o v er M ahri. S o m e ev en go so far as to den y the cap acity o f M ahri to han d le m o d em po etic
m odes and th em es. T h o u g h the fig u re o f 100,000 speak ers w ould arg u e fo r the co n tin u ed v itality
o f the M ahri lan g u ag e fo r som e tim e, th is n u m b e r m ay decline p rec ip ito u sly w ithin a generation
o r tw o.
V . M ahri D ialecto lo g y :
T he M ahri lan g u ag e em b races a n u m b e r o f distin ct d ialects, (not in clu d in g , p erhaps,
H arsusi). V ery little w ork has b een do n e on th is area since research ers tend to fo cu s on a single
area or sp eak ers o rig in ally from the sam e locale. A cco rd in g ly , the S iidarabische E x pedition
focused its atten tio n on Q isn and S ayhut, Jo h n sto n e focused h is attention on O m ani M ahri from
D hofar, th e M issio n F rangaise on Q isn and A lex an d er S im a on H a w f in the Y em eni sarqlya. In
m y ow n case, th e b u lk o f m y m aterial w as filtered th ro u g h a single inform ant, H agg D ak o n , w ho
is o rig in ally from Q isn and is n ow a long tim e resid e n t o f H ay fif in the district o f al-G haydha.
F o r this reaso n , m y tran scrip tio n s have a central and w estern q u ality to them and m ay not
accurately re p re se n t the su rface stru ctu res o r po etry fro m H a w f o r the in land steppe.
B ased on th e testim o n y o f Y em eni M ahri speakers, S im eo n e-S en elle d istin g u ish es tw o basic
d ialect b u n d les: a g ro u p w est o f G abal F artak , (Q isn, S ayhut and M aslla), called m ahrlyat by
27
n ativ e sp eak ers, and a g ro u p e ast o f G abal F artak , (N istu n , al-G h ay d h a and H aw f), called
m ahriydt.14 T o this b asic list, w e ought to add a third d iale ct bundle: the M ahri o f O m ani D h o far
k n o w n as m ehrayyet.75 T his th ird group o f O m ani M ahri lies outside the scope o f this w ork since
speakers o f th is d ialect w ere larg ely u n a v ailab le to m e; I have no d ata fo r th ese dialects b esid es
that w hich h as already been collected by Jo h n sto n e.76
A cco rd in g to L on n et, th e d iv erg en ces am o n g st the dialects o f M ahri and the o th e r M S A
lan g u ag es are the resu lt o f tw o tendencies: the e v o lu tio n o f the vocalic tim b res and sy llab ic re
o rg a n iz a tio n .77 T h e re su lt o f these tendencies can be seen , (or b e tter yet, h eard ), in the
afo rem en tio n ed labels fo r the dialects th em selv es: mahriydt, m ahriydt and m ehrayyat. In strictly
p h o n etic term s, the d istin c tio n betw een the M ahri d ialects can b e ex p ressed as d egrees o f the
fo llo w in g p h en o m en a: co alescen ce o f the d en tals and in terd en tals, loss o f th e fricativ e laryn geal
/ 7 , v o calic tim b re and d ip h th o n g s, and g lo ttalisatio n versus lary n g ealizatio n o f the e m p h a tic s.78
T h is d escrip tio n , I b e lie v e , d o es n o t cap tu re the deg ree o f div erg en ce b etw een the d iale cts o f
th e M ahri lan g u ag e. M y ow n ex perien ce w ith w orking w ith M ahri in fo rm an ts w as th at those
less trav elled w ithin a l-M ah ra had tro u b le u n d e rstan d in g poetry reco rd ed from the o pposite,
g eo g rap h ic ex trem e o f al-M ah ra. T his d ifficu lty d id n ’t end at pro so d y and v o calic q u alities, b u t
even ex ten d ed to the lex ico n . O f course, m uch o f this has to do w ith the specialized trade
v o cab u laries o f each reg io n . P asto ralists fro m the in te rio r have no reaso n to k n o w the specific
term s fo r each section o f a fish in g net, fo r instance. S econdly, the M ahri d ialects o f the w estern
and cen tral co asts, (and p articu larly around a l-G h ay d h a), are m ore open to the in flu en ce o f A rabic
than are th e d ialects o f th e sarqiya w here A rabic p e n e tratio n has been m uch m ore rec en t and
74 Sim eone-Senelle, 1997, 378.

75 Sim eone-Senelle, 2002, 392.
76 In fact, just about all o f the philogical work by Johnstone focuses on Omani Mahri; there is very little that I can add
beyond what Johnstone and Henry Stroomer (in M ehri Texts from Oman, B ased on the F ield N otes ofT .M . Johnstone
(Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 1999), has already collected and published.
“ [La diversite morphologique du SA M ] s ’agit du croisem ent de deux tendances, celle de revolution des timbres
vocaliques, et celle de la reorganisation syllabique” (Lonnet, 1993, 56).
“Pour se limiter au plan phonetique, nos enquetes sur le terrain yem enite ont permis de degager pour le mehri des
criteres de classement: coalescence dentales-interdentals, vocalisation de la fricative laryngale /'/. timbres des voyelles
et des diphtongues, glottalisation ou laryngalisation des emphatiques” (Lonnet and Sim eone-Senelle, 1997, 341).
28
m o re lig h tly felt. F o r in stan ce, w e can co n trast the w estern M ahri term fo r harm et (“w o m a n ,”
lik ely d eriv ed fro m Y em en i A rab ic, horm a ), against eastern M ahri le t and haynlt, w h ich h av e no
n e a r co g n ates in co n tem p o rary Y em eni A rabic, (although they are co g n ate w ith the A rab ic ro o t
3.N .T .).79 A n u m b e r o f ex am p les o f th is ty p e can b e fo u n d . T hough A rab ic in flu e n c e d o e s not
exp lain h isto rical d ifferen ces b etw een w estern and eastern v ariants o f M ah ri, it do es h a v e a
sig n ifican t im p act on th e c o n tem p o rary lin g u istic m ap.
I b eliev e th a t it is p o ssib le to d efine m ore discrete d ialec t bundles w ithin the m a jo r d iv isio n s
o f w estern m ahriydt and eastern mahriyot. H o w ev er, since the m ajo rity o f m y tim e w as spent in
al-G h ay d h a w ith M a h ra from th e coastal d istricts w ho m odulated th eir speech fo r m y
co m p reh en sio n , it is d ifficu lt fo r m e to g iv e m ore than a general im p ressio n about the d ifferen t
dialect reg io n s w ith in al-M ahra.
S tartin g fro m th e w est, th e M ahri d iale ct o f W adi M asila was rep o rted to m e as the m ost
foreign so u n d in g d ialect to M ahri speak ers fro m al-G haydha. T his d ia lec t is rarely heard o u tsid e
o f its n ativ e territo ry d u e to th e ex trao rd in ary iso latio n o f W adi M asila, even w ithin al-M ahra.
T he n o rth -so u th axis o f W a d i M asila and the m ountain ran g e to the east o f W ad i M asila en able
co m m u n icatio n fa r m ore easily w ith T arim in the north and S ayhut in the south than to the rest o f
al-M ah ra in th e east. T he M ah ra living in W adi M asila have little reaso n to v isit al-G h ay d h a and
I n ev er once m et a n a tiv e o f W ad i M asila d u ring m y re sid en ce in al-G haydha. T he M ahri dialect
o f W ad i M asila rem ain s a m ajo r gap in M S A linguistics and p h ilo lo g y .
E ast o f W ad i M a sila lie the dialects o f the in te rio r m o u n tain s and the co asts around Q isn,
in clu d in g H asw ay n , an d ex ten d in g up to the w estern flan k o f G abal F artak. T he dialect o f Q isn is
consid ered p re stig io u s b y m any M ahra. Q isn w as the capital o f the S ultanate o f al-M a h ra and is
asso ciated w ith a M ah ri c o u rt culture: its p raise p o etry , high political dram a and regional
79
Johnstone defines Mahri harm et as “widow ; poor defenceless wom an” (Johnstone, 1 9 8 7 ,1 8 6 ) and te f as an
unmarked term for “woman, w ife” (Johnstone, 1987, 6). However, harm et is the standard term for woman in the
western dialects o f Mahri as the texts collected in Qisn by the Siidarabische Expedition and the word list collected in
the same city by W ellsted demonstrate, (e.g., hirm it “woman,” W ellstead, 1840, 26).
29
so v ereig n ty . T he n u m b e r o f p o e ts-p er-c ap ita w as m uch h ig h e r in Q isn th an elsew here, perh ap s
an ech o o f th e p o etic tra d itio n s that once re v o lv ed aro u n d the S u lta n ’s court. T he dialects o f this
w estern co astal p lain , lik e m an y southern, coastal Y em en i dialects, realize the palatal fricativ e /j/
as an o c c lu siv e /g / and d o n o t p ro n o u n ce th e / 7 as a voiced lary n g eal, rath er, it tends to be
realized in th e Q isn d ia le c t as the v ow els lal o r a raised /a:/. A s p rev io u sly p o in te d o u t, the
glo ttalized sib ilan t / s ’/ is ren d ered w ith creak y v o ice in the Q isn d ialect b u t rem ain s a v o iceless
ejectiv e e ast o f G abal F artak . T he glo ttalized in terd e n tal III, how ever, d o e s not ap p ea r to be
voiced as it is fu rth e r to th e e a s t.80
T he vo w els /a :/ ten d to b e op en ed ev en fu rth e r in the Q isn dialect than in the eastern
d ialects o f M ahri; o n e h ears mce:kdn (“m u ch /m an y ” ) and lce:kan (“b u t” ) in the Q isn dialect
ag ain st mekan o r ma:kan and lekcin o r la:kan in o th e r d ialects. O ne u n am b ig u o u s d iag n o stic o f
th e Q isn d ialect is in th e p re p o sitio n brek, (“in ” ); th is chan g es to “b a rk ” on the eastern side o f
G abal F artak. In fact, th is d istin c tio n ren d ers the co n trastiv e p air o f bark (“k n ee”) and bark (“in ” )
irrelev an t fo r the M ah ri spoken w est o f G abal F a rta k .81
R etu rn in g b riefly to th e w ord list co m p iled by W ellsted , we can co n jectu re about earlier
stages in the e v o lu tio n o f th e Q isn dialect. A lth o u g h ro u g h ly a third o f the ety m a on this list are
A rab ic in o rig in , a n u m b e r o f th e ety m a are tra n sp a re n tly M ah ri, (e.g. rehbei't “a to w n ” ), o r are
hapaces legomena u n a tte ste d in sub seq u en t trea tm en ts o f M ahri, { k h u f“lio n ” and therniz “ a
leo p ard ”).82 H is d ata does rev eal tw o p o in ts ab o u t th e dialect o f Q isn circa 1835. T he first is that
the u n alien ab le d e fin ite article w as already in p lace at this tim e, e.g., hiriz (“ric e ”), hir (“ an ass” ),
80 A s I have mentioned earlier, I did not find that this phonem e has coalesced with !\1 in the Qisn dialect, (Lonnet,
1993). Sim eone-Senelle seem s to back away from this position by regarding the substitution o f interdentals and dentals
as an (unspecified) dialectal and sociolectal marker: “En mehri du Y em en, la confusion des interdentales avec les
dentales correspndantes est un phenom ene dialectal et sociolectal” (Sim eone-Senelle, 2002, 385).
81 Lonnet and Sim eone-Senelle, 1997, 351.
82 W ellsted, 1840, 26-27. H is data should be approached gingerly since the translations seem to be a little scrambled; 1
suspect that W ellsted’s fluency in Arabic was not as perfect as he im agined. For instance, I wonder whether kh u fis
indeed Mahri for “lion” or whether it is a general term for “som ething fearful,” (Arabic hawf), an attribute that
W ellsted’s informant helpfully added to clarify the term.
30
hibriz (“g ra n d fa th e r” [sic?]).83 T he seco n d is th at the d ip th o n g izatio n o f long v ow els, w hich is so
w id ely spread am o n g st th e m o d em M ahri d ialects, d o es n o t ap p ea r in th is w ord list; e.g., kirm im
vs. m o d em karm aym (“m o u n ta in ” ) and ghikk vs. m odern gayg (“m a n ”).84 T his ca n n o t be
ex p lain ed as a m ere o rth o g rap h ical sho rtco m in g on W e llste d ’s part since one o f h is w ords,
rehbe'it, does ex h ib it a d ip h th o n g , (m o d em rahbayt/rahbet “to w n ” ). On the b a sis o f this d a ta , I
w ould arg u e th at th e d ip th o n g izatio n o f long v ow els is a p h en o m en o n o f the 20th century.
F rom G abal F artak east th ro ugh the coastal d esert aro u n d al-G h ay d h a, (in clu d in g N istu n ,
and D h ab u t to th e w est o f al-G h aydha), up to Y aru b and F atk in the east, I w ould d istin g u ish
a n o th er dialectal reg io n . T his b u n d le o f dialects is ev o lv in g in to the standard M ahri d ialec t as
m o re M ah ra m o v e to al-G h ay d h a in o rd er to b e c lo ser to the ad m in istrativ e and eco n o m ic
a ctiv ities cen tered there. M o st o f the po etry th at I tran scrib ed w as m ed iated b y speak ers fro m this
area, o r lo n g tim e resid en ts o f it. T his dialect is dou b tless the defau lt d iale ct o f m o st o f the
tran scrip tio n s c o n tain ed in th is d issertatio n .
S tarting w ith D a m âw t and F atk and m o v in g east to S arfayt on the O m ani b o rd er, one
en co u n ters th e M ah ri dialects o f H a w f and the sarqiya. I d o n ’t k n o w ho w m any o f the
ch aracteristics o f this d ialect are the re su lt o f m in g lin g w ith H obyot o r h o w m any o f th ese
ch aracteristics are sui generis M ahri. I fo u n d this dialect to b e qu ite d iv erg en t fro m Q isn d ialect;
an in fo rm an t from H a w f w as u n a b le to u n d e rstan d m o re than th e b asic gist o f p o em s tran sm itted
b y o ld e r in fo rm an ts from Q isn. I h eard som e M ah ra describ e this dialect as “ro u g h ” and cite the
shift o f / h / to /h / in the verb hom -> hom, (“1 w a n t” ) as an exam ple. A s m en tio n ed ab o v e, this
d ialect seem s m o re resistan t to A rab ic in flu en c e than the w estern d ialects; lexical co m p ariso n s by
M ah ra b etw een th is d ialect and o th er dialects w ould often feature an in d ig en o u sly M ahri w ord
versus an A rab ic w o rd b o rro w ed in to M ahri such 'ays vs. safret (cognate w ith A rabic safra,
“k n ife ”). W h ereas / 7 w as co m p letely lo st in the Q isn d ialect, the p o e try that I collected
83 Ibid., 26-27.
84 Iibd., 26-27.
31
d em o n strates that fo r som e sp eak ers o f the e astern dialects, / c/ could b e reta in ed w ith v a rio u s
deg rees o f articu latio n . A le x a n d er S im a w as c o m p ilin g a g ram m a r and lex ico n o f this d iale ct o f
M ahri at th e tim e o f h is d eath on the road to R eh an in A u gust, 2004; this w ork w ould no d o u b t
h av e b een an essen tial co n trib u tio n to the study o f the M ahri lan guage and its dialects.
M o v in g in lan d to the steppe o f T am ud, H at and F uget, w e find the M ahri b e d o u in d ialects.
L ik e th e Q isn d ialect, these d ialects are co n sid ered p re stig io u s b u t fo r d ifferen t reaso n s. W h e re as
th e Q isn d ialect is p re stig io u s on account o f its asso ciation w ith the co urt o f the S ultan, the
B ed o u in d ialects are b e lie v e d to b e “u n a d u la te ra ted ” M ahri and to m ain tain a h ig h e r deg ree o f its
ra re r and m o re sp ecialized v o cab ulary. It is no co in c id en c e that the one p o em I tran scrib ed from
th is reg io n also co n tain s such o d d ities as the p re v io u sly described agizwalut, (C h ap te r 4 , A :l) .
F ro m tim e to tim e, I h e a rd the term “fu sh a M a h ri” ap p lied to this dialect. A lth o u g h the m eaning
o f th is term co u ld go in a v ariety o f d ifferen t w ays, it p o in ts to the high status th at this dialect
ho ld s fo r M ahri sp e a k e rs.85 M o st o b v io u sly , th e / c/ is clearly articulated in the in lan d d ialects,
len d in g w eig h t to lo c a l ch aracterizatio n s o f in lan d M ahri as the m o st “ au th e n tic” M ah ri available.
V irtu ally n o d ata h av e b een collected about th ese d ialects; the lo g istics o f research h a v e favored
sch o larsh ip on the southern coastal dialects o v e r the in land districts.
85
The notion o f a 1fusha Mahri” w ill be explored in Chapter 2 o f this dissertation.
32
Chapter 2: Intersections of Mahri and Arabic
I. L an g u ag e Id eo lo g y in the M id d le East:
T he last tw enty y ears o r so h av e seen th e grow th o f inquiry in a n th ro p o lo g ical and
so cio lin g u istic circles in to cultural co n ce p tio n s o f lan g u ag e u se and lan g u ag e d ifferen tiatio n .
T his in q u iry goes b ey o n d lin k in g lin g u istic form s to social classes, the d o m ain o f so cio lin g u istics,
b u t rath er ex am in es “sets o f b eliefs ab o u t lan g u ag e articu lated by users as a ratio n a lizatio n o r
ju stific a tio n o f p erceiv ed lan g u ag e stru ctu re and u se .” 1 T he M id d le E ast is certain ly fertile
g round fo r an in q u iry o f th is type; n o t only is A rab ic the b in d in g elem e n t o f an eth n ic and
relig io u s c o m m o n w ealth , b u t id eo lo g ies th at in scrib e th e status o f A rab ic vis a vis o th e r
lan g u ag es are leg io n fro m th e earliest c en tu rie s o f A rab ic sch o larsh ip o nw ards. S urp risin g ly , the
study o f lan g u ag e id eo lo g y has all b u t b y p a sse d the M id d le E ast; to date, e x am in atio n s o f
lang u ag e id eo lo g y h av e b een fa r m ore c o m fo rtab le in the d isco u rse o f W estern colonial and p o st
colonial stu d ies.2
L an g u ag e id eo lo g y is m ost activ e at lin g u istic b o u n d aries, o r at any rate, at perceiv ed
lin g u istic b o u n d aries. In the face o f lin g u istic d iffe re n tiatio n , w e fin d th at lan g u ag e speakers w ill
“locate, interpret, and ratio n alize so cio lin g u istic co m p lex ity , [identify] lin g u istic varieties w ith
‘ty p ic a l’ p erso n s and activ ities and [account] fo r the d ifferen tiatio n s am o n g th e m .” 3 T here are
som e co m m o n m ech an ism s th at lie in th e to o lk it o f “th e lan guage id e o lo g u e .” O ne is the p ro cess
o f naturalization th at “d rain s the co n cep tu al o f its h istorical co n ten t, m ak in g it seem u n iv ersa lly
1 Bambi Schieffelin and Kathryn Woolard, “Language Ideology,” A n n u a l R eview o f A n th ro p o lo g y 23 (1994): 57.
For instance, I question the validity o f the statement that “there is more agreement that codified, superposed standard
languages are tied not only to writing and its associated hegem onic institutions, but to specifically European forms o f
these institutions” (ibid., 64). W e need only regard the authority o f Arabic in the M iddle East prior to em ergence o f
western colonialism to undermine claim s for the exclusivity o f “the Western insistence on the authenticity and moral
significance o f the mother tongue” (ibid., 61).
3 Susan Gal and Judith Irvine, “Language Ideology and Linguistic Differentiation,” in R eg im es o f L anguage:
Ideologies, P olities a n d Identities, ed. Paul Kroskrity (Santa Fe: School o f American Research Press, 1999), 36.
33
a n d /o r tim elessly tru e .”4 W h e re v er th e M ah ri lan g u ag e is view ed as “H im yarf” o r as an
u n sp ecified , p re -h isto ric , “original A rab ic,” th is p ro cess is certainly active. A n o th e r m ech an ism
is fra cta l recursivity w h ereb y th e o p p o sitio n betw een tw o la rg e r g ro u p s is p ro jec ted in tern ally
w ithin a c o n stitu en t g ro u p .5 F o r ex am p le, ju s t as a d istin ctio n is m ade w ith in the A rab ian
co m m u n ity b etw een A rab ic and M ah ri, so to o m u st a d istin ctio n b e m ade b e tw ee n the “p u re ”
M ah ra and th e “A ra b iz e d ” M ahra. F in ally , erasure is th e m ech an ism b y w hich “facts th a t are
in co n sisten t w ith th e id eo lo g ical schem e e ith e r go u n n o tic ed o r get ex p lain ed aw ay ,” o r in o th er
w ords, the lin g u istic field is sim p lified by m ak in g the in co n v en ien t in v isib le .6 W h e rev er w e find
statem ents to th e effect th at M ahri is a ty p e o f H adram I A rabic dialect o r even P ersian , the
m ech an ism o f erasure is su rely at w ork.
In th is ch ap ter, I w ill ex am ine the M ahri la n g u a g e from the p ersp ec tiv e o f M id d le E astern
lan g u ag e id eo lo g y . F irst, w e shall start w ith a ty p e o f recursive lan g u ag e id eo lo g y b y d escrib in g
h o w the n o tio n o f an A rab ic fu sh a has b e en p ro je cte d o n to the M ahri lan g u ag e. T his topic
p ro v id es us w ith an ex am p le o f a seco n d -g e n eratio n lan g u ag e id eo lo g y , to w it, h o w the M a h ra
h av e adop ted an A rab ic id eo lo g y o f fu sh a and g rafted it o n to th eir ow n lan g u ag e d iscourse.
S econdly, w e w ill u se classical A rabic sch o larsh ip to reflect on the in stitu tio n a liz atio n o f A rabic
in the face o f S outh A rab ian lan g u ag e d iv ersity and the dep lo y m en t o f histo ric al, g eo g rap h ic and
relig io u s lo g ic to u n d erm in e this nativ e lin g u istic d iv ersity . T hirdly, I w ill interro g ate so m e o f
th o se sam e classical so u rces to see if w e c a n ’t tease o u t a h idden n a rrativ e o f A rabs and M a h ra
that has been o v erlo o k ed , o r to u se the term in o lo g y o f lan g u ag e id eo lo g y , erased fro m the logic
o f A rab ic lin g u istic hegem o n y .
II. M ahri Fusha ?
4 Shieffelin and Woolard, 1994, 58.

5 Gal and Irvine, 1 9 9 9 ,3 8 .
6 Ibid., 38.
34
H aving o ffered a sketch o f the g eographical d ialects in C h ap ter 1, w e w ill take an o th er
aspect o f M ah ri speech p a tte rn s as the starting p o in t to o u r discu ssio n o f lan g u ag e id eo lo g y in al-
M ah ra. M an y M ah ra id en tify a fu sh a (“a p u rer, m ore eleg an t speech” ), a lo n g sid e the stan d ard
dialectal d iv isio n s o f w estern , eastern , and ev ery th in g -in -b etw een M ahri. P resu m a b ly , this
d istin c tio n is m eant to e v o k e th e m u lti-tiered sp eech re g isters that ex ist in the m o dern A ra b ic
sp eaking w o rld w here w e find a learned, sty listic dictio n ( al-fusha o r a l-carablya), alo n g sid e and
in term in g lin g w ith n atu ral, casu al speech (the A rab ic d ialects). M y sense here is that the co n cep t
(indeed th e w o rd ), “fu s h a ” is a fairly recen t im p o rta tio n from the A rabic p restig e cu ltu re. N o
d o u b t h ig h e r re g iste r speech ex ists and has ex isted in M ahri, b u t defin in g one id io m u n d e r the
ru b ric o f fu sh a is d o u b tless a b y -p ro d u ct o f the A rabic educational m eth o d s th at have taken ro o t
in al-M ah ra o v e r the last fifteen years. I found th at the M ah ra w ho u sed this term had in v ariab ly
receiv ed som e form al ed u catio n o r w ere p art o f th e cultural in te llig en tsia in al-G haydha. M ah ra
w ith o u t ex p erien ce in th e ab stract g ram m atical and lexical p rin cip les o f A rabic balaga
(“e lo q u e n c e ”) do n o t c o n ceiv e o f th eir n ativ e lan g u ag e in such categorical term s.
W e can d iscern a sim ilar stage in the co n cep tu alizatio n o f the A rab ic fu sh a d u ring th e 7 th
c. C E - a p e rio d that m ark s, in cid en tally , the em erg en ce o f new literary and tex tu al trad itio n s.
P rio r to th e in itial recitatio n s o f the Q u r’an, A rabic p o e try and the id io m th at it w as co u ch ed in
w ere, e ssen tially , sy n o n y m o u s. T o com pose and re cite po etry was to u se a stylized dictio n and
vice versa', th ere m ay n o t h a v e even existed the lexical m eans to re fe r to this p o e tic d ic tio n since
it w as an in d iv isib le and in teg ral p art o f the p o etizin g itself. T he Q u r3an, then, w as the first
co m p o sitio n to em ploy a l-carabiya (“the [form al] A rabic lan g u ag e” ) as an ab stract lin g u istic
co n cep t w ith a v alue in it ow n rig h t. T his w as only p o ssib le once the d eliv e ry o f the Q urân h ad
d etach ed th e form al q u a litie s o f the po etic dictio n from its co n v en tio n al v eh icle in po etry and
app lied it fo r an entirely n ew - and strictly n o n -p o etic - p u rp o se .7 M ichael Z w e ttle r sum s u p this
7David M uller was the first to raise the possibility that Muhammad was the first to speak about an “Arabic” language
and an “Arabic” Qur3an, in contrast to prior usage that had limited the semantic range o f the root C.R.B. to the ethno-
35
view : “ [It] w as the Q u r3a n .. .th at p erh ap s fo r the first tim e gave reco g n itio n and sig n ifica n ce to
the p o etic ‘la n g u a g e ’ as a q u a n tity ab stractab le from th e p o etry and accessib le to n o n -p o e ts as
w e ll.”8
In lik e fash io n , M ahri p o ets h av e b eg u n to adapt the trad itio n al M ahri p o e tic d ictio n fo r
p u rp o ses that lay o u tsid e th e trad itio n al prax is o f M ahri lan g u ag e p o etry , sp e cifically , to A rabic
p o etic g enres an d A rab ic m o d es o f co m p o sitio n . A s a con seq u en ce, it has b ec o m e an en ticin g
p ro p o sitio n fo r them to ex trap o late an overarch in g p o e tic diction - a fu sh a - that is a quality o f
p o etry b u t n o t th e essen ce o f p o e try itself. F o r som e M ahri p o ets, th is carries th e sam e m o tiv e o f
cultural u n ificatio n that is d isp lay ed , according to M u lle r and K ees V ersteeg h , in the Q u r3anic
co n cep t o f al-lisan a l-carabi (“th e A rab ic la n g u a g e” [Q .26:195, Q .46A2]), a p h rase m eant to
im press its listen ers w ith its n o n -lo cal, supra-tribal a p p lic ab ility .9 T he M ahri lan g u ag e has
acquired a sim ilar social w orth in re ce n t d ecades. F o llo w in g the assim ilatio n o f the cA frari
S ultan ate o f Q isn and S o q o tra in to the P e o p le ’s D em o cratic R ep u b lic o f Y em en (P D R Y ) in 1967,
the M ah ra h av e fo u n d th em selv es citizens o f the p an -trib al G o vem ate o f al-M ah ra. T his
co n so lid atio n h as en ab led , i f not created o u trig h t, a fo cus fo r id en tificatio n th at is in co n ten tio n
w ith the m o re trad itio n al tribal foci. In o rd e r to en ter in to a national d isco u rse w ith the P D R Y
and the Y em en i A rabic R ep u b lic (Y A R ), the M ahri p o e t has been pro m o ted fro m tribal
spokesm an to cu ltu ral am b a ssa d o r w hereby lan g u ag e, n o t tribe, holds a cen tral p o sitio n .
A s a rep resen tativ e o f th e van g u ard o f M ahri lan g u ag e,Y em en i p o ets, H agg D akon has
auth o red th e first w ritten dlwan o f M ahri p o e try w ith th e ob ject o f en co u rag in g a re su rg e n ce o f
cultural class o f nomadic bedouin, a l - ca rab (David Muller, “Arabia” in P a u lys R ealencyclopadie d e r classichen
A ltertum sw issenschaft, eds. Georg W issow a e ta l. [Stuttgart: J.B. M etzler, 1895], 2:344). I agree with Zwettlerthat
Muller may have overstated his conclusion somewhat since the root C.R.B. has a deeper ethnic and geographical history
than M uller otherwise indicates, (see Israel Eph’al, The A n c ie n t A ra b s [Jerusalem: The M agnes Press, 1984] , p a ssim ).
M uller’s essential point is correct: a l- carablya w as not used to denote the communal, supra-tribal language spoken by
the Arabs until it appeared in the Qur’an with that meaning. See M ichael Zwettler, The O ral Tradition o f C lassical
A rabic P o etry (Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 1978), 162.
8 Zwettler, 1978, 166.
q
Miiller, 1895, 344 and K ees V ersteegh, The A ra b ic L ang u a g e (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1997), 53.
36
M ah ri cu ltu ral p ra c tic e s .10 T his is m ore than a sim ple resu scitatio n o f trad itio n al id io m s; rather,
H agg h as b een at th e fo re fro n t in co n ceiv in g a pan -M ah ri id io m th at lies in the b ro ad ho llo w s
b etw een the m o re d istin c tiv e to p o g rap h y o f the regional dialects. In p ractical term s, th is has
tran slated in to a search fo r a co m m on, lim p id id io m th at reflects the “m elting p o t” M ahri o f al-
G haydha. In o u r ow n co n v ersatio n s about h o w to w rite M ah ri, H agg w as co n scio u s o f the fact
th at he w as c o n co ctin g an id io m that n eeded the b ro ad e st appeal p o ssib le; this in clin ed him
tow ards th e selectio n o f A rab ic w ords th at had been “M ah ricized ” and w ere co m p re h en sib le to a
b ro ad au d ien ce o f y o u n g M ahri m en and w om en. A glan ce at the Dlw an o f H agg D ak5n
d em o n strates H a g g ’s av o id an ce o f the arch aic and sp ecialized diction o f tribal p o etry ; th is is also
in keep in g w ith th e o ccasio n al, am o ro u s to p ics preferred b y H agg and y o u n g e r M a h ra in
g e n e ra l.11 H ag g ju s tifie d h is selections by saying that th ey w ere gu id ed by h is co ncern fo r the
M ahri fu sh a w h ich , lik e th e A rabic fusha, is a com m unal and n o n -ex c lu siv e idiom . In his
cap acity as cu ltu ral arbiter, H agg - in true M id d le E astern fashion - is a consp icu o u s “lan guage
id e o lo g u e .”
A cco rd in g ly , H agg reco g n ized th at h is m ethod o f w riting the M ahri lan g u ag e, (sh o u ld it
e v e r g ain tractio n ), w o u ld elev ate one id io m o v e r the others and that a p rio ri it o u g h t to be
lab eled as fu sh a . H a g g ’s orth o g raphical system in clu d ed arbitrary decisio n s on h is p a rt, such as
d ro p p in g / 7 from th e o rth o g rap h y in d e feren ce to the cayin -less p h o n o lo g y o f his ow n Q isn
d ialect. H agg ju stifie d th is lo ss b y citin g the au ra o f p re stig e that in fuses the po etry and p o e ts o f
Q isn, d esp ite th e ack n o w led g ed au th en ticity o f / 7 in the o ther d ialects o f M ahri.
T ech n ically sp eak in g , the app licatio n o f the A rabic concept o f a fu sh a idiom to the M ahri
lan g u ag e sh o u ld b e trick y b u sin ess. A rabic and M ahri are n o t eq u iv alen t in term s o f the
h isto rical p ro cesses that h av e shaped them . M ahri, an oral lan guage w ith the e x cep tio n o f the
Dlwan o f H ag g D ak o n , h as n o p e rm a n en t m odels fo r h ig h er re g ister u tterances. T here is no
10 A detailed discussion o f this D lw an is in Chapter 6 and the entire D lw an is presented in Appendix B.

11 See Chapter 6.
37
p u b lish e d co rp u s o f M ahri p o e try o r even sim ple radio bro ad casts in M ahri. N o r does M ahri
p o ssess an y o f th e p restig e th at attaches to a lan g u ag e o f revelation such as A rabic; in fact, the
o p p o site m ay b e the case sin ce th e M S A lan g u ag es are associated w ith the re lig io u s d iso rd er o f
p re-Islam ic A rab ia. T h ere is h ard ly any u rban class in al-M ah ra and therefo re p re cio u s little
d istin c tio n can b e m ad e b etw een the “u n a d u lterate d ” speech o f bedouin M ah ra and the
“c o rru p te d ” speech o f th e ir co sm o p o litan peers. T here is no such th in g as sch o o lin g in M ahri and
therefo re th ere is no class o f an u rban, educated elite w ith the m eth o d o lo g ical to o ls required to
fo rm alize th e g ram m ar and lex ico n o f M ahri. F in ally , th ere is no case system eq u iv alen t to the
A rab ic °icrab (the n o m in al and verbal inflectio n s) on w hich to peg a g ram m atical d efin itio n o f
M ahri fu sh a .
C learly , th e co n cep t o f a M ahri fu sh a m ust be b ased on a d ifferen t set o f standards than
th e m o d e m A rab ic fu sh a . W h e n e v er the p h ra se “fu sh a M ah ri” cam e up, I tried to iso late those
featu res th at m ig h t d istin g u ish it from casual speech. I im agined that M ah ri fu sh a m ig h t parallel
in co n cep t and p ractice th e p re-literate, p re-Q u C a n ic n o tio n o f an A rabic fusha. In o rd e r to
u n d erstan d w hat is m eant b y “M ahri fu sh a ,” it w ould b e b est therefore to look at d iscu ssio n s o f
the sam e fo r th e earliest cen tu ries o f the h isto rically attested A rabic fusha. C o n v ersely , and
m in d fu l o f th e p itfalls o f c irc u la r reasoning, a clo ser ex am in atio n o f M ahri fu sh a m ay help us to
u n d erstan d th e p aram eters o f its A rabic co u n terp art and fro m w here and u n d er w hat
circu m stan ces a l-carablya ev o lv ed into the literary stan d ard o f the m o dern A rab w orld.
III. A rabic Fusha in C lassical and C ontem porary Scholarship:
A s th e p an o ram a o f sch o larsh ip on the topic o f the origins o f fu sh a A rabic d em o n strates,
th e q u estio n o f w hat ex actly fu sh a A rabic is has been a p reo ccupation o f A rabic and no n -A rab ic
sch o larsh ip fo r som e tim e. T h is should co m e as no su rp rise since the A rabic fu sh a lies at the
38
n ex u s o f re lig io n , literatu re and, o f co u rse, language. W ith o u t a b elab o red rev iew o f sch o larsh ip ,
th e fo llo w in g arg u m en ts have been offered to d istin g u ish the A rabic fu sh a fro m th e co llo q u ial
id io m s.12 A s w e shall see sho rtly , n early every arg u m en t th at has been adduced fo r th e A rabic
fu sh a is lik ew ise g enerated fo r the M ahri fu sh a - an un eq u iv o cal cro ss-g erm in atio n o f id e o lo g ies
o f d ialectal p restig e.
T h e v iew o f co n v en tio n al Islam ic sch o larsh ip m ain tain s th at fu sh a A rabic w as identical
to the d aily speech p attern s o f th e M eccan Q urays. T his is the theological id eo lo g y th at takes the
d o ctrin e o f M u h a m m a d ’s illiteracy as its b asis. T aking the Q u r3an as o u r starting p o in t, w e find
tw o in stan ces w here umrrii (“illite rate ” ) is u sed as an e p ith et o f M u h am m ad , (Q .7:157 &
Q .7 :1 5 8 ). T h e con cern th at M u h am m ad should n o t b e perceived as cap able o f rec itin g o r w riting
a rev elatio n on h is ow n is categ o rically d enied: “A nd y o u did not recite any scrip tu re b efo re it,
n o r did y ou w rite it w ith y o u r rig h t han d since the liars w ould h av e d o u b ted .” 13 F o r M u h am m ad
to b e tru ly illiterate, (or at least illiterate in the p o st-lettered sense o f the w ord as it is u n d ersto o d
b y Islam ic sch o larsh ip ), it fo llo w s th at the Q u r3an w as rev ealed in the daily idiom o f M u h am m ad ,
and that o f his fello w s M eccan s. “T he lan g u ag e o f h is p eo p le ” (lisan qawm ihi) - a tro p e o f the
Q u rDan - is th en ce u n d ersto o d in its m o st localized sense, that is, the Q ur°an w as re v eale d in the
lan gu ag e o f Q u ra y s.14
T he p u ta tiv e lin g u istic ex cellen ce o f Q urays is ratio n alized by the arg u m en t th at the
Q urays o f M e c c a w ere in a p riv ileg ed p o sitio n to h e ar the speech o f all the p ilg rim s w ho reached
M ecca and thus, “ [to choose] fro m every dialect th at w hich w as best in it.” 15 In lik e fashion, so
l2It needs noting that there are two different - yet overlapping - domains o f fusha and that they are often used without
distinction. One version o f fu s h a refers in general terms to the idiom o f pre-Islamic poetry and the other is lim ited to
the language o f the Qur’an. This difference explains how internal contradictions within studies o f the origin and
character o f A rabic fu s h a have arisen. H ow ever, this topic is outside the scope o f the present study since the Mahra,
lacking a Qur’an or any other identity-building text in their language, do not need to resolve a gap betw een the poetic
language in general and the poetic language as inscribed in a single, seminal text.
13 “wo-md kunta tatlu m in qablihi m in kitabin w a-la tahuttuhu bi-yam inika 3idan l-artaba al-m u b tilu n a ” (Q .29:48).
14 “W e have never sent a m essenger except that [he spoke] in the language o f his people” / “w a-m a ’a rsahia m in
rasulin ’ilia b i-lisani q a w m ih i” (Q.14:4).
L Al-Farra’: “w a-kadalika kanu y a sm a 'u n a m in 3ahya a l- ca ra b ia l-lu g a ta fa -ya h ta ru n a m in k u lli lugatin ’a h sa n a h a fa -
safd kalam uhum w a-lam yuhalithu s a y ’un m in a l-lu g a ti a l-sa n icati” (from Paul Kahle, ‘T h e Arabic Readers o f the
Koran,” Journal o f N e a r E astern Studies 8 [ 1949]: 70).
39
th e arg u m en t goes, Q urays su rp assed the o th e r trib es o f A rab ia in b eau ty , stature and w isdom
sin ce they had th e p ick o f th e A rab w om en and thus “gain ed the su p erio rity by w h ich they
becam e d istin g u ish e d .” 16 T his arg u m en t ap pears to have been first articu lated by a l-F a rra 3 (d.
822 C E) w ho, w hile cleav in g to the orth o d o x p o sitio n that the natural dialect o f Q urays and
A rabic fu sh a w ere o n e and the sam e, reco g n izes the sy n th etic, m an -m ad e natu re o f the A rabic
fu s h a .11 In fo rm u latin g his arg u m en t, th ere is an im p licit reco g n itio n that the Q urays w ere not
p rev io u sly d istin g u ish ed in th e p ro d u ctio n o f po etry o r even fo r speaking ex em p lary A rabic. F o r
instance, th e lack o f a g lottal stop ( ham za ) in the natu ral speech o f Q urays, (as ev in ced by its
o m issio n from th e co n so n an tal ductus o f the Q ur°an), has b een a sticking p o in t fo r b o th E astern
and W estern p h ilo lo g ists w ho w o uld lik e to eq uate the dialect o f the Q urays w ith late r v e rsio n s o f
— 18
A rabicfusha.
T he m ajo rity o f early A rabic lex ico g rap h e rs located the A rabicfusha elsew h ere than
am ongst the Q urays and are b u ttressed in this co n v ictio n by M u h a m m a d ’s ow n testim o n y : “I
w ould h a v e b een th e m o st elo q u en t o f all A rabs, b u t fo r the fa ct that I w as b o m in Q u ray s and
grew u p am ong th e B anu S a°d.” 19 T o cope w ith the co n trad ictio n betw een the th e o lo g ia n ’s
p o sitio n , (the Q urays - fu s h a ) and the g ra m m a ria n ’s p o sitio n , (T ribe “X ” = fusha), a l-F a rra 3
16 “fa -m in daki ’a tahum al-fadlu m a c m a hussu b ih i” (ibid., 70).

17The manuscript in which this appears was first presented by Paul Kahle in the Schw eich Lectures to the British
Academy in 1941 and was subsequently published in Paul Kahle, The C airo G eniza (London: Oxford University Press,
1947), 115-116. The earlier date o f al-Farra’ (d. 822 CE) controverts Chaim Rabin’s claim that this argument emanates
from Ibn Faris (d. 1005 CE), where it appears in Ibn Faris’ al-S a h ib l (Abu al-Husayn ’Ahmad b. Faris, al-S a h ib l
[Cairo: Tsa al-Halabl & Partners, 1977], 33-34).
18 Karl V oller’s proposal for the existence o f diglossia in M ecca at the tim e o f M uhamm ad’s revelation is based on the
lack o f an orthographical ham za in the Qur’an, despite its verifiable presence in the poetic language o f the time (see
Karl Voller, V olkssprache u n d Schriftsprache im alien A rabien [Strasbourg: K.J. Triibner, 1906]). The preservation o f
ham za in the dialects o f Eastern Arabia was one reason for the privileged status o f the dialect o f Tamlm in classical
Arabic scholarly circles; even Muhammad h im self averred that they were the m ost correct speakers o f Arabic -
“ °a crabu al-qaw m i” (al-Tabari, T a fslr a l-Q u r’an [Bulaq: al-Matbaca al-Kubra al-’Am lriya, 1905-1911], 1:14).
19 ‘"ana 1afsahu a l- ca ra b i m aida ’a n n lm in Q uraysin w a -n a sa 3t u f i B a n t S a cd in ” (Ibn Faris, al-Sahibl, 4 1 ). M aida, or
baida as this h a d lf is transmitted by Ibn Hisam (1360 CE) in M u g n la l-la b lb , should be understood as synonym ous with
g a y r and not m in 'a g li; the latter definition seem s to have developed in response to the unconventional sentiment
expressed in this h a d lf and not from actual usage (cAbdallah b. Y usuf b. Hisam, M u g n l al-lablb [Damascus: Dar al-
Fikr, 1964], 1:122).
40
offers a c o m p ro m ise: A rab ic fu sh a w as a co n stru cted , in tertrib al dialect that w as yet the h allm ark
o f the M eccan Q u ray s.20
T h e A rab ic p h ilo lo g ic a l trad itio n v ario u sly attributes fu sh a A rabic to tribes o f °A sad,
U p p e r T am im , L o w e r Q ays, G atafan, K in a n a and T aqlf, ju s t to n am e a fe w .21 In fact, ju s t about
every A rab ian trib e is g ran ted th e title o f afsah a l-carab (“the m ost elo q u en t o f the A rab s”) by
som e le x ic o g ra p h e r o r o th e r.22 T his p o sitio n follow s a sort o f g en ealogical p rin cip al in w hich the
cap acity fo r fu sh a sp eech is p ro g ram m e d into the D N A o f a specific tribe, reg ard less o f w hether
its sections are n o m a d ic o r settled. A cc o rd in g ly , the T a q lf o f T a°if and the Q urays o f M ecca are
reck o n ed as fa s lh d esp ite th e relativ e u rb a n iza tio n o f th ese tw o tribes w hen co m pared to the
n om adic sectio n s o f T a m im and a l-DA z d .23 W h ile th ese argum ents m ay have been co n ceived on
p u rely lin g u istic g ro u n d s, th ey m ore lik ely d eriv e from the co n tin u ed p ro ficien cy in harn essin g
th e p o etic lan g u ag e th at w as d isp lay ed b y the p o ets o f som e tribes b u t seem s to h av e b een less
p ro n o u n ced in o th ers. T his w as c ertain ly the case fo r the tribesm en o f H udayl, w hose tribal
dlwan earn ed th em p a rtic u la r rep u te in p o st-Isla m ic A ra b ia fo r eloquence.
B ro ad en in g o u r v ie w b e y o n d a trib e-sp ecific attrib u tio n o f fu sh a A rabic, w e also find a
g eneric ap p licatio n o f fu sh a to th e B ed o u in , real o r id ealized . T his p o sitio n has had an
ex trao rd in ary lo n g e v ity ; it w as co m m o n to the classical A rabic lexicographical trad itio n and is
201 think that it is unfair to describe this argument as a “superficial picture o f the classical ‘arabiya ” (Zwettler, 1978,
112). A s a synthesis o f conflicting assumptions about the formulation o f fu sh a , al-Farra” s argument for Qurays!
Arabic is rather m odem sounding since it points to an intertribal koine tempered by speakers o f a local dialect. This is,
in fact, the essence o f Zwettler’s ow n argument for the fu s h a idiom o f the Qur’an (Zwettler, 1978, 98-188 passim ).
Kahle summarizes al-Farra” s predicament as follow s: “A s a. gram m arian he could not deny that correct Arabic is
closely connected with the poetry o f the B edouin ...and as a theologian he could not admit any alteration in the
language o f the H oly B ook. So he had to find a com prom ise” (Paul Kahle, ‘T h e Qur’an and the ’Arablya” in Jgnace
G oldziher M em o ria l Volum e, eds. Samuel L ow inger and Joseph. S om ogyi [Budapest: [no publisher listed ), 1948],
1:181).
21 “The people o f Kufa said: ‘“Correctness is to be found among the A sad,’ because o f their vicinity to them. The
people o f Basra said: ‘Correctness is to be found among the upper Tamim and the low er Q ays from cUql and ’ U qayl.’
The people o f M edina said: ‘Correctness is to be found among the Ghatafan,’ because they are their neighbors. The
people o f M ekka said: ‘Correctness is to be found among Kinana b. Sacd b. Bekr and Thaqlf’” (al-Farra’, trans. Kahle,
1 9 4 7 ,7 9 ).
22 Chaim Rabin presents a concise summary o f this position in Chaim Rabin, A n cien t W est-A rabian (London: Taylor’s
Foreign Press, 1951), 20.
23
This is demonstrated in a statement attributed to the Caliph ’Umar: “Let no one dictate our scriptures unless they be
men o f Qurays and T a q lf’ / “Zd y u m liy a n n a fi m usahifina Jilla gulm a n u quraySin w a -fa q lfin ” (Ibn al-Faris, al-Sahibl,
41).
41
offered in v ario u s p e rm u ta tio n s b y H enri F leisch, F red erico C orriente, Jo sh u a B lau , K ees
V ersteeg h and m any o th ers o v er the last tw o c en tu rie s.24 T he lin g u istic sup erio rity - in d eed , the
in fa llib ility - o f the b ed o u in is a co m m on en ough tro p e in classical Islam ic lex ico g rap h y . In nate
p ro g ra m m in g seem s to b e th e source o f this virtu o sity , thus the axiom : “a b e d o u in can n o t m ake
h is to n g u e u tte r a fau lty e x p re ssio n .”25 A cco rd in g ly , b e d o u in w ere so u g h t as the arbiters o f
lin g u istic co n tro v ersies an d th e le x ico g rap h ers and g ram m arians o f B asra and K u fa w ere k ep t
w ell su p p lied w ith b ed o u in in fo rm an ts, reliab le o r o th erw ise.26 Or, a le x ic o g ra p h e r co u ld end up
d o in g h is research “in th e fie ld ” lik e A bu M an su r al-A zh arl (d. 980 C E ) w ho w as k id n ap p ed by
th e b ed o u in and u sed h is cap tiv ity to collect the m aterial fo r his treatise, Tahdlb al-luga (“T he
R efin em en t o f S p e e c h ”). In th e in tro d u ctio n , h e ju stifie s the p rem ise o f his m eth o d o lo g y : “ [The
b ed o u in ] speak acco rd in g to th e ir d esert n ature and th e ir ingrained in stin cts. In th e ir speech you
hard ly e v e r h e a r a lin g u istic e rro r o r a terrib le m ista k e.” 27
T h is ex p ressio n d eriv es fro m the lan g u ag e id eo lo g y th at the p u rity o f fu sh a speech is
in v ersely related to its d istan ce fro m bed o u in A rabia, i.e., from the co re o f A rab ia to its perip h ery
an d th en ce th e lu rk in g in flu e n c e o f foreign speech. T he syllogism p ro v id es a rational fo o tin g fo r
th e p re su m e d co n n ectio n b etw een the u n en cu m b ered bed o u in lifesty le and c le a r , fu sh a elocution.
T his p rin cip le is p ith ily ex p ressed in the pro v erb : “T he best speakers o f A rabic are those deep est
in the d e se rt” Cafsahu a l-carabl Jabarruhum ).2S A cco rd in g to Ibn H aldun (d. 1356 C E ), the
24 For exam ple, Henri Fleisch, “Traite de philologie arabe,” R echerches pu b liees sous la direction d e V ln stitu t d e lettres
orientales d e B eyrouth 16 (1961): 281-82; Frederico Corriente, “On the Functional Y ield o f S om e Synthetic D evices in
Arabic and Sem itic M orphology,” Jew ish Q uarterly R eview 62 (1971-72): 20-50; Joshua Blau, “The Importance o f
M iddle Arabic D ialects for the History o f Arabic,” in Studies in Isla m ic H istory a n d C ivilization, ed. Uriel Heyd
(Jerusalem: M agnes-Hebrew University, 1961), 206-28 and K ees Versteegh, “Arabic Grammar and Corruption o f
Speech,” a l - ’A bhaf, 31 (1983): 139-60. Though Corriente, Blau and Versteegh disagree as to the functionality o f the
’C rab and therefore its longevity, both assume that the 'i'r d b was used by some bedouin in their natural speech for a
period o f time subsequent to the arrival o f the Qur’an.
cAbd al-Qadir al-Bagdadi, H iza n a t a l- ’adab, e d . cAbd al-cA z iz Maiman (Lahore: The University o f the Punjab,
1927)2:30.
26 See cAbd al-Rahman B. a l-’Anbarl, K ita b a l - ’in s d ffi m asd ’il a l-h ila f (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1913) and Joshua Blau,
“The R ole o f the Bedouins as Arbiters in Linguistic Questions and the M a s ’ala a z-Z unburiyya," Jo u rn a l o f Sem itic
Studies 8 (1963): 42-51.
21“'yatakallam una bi-tib a ' ihim al-b a d a w iyya ti w a -q a ra d h ih im a lla ti Htaduha w a-la y a ka d u y a q a cu f t m antiqihim
lahnun ’aw h a ta ’u n fa h is ” (Abu Mansur al-’Azhari. Tahdlb al-luga (Cairo: al-Dar al-M isriya li-'l-T a’Iif w a -‘l-
Targama, 1967), 1:7).
28 Ibn Manzur al-’Ansari, Lisan a l- ‘arab (Beirut: Dar al-Sadir, 2005), 5:119.
42
ev o lu tio n o f fu sh a is the sto ry o f bedouin p u rity and p ro x im ity versus the c o rru p tio n o f the settled
folk from b ey o n d th e A rab ian P eninsula:
W h en Islam cam e and they [the A rabs] left th e H ig a z ...a n d started to m ingle w ith the
n o n -A rab s, th e ir [lin g u istic] h abits b e g an to ch ange as the resu lt o f the d ifferen t w ays
o f speaking th ey h eard from those w ho tried to learn A rabic, fo r h earin g is the source
29
o f lin g u istic h ab its. A s a resu lt o f this in flu en ce, A rabic b ecam e corrupt.
T h is lin g u istic co n ceit feed s o ff o f the ro m an tic sen tim en ta lity for the “desert cla rity ” and “n o b le
in stin c ts” that lace p o p u la r im ag in in g s, b o th W estern and M iddle E astern, o f the A rabian
b ed o u in . It is d ifficu lt to av o id th e casual eq u atio n o f fu sh a A rabic and the b e d o u in in the
co n tem p o rary M id d le E ast. A s R abin claim s:
E ven to -d ay th e tra v e le r in A rab ia is to ld about trib es, som ew here in the cen tre o f the
p en in su la, w ho still speak the p u re st C lassical A rabic. W h atev er th e reaso n s o f this
self-d ecep tio n m ay h a v e been , there is no d o u b t that the basic id e n tity o f C lassical
A rab ic w ith th e e v ery d ay speech o f som e A rab s w as the g u id in g p rin cip le in the A rab
sc h o la r’s ap p ro ach to th is q u e stio n .30
T h e opinio com m unis is stood on its h ead b y the view that the b ed o u in spoke coarse,
p o o rly in flected A rab ic. Ibn G inn! (d. 1001 C E ) seem s to have held a p artic u larly low o p inion o f
th e elo q u en ce o f the b ed o u in . H e d evotes a c h a p te r o f al-Hasaîs to the faulty speech o f the
b ed o u in , (“B a b fi 'aglat a l-ca r a b and states d efin itiv ely : “W e w ill p ro b ab ly n ev e r find an
e lo q u en t b e d o u in .” 31 S im ilarly , al-S uyuti (d. 1505 C E ) re p o rts the o p in io n o f A bu B ak r al-
W asitl w ho co n trasts th e sm o o th n ess and clarity o f the language o f the Q ur°an to the speech o f
th e b ed o u in , w hich is “ sav ag e and stran g e.” 32
Z w e ttle r e x am in es h o w the le ss-th an -ad m irab le speech o f the b ed o u in is rep o rted in the
classical A rabic scholarly trad itio n . H e cites M u h am m ad b. Sallam al-G u m ah l (d. 951 C E ), A bu
cU b ay d a (-8 2 5 C E ) and A bu al-H attab al-°A h fas a l-DA k b ar (d. 825 C E ), all o f w hom found the
b ed o u in to b e w an tin g w ith resp ect to the p ro p e r usag e o f line-final Di crab in p o e try - a fault
29 Abu Zayd cAbd al-Rahman b. Haldun, M u q a d d im a tIb n H aldun. ed. I.M. Katramlr (Beirut: Maktabat Lubnan, 1970),
3:280. M inus the judgem ental criteria o f purity and corruption, Ibn Haldun’s portrayal o f language change depicts the
pidginization and creolization o f Arabic that has been posited by Versteegh him self in V ersteegh, 1 9 8 3 ,1 3 9 and 157.
30 Rabin, 1951, 18.
31 “la nakadu nara badaw iyyan f a s lh a n ” (Abu al-Fath cUtman b. GinnI, al-H a sa d s, ed. Muhammad al-Naggar [Cairo:
Matba°at Dar al-Kutub al-M isriya, 1956], 2:5).
,2“w a-kalam a l- ‘arab w a h si g a r ib ” (al-Suyuti, a l-H tq a n fi ‘ulum al-Q u H a n , ed. SacId al-Manduh [Beirut: M u’assasat
al-Kutub al-Taqafiya, 1996], 2:392).
43
know n as 3iqw a °.33 T he kern el o f th e ir arg u m en t is th at the bed o u in , la ck in g the rh eto rical
train in g and analytical to o ls o f th e urban p o ets, are careless about g ra m m ar and th at th e ir p o e try
is rid d led w ith errors. Z w e ttle r red uces a l-G u m a h f s arg u m en t to fo u r b a sic p o in ts:
(1) that iqw a3 w as fairly com m on in p o em s o f the d esert A rabs ( a l-a crab); (2) th a t it
w as m o re co m m o n am ong m in o r than am ong m ajor poets; (3) th at m o d em p o ets had
to avoid it b e c a u se they k n ew better; and (4) th at the B edouin in general did n o t care
if it occurred, so it w as (m ore?) ex cu sab le in this c a se .34
In the o p in io n o f a l-G u m ah l and others w ho shared it, co m m and o f fu sh a is the p ro d u c t o f
sch o larly , literate train in g . T hat this training w as, in d eed , analytic as o p p o sed to the m ere
ren d itio n o f m em o rized v e rse is d em o n strated in a series o f anecdotes re la te d b y Ibn F aris to
show that “th e n o m ad A rab s did not k n o w ...a b o u t g ram m ar ( nahw ) o r the T cra b o r the
n o m in ativ e case ( r a f ) o r th e accu sativ e case ( nasb ) n o r the ham za.”35 T h e co n seq u e n ce o f
th o u g h tfu l lin g u istic train in g is th e faultless u se o f the 3i crab as w ell as sm ooth, lim pid d iction.
B y the late 10th c. C E , m astery o f the A rab ic lan g u ag e w as view ed as the p ro d u c t o f an u rb an ,
literate e d u catio n at th e h a n d s o f trained g ram m arian s. E ven though it w as still de rigueur fo r
cA b b asid p o ets to spend a y e a r o r so am ongst the b e d o u in , they m ay h av e do n e so to train
th em selv es in the m o tifs o f b e d o u in p o etry , the m o d es o f its p erfo rm an ce and the “p o e tic ” life
sty le o f the steppe n o m ad , and less fo r the sake o f gram m atical “fin ish in g .”
T he co n sen su s o f the last century has gen erally reg ard ed th e A rab ic fu sh a as a k in d o f
p o e tic koine, sim ilar in p ra c tic e and effect to the idiom o f H om eric epic. M o v in g b ey o n d the
strictly p o sitiv ist arg u m en ts o f D av id M arg o lio u th and T ah a H usayn, m o d em sch o larsh ip can be
d istilled in to tw o b a sic c a m p s.36 T he first h o ld s th at th t fu sh a - in clu d in g the Ji ‘rab - w as the
33 Zwettler, 1978, 154-155.

34 Ibid., 154 (see Muhammad b. Sallam al-Gumahi, T a b a q a tfu h u l a l-S u 'a r a ’, ed. Mahmud Sakir (Cairo: Dar al-
M a'arif, 1974), \ -3 -5 0 passim ).
35 “a l- ca rab a l- cariba lam y a ‘rifu n ahw an w a-la "’T ra b a n w a-la r a f an w a-la nasban w a-la ham zan ” (Ibn Faris, al-
S a h ib l 11). Ibn Faris tells a joke that was doubtless in circulation amongst grammarians at the time. A man asks a
bedouin w ho had just recited a line o f poetry : “W hy did you put bana [“sons”] in the accusative case [n a s h fl” The
bedouin replies: “I didn’t hoist anyone up [ma n a s a b t u h u Ibn Faris explains: ‘T h is is because he didn’t know the
meaning o f n asb except as ‘a support for som ething’” (Ibn Faris, a l-S a h ib l 11).
36 Margoliouth and Husayn argued that the Arabic fu s h a was a later interpolation based exclusively on the Qur’an and
that pre-Islamic poetry was a post-Islam ic forgery. See David M argoliouth, ‘T h e O rigins o f Arabic Poetry,” Jo u rn a l o f
The R oyal A sia tic S ociety 1 (1925): 417-419 and Taha Husayn, FT al- ’adab a l-g a h ill (Cairo: Dar al-M acarif, 1927).
44
n atural d ialect o f a p a rtic u la r A rabian trib e o r the b e d o u in in general and th at it later e v o lv ed in to
th e co m m unal lan g u ag e o f p o etry . D iscu ssio n w ithin this cam p revolves around w h eth er this
koine, ch aracterized b y the p ro d u ctiv e use o f the d crab, co ntinued to b e spoken as the natural
speech o f som e g ro u p s after the spread o f Islam . T he seco n d cam p view s the fu sh a as an artificial
id io m that w as co b b led to g e th e r fro m v ario u s A rabic dialects: hamza fro m the E astern A rabian
d ialects, fo r in stan ce, o r lal in the p refix o f im p erfect v erb s fro m the dialects o f the H ig az (i.e.,
W estern yaktub vs. E astern yiktub). D eb ate w ithin th is cam p focuses on ju s t w ho the p ra ctitio n ers
o f the fu sh a d ialect w ere and w h eth er th ey w ere the “urb an ‘p a tric ia n ’ classes o f the H ig a z” as
— — 37
G ey er asserts, o r po ets and tran sm itters o f p o etry ( ruw ah ) trained in th e usag e o f fusha.
T he la tte r v iew o f th e fu sh a as a p o e tic koine h as b een develo p ed at length b y Z w e ttle r in
his ch ap ter titled: “T he C lassical cA rabiya as the L an g u ag e o f O ral P o e try .” 38 Z w e ttle r p erce iv es
th e A rabic fu sh a as th e ex p ressiv e v eh icle o f an oral-fo rm u laic trad itio n and grounds his
argum ent in the eig h t essen tial p rin cip les o f o ra l-fo rm u laic diction dem o n strated fo r H om eric
G reek b y M ilm an P a rry .39 T o distill Z w e ttle r’s arg u m en t to its b asic p o in ts, A rabic fu sh a w as the
p ro d u ct o f gen eratio n s o f oral-p o etic p erfo rm ers w ho in h erited an archaic lin g u istic sty le from
th e ir m en to rs and b o rro w e d d ialect form s w h e n ev e r necessary to fill out iso ch ro n o u s lin es o f
verse. T h e c h aracteristic featu res o f fu sh a speech, (o f w hich 'i'rd b w as the m o st im p o rtan t),
w ere th e trad em ark s o f p o ets trained in this co n serv ativ e dictio n - and this diction w as only
av ailab le fo r the p ro d u ctio n o f p o etry . In short: “W h at resu lted w as n o t so m uch a language b u t a
diction that w as in h erited b y a y o u n g e r p o et fro m h is m asters sim ply as an aspect - an integral
and insep arab le aspect, to b e sure - o f a trad itio n al tech n iq u e o f m aking non -w ritten v e rse .”40
A cco rd in g to Z w ettler, th e 3i cgaz (“in im ita b ility ”) o f th e Q u r’an lies in the fact that th e oral-
37 Rudolph Geyer, “R eview o f V ollers’ ‘V olkssprache u n d Schriftsprache in alten A rabian, G ottingische g elehrte
A nzeigen 171 (1909): 15-19 & 54. For a concise summary o f the opposing view, see Chaim Rabin, “cArabiyya,” in
The E ncyclopaedia o f Islam (1987), 1:564.
38 Zwettler, 19 7 8 ,9 8 -1 8 8 .
39 See M ilman Parry, The M aking o f H o m eric Verse: The C ollected P a p ers o f M ilm an Parry, ed. Adam Parry (Oxford:
Clarendon Press, 1971), 326-329. Zwettler’s theory is an extended version o f a hypothesis proposed earlier by James
Monroe in M onroe, J., “Oral Com position in Pre-Islamic Poetry” in Journal o f A ra b ic L iterature 3 (1972) 1-53.
40 Zwettler, 1978, 170.
45
fo rm u laic d ictio n w as h arn essed fo r a ty p e o f co m p o sitio n th at lay fa r o u tsid e the trad itional
d om ain o f fu sh a .
If w e turn o u r atten tio n to al-M ah ra, w e can apply th ese view s on the origin and the usage
o f th e A rab ic fu sh a to o u r o w n data. M y ow n experien ce gen erally co n cu rs w ith M o n ro e ’s and
Z w e ttle r’s an aly sis o f A rabicfusha b u t w ith one slight adjustm ent: rath e r than d efin in g the M ahri
fu sh a as th e sty listic d ictio n o f M ahri p o etry in g eneral, it is m ore a ccu rately d escrib ed as the
d ictio n o f o n e sp ecific g en re o f p oetry w ith in a la rg e r system o f poetics. B efore m o ving to that
co n clu sio n , I w o u ld lik e to relate h o w ex a ctly the M ahri fu sh a w as d escribed to m e sin ce m uch o f
w hat w as said ab o u t M ahri is so clearly evo cativ e o f the preced in g acco u n ts o f A rabic fu sh a w ith
o n e im p o rtan t d istin ctio n : in th e absence o f reco rd ed tex ts, there is v irtu a lly no w ay to “p ro v e ”
th e q u ality o f a fu sh a p erfo rm an ce ag ain st an o th er recorded m odel.
IV . P aram eters o f M ah ri Fusha:
M ahri fu sh a w as g en erally d escrib ed to m e as a sociolect, th at is, as an idiom
c h aracteristic o f a sp ecific social group w h eth er it w as based on geo g rap h y , age o r liv elih o o d . I
n ev er h eard o f th e M ah ri fu sh a described according to strictly m echanical features such as
p h o n o lo g y o r m o rp h o lo g y . T here is no e q u iv alen t to the °icrab in M ahri and th erefo re the
co m p ariso n b etw een A rab ic fu sh a and M ahri fu sh a loses this strictly form al p o in t o f co n g ru en ce.
In al-G h ay d h a itself, I h eard som e M ah ra associate fu sh a M ahri w ith the M ahri dialect o f Q isn,
ap parently lin k in g the h isto ric c e n te r o f M ah ri po litical p o w e r w ith lin g u istic p restig e. T h ere m ay
b e a p ractical b a sis fo r this claim : the court o f the cA frari S ultanate o f Q isn and S o q o tra attracted
the p erfo rm an ce o f p o e try in th e co urse o f its daily bu sin ess. E choes o f this po etic cu ltu re can be
felt today d esp ite th e d im in ish ed c ircu m stan ces o f Q isn. R esp ected p o ets are found in g reater
n um bers in Q isn than elsew h ere, although a n u m b er o f them are p ast the age o f active
46
co m p o sitio n and re m e m b e r o n ly a fraction o f w h a t w as once a m ore v ib ra n t p o etic culture.
D u rin g a v isit to Q isn, I receiv ed a list o f p o ets - b o th deceased and still liv in g - from the
D irecto r o f C u ltu re fo r th e D istrict o f Q isn, B ahit S alim al-G idhi. E x clu d in g the p o ets w ho only
d istin g u ish ed th em selv es in A rab ic p o etry , this list in clu d ed eleven d eceased p o ets and thirteen
liv e p o ets, (in clu d in g th e last cA frarf S ultan, M u h a m m ad CA1I, his co usin and w azlr (“a d v iso r”),
S a cId CA1I, and the son o f th e w azlr and last scion o f the cA frari dynasty, DA h m ad Sa°Id b.
cA frar).41 It w ould b e im p o ssib le to find a sim ilarly con cen trated p o p u latio n o f p o ets and ruwah
(“tran sm itters” ) elsew h ere in a l-M a h ra w ith the p o ssib le exception o f al-G h ay d h a, w hich in
recent tim es has b e co m e a m ag n et fo r all cu ltural activ ity in al-M ahra. F in a lly , if I w ere to
n o m in ate a M ahri e q u iv alen t to the A rabic m u callaqa o f Im ru 3 al-Q ays as a p rim a ry text, the ode
b e g in n in g “A to p th e P eak o f T a rb u t” co m p o sed b y Sa°id b ir L a ctayt a l-G id h i from the
b ack co u n try o f Q isn w o u ld tak e the h o n o r.42 T his p o em w as the one p o em th at I h eard repeated
in d ifferen t reco rd in g se ssio n s and seem s to b e a referen ce p o in t fo r later com p o sers o f tribal-
h isto rical odes.
T he p o etry that I co llected in Q isn w as q u alitativ ely different from the p o e try that I
c o llected elsew h ere. S ince the p o etry recited by o r in th e p resence o f the S u lta n ’s re p resen tativ es
articulated social and h isto rical o b lig atio n s, th e style and the m otifs o f co u rt po etry are im bued
w ith an au ra o f trad itio n and ex p ressed in the solem n, stylized lines o f trip artite, ragzlt v erse.43
T he p oetry rem em b ered b y the ruwah o f Q isn had b een com posed fo r p u b lic co n su m p tio n and is
co n cerned w ith cu rren t affairs; th at is, it is “o c ca sio n a l” and n o n-them e b ased. On the o th er side
41 In its entirety, this list includes: (d ecea sed ) Muhammad CA1I ‘Afrar. Sa‘id cA li ‘Afrar. Sa‘id Lactavt al-Gidhi. Salim
Kabot al-Gidhi, Sa‘d ‘A ll Garwat al-Gidhi. M as‘ud ‘A sam al-Gidhi, cA li ‘Awdat al-6id h l, Muhammad ‘Awdat al-
GidhT, M uham m ad B ahit Salim , S a cId H asan b ir H aydar, cA n b a r al-H arezI; (living) ‘A hm ad CA1T SaT d ‘A frar. cA w dat
‘A ll ‘Awdat. 1Ah mad CA1I cAwdat. Hasan Salim Ba ‘Abbat, Salim Bahit Salim , Muhammad Sa‘ Id al-HarezI, ‘A ll
Muhammad N uw ega‘ , Sa‘Id Barq S a‘rar, Salim Sa‘d M a‘not, Muhammad Sa‘d Garwat, ‘Abdallah Sa‘d ZuwedI,
Muhammad Solim Qabtl, ‘Am ir Salim Salmotin and ‘Isa S a ‘Id D am om ak. The underlined nam es are included in this
dissertation.
“Tar Qatari w -ta r b u f’ (Chapter 3, C). Bir La‘tayt is one o f tw o ragzlt poets who merits special mention by ‘A ll b.
Muhsin A1 Hafiz: “Ibn La‘tayt, o f the tribe o f Bayt GIdah and their cam ps in Qisn and its hinterlands, is a ragaz poet o f
reknown amongst the Mahra, on account o f the impression he left on tribe and society” ( ‘Alt M uhsin A1 Hafiz, M in
lahagat “M a h ra ” w a-adabiha [Musqat: Magallat al-Nahda al-'U m anlya, 1987], 69).
43 This genre will be examined in more detail in Chapter 3.
47
o f the co in , I w as to ld that it w as n e v e r ap p ro p riate fo r th e Sultan to co m p o se gazal p o etry .44 T he
g enre o f ragzlt trib al odes is w id ely reg a rd e d by the M ah ra as lying clo se st to th e ir co re id entity
since it c o m m u n icates th e ethical code o f the M ahri tribesm en: w hat is accep tab le in w ar and
peace and w h a t is not. F o rm ally speaking at least, it h as no co u n terp art in A rabic p o etics and is
seen as th e stan d ard -b earer o f th e sh ared cultural p atrim o n y o f al-M ahra.45 G iven the esteem that
is aw arded to ragzlt p o etry and the c o n cen tratio n o f ragzlt p erform ances in Q isn, it is easy to
u n d erstan d w hy Q isn has assu m ed a rep u tatio n fo r fusha.
H o w ev er, th e eq u atio n o f Q isn w ith fu sh a flies in the face o f p h o n o lo g ic al in n o v atio n s in
th e Q isn d ialect th at are ack n o w led g ed b y the m ajo rity o f M ahri speakers as u n o rig in a l.46
A d d itio n ally , p rio r to th e ex p an sio n o f al-G h ay d h a as th e capital o f the G o v e m a te o f al-M ahra,
Q isn w as th e focal p o in t o f in teractio n b etw een A rab ic and M ahri cultu re and society. Indeed, the
co m p o sitio n o f A rab ic p o e try in co urt circles d o u b tless took p recedence o v e r the co m p o sitio n o f
M ahri p o e try . It w as o n ly w ith ra th e r po in ted search in g that I w as able to p ro v o k e recitatio n s o f
M ahri trib al-h isto rical o d es; A rabic w as clearly the p referred and still v en erated lan g u ag e o f
official p o e tic d isco u rse. F o r n ative attitudes tow ards M ahri fusha, th is has a dual co n sequence.
O n o n e h an d , A rab ic p rin cip les o f balaga, the flesh and b lo o d o f the fu sh a id eo lo g y , trick led into
th e co n scio u sn ess o f M ahri sp eakers fro m Q isn; on the o th er hand, the M ahri po etic lan guage o f
Q isn h a s b een d ilu ted . T his re su lts in a p aradox: A rabic b o th creates and n eg ates M ahri fush a .
T he in filtratio n o f A rab ic train in g and A rabic co n cep tio n s o f lan g u ag e u se are ev ident in
a tribal ode b y S aT d b ir L a ctay t al-G id h l (C h ap ter 3, C ). B ir L a cta y t’s h o m e d istric t o f Q isn
em p h asizes th is claim : B ir L a ctay t w as d o u b tless far m ore fam iliar w ith the A rab ic lan g u ag e and
A rab ic p o etics than a p o et o f the sam e generation from H a w f or S oqotra, fo r in stan ce. T hus, B ir
L a ctayt reck o n s th e act o f p o etizin g along the lines sim ilar o f a schooled and literate A rabic-
44 ’Ahmad SacId bir cAfrar, taped interview, Q isn, 1/2004.

45 The formal aspects o f this genre w ill be described in Chapter 3.
46 A s described in Chapter 1, this includes the loss o f laryngeal / 7 , the realization o f all interdental fricatives as dental
stops, the unconditioned shift o f the palatal frictive /j/ to an occlusive /g / and the general degradation o f the ejective
feature into creaky voice.
48
lan g u ag e p o et. In h is ode, B ir L a°tay t d o es n o t m erely snatch up the ap p ro p riate p h rases as they
arise from w ith in h is b reast, rath er, he sy stem atically w eighs each p h rase fo r its m etrical value in
o rd e r to c o n stru c t “a learn ed m e lo d y ” (alehan matllm). H is choice o f w ords is d o u b tless
reflectiv e o f A rab ic m o d es o f p o e tic craftsm an sh ip : m atllm (“lea rn e d ”) is deriv ed fro m the A rabic
sem antic d o m ain o f C.L .M . and n o t fro m the M ah ri do m ain o f C.L.M ., w hich is restricted to
c a m e l-b ran d in g .47
C o n tra d ic to ry o p in io n s reg ard in g th e Q isn dialect clo sely parallel the am b ig u o u s, if not to
say co n v o lu ted , re la tio n sh ip o f A rabic fu sh a to the dialect o f Q urays. In al-M ahra, w e find the
sam e im p u lse to co n n ect social and p o litic al p restig e w ith lin guistic e x cellen ce and at the sam e
tim e, th is im p u lse is tem p ered b y the rec o g n itio n th at p o litica l prestig e goes han d -in -h an d w ith a
lo ss o f cultu ral and lin g u istic iso latio n ; in o th e r w ords, “p u rity .” W e even find that the
sh o rtco m in g s o f th e Q isn d ialect are m irro red in the A rab ic dialect o f Q urays; the loss o f / 7 and
/ 7 in th e d ialects o f Q isn and Q urays resp ec tiv ely stand o u t in this regard.
A s w e h a v e seen , Q urays ra re ly c o m p ared fav o rab ly w ith the o th e r tribes in term s o f
lin g u istic elo q u en ce; th is w as p a rtic u la rly true w h en e v er the co m p ariso n in v olved the “m ore
b e d o u in ” d ialects fro m E astern A rab ia. T his p a rt o f the equation h o ld s true fo r al-M ah ra as
w ell. T h e in lan d b e d o u in d ialects o f al-M ah ra are assig n ed the label o f fu sh a in ap p aren t
co n trad istin ctio n to the d ialect o f Q isn. T his d esig n atio n m ay carry b e tte r logic fo r am ateu r
M ahri p h ilo lo g ists sin ce th e in lan d dialects o f al-M ah ra un iq u ely p re serv e the laryngeal / 7 and
are, as a w h o le, le ss in flu e n c e d b y co n tem p o rary A rabic. M o reo v er, like classical im ag in in g s o f
A rabic fusha, th e in lan d d ialects are asso ciated w ith a b e d o u in pasto ralist lifesty le and are rep lete
48
w ith th eir sp ecialist v o cab u lary and in tim a te g eo graphical reck o n in g s. Just as w ithin the
47Johnstone, 1987, 22. A ccording to Johnstone, the root C.L.M has tw o distinct, yet ultimately related, semantic
domains: “knowing/learning” and “camel branding.” The former domain is probably imported from Arabic usage since
the unmarked domain for “know ing” in Mahri is covered by another, unrelated root, G.R.B. (Johnstone, 1987, 140).
48 For example, tw o lines from the tribal ode by Tannaf bir S acd Hamtot (Chapter 4 , A ), epitom ize the geographical
intimacy o f “fu s h a ” Mahri poetry: yatw tw an l-m agtek / / la-m gdbbdt alut (“They set ou tforW ad i M agtek, at the very
end o f the mountains before the sandy desert” [A: 18]) and ydhliil b-hafgug / / wa-mgawtafc w -gafliit (‘T h ey live in the
wadis o f H afgug, and [its feeder ravines of] Mgawtak and Gaffut” [A:39]). Both o f these lines presented some
49
b ro ad er A rab ian m ilieu , w e find a sentim ental b ias am o n g st the M ahra to w a rd s the so c iety o f
b ed o u in p asto ralists; a sim ilar in terest d o es n o t attach to fisherm en and ag ricu ltu ralists. It should
com e as n o surprise, then, to find the id e a o f fu sh a M ahri applied to M ahri b e d o u in and n ot, fo r
in stan ce, to fish erm en o r h o rtic u ltu ralists from H aw f.
A lo n g sid e these geo g rap hical con sid eratio n s, fu sh a M ahri is d istrib u ted on a gen eratio n al
b asis to o ld e r sp eak ers o f M ah ri. T he reaso n s fo r this are q u ite sim ple: the eld erly speak an o lder
id io m o f th e lan g u ag e and th e ir M ahri, w ith the exception o f th e Q isn d ialect, is p ro b a b ly less
in filtrated b y A rab ic w ords and exp ressio n s. L ike the b e d o u in dialects, this v ersio n o f fu sh a
M ahri can b e ch aracterized b y an ab u n d an ce o f p recisio n term in o lo g y fo r an o b so lete m aterial
cultural th at is all b u t in accessib le to y o u n g er M ahra, (just as the cell p h o n e ja rg o n o f y o u n g
M ah ra is in co m p re h e n sib le to th eir g ran d p a re n ts).49 H ag g liked to describ e his fa th e r as a sp eaker
o f fu sh a M ah ri an d b ra g g e d that no one co u ld und erstan d him . N o tw ith stan d in g the jo k e , H agg
e n joy ed c o llectin g rare v o cab u lary, M ahri garlb, and found h is father to b e a good so urce o f
them . A s a p ractical m atter, I w as g en erally steered to w ard s o lder M ah ra w hen co llectin g poetry.
W h ile m ost w ere co n sid ered the best ex em p lars o f the M ahri p o etic trad itio n , it w a sn ’t alw ays
cle a r to y o u n g e r M ah ra w hat ex actly they had recited due to a c o m b in atio n o f p o o r d eliv ery ,
m em o ry lap ses and o u t-o f-fash io n vo cab u lary . I suspect that this very in c o m p re h en sib ility o f
o ld er in fo rm an ts len t it an aura o f fasaha.
C o n v ersely , H agg d escrib ed fu sh a M ahri in optim al term s as a com m on idiom
co m p reh en sib le to all M ahra, reg ard less o f local dialect. W h ile this view co n trad icts the
p ercep tio n o f th e “ a n tiq u e” that h ov ers aro u n d the fu sh a M ahri o f the bed o u in o r o ld er
in fo rm an ts, it co n fo rm s m ore clo sely to the co n tem porary sch o larsh ip on fu sh a A rab ic th at view s
difficulty to translate since it w asn’t clear whether the geographical features are proper nam es or descriptive features.
For the target audience, these names or descriptions were doubtless very m uch alive and filled with meaning; for my
informants from al-Ghaydha, they were mainly an headache.
49Alexander Sima, (University o f Heidelburg), took particular pleasure in collecting the nearly obsolete term inology o f
the material culture o f the Mahri Sarqlya and w as in the process o f com piling a lexical appendix to his Mahri grammar
when he died. He shared a few o f these item s with m e during our last m eeting and I hope that his word list, as w ell as
his Mahri grammar, w ill one day be published.
50
it as a su p ra-trib al, p o etic koine. T his is the guise o f M ahri fusha th at H agg attributes to h is ow n
p o e tic d ictio n . In short, H agg striv es a fte r a sim ple style th at he hopes is ac cessib le to the larg est
au d ien ce p o ssib le; h e d o es n o t shy aw ay from A rabic b u t view s “M ah ricized ” A rabic as an
a ccep tab le p art o f his p o e try . A lin g u istic ch au v in ist o f sorts, H agg ratio n alizes his in clu sio n o f
A rab ic ro o ts and A rab ic c aiq u es in to h is verse by assu m in g the antecedence o f the M ahri
lan g u ag e to A rabic. H is b o rro w in g s from A rabic are ju stifie d as b ac k -b o rro w in g s in to th eir
“o rig in a l” lan g u ag e. F o r in stan ce, his gazal qasida, “M aw ti w a-hyoti h e t” (“Y ou A re T he D eath
o f M e, Y ou A re M y L ife ”) is tra n sp a re n t fro m a lex ical and gram m atical p ersp ec tiv e; an A rabic
sp eak er w o u ld h av e n o p ro b lem fo llo w in g the g ist o f th e po em , particu larly w hen spelled out in
th e A rabic ch aracters as it is in th e Diwan o f H agg D ak o n .50
H agg refers to h is c h a ra c teristic po etic dictio n as kalam raqiq, (“d elicate sp eech ” ). T his
p h rase d istin g u ish e s th e sty listic clarity and co m m u n ality o f his diwan fro m the clannish
ch au v in ism and machismo o f tribal p o etry . H a g g ’s style is im itative o f hum ayni po etry , a genre
o f Y em en i ly ric v erse that is ex p ressed in a h ig h -c o llo q u ial idiom and is a fo rm a tiv e feature o f the
Y em eni cu ltu ral la n d sc a p e .51 In d eed , H agg e x p licitly ack n ow ledges h is d eb t to contem porary
Y em eni su n g -p o etry (i.e., hum ayni p o etry ) by claim ing the H adram f p o e t, H u sayn al-M ihdar, as
h is artistic in sp ira tio n .52 T h is is a critical c o n n ectio n fo r H agg since hum ayni p o etry , th o u g h it
d ev iates from Halilian m etrics and lacks the 'i'rd b o f p o e try co m posed in the classicized nabati
and hakam i styles, still bears an aura o f so p h isticatio n and m annered self-co n scio u sn ess. In al-
M u cgam al-yam ani f i al-luga wal-turaf, (“The Yemeni Encyclopedia o f Language and H erita g e’’),
w e find th at hum ayni p o e ts are ch aracterized “b y a certain share o f skilled ac q u isitio n ( al-
50 “m a w tl w a-h yo tl h et / / a:n tsa h b a r w -la ’a m e r " (Appendix B, L).

51 The etym ology o f h u m a y n i has never been satisfactorily resolved. A m ongst the possibilities are him yari
(“Himyarite”), hum ayya (“w ine”), hum ayll, (“a rapid trot”), and even an undocumented tribe: H um ayn (see cAbd al-
cAzIz al-Maqalih, S i‘r a l- cam m lya fia l- Y a m a n [Beirut: Dar al-cAw da, 1978], 113-121 and Mutahhar °AII al-DIryant,
a l-M u ‘gam a l-ya m a n i f i al-luga w a l-tu r a f [Damascus: al-Matbaca al-Tlm lya, 1996], 197-200). Extrapolating a
meaning for hum a yn i from the root H .M .N . (“to be fluent, easy” [M oshe Piamenta, D ictio n a ry o f P o st-C lassical
Yem eni A ra b ic [Leiden: E.J. Brill, 19 9 0 ), 1:108]) runs the risk o f circular reasoning. The influence o f hum a yn i poetry
on the diction o f Mahri sung-poetry will be discussed in Chapter 5.
52Taped interview, al-Ghaydha, 8/2004.
51
talaqqa ) and ed u catio n ( a l-ta cllm ) to the deg ree th a t th ey are described in biog rap h ical b o o k s as
sch o lars ( a l-culam a:>), m e n -o f-le tters ( ’udaba ') and e m in e n t p o ets (al-suca r d ‘ a l-a clam ).”5i
H a g g ’s v iew o f fa sih M ahri p o etry , (as is ev id en t in his diwan), is that it is im ita tiv e o f
humayni, A rabic su n g -p o etry an d is in d icativ e o f “a cu ltural and ed u catio n al b a c k g ro u n d .”54 A ll
to ld , this sty listic d ictio n is m ean t to con v ey an u rb a n e ly ricism as opp o sed to the declam ato ry
b o ld n e ss o f th e tribal o d es. W e fin d th at H a g g ’s p o sitio n is in accord w ith the sen tim en t o f Ibn
GinnT, al-G u m ah l and th e o th e r classical A rab ic sc h o lars w ho criticized b e d o u in po etry as coarse
and u n refin ed , and h eld u rb an p o ets to a h ig h er stan d ard o f artistry.
D esp ite H a g g ’s e q u atio n o f kalam raqiq w ith M ahri fu sh a , I h av e p rev io u sly m entioned
th e p ercep tio n th at M ah ri fu sh a w as co n n ected to th e p erfo rm an ce o f trad itio n al trib al-h isto rical
o des called ragzit. R agzit c o u p le ts are the b u ild in g b lo ck s o f lo n g e r co m p o sitio n s called odd wa-
krem krem a fte r th e in v o c a tio n th at ro u tin ely sets th e stage fo r the recitatio n to follow . In al-
M ah ra, o d i w a-krem krem p o e m s are central to se lf-p ercep tio n s o f regional id en tity since these
p o em s n arrate the p a st and p re se n t o f a l-M a h ra acco rd in g to the co n flicts, alliances and treaties
th at defin e p u b lic life. T h ese p o em s acco m p an y th e giv e-an d -tak e o f M ahri tribal p o litics and are
b y d efau lt alm o st e x c lu siv e ly M ahri in co n ten t and form . I f w e und erstan d fu sh a M ahri as an
id io m th a t is q u in te sse n tia lly M ah ri, then th e tribal o d es o u g h t to b e its p o etic counterpart.
L en d in g w eig h t to th e g en eratio n al v iew o f fu sh a , the p erfo rm an ce o f od i w a-krem krem
p o etry h as b eco m e m o re c irc u m sc rib e d in the la st few decades as b o th the P D R Y and Y A R h av e
a ttem p ted to q u ell trib al p ro v o c a tio n s and su p p lan t tribal a ffiliatio n s w ith national ones. A s a
resu lt, o n ly o ld e r p o e ts te n d to e n g ag e in this g en re and odi wa-krem krem p o em s are in fused w ith
the cadences, in flectio n s an d v o cab u lary o f o ld e r gen eratio n s. N ot only is the n u m b e r o f poets
cap ab le o f p e rfo rm in g th is g en re d w in d lin g , b u t so are th e tribal conflicts that are the topical
m ain stay o f th is genre.
53 al-3lryanl, 1996, 199.

54 David Sem ah, “The Poetics o f H um ayni Poetry in Y em en,” Jerusalem Studies in A ra b ic an d Islam 11 (1988): 225.
52
T he a ffiliatio n o f M ahri fu sh a to odi w a-krem krem (and ragzlt) gives us som ething
con crete to w ork w ith i f w e w ant to specify w hat, ex a ctly , m ig h t be evoked in the co n cep t o f
fu sh a M ah ri. H an d -in -h an d w ith its gen erically o ld -fa sh io n ed lexicon, ragzlt p o e try is b u ilt o f a
n u m b e r o f co n v en tio n al p h rases and them es. O ne c o n v en tio n al phrase is the op en in g lin e itself,
“o d i w a-krem krem ,” w hich th e M ah ra are fa m iliar w ith b u t m ight be h ard -p ressed to re n d e r in
A rabic. A lth o u g h I h av e tran slated “odi w a-krem krem ” as “I b eg in w ith T he N o b le and The
G en ero u s” (C h a p te r 3, A :l, C h a p ter 5, C :14), this tra n sla tio n is d o u b tless a p erip h ra sis derived
from co n tex t; Dodl w as also e x p lain ed to m e as a substitu te fo r bism illah (“In the n am e o f G o d ”).
In all lik e lih o o d , °odl is an im p e rativ e o f a verb wodl, awodl, w hich is defined in A lfred J a h n ’s
index as “ die Religionspflichten e rfu lle n ” 55 S ign ifican tly , no n e o f m y M ahri info rm an ts w ere
able to su p p ly a literal o r ety m o lo g ical ex p lan atio n o f ’od i b u t m erely reg ard ed it as a p io u sly
o p aq u e in tro d u c to ry form ula. In ad d itio n to 3odi w a-krem krem, w e can iso late o th e r ex p ressio n s
th at are a p art o f the o ral-fo rm u laic re p erto ire and th u s co n stitu tiv e o f M ahri fu sh a .
S u b seq u en t to the p io u s inv o catio n , a tra d itio n al ragzlt zeroes in on the p o e t and explains
w here h e is and in w hat em o tio n al state. T he n a rrativ e fo rm ulae o f ragzlt o ffer a vo cab u lary and
co n v en tio n al set o f m o tifs to acco m p lish this task. F o r exam ple, a cool sea b ree ze ( m dlt, “the
S outh W in d ”) appears in co n trast w ith the p o e t’s ow n h eated em otions: hay bis am dlt (“w elcom e
to you, sea-b reeze” [C h ap ter 6, C :l] ) , w a-tw oram am dlt (“the sea-breeze com es soon afterw ard s”
[A ppendix C, D :3]) and w a-m dlt man am tla / / am haw gas ankasut (“T hen the sea b reeze from the
S outh stirred u p strong fe e lin g s” [C hapter 4, A :4]). O r, the m dlt can b e re fe rred to elliptically:
“hal m g a w rld -rlh a yn ” (“w h ere the w ind -cu rren ts flo w ” [C hapter 3, C :l] ) . T he b reeze alw ays
fin d s th e p o et on a hill o r m o u n tain to p w here he has so u g h t solace fro m the d istractio n s o f the
w orld b elo w . In a p o em b y S alim M u tic b ir Z a ctlt al-S u lay m l, this elev ated van tag e p o in t is
found on th e flan k s o f the m o u n tain o f K arm aym H aw ro t (C hapter 5, C :14). S a cId b ir L a ctayt on
55 ‘T o fulfill a religious duty” (Jahn, 1902, 234). Johnstone translates 'odi, 'aw odl as “to bring,” deriving it from Ar.
’adda, y u 'a d d i (Johnstone, 1987, 421).
53
th e o th er h and starts on “th e p eak o f T arb u t” (“far kb tan w -tarbut” [C hapter 3, C: 1]). In k eep in g
w ith th e recu rren t m o tif o f a refu g e in M ahri verse (C h ap ter 3, E :1 1-14; C h ap te r 5 , C :15, et a i),
m gaw rl d-rlhayn (“w h ere th e w in d s-cu rren ts flo w ” ) fro m the poem by B ir L a ctay t w as
u n d erstan d d iffe re n tly b y a second in fo rm an t, S alim L u h ay m ar al-Q u m ay rl, w ho tran sm itte d an
iso ch ro n ic v ariant: m gaw nl d-rlhayn (“a shelter from th e w in d s”).56
In ad d itio n to h ig h reg ister p h rases and e x p ressio n s, p e rh ap s w e o u ght to add tw o
assev erativ e p a rtic le s to o u r list o f M ahri fu sh a co n stituents. O ne is lawb w hich, lik e 'odi wa-
krem krem, serv es to set a lo fty rheto rical to n e fo r the fo llo w in g n a rra tiv e .57 F o r in stan ce, tw o
p oem s b y °Isa K ad h ay t fro m G adab start w ith an inv o catio n to the setting sun in tro d u ced by
law b : lawb gaw nas hyom and lawb g o n a sh yu m (“ O S un, you h av e set” [C hapter 3, D:1 and
C h ap ter 4, B :l] ) . A n o th e r p article in the p o e t’s to o l-k it is d:r, used to signal topical tran sitio n s.
M ahri p o e try is re p le te w ith this particle: “ d -d :rh d h m hdntayb ’’(“I ’m ju s t talk in g n o n se n se”
[C hapter 4, G :1 6 ]) and “d r soldm h m e d ” (“M ay G od strengthen H m ed ” [A ppendix C , C :4]) are
ju s t tw o ex am p les. T h is p article serves the p u rp o se o f fillin g out th e syllable count o f a lin e o f
v erse and ex p lain s its freq u en t o ccu rren ce in p o etry . L ik e lawb, a:r also appears in the n arrativ e
tex ts co llected b y th e S iidarabische E x p ed itio n and Jo h n sto n e. H ow ever, these texts should be
co n sid ered as ex am p les o f sem i-form al sp eech rath er than strictly casual speech. C ertain ly lawb
and a:r are far less freq u en t in natural sp eech than they are in p rose tex ts collected by p rev io u s
research ers o r in p o etry co llected by m yself.
H aving assem b led a ran g e o f n ativ e co n cep tio n s reg ard in g M ahri “fu sh a ,” I b eliev e that
w e are on safe g ro u n d if u n d erstand it as a system o f p o etic m otifs, fo rm u las and p erfo rm an ce
56 The root o f m gaw nl, G .N .C., signifies both the setting o f the sun and warmth, {hagne: “to warm” & sagne: “to get
warm” [Johnstone, 1987, 121]). It is from this latter sense that m g a w n l gets its m eaning as a refuge; its primary
signification is a shelter from the wind and the cold. The extension o f m g a w n l from wind shelter to a general refuge is
demonstrated in a dandan couplet com posed by a poet from Hbes:
H a m d u lillah lek a l-h a m d / s i m g a w n l m an afraw f / / fiazam y a lh a k P la :/b -la g llg w -bd:tl h a w f
Praise to God, to You is Praise / 1 have a refuge from fear // The enem y can’t com e near m e / at Lagllg or the
regions o f H aw f
57 Law b does appear in the Mahri prose narratives collected by Johnstone in Oman, (Stroomer, 1999, 86 and passim)-,
however the formulaic usage in these two poem s should be regarded as a departure from normal usage.
54
m odes th at c lu ste r aro u n d th e ragzit and ’od i w a-krem krem genres. T hese m o tifs, fo rm u las and
p erfo rm an ce m odes are, to u se th e te rm in o lo g y o f p e rfo rm a n c e theory, th e “k e y s” th at fram e
trib al-h isto rical o d es.58 In sh o rt, lawb, a:r, mdlt, mgawnl, et al. send the m eta -co m m u n icativ e
m essag e th at a cu ltu rally sig n ifican t p e rfo rm a n ce is in th e w orks. F o r th e ir part, the audience is
c o n d itio n ed to receiv e the ragzlt w ith the so lem n ity and reg a rd ap p ro p riate to n arra tio n s that
c o n stru ct, d issect and im p art th e fu n d am e n tal v a lu es o f the M ahri tribal order. T he w eighted
lan g u ag e o f histo rical n arrativ es, the tribal code th at is tran sm itted and the h eig h ten ed recep tiv ity
o f the a u d ien ce co m b in e to c reate a p e rfo rm a n c e w hose en tire atm o sp h ere should b e called
“fu sh a .” T h e b ro a d d eg ree to w hich in terp re ta tio n s o f fu sh a - M ahri and A rab ic - fin d div erg en t
ex p lan atio n s d em o n strates th at an ex clu siv e focus on p h ilo lo g y m ay m isin fo rm inq u iries in to the
fo rm u latio n o f th e A rab ic fu sh a . O nce w e d ec o n stru ct th e ideological fram ew o rk , w e d isc o v e r
that fu sh a is an atm o sp h ere o f e x p e cta tio n s th at em b rac es b o th the aud ien ce and the p e rfo rm e r o f
a M ahri ragzlt o r A rab ic qaslda', th is is the fu sh a th at co m m en tato rs, classical and co n tem p o rary ,
h av e stru g g led to describ e.
In th is case o f M ah ri, w e can affo rd to b e m ore specific about w here th is fu sh a
atm o sp h ere b e g in s and w h ere it ends. In a M ah ri co n tex t, the ex p ectatio n o f fu sh a gath ers around
p erfo rm an ces o f ragzlt v erse and o th e r v e rsio n s o f the tribal-h isto rical ode. C o n v ersely , strophic
p o etry an d ly ric p o etry are d isq u a lifie d fro m th e fu sh a category. T his po sitio n , h o w ever,
c o n trad icts H a g g ’s v iew on th e to p ic and w e sh o u ld therefo re take a b rie f m o m en t to reconcile
these tw o accounts. O nce again, w e w ill take the A ra b ic /u s/td as o u r starting p o in t. C o n current
w ith the esta b lish m e n t o f A rab ic p rin t m e d ia o v e r the last century and a half, A rabic fu sh a itse lf
has u n d erg o n e a p ro cess o f d e m o cra tiz atio n and has em erg ed in this era o f m ass co m m unication
as a strip p ed -d o w n v ersio n o f itself: M o d e m S tan d ard A rabic. T his p ro cess has been accelerated
58 i.^n franljng then, including performance, is accom plished through the em ploym ent o f culturally conventionalized
metacommunication. In empirical terms, this means that each speech community will make use o f a structured set o f
distinctive com m unicative m eans from am ong its resources in culturally conventionalized and culture-specific w ays to
key the performance frame, such that all com m unication that takes place within the frame is to be understood as
performance within that com munity” (Richard Baumann, V erbal A rt a s Perform ance [Prospect Heights: W aveland
Press, 1977], 16).
55
in the last p art o f th e 2 0 th cen tu ry w ith the c o m m en cem en t o f m andatory sch o oling, rad io
b ro ad casts and fin a lly , in telev ised b ro ad casts. It is safe to say that the m ajority o f A rabic
speakers are n o w p a rtic ip a n ts in the fo rm u la tio n o f a “n e o -fusha,” fo r w hom in c lu siv en ess is the
p rio rity . In v ie w o f social and lin g u istic dev elo p m en ts in the M id d le E a st o v er the last cen tury,
H a g g ’s d ep artu re from th e trad itional fo rm u latio n s o f M ahri fu sh a are co m p reh en sib le in this
light. H ag g alo n e reg u larly p ractices a fo rm o f M ahri literacy; it is then no su rprise th at h e should
b e the first to v ie w M ahri fu sh a w ithin the co n tex t o f a b ro ad e r culture o f literacy in the M iddle
E ast.59
V . The M ahri L an g u ag e in C lassical A rab ic Sources:
H av in g asked w h at M ah ri fu sh a is and in w hat fo rm th is idea ex presses itself, w e still
need to ask w hy th e M a h ra feel o b lig ed to lo cate a M ahri fu sh a w ithin th e ir ow n lan guage
p attern s in th e first p la c e . In o th e r lin g u istic interface zon es w here tw o po etic trad itio n s have
com e in to co n tact, w e do not n ecessarily fin d the im p o rtatio n o f lin g u istic and cu ltural co n cepts
from one tra d itio n in to th e other. W h at m ak es a l-M ah ra p ec u liar in this reg ard ? T o an sw er this
question, w e n eed to lo o k at th e social h isto ry o f the tw o groups in contact.
M ahri, lik e th e o th e r in d ig en o u s lan g u ag es o f the M id d le E ast, has fared b ad ly in the face
o f an A rab ic p re stig e cu ltu re, one o f w h o se d istin g u ish in g features is ov erw h elm in g p rese n ce o f a
c om m on, fu sh a id eo lect. A ny attem pts to reca st local trad itio n s into the m old o f the p re stig e
culture are lik ely to lead to th e id eo lo g y o f a fu sh a dialect, as indeed has been the case fo r M ahri.
T his lin g u istic q u est fo r a u th en ticity can also b e heard in the assertion th at th e M a h ri-lan g u ag e is
59 The expression o f kalam raqiq in lyric sung-poetry is examined in Chapter 5, and as it applies specifically to H agg in
Chapter 6.
56
a “H im y ari lan g u ag e” o r “th e an cien t A rabic la n g u a g e .”60 T o ex p lo re w hy the M a h ra h av e felt
co m p elled to resp o n d to A rab ic lan g u ag e id e o lo g ies, w e need to ex am in e h o w al-M a h ra is
rep resen ted in C lassical A rab ic lin g u istic and g eo g rap h ical texts and w hat, if any, th is can tell us
ab o u t th e eb b and flo w o f A rab -M ahri re latio n s u p to th e present.
T his lead s us to a second m ech an ism o f lan g u ag e id eo lo g y : erasure. T he id eo lo g ic al ro o t
o f the A rab o -Islam ic c o m m o n w ealth is language: the “ o rig in al” A rab ic o f the fu sh a sh ad o w ed by
th e A rabic dialects. N o n -A rab ic lan g u ag es th at lie at th e p eriphery o f the co re M id d le E ast,
(P ersian , T urkish and to a le sse r d eg ree, B erb er), do not ch allenge th is id e o lo g y since they rest
co m fo rtab ly o u tsid e o f A rab ic d o m in io n . L a n g u ag e d iv e rsity w ithin the core A rab ic-sp eak in g
zo n e is m o re p ro b lem atic, alth o u g h w e see th a t A rab ic reactio n s can vary co n sid erab ly . O f the
tw o substrate lan g u ag e g ro u p s still spoken w ithin th e co re M iddle E ast - A ram aic and the
M o d em South A rab ian lan g u ag es - w e find tw o v ery d ifferen t trajecto ries. T he A ram aic
lan g u ag e is w idely re c o g n iz e d th ro u g h o u t the M id d le E ast and b ey o n d as a distin ct, p re -A rab ic
lin g u istic entity. T his is d o u b tle ss due to the n e tw o rk o f asso ciatio n s b etw een A ram aic,
in d ig en o u s M id d le E astern C h ristian ity and the p a rtic u la r reg ard th at Islam h o ld s fo r it. T he
M o d ern South A rab ian lan g u ag es com e w ith no p o sitiv e asso ciations; at b est, M ahri is a living
rem n an t o f fo rg o tten and d isg raced trib es. A lth o u g h the n u m b er o f N eo -A ra m aic speakers m ay
o n ly o u tn u m b er M S A sp eak ers b y 2:1, the M S A la n g u ag es are virtu ally u n reco g n ized besid e
N eo -A ram aic; ev en a l-M a h ra ’s ow n n eig h b o rs in H ad ram aw t rarely rec o g n ize the lin g u istic
in d ep en d en ce o f M S A .61
60 The attempt o f Mahri scholarship to ‘back-date” the M SA languages, (whether through associations with the
Himyarite kingdom s o f pre-Islam ic Yemen or with the m ythical kingdom o f cAd), is exam ined in Chapter 5, section
VI: “Sem itic P hilology in al-Mahra.”
61 According to Sim eone-Senelle, the number o f M SA speakers should be put at around 157,000: Mahri - 150,000,
Gibball - 5,000, Soqotri - 50,000, Harsusl - 600 and inconsequential numbers o f Bathari and H obyot speakers
(Sim eone-Senelle, 1997, 378). Based on my own encounters with Gibball speakers, I would say that 5,0 0 0 is much too
small a number, nor does it take into account Gibball speakers living outside o f Dhofar. The number o f Harsusl
speakers is much higher than the 600 estimated by Johnstone since he did not take into account Harsusls workers living
in the G ulf state at the time he did his fieldw ork in the Giddat al-HarasIs. It is virtually im possible to determine the
number o f Neo-Aram aic speakers; too many have dispersed outside o f the M iddle East or assimilated linguistically to
official languages, (including Kurdish in Kurdish-speaking areas). Wolfhart Heinrichs puts the number o f Eastern
Neo-Aram aic speakers at “several hundred thousand speakers altogether” plus seven thousand speakers o f Western
57
I f w e turn to classical A rabic so u rces, w e find the in tellectual u n d erp in n in g s fo r this
disregard. H o w ev er, to exp lain aw ay the M S A la n g u ag es m eans th at th ey n eed ed to b e
reco g n ized at so m e lev el; they c a n ’t b e e rase d w ith o u t b e in g ack n ow ledged first. T he histo rical
reco rd is not co m p letely silen t w here th e M S A lan g u ag e s are co n cern ed . T he earliest
u n am b ig u o u s reco g n itio n th at a) n o n -A rab ic lan g u ag es ex ist in S outhern A rab ia and b ) th a t som e
o f th em are still spo k en east o f H ad ram aw t, is p ro v id ed by A bu M u h am m ad al-H a m d an l (d. ~956
C E ) in Sifat gazlrat a l-carab (“D esc rip tio n o f the A rab P e n in su la”). A l-H a m d an l d isp la y ed a
k een in terest in S o u th A rab ia and w as able to p artia lly d ecip h er O ld S outh A rab ian texts,
(unfo rtu n ately , h is treatise on th e subject: “C o n cern in g the P ro v erb s and W isd o m o f H im y a r in
th e H im y ari L an g u ag e and the A lp h ab et o f th e In sc rip tio n s,” is lo st).62 In offering a geo g rap h ical
b reak d o w n o f S outh A rab ia, h e p resen ts an an aly sis o f th e dialects and languages ( lugat ) spoken
in an area th at ro u g h ly c o rre sp o n d s w ith th e m o d e m Y em en. F o r al-H am d an i, th is is tan tam o u n t
to w hat kind o r quality o f A rab ic w as sp oken. In d e scrib in g the lin g u istic div ersity o f Y em en , he
u ses term s ran g in g fro m c le a r A rab ic (fusha ) to p o o r A rabic ( radV ) and fro m A rabic m ild ly
in flu en ced b y “H im y a ri” (say0 min al-tahm ir) to A rab ic com p letely u n d e r its sw ay ( al-him yarlya
al-quhha).63 W ith o u t ex p lain in g furth er, al-H a m d an l states th at the p e o p le o f M a h ra speak an
in co m p reh en sib le lan g u ag e (gutm ) and re se m b le foreig n ers (a l-cagam [P ersians?]) in th eir
sp eech.64 In his list, o n ly one o th e r lo cale, L o w e r M a cafir, m erits the term gutm. H o w ev er, al-
H am d an l m itig ates th e in c o m p re h e n sib ility o f L o w er M a°afir vis a vis A rabic by statin g that
Neo-Aramaic and 15,000-20,000 speakers o f Central N eo-Aram aic, (Wolfhart Heinrichs, introduction to S tu d ie s in
N eo-Aram aic, ed. Woflhart Heinrichs [Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1990], xi-xii). M ost figures seem to resolve on an
approximate number between 400 ,0 0 0 and 50 0 ,0 0 0 speakers, with a precipitous decline in the number o f primary
speakers expected at the current time.
6 Abu Muhammad al-Hamdanl, al-°Iklil: a l-G u z 7 al-fam in, ed. Nablh Faris (Princeton: Princeton University Press,
1940), 2. The m issing account o f the H imyari language was the ninth volum e o f the ten-volum e a l-Dlklil.
63 Impressions from classical Arabic sources regarding the linguistic status “Himyari” are confused. Ibn Sallam , al-
MuqaddasI, Ibn GinnI, al-FarisI and Ibn Haldun all agree that “Himyari” is distinct from Arabic, (see Rabin, 1951, 49).
However, al-Hamdanl (w ho w as personally familiar with spoken “H imyari”) considers it a dialectal feature within the
Arabic-speaking com m unities o f the Yem eni highlands. Significantly, “Himyari” is never described as gutm .
64 Abu Muhammad al-Hamdanl, S ifa t g azlra t a l- carab, ed. M uhammad a l-:’Akwa‘ (Riyadh: Dar al-Yamama li-‘l-B aT
w a -‘I-Targama w a -‘l-Nasr, 1974), 277.
58
U p p e r M a cafir sp eak s m ore p ro p erly ('amCal), lead in g one to suspect th at the gutm o f L o w e r
M a cafir b o re som e relatio n sh ip to A rabic, u n lik e the gutm o f al-M ah ra.65
In ad d itio n to his catalo g u e o f the Y em eni lan g u ag es/d ialects, al-H am d a n l p ro v id e s an
acco u n t o f the settlem en t o f a fo rt n e a r R ay su t b y A rab s o f th e B anu G udayd o f a l-3A zd , and h o w
they m arried in to (yatazaw w aguna f i d) the M ahri B anu al-T ugra to fo rm a co n fed eracy against
th e M ahri B anu H an zarlt.66 T h is anecdote illu strates tw o in terestin g p o in ts: this first is th at a
fu n d am en tal d iv isio n w ithin M ah ri society into “p u re ” M ahri and “m ix e d ” M ahri w as reco g n ized
in early h isto rical tim e, and th e second treats the assim ilatio n o f A rab p o p u la tio n s by the M ahra
as a h isto rical co m m o n p lace. F in ally, in the first v o lu m e al-°Iklil, al-H am d an l states that the
p ro g en y o f M ah ra b. H aydan are reco rd ed in the arch iv es ( sigill ) o f H aw lan and H im y ar.67
A lth o u g h it is n o t cle a r to m e w hat is m ean t h ere by “arch iv e s,” his rep o rt d em o n strates the
h ered itary ties that su p p o sed ly jo in e d al-M ah ra to H im y ar and the o th er p re -Isla m ic civilizatio n s
o f Y em en.
In terestin g ly , al-H am d an l refers to the p ro g en y o f M ahra b. H aydan in th is c h ap te r as
“Jafsah m a h ra ” (“the m ost e lo q u en t/clear-sp o k en M a h ra ” ).68 W e h av e seen h o w al-H am d an i
uses the term fu sh a as a m easu re o f A rabic fluency and n o th in g else; w e sh o u ld th erefo re avoid
asso ciatin g th is d escrip tio n w ith the treatm en t o f M ahri fu sh a at the start o f this chapter.
P resu m ab ly , al-H am d an i uses th e co m p a ra tiv e fo rm here ( °afsah ) to d istin g u ish betw een one
group o f M ah ra w ho are c ap ab le speakers o f A rab ic and an o th er th at is not, (“the p eo p le o f al-
S ih r and a l-3A s°a Dare not e lo q u en t/clear-sp o k en ; the M a h ra are in co m p reh en sib le [gutm] and
65 al-M acfir, upper and lower, consists o f the south-western com er o f the Yem eni highlands, facing the Tihama.
According to al-Hamdanl, the tribe o f al-Vhrafir bin Y uc fir are descended from Himyar and, in an echo o f reports
about the Mahra, practice sorcery (al-Hamdanl, Sifat g a zlra t a l - ca ra b , 208).
66 al-Hamdanl, Sifat g a zlra t a l- carab, 66-67.
67 Abu Muhammad al-Hamdanl, K itab a l - ’lklll, ed. Muhammad a l-nA kw ac (Cairo: Matba' a al-Sunna al-
Muhammadlya, 1963), 1:193.
68 “From the progeny o f al-Humaysac b. Himyar and the tribes o f Nadagam are al-cUqqar, al-Hunsum, al-cAydI (from
which are derived the ‘aydlya cam els), al-Gayf, al-Tagra1 and al-Qarha3 and these are the most faslh o f the Mahra”
(ibid., 193).
59
th ey resem b le fo re ig n e rs ”).69 T his re in fo rc es o u r in terp retatio n o f the B anI T u g ra-B an l H anzarit
sp lit; in d eed , th e B an u T u g ra sh o w u p in a l-H a m d an l’s list o f “fa sih ” (i.e., A rab ic-sp eak in g )
M ah ri, ju s t as th e y are the g ro u p th at assim ilates A rabs o f the B am G udayd. T hese tw o passag es
d em o n strate th at in early h isto rical tim e, M ah ri society w as d iv id ed into tw o b asic m o ieties: a
pu rely “M a h ri” h a lf and a “m ix ed ” h a lf th at w as m ore fam iliar w ith A rabic.
T h is sets th e tone, m o re o r less, fo r su b sequent treatm en ts o f M o d em S outh A rabian
lan g u ag e, cu ltu re an d society in classical A rabic sch olarship: a b rie f m ention o f al-M ah ra
co n tex tu alized w ith in th e fram ew o rk o f the H im y ari su b strate o f S o uthw est Y em en, fo llo w ed by
a form o f dism issal. In d eed , classical g eo g rap h ers and eth n ographers w ere aw are that the
trib esm en in b e tw e e n H ad ram aw t and O m an spoke a fo reig n language, b u t show ed v ery little
in terest in co llectin g actual data. A t b est, th eo ries w ere raised regarding the o rig in o f th ese
strange, in c o m p re h e n sib le trib esm en . T h e th eo ries co m e in three basic types: the first pro p o ses
th e ir d escen t fro m th e effaced k in g d o m s o f m y thical p re -h isto ry , the second lo o k s fo r an
etio lo g ical a c co u n t o f th e ir p re -h isto ry b ase d on local no m en clatu re, and the third attem pts to
ratio n alize a l-M a h ra th ro u g h g en ealo g y . Ibn a l-M u g aw ir (d. 1204 C E ) offers the first tw o
ap p ro ach es in h is Ta°rlh al-m ustabsir (“T he F ar-S ig h ted H isto ry ” ) and this w ork, the m ost
su b stan tiv e o f its k in d , seem s to h a v e in fo rm ed sub seq u en t descrip tio n s o f al-M ahra. H is
d escrip tio n o f th e M ah ra is w orth q u o tin g in w hole:
CA1I b. M u h am m ad b. DA hm ad a l-S a cI inform ed m e in al-M afalls : Fahd b . cA bdallah

b. R a sid (the S ultan o f H ad ram aw t) in fo rm ed m e, saying: “T he origin o f al-M ah ra is
from al-D ab ad ib w here no p ray e rs w ere e v e r heard . So the C o m m a n d er o f the
F aith fu l, A bu B ak r al-S id d lq (R A A ) sent an arm y to this district b u t the p eo p le o f the
v illag e reb elled again st them and w hen [the soldiers] w ere v icto rio u s o v er the peo p le
o f the v illag e, they set ab out w ith th eir sw ords and d id n ’t stop k illin g them u n til the
b lo o d co n g ealed to th e d epth o f a standing p erso n , such that not a single o n e from
am o n g st th em su rv iv ed e x cep t fo r th ree h u ndred un m arried girls, bedeck ed in
an k lets, b racelets and clo thes. T hey stayed fa st in som e n ear-by m o untains and w hen
th e m o u n tain p eo p le saw th e m , they gave them dow ries [Jamharuhum] and m arried
th em and so th e ir d escen d an ts are th e M ahra.” 0A hm ad b. CA1I bin cA bdallah al-
W a sitl in fo rm ed m e: “T he o rigin o f al-M ah ra is fro m the rem ain in g peo p le o f cA d,
69 “3Ahl a l-s ih r w a - ‘l- 3a s ca ’ laysu b i-fu sa h a \ m ahra gutm yusakiluna a l- ‘a g a m ” (al-Hamdani, Sifat g a zira t a l-'a ra b ,
277).
60
fo r w hen A llah d estro y ed th o se c o m m u n ities, [som e] o f those p eo p le sought refu g e
and settled in the m o u n tain s o f Z u far, the island o f S uqutra and the island o f al-
M asira. T hey are a tall, g o o d -lo o k in g p eo p le w ho h av e a lan g u ag e o f th eir ow n that
n o one u n d erstan d s b u t them . T h ey are c alled al-Sahara and th is n am e can only b e
d erived from th e w o rd “ so rcery ” ( al-sihr ) since th ey are ig n o ran t o f Islam ( al-gahl )
b u t h av e co m m o n sense ( a l-caql ) and a to u ch o f superstition (min al-gunun). T hey
eat the b o u n ty o f A llah w ithout p ra isin g o r th anking H im and w o rsh ip o th e r than
H im .”'70
T his statem en t sets o u t th e basic p rin cip les o f the scholarly d isc o u rse co n cerning al-
M ahra: 1) they are in c o m p a tib le w ith A rab ic-Islam ic h egem ony, (they are gutm and gahl), 2) they
are red u cib le b y e ty m o lo g izin g through A rab ic ( “ Jam haruhum ”), and 3) they are the rem n an t o f a
n atio n overtak en by h isto ry and d iv in e retrib u tio n : the peo p le o f cA d.
T his is b y fa r th e m o st d etailed p re se n tatio n o f the M ah ra that surv iv es from classical
A rab ic sch o larsh ip . M o v in g b e y o n d Ibn a l-M u g a w ir and al-H am danl, w e find that a l-M a scu d i (d.
957 C E ), a l-Istah ri (d. 957 C E ), Ibn H aw q al, (d. 969 C E ), al-M uqaddasI (d. - 1 0 0 0 C E ), al-Idrisi
(d. 1166 C E ), Y aqut (d. 1229 C E ) and Ibn H aldun (d. 1406 C E) have very little in fo rm atio n to
ad d .71 F o r in stan ce, al-IstahrT (w hom Ibn H aw qal qu o tes verbatim ), sum s up his k n o w led g e w ith
the follow ing: the cap ital o f th e M ah ra is al-S ihr, al-M ah ra pro duces n o th in g ex cept fo r excellen t
cam els and fran k in cen se and fin ally , that the M ah ra speak a “very strange la n g u a g e”
72 —
( 3alsinatuhum m usta‘gima giddan). A l-M ascu d l starts on a p ro m isin g note. H e correctly
rep o rts th at the M ah ri o f al-S ih r speak a lan g u ag e d ifferen t ( bi-hilaf) from A rab ic b u t runs into
tro u b le w h en he attem p ts to ex p lain this differen ce. A long w ith “the od d ities o f th e ir sp eech ”
70 v _
Gamal al-Din b. al-M ugawir, S ifa t b ila d al-yam an al-m usam m a bi-ta 'n h al-m ustabsir, ed. Oscar Lbfgren (Beirut:
Dar al-TanwIr li- ‘l-Tibaca w a -‘l-Nasr, 1986), 271-272.
71
Walter M uller arrives at same conclusion; see Walter Muller, “Mahra,” in The E n cyclopaedia o f Islam (1987), 6:81.
72 Abu Ishaq al-lstahrf, K itab m a sa lik a l-m am alik, ed. Fuat Sezgin (Frankfurt am Main: Institute for the History o f
Arabic-Islamic Science, 1992), 25. A l-Sihr w as the m ost important port between Aden and Mirbat on the South
Arabian coast until the 19 th c. CE when it was superceded by al-Mukalla, 30 km. to the west. Al-Sihr is used
m etonym ically for the w hole o f al-Mahra in classical Arabic texts since it was the one place where the Mahra and non-
Mahra would meet, trade and interact, leading to the impression that it was al-Mahra’s “capital.” A l-Sihr’s trade did
attract a sizeable M ahri-speaking population and it was even briefly in the possession o f the Mahri 3am ir, Muhammad
SacId Ba Daganah (d. 1495 CE) before reverting back to the control o f the Tahirid Dynasty in Aden. During an
interlude in the fighting between the Mahra and the Tahirid army, al-Sihr w as split down the m iddle with the Tahirids
controlling the eastern half and Ba Daganah’s mother in charge o f the western half (CA1I SacId Bakrlt, A l-M ahra: al-
:,a rd w a -‘l-sukkan [Aden: Dar G amicat cAdan li-‘l-Tibaca w a -‘l-Nasr, 1999], 19). Today, the port is entirely Arabic
speaking with only the M ahri-speaking fam ily o f A1 Qiraynun remaining as a vestige o f al-Mahra’s former presence,
(Muller, 19 8 7 ,8 1 ).
61
(.naw adir kalam ihim ), he attrib u tes the effects o f kaskasa (the shift o f the fem in in e suffix from / -
k i/ to /-sf) to M ahri an d o ffers som e ex am p les o f kaskasa in an A rabic d ia le c t.73 W h ile the 2nd
sing, fem in in e suffix is l-sl in M ahri, I am skeptical o f a]-M ascu d I’s co n clu sio n s since th is suffix
is com m o n to m o st Y em eni d ialects, M ahri and A rabic alike. F inally, I am left a little pu zzled
w hy a l-M a scudI p a sse d o v er the n ea rly in fin ite features that are not shared b etw een M ah ri and
Y em eni A rab ic. I am certain that a l-M ascudi, (or his in fo rm an t), co nfused M ahri w ith the A rabic
dialect o f a l-S ih r in th e sam e w ay th at the p o rt o f al-S ih r is m istakenly used as a b lan k e t te rm fo r
all o f al-M ah ra, d e sp ite ap p ertain in g m ain ly to A rab ic-sp eak in g H adram aw t. W e n o tice th at in
offering an A rab ic-lan g u ag e “c ita tio n ” o f M ah ri, a l-M a scudI has deftly folded the la tte r in to the
form er; M ahri is re p re se n te d as a d iv e rg en t form o f A rabic. T o return to o u r m ech an ism s o f
lan g u ag e id eo lo g y , M ahri h as b een erased. T hat said, al-M as°udi is the only classical A rabic
sch o lar th a t I am aw are o f w ho o ffers a p re te n se o f presen tin g actual exam ples o f the M ahri
language.
A l-M u q a d d a si has little to add to th e discu ssio n , b u t h e does m ake a p o in t to d istin g u ish
the lands o f H im y a r fro m al-M ahra: “A t the borders o f H im y ar is a tribe o f A rabs w h o se sp eech
n o one u n d e rsta n d s.” 74 E v o k in g a l-H a m d a n f s d escrip tio n o f al-M ahra, al-M u q ad d asI w rites: “the
peo p le o f a l-7A h q a f are sw in d lers ( naw asib ) and inco m p reh en sib le ( gutm ).”75 A cco rd in g to al-
Idrlsi, th e n ativ es o f th e K u ria M u ria isla n d s ( Hartan wa-M artan) o ff the southern c o a st o f O m an
are an A rab p e o p le , y e t th ey speak an an cien t cA dite lan g u ag e ('als in a qadima w a -cadiya) w hich
“n o A rabs o f o u r tim e can u n d e rsta n d .”76 Y aqut offers an A rabized (and seem in g ly apo cry p h al)
73 For instance: h al la s fim a qultu laS? ’...y u r td 'hat la k iflm a qultu laki? ’ ” (“[He says:] ‘D o you have [-s] what 1 said
you have [-£]?’. . . and he means: ‘D o you have [-ki] what I said you have [-ki]T ” Abu al-Hasan al-M ascudI, M urug al-
d ahab w a -m a cadin al-gaw har, ed. Y u su f Dagir, (Beirut: Dar al-Andalus li-‘l-Tibaca w a -‘l-Nasr, 1965), 1:170.
Sams al-Dln al-Muqaddasi, 'A hsan al-taqasun f t m a crifat a l - ’aqdliin, ed. M ichael Jan de G oeje (Leiden: E.J. Brill,
1992), 96.
75 Ibid., 103. In its broadest sense, a l-’Ahqaf can refer to the m ountainous interior o f Southern Arabia from Omani
Dhofar to Aden. A m ongst m edieval Arab geographers and contemporary Y em enis, al-3A hqaf designates the desert
between Hadramawt and Oman, (i.e., the interior o f al-Mahra), plus the eastern half o f the Empty Quarter, (al-Ramla).
See G eorge Rentz, “al-Ahqaf, ” in The E n cyclopaedia o f Islam (1987), 1:257.
76 Abb cAbdallah al-Idrlsi, N u zh a t a l-m u s ta q fi 3ihtiraq al-afdq, ed. Fuat Sezgin (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1970), 1:52.
62
v o calisatio n o f a l-M a h ra as “ m ahara ” b u t no in fo rm atio n regarding the p eo p le o r the language
itse lf.77
F in a lly , alth o u g h Ibn H ald u n is n o t in terested in M ahri p er se, in fo rm a tio n th a t h e reports
fo r S o u th ern A ra b ia m ay b e g e rm an e to o u r topic. Ibn H aldun w as p rim arily in terested in the
pro cess o f lan g u ag e ch ange; to w it, h o w pro p er, b e d o u in A rabic ev o lved in to the “co rru p te d ”
d ialects o f th e u rb an , A rab ic-sp eak in g w orld. In his d iscu ssio n o f the chan g es w ro u g h t on earlier
fo rm s o f co rre c t A rab ic (“th e lan g u ag e o f M u d ar”), Ibn H aldun points out th at the presen t-d ay
d ialects p o sse ss th e ir ow n g ra m m a r and p a rtic u lar ru les in place o f the M udari °icrab. To
d em o n strate his p o in t, he cites th e H im y ari lan g u ag e, w hich, like the p resen t-d ay d ialects o f
A rab ic, is g ram m atically d istin c t from “the lan guage o f M u d ar.” T his d ifferen ce, h e says “is
co n trary to th e o p in io n s o f th o se w hose d eficien t (k n o w led g e) leads them to assu m e th at the
M u d ari and H im y ari lan g u ag es are one and the sam e, and w ho w ant to interp ret the H im y ari
— 78
lan g u ag e acco rd in g to the fo rm atio n s and rules o f the M u d a n la n g u ag e.”
A lth o u g h Ibn H ald u n refers to the H im y ari lan g u ag e and n o t to the M ahri la n g u ag e, I
w o n d er to w hat d eg ree H im y ari w as still a distin ct, no n -A rab ic language at the tim e Ibn K haldun
w rote his M uqaddim a in th e 15lh c. CE. E ven b y al-H am d a n i’s tim e five cen tu ries earlier, the
H im y ari lan g u ag e w as d escrib ed as a dialect o f A rabic and not, like M ahri, as a foreign lan guage
o r gutm. N o r can Ibn H ald u n b e referrin g to the ep ig rap h ic H im yari lan g u ag es since his
79
referen ce h e re is to a spoken lan g u ag e w hose “in fle ctio n s and v ow els” h e seem s to have heard.
W e h av e alread y seen h ow th e M ahri lan guage is gen erally labelled as H im y ari in classical
A rab ic sch o larsh ip and is v iew ed as a liv in g rem n an t o f the ancient H im yarite k in g d o m s. It is far
m o re lik ely th at Ibn H ald u n w as acqu ain ted w ith a M ahri speaker than he w as w ith a sp eak er o f
77 Yaqut al-HamawI, M u cgam al-buldan, ed. Ferdinand W iistenfeld (Frankfurt: Institute for the History o f Arabic-
Islamic Science, 1994), 4:700.
78 Franz Rosenthal, trans., The M u qaddim a: An Introduction to H istory, (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1958),
3:347.
79 Ibid., 347. Even now , the “inflections [U ‘rdb] and v ow els” are not yet satisfactorily reconstructed for O SA due to
the strict consonantism o f the m usnad script. W ithout the benefit o f m odem Sem itic studies, it is im possible that the
inflections and vocalism o f the Old South Arabian languages could have been accessible to Ibn Haldun.
63
H im y ari, w hich, even i f it w as still spoken at all, w as p ro b ab ly lim ited to sm all p o c k ets and
in accessib le n o o k s in th e Y em en i h ig h lan d s. It is q u ite p o ssib le th at Ibn H a ld u n ’s “H im y ari” w as
related to h im b y a M ahri sp eak er, b u t th at h is lan g u ag e id eology p rev en ted h im from reco g n iz in g
it as such - a classic ex am p le o f erasure. If th is is the case, then Ibn y a ld u n ’s d iscu ssio n o f the
differen ce b etw een th e “M u d a ri” lan g u ag e and the “H im y ari” lan g u ag e m ay b e the m o st d etailed
p assag e to ad d ress th e M ah ri lan g u ag e in classical A rabic scholarship; u n fo rtu n ate ly , Ibn H aldun
d o e sn ’t p ro v id e any su b stan tial e x am p les o f this “ H im y a ri” lan g u a g e.80
U n lik e the g eo g rap h ers and h isto rian s w h o ced e som e in fo rm atio n about society and
lan g u ag e in al-M ah ra, th e p h ilo lo g ists and le x ico g rap h ers are v irtually silent on the topic. T his
sh o u ld n o t su rp rise us sin ce p h ilo lo g ists and le x ico g rap h ers should lo g ic ally b e h eld m o st tig h tly
in thrall to th e lan g u ag e id e o lo g ie s o f th e ir tim e. T h eir silence on the M ahri lan guage is also c le a r
p ro o f th at th e p h ilo lo g is ts ’ in terests lie in the c o llectio n o f fu sh a d a ta and n o t in colloquial
specim ens. A t m o st, w e fin d v ag u ely o n o m ato p o e ic lab els th at describ e the p ec u lia r m orpho-
p h o n etic ch aracteristics o f th e reg io n al dialects. P reserv ed in a n u m b e r o f d ifferen t re te llin g s, an
an ecd o te related b y al-M u b arrad (d. 898 C E ) in al-K am il sum m arizes the sy stem atizatio n o f
classical A rab ic d iale c to lo g y at th at tim e. R e sp o n d in g to the C aliph M u ca w iy a ’s (r. 6 6 1 -6 8 0 C E )
q uery ab o u t w hich o f th e trib es is the m o st fa slh , one o f his co urtiers answ ers: “T he trib e w hich
k eeps aw ay from th e fu ra tiy a o f Iraq, k eeps to the rig h t o f the kaskasa o f T am lm and to the left o f
th e kaskasa o f B akr, w hich d o e s n o t have the gam gam a o f Q u d aca n o r the tum tum am ya o f
H im y ar.” 81
In re fe re n ce to th e S ou th ern A rabic d ialects, w e find th e fo llo w in g d escrip tiv e term s
used: sinsinna,fasfasa, lahlahanlya, kaskasa and the afo rem en tio n ed kaskaska.s2 H o w ev er, these
80 Ibn H aldun’s single specim en o f “Himyari” is the word qayl (“leader”), which he believes bears no relation to the
Arabic word q aw l (“speech”), (Ibn Haldun, al-M uqadclim a, 347). W hile historically-attested Mahri uses the Yem eni-
Arabic word m uqaddam for “tribal leader,” (not sayb) there is no reason why an earlier stage o f Mahri couldn’t have
borrowed an earlier word for “leader” from the same Yem eni-A rabic source.
81 Muhammad b. Yazid al-Mubarrad, al-K am il, ed. W illiam Wright (Leipzig: G. Kreysing, 1864), 1:364.
82 C live H oles reconstructs the layering o f dialect groups in light o f the varieties (conditioned and non-conditioned) o f
palatalized /k/ and /q/ in Eastern and Southern Arabia, (C live H oles, “Kashkasha and the Fronting and Affrication o f
64
lab els d o n o t tell us v ery m u ch about the d ialects, e x ce p t fo r the fact th at they d ev iated fro m the
m odel o f fu sh a in som e au d ib le w ay. A t b est, the term s kaskasa and kaskasa den o te th e shift o f
/k / -> {/§/ o r /c/} in so m e en v iro n m en ts, (in the 2 nd p erso n fem in in e suffix, fo r ex am p le, as
d escrib ed b y a l-M ascudI). N o n e o f th e se labels are u n iq u e to the M o d e m S outh A rab ian
lan g u ag es since they are ap p lied h ap h aza rd ly to all the lugat o f A rabia, w h eth e r A rab ic o r
ancestral M o d em S outh A rabian.
T he lack o f re c o g n itio n w ithin classical A rab ic sch o larsh ip th a t a liv in g , no n -A rab ic
lan g u ag e w as spoken in S o u th east A rab ia is u n n erv in g . It m u st have b e en o cc asio n ally heard,
ev en i f it w a sn ’t rec o g n iz e d fo r w hat it w as. S ince the M S A lan g u ag es are fo reig n to A rabic, they
ap p ear to h av e b een fo ld ed u n d e r the ru b ric o f him yarlya, (“H im y a rite ” a la Ibn H aldun),
cagamlya (“fo re ig n ” o r “P e rsia n ”) o r e v en hindlya (“ In d ia n ”). As w e h av e seen, this w as
p ro b a b ly the case fo r Ibn H a ld u n ’s “H im y a ri” la n g u ag e. W e ought to k e ep o u r eyes and ears
o pen fo r any m en tio n o f fo reig n lan g u ag es w h o se p ro v e n ien c e is v a g u e o r w h o se a ttrib u tio n
o th erw ise seem s odd. F o r in stan ce, Paul K ah le q u otes from a m an u scrip t attrib u ted to A bu cA lI
al-H asan b . M u h am m ad al-M alik l (d. 1090 C E ), a l-T a m h id fi m a crifat al-tagw ld : “ cU m a r b . al-
U at tab saw tw o m en w ho sp o k e in a n o n -A rab ic lan g u ag e (yataratanani ) at the T a w a f (the circuit
aro u n d the K a cba). H e cam e u p o n th e m w ith a scourge and said: ‘N o ho p e fo r b o th o f you! S eek
a fte r a w ay to the cA ra b Iy a !” ’83 A sim ilar ac co u n t fo llo w s d irectly u p o n th is one, e x c ep t th at in
the Velar Stops Revisited: A Contribution to the Historical Phonology o f the Peninsular Arabic D ialects,” in Sem itic
Studies in H o n o r o fW o lfL e s la u , ed. Alan K aye [Otto Harrassowitz: W eisbaden, 1991], 1:652-678). The types o f
palatalization that he describes are com m only - though not consistently - labelled as kaskasa and kaskasa, (al-
Mubarrad, al-K am il, 365). Al-SuyutT labels all Yem eni Arabic dialects as sinsinna and the dialect o f al-Sihr
specifically as fa sfa sa , (Galal al-Dln al-Suyutl, a l-M u z h ir fi ‘ulum al-luga [Cairo: 1907], 1:134). Rabin attempts to
etym ologize these descriptive labels; for instance, he derives fa s fa s a from “to scatter (urine)” and thereby extends it “to
splutter” - as in the production o f the “hissing” sibilants o f the South Arabian languages, (see Rabin, 1951, 50). I
disagree with Rabin’s approach here and I would argue that these labels are essentially general - even com ic -
im pressions o f a dialect’s peculiarity.
83 Kahle, 1946, 176. Y a ta ra ta n a n i< R.T.N.: “H e sp o k e...in a language not generally understood, conventionally
formed between two, or several, persons,” and “he gibbered, or uttered gibberish or jargon, to him ,” and “they so spoke
among them selves,” (Lane, A ra b ic-E n g lish Lexicon, 1102). This term doesn’t specify the incom prehensible tongue
being spoken and can be m odified by “b i - ‘l - caga m iya ” (“in Persian”), for instance.
65
th is latter o n e th e tw o m en “ spoke P e rsia n .” 84 T h e elab o ra tio n su ggests that an in itia lly u n k now n
lan gu ag e spoken b y the tw o m en req u ired exp lan atio n and the tra n sm itte r settled on “P e rsia n ,”
likely u sin g th e term s al-farisiya o r a l-cagamiya. T he tran slation o f e ith er term as “P e rsian ”
should n o t b e tak en to o literally since al- cagam iya can b e u n d ersto o d as any fo reig n lan g u ag e
w hich A rab ic sp eak ers h av e h ad co n tact w ith - in clu d in g , p erh ap s, the M o d em S outh A rabian
lan g u ag es.85
B ey o n d th e sim p le fact that b o th P ersian and M ahri co u ld b e classified as cagam iya, there
are histo rical reaso n s to asso ciate the M S A lan g u ag es m ore sp ecifically w ith the P ersian
language. U n til th e 7 th c. C E , th e P ersian S asanids co n tro lled the n o rth -facin g coastal p lain s o f
O m an, (al-BatTna), and the in te rio r d istric ts in the G ibal a l-3A h d a r fro m th eir stro n g h o ld at
R astaq .86 A cco rd in g to al-M u q ad d asi, S uhar, the p rin cip al city o f al-B atina, w as P e rsia n
speaking: “A s fo r th e p e o p le o f the area [al-Diqllm], th e ir lan g u ag e is A rabic ex cept fo r in
S u h a r...th e ir speech is P ersian {al-farisiya].”*1 U ntil th e P ersians w ere fin ally driven fro m O m an,
the M S A -sp eak in g reg io n s clo sely ab u tted the P ersia n -sp eak in g areas to the n o rth , esp ecially in
lig h t o f th e fact th at the core M ah ri-sp eak in g territo ry once ex ten d ed d eep e r in to O m an th an it
88
does in the p re se n t tim e. It is p o ssib le th at a m o n o lin g u al A rab ic-sp eak er fro m the H igaz could
co nfuse M ahri w ith P ersian and vice versa in lig h t o f th e ir h istorical and geo g rap h ical p ro x im ity .
T hus, in ad d itio n to its m ean in g o f g eneric, fo reig n speech, a l-cagam i can also re fe r
specifically to P ersian . T his gives rise to an odd red u n d an cy , since the term al-farisiya ex ists
along sid e a l-cagamiya as th e m o re tran sp aren t attributive adjective. T he duality o f the term al-
‘agamiya is m ore co m p reh en sib le (pun in ten d ed ) in lig h t o f the M o d em South A rabian
84 Ibid., 176. I have not been able to find the Arabic text and do not know the precise phraseology o f “they [two] spoke
Persian.”
85 “N ow a ’jaim means foreign, and this includes Syriac, Hebrew, Ethiopic, Greek and Latin - not only Persian as it
might be thought” (Ramzi Baalbaki, “Early Arab Lexicographers and the U se o f Sem itic Languages,” B erytu s 31
[1983]: 124). Baalbaki cites Ibn M akkl al-Saqalli (d. 1107 CE) w ho uses the term cagam specifically for black
Africans, (al-siiddn ).
86 See M onique Kervran, “Suhar,” in The E ncyclopaedia o f Islam (1987), 9:774-776.
87 al-Muqaddasl, 3Ahsan al-taqasim , 96.
88 The historical boundaries o f al-Mahra w ill be discussed shortly.
66
lan g u ag es. T he sem an tics o f a l-cagam lya re fle ct a general b roadening fro m an initial ap p licatio n
solely to th e M o d em S o u th A rabian lan guages, thence to P ersian, and fin ally to all foreign
to n g u es on th e S outhern and E astern bou n d aries o f A rab ia. Since th e M S A lan g u ag es w ere
erased th ro u g h th e A rab ic-Islam ic lan g u ag e id eo lo g y , the M ahri lan g u ag e co u ld co n v en ien tly be
fo ld ed in to P ersian since th e tw o w ere, p ra ctica lly sp eak in g , neighbors.
W e h av e a sim ila r ty p e o f “n eg ativ e a tte sta tio n ” fo r the M ahri lan g u ag e in a l-G u m a h i’s
T a b aqatfuhul al-su'ara ’. In ex p laining h is m eth o d o lo g y fo r ran king the p re-em in e n t p o ets o f al-
Gahillya (A ge o f Ig n o ran ce), al-G um ahl sets the term inus p o st quem fo r his can d id ates to the
p o ets th at cam e after the q u asi-m y th ical cA d n an b. Ism a cIl, and dism isses the su ggestion that
A rab ic p o etry can e v e r b e attrib u ted p rio r to him . A s a ju stific atio n , he q u o tes A bu °A m r b. al-
cA la :>: “T he lan g u ag e ( lisan ) o f H im y ar and the fa r reach es o f Y em en (°aqasi al-yam an ) is not
lik e o u r lan g u ag e, and th e ir carablya is n o t lik e o u r carabiya, so then h o w co u ld it b e oth erw ise
fo r p o etry from the tim e o f cA d and T a m u d ? ” 89 It is safe to say that by “the fa r reaches o f
Y em en ,” Ibn a l-cA la :>in ten d s al-M ah ra since it is the o n ly p lace w here a n o n -A rab ic lan guage
w as spoken at that tim e, and it certainly lies at the fu rth est edge o f Y em en. In his statem en t, Ibn
a l-cA la° ad m its th e p ra c tic e o f poetry fo r this fo reig n tongue, though h e adm its th at it is n o th in g
lik e the carabiya o f h is ow n p ractice.90 T his m ay in d eed b e the only re fere n ce to M S A -lan g u ag e
po etry in classical A rabic sch o larship, although lik e all p rev io u s h in ts o f M S A lan g u ag e and
cu ltu re, it is dev o id o f an y co n crete d etails.
W e can turn to o n e o th er genre o f classical A rabic sch o larsh ip in the ho p e o f fin d in g the
M o d em South A rabian lan g u ag es attested in the p re-m o d e m age. O ne issu e o f critical
im p o rtan ce to Q u r3anic ex eg esis w as w h eth er the id io m o f the Q u rDan con tain ed w ords b o rrow ed
89 “m a lisan him ya r w a -Ja q a si al-yam an al-yaw m bi-lisanina w a-la ‘arablyatuhum b i- ‘arablyatina fa -k a y fa bi-m a cala
‘a h d cA d wo-Tamiirf” (al-Gumahl, T abaqat fu h u l a l-su ‘a r a \ 1:11).
90 Evidently, Abu cAmr b. al-Âla3 uses the term a l- carabiya in the sense o f a linguistic performance and not as a
language-specific idiom . By his reasoning, any foreign language could be said to p ossess an “‘a r a b ly a " if it adopts a
prestigious linguistic register for the performance o f poetry. This citation has apparently been overlooked in previous
studies o f the A rabic fu sh a and confirm s Zwettler’s theory that the carabiya was the core elem ent o f an oral-formulaic
tradition.
67
from fo reig n sources. T here is n o need to rev iew every o p in io n on the m atter; n eed le ss to say,
th ey run th e g am u t from th e ab so lu te n eg atio n o f the p o ssib ility (A bu cU b ay d a [d. 825 C E ];
“W h o ev er p reten d s th at there is in the Q urTtn an y th in g o th e r than the A rabic lan g u ag e h as m ade
a serious ch a rg e against G o d ”), to th e co n c lu sio n that th e Q u r3an co n tain s every la n g u a g e kno w n
to m an, (a l-T a clabI [d. 1036 C E]: “T h ere is no lan g u ag e in the w orld b u t th at it is in the
QuCan”)-9'
T he w orks devo ted to th e elu cid atio n o f fo reig n w ords in the Q ur ’an and the fu sh a are too
num ero u s to relate here; in short, G alal al-DTn a l-S u y u tl (d. 1505 C E ) has the m o st im a g in ativ e
and co m p reh en siv e ap proach to this topic, since he has the benefit o f b u ild in g on p rev io u s data.
O ne treatise by al-S u y u tl is d ev o ted e x clu siv ely to this topic: al-M utawakkili. R eo rg an izin g and
co n d en sin g w ork from al-°Itqan f t culum al-Q ur ’an and al-M uhaddab f i ma w aqaca f t al-Qur°an
min al-m ucarrab, al-S u y u tl p ro v id es ex am p les o f “fo re ig n ism s” in the Q u rDan fro m th e follow ing
languages: al-habasiya (E th io p ian), al-farisiya (P ersian), al-rumiya (G reek), al-hindiya (Indian),
al-suriyaniya (A ssyrian), a l-cibriya (H ebrew ), al-nabatiya (A ram aic), al-qibtiya (C optic), al-
turkiya (T u rk ish ), al-zingiya ( “B lack A fric an ” ) am d al-barbariya (B erber).92 A ttrib u tio n s to the
T urkish and B erb er lan g u ag es in p artic u lar defy histo rical logic and the citatio n s are far from
convincing: gassaq (“n o iso m e ”) fo r T u rk ish o r hamim (“the ex trem ity o f h e a t” ) in B erber, fo r
93
instance.
T he ab sen ce o f the M ahri lan g u ag e fro m a l-S u y u tl’s list o f foreign lan g u ag es, o r even
from th e tribal d ialects, should strike us as a p u zzlin g o m issio n . T o return to m y p rev io u s
91 Abu cUbayda: ‘‘m an z a cam a ■’anna f i a l-Q u C a n lisanan siw a a l- carabiya fa -q a d 3a czam a cala allah a l-q a w F
(Mawhub b. “Ahmad al-Gawallql, K itab a l-m u ‘arra b m in al-kalam a l - ’a ‘g a m i cala h u riif a l-m u ‘gam , ed. Edward
Sachau [Leipzig: Verlag von W. Engelmann, 1867], 4). A l-T aclabl: “laysa lu g a tu n fi a l-dunya ’ilia w a - h iy a fi al-
Q u r’an” (Galal al-DIn al-Suyutl, al-M utaw akkili, ed. cAbd al-Karim al-Zubaydi [Beirut: Dar al-Balaga, 1988], 37).
For a detailed discussion o f the various sides o f this debate, see Lothar K opf, “The Treatment o f Foreign Words in
M ediaeval Arabic L exicology,” S tudies in Islam ic H isto ry a n d C ivilization 9 (1961): 191-205.
al-Suyutl, al-M utaw akkili, passim . In a l - ’Itqan, al-Suyutl precedes this discussion with an index o f non-HigazT
Arabic words appearing in the Qur’an. Significant to our discussions on the linguistic status o f Himyari, al-Suyutl
considers it an Arabic dialect and n o t a foreign language, (al-Suyutl, al- 'ltqdn. 378-392). This is the precedent set by
Abu Bakr al-W asitl who lists al-him yariya amongst the other Arabic dialects, such as that o f Qurays, Hudayl, Kinana,
GaTam etc., and not amongst the foreign languages such as Persian, Greek, Aramaic, etc., (al-Suyutl, al- ’ltq d n . 390).
93 al-Suyuti, al-M utaw akkili, 146 and 151.
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c o n ten tio n , th e M S A lan g u ag es w ere ap p aren tly con sid ered u n d e r the ru b ric o f the su rrounding
foreign lan g u ag es and not as a separate lin g u istic group o r even dialect o f A rabic. W e h av e seen
that the M ah ri lan g u ag e m ay lie at the ro o t o f a l-cagam lya, and m ay have been asso ciated w ith
th e P ersian lan g u ag e b y A rabic lex ico g rap h ers. T his arg u m en t has the strength o f g eo g rap h ical
and h isto rical p ro x im ity . H indi is a n o th er strong p o ssib ility given the trade relatio n s that
con n ected th e co astal rim o f the Indian O cean and the A rabian S ea.94 T he sam e arg u m en t can
also be m ad e fo r th e “B lack A frican ” lan g u ag e ( al-zinglya ), on evidence o f the sizeable E ast
A frican p o p u la tio n s that settled in M ah ra as h o u seh o ld retain ers, (or, to p u t it m ore b lu n tly ,
slaves). O f co u rse, w e sh o u ld n ’t d isc o u n t the p o ssib ility th at M S A w as co n sid ered am o n g st the
E th io p ian lan g u ag es ( al-habasiya ) since th e tw o lin g u istic su b -g ro u p s are c lo sely rela ted to each
o th er and sh are som e o b v io u s p h o n o lo g ic al sim ilarities, such as ejective pho n em es. R eg rettab ly ,
n o n e o f th e v o cab u lary listed fo r th ese lan g u ag es can b e u n eq u iv o cally derived fro m a M S A
language.
V I. B o rro w in g s fro m M ah ri in to A rabic?
T he alm o st co m p lete silence o f classical A rabic sch o larsh ip on the subject o f the M S A
languages leads us to ask w h at, if any, role the M S A society and lan g u ag e played in p re-h isto ric
and p re -m o d e m A rabia. W h ile A rabic d o u b tless has h a d an influ en ce on the M ahri la n g u ag e, can
th e o p p o site e v e r b e said to be tru e? B ased on the few d etails that are preserv ed in classical
A rab ic sch o larsh ip reg ard in g al-M ahra, w h at can w e c o n stru ct for M ah ri-A rab relatio n s in early
recorded h isto ry ? T he A rab ic lan g u ag e and A rabic social org an izatio n s are now d o m in an t in
South A rab ia, b u t w e o u g h t to ask if th is w as alw ays th e case, and if so, w hen the histo rical tide
began to turn ag ain st in d ig en o u s S outh A rabian cultures.
94 _
The Mahri word lah (“many thousands”), borrowed from Indian lakh (200,000), attests to the influence o f Indian
trade terminology in South Arabia, not to mention the large population o f Hindu, “B an iyan ” (from Varanasi?)
merchants who resided in al-Sihr until recently.
69
In re c e n t tim es, the direction o f bo rro w in g and influ en ce has been fairly u n id irec tio n al from
A rabic to M ah ri. T he M ah ra w ho are b ilin g u al in A rab ic speak a H adram i d iale ct o f A rab ic and
the co n tem p o rary M ahri id io m o f y o u n g M ah ra in al-G h ay d h a is h eavily in flu en ced by A rabic.
T h is m ay n o t h a v e alw ays b een th e case. A lth o u g h classical A rabic sch o larsh ip o v erlo o k s the
p o ssib ility o f b o rro w in g from M ahri in to A rabic, tw o w ords from the Q u r ’an w ere b ro u g h t to m y
atten tio n b y H ag D akon that seem ingly in d icate that M ahri m ay have c o n trib u te d to the
fo rm u latio n o f literary A rabic.
In th e first case, H agg p o in ted to the sim ilarity betw een A rabic siw az/suw az (“fla m e ...fla m e
w ith o u t sm o k e” [L ane, Arabic-English Lexicon, 1619]) and M ahri slw ot (“fire ” [Johnstone,
1987, 3 3 S -3 3 9 ]).95 T he p h o n etic sim ilarity w as n o ted b y C arlo von L an d b erg in h is appendix to
the collected tex ts o f Jahn and M uller: “s iw d t. . .C p. k lass. su w a z ”96 I th in k th at w e o u g h t to
co n sid er th e p o ssib ility o f a b o rro w in g from M ahri to A rab ic in this case. F o r one, A rabic siwaz
has no v erb al o r n o m in al d eriv ativ es b u t is found o n ly in this frozen form ; as such, it c o n fo rm s to
one o f th e classical A rab ic criterion fo r d eterm in in g fo reig n w ords in A rab ic.97 O n the o th e r
hand, M ahri slw ot is m o re p ro d u ctiv e in an in flectional sense, capable o f p ro d u cin g a dual form :
“saw tayn” (Jo h n sto n e, 1987, 388). O n a sem an tic level, w e can surm ise that the u n m ark ed term
fo r “fire” in M ah ri w as b o rro w ed in to A rabic fo r a m ark ed o r specific u sag e, i.e., as “flam e from
fire ” (“ suwazun min narin” [Q .5 5 :3 5 ]).98
H agg also sug g ested that the term saytara, (“to ex ercise absolute a u th o rity ...to o v e rsee ”
[Lane, 1358] and “to seize, take h o ld ” [W ehr, 4 48]), is b o rrow ed from M ahri sotar. ( “b ig date-
b a s k e t...b ig g o atsk in o f m ilk o r g h e e ,” [Johnstone, 1987, 367]). A lth o u g h this b o rro w in g show s
95 “yursalu ‘alaykum a suw azun min narin w a -n u h a su n fa -la ta n ta sira n i” {Q.55:35).

96 Carlo Landberg, D ie M ehri-Sprache in Siidarabian von Dr. A lfre d Jahn u n d D ie M ehri- u n d S oqotri-Sprache von
D av. H einr. M uller, kritisch beleuchtet von Dr. C arlo G r a f L a n d b erg (Leipzig: Otto Harrassowitz, 1902), 1:10.
97 Along with barren roots, the other two criteria are: foreign m orphological structure and improbable phonetic
combinations (Kopf, 1961, 198).
98 There is an Arabic dialect verb saw w ata, (“the scorch, bum [food]), (Carlo Landberg, G lossaire D atin o is [Leiden:
E.J. Brill, 1920-1942], 3:2097-98 and al-Tryanl, 1996, 525-526). H ow ever, this dialectal usage does not explain the
peculiarities o f suw az/siw az in the Qur’an; a foreign origin (i.e., slw ot) best explains the alternation o f it/ and tz l in
suw az as w ell as the “frozen” morphology o f this word.
70
co n sid erab le sem an tic d rift, H agg ex p lain ed to m e th at M ahri sotar co u ld re fe r to any c o n ta in e r
h o ld in g a larg e q u a n tity o f m aterial. Indeed, one o f the tw o a ttestatio n s o f th is term in the Q u r3an
su p p o rts th is c o n ten tio n : “O r are the T reasu res o f th y L o rd w ith them , o r are th e y the
m a n ag ers?”99 T h e co n trast b etw een al-m usaytaruna and cindahum is ren d e red m o re stark if w e
rein terp ret “m an ag ers [o f th e treasu res o f y o u r L o rd ]” (“ m usaytaruna [haz.d ’inu rabbika ]”) as
“vessels [of th e treasu res o f y o u r L o rd ].” In lig h t o f M ahri sotar, w e sh o u ld u n d ersta n d this
statem ent as th e co n trast b etw een p assiv e co n tain m en t in a vessel, w hich im plies the jo in t
id en tificatio n o f th e c o n ta in e r and the co n tain ed , versus an act o f o w n e rsh ip th at stre sse s the
relatio n sh ip o f p o sse sso r and p o ssessed as tw o sep arate en tities ( cindahum ). T his sen tim en t
seem s m o re c o n so n an t w ith th e p rev io u s tw o ayat in w h ich it is asked w h e th er h u m an ity is a
thin g created o r h as the ab ility to create; i.e., w h eth er h u m an s are a p a ssiv e vessel o f G o d ’s
creativ e fo rce o r are th ey th em selv es p o ssessed o f this creative cap acity as w e ll.100
S eco n d ly , m usaytaruna appears in the Q ur°an w ith an a ltern ate ren d erin g o f the
ph ary n g ealized sib ilan t Is/ as a n o n -p h ary n g e alize d /s/. A lth o u g h th is altern atio n is ex p lain e d in
som e lex ico n s as th e resu lt o f th e n earby p h ary n g ea lized /t/, it could also b e due to the o rig in ally
g lo b a liz e d , foreign realizatio n o f this p h o n em e in a M S A language. Such is the ca se fo r an o th er
fo reig n w ord in th e Q u r’an: sirat, (“A ro ad , o r w ay ” [L ane, 1358]), bo rro w ed fro m L atin strata
(“p av ed ro ad ” ) and w hich m ay b e ren d ered w ith o u t p h a ry n g ea lizad o n as sira t.101 F in a lly , w e find
alternate v o calizatio n s o f saytara as saw tara and siitira; this b rin g s the A rab ic and M ahri w ords
m uch c lo ser in term s o f v o c a liz a tio n .102
T u rn in g to m o rp h o lo g y , w e can detect a slight influ en ce o f S outh S em itic on the
su rrounding A rab ic d ialects. F o r one, a n u m b e r o f Y em eni d ialects p re serv e /-k / as the 1st and 2 nd
99 “ 'am cindahum h a za 3inu rabbika 3am hum u al-m usaytaruna ” (Q .52:30); Y u su f cAbdallah CA1I, trans., The H o ly
Q u r’an (Elmhurst: Tahrike Tarsile Qur’an Inc., 1987), 1439.
100 ‘“ cm jtuliqii m in gayri sa y 3in 3a m hum u al-ljaliquna / / ’am halaqu al-sam aw ati w a -l-3arda bat la yuqiniina ”
(“Were they created o f nothing, or were they them selves the creators? // Or did they create the heavens and the earth?
Nay, they have no firm b e lie f’ [Q.52: 35-36]); ibid., 1438.
101 al-Suyutl, al-M utaw akkili, 98.
102
Lane, A rabic-E nglish Lexicon, 1348.
71
person su ffix es in p erfect v e rb s .103 H o w ev er, th is S outh S em itic rem n an t is lik ely attrib u tab le to
the O SA lan g u ag es o r to a later “H im y a ri” dialect o f A rabic and not to M o d e m S outh A rabian,
sin ce th e v erb al suffix /-k / o n ly o ccurs in the m o d em A rab ic dialects that fall w ithin the
h isto rically -attested ran g e o f “H im y a ri.” In fact, there is very little in the co n te m p o ra ry A rab ic
d ialects o f S ou th ern Y em en th at can b e u n e q u iv o c ab ly derived from M ahri. W ern er D iem cites
tw o nom in al p lu ral fo rm atio n s, / h ' aw wil and f i cwal, th a t are unique to Y em en and are related to
th e M ahri p lu ral p attern s /c 'd w e / ( < *fecaw w el ) and / c ' vvd/.104 T h e f e cdw el fo rm is p artic u larly
w ell attested fo r the d ialect o f D atin a, w h ich has p reserv ed a n u m b er o f p re-A rab ic, S outh
A rabian in flu e n c e s in to the p re se n t day, in clu d in g som e lateral sib ila n ts.105
T h e p o ssib ility o f a M ahri in flu en ce on A rabic b ec o m es m ore p ro b ab ly in lig h t o f the fact
th at the M ah ri lan g u ag e w as m o re w idely spoken than it is today. B ased on to p o n y m s en d in g in -
ut, -at and -It, W a lte r D ostal h a s d em o n strated th at the territo ry in habited b y M ahri speakers once
stretched fu rth e r e ast and n o rth o f cu rren t b o u n d a rie s.106 T o the w est, al-M ah ra e n jo y ed b rie f
so v ereig n ty o v er al-S ih r u n d e r M u h am m ad S acId B a D aganah (d. 1495), w ho even u n d erto o k a
naval in v asio n o f A d e n .107 In th is vein, w e o u ght to m ention the alliance betw een the M ahri S a cd
b. cIsa b. cA fra r A bu al-S aw arib (“S acd o f the M u stac h es”) and the P o rtu g u ese w hen th ey jo in e d
forces to d islo d g e th e KatTri S u ltan, B a d r b . T aw ayriq (d. 1568 C E) fro m Q isn in 1549 C E .108
103 Werner D iem , Skizzen Jem enitischer D ialekte (W iesbaden: Franz Steiner Verlag, 1973), passim . The verbal suffix
l-kl is attested in the Yem eni dialects o f al-Hadiya, al-Mahall, Qafr, al-cUdayn and Gibla.
104 Werner D iem , “Studien zur Frage des Substrats im Arabischcn,” D e r Islam 56:1 (1979): 64-75.
105 Ibid., 29.
106 Walter Dostal, D ie Beduinen in Siidarabien (Vienna: Verlag Ferdinand Berger & Sohne, 1967), 132-33. Yaqut
indicates that the land between al-Sihr and Yabrin in Oman formerly belonged to the Mahra and mentions an episode in
which the Mahra defeated the cAbqar b. Huwaylid at Yabrin in Central Arabia (Walter D ostal, “Mahra and Arabs in
South Arabia: A Study in Inter-ethnical R elations,” in A rabian Studies in H onour o f M ahm oud Ghul: Sym posium a t
Yarmouk U niversity D ecem b er 8-11 1984, ed. M oawiyah Ibrahim [Weisbaden: Otto Harrasowitz, 1989J, 2:27-36).
There are two Yabrins in Arabia: one west o f al-A hsa’ within the area o f al-Bahrayn and another Yabrin/Gabrln near
Bahia in the northeast o f Oman, (G. Rex Sm ith, “Yabrin,” in The E ncyclopaedia o f Islam (1987) 11:225). It is at the
former Yabrin where the Mahra fought the cAbqar b. H uwaylid w hile the latter Yabrin was the north-easternmost point
o f Mahri dom inion. Remarking on the “unholy g lee” with which the Mahri devour raw gazelle livers, Carter observes
that “one is constrained to recall the diet o f the w itches o f Oman and to wonder if this represents a memory o f the tim es
when the Mahra were in occupation o f areas far to the north-east o f their present location” (John Carter, T ribes in
Oman [London: Peninsular Publishing, 1982], 59).
107 Bakrlt, 1999, 19. The naval invasion was a disaster for Ba Daganah; his fleet was wrecked o ff the coast o f Abyan
and he h im self was taken prisoner by the Tahirids o f Aden.
108 Robert Serjeant, The P ortuguese o ff the South A rabian C oast (Beirut: Librairie du Liban, 1974), 155-56.
72
C ertain ly a l-M a h ra ’s relatio n sh ip to A rab ic speaking p eo p le s has been a dynam ic one: a tw o-w ay
m o v em en t o f allian ces and p ro to -states th at have ebbed and flow ed o v er S outhern A rabia.
In th e n a rra tiv e related b y al-H am d a n l concern in g the B an! G u dayd o f al-°A zd, w e read
M ah ra w ho, as th e d o m in an t p o w er o f the region, o ffer p ro tectio n to and in co rp o rate A rab s into
th e ir so ciety , ra th e r th an th e o th e r w ay around. T his cap acity can b e d em o n strated fro m an o th er
angle. T h o u g h lack in g the ex p licitn ess o f an h istorical narrative, w e can reco n stru c t a basic
p rin cip le in M ah ri trib al g en ealo g ies th at enco d es fo r the reco g n itio n and assim ilatio n o f A rab
elem en ts in to th e M ah ri, tribal D N A .109 In data co llected by W alter D ostal, a b asic b ifu rcatio n
w ithin M ah ri so ciety is d em o n strated in w hich the “p u re ” M ahri B anu S araw ah are d istin g u ish e d
from th e B an u S ar/S ar, the la tte r o f w hom are considered to b e o f A rab ic o rig in .110 W o rk in g
am o n g st th e M ah ri trib es o f O m an, C arter has n o ted a sim ila r bi-p o larity am o n g st M ahri descen t
g roups. H o w ev er, in O m an th e tw o m o ieties are referred to as Sa°sahT [sic - S a ’saT ?] and SarabI,
rath er than S araw ah and S ar/Sar. L ike D ostal, C arter raises the p o ssib ility th at th ese m o ieties
reflect a d iv isio n b etw een the “true M ah ra and those w ho b ecam e M a h ra.” 111 T his is the o p inion
o f a co n tem p o rary M ah ri scholar, cA li S a cTd B akrit: “T he tribes o f al-M ah ra com e in tw o types:
th e M ahri trib es th at o rig in ated and resid e in the land o f al-M ahra and the others th at arrived from
b ey o n d al-M ah ra and w ith the p assag e o f tim e, affiliated them selves [intasabat °ila ] to M ahri
,,112
society.
S ince b o th D o s ta l’s and C a rte r’s field w o rk in the 6 0 ’s and 7 0 ’s, the genealo g y o f the M ahra
has b een “u p -d a te d ” to acco m m o d ate even m ore recen t social and p o litical con fig u ratio n s. T hus,
w e curren tly fin d a d iv isio n b etw een the “p u re ” M ahri groups, (the S araw ah (M hr. S rayhl), Sehah
109
W e should take to heart John Carter’s admonition against reading too much into genealogical, especially where the
Mahra are concerned. H e writes: “A part o f the great interest in genealogies shown by the Arabs shortly after the rise
o f Islam can be ascribed to the need to define just w ho the Arabs were for tax purposes after the conquests, when Arabs
received preferential treatment over those people w ho had been conquered. This led to a certain number o f difficulties
and consequent forgeries. It is certain that the classical descent o f the Mahra was one o f these as they were made to fit
into a record o f descent that very probably does not concern them at all” (Carter, 1982, 16).
110D ostal, 1989, 29.
'"C arter, 1 9 8 2 ,6 0 .
112 Bakrit, 1999, 37.
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and S ar [w ritten “ S acir ”]), and th e “M a h ric iz ed ” A1 K afir on the o th e r.113 In th e m o st recen t
iteratio n s o f M ah ri k in sh ip , w e n o tice that the S ar g ro u p has m oved o v e r w ith the S araw ah group
and has jo in e d the “p u re ” M ah ri m o iety to m ak e room fo r th e A1 K afir on th e “m ix e d ” side o f
M ahri so ciety . T he A1 K afir h a v e only recen tly taken u p resid en ce in al-M ah ra, and d esp ite
histo rical an tag o n ism s b etw een the A1 K atir trib e and th e M ahri A1 cA frar, re la tio n s betw een b o th
g ro u p s are n o w frien d ly and in te rm arria g e has led to the sp read o f the M ahri la n g u ag e in K afiri
h o u seh o ld s. It is w ithin th is co n tex t o f w arm in g rela tio n sh ip s that co n te m p o rary M ahri
g en ealo g ists h av e estab lish ed co m m o n ancestry fo r al-M a h ra and the K atiri th ro u g h jo in t descen t
from S a b a 0 b . Y asg u b b. Y acru b b . Q ahtan. A t the sam e tim e, the M ah ra m ain tain a d e ep ly held
p o sitio n that th e ir society co n sists o f tw o m oieties: a “p u re ” M ahri h a lf and a “M ah riciz ed ” A rab
h a lf.114
T he assim ilatio n o f A rab s th ro u g h “p u re” and “m ix e d ” m o ieties is d em o n stra ted in early
h istorical acco u n ts o f al-M ah ra as w ell. W e h av e a lre ad y seen an im plied d istin ctio n betw een the
“m o re elo q u e n t” ( °afsah ) M ah ra, (that is, speaking b e tte r A rabic), and a n o th er g ro u p th at m ust
speak A rab ic less cap ab ly , (i.e., a “p u re ” M ahri m o iety ), in an account by al-H am d an l. O ther
h isto rical acco u n ts o f the M a h ra featu re a sim ilar d iv isio n o f M ahri and assim ilated A rabs
co u n terp o ised against a p u re ly M ahri group. W e h av e already w itnessed th is in a l-H am d an i’s
account o f the B anu G u d ay d w ho settled in R ay su t u n d e r th e p ro tectio n o f the M ahri al-T agra,
and w ith th em , en gaged in h o stilities ag ain st the “an ti-a ssim ila tio n ist” M ahri B anu g a n z a r it.115
D ostal p ro p o ses that these a ssim ilated A rab im m ig ran ts fro m the B anu G u dayd m ay have
p ro v id ed the recru its for the a ssim ilatio n ist, “M ah ricize d ” lineage o f the B anu S a r/S a r.116
113 Ib id .,42; Salim Luhaymar al-Qumayri, al-M ahra: al-Q ablla w a -'l-lu g a (Sana’a: Markaz cIbadI li- ‘l-Dirasat w a - i-
Nasr, 2003), 9-10; Hasan Maqbul al-3Ahdal, M uhafazat al-M ahra: H aqa ’iq w a -‘l - ’arqam (Sana’a: al-D iya3 li-‘l-
Tibaca b i- ‘1-Kambyutur, 2000), 80-81.
114 “After listing the tribes o f al-Mahra, w e may retrace the tribes o f al-Sarawah, al-Sayhah and the Bayt Sar to Mahra
b. Haydan. This means that they derive from the distant ancestor, Humayd b. Saba3, w hile the tribes o f the A l Katir
derive from the distant ancestor Mahlan b. Saba3. From this, w e can easily discern the brotherhood and mutual ties o f
al-Mahra and al-Kafir from Saba3” (Baknt, 1 9 9 9 ,4 2 ).
115 Al-Hamdanl, Sifat gazTrat a l - cara b , 66-67.
116 Dostal, 1 9 8 9 ,2 9 .
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T his story is strik in g ly ev o cativ e o f th a t related by al-T ab ari for the cam p aig n o f °Ikrim a
again st a l-M ah ra d uring the ridda w ars in 632-33 CE. T he passage is w orth q u o tin g in w hole:
W h en cI k r im a ,cA rfag a and H u d ay fa b ro u g h t an end to the ap o stasy [ridda] o f O m an,

cIk rim a left w ith his so ld iers to w ards a l-M a h ra ....a n d he cam e to al-M a h ra w ith those
w h o w ere h elp in g h im fro m N ag iy a, a l-DA zd, cA b d al-Q ays, R asib, and S acd o f the
B an! TamTm B asr and h e in v ad ed the v illag es o f M ahra. T here he fo u n d tw o groups
o f M ahra: th e first w as in a part o f the lan d o f M ah ra called G ay ru t w hich co vers the
area o f the tw o p lain s o f N adadun fro m am o n g st the lo w er steppe lan d o f M ahra.
T h eir le a d e r w as S ahrit, a m an o f the B an! S ahrah. A s for the o th e r group, they live
in th e h ig h lan d s and all o f the M ah ra [there] have subm itted to the lea d er o f this
gro u p , al-M u sab b ih o f th e B am M u h arib , and all th e peo p le follow ed him ex cept fo r
th o se w ith S a h rit...W h e n cIk rim a saw ho w few m en w ere w ith S ahrit, h e called h im
to retu rn to Islam , and at the very first call, he responded. In this w ay, A llah
w eak en ed al-M u sab b ih . T hen °Ikrim a sen t to [al-M usabbih], callin g h im to return to
Islam and to reject u n b elief, b u t [al-M usabbih] w as d eluded in to th in k in g he had a
larg e n u m b e r o f m en w ith him and he drew fu rth e r aw ay from S a h rit.117
In essen ce, th is account rev eals an e th n ic-id eo lo g ical sp lit in M ahri society betw een the
S ahrit and th e B anu M u h arib . T he M ah ra u n d e r S ahrit en tered into an allian ce w ith the arriving
A rabs w h ile th e B an u M u h arib rem ain ed h o stile to the now -m ixed group o f A rabs and M ah ra and
w ere u ltim ately d isp laced b y them . T he p h o n etic sim ilarity betw een S ah rit and the M ahri
S araw ah h as b een observ ed b y D ostal, (w ho lik en s it as w ell to Ibn al-M u g aw ir’s referen ce to the
M ah ra as the “ S ah ara” as w e ll).118 If the tw o w ords are in d e ed related, it w ould illu stra te the
m odel th at I h av e p ro p o sed fo r M ahri society: the m ixed A rab-M ahri “ S ah rit” g ro u p g raduated to
th e “p u re ” M ahri m oiety, (w here they b ec am e k now n as the Saraw ah), in o rd e r to m ake ro o m fo r
th e A rab B anu G udayd w ho then jo in e d the m ixed m o iety and beco m e k now n as the B anu
S ar/S ar. In recen t tim es, the B anu S ar/S ar has m oved in to the “p u re” M ahri m o iety and
“M ah ricized ” elem en ts o f th e KatTri have taken th e ir p lace as the n ew com ers.
V II: al-M ah ra in R ecent H istory and C onclusions:
1,7 Abu Gacfar Muhammad al-Taban, T a ’rTh al-um am wa-'l-m uluk, ed. cAbd al-Latif al-Hatib (Cairo: al-Matbaca al-
H usaynlya al-Misriya, 1905), 3:263.
" 8 Dostal, 1989, 29.
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O ne senses that h isto ry b egan to shift ag ain st the M S A lan g u ag es as a w h o le w ith the
ad v en t o f Islam and the p ro p ag atio n o f A rabic as the so le lan guage o f A rabian Islam . A s is seen
elsew h ere in th e Islam ic N e a r E ast, the lin k ag e o f cen tral govern an ce, relig io n and A rab ic h a s
b o d ed p o o rly fo r in d ig en o u s lin g u istic co m m u n ities. In A rab ia, th e sch o larly im ag in a tio n sought
to explain aw ay the an o m aly o f the M S A lan g u ag e s in the A rabian heartlan d . T he asso ciatio n o f
al-M ah ra w ith th e lo st n atio n o f 0A d w as one m eans th at A rab ic h isto ria n s and g eo g ra p h ers u sed
to fit the M S A lan g u ag es in to the p re v ailin g lin g u istic and histo rical n o tio n s.119 T his asso ciatio n
offered a d ual solu tio n : it g iv es an aetio lo g ical acco u n t o f M S A speaking tribes and also offers
histo ric-relig io u s w eig h t to the p re su m e d irrelev a n ce o f the M S A lan g u ag es in A rabia.
T he slip p ag e o f al-M ah ra fro m b ro a d er do m in an ce in p re-Islam ic A rab ia is re fle cted in Ibn
a l-M u g a w ir’s acco u n t o f th e ridda cam p aig n s, sp ecifically , the annih ilatio n o f the m en o f al-
M ah ra and th e flig h t o f th e re m a in in g w om en to the m o u n ta in s.120 A v o id in g the q u estio n o f the
h isto ricity o f th is acco u n t, th e n arrativ e reflects the la rg e r trend o f the m arg in aliza tio n o f the
M ah ra as a lin g u istic m in o rity once th e ir territo ries had been jo in e d to a la rg e r A rab ic-sp eak in g
co m m o n w ealth . S eco n d ly , th is n arrativ e in d icates that harsh m easu res w ere req u ired to sw eep
aw ay th is aw k w ard re m in d e r o f a p re-Isla m ic, n o n -A rab ic A rabia. C h arac teristic o f the general
retreat o f th e M ah ra o v er th e last few cen tu ries, the h istorian Salll b. R u zayq (d. 1873 C E ) rep o rts
th at the Im am al-M u h a n n a b. G a°far (d. 1480-81) o rd ered the dep artu re o f the M a h ra fro m O m an
fo r failing to p ay th e ir tith e o f th ree-y ear o ld cam els. C o n fronted w ith this ultim atu m , the M ahri
deleg atio n resp o n d ed w ith dignity: “W e can n o t leav e o u r co u n try .” 121 In the end, th ey su bm itted
to the Im a m ’s d em an d s and, one p resu m e s, g rad u ally integrated in to A rab -O m an i society.
119 For exam ple, Yaqut im plies the descent o f al-Mahra from cAd through a geographical correspondence, (Yaqut al-
Hamawl, al-Buldan al-yam aniya, ed. Ism acil al-cA k w a’ [Kuwait: al-Gamciya al-Gugrafiya al-Kuwaytlya, 1985], 293),
while Ibn al-Mujawir reports that the Mahra as the remnants o f cAd whom Allah resettled in Zufar, Suqotra and al-
Maslra, (Ibn al-Mujawir, 271).
129 Ibid., 271.
Salll b. Ruzayq, H istory o f the Im am s an d S eyyids o f ‘Oman, trans. George Badger (London: The Haykluyt Society,
1921), 17.
76
It is n o t m y in ten t to o v erstate the c o n tractio n o f trad itio n a l M ahri territory. T his is really
o n ly an issu e in O m an sin ce the h isto ric ally attested dem arcatio n betw een n ativ e speak ers o f
A rab ic an d M ahri at W ad i M a sila in the w est rem ain s u n ch an g ed to the p re sen t day. T he M ahri
lan g u ag e is th e p rin cip al lan g u ag e o f the G o v e m ate o f al-M ah ra w here p rim ary A rab ic speakers
are still, n o d o u b t, th e m in o rity . A t the very least, M a h ri w as certainly n o t the m in o rity language
o f the S u ltan ate o f Q isn an d S o q o tra w hich issu ed p assp o rts, had a seat in the U nited N atio n s and
retain ed its in d ep en d en ce u n til 1967. In sum m ary, w e can p o in t to tw o essen tial p rin cip les in
A rab -M ah ri relatio n s. F irst o f all, A rab ic scholarship, classical and co n tem p o rary , appears all b u t
d e a f to th e M ahri lan g u ag e. W h ile w e can find a b asic reco gnition th at a fo reig n lan guage w as
spoken in S o u th east Y em en and D hofar, th is “ gutm ” is incorporated in to an A rab ian language
id eo lo g y b y an n ex in g it to “H im y ari” o r “P e rsia n ” cagamiya, o r by erasin g it together. W h ile it
is nearly im p o ssib le to glean any p ractical in fo rm atio n fo r the M ahri lan g u ag e fro m A rabic
sources, th e few citatio n s that w e do fin d reveal h o w th e in d ig en o u s lan g u ag e d iv e rsity in
S outh ern A ra b ia is ratio n alized th ro u g h im ag in ed and m y thological co m m u n ities.
T he second p rin cip le describes ho w the M ah ra deal w ith the h e g em o n y o f the A rabic
language. O n the one h an d , the M ahra h av e pro jected th e ir ow n lan g u ag e h ab its in to an A rabic
lin g u istic fram ew o rk via a cu ltu rally -tran slated v ersio n o f a M ahri “fu sh a .” T his fusha, m uch like
its A rabic co u n terp art, is en v isio n ed in a n u m b e r o f d ifferen t yet ov erlap p in g w ays: som e see it as
a g eo g rap h ical d ialect lin k ed to Q isn, (the site o f political and h istorical p re stig e), o r to the
b ed o u in , (the b earers o f “au th e n ticity ” ), w hile others p erceiv e it as a so cio lect linked w ith the
eld erly and o ld e r p o etic form s. It is this latte r p ercep tio n that strikes m e as ly ing clo sest to the
heart o f M ah ri fu sh a . T he M ahri fusha beco m es e x p lica b le as a bu n d le o f p h rases, w ords and
p o etic id io m s associated w ith th e tribal poetry: p rim a rily the ragzit and °ddi w a-krem krem
genres. T he M ahri fu sh a is th ereb y less o f a sp ecific id io m o r a dialect than it is an au ra o f
trad itio n that em an ates from p e rfo rm an c es o f those tw o p o e tic genres. A t the sam e tim e, a
77
y o u n g e r g en eratio n o f p o st-1 9 6 7 p o ets, ep ito m ized b y H agg D akon, has rein v en ted a M ahri lyric
id io m w h ile je ttiso n in g tribal p o e tic form and content. B y co n ceiving o f M ahri fu sh a as a
co m m u n al id eo lect strad d lin g th e regional d ialects, H agg has follow ed the very p ath that the
literary stan d ard A rab ic h as tak en o v e r the last cen tu ry o r so.
F in a lly , h av in g d ep icted th e M ahri lan g u ag e as the “ju n io r m e m b er” in p a rtn e rsh ip w ith
A rab ic, I h a v e also attem p ted to dem o n strate certain in stan ces w here th o se ro les h av e been
rev ersed . I b e lie v e that M ah ri, (o r an ancestral fo rm th ereof), m ay have been a con trib u tin g en tity
to the id io m o f the Q ur°an, d esp ite the silence o f classical A rabic lex ico g rap h ical sch o larship on
th e m atter. B y ex am in in g g en ealo g ical trad itio n s as re p o rte d in h istorical n arrativ es, it is also
p o ssib le to reco n stru ct a social m ech an ism fo r the in teg ratio n o f A rab ele m en ts into M ahri
society; ev id en ce that th e flo w o f in flu en ce w as n o t alw ay s from A rabic to M ah ri. In short,
d esp ite th e p erv asiv e erasure o f the M ah ra in h isto rical, philo lo g ical and g eographical tex ts, the
M ah ra h a v e b een a p a rtic ip a n t in the to -an d -fro o f A rab ian po litics and cu lture. T hough the
m ajo rity A rab ic-lan g u ag e sch o larsh ip m ain tain s oth erw ise, by no m eans should al-M ah ra be
releg ated to th e m argins as an A rabian “o th e r.”
78
Chapter 3: Traditional Mahri Poetics in Practice - The Tripartite Branch
I. D efin itio n o f the T erm s:
H aving p la c e d th e M ahri lan g u ag e w ithin a co m p arativ e S em itic fram ew o rk in C h a p ter 1,
and hav in g e x am in ed re p re se n ta tio n s o f the M a h ra in A rabic ling u istic and h istorical sources in
C h ap ter 2, w e can n o w turn o u r attention to a d esc rip tio n and an aly sis o f M ahri p o etics itself.
T h is d iscu ssio n n eeds to b e p re fa ced b y a few clarificatio n s.
F o r on e, m y c o n cep tio n o f tra d itio n al M ah ri p o etics should not b e left u n q ualified,
p articu larly sin ce th e te rm “tra d itio n a l” its e lf is so frau g h t w ith ov erlap p in g sig n ificatio n s. M y
u sag e o f the te rm “tra d itio n a l” h ere is e ssen tially chro n o lo g ical and takes the period from 1967 to
1990 as the p iv o t p o in t b etw een w hat is p e rce iv e d as “tra d itio n al” by the M a h ra and, by
ex ten sio n , w hat is “in n o v a tiv e .” T he d isso lu tio n o f the cA frarf S ultanate o f Q isn and S oqotra, the
en jam b m en t o f a l-M a h ra in to th e P D R Y and th e Y A R and the creation o f a b o rd er betw een
Y em en and O m an ex p o se d a l-M ah ra to social c o n fig u ra tio n s u n p recedented in its h isto ry . A t the
very m o m en t that re g io n a l so v ereig n ty w as lo st, al-M ah ra as an adm in istrativ e en tity cam e into
bein g . T h e p o litical o rie n ta tio n o f al-M ah ra sh ifted to w ards the centers o f p o w e r in A den and
S a n a ’a; at the sam e tim e, reg io n al id en tifica tio n at the g o v em ate-lev el h as b eco m e a reality . T his
em erg en t d u al-id en tity , th o u g h it has m o v ed u n ev en ly th ro u g h o u t al-M ahra, m arks the c re atio n o f
new cultural p a tte rn s th a t are at once Y em eni and M ah ri, and that deal only sk ittish ly w ith tribal
content.
T his id e a o f a tra d itio n a l versu s an in n o v ativ e poetic should be un d ersto o d as deriving
largely from m y ow n o b serv atio n s. A co n tem p o rary M ahri po et such as H agg sees h im se lf as
fu n ctio n in g w ith in th e p a ra m e te rs o f trad itio n , even th o u g h he applies an in n o v ativ e aesthetic
sen sib ility to his w ork. N o r can A rab ic -lan g u ag e p o etry be d isq u alified from the traditional
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p ractice o f M ah ri p o etry since A rab ic has a lo n g h isto ry as the language o f p o etic co m p o sitio n in
al-M ah ra, p articu larly in S ay h u t and Q isn. P o etry th a t derives from al-M ahra, refers to M ahri
in stitu tio n s and fo llo w s so m e b a sic ru les o f rh y m e and m eter is considered trad itio n al by local
au d ien ces. T h is is certa in ly th e case fo r the A rab ic-lan g u ag e dlwans o f M u h am m ad cA kkus and
M u h sin CA1I Y a sir w ho tak e p rid e in th e ir stature as M ahri p o e ts.1 N o r sh o u ld the w ord
“tra d itio n a l” b e tak en to im p ly an o p p o sin g ca teg o ry o f “n o n -trad itio n al” ; th is w ould seem a
false, even in su ltin g , d ich o to m y to the p o ets in v o lv ed . T hat said, certain p o e tic form s and
p erfo rm an ce ev e n ts are b e c o m in g rare r o r are already e x tin c t in al-M ahra, and th e ir absence is
re co g n ized b y th e M ah ra. I h av e taken th e ir p e rc ep tio n s at face value and w ill use these
p ercep tio n s as an o rg an izin g p rin cip le to d istin g u ish this ch ap ter (and th e fo llo w in g one) fro m the
final tw o ch ap ters, w h o se co n cern is p o etry co m p o sed b y the p o s t-1967, “n a tio n a list” g e n eratio n .2
S h o u ld w e ev en sp eak ab o u t a fo rm al classificatio n o f oral po etic trad itio n s in the first
p lace? I re c o g n iz e th e d a n g e r o f clin g in g too stren u o u sly to d istinct genres o r o f b elabored
search in g fo r a sy m m etrical ty p o lo g y w ithin a system o f co m p o sitio n and perfo rm an ce. S tudies
o f genre h av e d o n e w ell to fo rce a reap p raisal o f the u sage o f this term by c riticiz in g the u tility o f
strict tax o n o m ies and th e o b jectificatio n o f n ativ e d isc o u rse .3 C oncerning h is field research on
A n g lo -S c o ttish b allad ry , fo lk lo rist John N iles has rem arked:
A s soon as one draw s firm lines b etw een d ifferen t types o f songs sung by a sin g le singer,
or b etw een d ifferen t ty p es o f singers taking p a rt in a single event, one ru n s the risk o f
im p o sin g artificial c a teg o ries on the p h e n o m e n a being discussed. C onceptual w alls go up
1 Muhammad cAkkus, K a lim d t a l - W i r a ‘aid a l-sa w a ti al-M ahra (no publishing information available, -2 0 0 3 ) and
Muhsin 'A ll Yasir, M a lh a m a t a l-Y am an (Damascus: D aral-G ahiz, 1980). Form ore on these two poets, see Chapter
5, Section II: “Arabic Language Poetry in al-Mahra.”
2 “The enactment o f social values and norm s” is the definition o f tradition given by Elizabeth Fine in “Performance
Praxis and Oral Tradition,” O ral T radition 18:1 (2003): 46-48. Others relate “tradition” more specifically to certain
cultural practices, such as Thom as D u B o is’ definition o f “tradition” within the framework o f oral poetry, (which is
particularly apropos to this dissertation). For D uB ois, tradition is “the murky body o f k n ow led ge... [that] includes
norms about the form the performance w ill take (its genre), the tim e and place it will unfold in (its context), the
person(s) who w ill perform, the person(s) w ho w ill listen, the w ays in which the listeners w ill respond, and the w ays in
which the performer(s) w ill incorporate the present experience into future performances” (Thomas D uB ois, “Oral
Tradition,” O ral Tradition 18:2 [2003]: 255-57).
' For a detailed review o f the shifting fortunes o f “genre” as a scholarly tool for linguistic anthropologists, see Charles
Briggs and Richard Baumann, “Genre, Intertextuality and Social Power,” J ournal o f L in g u istic A n th ro p o lo g y 2:2
(1992): 131-172.
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w here n o n e had sto o d b efo re, and soon the m em b ers o f a co m m unity are d iv id ed from
one an o th e r and th e re se a rc h er is cut o ff fro m u n d erstan d in g a cultu re as a w h o le.4
F o r the field re se a rc h er, m ap p in g a ty p o lo g y o f genre o n to nativ e d isco u rse en ters d u b io u s ethical
territo ry sin ce it n atu rally v erges in to an ex p ressio n o f cu ltural p o w er and h eg em o n y . In d eed , al-
M ah ra g ets h it fro m tw o d ire c tio n s: from n o n -A rab re search ers (such as m y self), as w ell as from
local sch o lars w ho w o u ld re c o n fig u re M ahri oral trad itio n s in to a cu ltural system im itativ e o f
Y em eni A rab ic p ractices.
T hat said, I th in k that it is n early im p o ssib le to speak a b o u t M ahri oral trad itio n s w ithout
reco u rse to a m eth o d b ased on shared and co n trastiv e featu res w ithin a system o f co m p o sitio n and
p erfo rm an ce. F ro m th e b ro a d e st p ersp e ctiv e , b asic gen res are clearly ap p aren t and it w ould b e
d isin g en u o u s to arg u e o th erw ise. T he M ah ra th em selv es d istin g u ish betw een genres o f
p erfo rm an ce and co m p o sitio n w ith th e ir ow n m eta-lan g u ag e, although the sig n ificatio n o f the
term in o lo g y is fo u n d to b e o c c a sio n a lly contrad icto ry o r o v erlapping. In lig h t o f th is native
term in o lo g y , ( ragzit, habbot, dandan, etc.), I feel ju stifie d in organizing and an aly zin g M ahri
verse tra d itio n s acco rd in g to th e sc h e m a d escrib ed below .
II. T h e T rip a rtite B ranch:
M ah ri p o e tic tra d itio n s can b e b ro k e n in to tw o b asic b ranches: po etry co m p o sed o f lines
d iv id ed in to th ree p a rts (tristich s) and po etry co m posed o f lin es divided in to tw o parts
(hem istich s). T his clea v a g e c o rrelates w ith a p e rfo rm a tiv e and topical/th em atic d istin ctio n ; it was
fo r this reaso n th at th e co n trast b etw e en tristich and b istic h po etry in itially attracted m y attention.
C o m p o sitio n s b ased on a trip a rtite lin e is alw ays ad d ressed to a p u b lic audience and the topic is
“o cc a sio n a l” o r e v en t-b ased . T rip a rtite p o etry in al-M ah ra n ev er d eals w ith as th em es and
e x p ressio n s o f p erso n al sen tim en t such as gazal (am o ro u s), 'itdb (rebuke o f a lover), and w a sf
4 John N iles, H om o N arrans (Philadelphia: University o f Pennsylvania Press, 1999), 36.
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(d escrip tio n o f a lo v er), ju s t to n am e a few p o ssib le them es. T his, as w e w ill see in C h ap te r 4, is
th e ju risd ic tio n o f b ip artite p o etry . T h is p o in t w as stressed to m e in a c o n v ersa tio n w ith the
M ahri p o e t CA1I N a sir B a lh a f w ho em p h asized th at trip artite po etry ad d resses a sp ecific ev en t
(“h a d a f m u cayyan”), w h ile “n e w p o e try ,” (i.e., b ip a rtite and strophic su n g -p o etry ), la c k s a central
ev en t (“/d yugad h a d a f”). T h is la tter c ateg o ry w ould b e in ap p ro p riate fo r a resp e cted ad u lt to
p u b lic ly perfo rm ; gazal is n e v e r attrib u ted to the S u ltan s o f al-M ahra, fo r instance.
A n o th e r featu re o f tristich p o etry is th at it m ay b e sung o r chanted to a ch arac teristic m elody
that is co m m o n to all su n g -p erfo rm an ces o f tristich p o etry . T his is the p e rfo rm a n ce key th at cues
the au d ien ce fo r the recep tio n o f “o cc asio n al,” ev e n t-b a se d poetry. H em istich po etry can n o t be
“k e y ed ” b y th is m elody.
T ristich p o etry , as fa r as I can determ in e, is u n iq u e to M ahri p o etic s and is n o t fo u n d in
A rabic p o etics. M ahri p o etry b ro k en in to tristich s sh o u ld n o t b e co n fu sed w ith A rabic trim ete r
ragaz. F o r one, th e in d iv id u al stich s o f a M ahri tristich p o em are o f a d ifferen t o rd e r o f quantity:
fo u r heavy syllab les plus 3 in terv en in g lig h t syllables: I I (x 3 ).5 S eco n d ly , th e in dividual
stichs o f a M ahri tristich p o em p o ssess a gram m atical and notional in d ep en d en ce n o t found in a
fo o t o f A rab ic trim e te r ragaz. T h is d istin c tio n is clearly ex p ressed in co llectiv e ch an ts o f tristich
verse w h ere a b reath in g p au se is au d ib le in b e tw ee n each stich. W hen H agg D ak o n tran scrib ed
the tristich po em , 3A stir seh drlytit Iti: (C h a p ter 5, C ), in A rabic characters, h e did so w ith visib le
break s b etw een each stich as th o u g h they w ere e q u iv a len t to the stichs o f an A rab ic qaslda.
III. Ragaz. Ragza and Rtigzlt:
T he sm allest, p erfo rm ab le u n it o f tristich p o e try is the rtigzlt couplet. In form al term s, a line
o f rtigzlt is co m p o sed o f th re e stichs o f seven altern atin g h eavy and lig h t syllables. The
5 Whether Mahri poetic meter is based on stress or syllable length depends on the performance context. W hen chanted
or sung, Mahri poetic meter is based on syllable length, (like Arabic). When Mahri poetry is recited, stress patterns
dominate the performance. For a com plete discussion o f Mahri prosody, see Appendix A in this dissertation.
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ety m o lo g y o f ragzit, lik e its A rab ic co g nate, ragaz, is unclear. In M ah ri, the sim p le v erbal fo rm
rguz/yrugaz m eans “to sing, to d an ce” and a deriv ed verbal stem ratgaz/yartdguz m eans “ (tw o
row s o f m en), to sing to [one an o th er].” 6 T h ese, h o w ever, are sim ply dev erb al fo rm s fro m the
n o u n ragzit, and o ffe r n o clu es as to the u n d erly in g m eaning o f ro o t R .G .Z .
E ty m o lo g ies o f A rab ic ragaz m ay h elp us to illu m in ate its M ahri co u n terp art, ragzit.
M ean in g s fo r A rab ic ragaz are v ario u sly derived fro m “a trem or, spasm , co n v u lsio n (as m ay
o ccu r in th e b eh in d o f a cam el w hen it w ants to rise )” o r “thunder, ru m b le, m ake a n o ise .”7 In
h is Glossaire Datinois, L an d b erg relates R .G .Z . to a n u m b e r o f S em itic ro o ts th at share the first
tw o elem en ts, R. and G ., and w hose m ean in g s c lu ste r around tw o concepts: “to raise a c la m o r [un
bruit],” (R .G .S ., R .G .C., R .G .F . and R .G .M .), and “to b e agitated, to trem b le [etre agite,
tembler],” (R .G .H ., R .G .H ., R .G .D . and R .G .F .).8 D espite L an d b erg ’s rich Sem itic
ety m o lo g izin g , w e are n o c lo ser to an o ld er m ean in g o f root R .G .Z . T he referen tial featu res o f
“raising a d in ” and “agitated tre m o r” do give the im p ressio n that p o em s co m p o sed in the ragaz
m eter w ere su d d en , sten to rian d eclaratio n s and th erefore atm o sp h erically d ifferen t from the
th em atically in tricate and m ed itative qasidas o f p re-Islam ic A rabia.
R eg ard less o f th e p recise ety m o lo g y , the p rac tice o f ragaz poetry in p re - and early Islam ic
A rab ia w as asso ciated w ith the songs o f cam el dro v ers in view o f “the iam b ic, m o n o to n o u s and
p o u n d in g rh y th m o f th ese p o e m s.”9 Indeed, any activity characterized by a rhy th m ic beat,
(draw ing w ater, gam es, lu llab ies and c h ild re n ’s dan ces), could be acco m p an ied b y sp o n tan eo u s
co m p o sitio n o f ragaz. T o th is should b e added its u sage in the utteran ce o f spells and
in c a n ta tio n s.10
A ssu m in g that ragaz and ragzit are related at som e p re-h isto ric stage, w e ou g h t to ask w hat
c o n tem p o rary p ra c tic e o f th e M ahri ragzit can tell us about cultural attitu d es tow ards ragaz in
6 Johnstone, 1 9 8 7 ,3 1 9 .
7 Wolfhart Heinrichs, “Radjaz,” in The E ncyclopaedia o f Islam (1987), 8:375-76.
8 Landberg, G lossaire D atinois, 2:1134-1137.
9 Heinrichs, 1 9 8 7 ,3 7 6 .
10 Ibid., 376-77 and Reynold N icholson, A L itera ry H isto ry o f the A ra b s (Cambridge: University Press, 1930), 74-75.
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A rab ic v e rse trad itio n s. A fter all, it is not m erely in form al term s th at M ahri ragzit and A rabic
ragaz p art w ays, b u t general sen tim en t view s th e status o f ragzit and ragaz q u ite d ifferen tly in
th e ir re sp ectiv e p o e tic system s. T his topic is p a rtic u larly relevant in the study o f A rab ic literatu re
since ragaz en g en d ers n o n e o f the m erit and p re stig e accorded to the m o re p restig io u s qaslda', in
fo rm al, th em atic an d all aro u n d aesthetic term s, ragaz is the “step -ch ild ” o f A rabic p o e tic s .11
T he reaso n s fo r th is m u st lie b ey o n d strictly m etrical attributes since ragaz receiv es no
p e c u lia r treatm en t in th e sy stem o f A rabic p ro so d y d ev eloped by al-H alll b. A hm ad (d. 7 9 1 ? C E ).
T h e ragaz m eter ( m u sta filu n m u sta filu n m u sta filu n , [I — v - 1] x3), along w ith the ram al and
hazag m eters, d efin es o n e related circle o f m ete r am ongst the o ther sixteen canonical m eters. T he
u n iq u e statu s o f ragaz p ro b a b ly has m ore to d o w ith the structure o f the ragaz line itself. A line
o f ragaz v erse is ty p ic a lly co m p o sed o f th ree feet w ithout any caesura, (a m o n o stich ), u n lik e the
classical A rabic qaslda w h o se form al strictures req u ire that each line b e co m posed o f tw o stichs
(i.e., h em istich s): th e sadr and the caguz.
In its earliest a ttestatio n s, ragaz po etry ap pears to h av e occupied a less form al re g iste r o f
A rab p o etics than th e qaslda. F o r one, ragaz tended to be m uch sho rter and con sisted o f no m ore
than th ree to fiv e lines. R agaz appears to have b een co m posed ex tem p o ran eo u sly , and m o st o f it
w as fo rg o tten ju s t as q u ick ly . T his dou b tless reflected the im provised, spon tan eo u s nature o f
ragaz c o m p o sitio n ; as such, ragaz en couraged a m o re p o p u lar, less “p ro fessio n al,” p ra ctice than
th e qaslda.
E lite d isd ain n o tw ith sta n d in g , ragaz w as w idely perfo rm ed th ro u g h o u t the A rab o -Islam ic
w o rld and even b eg an to eat aw ay at the territo ry o f the m ore esteem ed qaslda from the early
Islam ic p erio d o n w a rd s .12 O nce the stricture o f m o no-rhym e w as relax ed , (in a w ay that w as
11 Responding to the sam e d iscrep ancy,cAIT Muhsin A1 H afiz asks whether the Mahri ragzit possibly “represents the
historical background o f the Arabic ragaz, w hose appearance today is emaciated and sallow [sahiba w a-bahita], in
contrast to the corpus o f Arabic poetry in general” (A1 H afiz, 1987, 68).
12 N icholson’s assertion that “with respect to metre the [pre-lslam ic] poet may choose any except R ajaz, which is
deemed beneath the dignity o f the O de” may simply reflect a bias o f preservation rather than com position (N icholson,
19 3 0 ,7 7 ).
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easier fo r p o e try o f less can o n ical status than the qaslda ), rh y m in g co u p lets o f ragaz (urguza
m uzdaw iga) b e c a m e the fo rm at o f ch oice fo r long n a rrativ e and didactic p o em s such as A ban b.
cA bd al-H am ld a l-L a h iq fs v ersificatio n o f Kalila w a-D im na, the 3A lfiya o f Ibn M alik and a b o o k
o f urguza on n av ig atio n b y V asco d a G a m a ’s guide to th e Indian O cean and A rab ian S ea, A hm ad
b. M ag id al-N a g d l (d. - 1 5 0 0 C E ). W hen co m p o sed in rh ym ed couplets, the p o ssib le len g th o f
ragaz p o em s ru n s to w ard s the in fin ite.
I f w e turn to m o d em A rabian b ed o u in po etics, w e can detect echoes o f early A rabic ragaz
still in p ractice, alth o u g h d eep ly in g rain e d , literary attitudes prevent it from b ein g reco g n ized as
such. F o r in stan ce, W estern trav ellers to A rabia, (in cluding R ichard B urton in 1855), and
scholars o f A rab ian eth n o -p o etics h av e long been aw are o f bed o u in “w a r-so n g s” c alled cardih (o r
carda o r galtih ); it is less c o m m o n ly m en tioned that th is po etic genre cleav es to the ragaz m eter: I
-- 1 (x 3 ).13 T h o u g h called “w a r-so n g s” in scholarly p arlan ce, it is also ev id en t th at the topical
dom ain o f th e cardih is m uch b ro a d e r than o th erw ise im p lied ; indeed, the n am e sh o u ld be
u n d ersto o d as a referen ce to a p e rfo rm ativ e m ode and n o t to a specific them e o r topic. In his
article on th e su n g -p o etry o f E astern A rab ia, S im on Jarg y confronts this very issue: “I f w e
co n sid er m elo d ies o r tex ts, again w e do n o t find the sp ecific ch aracteristics o f a w ar-so n g . T he
rh y th m is ra th e r slo w and q u iet, sou n d in g m ore relig io u s than m artial. T he p o etry itself, apart
from b rie f allu sio n s to th e c h ie fta in ’s o r the p rin c e ’s w arlik e exploits, ex presses m o stly the
p e rfo rm e r’s d istress ap p eased b y in v o catio n s and p ra y ers to G od.” 14 T he fu n ctional lo ad o f
cardih w ith in th e system o f A rabian b ed o u in p o etics is m uch h ea v ier than in d icated by the label
“w a r-so n g .”
In term s o f p erfo rm an ce, cardih sun g -p o em s are accom panied w ith d ram s (tbul) and are
p erfo rm ed co llectiv ely ; a p o e t im p ro v ise s lines that are pick ed up and chanted by his fellow
13 Saad Sow ayan, N abali P oetry: The O ral P o etry o f A rabia (Berkeley: University o f California Press, 1985), 142.
Am ongst the W estern travellers, diplomats and scholars to have remarked on the performance o f cardih are Richard
Burton, John Burckhardt, H.R.P. Dickson and Sim on Jargy, (in Sim on Jargy, “Sung Poetry in the Oral Tradition o f the
G ulf Region and the Arabian Peninsula,” O ral Tradition 4:1-2 [1989]: 180-182).
14 Jargy, 1989, 181-182.
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perfo rm ers u n til he co m es u p w ith an o th er line. S ince th e y are often co m p o sed by n o n
sp ecialists, cardih son g -p o em s av erag e only seven lines o f verse. A s a cu ltural c erem o n y ,
S ow ayan w rites:
P articip an ts in th e cardih dress as if they w ere going to b attle; they w ea r b ad g es and carry
w eapons. T h e d an cers b ran d ish th e ir sw ords and sp ears and ex ecute acrobatic
m o v em en ts in d icatin g stren g th, ag ility , and en d u ran ce. In the p ast the cardih w as strictly
a w ar d an ce, b u t n o w it is m erely a fo rm o f e n terta in m e n t perform ed on im p o rtan t
o c c a s io n s ...T h e original p u rp o se o f the cardih w as to in c ite people and raise th e ir
courage on the w ay to b a ttle .15
D esp ite S o w a y a n ’s reco g n itio n th at cardih po etry fo llo w s the prin cip als o f “halilian ”
m etrics, he d ev o tes n o space in his b o o k to the actual texts o f cardih p o etry . T he cardih genre
falls b eneath h is in te re st ex cep t as a d e m o n stratio n o f the co ntinued survival o f the classical
m eters in p re se n t-d a y A rabia. In stead , h e d evotes his atte n tio n to the lo n g e r texts o f nabatl
po em s w hich b e a r a top ical resem b lan ce to the classical A rabic qaslda in term s o f th e ir length,
m o tifs and ex ten d ed d escrip tiv e sections. T his is a fru stratin g o v ersight since the cardih genre is
close in sp irit to early A rabic ragaz, and thus p ro v id es a liv in g co nnection w ith pre-classical,
A rabic p o etry .
R em ark ab ly , th is v arian t o f the ragaz/cardih m eter, I — v- li — v- II - ~— I, is describ ed
by Sow ayan as “the m o st p o p u la r m e te r in N ab atl p o e try ” and is fu rth e r iden tified b y D avid
Sem ah as “th e b ed o u in m e tre ” due to its p rev alen ce am o n g st the b e d o u in o f the S inai, N egev,
A rabia, Iraq, S yria, Jordan and P a le stin e .16 F urther, all b u t one o f the seventeen sh o rt (tw o line)
occasional zam il and m irgdza co u p lets c o lle cted by L an d b erg in the H adram aw t fo llo w the exact
sam e m eter: I — 1 (x 3 ).17 L an dberg avers that the m etrical foot, I — v- I, “is o f great v itality
15 Sow ayan, 1985, 142. R ichard B urton describes the exuberance o f cardih perform ances in even m ore colorful term s:
“A w ell-m ounted party o f fine old A rab S haykhs o f the H am idah clan, preceded by th eir varlets, perform ing the
A rzah o r w ar d ance...firing their d u ck-guns upw ards, o r blow ing the p o w d e r into the calves o f those before
them, brandishing their swords, leaping frantically the while, with their bright coloured rags floating in the wind,
tossing their long spears tufted with ostrich feathers high in the air, reckless where they fall” (Richard Burton, A
P ersonal N a rra tive o f a P ilgrim age to E l M e dinah a n d M eccah [London: G. B ell and Sons, 1924], 418-419).
16 Sowayan, 1985, 140 and David Semah, “On the Metre o f Bedouin Poetry,” A sian a n d A frica n Stu d ies 25 (1991):
199.
17 Carlo Landberg, E tu d es su r les d ia lects d e I ’A ra b ie m eridionale (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1905), 99-173. The genres o f
zam il and m irgdza w ill be discussed shortly.
86
am o n g st th e A rab s o f th e S outh in gen eral, less so am o n g st the settled fo lk ( al-hadar ), and m ore
o r less so am o n g st th e b e d o u in o f the N o rth .” 18
It sp eak s a v o lu m e ab o u t co n tem p o ra ry attitudes to w ard s ragaz th at sch o larsh ip has been
lo ath to id e n tify th is m eter and p e rfo rm an c e ty p e w ith early classical and p re -Isla m ic ragaz.
In stead , “th e b e d o u in m e te r” is b een d e sc rib e d as a v ariatio n o f the sa ric (S em ah), the taw ll
(S ow ayan and K u rp ersh o ek ) and the basil (L an d b erg ), b u t the w ord “ragaz” is rarely u s e d .19 T his
o m issio n reflects th e in terest o f S em ah and S o w ay an in dem o n stratin g the direct d escen t o f
b ed o u in “fo lk ” p o e try fro m th e classical A rab ic qaslda. T his has led them , in m y v iew , to
o v erlo o k th e p o ssib ility that a g o o d p a rt o f A rabian b e d o u in p o etics con tin u es to b e co m posed
and p e rfo rm ed alo n g th e lin es o f ragaz, w hich (u n d er d ifferen t nam es p erh a p s), has w axed in
fu n ctio n ality an d relev an ce in th e p o st-Islam ic w orld. A s a final note, the ex trem ely v ib ran t
genres o f c o lle c tiv e ly ch an ted o r sung p o e try in p resen t-d ay A rab ia rece iv e secondary b illin g to
th e qaslda in all b u t S teven C a to n ’s Peaks o f Yemen I Summon', any g enres th at su p erficially
resem b le ragaz are clearly o f su b o rd in ate in tere st to co llecto rs o f trib al-A rab ian p o e try .20
A l-M a h ra stan d s the sc h o larly co n cep tio n o f the A rabic ragaz on its head. W h ereas ragaz
ho ld s a su b o rd in ate ran k to th e classical and co n tem p o rary qaslda in A rabic p o e tic system s,
ragzit h as the m o st h ig h ly e steem ed ro le w ithin the system o f M ahri p oetics, and b y extension,
w ithin cultu ral fo rm u la tio n s o f M ahri id en tity . T o qu o te A1 H afiz: “If the M ah ra tak es p rid e in
one p a rtic u la r asp ect o f th e ir h e ritag e, it is the art o f the ragaz w hich they p o ssess and w hich
ho ld s a special p la c e and c o n sid e ra tio n in th e ir p sy ch e {fi nafsiyatihim ).”21 Ragzit is the M ahri
an alo g u e to th e S outh Y em eni ragza to w hich it b ea rs certain form al and p e rfo rm ativ e sim ilarities
- despite b ein g in a d ifferen t la n g u a g e, o f co u rse.22 T he ragza in turn is ro u g h ly an alogous to the
18 Ibid., 103.
19 Semah, 1991, 195; Sow ayan, 1985, 140; Landberg, 1 9 0 5 ,1 0 3 . Marcel Kurpershoek’s ow es his metrical analysis o f
nagdi (i.e., nabatl) poetry entirely to Sow ayan (1985), (see Marcel Kurpershoek, O ral P o etry a n d N arratives fro m
C entral A ra b ia J: The P o etry o f ad-D indan, A B edouin B a rd in Southern N a jd [Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1994], 86-90).
20 Steven Caton, P ea k s o f Yemen I Sum m on (Berkeley: University o f California Press, 1990).
21 Al Hafiz, 1 9 8 7 ,6 8 .
22
The ragza in Y em en is also known as m argaz, m irgdza and m irguza (Landberg, G lossaire D atinois, 2:1135-1136).
87
N o rth ern Y em en i zam il, a m eta-p oetic term th at has far m ore cu rren cy now ad ay s than ragza.23 In
th e citatio n b elo w , F lag g M ille r d escrib es the N orth Y em eni zam il in term s that are eq u ally
ap p licab le to the S outh Y em eni ragza and the M ahri ragzit. W e can also see ho w clo sely the
p erfo rm an ce o f th e zam il/ragza/ragzit p a ra lle ls S o w a y a n ’s and B u rto n ’s cardih/arzah “w ar
so n g s” :
Set to sim ple m elo d ies d esig n ed to aro u se spirits and in cite action, [zawamil] are
co llectiv ely ch an ted b y larg e gro u p s b e fo re b attle and d isp u te m ediation, at w eddings,
and at celeb ratio n s and m a jo r social ev en ts. P articip an ts often d an ce the b a r ’a, a
trad itio n al tribal dan ce, w hile c h an tin g the zamil. A m idst the b ran d ish in g o f w eapons
and th e firing o f g u n s, the zam il is one o f the m ost im p ressive disp lay s o f tribal id entity
in Y em en .24
A s cultu ral p e rfo rm a n c es h av e ev olved in to a national com m odity, the zam il - like S o w a y a n ’s
cardih - h as also b e co m e a “p a c k ag e ab le” fo lk lo ric activity th at is at once trib al, rural and
sup rem ely m ark etab le at h eritag e fe stiv a ls.25
In short, w e can estab lish an e q u atio n o f ragaz, cardih, zamil, ragza and ragzit along
form al and p e rfo rm a tiv e lin es. A ll are the d o m ain o f pu b lic, topical p erfo rm an ce and all are the
p ro d u ct o f ex te m p o riz e d verse. T his in turns leads to a shorter, m ore m an ag eab le len g th and to a
23 One consequence o f the Northern Yem eni victory over the South in the Yemeni civil war in 1994 is that Southern
Yem eni cultural practices tend to get “reworked” as Northern Yem eni ones; this is m ost evident in the classification o f
nearly all folk dance in Yem en as a variation o f the Northern Yem eni b a r 'a , (see Nadia Adra, “Tribal Dancing and
Yemeni Nationalism: Steps to U nity,” R evue du M onde Musulman et d e la M editerrannee 67 (1993): 161 -168). I find
it particularly interesting that the recently published (1996) al-M u cgam a l-ya m a n ifia l-lu g a w al-tu ra f om its the term
ragza (or any other derivates o f the root R.G.Z. for that matter), and uses the term “zd m if’ exclusively. 1 have stated
that ragza and zam il are roughly equivalent, although the correspondence between the two genres is not absolute. In
general, South Yem eni ragza tends to be shorter than the North Yemeni zam il and it is for this reason, perhaps, that
M iller equates the ragza with the North Yem eni balah which consists o f short, quickly improvised lines exchanged in
heated competition (Flagg M iller, “Public Words and B ody Politics: R eflections on the Strategies o f W oman Poets in
Rural Y em en,” Journal o f W om en’s H istory 14:1 [20021:98).
24 Miller, 2002, 96.
25 The evolution o f the zam il (and other collective and extemporized genres o f verse) into controlled, staged
performances is notable throughout Yem en. M uhammad Salim al-Haddad, who writes from his own recollection o f
growing up in the zam il-rich province o f Sabwa, remarks on the decline o f the zam il in everyday performance:
“It is shameful for any pick-up truck packed [for a raid, celebration or wedding] to pass by a village without
a zam il and as they pass through it, they are w elcom ed by the people o f the village who salute them with gun
fire, and they return the salute. W e kept our ears open to this beautiful folklore (al-fulklur al-gam il)
[performed] from car-top and w e kept it alive until the arrival o f covered cars such as the sdlun (S U V ’s),
which finished o ff this beautiful folk lore...as long as the roads were rough and unpaved, w e would see these
cars com ing towards our village ten minutes before they arrived or even more. W e follow ed them with our
eyes to see i f they were headed to a city or village in our area and w e enjoyed watching them, tottering with
their load o f passengers, and at the same time our ears picked up the sound o f the zam il which w e memorized
as w e returned to our hom es, imitating it despite our tender age” (Muhammad al-Haddad, Funun al-zam il
wal-m uhayyid [no publishing information available, 1998], 98-99).
88
b ro a d e r d em o g rap h ic th at is cap able o f p ro d u cin g and en g ag in g in verses o f this type. C ritically ,
th is genre o f p o etry n e v e r ad d resses ly ric to p ics o r sentim ental them es; the very p erfo rm an ce
event - lin es o f m en c h an tin g c o llec tiv ely - p rec lu d e s th e p o ssib ility o f m ore in tim ate verse. P ut
an o th er w ay, w ho co u ld en d u re tw o lines o f h e a v ily -a rm ed tribesm en c h an tin g in un iso n about
th e ir b ro k en h earts?
Y et M ahri ragzit and th e re st d iffe r in one, cru cial w ay. A rab ic-lan g u ag e ragaz, ragza
and zam il are alw ays o n e o rd e r rem o v e d in p re stig e fro m nabatl, nagdl or hakam l po etry . T hese
la tte r g enres o f p o etry aspire to im itate the tone, lan g u ag e and them es o f the classical A rabic
qaslda, (m inus the d e clen sio n al m arkers [ cirab ]). M ah ri, o f course, lacks any eq u iv alen t to
classical A rabic literatu re and th e ragzit genre can n o t b e trum ped by a m o re “litera ry ” form .
In d eed , th e b ip artite qaslda g en re (M hr. jcsldat) is the dom ain o f n o n -sp ecialists as w ell as
sp ecialists, and thus d oes n o t co n vey the sam e au ra o f esteem ed cultural p ractic e as the trip artite
ragzit. R lw l p o etry in al-M ah ra, (sy n o n y m o u s w ith ly ric b ip artite p o etry ), is ascribed to the
second rank o f M ahri p o e tic s a fter the ragzit b y A1 H afiz.26
C aton noted th is d y n am ic am o n g st the Y em eni tribesm en o f H aw lan as w ell:
“Seco n d , and m o re in terestin g , is the fact th at the tribal poets gen erally h o ld ghazl o r
love p o etry in m uch lo w e r esteem than p o litica l and relig io u s verse, and if any them e can
be said to reign su p rem e, it is politics. T hose p o ets I interview ed w ho adm itted to having
com p o sed ghazl ten d ed to d en ig rate it in co m p ariso n w ith th e ir ou tp u t on p o litical
subjects. T his p re fe re n ce stands the to w n ’s valu atio n o f subject m atter on its h ea d .” 27
T he critical p o in t in C a to n ’s an aly sis is the o p p o sitio n betw een “the to w n ” and the “the trib e ” and
therefo re b etw een ly ric p o e try and co llective, occasio n al p o etry . In the canon o f m o d em A rab ic
poetry , it is alw ays the fo rm e r th a t receiv es the lio n ’s share o f esteem w h ereas the la tte r is
releg ated to fo lk lo ric d isp la y s as q u ain tly an tiq u arian set-pieces, “em aciated and sallo w ” in the
w ords o f A1 H afiz.28 In al-M ah ra, on the o th er h an d , “the to w n ” and “the trib e ” cannot be
co o rd in ated m ean in g fu lly ag ain st each o th e r since “the to w n ” is so p aten tly vestigial to “the
26 “In terms o f importance, rlw l poetry com es after ragaz poetry (which is known as ragzit)” (A1 Hafiz, 1987, 71).
27 Caton, 1990, 307.
28 Al H afiz, 1 9 8 7 ,6 8 .
89
trib e.” T h ere are n o cen ters o f M ahri learn in g and literacy to supplant local trad itio n s and n o
u rban h u b s that w ould b ro a d c a st th e ir ow n v alu a tio n s o f M ah ri poetry in fa v o r o f gazal o r
oth erw ise. A cco rd in g ly , and in lig h t o f the g re a te r form al com plexity o f M ah ri ragzit and its
ch o reo g rap h ed p erfo rm an ce, ragzit has retain ed cu ltu ral suprem acy o v e r the M ahri jcsidat,
thereby ren d erin g M ahri p o etics u n iq u e am o n g st the p o e tic system s o f A rabia.
IV . C o llectiv e P erfo rm an ce - Ragzit M avddni:
T he co m p o sitio n and p erfo rm an ce o f M ah ri-la n g u a g e ragzit falls in to tw o b asic m odes:
co llectiv e m aydani p e rfo rm a n c es and in d iv id u al p erfo rm an ces. T he fo rm e r type, ragzit maydani,
is the co llectiv e p e rfo rm a n c e g en re p a r excellence o f al-M ah ra. T his is the defin in g cultural
activity o f al-M ah ra, reaffirm in g the social and fam ilial b o n d s o f the M ah ri speaking co m m u n ity
th ro u g h th e e x ch an g e o f ritu al g reetin g s and recip ro cal ack n o w ledgem ent. A t any gathering o f
social sig n ifican ce, squ ad s o f 10-15 m en form a lin e th at flanks a p o et stan d in g in th e ir m idst.
O nce th e lin e has co alesced , th e m en let out a w hoop th at signals th e ir approach and th eir
readin ess fo r an e x ch an g e o f ex tem p o rized ragzit. T his lin e m arches to w ards a sim ilarly
com p o sed lin e o f m en, all o f w h om m ay already b e c h an tin g a tarhibi (“w e lco m in g ” ) ragzit. If
o th er g roups jo in th em , they fo rm a ro u g h sq uare and ta k e turns chanting th e ir resp o n ses to each
o th e r’s ragzit.
P rio r to the estab lish m en t o f a central au th o rity in al-G haydha, ragzit m aydani w ere also
p erfo rm ed at the b a rg ain in g tab le w h en ev er griev an ces w ere aired and n eg o tiatio n s w ere carried
out. T he M ahri p o et eA li N asir B a lh a f d escrib ed the ro le o f ragzit in p erfo rm an ce lik e co urtroom
p ro ceed in g s, (“ al-m ahkam a ” ). A cco rd in g ly , w hen b asic d ip lom acy failed to re so lv e a co nflict
b etw een tw o trib es, b o th w ould seek reco u rse to a th ird , disin terested p a rty ( m a rg a c). On the day
o f the ju d g e m e n t, b o th trib es w o uld p ro c ee d to the m a rg a c and establish th eir claim s by c h an tin g
90
ragzit maydani. In th is ro le, the M ahri ragzit p erfectly m irrors the fu n ctio n o f the zam il as
d escrib ed b y C ato n in Peaks o f Yemen I Sum m on (1990). H ow ever, since the g o v ern m en t has
assum ed th e ro le o f inter-tribal arb itrato r, the p ractical v alue o f ragzit has b een d im in ish e d ,
p articu larly sin ce v irtu ally no o n e in the local ad m in istratio n is fam iliar w ith the M ahri lan g u ag e.
In the cu rren t p o litical en v iro n m en t, ragzit are m ainly u sed fo r celeb rato ry ex p ressio n s o f
w elcom e and m u tu al co m p lim en t that are ex c h an g ed at celeb ratio n s ( sarihat ) such as w ed d in g s,
th e arrival o f a g o v ern m en t d eleg atio n o r in state-sp o n so red festivals.
In ragzit maydani, each line o f m en re p re sen ts a d iffere n t social interest. F o r in stan ce, in the
tarhlbl ragzit describ ed b elo w , one lin e re p resen ts the b rid e ’s kin, an o th er lin e rep resen ts the
g ro o m ’s kin, and o n e line rep resents g u ests fro m one p a rtic u la r d istrict, and so on. T he p o et o f
each squad is ch arg ed w ith im p ro v isin g a ragzit co u p let th at he shares w ith his sq u ad , w h o then
chant it rep eated ly . O nce they h av e given the o th e r squads a fair ch ance, the latte r are ex p ecte d to
com e u p w ith a resp o n se. In case the ch an tin g is to o lo u d o r the squads are too fa r apart, the po et
w ill leave his ow n squad to share his im p ro v ised co u p let w ith the poets o f the o th e r sq u ad s in a
frien d ly and co lleg ial fash io n . T his pro cess can co n tin u e fo r quite som e tim e; acco rd in g to H agg,
in fo rm er tim es th ey lasted all afternoon u n til sunset. T he lo n g est ex ch an g e I reco rd ed lasted
forty -fiv e m in u tes and co n sisted o f ap p ro x im ately 12-15 exchanges.
T he fo llo w in g is from an e x ch an g e o f ragzit m aydani fro m S ak r in district o f H asw ay n th at I
recorded in F eb ru ary , 2004. A l-M ah ra is ex ceptional in A rab ia in that m arriage is u x o rilo c al; the
29
groom takes u p resid en ce w ith the b rid e ’s fam ily. W ed d in g festiv ities take p lace at th e v illage
o f the b rid e and the g ro o m ’s fam ily is w elco m ed as g uests. In the fo llo w in g co u p lets, th e h o sts
(the fam ily o f the b rid e) g reet the g u ests and the g u ests ju stify th e ir reasons fo r com ing.
A. Ragzit m aydani from Sakr:
a) F am ily o f the bride, (co m p o sed b y Sadayn b. A ll b. A rb acIn K alsat):
29 Dostal, 1967, 84-85 and 142-145.
91
' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' 30
1. ball talbayya tek / / (led yfcawdar w -yahm um / / wci-hdd ’ lafca: sfe J
2 . w -nasw el man am wag / / w at naggam lln la b u d / / b-son d-habze° 31
b ) F a m ily o f the g ro o m , (poet unknow n):
1. gaybar has tdnjcaw f// bd-[hir d-abrdt / / tadhlhan hayyarem 32

2. attah srom a h a w sa w l// ba-m dlnat ahnob / / hal kasb w a-gle [*krem ] 33
c) G uests, (poet u n k n o w n):
1. gaybar sattal kci-nbe ' / / wa-sneg d-heh a :d id / / rokab w a-gze hmiil 34

2. w-lyeh mfammanln / / ylaytam argahat / / wa-hmul l-boh myul 35
a) F am ily o f th e b ride:
1. L ord, I ask y ou // H e w ho is able and cap able [o f p erfo rm in g any deed] // and
m akes [the w eather] calm and clear
2. H e q u iets d o w n the w aves // w hen the rain-stars are trig g ered fo r us // w ith a
sea-storm on th e E a st W ind.
b ) F am ily o f th e groom :
1. U n ex p ected n ew s, you load up // on th e back o f p ack -an im a ls // and travel

dow n th e roads
2. U n til arriv in g ju s t n o w // at the large tow n // w here th ere is p ro fit and gain
[* generosity].
c) G uests:
1. T he g u ests p acked up and w ent w ith the new s // p eo p le o f d e a r relatio n s // the

trav eller h a s b ro u g h t [his] kin
2. To th o se w ho are p re cio u s // and take the grosser w eight // th at tips the scales
to this very place.
30 _ _
yahm um < “ham/yahmom/yBhmenr. to be able (to do s.th.)” (Johnstone, 1987, 157); lajca: < W.jC.c.:
“wljca/ygwojia/yaka: to be, becom e” (ibid., 426).
31 n asw el < N.S.L.: “to withdraw, take away [retirer]” (Landberg, G lossaire D atinois, 3:2776)?; la b u d < L.B.D.:
“aw bud/ydlubdd/ysw bed: to shoot, strike; make, knock together” (Johnstone, 1987, 250); son: sea storm, uncertain
etym ology; h a b ze 3: the East Wind < ’.Z.Y.B.: “ ’azyab: North W ind” (Landberg, G lossaire D atinois, 1:76)?
32 g a y b a r < G.B.R.: " g jb d r/y jg a w b a r/y jg b e r vn. gaybar: to m eet, com e to meet” (Johnstone, 1987, 131), used here in
the sense o f “all o f a sudden” ; td n ka w f< Q.F.Y.: to set out, to lift (baggage) over o n e ’s head, ‘'akqfi/yaiydyfan/yaôfi: to
go away; to turn o .’s b ack ...fo£/«: to finish St., put st. behind one; to throw st. backwards over o ’s h ead ...to take o ’s
family behind the mountain” (ibid., 226), also Ar. “iqtafa ’afarahu [to follow so.'s tracks]” (Ibn Manzur, L isan al-
‘A rab, 6:166); tadhlhan: to travel dow n (a road), < D.H.H.: Ar. “al-d a h d a lja : to pick up the p a c e ...to pass by quickly”
(ibid., 3:227); hayyarem < ’.R.M.: “w orem (def.) horam /hayrem : road; way to obtain satisfaction” (Johnstone, 1987, 7).
33 a hnob < N .W .B.: “nob/nayob: b ig” (ibid., 306).
sattal < S.L.L.: “sattel/yastalul/yastal: to transhume, migrate, m ove o ’s hom e” (ibid., 379); sneg: relationship,
kindship, Ar. n asb, uncertain etym ology; d :d ld < LD.D.: considerable, dear, Ar. g a ll < Ar. 'a d ld l gze: tribe, people,
kin, Ar. qaw m , uncertain etym ology.
35 yjaytam < I ..B.T.: “zjat/yazot/yazuypn: to take” (ibid., 472).
92
G ro u p (a), the fam ily o f th e b ride, w elco m es the guests w ith a co u p let sig n ify in g th eir hope
th at the jo u rn e y w as easy fo r them . T he p o et, Sadayn K alsat, b eseech es G od (ball) to q u iet the
w aves d u rin g the su m m er m o n so o n season (barf). S a ^ r is a fishing villag e, and d u ring the
m o n so o n m o n th s th e o cean is clo sed to traffic due to strong w inds, p o w erful w inds and rip p in g
tides. K n o w in g th e tim e o f th e season is critical fo r the fisherm en o f al-M ah ra since the ocean
can go from p lacid to d ead ly - and stay th at w ay fo r m o n th s - in a single day d u ring the
tran sitio n al p erio d s. E ach m o n th is broken in to a p erio d o f tw elve d ays, and each p e rio d has its
co rresp o n d in g co n ste lla tio n (naggam). T he sea-sto rm s, (son), com e w hen the ra in -co n stellatio n s
are “ stru ck ” o r “trig g e re d ” (labud). W hen th e storm s d o com e, they arriv e on the E ast W ind
(azylb), w h ich is ren d e re d h ere w ith m etath esis and the archaic definite article as habze ’.
T he p o e t o f G ro u p (b), the fam ily o f the g room , p lay fu lly describ es th eir jo u rn e y as a
ty p e o f b u sin e ss trip. T h u s, th e fam ily o f the g ro o m lo ad ed up th eir “c a rg o ” anim als and set out
as soon as they h eard th e g o o d new s. S a ^ r is a sm all village; d escribing it as m dinat ahnob (“a
b ig c ity ”) is p ro b ab ly to n g u e-in -ch eek , b u t not kasb wa-gle [or krem] (“pro fit and g a in ” ), w hich
p o in ts to b o th th e v alu e o f th e b rid e-to -b e and also the h o sts’ generosity. T his co u p let can also be
u n d e rsto o d as a d escrip tio n o f th e groom w ho h as lo ad ed his cam el w ith m erch an d ise to trade
w ith “th e p e o p le o f the c ity ” fo r a p ro fit, i.e., fo r h is w ife. T hus, the groom is depicted as a y o u n g
m an o f m eans and am b itio n , w illing to take a jo u rn e y fo r su bstantial gain.
In a sim ila r v ein , th e g u ests o f G roup (c) em p h asize th e ir kin sh ip to the parties in v o lv ed ;
sneg d-heh a:dld and g z e 3 are tw o phrases that signify the closeness o f th eir m utual b lo o d ties.
B u ild in g o ff o f the im ag ery fro m the p rev io u s co u p let, the p o e t o f G roup (c) uses the lan g u ag e o f
the m ark etp lace. T h e ir h o sts are thus “p re c io u s” (m fam m anln) and the p o e t’s reg ard is lik e a
scale, on w hich th e ir frien d sh ip has taken “the g ro sser w eig h t” (ylaytdm argahat). T he
im p licatio n h ere is th at th e h o sts o u ght to req u ite th e h ig h opinion held fo r them by b o th G ro u p s
93
(b) and (c) in th e fo rm o f a lu n ch o f rice and m eat. In short, this exch an g e has the h allm ark s o f
frien d ly b a n te r b etw een clo se friends and fam ily: h u m o ro u s, affectionate and slig h tly bad g erin g .
V . D u elin g Ragzit:
D iv erg in g from th e co llectiv e ch o reo g rap h y o f ragzit maydani, ragzit co u p lets m ay also be
tran sm itted and p e rfo rm e d b y an in dividual in a n o n -ch oreographed settin g . T h is b ro ad en s the
scope o f ragzit co u p lets since any u tteran ce, (im p ro v ised o r otherw ise), th at re sp o n d s to a specific
event m ay b e co m p o sed and tran sm itted w ithout the trap p in g s o f ragzit m aydani. T hough by no
m eans lim ited to p o litical o r social issues, the to p ic o f in dividual ragzit o u ght to b e su itab le for
p u b lic recep tio n since th is g en re p resu m es a b ro a d e r circu latio n . T he ragzit co u p let, (including
its b ip a rtite co u n terp art, the dandan), w as o n ce the w orkhorse o f trad itio n al M ahri poetry. Its
o n ce-p ro m in en t ro le in ev ery d ay life is no w in d ec lin e as y o u n g er M ah ris o p t fo r A rabic o r n o n
v ersified resp o n ses to d aily even ts. T h o u g h I w as offered m any sam ples o f n o n -co llectiv e ragzit
verse, th ey w ere alw ay s tran sm itted p erfo rm an c es o f earlie r poets.
C o m p etitiv e ex ch an g es b etw een tw o p o ets, (A r. m araddat), are often tran sm itted as
in d iv id u al ragzit. T h e im p o rta n c e o f the ev en t, the skill o f the poets and the fam e o f the
en g ag em en t spaw n a g en eratio n o f tran sm itters w ho relate the exchange - b lo w fo r b lo w - in
in d iv id u al perfo rm an ce. U n less o th erw ise e x c ep tio n a l, the form ulaic tarhibi ragzit described
abo v e rarely m erits th e sam e co n sid eratio n ; the “to o th le ssn e ss” o f the occasio n fails to inspire
m em o rizatio n . O n o n e o c casio n , an ex ch an g e o f ragzit m aydani th at I reco rd ed in M hayfTf failed
to m ake any im p ressio n on H ag g , w ho p referred that w e focus our en erg y on m ore exciting
m a te ria l.36
36 The pan-Arabian tradition o f poetic duals is richly detailed by Saad Sowayan in “’Tonight My Gun is Loaded’:
Poetic Dueling in Arabia,” O ral T radition 4:1-2 (1989): 151-173. Without getting into details, the practice o f poetic
duals (riddiyyih) in the Arabic-speaking bedouin tradition is virtually identical to the exchange o f Mahri ragzit
94
A co m p lete ex c h a n g e o f in d iv id u al ragzit w as recited to m e in Q isn b y 3A h m ad b ir S a cid
cA frar, g ran d so n o f th e last n a ’ib sultan (S u lta n ’s rep resen ta tiv e) in Q isn, M u h am m ad b ir CA1I
cA frar. T he fo llo w in g co u p lets w ere ex c h an g ed b etw e e n h is gran d fath er, the n a ’ib sultan, and
B ir F reg K alsat, th e sheik h (Y em . A r. & M hr. m uqaddam ) o f S a ^ r.37 I d o n o t k n o w to w hat
d eg ree th e fo llo w in g lin es w ere co m p o sed e x te m p o ra n eo u sly , b u t as th ey w ere tran sm itted to m e
verbatim at least th irty -fiv e y ears a fte r th e ir initial p erfo rm an ce, I su sp ect th at som e m easu re o f
p o st-p erfo rm an ce “re -c o m p o sitio n ” has taken p la ce. In the co u rse o f th ese m araddat, the na ’ib
sultan and the m uqaddam ex p ress them selv es on p ro p e r g o v ern m en t, its ob lig atio n s and
p riv ileg es and on th e p o litic a l turm oil o f S o u thern Y em en in the late sixties.
The o rd er o f th e lin es and th e ir a ttrib u tio n m ay have g o tte n co n fu sed in the re c itatio n . T w o
o f the co u p lets, H and I, m ake m o re sen se w hen attrib u ted to the o th e r particip an t. I h a v e not
attem p ted to rearran g e th e co u p lets b u t p rese n t them h e re as they w ere in itially recited to m e by
0A hm ad b ir Sa°Id cA frar.
B. Ragzit m araddat reco rd ed in Q isn:
a) B ir Freg:
1. tawwdn nam ded assayr / / w d-nbolag bd- ‘aded / / hd:l a g a rf y w u s o l 38

2. w a-rbon d-hehfj<,eh / / sorah la-m saw rah k a l/ / w -m astiw dr y a k h o l 39
couplets, (with the exception o f language, o f course). W hen w e read the Mahri ragzit couplets recorded below , we
should keep Sow ayan’s description o f Arabic n ddiyyih in mind as general outline.
“A dueling match, ’riddiyih,’ is frequently compared to a wrestling match or a football game. The
contestants should pass the ‘poetic dialogue’ betw een them like a ball in a football field. The opponents start
the game, but each tries his best to score the highest points and win the match. Even if they should happen to
be the best o f friends, they try to create som e friction in the match, build tension and warm up the maP'abah
[playing field], so as to have an exciting show and give the audience a good tim e” (ibid., 154).
With the Mahri data on hand, w e can respond to S ow ayan’s uncertainty about the depth o f the riddiyyih/m araddat as a
Middle Eastern and Arabian cultural practice. Sow ayan writes: “The lack o f sources makes it difficult to know how
widespread poetic dueling is outside peninsular Arabia. But what I have heard o f the Lebanese Z ajal sounds close to
poetic dueling...In the Arabian Peninsula, poetic dueling seem s to have originated in [the] Hijaz and the Hijazi nomads
are still the most fam ous in this art which o f late has becom e so widespread in the Peninsula that it has reached the G ulf
states” (ibid., 164). Not only can the riddiyyih be found outside o f the Arabian Peninsula, but it may also be in the
foreign, albeit related, Mahri language.
37 In al-Mahra, the term sayh (pi. m asyah) is reserved for the hereditary case o f sada or ’asraf. The elected leader o f a
tribe or tribal sub-division in al-Mahra is a m uqaddam (pi. m uqaddam utan). See Vitaly Naumkin, “Tribe, Fam ily and
State in Mahra and Socotra: Traditional Identities in the Changing W orld,” P roceedin gs o f the Sem inar f o r A rabian
Studies 25 (1995): 99.
38
’aded: the open end o f a trawling net, uncertain etym ology; a g a r f (pi. grlf): the closed end o f a trawling net where
the fish (sardines) are gathered, a large fishing net, uncertain etym ology.
95
b ) M u h am m ad b ir cA h:
S S S S S S S S S’ S ^Q
1. ddybar wa-hm o d-hoh / / bd-jcwoydm w a-shud / / b rl man atol

2. d:r w -ber asora: leh / / wa-jtddm hfar assad / / bd-gze w -h d flo l41
c) B ir Freg:
1. togar naghadh la: / / man am ol d-barh seh / / wd-n ’awmcir y a s h o l42

2 . a:r fjtayr dfalm ft / / sibah m ans yardud / / w-maksertis y a h b o l 43
d ) M u h am m ad b i r cA ll:
/ y / / / / / / / ^
1. kyud d-ka-nnahor / / a b rl man a g w o t// w a-m sdttam hahwol
2 . w d-srom a la:d zhadk / / ha:s assfbah barkah / / wa-hn'h m h a g w o l 45
e) B ir Freg:
1. royas yazhod a s s a b k // w-jcawwdt man z n a :t//w a l taw rah h a d b d l 46

2. w d-w gd’ d-heh jcway //y td fh kal yaw m //y h a w za r m antahol 47
f) M u h a m m a d b ir cAlI:
1. hoyam majitldd la: / / w -alm ath da-ssaw lt / / w al gayfah y a d w o l48

2 . a:r w -dahm ah tbfb / / ba-mjcawdah dssyeh / / wd-hdomdm teh bihol 49
g ) B ir Freg:
39 sorah (1s'/3rd pers. past, srihk/sruh) < S.R.H.: m indful, one w ho keeps everything under control, Ar. sahib al- ’am r,
dam ir, m saw rah (sing, m asreh) < S.R.H.: place where action happens at sea, (i.e., when a boat is pulled onto the beach
or fishing grounds), Ar. sa h a t a l-w a d c; m d stiw a r< S.W .R.: talented, Ar. m d h ir, also, “astawir/ysstawTrzn/yastawTr: to
whisper to one another...to give confidential advice” (Johnstone, 1987, 388). The paranomasia o f this line evokes the
root S.W .R. (“to consult”), which is precisely what Bir Freg is asking his Sultan to do more often.
40daybar: rich soil, good for farming, Yem . Ar. “d a b r: land, irrigated land, field” (Landberg, G lossaire D atinois,
1:917), alternately derived from Mahri < da-bar. [that] o f the land/desert < B.R.R.: “bar/baraw r: (poet.) desert, land”
(Johnstone, 1987, 51).
41 b e r< B.R.R.: “a b a rr: outside” (ibid., 51); aso rd < Ar. a l-sa ri‘a, the Sarica; assad: here understood as “borders”; gze:
kinfolk, uncertain etym ology, see footnote #32; hajlol: < A r .fu iu l (squadrons).
42 y a sh o l < \H .L .: “y a sh o l: to deserve” (Johnstone, 1987, 4).
43 m akserds < K.S.R.: (its) narrows or straights (that can destroy a boat); yahbol: to smash to pieces, Ar. yuhattim , <
B.L.[V].: “balw et/balyet: catastrophe, disaster” (ibid., 49-50)?
44 k a -nnahor < “k-a n h o r: every day, som e time ago” (ibid., 290); a g w o t < G.L.T.: “gdylat/yaglot: to be m istaken”
(ibid., 136); hahwol: conditions, circumstances, Ar. al-ahw al.
' zhadk < Z.H.D.: “zahed/yazhod: to be expert, possessed o f good counsel, know the best pastures, to find out, realise”
(ibid., 466); m h a g w o l < G.M .L.: “g am ol: to abandon or kill (a bastard child)” (ibid., 138) or < G.M .D: Ar. ’agm ada: to
dim, to render obscure.
46 royas: rational, Ar. caqil\ h a d b o l < D.B.L.: “dobal/dabol: side, edge” (ibid., 79).
47 m an ta h o l < m an ato l < C.T.L., Ar. m in a l- cutl.
48 hoyam < Ar. H.Y.M .: to roam around distractedly, to be crazy for; alm ath da-ssaw it: to show the dorsal fin (above
the waterline), < L.M .L; to appear, shine and saw it < S.T.H.: surface, Ar. sath al-b a h rt; yad w o l < D.W .L.; “daw ayl,
dawaylat/diw ol, diwetan: to be old, worn out” (ibid., 75).
49
dahm ah: to attack, oppose < Ar. D.H .M .: to attack suddenly; mjcawddh: a bore used in ship making, uncertain
etym ology; dssyeh (ellative) < “soh, siyaly. big, old, oldest, senior” (ibid., 391); bihol: a “miserly, stingy” illness, i.e.,
one that w o n ’t let its victim go, Ar. m a ra d bdhil.
96
1. sroma sohi sa r//b a -ss a n n e t a m a h m u t/ / w a-m naw si a ttiw o l 50
2 . w a-d-heh brek a d a w r // jcazffayrah kal yaw m / / w a-m w ol nwlg a b d l 51
h ) M u h am m ad b ir cAH: (?)
1. kal d-la:d afokar la: / / w-dljcawlab la-dm em / / wa-gdam h d-yagdol 52

2 . fijdil yalhoje a g a w f Zf w a-zm om ar y a la y d / / wa-m goran y d fs o l 53
i) B ir F reg : (?)
1. ham al te wlu zyild / / slulan teh rlkob / / w a-l-dw dbar y a s h o l54

2 .te wlu Idled: ykun / / twahyan kal yaw m / / w -barkeham agi'hol55
j ) M u h a m m a d b ir CA1I:
/ / / / / / / s / y
1. tawwan nam ded am aw l / / ba-ssrut mwdffd^dyn / / w a-m raddaf hajcdol
2. w a-hzoyan n d z k e k //a ly e k hanyob / / sded w -hajcfdl57
a) B ir Freg:
1. L et u s n o w c o n tin u e o u r jo u rn e y // and cast o u r fish in g net // w here it m ay arrive

at the sard in e g ro u n d s
2. T h e d iscern in g sk ip p er // k eep s co n tro l w h erev er action is called fo r // and the
sk illed one h as g o o d sense.
b) M u h am m ad b ir CA1I:
1. T he land and w a te r are m ine II by p ro o fs and w itnesses // th at are free from fault
2. E x cep t fo r th at w hich is b ey o n d the law // on borders estab lish ed befo re m e // by
b an d s o f m en and arm ies.
c) B ir Freg:
50so h l < Ar. s iy u ‘i, communists; sannet: an exchange (o f fire), throwing < Ar. S.N.N.?; am ahm ut: piercing, sharp iron,
shrapnel, < Mahri hmiit: poison < Y em . Ar. “ta h a m m a ta : to harbor hatred for so. [nourrir une h aine contre
qn.}...ham it: hot [chaud]...ham al: heat o f the fight (h a m a t lil-harb) [V ardeur du com bat}...hum at: a stinging jellyfish
[m eduse]” (Landberg, G lossaire D atinois, 1:495), and possibly < Ar. “hamt: ferociously hot [sadld al-harr]”
(Ibn Manzur, 2:215); m naw si: instruments, Ar. m u ‘addat, < N.S.L: Ar. m unsaâ, military installation?
a d a w r < D .[V ].R .: the seat o f authority, Ar. m aglis al-hukm , a l-q ilca, i.e., Aden; m wo[ < W .(,.c.: [things] landing,
striking, falling; nwlg: to disturb, strike, pain [the head], < Ar. N .B.G .?
52 dmem: conscience < “a d m e m : to g iv e all the responsibility to so .” (Johnstone, 1987, 80)?; gdam h: W oe
u n to...!, Ar. yd wayla.1: yagdol: “gdydol/yogdol: to carry on the shoulders” (ibid., 132).
" zm om ar: core strength, virility, Ar. al-ragula, f i a l- k itf w al-rigl, < Z.M.R.: Ar. “a l-za m lr: good qualities/beauty in a
man [a l-h u sn fi a l-rig a l}...ra g l zam ir: a man o f meagre m asculinity” (Ibn Manzur, 4:56)?; y a la y d < C.D.D .: “ ’oyzarf: to
becom e stiff (after unaccustomed exercise)” (Johnstone, 1987, 39).
a w o b a r (pi. abur/abrot) < C.B.R.: a pack camel or ship.
55 tw ahyan (1st pers. past, w ahydk) < W .H .fV]: to be able, "haw hu/yshw dyh/yahaw h: to com e to help; to call appeal for
help to so .” (ibid., 425).
56 amawl: rope, Ar. h a b l; m raddaf: bound tw ice over, Y em . Ar. m u d d a b a l (“doubled”); hajcdol: knot, tie, Ar. rabl,
hatm .
57
n dzkek < Z.K.K.: “ssk: to close (a door), shut, shut in” (ibid., 361).
97
1. W e d o n ’t d eny w hat b elo n g s to the traders // and the p ro p erty th at he ow ns // w e
say th at he d eserv es it
2. B u t [upon] the d an g erous, dark sea II the sw im m er m u st tu rn b ack // o r the w aves
in n arro w p laces w ill sm ash h im to p ieces.
d) M u h am m ad b ir °Ali:
1. T he b o n d s o f tim e p ast // free fro m any u n certain ty // w hose term s w ere p erfect
and co m p lete
2. N ow I d o n ’t u n d erstan d th em // as th o u g h the sw im m er is in the sea // b u t the
h ead s are h idden.
e) B ir Freg:
1. T he m in d fu l fish erm an k n o w s h is net // and the stren g th o f its m an u factu re // and

d o e s n ’t o v erlo o k th e frin g es at the ends
2. W h ere its w eak p o in ts are m o st severe // he c h eck s it o v e r every day // and tries to
lim it any dam ag e.
f) M u h am m ad b ir cAIT:
1. T h e g rasp in g p erso n is b o u n d b y n o th in g // his dorsal fin th rashes above the

w ater-lin e // his ill in te n tio n s do n o t lessen w ith tim e
2. E x cep t if a d o c to r attacks h im // w ith a large b o re in stru m e n t // and is b u sy against
h im , lik e an u n b e a ta b le illness.
g) B ir Freg:
1. N ow the co m m u n ists h av e arisen // w ith an exchange o f p iercin g iron // and th eir

m assiv e to o ls o f w ar
2. T hat one in th e fo rtress // they strike it every day // and the p ercu ssio n s tro u b le the
m ind.
h) M u h am m ad b ir cAlI: (?)
1. T h e one w ho acts w ith o u t th in k in g about others // it b u rd en s h is co n scien ce // w oe

u n to the one w ho b ears it!
2. T he w eig h t o f it sinks in to his ch est // h is b o d y ’s strength is stricken w ith pain //
and in th e end, it fails him .
i) B ir F reg: (?)
1. E v en if the w eig h t w ere increased // the b easts-o f-b u rd en could carry it // and the
best cam els w o u ld d o it w ith ease
2. E v en if th in g s are as they are // th ey are able to do it every day // th o u g h am ongst
them are w ron g -d o ers.
j ) M u h am m ad b ir CA1T:
98
1. I t’s b e st w e loo sed th e ro p e // w ith all the co n d itio n s agreed u p o n // and the tie
b o u n d tw ice-o v er
2. T h e sto rag e-ro o m s are clo sed // th o u g h they be spacious // th ey are b lo c k ed o ff
and locked.
T h is ex c h a n g e o ccu rred at the v ery tw ilig h t o f the eA frari S ultanate o f S o q o tra and Q isn in
th e early o r m id -six ties. B y this tim e, the cA frarf S u ltans had long since relo cated to
H ad ib o /T am rid a on S o q o tra from w here they ruled th eir m ainland p o ssessio n s at a d istan ce. In
th e years p reced in g th e ev ap o ratio n o f th e cA frari state, the su lta n ’s co u sin , M u h a m m ad b ir CA1T
cA frar, w as de-facto h ead o f th e S ultan ate o f Q isn and S o q o tra and ruled in the S u lta n ’s nam e
from Q isn. In d eed , th e successio n o f p o w e r in the cA frarf S ultanate alternated b etw een the tw o
b ran ch es o f th e A1 °A frar: th e Sa°d b ir T a w cari in H adibo and the cA m r b ir T a w cari in Q isn. B y
this m eans, p o w e r w as d iffu se d ev en ly w ithin the A1 cA frar, giving the dy n asty an institu tio n al
stab ility th at suited it w ell fro m the 16th c. C E o nw ards. T his stability w as also b u ttressed by a
treaty signed w ith th e B ritish G o v ern m en t in 1886, (reaffirm ed in 1954), in w hich the B ritish
p ro m ised to su b sid ize th e °AfrarT S ultan ate and to g u aran tee its territorial in te g rity as long as the
B ritish w ere g iv en control o v e r a l-M ah ra ’s foreign affairs.
B y th e 1 9 6 0 ’s, h o w ev er, th e sy stem b eg an to fall apart. F o r one, the social u n d e rp in n in g s o f
the °A frari S u ltan ate w ere ch allen g ed b y the m ilitan t, anti-feudal id eo lo g ies espo u sed by the
N ational L ib eratio n F ro n t (the N L F , “ al-G ubha ”), an u m b rella rev o lu tio n ary g ro u p th at w as the
leading c o n te n d e r fo r au th o rity in p o st-co lo n ia l S outh Y em en. By the m id -6 0 ’s, the N L F had
gained the u p p e r h an d ag ain st its riv als; it w as firm ly entren ch ed in the H ad ram aw t and had
p ro ven its m ettle ag ain st the B ritish Special A ir S ervices g ro u p in th eir co u n ter-in su rg en cy
cam p aig n s in R ad fan in 1963. S eco n d ly , an organ izatio n o f M ahri w orkers and soldiers w ho had
retu rn ed from the P ersian G ulf, the M ah ra Y outh O rg an izatio n (M unazam m at Sabab al-M ahra),
had p u sh ed local sen tim en t to w ard s u n io n w ith the N L F and laid the grou n d w o rk fo r the
99
transition from S u ltan ate to P e o p le ’s R e p u b lic .58 In an e ssen tially b lo o d less c o u p , th e sovereign,
M ah ri-sp eak in g cA frari state w o u ld end in O cto b er 1967 w hen the N L F “c a p tu re d ” al-M ah ra, the
last p ro v in ce o f S o u th Y em en to fall u n d e r its c o n tro l.59
T his e x ch an g e o f rdgzlt cap tures the po litical and social un certain ty o f the w an in g years o f
the cA frari S u ltan ate and is a w itness to the b reak d o w n o f trad itio n al lines o f au th o rity . G arbed
alm o st entirely in m aritim e m etap h o rs, th is ex ch an g e d iscu sses the o b lig atio n s o f the m uqaddam
to his Sultan and vice versa-, at th e sam e tim e, b o th sides allude to the p rese n t state o f affairs
w here th ese o b lig atio n s are not b ein g m et. A fte r the 1967 rev o lu tio n , M u h a m m ad b ir CA1I cA frar,
lik e o th er lo y alists w ith clo se ties to the cAfrarT d y n asty , w ould flee to S audi A ra b ia after the
1967 rev o lu tio n and th e last, leg itim ate S ultan o f al-M ahra, cIsa b ir A h m ad cA frar (r. 1954-1966),
w ould b e arrested and im p riso n ed by the N L F in 1967.60
In (a), B ir F reg sets th e m etap h o ric fram ew o rk : th eir ex ch an g e w ill b e lik e a fish in g trip,
th e ir creativ ity w ill b e th e ir nets and rdgzit co u p lets w ill be pu lled fro m “rich fish in g g ro u n d s.”
C o n tin u in g the m etap h o r, B ir Freg adds th at the S ultan, (the sh ip ’s cap tain , rbort), can b rin g the
ship safely ho m e, p ro v id ed that he is w ise ifêh) and skilled (o r w ell-advised, mastlwar).
58 CA1I SacId Bakrit, S a fa h a t m ugaza m in ta n k a l-M ahra, [unpublished]. To date, I have not found any detailed
historical sources pertaining specifically to the M u n a zza m a t S abab al-M ahra and its membership, or even concerning
the last years o f the Sultanate o f Qisn and Soqotra. The British, in their abrupt departure from South Yem en in 1967,
were never able to fulfill their objectives for the Eastern Protectorate and left it largely untouched and undocumented.
Speaking about the general neglect o f the British for the easternmost part o f the Eastern Protectorate, Fred Halliday
writes “The British set up only a low -level administration in the area and were prepared to leave it alone as long as no
other outside forces appeared to be gaining ground there” (Fred Halliday, A ra b ia W ithout Sulta n s [Baltimore: Penguin
B ooks, 1974], 168-69). Until al-Mahra gained strategic value for the PDRY in their proxy war against Oman in the
early seventies, al-Mahra remained the rump end o f the 1967 revolution and gets no more than passing m ention in
Yemeni sources.
The Revolution o f 1967 technically ended on Novem ber 29 when the NLF sent som e cadres to Soqotra to claim it for
the PRSY, (the P eop le’s Republic o f South Y em en, re-christened the PDRY in 1970), (Halliday, 1974, 218).
60 D ouglas Botting paints a rather lugubrious portrait o f 'Isa bir Ahmad 'Afrar in Isla n d o f the D r a g o n ’s B lo o d (N ew
York: W ilfred Funk Inc., 1958, 58-62), an intimate and rather patronizing account o f the last Sultan o f Qisn and
Soqotra. It is possible that a final cAfrari Sultan was declared after 'Isa’s imprisonment: 'Abdallah 'A sur bir 'Afrar (r.
1996-67), (B. Schem m el, “States o f the Aden protectorates,” Rulers.org, http://rulers.org/yemstat.html). H ow ever, his
one-year reign indicates that any hopes for a restoration were short-lived. 'Isa bir 'Afrar h im self was released from
prison in 1976 and died o f natural causes shortly thereafter, (Nathalie Peutz, [citing Miranda Morris], e-mail to author,
April 3, 2007). At the time I wrote this chapter, I was unaware o f N athalie Peutz’s close reading o f a poem that deals
precisely with this subject: H a g a r al- 'asas (‘T h e Foundation Stone”). The poem alludes to an incident in 1974 in
which a number o f the Sultan’s family, (including the Sultan’s w azir), were executed by Soqotrls w ho had ties to the
police or army o f the PDRY and allegedly harbored “Socialist Party aspirations.” The Sultan h im self escaped
assassination thanks to the intervention o f the President o f the PDRY , Salim Rubay' 'A ll. A ccording to Nathalie
Peutz, details o f this event are still obscure and it remains a sensitive topic, (Nathalie Peutz, “Reorienting Heritage:
Poetic Exchanges Betw een Soqotra and the G u lf’ [unpublished m anuscript): 12-14).
100
T he na 'ib sultan, M u h a m m ad b ir cA li, resp o n d s w ith a co uplet th at reflects a m ajo r concern
fo r the A l cA frar: th e secu rity o f p ro p e rty rig h ts in the face o f grow ing an ti-feudal, com m u n ist
sen tim en t. In (b), M u h am m ad b ir CA1I sets out the first p rin cip le o f h is, (i.e., the S u ltan ’s)
p o sitio n : w hat is h is, is h is; b e y o n d that, h e m akes no cla im s. H is p ro p e rty is a fu n ctio n o f
in h e rite d rig h ts, (th ro u g h trib al cu sto m [al-caraf\ and th ro u g h his kin [gze]), as w ell as by the
fo rce o f h is arm ed soldiers ( haflol ). In (c), B ir F reg rep u d ia tes the m ost ex trem e rhetoric o f the
N L F and re a ffirm s th e rig h t o f p riv a te p ro p e rty ; the trad ers ltdgdr ) shall n o t b e d eprived o f the
p ro p e rty ( am ol ) w hich th ey h a v e earn e d (yashol ). H o w ev er, h e w arns th at the S ultan is one
perso n sw im m in g ag ain st an en tire sea and th at som e co m p ro m ise (yardud) w ill b e necessary , lest
he b e “ sm ash ed to p ie c e s” (yahbol ).
T he n a 3ib sultan re sp o n d s in (d) by tu rn in g th e m e ta p h o r around: th e S ultan is indeed a
sw im m e r lo st at sea b e c a u se th e h ead s (hrlh) o f the o th e r sw im m ers, (i.e., the m uqaddam s on
w hom he d ep en d s fo r g u id an ce), h av e d isap p eared and abandoned him ( m hagw ol ). In so doing,
th e m uqaddam s h av e fo rsak en “the b o n d s o f tim e p a st” Q yud kanndhor), w hich sp elled o u t th eir
d u ties and re sp o n sib ilitie s to th e S u ltan , w ere free from erro r ( abri man agw ot) and w ere alw ays
fu lfilled (m asattam hahw ol). B ir F reg re sp o n d s in (e) b y p o in tin g out that the m indful fisherm an
k n o w s h is net, (i.e., the S u ltan sh ould k n o w his su b jects); in p articular, the fisherm an know s the
sectio n s th at are w eak and th o se th at are strong. T he im p licatio n here is that if the social “n e t”
h as b ro k en , it is b e c a u se the S u ltan has failed to c h ec k it and to m ake rep a irs. B y the reaso n in g o f
B ir F reg, a net co u ld n o so o n e r re p a ir its e lf than the p o litic al order could restore itse lf since the
la tte r lan g u ish es u n d e r th e n eg lect o f the absentee S ultan.
In (f), th e n a 3ib sultan takes a fairly b ellig e re n t line. H e describes the threat to the S u ltan ’s
au th o rity as a shark sw im m in g b e lo w the surface o f the w ater w hose dorsal fin betray s its
pred ato ry in ten tio n . In a lik e w ay , the S u lta n ’s en em ies b eliev e they are silently m o ving in for
th e kill, y et th e ir “th ra sh in g ” g iv es them aw ay. T o d efen d h im self, the S ultan w ill co nfront the
101
d an g er lik e a d o cto r, b u t w ith larg e calib re “in stru m en ts” (both d o c to rs’ tools and arm am en ts),
an d show th e p e rsiste n c e o f an in fectio u s disease ( blhol ) in treating it. In (g), B ir F reg follow s
w ith a re fe re n ce to cu rren t affairs, n am ely , to the attack s led b y the N L F ( sohl ) ag ain st the B ritish
in A den (“th at o n e in the fo rtre ss”). H o w ev er, B ir Freg describes this fig hting in n eg ativ e term s,
(“th e p e rc u ssio n s tro u b le th e m in d ”), as th o u g h to d em o n strate to the S ultan th at h e tak es a dim
v iew o f th e c o n flic t and p refers sy m b o lic v iolence (such as this poetic ex ch an g e), o v e r vio len t
re v o lu tio n . A nd y et th e th reat rem ains han g in g : rev o lu tio n is at the b o rd e r o f al-M ah ra w h eth er
th e S ultan w ants it o r not.
In (h), th e na°ib sultan (?) w arns B ir F reg (?) ag ain st m aking d ecisions w ithout co n sid erin g
“all o f th e o th e rs,” (his tribal d ep en d en ts), and describ es the effect o f p o o r d ecisio n s as a
b u rd en so m e w eig h t th at gets h e a v ier w ith tim e and ev en tu a lly leads to the d isin te g ratio n o f health
{yafsdl). T h is is a fairly co m m o n trope in M ahri poetry (C hapter 4 , A: 13-15 and C h ap ter 3, C :22-
24); the n eg a tiv e co n seq u en ces o f selfish, anti-social d e cisio n s are freq u en tly d escrib ed as
in so m n ia and m elan ch o ly . In (i), B ir F reg (?) counters that no w eight is to o heavy fo r beasts-o f-
b u rd en an d certain ly n o t fo r th e ped ig reed cam els o f al-M ahra. Indeed, B ir F reg (?) can endure
th e b u rd en s o f re sp o n sib ility , even i f ig n o ran t w rong-doers ( aglhol ) should attem p t to th w art him .
T he n a 3ib sultan co n clu d es the m araddat before it gets too heated; he asks that “the ro p e ”
b etw een th em (the ten sio n ), b e lo o sed and th e ir co n flicts resolved. H e offers a co m p lim e n t to
h im se lf and h is co m p etito r: th o u g h they have locked up the storage-room s ( hzdyan ) o f th eir
creativ ity , he av ers th at b o th h av e am ple ( hanyob) room fo r m ore. T his final co u p let is b in d in g
and the co n v e rsa tio n is “b lo c k e d -o ff and lo c k ed ” ( sded w-hdkfdl): it is ap p ro p riate fo r the
S u lta n ’s re p re se n ta tiv e to g et th e last w ord.
V I. T h e T ribal O d e - 'O dl w a-K rem K rem :
102
Ragzit co u p lets m ay also b e strung to g eth er in to lo n g er poem s called “ 'odi w a-krem krem, ”
n am ed fo r th e p io u s in v o c a tio n th at n early alw ays in tro d u ces a poem o f th is type. A lth o u g h ’o d i
w d-krem krem p o e m s can reach eighty lines o r m ore, in every o ther resp ect th ey share the form al
featu res o f ragzit: they are m o n o -rh y m ed , trip artite , share the sam e m eter/accen tu al rh y th m and
can b e p e rfo rm e d acco rd in g to th e sam e, ch an ted m elo d y . A s has p re v io u sly been m en tio n ed ,
th is m elo d y is a cue fo r th e au d ien ce that a p o em o f social im portance and political relev an ce is
und erw ay .
It is th is genre o f 3o d i w d-krem krem th at b e st en cap su lates the id e a o f “fu s h d ’’fo r the
M ahra. In C h a p te r 2 , 1 d escrib ed a few o f the m otifs and lexical and phrasal elem ents th at seem
p articu larly co n stitu tiv e o f M ah ri fu sh d , ( a:r, lawb, sugosan, etc.). Y et the few elem en ts th at I
hav e d escrib ed , (and n o d o u b t th ere are m ore), still seem inadequate in the face o f such a stro n g ly
felt p o etic and social co n stru ct. T his co m p els us to look b eyond the level o f the ph rase, w ord o r
m o tif b u t ra th e r to v iew th e g en re o f podi w a-krem krem in perfo rm an ce as the reific atio n o f
M ahri fu sh d . T his view is in d irectly d em o n strated by Al H afiz in his in tro d u ctio n to M ahri
ragzit. H e w rites:
“P o etry in [M ahri and S ahri] tack les a n u m b er o f to pics, and as a m a tter o f course, these
are th e top ics o f fa sih p o etry in lig h t o f the sam en ess o f th eir m ilieu. F o r exam ple,
[ragzit] g lo rifies h ero ism and h o n o r and e x to ls th em to the highest degree; likew ise, it
rep ro ach es co w a rd ic e and in d ecisio n and sullies them in the m u d d iest dregs. W ith o u t a
d o u b t, th is is a c le a r d em o n stratio n o f th e au th en tic character ( Disala ) o f the form ulation
o f th is type o f p o e try in lig h t o f its essen tial, trad itional “A rab n ess” ( nafsan curubiyan
taqlidiyan).”6i
In the view o f Al H afiz then, the “elo q u en ce ” (fasaha ) o f a poem is a function o f topic and is not,
fo r in stan ce, a p h ilo lo g ical q u estion. F o r a p o em to m erit the title o f fu sh d , it m ust exp ress the
essen ce o f the trib al-b ed o u in id en tity: an in d iv id u a l’s quest to m aintain h o n o r and avoid d ish o n o r
w ithin th e p arad ig m s o f v en g ean ce and rec o n cilia tio n . T hese them es should not be co n fused w ith
ch est-th u m p in g ch au v an ism . In al-M ah ra °odi w d-krem krem is perv ad ed by a sense o f an x iety
and m isg iv in g , u n lik e the ab so lu tist notes struck b y ragzit m aydani in w hich ethical su btlety is
61 At H afiz, 1 9 8 7 ,6 7 .
103
p reclu d ed b y sten to rian ch an tin g . °Odl w a-krem krem po etry thus d istills the p ro b lem atic o f
action (in d iv id u al versus co llectiv e) into a po etic sn a p sh o t o f co n flict and n e g o tiatio n ; it is a
“'fushd ” d ep ictio n o f a ‘fu sh d ” lifesty le and the p o stu res th at define it.
W h ereas ragzit m aydanl is a co llectiv e affirm atio n o f co m m unity, the 'odi w a-krem krem is
the act o f a sin g le poet w ho recap itu lates recen t affairs from a p ersonal stan d p o in t. U n lik e ragzit
maydanl, th ere is an em p h asis on the em otional state o f the p o et w hose p o etic “g e n iu s” (hags) has
been d riv en to a fe v e r p itch b y p o litical and social affairs. T he 3od i w d-krem krem g en re w as
d escrib ed to m e as s i cr hamasl, (“incitin g , p ro v o ca tiv e p o e try ”), w ith th e n e g a tiv e im p licatio n
th at it h as th e cap acity to re-ig n ite the tribal chau v in ism s th at have b een activ ely su ppressed in al-
M ah ra sin ce 1967 b y the P D R Y and Y A R . I w as d isco u rag ed fro m solicitin g 'odi w a-krem krem
po etry b y th e M a h ra th em selv es, and it w as only o n ce I had spent su fficien t tim e in al-G h ay d h a
that I w as co n sid ered resp o n sib le en ough to record th is genre. E ven then, I w as offered p o em s
tran sm itted fro m earlier g en eratio n s, (w hose ham asl effect had p resu m ab ly d im in ish ed ). T hus,
w hereas ragzit m aydanl is a d em o n stratio n o f d ip lo m acy and the p u rsu it o f co m m o n in terests
th ro u g h th e v ery act o f its co llectiv e enactm en t, "’od i w a-krem krem is an in d iv id u al act o f
in citem en t, g o ad in g th e p o e t’s society to co n fro n t the accretio n o f h o n o r th ro u g h the co m p etin g
pu rsu its o f v en g ean ce and dip lo m acy.
T he co m p o sitio n and p erfo rm an ce o f 'odi w a-krem krem has w an ed as trib a lism u n d e r the
Y A R has w aned; the sub ject m atter is no lo n g e r relev an t o r even d esirab le to relate. I found
m any y o u n g M ah ris w ho w ere en th u siastic co llecto rs o f th ese tribal p oem s and y e t none w ere
active co m p o sers o f it; they g en erally p refer to address social and political to p ics in A rabic o r to
co m p o se less strid en t gazal po etry. O lder poem s are m em o rized in o rd e r to p re se rv e the m em o ry
o f h eritag e ( turaf) o r else the en tertain m en t value o f th e se poem s is em p h asized . H agg describ ed
tribal p o em s to m e as 3aflam hollw ud (“H o llyw ood m o v ie s”).
104
T he ty p ical ’odi w a-krem krem p o em b e g in s on a m o u n tain to p w here the p o e t h as secluded
h im se lf to c o n sid e r th e sig n ifican ce o f recen t events. T he refresh in g sea-b reeze ( m dlt) reach es
h im th ere, b rin g in g w ith it a p o etic m ood and in sp iratio n (hags). O nce the feeling has taken him ,
th e p o em b eg in s to co m e together: w ords fall in to the m etrical fram e ( w akb ) and the m elody
(lehdn) co m es e a sily .62 T he act o f co m p o sitio n is related in term s th at den o te the p rim ac y o f
m elody in M ahri p o etics; th at is, m elo d y is co n ceiv ed as the base o n to w hich the lyrics are
g rafted .63 T he p o e t th en d irects his v iew to cu rren t affairs, perh ap s to a quarrel o r b re ac h o f
co n v en tio n that req u ires h im to m u ster the hero ic energ ies o f h is trib e and th e ir allies.
L a n d scap e and g eo g rap h y lo om large in the trad itio n al 3odi w a-krem krem p o em since, by
p o etic co n v en tio n , th e wadis, m o u n tain s and deserts stand m eto n y m ically fo r the trib esm en that
in h ab it them . In a p e rio d o f co n flict, M ahri po etry g iv es the im p ressio n that the very m o u n tain s
and w adis stir to life and gird th em selv es fo r w ar. In tim es o f p eace, all o f n ature rests at ease.
T h e p o etic v oice d ep icts th e n a rrato r as w eary o f co n flict and urg in g p e a c e ab le n e g o tiatio n s since
th e poem is u su a lly a p a rt o f these efforts; at the sam e tim e, h e rem in d s the aud ien ce th at h is tribe
is reso lu te in th e face o f h o stility . In d o in g so, the po et dw ells o v er the tw o p erso n alities that
u n ite w ith in the trib esm an : a cap able n e g o tia to r w ho is en th u siastic in con flict. Y o uthful rash n ess
is soundly criticized , w h e th e r it em anates fro m the p o e t’s tribe or elsew h ere; in d eed , in the po em s
that I have co llected , it is a y o u n g m an fro m w ithin the p o e t’s ow n trib e that has p re cip itate d the
p ro b lem in the first p la c e - a state that the p o et decries.
62 This opening sequence o f mountain top —> agitated emotion —> poetic com position is identical to the opening
sequence that characterizes bedouin nabati poetry throughout much o f Arabia, (see Sow ayan, 1985, 91 -1 0 0 and Marcel
Kurpershoek, O ral P o etry a n d N arratives fr o m C entral A ra b ia III: B edouin P oets o f the D a w a sir Tribe, B etw een
N om adism a n d S ettlem en t in Southern N a jd [Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1999], 31-36). H alf o f the poem s in al-D indan’s diw dn
begin with this m otif, a fact that causes Kurpershoek to remark: “But even among his fellow s, Dindan strikes one as a
particularly assiduous clim ber o f m ountains” (Kurpershoek, 1 9 9 4 ,3 8 ). Kurpershoek avers that although this m otif is
“not unknown in classical poetry, it seem s to be o f considerably more frequent occurrence in the vernacular poetry o f
Arabia” (ibid., 38).
63 The intrinsic relationship o f singing to com position in Arabic nabati poetry has been described by Sowayan. “For
Nabati poets, ‘m eter’ translates into ‘rhythm,’ and ‘scansion’ into ‘singing’ or ‘chanting.’ ....T h e relation o f singing to
com position is indicated by the expression y 'a d d il Ihun, which refers to the act o f com position and which m eans ‘to
harmonize som e tunes’ or ‘to straighten out som e rhythm s’” (Sowayan, 1985, 99).
105
T h e fo llo w in g is th e a version o f an JodT w a-krem krem poem co m p o se d in the 1 9 3 0 ’s by
S acid b ir L a ctay t al-G idh! and co ncerns a lo n g -sta n d in g feud betw een the G id h i and ZwedT tribes.
T he p o et w on co n sid erab le rep u te fo r h is skill as a p o et and this poem is co n sid ered one o f his
b est. H e b eg in s in stan d ard fash ion atop a m o u n tain and refers to the d eath o f so m eo n e d e a r to
h im , k illed as a resu lt o f an earlier feud [4-6], H e k n o w s th at his m u rd er w ill lead to a n ew ro u n d
o f v io len ce and he d ep icts the m u ster o f the trib es, eag er to exact th e ir b lo o d -w ite. H e then
dw ells on the d ev astatio n that co n flict b rin g s and th e n ecessity o f n e g o tiatio n s to forestall the
violence. H e o ffers a p o ssib le arbitrator, B ir G aw n, and then the o p tim istic im age o f a farm er
\
sig n allin g to his n eig h b o rs that th e fig h tin g has ended. S lightly different versio n s o f this poem
w ere recited to m e in Q isn; the fo llo w in g w as re cited to m e by A m ar b ir S alm otan al-G idhl:
C. ’O di wa-krem krem reco rded in Q isn:
1) fa r jcatan w -tarbut / / hdl mgawri d-rihayn / / w dt gm uzam w-kliib 64

2) wa-tworan dm dfd / / bliyn add far wa-rba: / / f a y sal haw ll jclub 65
3) sroma m ahhabib / / far alehan m a tlim // an awakb artakub 66
4) hagas a:r bal damjcawt / / manh agweyan la: / / ba-fw odl yatgub 67
5) doyam lahnet d-gayw / / ydtkaybdn l-arjcad/ / w a-m sow l atlub 68
6 )fi'tan afihdtdyd la: / / hdl d-ba:r groh s ld f / / w a-gze mna ktub 69
7) w a-ylebl w -tarbut / / w -balft h a lfa ld f// w a-kw orl attub 70
8) w a-frahsan zhob / / man kefar da-dga / / te bw assar artabub 71
64 âti'trr. peak, mountain top, uncertain etym ology; gm uzam : to shake violently, Ar. yahuzz, y a sta d d ; klub: to be hooked
together, Ar. im tasaka, “k o h b : to sling a hook on to a branch to pull it d o w n ...to fetch up with a h ook ...ka tteb : to be
jtulled (up, dow n) with a grappling hook” (Johnstone, 1987, 208).
m did < M .D.Y.: “South W ind” (ibid., 261); a d o fd r: a star w hose arrival heralds the spring (rbd: or r s b t1), also “dofs:
spring rain, spring” (ibid., 75). For a discussion o f this root [D.T.j V ).] and its South Sem itic cognates, see Landberg,
G lossaire D atinois, 1:699-700. jilu b: '‘kjldb/yakdw lab/yakleh: to turn, return. ..to turn into” (Johnstone, 1987, 229).
66 m ahhabib < H.B.B.: to com pose a hab b o t, “h a b b iya : a marching song [chant de m arche]” (Landberg, G lossaire
D atinois, 3:2843). Johnstone considers h a b b o t to be an eastern dialectal variant o f ragzit', see his entry for R.G.Z.:
“roguz (E hbeb) to sing, rsg g d z (EC m sh b eb ) poet singer, rsgozet (EC hibbot) poem , song” (Johnstone, 1987, 319). A s
the usage o f hab b o t in this poem demonstrates, h a b b o t can be found in the western dialects as w ell, where it indicates
the sub-set o f ragzit that w e are concerned with here; i.e., ’o d i w d-krem krem . 3A w a kb (and 3aw ajtb): rhymes, Ar. al-
câwafi, < C.JC.B.?
agw eyan < G.W .Y.: “gowd: to leave behind, forget, lo se” (ibid., 146); yatgub < C.G.B.: to be in a state o f excitem ent,
arousal.
68 lahnet (pi. lahnotan): blood-relationship, Ar. qaraba, 'a sa b a , uncertain etym ology; gayw < G.W .[W ].: "ga/gayw :
brother” (ibid., 145); a rfa d : tribal sub-division, clan, A r .fa h id a ; m s o w i< S.W .Y.: to do, make, act, Yem . Ar.
saw w a/yisaw w i; atlub < C.L.B.: to practice, perform, execute, Yem. Ar. ‘allaba, a lib : to prepare, make ready”
(Piamenta, 2:336).
69 v
groh < G.R.Y.: “gsrd/yogayr/yogra: to go in front of; to pass (time); to happen” (Johnstone, 1987, 125).
70 h a lfa ld f < L.F.F.?: the narrow constrictions and broad expanses o f a w a d i whose width is not consistent throughout;
kwori: narrow feeder ravines; attub: to be joined together, < T .B .1.?
71 zhob < Z.H.B.: ‘'zohdyb/zohaybot/zihob: to be ready, prepared” (ibid., 466); dga: a deeply-rooted, firmly planted palm
tree, Yem . Ar. gabrut and ra w ' ; artabub: to becom e excited, Ar. ya ta h a m m a s a l-nafs < “m orbeb/m arobab: cam el over
attached to its you n g ...a w ife who likes her husband very m uch” (ibid., 312)?
106
9) w a-srom a hoh s r ifk // l-fartek anezhayt / / sis trokab w a-slub 72
10) ba:r am or ahaw lo°i / / m an khen m haw w ayin / / feo/f m an ski w -gub
1 I) w -rdjhayt w -hahyot / / sim atabal wa-ffcdt / / w a-ntosi maglub 74
12) mjcaymsdn z h iil// yabsur b d -’dtyot / / wd-ljz.dyni dhtdbub 75
13) m asddyw i agsed / / ba-m nakkaz a:sel / / w al a boli ba-ssagub 76
14) sikam ball w a-sraw n / / b o ll ahham ut ajcalb / / w at nfusam w a-hzub 11
/ s s s s s 'JO
15) man khen yhagib / / b a tryw o zd m w a-ylayt / / w d -ttre fa l yahyub

16) bd:r dfenam m haktib / / hdl anatjc yatgom / / w -sagniw man ahhabub 79
I l ) fo n agaw rab a za m iw / / bal azoyad da-gber / / zahm otan la-grub 80
18) adhibah yatm um / / la-gdehd abalyot / / w a-k-sam t yakbub 81
19) w a-glab d\aym at jca / / w a-gyim l-harw ah / / w -hal man atma° ksub 82
20) d-a:r bir gown anojci la: / / °d:ymal sad man agnayb //w a -d -b d :r mroh
2 1 ) w a-srom a sdhyin //b a r h naht b-ahhalet / / wa m royas yatyub 84
72
anezhayt: lofty, towering (o f a mountain); trokab: organized troops o f men, Y em . A r .fulul.
73 _ * _ _
a h a w lo ’i < C.[V].L.: Ar. ca w a 7il or \H .L .: Ar. Ja h a lir!; khen: “kahen: old times, ancient days, long ago” (ibid., 206) <
“ka -n h o r: som e time ago” (ibid., 290); sk i < S.K .Y.: “askay/askayyat: sword” (ibid., 394); g u b < G.W.B.:
“j>awb/gswebat: shield o f hippopotamus hide” (ibid., 127).
hahyot < H .Y.Y.: Ar. ’a h y a ’ “tribal com m unities” or Yem Ar. “districts,” explained to m e as equivalent to Ar.
hidabha (“its h ills”); sim < S.M .M .?: to turn out in preparation for s.th., Ar. s a m m a ra ;f^ a t < F.JC.C.: Yem . Ar. “to hit
\frapper]” (Landberg, G lossaire D a tin o is, 3:2426-7); ntdsi < N.S.L: to dance, Yem . Ar. “intasa: to be in good humor”
(ibid., 3:2768).
75
zh u l < Z.H.L.: "z.3hel: to be sure, re-assured” (Johnstone, 19 8 7 ,4 6 6 ); hzaynl: a certain type o f rifle known for
shooting straight, nicknamed “h za yn l,” < X .Z .N .: “xaziin: to put in a safe place...xazonat: m agazine (o f a gun)” (ibid.,
458); dljlabub: shoot forth sparks and flam e, < H .B.B.: Yem . Ar. “y u h ib b al-sayf. to rattle the sword \fa >re vibrer le
sabre], to brandish it [le brandir]...Mehri hablb: to shake [trem bler]” (Landberg, G lossaire D atinois, 2:546).
76 m nakkdz: a precious, w ild honey produced by mountain bees; d ssd g u b < S.G.B.: “sd g a b : to disturb, distract,
an n o y ...sagawb: stranger...segab, sagawb: difficulty” (Johnstone, 1987, 375).
77 srawn: heroes, Ar. 7abtal, fa w a r is < S.R.L: “srayn: leg s” (ibid., 382)?; ahham ut: vigor, energy, Ar. h am as < H.M .M .:
“sahm ut (vn): to dare, be bold, be encouraged, unafraid” (ibid., 157); nfusam : to set out in the late afternoon < N.F.S.:
“n sn fu s: to take the goats to pasture in the afternoon ...sdnefss: to g o som ewhere in the late afternoon” (ibid., 285);
hzub: to gird for battle < H .Z.B.: “h zu b : to be alert, ready for action” (ibid., 198).
ywozMm < W .Z.M .: “wazum /yawuzam /yazem : to g iv e ” (ibid., 434); y la y t < J..B.T.: “zat/yd zo t/yd za ytm : to take” (ibid.,
472); yahyub: to fear < FLY.B.: “ahtsyiib: to despair” (ibid., 162).
yatgom : to cause pain, bite, Ar. w a g g a ca: sd g n iw < G .N.L: to m ove away from the wind, “Sdgne: to get warm” (ibid.,
121); ahhabub: a harsh, desert wind, Ar. habub.
agaw rab < G.R.B.: “g g ro b /y g g o n b /ysg re b : to know , to know h ow ” (ibid., 140); a za m iw < Z.R.N.V?: a thundering
cloud, about to rain; gru b (pi.) < G .R.B.: “g arb (sing.): big water bucket; cam el’s back in front o f the hump” (ibid.,
140).
81 adhibah: its flood < D .H .B.: “dohlb: flood water, torrent” (ibid., 80); yatm um < T.M.M.: “p m : to flow all over, to
irrigate...t^mmut aka k d lp h , it flooded the w hole land” (ibid., 410); gded: barren highlands, Yem. Ar. g o l, uncertain
etym ology; abalydt: ancient, untouched by floods, Ar. qadlm a, uncertain etym ology; z.amt: force, violence, uncertain
etym ology; yakbub < K .B.B.: “ksb/yakbub/yBkbeb: to spill out all o f [som ething]...to go down, go south, go down to
town” (ibid., 201).
82 glab: violent surge, Ar. haygan, fawra < G .[..B.: "gozdb/gayzab: bull” (ibid., 149)?; dlaym at < L.M.M.: to embrace,
gather together; jca < W.JC.L (o r p e r Johnstone, < £ .W .C.): “jca: ground, land, place” (ibid., 246); harwah (sing. ra Ddh)
< R.W.H.: people, “raw h : spirit” (ibid., 333); dtm a 3 < T.M.L: valuables, “pm a °: treasure” (ibid., 411).
83 anojci< N.}C.C.?: to choose, Ar. ihtara. The significance o f this term may be linked to the Yem eni/South Arabian
expressions: radd a l-naqa “to declare war [declarer la guerre]” and tanaqqa “to avenge [.ve venger]” (Landberg,
G lossaire D atinois, 3:2817). For a discussion o f (il nii/i/ Val-niga in tribal North Yem en, see Paul Dresch, Tribes,
G overnm ent a n d H isto ry in Yem en (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1989), 49 and Caton, 1990, 34. In the context o f this
poem , w e understand that Bir Gawn doesn’t declare war or seek vengeance; he is perfectly neutral in the dispute and
hasn’t “chosen” one side over the other. S a d < S.D .D .: “sad: relations; relationship, friendship” (Johnstone, 1987,
341). S a d was also explained to m e as deriving from a verb: “to load a cam el evenly (on both sides)” or from a stative
verb: “to have teats on both sides (o f a cam el)” (< T .D .Y .?). In either case, the sense o f this stich remains the same: Bir
Gawn w ill treat both parties to the dispute in a fair, unbiased manner. M roh < M.R.R.: to pass by (him).
sdhyin < S.H.H.?: tribal negotiators, arbiters, intermediaries; ahjidlet < H.L.L.: im perfections, cracks, bumps, Ar.
jialal; m royas < M .R.R.: those w ho wish to continue (a problem), obstinate; yatyub < T.Y .B.: “p y u b : to have had
enough o f s.th.” (ibid., 413).
107
22) wa-jcbayll al ydum / / gdyr w -sunl djflrojc/ / w a-rkanh wd-ktub 85
2 3 ) dakm ah satan yafton / / halwaynah yashor / / man aw edi w a-lrub 86
2 4 ) w a-m gaw dal hm llul / / 'd:mdl lehl man dm a:t / / w d-b-hasam [*hazan] ajclub 87
2 5 ) w a-m tdyar hdl d-zim / / 3a:d a l w ifi agser / / delrdn ka-btayn srub 88
* 26) wa-sroma sdhyin / / barh naht ba-hhalet / / wa mhawgas yatyub 89
2 7 ) s i blsan hwoyag la: / / w -m arkahsan l-gtiyr / / a:r gslm yantarhub 90
2 8 ) zowa da-hm o y g a y s // te w -lu lajca m i l / / la -p io ta r astayub 91
29) w-talbona martafa / / bd:d dzd:l lakd hde / / w -arbon ysejclub 92
30) w a-tbln litawr a n o f//n o d i la-sw egl k a l/ / 0o il ka-nha trub
1) A to p the p eak o f T arb u t // at the p lace o f the p a th s o f the w inds // w hen th ey b lo w

fu rio u sly and are jo in e d to g eth e r
2) S o m etim es (there c o m es) the sea b reeze // b etw een the stars o f D ofar and R b e //
(w h en ) the first season has com e [or fin ish ed , lit. “h ap p e n ed ”].
3) N o w I ’ll co m p o se a habbot // atop a w ell-crafted m elody // if the rh y m es fit together.
4 ) M y th o u g h ts are w ith th e one fro m Damlcawt // w h o m I h a v e n ’t fo rg o tten // in m y
heart, [my th o u g h ts] are excited.
5) T he clo se affectio n fo r a b ro th er lasts fo rev e r // and is passed dow n th ro u g h th e clans
// and the one w ho liv es by it, executes it.
85 sum < S.N .Y .: ‘"smi/yasunVyasne: to see; to see to; to consider” (ibid., 381); affirdjc: differences or people
(foreigners, strangers and guests) who have settled in a community (i.e., tribal dependents) < “/aro/t: to distribute guests
over various houses in a com munity” (ibid., 100)?; rkdnh < R.K.N.: (his) support, i.e., his tribe < Ar. rukn: p u b : to
carry a load on the upper back, i.e., to bear a burden, “sapu b: to bear an unpleasant reality ...jp ta b e t: fibrositis, pain in
the shoulder” (ibid., 243).
86 dakmah: that, Ar. tilka; satan < S.W .C.: “ieran: for a while, tim e (in the past)” (ibid., 353); halwaynah: (his) first part
o f the night (dim.); awedi: trouble, anxiety, Ar. ’adan: p u b < L.R.B.: pain, “h azraw b: to be ill, afflicted” (ibid., 477).
87 m gawdal: legs < “gedel/g sd sw w a l, hdgdol: foot” (ibid., 114); hmilul: to go weak, melt, also, a term for rainfall,
“hamelul: (tears) to run silently, w ell up” (ibid., 444); lehi < L.H .[V].: the low ing o f an animal when it calls for its
voung, to bleat, “Ijhaytjn : cow s” (ibid., 253).
m toyar: divisions o f a field divided according to the crops grown therein < T.W .R.: “ta w r/tsw o r: time, turn” (ibid.,
413); zim < Z.M .M .: to becom e ripe, grow large, bloom , “zsm /yazm um /yazm em : to embrace and lift so. o ff his feet”
(ibid., 468)?; agser: ears o f grain, Ar. sunbula: dehdn: m illet, Yem . Ar. dithn. ''duhhdni: stalk o f m illet” (Piamenta,
1:146); btayn: sorghum, Ar. d u rra ; zrub: to harvest in late autumn, "sayrab: late autumn: the period October-Decem ber
after the m onsoon...m ssrab/m asaw rsb: saw-edged knife used (by w om en) to cut grass for fodder” (Johnstone, 1987,
365).
89 v
m haw gas < H.G.S.: excited, wrought-up.
90 hwoyag: matters, affairs, Ar. ha g a t; m arkahsan < R.K.H.: to carry a heavy load, to be burdened, < Ar. "mustarkah:
position o f support [point d ’appui]" (Reinhart D ozy, Supplem ent aux D ictionaires A ra b es [Beirut: Librairie Du Liban,
1968], 1:554)?; yantarhub < T.R.H.B.?: to slip, slide, to fall into s.th., Ar. inzalaqa.
91 zowa: force, strength (o f water or a storm) < Z .W .C.: Ar. “zd'a: to vom it [vomir], to crawl quickly on all fours, to
rush out [courir ventre a terre, s ’en a lte r a vec precipitation ], zaw w a ca: to shake, make tremble [secouer, fa ire
trem bler], za w w a 1: rapid, m u zaw w a1: strong” (Landberg, G lossaire D atinois, 3:1875-76); y g a ys < G .S.Y.: to
overcome, overwhelm , Ar. g a sd w a ; m il < mp{: a trickle o f water, a weak, dribbling spring, Ar. “m u dad: brackish water,
brine, salt water” (Wehr, 1961, 912); astayub < S.Y.B.: to flow , Ar. istaba.
92 y s a p u b < (CL.B.: “S a p d w b /ya S p ld w b /ya sd p a b : to take back, want back” (Johnstone, 1987, 230).
93 tbin: field owner, propertied man, Yem . Ar. pabin : boss, manager [patron]” (Landberg, G lossaire D atinois, 3:2193);
p a w r : spin, whirl, twirl (overhead), “p ta w r /y s p iw ta r /y a p a r : to turn round and round (us. in children’s gam es)”
(Johnstone, 1987, 245); anof: em ergency flag, Ar. calam a l-istin gad < N .F.L Yem. Ar. and al-Mahra: “to serve, to
render a service” (Landberg, G lossaire D atinois, 3:2808); sw egi: flood beds, the water channels o f a w adi, Ar.
m adahib, m a g d ria l-sa yl\ nhd < N.H .[V].: seriousness, earnestness, sincerity, “hgnxu: to be happy to do sth., to be glad
(for s.th.)” (Johnstone, 1987, 309); trub: to desire, Ar. ragaba < Y em Ar. T.R.B.: “to be excited, to rejoice, to wish for
sth. [etre emotionne, se rejouir, a v o ir envie]” (Landberg, G lossaire D atinois, 3:2199). In al-Mahra, a tatrub is a
proclamation o f a temporary cease-fire betw een two warring tribes, typically as the first step towards a more lasting
truce, (BakrTt, 1999, 43).
108
6) [The b ro th er] d id n ’t re m em b e r the m istakes // th o se w hich h ad o ccurred in e arlie r
tim es II th e conseq u en ces o f Fate.
7) A t th e W a d i Y lebi and the m o u n tain o f T arbut [w here the G idhI trib e lives] // th at o f
th e n arro w s and b ro ad ex p an ses // (w hose) feed er-can y o n s are jo in e d to g e th e r
8) T h eir h a p p in e ss is read ied // fro m the q u an tity o f its strength // w hen the g o o d new s
reach es th em , they are eager.
9) N ow I ’ve ch an g ed places // to to w erin g F artak [w here K alsat lives] // She h as gotten
read y and h as h e r w ays (o f fighting).
10) T h e ir w o m en and children h av e said // they are fearless from long ago // a p eo p le o f
th e sw ord and shield.
11) W ad i R alh ay t and its hills II tu rn ed out beating on th eir w ar d rum s // the once-
co n q u ered are dancing.
12) T h eir le a d e r is co n fid ent // and is g lad dened by the new s // rifles d isch arg e flam e
and sparks
13) T reatin g h is b o d y // w ith w ild h o n ey // there is not a single m ind in dissen tio n .
14) O u r L ord b e w ith you, O H eroes // p e o p le o f zealo u s heart // as they set out in the
late aftern o o n girdled (w ith th e ir w ar-gear)
15) T h e y ’ve m ad e you p ro ud fro m lo n g ago // th e y ’v e given and taken // they d o not
fe a r the o th e r side.
16) H o w often th e y ’ve b uried an ev ent that w as F ated // w ith speech (w hose tru th ) is
b itin g // and rem o v ed th em selv es from the h o w ling wind!
17) I ’ve k n o w n from b efo re the th u n d erin g rain clouds // the one th at b rin g s great
q u a n titie s o f d u st // sheets o f rain fro m w ater-buckets
18) Its flo o d co v ers the earth // even up to the ancient h ig h la n d s // w ith vio len ce (the
flo o d ) ro lls dow n
19) Its ro ilin g surge en co m passes the lan d // sending clouds o v er all o f h u m an k in d //
and snatch es aw ay ev ery thing th at is valuable.
20) B u t th e son o f G aw n d o e sn ’t pick fav o u rites // h e ’s m ade teats on e ith e r side //
th e re ’s m ilk fo r the one w ho com es to m ilk.
21) N ow th e tribal arbiters // have sm o o th ed the w ood o f its ro u g h n ess // and even the
o b d u rate is satisfied.
22) T h e trib esm an d o e sn ’t hold fo rev er to his p o sitio n // u n less he has seen to h is non-
trib al d e p en d an ts // and his colum n and then h e carries them on his u p p er back .
23) A t that tim e, [the reck less tribesm an] rem em b ers // th ro u g h o u t that n ight, he stays
aw ake // fro m p ain and g rief
24) H is legs g o w eak // and he b ello w s fro m his tears lik e a she-co w searching fo r her
c a lf // an d h is h eart and m ind are in agony.
25) W hen th e d ifferen t crops o f a field m ature // b u t b efo re the h u sk s h av e rip en ed II he
h arv ests th e b arley and co m .
* 26) N ow th e tribal arbiters // have sm oothed the w ood o f its ro u g h n e ss // and the
feelin g s are satisfied. [This lin e is a rep etitio n o f lin e 21 w ith one m in o r alteration.]
27) I h av e n o th in g to do w ith th ese th in g s // w hose b u rd en s are on so m ebody else // but
the reck less o n e falls (into these situations).
28) (L ike) a g u sh o f w ater w hen it b u rsts forth // and even if it is a trickle // its flo w s (to
others) th ro u g h w ater channels.
29) I b eseech th e H eavens // after the fury has q u ieted dow n // and the o w n er h a s had
h is p ro p erty restored
30) A nd the la n d -o w n e r w hirls a flag o v er head // callin g to every channel in th e w adi II
and (ev en ) the one living high above desires (to resp o n d ) in earn estness.
109
T his p o e m cov ers all o f the essen tial to p ics o f a tribal ode. T he p o em b eg in s at the ch ange
o f seaso n s, w hen the h o t and still su m m er m o n th s com e to an end and the b lu stery m on so o n
season b e g in s (fay sal hawlT flu b [1]). T his shift is e m b lem a tic o f im p en d in g p o litic al and social
turm oil: th e q u iescen ce o f th e social ord er, b u ilt on an ela b o rate netw o rk o f allian ces, studied
a v o id an ce and cease-fires, is ab o ut to b e stood on its h ead . In [4-6], the p o et p ro v id e s the
n arrative h ook: a b ro th e r (d-gdyw, h is ow n b ro th e r? [5]), a G idhI trib esm an fro m D am ^ aw t, w as
m u rd ered w hen he strayed in to “en e m y ” territo ry h a v in g fo rg o tten the v e n d etta b etw een his ow n
tribe and Z w ed I (fttan ahhatdya la: / / h a l d-ba:r groh slu f\6 ]). The p o et w ith h o ld s any m oral
ju d g e m e n t co n cern in g th e m u rd er itself; p erh ap s it is ju s tifie d as an acce p tab le act o f v en g eance
in the ap h o ristic line: “T he clo se affectio n fo r a b ro th e r (lasts) forev er // and is passed dow n
through the clan s // and th e one w ho lives by it, ex ec u tes it” ( doyam lahnet d-gdyw / / ya tfayb a n l-
arjcad / / wa-msowi atlub [5]). T h e p o e t se em s to p la c e the g reater p art o f the b lam e on the victim ;
after all, it w as he w ho fo rg o t th e v itality o f an cien t feuds and not the Z w edI trib esm en . T he
w isdom o f [5], h o w ev er, ju stifie s the v en g e an c e that Z w edI has ju s t called dow n on itself; the
aph o rism , “th e o n e w ho liv es b y it, ex ec u tes it,” goes b o th w ays.
T he p o et m o v es to a d esc rip tio n o f the ex c ite m en t th at th e v endetta has aro u sed as the tribes
coalesce in th e face o f it. T h e v ery lan d sca p e ex p resses th e ir solidarity: W ad i Y leb l and the
m ountain o f T arb u t, th e co re territo ry o f G idhI, are co n n ected by the m aze o f rav in es th at run
b etw een th em ( kwori attub [7]), a g e o g rap h ic p ro jectio n o f the k in sh ip ties that u n ite the tribe. In
a like fash io n , G id h i’s allies, the K alsat, are ren d e re d as the m ountain o f F artak , m assiv e and
u n y ield in g , and th e fo o th ills o f W ad i R ajh ay t tu rn out d an cin g and ready fo r v en g ea n ce ( sim
atabdl wd-fkdt / / wd-ntosi magliib [11]). A s a p re req u isite to any n eg o tiatio n s, the p o e t m ust
estab lish a p o sitio n o f stren g th fo r the sake o f lev erag e; although ack n o w led g in g som e fa u lt on
the part o f G idhI, he stresses th at G idhI and h e r allies are w illing to use th e ir full stren g th if the
n eg o tiatio n s fail.
110
H aving tak en the b ro ad view o f G id h I’s en th u siasm , the poet d istils G id h I’s co u rag e into a
sin g le p erso n : a w ar-lead er firing his rifle and w hose b o d y coated in h o n ey , a p ro fy la ctic ag ainst
inju ry ( hzdynl ahtabub / masdaywT d g se d / / bd-m ndkkdz a:sel [12-13]). W h ile stressin g the
m artial p ro w e ss o f G idhI, th e p o e t ends the exp o sitio n on a d ifferen t n ote. In [16], h e avers that
th is con flict d o e s n ’t h av e to end in v io le n ce b u t rather, the G idhI are eq u ally cap a b le in av o id in g a
“fated ” ( m haktib ) w a r th ro u g h n eg o tiatio n . E nth u siastic in a fight, the p o e t m ain ta in s th at the
G idhI are equally at h o m e w ith tru th fu l (“b itin g ”) w ords, by w hich m eans they rem o v e
th em selv es from “th e h o w lin g w in d ” o f w a r (hdl anatjc yatgom / / w -sagnlw man ahhabub [16]).
T he poet is o fferin g th e Z w edI an h o n o rab le w ay out o f the co nflict b y in d icatin g G id h i’s ow n
w illin g n ess to sp eak to th e p ro b lem in an h o n est fashion.
In fact, th e p o et p o in ts to th e p refera b ility o f this final m ethod - n e g o tiatio n s - fo r the rest o f
th e poem . W a r and feu d in g are d escrib ed as a ru in o u s th u n d e rsh o w er and flood, a co m m o n trope
in M ahri p o etry fo r u n b rid led v io len ce. In d eed , rain sto rm s rarely have p o sitiv e c o n n o tatio n s; it is
o n ly once w ater is co n tain ed and co n tro lled in irrigation ch annels does it denote an y th in g
p o sitiv e. T h e v io len ce that th e p o et fears to be in c ip ien t is like a flood: once it has been
u n leash ed , it ca n n o t be co n tain ed . O nce it has b u rst fo rth , it sw eeps aw ay ev ery th in g in its path
and reach es areas p re v io u sly u n to u ch ed by its surge, even as far as the barren h ig h lan d s o f the
N ogad ( la-gdehd abalydt [18]). Indeed, the flood as im ag in ed by the p o e t is p u re ap o caly p se,
w ashing o v er the land and sw eeping aw ay its p e o p le (w a-glab d\aym bt jca //w a -g y im l-harwah
[19]), and h eark en s b ack to the flood that con clu d es the pre-Islam ic m u callaqa o f Im ru 0 al-Q ays.
A fter ru m in atin g on th e relen tlessn ess o f w ar, the po et goes on to describ e the p o ssib ility o f
a neg o tiated settlem en t and reco m m en d s a specific p e rso n to arbitrate: B ir G aw n. B ir G aw n,
ab o u t w hom I h av e n o fu rth er in fo rm a tio n , is re co m m en d ed fo r a fe w b a sic reasons. F o r on e, he
d o e sn ’t “ch o o se sid es” (anoî), a w ord related to the co m m o n S outh A rabian A rab ic v e rb naql
(“to d eclare w a r”) and tanaqqa (“to take v en g e an c e” ). It is pro b ab le that B ir G aw n is a m em ber
111
o f the h e re d ita ry caste o f m soyah (know n elsew h ere as sada o r Jasraf, i.e., d escen d en ts o f
M u h am m ad ) w h o h av e no trib al affiliatio n and are thus theo retically inv io lab le. A s long as they
m ain tain ed th e ir re p u tatio n fo r effectiv e a rb itratio n , the m soyah o f al-M ah ra had no need to
d eclare w ar o r to tak e v e n g e a n c e on a n y o n e ’s b e h a lf.94 S econdly, the p erso n ality o f B ir G aw n
q u alifies h im to re n d e r ju d g e m e n t: B ir G aw n h a s “m ad e teats on b o th sid es” ( Dd:ym al sad man
agnayb [20]), m ean in g th at h e satisfies all w ho com e to him on equal term s. T his p h rase w as also
in terp reted to m e as “he lo ad s h is cam el e v en ly ,” i.e., h e d ispenses ju d g e m e n t w ith eq uanim ity
and w ith o u t b u rd en in g any o n e p a rty b e y o n d its m ean s. T he critical term h ere, sad, is also a
g eneral term fo r a clo se re la tio n sh ip o r frien d sh ip ; B ir G aw n is thus a friend to b o th sides.
B eh in d B ir G aw n stand th e tribal arbiters, ( sahyln [21], [26]), w ho are prep ared to “sm ooth
th e w o o d o f its ro u g h n e ss” ( bdrh naht b-ahhalet [21]); th a t is, to w ork o u t the details o f cease-fire
in a w ay th at w ill satisfy ev en th e m o st stubborn, z ea lo u s tribesm an (m royas yatyub [21]). In
co n trast w ith th e v isio n o f trib a lism ren d ered at the b e g in n in g o f the p o em w here feuds are n ev er
fo rg o tten and v en d ettas e n th u sia stic ally pu rsu ed , the p o et now offers an altern ativ e in terpretation
o f th e tribal cred o . T h e p o e t stresses that the au th en tic tribesm an QibaylJ [22]) is neither
in flex ib le n o r u n w illin g to co m p ro m ise (al ydum [22]); rather, he con sid ers the safety o f those
around h im , b o th o f his fe llo w tribesm en trib e and h is n o n -trib al dep en d en ts (gayr w -sunl affirdjc
//w a -rka n h wd-ktub [22]). T h is p o e m covers the tw o p o le s th at are u n ited w ith in his idealized
co n cep tio n o f th e trib al ethos: th e ex action o f v en g ean ce, (epitom ized in the ch a ra cter o f the “ w ar
lead er” ), is g ran ted c h ie f im p o rta n c e at the b e g in n in g o f the poem , w hile by its end, the po et has
turned th e sp o tlig h t o n to th e ro le o f delib eratio n and co n su lta tio n , here ep ito m ized by B ir G aw n
and the arb itrato rs. T he p o e t g oes on to describ e the afflictio n s that b eset the tribesm an w ho
flau n ts th e ad v ice o f th e a rb itrato rs. H e stays aw ake all n ig h t reg rettin g h is folly, h is legs go
w eak, he b ello w s and w eep s in reg re t and his h eart and m ind are in agony [23-24]. T he poet
co n tin u es th at a reck less trib e sm an reaps h is h arv est to o early, i.e., dies befo re he can enjoy the
94 Naumkin, 1 9 9 5 ,9 9 .
112
rew ard s o f life o r even to rectify this crisis o f h is ow n creation [25]. T h ese lines, [23-25], have
th e q u ality o f a fo rm u laic curse, w ell kno w n fro m the literature and ep ig rap h y o f the A n cient
N e a r E a st in w hich a co v en an t is sealed w ith a th reat o f dire and d iv in e retrib u tio n fo r the p arty
i 95
that reneg es.
In [27-28], the p o e t goes on to c o n trast h is ow n co n trib u tio n to w ards the p eace versus the
reck less trib esm an w h o fo m en ts m ore v io len ce and w h o se folly red o u n d s to h is kin. A lth o u g h
the poet d isav o w s an y d irect re sp o n sib ility fo r the actio n s o f his kin (si bfsan hwdyag Id: / / w-
mdrkdhsan l-gdyr [27]), he reco g n izes the “rip p le e ffe c t” o f reck lessn ess and the n ecessity o f
co m m u n al resp o n ses to it. R etu rn in g to the m etap h o ric association o f w a te r and v iolence, the
p o e t d escribes th e co n seq u en ces o f the trib e sm a n ’s deed s lik e w ater flo w in g through irrigation
chan n els (knotar astayub [28]) th at connect the k in sh ip netw ork; even a sm all rise in w ater w ill
b e felt b y the en tire co m m u n ity .
T he p oet co n c lu d e s w ith a p ra y e r fo r the an g er to die dow n ( w -talbona m artafa II ba:d azd:l
lajta hde [29]), an d fo r th e resto ratio n o f p ro p e rty to its rig h tfu l ow ners (w -arbdn ysejcldb [29]),
w hich, as w e h av e seen, w as strip ped aw ay by the “flo o d .” In the final lin e [30], the p o e t p ain ts
an id y llic p o rtrait o f life in al-M ah ra du rin g p eacetim e: a p ro p e rty o w n er and farm er (tbin) tw irls
his head d ress o v e r his h ead , u sing it lik e a flag (anof) to sum m on h is kin from the h ig hlands.
T his is n o t an e m erg en cy sum m ons. R ath er, the fa rm e r is announcing a cease-fire (trub) that is
greeted w ith sincere h a p p in e ss (kd-nha) by h is k in sm en . T he final term , trub, evokes b o th the jo y
at the end o f the h o stilitie s (< Y em . A r. T .R .B . “to rejo ice, b e excited o v e r s.th .” [L andberg,
G lossaire Datinois, 3 :2 1 9 9 ]) as w ell the M ahri p ra ctic e o f declarin g a tw o m onth cease-fire
(tatrub) b efore th e d eclaratio n o f a p erm a n e n t truce. H av in g given the aud ien ce a visio n o f
apo caly p tic d estru ctio n and ad m o n ish in g them a g ain st reck less v io len ce, the p o et offers an
altern ativ e that is g raced w ith co m m unal h ap p in ess.
95
‘ Walter Sommerfeld, “Fliiche und Fluchformeln als Q uelle fur die altorientalische Kulturgeschichte,” in
M esopotam ica, Ugaritica, B iblica: Festschrift fiir K urt B ergerhof, eds. Manfried Dietrich and O swald Loretz
(Kevelaer: Verlag Brown & Bercker, 1993).
113
In co n trast to the g rav e to n e o f B ir L a cta y t’s m on u m en tal ode, the 'odi w d-krem krem genre
m ay also b e h arn essed fo r iro n ic pu rp o ses. T his is th e case fo r an e x ch an g e related to m e b y cIsa
b ir 3A hm ad b ir cIsa al-Q u m ay ri (“ °Isa K a d h ay t”) fro m G adab. cIsa K ad h ay t is n o to rio u s fo r
co m p o sin g co m ic p o etry ; all o f th e p o em s th at I co llected b y him are e ith er se lf-d e p re cato ry gazal
o r po em s in a “m o c k -e p ic ” style. T h e h u m o ro u s touch o f cIsa K ad h ay t’s po etry b e lies the
im p o rtan ce o f h is status: cIsa K adhayt w as ap p o in ted as a local ju d g e fo r the d istrict o f H a w f
u n d er th e P D R Y and ren d ered his ju d g e m e n ts in verse. In the ex am p le b elo w , the in itial, five-
lin e danddn w as d eclaim ed b y cA b d allah b ir 3A h m ad R a cfit to p ro test a ru lin g b y a n o th er M ahri
ju d g e , M u h am m ad A d o f (“T h e C o b ra” ).96 In c o n fo rm ity w ith the P D R Y ’s guaran tees o f g en d er
equ ality , M u h am m ad A d o f enacted a w aitin g p erio d o f three m o n th s b efo re re m arria g e (A r.
cidda) in al-M ah ra. A cco rd in g to co n v en tio n al a p p lica tio n s o f the Islam ic legal co d e, the cidda is
o n ly applied to w om en and is m ean t to d e fu se any p ate rn ity q u e stio n s reg arding the ch ild re n o f
recen tly div o rced co u p les. A lth o u g h fo rw ard -lo o k in g , M u h am m ad A d o f’s in terp retatio n o f the
req u irem en ts fo r th e cidda w aitin g -p e rio d h a s n o t lasted to the p re sen t d ay .97
A cco rd in g to cIsa K a d h a y t’s narrativ e, cA b d allah R a cfit d iv orced h is first w ife d esp ite cIs a ’s
ad vice ag ain st it, and w an ted to rem arry im m e d iately th ereafter. °A bdallah R a cfit w as p ro h ib ited
b y M uh am m ad A d o f fro m d oing so u n til a fte r the cidda w aitin g -p erio d had elap sed , and so
cA b d allah b ro u g h t h is co m p lain t, (in v erse), to a second ju d g e , cIsa K adhayt. °!sa b e g in s his
resp o n se w ith the ep ic-ev o cativ e line: “O S un, you h av e set // the sh adow o f ev ening has
d escen d ed // and en circled the ex p an se o f the la n d ” [1], T his line sets the tone fo r the gravitas
The genre o f dandan poetry w ill be examined in Chapter 4.

97 The three-month waiting period for wom en expresses the concerns o f a patriarchal society in which the father’s
lineage is pre-eminently important, (see Fatima M em issi’s “Idda: the M uslim Guarantee o f Paternity” in B eyon d the
Veil [Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1987], 62-64). H owever, segm ents o f Mahri society were matrilineal,
m onogam ous and uxorilocal until recent tim es (Dostal, 1967, 84-85). A s related by Harold Ingrams: ‘T h e men o f the
Manahil, Mahra, and those distant sections o f the Kathiri w ho live up amongst the Mahra on the confines o f the desert,
take their m others’ names and not their fathers. Ordinarily o f course Arabs call them selves Hassan bin Muhammad for
exam ple, but these people say Hassan bin M aryam” (Harold Ingrams, A rabia an d the Isles [London: John Murray,
1942], 319). If lineage is determined through maternal lines, then the ‘idda serves no practical purpose at all and may
as well be applied to wom en an d men. The extent to which pre-Islam ic, South Arabian lineages were, (and in som e
cases continue to be), matrilineal and/or matrifocal is a thorny issue, although epigraphic evidence indicates that at least
some pre-Islamic, South Arabian lineages w ere distinctly matrilineal, (Andrey K orotayev, “Were There Any Truly
Matrilineal Lineages in the Arabian Peninsula?” P roceedin gs o f the Sem inar A rabian S em in a r2 5 [1995]: 92).
114
essen tial to a legal ju d g e m e n t, and the fo rm u laic u sag e and trip artite lin e c o m m u n ica te the fact
th at cls a w o rk s w ithin a fram ew o rk o f trad itio n . T his serv es a p ractical pu rp o se: as a gesture
tow ard s “an cestral” p ractice, the first lin e e sta b lish es °Isa’s au thority in p ro n o u n cin g a ju d g e m e n t
in fav o r o f an u n o rth o d o x in terp retatio n o f th e cidda. cIsa goes on to state th at h e has been called
u p o n b y the co m m u n ity to articu late a resp o n se to cA b d a lla h ’s co m plaint. T h e term u sed here is
rwoh (“m ak e a sp e e c h ”) [4]; cIs a ’s ju d g e m e n t is a re sp o n se to the en tire co m m u n ity , and not
m erely “w eig h in g in ” o n a to p ic th at does n o t co n ce rn him .
cIsa d ism isses cA b d a lla h ’s co m p lain t fo r tw o reasons: th e first is th at cA b d allah had
p re v io u sly refu sed °Isa’s a ttem p t to m e d iate b e tw ee n him and his first w ife, and the second is th at
th e three m o n th s req u ired o f th e cidda is hard ly to o lo n g fo r cA bdallah to w ait b e fo re rem arry in g .
cIsa depicts cA b d allah as a p erp etu al litig ato r, b rin g in g every issue (“b en d in g the b ra n c h ” [4]) to
his atten tio n , reg ard less o f th e c a s e ’s m erit. cIsa ch id es cA bdallah fo r d ra w in g out the p ro b lem
lo n g e r than it d e serv es and fo r refu sin g to let it d rop, (“it has already rip en ed and then yo u bring
b ack ag a in ” [12]).
cIsa co n clu d es b y p e rfo rm in g a p sy ch o lo g ica l a n aly sis o f cA bdallah in o rd er to und erstan d
w hy cA b d allah co n tin u es to p e s te r him . cIsa e x p lain s cA b d a lla h ’s b e h a v io r as stem m ing from his
reg ret o v e r the lo ss o f h is first w ife, “the good [o n e]” [14], c!sa notes th at “it is the n ature o f a
m an // w ho has g one c o m p le te ly b roke // to stir u p co m p la in ts” [13], and th at h is con scien ce
n eed les him w ith re g re t “fo r h is first good fo rtu n e ” [16]. cIsa ends on a g n o m ic n o te that w e have
seen elsew h ere in ragzit p o etry : the trib esm an w ho fo rsak es h is d ep en d an ts is h au n ted by this
e rro r fo r the rest o f his life, and “the tears o f his ey e [p our out] upon h is ch e e k s” [15]. T here is a
sense o f fin ality to h is sad n ess, fo r once he has b e tra y e d a relatio n , “n o th in g n ew [w ill] c o m e ”
[16], F ro m an o th erw ise triv ial co m p lain t, cIsa d e riv e s a b ro ad e r lesso n th at h as ech o es in the
h ero ic p o etic tra d itio n and jo in s his d ecisio n in fa v o r o f an in n o v ativ e social la w to trad itio n al,
p o etic custom .
115
D. Exchange recorded in Gadab:
a) cA b d allah R a cflt:
1) hakwayyan ajyalb / / w a-lbuddn hdid

2) te gayw w -rabla / / gle ybaddid 98
3) d r hoh h g d n n d t/ / mans wakt m yfd 99
4) snet d-kadhayt / / wa-gyug y ca:did
5) b-rism d-hayd / / w-\awdah yashid 100
b) cIsa K adhayt:
1) lawb gaw nas hyom / / w-hola jcfod/Zwd-gsoh b-rahdid 101

2) l - cabdallah a r id //a b ir laddeh / / d d -’dsfdh gi'd 102
3) lam drdm rwoh / / w-rokab groy/Z w a-bhel habdid 103
4) w a-l-tw ol kadhayt / / yhokal afarb / / w a-l-han agdid 104
5) halfot la: sfut / / an dr tahw ul / / w-ajcal zhfd 105
6) m ond hsdb lu k / / nhor da-frfadk/ / w-mon assadid 106
7) his n a k3ak ton / / w -cam ark hlas / / m haw ldr gdid 107
8) si hatm al la: / / assdm ham len / / am -ar tazhid
9) w a-m ham m ad a fo f / / seh ski man hayt / / w-heh m hdbrid 108
/ / / S S / 1Q Q
10) w azm uk dastur / / jcaniin d-hallet / / kal si m ajfanid
11) luk d r sdfdyt / / w a-mgoran tlek / / l-ad fayrak rsid
12) dr het dtwi'lk / / hayr man snet / / tahfol w a-rdid 110
98 _
rabla < R.B.D.: Ar. “a l-ru bu d and al-rubad: a m an’s w ife because she settles him dow n [turabbidu hu],. .a l-ra b d and
a l-ru bd and a l-ra b a d : the w ife, mother or sister w ho takes care o f [tu'aizibu ] her relations” (Ibn Manzur, 3:80).
hgdnndt (dim.): < hget: a (big) problem, < Ar. h u gga: argument, plea or < Ar. haga: thing, issue or <
“hsg/yshgug/yahgeg: to refuse (us. a fem ale cousin) perm ission to marry so. other than h im se lf’ (Johnstone, 1987,
171); m yld < M .Y.D.: to oppose, counteract, Ar. ‘akasa.
100 law ddh < 1..D.D. (?): (testified) to it, against it.
101 gaw nas < G .N .C.: “gano, gsn ot/tdgon a: to be nearly set (sun)” (ibid., 121); hold < H .L .C: “hola ’/hlla'’: shade,
shadow; reflection...m ovin g shadow in a valley (poet.)” (ibid., 156); gsuh < G .S.[V].: Ar. gasa: to cover, envelop,
conceal; rahdld: plot o f land, Ar. m asdhat al- ’ard, < R.D.Y.: “rldlt: field, fertile area” (ibid., 315).
102 _ ' 1
’asfah < W .S.F.: “maysayf, m aws sfut: fine-looking, famed, fam ous” (ibid., 431).
103 rwoh < R.W .Y.: “tell, recite, sing [sic]” (ibid., 333-34). Contrary to Johnstone, this root has nothing to do with
singing or chanting but is used strictly for non-m elodic recitation. Bhel < B.H.L.: L‘bahlit/bahel: word” (ibid., 45);
h abdid: a group, collection, Ar. kammlya, m agm u'a.
104 tw ol < T.L.[V].: ‘'ta w d li...to, towards” (ibid., 401); yhokal < H.jC.L.: “hajtawl: to make so. incline, lean over” (ibid.,
155); afarb: “d arb/derob, dim. daw ereb/darberob: small piece o f w ood (poet.)” (ibid., 85); hdn: ‘'han-. ..w ith, in the
presence of, at” (ibid., 158). Han is used here as an independent particle (not attested by Johnstone for N agdl Mahri
[i.e., Eastern Mahri], but attested by Jahn as hene for South-western Mahri (Jahn, 1902, 188).
105 tahwul < H.W.L.: “hwul/yahwul/yahahwal: to understand (a language)” (Johnstone, 1987, 193); zhld < Z.H.D.:
“zahed/yazhod, vn. zayhad: to be expert, possessed o f good counsel, know the best pastures; to find out, realise” (ibid.,
466).
106 hsdb < H .S.B.: to enjoin, direct, advise, make incumbent, Ar. w assd, also "xsawb/yaxsawb/yahaxsab: to send, to
send for” (ibid., 450); a ssa d id < S.D.D.: “sdud/yasdud/yahassad: to bring together estranged p e o p le ...sasdud: to be
reconciled with o ’s w ife after a separation, divorce” (ibid., 341).
107 m hawldr. mediation, intervention, Ar. w isata, < H .^.R.: “hazdwr/yahawzar/yahzar: to persuade; to attend; to be a
peacemaker” (ibid., 199).
08 afof. “The Cobra,” nickname o f al-Qadt Muhammad bir Labi], uncertain etym ology; s k i< S.K.Y.: “a skayh skayyat:
sword” (ibid., 394); hayt < H.Y.T.: mountain, “hayt: part o f a mt. road you cannot see” (ibid., 198); m hdbrid < B.R.D.:
sharpened, “bardd/yaborad/yabred/yabredan: to sharpen (a knife); to file smooth” (ibid., 51).
109 b allet < H.L.L.: “hal/yahlul/yahlel: to settle” (ibid., 176) or < H.W .L.: “hawl/haw elat: year” (ibid., 194); majfanid:
item ized, detailed < Ar.fan n ada.
116
13) dek dr td b cath / / ad-ber affalus / / y a cm ol akdfd 111
14) ykays ba-hntifh / / w -yaw saw us / / b-fol d-gld 112
15) w a-tdalhan leh / / dma man cayn / / hfer h d ld 113
16) l-ad heh d-hofujc / / h d f hawli / / w al nuka gdfd 114
a) cA b d allah R a cfit:
1) W e fo rtified o u r h e a rt and b e ca m e lik e iron

2) E ven b ro th e rs o f th e sam e m o th e r and father, d ea r to each o ther, h av e th eir d ifferen ces.
3) B u t I h av e a sm all issu e th at T im e its e lf opposes
4) T he Y e a r o f K ad h ay t d u ring w hich th e m en observe a l-cidda :
5) (A ck n o w led g ed ) b y th e stam p o f th e ir han d and w ith w itnesses testify in g to it.
b ) cIsa K adhayt:
1) O S un, y ou h av e set // the sh adow o f evening has descen d ed // and en circled the
ex p an se o f th e land.
2) I ’ll re sp o n d to cA b d allah // the son o f L addeh // o f good repute
3) T hey said: “M ak e a speech // arran g e y o u r utteran ce w ith m eter and rh y m e // fo r a
n u m b er o f w o rd s.”
4) A nd so to K ad h ay t // he b en d s the b ran ch // w ith any little th in g that com es up.
5) N o new s h as sin ce arrived // if only you realized this // and y o u r m ind w ere discern in g
6) W h o h as alread y c o u n selled yo u // on the day you cam e you cam e dow n to us // and
b ro u g h t y ou and y o u r estranged w ife b a c k to gether?
7) W hen you cam e to u s // you said “en o u g h !” // to any new interm ed iaries.
8) T his a ffa ir d o e s n ’t d eserv e (our atten tio n ), // pard o n us fo r saying so, // if y o u ’ll be
reaso n ab le
9) M u h am m ad th e C o b ra // w ith a sw ord fro m the m o untains // and ra z o r sharp
10) H e g av e you a co n stitu tio n // a law fo r the land // ev ery th in g has been detailed
11) Y ou only h av e (to w ait) three m o n th s // and afterw ards y o u ’re free // and th e re ’s no
o ne su p erv isin g you.
12) B ut y o u ’ve d raw n out (the issue) // (as though) it w ere m o re than a y ea r // it has
already rip en ed and then you b rin g b ack again.
13) It is th e n a tu re o f a m an // w ho h as go n e com pletely broke // to stir up co m p lain ts
14) H e fin d s so m eth in g w ithin h im se lf // th at w hispers to h im // w ith fancies o f the good
thing (he lost).
15) T hey p o u r out o f him // the te ars o f h is eye // upon his cheeks
16) H e d id n ’t h o ld tig h t // o n to his first good fortune // and n o th in g new has com e.
110 tahfol: to becom e ripe, Yem . Ar. tandag, “hatfal: (wild figs) to be ripe...hgfolTt: ripe (w ild) fig ” (ibid., 169); rcidid <
tardld: “rsd/yardu d/ysrded: to return, give back” (ibid., 314).
' 11 afftilds'. to becom e bankrupt, to be ruined, to fail, Ar. ’a flasa , also "falos: to take away, deprive a camel o f its
young” (ibid., 94); a k d id : a basis for complaint, Ar. m abda ’ sakah, < K .D .C.: kadda: to be shy, sad, sorry (about St.), to
be nervous (ibid., 203).
112 ykdys < K .S .\: “kuss/yskusa and yakays/yakse: to find, m eet” (ibid., 215);_/»/: a dream, fantasy, Ar. fraydl < F .\L .:
“fob. om en” (ibid., 86)?
113
tdalhan < D.L.H.: Yem . Ar. “to throw, pour, w innow [jeter; verser... vanner\" (Landberg, G lossaire D a tin o is,
1:953) and D.R.H.: “to w innow wheat [vanner le b le]” (ibid., 1:926); see also D.R.Y.: “dayffr/yzddra/yadre: to bleed”
(Johnstone, 1987, 81).
114 hofujt < W.T.JC.: to hold onto, grasp, Ar. 'amsaka, “hBWtuJy. to fix, secure” (ibid., 433); nuka < N.K.L:
“nuka/yanuka/yinke vn. n ayka: to com e” (ibid., 293).
117
I h av e in clu d ed on e, final ragzit in o rd er to d em o n strate the flex ib ility o f the M ahri p o etic
system , (lest the b ip a rtite -trip a rtite d ivide b e taken as ov erly p rescrip tiv e). T his p o em is
co m p o sed o f lin es th at are b o th b ip artite and trip artite. On the one h and, this m ay b e a sim ple
reflectio n o f CA1I b ir A ra b h ’s le ss-th an -ste lla r p o etic skill. O r, on the o th e r h and, it can be
ch alk ed u p to th e fau lty m em o ry a n d /o r im p ro v isatio n on the part o f the tran sm itter, S alim b ir
S alem S m oda. W e sh o u ld n o t forget that the visual cu es w e take fo r gran ted in tra n scrib in g a
M ahri p o em are irre le v a n t to trad itio n al M ahri p o etics; the stark b o u n d aries betw een b ip a rtite and
trip artite lin es on a w ritten p ag e m ay b e fa r m ore d iap h an o u s in an oral p rax is.
O n the o th e r h an d , th e m ix ture o f b ip a rtite and trip artite lines m ay also reflect a certain
am b iv alen ce in to p ical m aterial, as th o u g h the p o e t o r tran sm itter h im se lf w as u n certain as to
w hat realm o f d isco u rse th is p o em belo n g ed . T he b ack g ro u n d n arrativ e is as follow s: the p o et,
CA1T b ir A rabh, d isco v ered that h is son, S acId, k illed a n u m b e r o f k id -g o ats that had been p u t in
h is charge b y his m o th er, and then hung th e ir b o d ie s fro m som e trees. S a cId h ad gotten tired o f
p ro v id in g fo d d er fo r th e k id -g o ats, an arduous task that requires strip p in g b ran ch es fro m the
th o rn y sfcayf trees, and b u ild in g corrals out o f the d en se, p rick ly shrubs. Im m ed iately th ereafter,
S a cId fled b ey o n d th e reach o f his fa th er to the m ountain peo p le, w here he w as w elco m ed as a
guest, fed g en ero u sly and p ro tected ag ainst h is fa th e r’s vengeance.
T h is story strad d les th e vag ue lin e b e tw ee n the h eroic, u n eq u iv o catin g p o stu res o f tribal
ragzit and th e p erso n al, in tim ate ex p ressio n s o f life and fam ily that are the m ain stay o f the
b ip artite dandan genre. T h ere is no d o ubt th at cAlI A rabh is proud o f his s o n ’s streak o f defian ce
and b o ld in d iv id u alism , (“H e ’s not one o f the cow ard s w ho m akes m istak es and afterw ard s
su rren d ers” [3]). T hese are the p raisew o rth y characteristics w hen they b elo n g to a “w ar lea d e r”
or the v ig o ro u s y o u th w ho d efen d the trib e fro m attack. Indeed, the very m an n er in w hich S a cId
slau g h ters the y o u n g g o ats ev o k es the b attlefield s o f tribal poetry: “ [H e] slau g h tered them w ith a
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k n ife o f sh arp en ed iro n , cu ttin g and ra z o r sh arp // H e d id n ’t have tim e to b lin k o r close h is eyes,
an d th rew th em all to the g ro u n d , corpses in h e a p s” [8-9].
A t th e sam e tim e, th ese q u a litie s are tem p ered b y th e p o e t’s an g er at h is so n ’s reck lessness;
d efian ce and in d iv id u a lism are alw ays a p relu d e to co n flict in Dddl w a-krem krem p oem s. T hough
S a cid is c o u rag eo u s, CA1I A rab h ex p lain s, he is also “th e o w n er o f a heart o f steel and a b lack
liv e r ” [2]. 'O di w a-krem krem p o e try in v aria b ly h ig h lig h ts th e co n trad ictio n that ex ists at the
h eart o f th e tribal ethos: in d iv id u al hero ics a g ain st co llectiv e resp o n sib ilities. In the 3od i wa-krem
krem b y B ir L a cta y t, w e saw h o w a you n g m an, (the p o e t’s “b ro th er” ), failed to re m em b e r the
p rin cip al lesso n s o f th e trib e and thus to u ch ed o ff a ro u n d o f violence b etw een G idhi and Z w edI.
W e h av e also seen h o w th e re c k le ss y o u th and darin g “w ar-lead er” are b a lan c ed by B ir G aw n and
th e tribal arb iters w ho w o rk to p e rsu ad e th e ir aud ien ce tow ards a co llectiv e p eac e. T he essential
ten sio n b etw een in d iv id u al p a ssio n and c o lle ctiv e d u ty is th u s pro g ram m atic to b o th the p o em o f
B ir L a ctay t and that o f CA1I A rabh.
S acId ’s flig h t to A g ay l p re c ip itate s the final m o v em en t in this poem . O nce he is assured the
p ro tectio n o f th e m o u n tain p e o p le , it is c le a r th a t trib al diplom acy and fin esse w ill b e n eed ed to
b rin g S a cId b ack h o m e . T h e la st five lines th u s ev o k e th e m ature, co llectiv e d u ties hard w ired into
tribal social custom : S a cId ’s h o sts “organize h elp fo r h im on the w ay ” [10], feed him “m ixed fat
and m eat and b read and m ilk o f ‘The S h e -C a m e l’s o f the B e e s’” [12], and “spend the n ight at the
w atches and d o n o t d o ze o f f ’ [14]. T hese lines d e scrib e a fundam ental p rec ep t o f trib alism , the
n eg lect o f w h ich re d o u n d s to th e en tire c o m m u n ity . T h is p o em travels the sp ectru m from
reck less in d iv id u al b e h a v io r to the en actm ent o f a co lle ctiv e duty. T his is the m irro r im ag e o f B ir
L a cta y t’s od e, w ith th e d iffe re n c e th at the ro les o f G id h i and Z w edI are here o ccu p ied by a fath er
and his estran g ed son.
T his final p o in t tak es u s o u tsid e the co n v en tio n al to pics o f 7odi w a-krem krem and p u ts us
in to the m ileu o f in tim ate p o e tic s w ith its sen tim en ts o f lo v e, affection, lo n g in g and rep ro o f. T he
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poem b e g in s lik e so m uch in tim ate p raise po etry w here the object “is d escribed as p re cio u s g o ld ”
[1]. U n lik e co n v en tio n al ’odi w a-krem krem p o e m s, w e also h e ar about S a cid ’s m other, “fo r
w hom th e re is n o th in g b u t cry in g an d so rro w ” [4]. In d eed w om en, w ho featu re m in im a lly in
ragzit, receiv e special m en tio n h ere: “A s fo r w om en, th ey cry and th eir tears p o u r fo rth ” [5], The
w o m e n ’s so rro w is m ore c o n so n an t w ith funeral ele g ies and u n requited lo v e th an w ith the tribal
h eroics o f DodI w a-krem krem p o etry . In fact, the n arra tiv e gist o f this poem is co m p letely
co n trary to th e essen tial p rin cip al o f 'odi w a-krem krem since the ties o f k in sh ip are com p letely
u n d erm in ed b y a fam ily squabble.
W e fin d a co rrelatio n b etw een to p ic and form w ithin the poem itself. I h av e noted those
lin es th at share to p ical m aterial w ith con v en tio n al "’od i wa-krem krem po em s, [2], [3], [8], [10],
[12] and [14], and th o se th at are e v o ca tiv e o f Jcsldat and dandan poetry: [1], [4] and [5], W ith the
ex cep tio n o f line [4], the fo rm al stru ctu re o f the lines, (b ip artite or trip artite), reflects a topical
em p h asis e ith e r on tribal rh eto ric o r on m ore in tim ate, ly ric dram a. A cco rd in g ly , lines [2], [3],
[8], [10], [12], and [14] are p h rased in trip artite lines w h ile [1] and [5] are b ip a rtite .115 T his is not
a “h a rd -a n d -fast” ru le since th e lines n o t m en tio n ed a b o v e could fall on eith er side o f th e topical
d iv id e, and are th u s b o th b ip artite and tripartite. Y et the very fact that the lines c o n stitu ted
according to the topical d iv id e also fo llo w the form al d istin ctio n su g gests a deeper, structural
p rin cip le. T h e text o f th e p o e m is as follow s:
E. M ix ed 3o d i w a-krem krem rec o rd e d in H aw f:
1) tawwan natred s cid / / am hur m h a w s a y fu(>

2) bal ajcalb ginzari / / w a-ssabdlt haw rot / / tajcbol kder w -tayf 117
115 The correlation o f topic to formal structure may have its roots in formulaic com position. Lines that address tribal-
heroic topics will share in phrases and templates com mon to tribal-heroic poetry which are built on a tristich pattern.
The same w ill hold true for lyric-sentimental poetry built on hem istich lines. However, since I lack a sufficient number
o f tribal odes to build a sufficient database o f tribal-heroic formulas, this idea must remain provisional for the time
being.
116 amhur. a necklace o f gold, i.e., < "mehar. bride-price” (ibid., 262) < Yem . Ar. “m ahdr: nose-ring or loop (o f
cam el)” (Piamenta, 2:473); m h aw sayf < W .S.F.: “hawsawf/yshawsof/yahaws^f: to describe, give a description (o f st.)”
(ibid., 431).
117 g in z a r i< G.S.R.: strong, hard (metal), Yem . Ar. al-gasu r < Yem . Ar. “jasar. thickness, strong condition”
(Piamenta, 1:67); sabdlt < K .B.D.: “ssb d lt/sa b a d tsn : liver” (Johnstone, 1987, 392); haw rot < H.W .R.: “howgr,
120
3) dd-l-heh man a cllet / / lyek d lzlu l/ / w a-m gor y h a w ta y f118
4 ) birt salam attazum / / h is hoyag bd-jjle / / had dbdkl td h s d y f 119
5) d:r m dolal han bkdh / / wd-dm d 'sdn g r a y f 120
6) dib leh mrawg d-sar / / swarrag da-sjcayfm
7) boti man araw m l tat / / jcat lesan dhhdjcayf 122
8) sahtayham ba-skin / / bd-hdid handw on / / a m h a lld f a r h a y f 123
9) ad al gaym a\ w dl b n id / / ynUfag beham kal w ta y f 124
10) wa-m goran satrud / / man had tw oli h a d / / yahtdrigan heh s ca y f i25
11 ) te kheb hfar agayl / / hdl agoli y a s k a y f 126
12) kath man ballet w-fiabz / / wa-s'ljSf d -boti nob / / w at yhaym ah y a s h a y f 127
hawrut/hawar: black” (ibid., 195); ta y f < T.Y.F.: “toy/: aloes, myrrh; bitterness: this word is often used in curses” (ibid.,
414).
118 ti'ile t < C.L.L.: Ar. “i cta lla : to becom e weak, faint (the wind), to excuse os., to urge an excuse, plea orpretext”
(Lane, 5:2123); dlzlul < d-yazlu l < Z.L.L.: “zal/yazlul/yazlel: to accost, attack so. without right; to insult so. without
justification” (Johnstone, 1987, 467); m g o r < m goran: afterwards; yha w ta yf (past, hutayf) < W.T.F.: to surrender, Ar.
istaslam a.
11 attazum < Z.W .M .: zom /yazw im ( l sl pers. zamk, azwum ): to stay awake and guard (a flock or offspring); hoydg <
H.Y.G.: an angry, excited cam el, Ar. “m ih yag: a she-cam el that is excited by desire for its accustom ed place, and
hastens thither” (Lane, 8:2911); h ie3 < H.L.W .: “x a le 7: desert...empty place; loneliness” (Johnstone, 19 8 7 ,4 4 3 ); tah sayf
< LS.F.: to be sorry, Ar. ta ’assafa.
120 m dolal: w om en, uncertain etym ology; g ra y f < G.R.F.: Y em . Ar. “ga ra fa : to be tearful (eye)” (Piamenta, 2:354).
1 1 d ib < D .B .B . ( I s1 pers. d ib b d k), a dialectal variant < S.B .B . ( I s1 pers. sibbak): to rise up, com e up suddenly,
“s9b/y3sbub/y3sbeb\ (fire) to flare up; (youth) to grow up” (Johnstone, 1987, 370). There was some uncertainty with
the preposition in the first stich and whether it was “leh” (for him ) or “lls” (for her). In the latter case, this stich
conveys the sense that SacId has grown up to be a source o f trouble for his mother; certainly both m eanings can be
conveyed at once through intentional double entendre. M raw g (sing, m rag) < M.R.G.: pangs, pains, Ar. 'aw ga',
“m storag: (us. cam els) to roll in the dust to relieve itching” (ibid., 269); s a r < S.R.R.: trouble, m ischief; sw arrag <
S.R.G.: passion, strong feelings, Ar. haw dya. also ‘\vrdg/y,) so rag/yd has rag: to like, fancy (a person o f the opposite
sex)...sgrgat: (physical) desire” (ibid., 383); s f a y f (sing, sajcf) < S.jLF.: accident, event, uncertain etym ology.
H owever, the word s k a y f (“accidents”) is clearly a pun on the nam e o f the sijcaf tree, com m only used for fodder. This
final stich can thus be understood as either “the turmoil [relating to] the sijcaf tree” or “the turmoil [of] the events.”
122 b o ti (masc. b o ll) < B .C.L.: the ones [the young, fem ale goats] of..., Ar. d d t (masc. du), “b a llt/b a tm : she of...;
m istress, owner, possessor; having, possessin g” (ibid., 41); araw m l: type, Ar. sa n f uncertain etym ology. I believe that
this word w as misinterpreted and should be understood as draw n < ’.R.N.: “ha-rdwn (erun): goats” (ibid., 7); the stich
w ould then read as “the ones o f a single goat”, i.e., born to the same mother, jid t < JC.T.T.: to toss dow n, to lay down,
Ar. ram a, uncertain etym ology; ahhajcayf: an obstacle, im pedim ent (made from branches) < H.jC.F.: h fa w f (1sl pers.
hâfk): to block, deny access, close off, Ar. hagara.
sahtayham < S.H.T.: “ssh at/yash dt/yssh dytsn : to slaughter” (ibid., 345) + obj. suffix -h a m (“them”); handwon <
H.N.D.: iron < Ar. “hinduwanl: a sword made in the country o f al-H ind [India] and w ell fabricated, made o f the iron o f
that country” (Lane, 8:2904), also Yem . Ar. “han dl/yih andl: to sharpen by forging” (Piamenta, 2:512); a m h a lla fil sl
pers. pres, aholaf) < H.L.F.: sharpened, whetted, Ar. m asnun; arhayf: razor sharp, cutting, Ar. rahlf.
gaym aj < G.M.J,.: “gamdz: to wink, blink, close your e y es” (Johnstone, 1987, 139); bned < B .N .D .: Y em . Ar.
“ban n ada: to close” (Piamenta, 1:40) < Persian band (“knot, tie”); ynufag < N.F.G.: “nn/ag[sic]/yaran/ag/yan/<?£: to
throw” (Johnstone, 1987, 283); w ta y f (sing, watf): prone, laying senseless on the ground, Ar. sa ri', uncertain
etym ology.
satru d < T.R.D.: to seek safety, to take refuge, Ar. ihtam a; tw o li < T.L.W.: “tsw d li: to, towards” (ibid., 401);
yahtarigan < H.R.G.: to com e to the service of, prepare, organize, offer (help), “axtarug: to be served (in a shop)”
(ibid., 447); s 'a y f < S .C.F.: com panion for the road, Y em . Ar. s a ' l f Yem. Ar. “sa'afa: to accom pany” (Piamenta,
1:223).
126 kheb < JC.H.B.: “fsheb/ysjchob: to com e about 6-9 a.m., com e in the m iddle o f the day” (Johnstone, 1987, 226);
a g a y l: moutain where there is a spring (< g a y l “spring”); y a sk a y f (1st pers. past, sakfayk) < S.K.F.: to hide os., ensure
the safety o f os., Ar. ’am m ana al-nafs.
127 ballet: m ixed fat, oil and meat, < B .L .0.: “sable: (st. pleasant) to be easily sw allow ed” (ibid., 48); sh o f< S.H.F.:
“sx o f Aim. saxefen: m ilk” (ibid., 389); b o ti nob: “T hose [She-C am els]-of-the-Bee,” Ar. d a w a t al-nahl, < N.W .B.:
“nobet/naweb: b ee” (ibid., 306). The “S he-C am els-of-the-B ee” are the celebrated m ilch cam els o f al-Mahra w hose
milk is both abundant and sw eet. Yhaymah < H.W .M.: “yahom: to want, like, wish” (ibid., 194) + obj. suffix - a h (“it”).
Yhom is a dialect variation o f yhom , characteristic to Mahri speakers from Hawf. Yashayf < S.H.F.: “saxaf/yasxdf: to
drink milk” (ibid., 389).
121
13) w -m atlm bark akkut / / hdl ajcasar a n w a y f 128
' ' — — — — v — — ' 129
14) w a-m goran leh harrast / / yhatim b-hazw om / / w a-snet lid g a yf
1) N o w le t’s b an ish S a cld, w ho is describ ed as p recio u s gold

2) T h e o w n e r o f a h eart o f steel and a b lac k liv e r th at receiv es filth and b ile ,
3) H e ’s n o t one o f th e co w ard s w ho m akes a m istak e an d afterw ards surrenders.
4) T h e d a u g h te r o f S alim [his m other] stays aw ak e, w atchful, lik e an an gry cam el o f the
em p ty d e se rt, (fo r w h o m ) there is n o th in g by cry in g and sorrow ,
5) A s fo r w o m en , they cry and th e ir tears p o u r forth.
6) T h e p a n g s o f m isc h ie f arose in him , the turm oil ( o f gettin g fo dder) fro m the sjcayf trees.
7) [T he kids] w ere all o f o ne ty p e; he lay b ra n c h e s d o w n all around th em [to h em th em in]
8) A nd slau g h tered th em w ith a k n ife o f sh arpened iro n , cutting and ra z o r sharp,
9) H e d id n ’t h av e tim e to b lin k o r clo se h is eyes, and threw them all to the ground, corpses
in heaps.
10) A fterw ard s, he fled fro m one to an o th e r w ho org an ized help fo r h im on the w ay
11) U n til h e arriv ed at th e to p o f A gayl, w here an y th in g precio u s can b e kep t safe.
12) H is food is o f m ix ed fat and m eat, bread and m ilk o f “T he S h e-C a m e l’s o f the B e e s,”
w h e n e v e r they w ant m ilk , they d rin k it.
13) A nd h is sleep in g -p lace is in sid e the fo rtress, a m o u n tain stronghold,
14) M o re o v e r, th ere is a guard o v e r h im ; th ey spend the n ig h t at the w atches and do not
d o ze off.
128 matXm < C.T.M.: a sleeping place, “hatom /yahatom /yahetam : to spend the night” (ibid., 33); a n w a y f < N .Y.F.: Yem.
Ar. “nayafa pi. n aw ayif: lofty m ountains” (Piamenta, 2:501).
129 hazw om : the night watches, rotations, turns, Ar. naw ba, uncertain etym ology; snet < W .S.N .: “saner, sleep”
(Johnstone, 1987, 432); lid g a y f < la (neg.) y a d g a y f< G.F.W . (t-infix): to doze off, take a nap, Ar. gafa.
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Chapter 4: Traditional Mahri Poetry In Practice - The Bipartite Branch
I. F u n d am en tals o f B ip artite V erse:
T h e b u lk o f co n tem p o rary M ahri p o e try is b u ilt on a lin e co n sistin g o f tw o stichs: a b ip artite
lin e in form al c o n g ru en ce w ith th e A rab ic qaslda. H em istich poetry in a l-M a h ra does not carry
the sam e au ra o f p re stig e that h as accru ed to the A rabic qaslda; in the M ahri p o e tic sy stem , that
h o n o r belo n g s to trip artite ragzlt and trip artite ‘odl w a-krem krem genres. H o w ev er, the vitality
o f M ahri v erse is arg u ab ly b eh o ld en to b ip a rtite and stro p h ic poetry since tribal odes in trim istic h
lin es h av e w an ed in in v erse p ro p o rtio n to the ex p ansion o f central auth o rity th ro u g h o u t al-M ahra.
T he p o etic a ctiv ity o f H agg D ak o n is in d ica tiv e o f this trend: o f the tw en ty o r so o f his ow n
p oem s th at h e related to m e, n o t a single one w as in trip artite lines.
L ike p o e try o f th e trip artite b ra n ch , b ip artite po etry can vary in len g th fro m a sin g le co u p let
to m u lti-lin e, p o ly -th e m a tic o d e s .1 W h ile m o n o -rh y m e is the ideal, a strict rh y m e sch em e can
b reak d o w n in lo n g e r p o etry . In tran sm itte d perfo rm an ce, the p erfo rm e r w a sn ’t alw ays aw are that
he had b ro k en th e rh y m e sch em e; p resu m ab ly the original co m p o ser w ould h av e b een m ore
careful.
B ip artite p o etry is n o t co n strain ed to any p a rtic u lar topical dom ain, as is trip a rtite p o etry .
W h ile b ip a rtite p o etry can reflect on tribal-h isto rical affairs, its dom ain also ex te n d s to
sentim ental and th em atic verse. W e find tribal-h isto rical odes, poem s o f lo n g in g and n o stalg ia,
p raise p o etry and gazal all su b su m ed u n d er the category o f b ip artite verse.
1 The longest poem in my collection is a bipartite dandan recited to me by ’Aw (at bir A ll ’Awjat from Qisn that is 80
lines long and covers a broad range o f topics and themes, (see Appendix C, poem E). I have no doubt that older Mahri
poetry, particularly tribal ham asl poetry, frequently reached this length and even exceeded it. On one occasion, a
young man from H aw f recited a number o f poem s that reached extraordinary lengths. However, the recitation was
delivered so rapidly and in such a quiet voice that H agg was unable to understand these poem s when I played back the
recordings to him. In this case, the performance o f memory was more important than the actual texts being related.
The young m an’s audience certainly enjoyed the performance; approximately twenty children, teens and adults
gathered and urged him to recite more and more and were rightly proud o f his prodigious memory.
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C o n cu rren t w ith its b ro ad topical and tonal range, there is co rresp o n d in g ly less c o n sen su s
am o n g st th e M ah ra ab o u t an o v erarch in g , m etap o etic term in o lo g y fo r this b ranch. In strictly
form al term s, b ip a rtite p o e try m ay be referred to in M ahri as fcsidat, deriv ed from A rab ic qaslda?
T h is term , Jzsldat, h a s n o p ractical reso n an ce in al-M ahra; its usage is lim ited to the cultural
literati and th o se w ith a b a ck g ro u n d in A rabic p o etic form s. M ore ty p ically , only specific
p erfo rm an ce ty p es o r su b -g en res are e x p lic itly recognized: dandan, danidan, yed w-yed, etc. T he
b ip artite bran ch is too b ro a d a categ o ry , (in deed, to o quo tid ian ), to m erit m uch analytical in terest
am on g st th e M ahra. F o r in stan ce, CAH M u h sin A l H afiz correctly id en tifies the categ o ry o f ragzlt
verse; h o w ev er, he in ap p ro p riately d e sig n ates the co n trastin g b ip artite category o f M ahri p o etics
as “n w i.” I am certain th at he is m istaken here since rlwl refers to a p erfo rm ativ e m ode,
(recitation ra th e r than a ch an ted o r m usical perfo rm an ce), and not to a sp ecific genre w ith its ow n
form al or th em atic c h a ra c teristic s.3 H agg tran slated rlw l as “s icr nafarl,” b y w hich he m e an t the
n o n -m elo d ic re c ita tio n o f p o etry ; h is co n trastin g category w as s icr g in d ’l (“sung p o e try ” ).
Indeed, trip artite ragzlt co u p lets could th eo retically receive the label o f rlw l if they w ere
declaim ed in the ab sen ce o f a m elody. In fact, b ip a rtite po etry in its ly ric m o d e, (m islab elled by
Al H afiz as “rlw l”), is a q u in tessen tially m usical genre; calling it “rlw T co nfuses p erfo rm ativ e
m ode fo r form al genre.
M isp ercep tio n s reg ard in g th e label rlw l aside, Al H afiz recognizes the binary structure o f
M ahri p o etics in w h ich a b ip artite, jcslddt fo rm at contrasts w ith the trip artite, ragzlt form at. A l
2 _
The qasida is, o f course, the signature genre o f Arabic poetry, literate and vernacular. The classical Arabic qaslda
needs no introduction; how ever, the qaslda in the vernacular tradition needs som e clarification since its signification
varies from sub-tradition to sub-tradition. In the experience o f John Burckhardt w ho travelled through Arabia in the
early 19lh century, the kaszide is generic term for “every kind o f poetry” (John Burckhardt, N otes on the B edouins a n d
W ahabys [L ondon: H enry C olburn and R ichard B entley, 1831 ], 1:75). W riting o ver a century and a h a lf later,
Sowayan describes the gisldih in more specific terms as a lyrical sub-genre o f vernacular Arabian poetry “which is
unusually long and which is com posed to be chanted or, in m ost cases, recited” (Sowayan, 1989, 159).
3 Al H afiz derives the Mahri rlw l from Arabic raw;, the line-final, rhymed letter in Arabic poetry (Al H afiz, 1987, 71).
I wonder i f this is actually the case. I propose that Mahri rlw l is derived from the Mahri and Arabic root R.W .Y.: to
tell, narrate or inform. In a previous poem , w e read that T sa Kadhayt is ordered to recite (“nvo/j” < rlwl) his response
to cAbdallah RaLf!t’s complaint (Chapter 3, D.b:3). The usage o f rw oh here must be a call for cIsa to sp e a k his
judgem ent and not to chant or sing it. It is hard to imagine cIsa actually singing or chanting his legal judgements;
whether they m ight b e m elodicized afterwards is another issue. The m eaning o f root R.W .Y. is confused by Johnstone
as w ell, who lists “to sing” amongst its definitions, (Johnstone, 1987, 333-34).
124
H afiz w rites: “In term s o f im p o rtan ce, rlw l [sic] p o e try com es after ragaz po etry ( ‘ra g zlt’)...This
ty p e o f p o e try am o n g st the M ah ra is b ased on th e ly ric p assag e s [mutawwalat] o f th e qaslda,
alth o u g h its lin es o ccasio n ally ex ceed th e length o f ly ric p assages [ m utaw w alat ] in p re-Islam ic,
fa slh p o e try .”4 In sh o rt, he c o rrectly re c o g n iz e s the fu n d am en tal sp lit in M ahri p o etics as o n e o f
lin e-stru ctu re (trip artite ragzlt vs. b ip a rtite qaslda), w hich in turn has im p licatio n s fo r p o p u la r
status (cu ltu rally ico n ic ragzlt vs. c u ltu ra lly u n m ark ed qasida).
W ith re sp e c t to th e top ical and th e m atic do m ain s o f the tw o b ran ch es, A l H afiz gets it h a lf
right. H e w rites: “ R lw l [sic] p o e try is co n sid e re d by the M ahra to be m o re ap p ro p riate fo r the
ex p ressio n o f in tim ate co n v e rsa tio n s, b u rn in g p a ssio n s and the g rie f o f cruel d ays, d ifferen t from
ragaz p o e try w hich is d ed icated to p ra ise [m adh ] and c alu m n y [qadh ] and is restricted to m en and
is not fo r w o m e n .”5 T his is certa in ly tru e fo r m uch o f b ip a rtite p o etry , b u t is n o n eth eless an
o v ersim p lificatio n : b ip a rtite v erse ru n s th e en tire g am ut o f M ahri p o etics fro m ly ric gazal to tribal
ham asl p o etry . It is th e top ical flex ib ility o f b ip artite p o e try that d istin g u ish es it from trip artite
p o etry w hich is u n re m ittin g ly so lem n and grav e, ex cept w here this g ravity is p u rp o sefu lly
satirized.
II. Dandan P o e try :
T he b ip a rtite b ran ch ex ten d s acro ss the spectrum o f p o ssib le subjects. A t one end are
b ip artite Jod l w a-krem krem p o e m s, in d istin g u ish a b le in to p ic and to n e fro m th e ir trip artite
analogues. A s co u p lets, b ip a rtite lin es can b e h arn essed fo r m araddat-ex chan g es in a fashion
sim ilar to th at o f ragzlt co u p lets. P erfo rm an ces o f b ip a rtite couplets and b ip artite °odl w a-krem
krem are re fe rred to in M ahri m e ta -p o e tic term in o lo g y as dandan. cA lI S aT d BakrTt categorizes
dandan as a ty p e o f M ah ri fo lk lo ric d a n ce ( al-raqs a l-sa cbl), no d o ubt h aving in m ind the
4 Al H afiz, 1 9 8 7 ,7 1 -7 2 .
5 Ibid., 72.
125
rh y th m ic sw ay o f th e dandan p o e t’s cho ru s as they in tern alize his couplets and ch an t them back
resp o n siv ely . B akrft elu cid ates: “T he dandan is p erfo rm ed at w edding celeb ratio n s o r o th e r
events am o n g st th e tribes o f al-M ah ra in w hich qasldas are recited [tulaqqa] in the M ahri idiom
[lahga]. In th e dandan, tw o p o ets co m p e te and th e ir qasldas relate an event [tucabbir can hadai]
o r d escrib e so m eth in g b ad o r p le a sa n t [w a sffi sarr °aw marah].”6 T w o p o in ts are stressed: the
first is th at dandan p o etry in v o lv es co llectiv e, p u b lic p erfo rm an ces o f both occasio n al [“ h a d a f ’]
and th em atic [“w a s/”] subjects and th e second is that they are labelled as qasldas, an allu sio n , no
d oubt, to th e ir b ip a rtite structure.
F a r fro m b ein g a u n iq u ely M ahri p h en o m en o n , the dandan as a form al and p e rfo rm a tiv e
in stitu tio n is w ell-k n o w n in v ern acu lar A rabian p oetics, alth o u g h the label “dandan” is not
n ecessarily u sed e q u a lly .7 In th e b ed o u in d ialects o f A rabia, th e verb dandana m eans “to tinkle,
to hum a tu n e, to b re a k in to sp o n tan eo u s v e rse ,” in o th e r w ords, to sing a d itty .8 H ow ever, this
d efin itio n (“a d itty ”) d oes n o t at all m atch the serio u sn ess o f the en d e av o u r in the M ahri poetic
system . In fo rm al and p erfo rm ativ e term s, M ahri dandan m o st closely resem b les A rabic nabatl
(o r nagdl) p o etry . A s w ell as b e in g co n ceiv ed o f as an esteem ed cultural p ractice, dandan poem s
are b ip artite, m u lti-lin e a r and p e rfo rm e d co llectively. F un d am en tally , both nabatl/nagdl and
6 Bakrlt, 1 9 9 9 ,5 3 . The comraderie o f the event is tempered by its com petitive edge. Bakrit continues: “W hen the poet
speaks his words in the Mahri idiom , those w ho are present master them and m emorize them by heart; the ‘gam ing’
space [sa h a t a l-la ‘b ] is round and inside it, the two poets ‘play’ [yal'ab] and shoot their rifles in the air” (ibid., 53).
The agonistic atmosphere and sym bolic violence o f dand a n performances in al-Mahra is identical to that o f Arabic
vernacular riddiyyih in Saudi Arabia. Consider Sow ayan’s depiction o f a ridiyyih contest: “Poets speak o f them selves
metaphorically as real heroes and o f poetic dueling as real dueling with sword and spear. They say that only daring
poets with stout hearts can step in the m a V a b a h (“playing-field”), exchange verbal blow s with tenacious opponents,
and deal w ith the unexpected in a battle w itnessed by a large m ultitude o f spectators” (Sow ayan, 1989, 155).
According to Balhaf, dandan is unique to Mahri poetry, (along with ragzlt). I believe that B alhaf w as referring to the
label (d a n d a n) and not to the cultural practice itse lf which certainly has cognates throughout Arabia, including the dan
poetry o f Hadramawt.
The nickname o f one o f Kurpershoek’s principal informants, “al-Dindan,” is derived from this verbal root and refers
to his prodigious poetic talent and off-the-cuff com positions (Kurpershoek, 1994, 3). The syllabic elem ent dan is, o f
course, w idely characteristic o f Arabian vernacular sung-poetry. Consider G acfar al-Saqqaf’s entry on “D an Folk
Songs” C A g a n la l-d d n a l-sa ‘bl): “A m ongst the m ost popular o f our folk songs are the dan songs and the word 'd a n ’ is
a word [natq] and a m elody [lahn] understood throughout Arabia and the Arabian G u lf’ (Ga'far al-Saqqaf, L a m a h a t
can al-Ja g a n l w a -'l-ra q a sa t a l-sa 'b ly a f l m uhafaât H adram aw t [Aden: Wizarat al-Taqafa, [n o date)], 16).
126
dandan p o em s are sun g -g en res w hose p erfo rm an ce is co m p lem en ted by the sw ay in g d an ce-step s
o f the p articip an ts; in th is respect, they align w ith S o w a y a n ’s d efin itio n o f the g isldih?
A s cu ltu ral acts, nabatl/nagdl po etry and the M ahri dandan occupy d ifferen t re g isters o f
esteem and p re stig e w ithin the field o f A rab ian po etics. In the A rab ic v e rn a c u la r trad itio n ,
nabatl/nagdl p o e try occu p ies th e h ig h est ran k o u tsid e o f the w ritten qaslda, (w h ich p re su m es
literacy and is thus o u tsid e the scope o f v ern a cu la r practice). N abatl po etry is the g en re o f
p o litical d isco u rse and o f tribal odes; it is also b elie v ed by p articip a n ts and sch olars alik e to
d escen d d irectly fro m th e classical, (even p re -Islam ic) qaslda tradition. S ince the M ah ra h a v e no
“classical” p o e tic tra d itio n s available th ro u g h the w ritten record, the M ahri dandan cedes its
cu ltu rally -ico n ic status to trip artite ragzlt p o etry . Ragzlt in turn is the clo sest e q u iv alen t to the
literary , A rab ic qaslda as the elite cultural p ro d u ctio n . A cco rd in g ly , dandan has the lice n se to
co v er issu es o f p erso n al sentim ent th at are d isd ain ed in the p erfo rm an ce o f trip artite ragzlt.
A ly ric £ slddt recited to m e by °A w ]at b ir A ll ' A w (at fro m Q isn (A p p en d ix C , E :5 2 -5 6 )
p ro v id es a v iv id p o rtray al o f co llectiv e dandan in p ractice. T his section is taken fro m a lo n g er
p o em th at describ es th e m arriag e travails o f ’’A w la t’s son, w ho has been k ep t at b ay by his
b e lo v e d ’s fam ily. T h ey w ould p re fe r th at she m arry som eone w ealth ier and m ore d istin g u ish ed ,
and so h av e w elco m ed su ito rs from all o v e r al-M ah ra to co m pete fo r h e r h and. T ak in g up the
ch allen g e, suitors arriv e on carg o -laden cam els and form ran k s fo r the p erfo rm an ce o f co llectiv e
dandan, a c o m p etitio n in w hich they “trad e w o rd s” [55] and try “to m ak e an echo in the h earts [of
th e o th ers]” [56]. T he co m p etitiv e natu re o f dandan and its m usical p e rfo rm a n c e (“to the
“A close inspection o f the vernacular poetic tradition o f Arabia reveals that within this vast tradition there exist
subgenres. There is the lyrical ode, 'gisldih,’ which is usually long and which is com posed to be chanted or, in m ost
cases, recited” (Sowayan, 1989, 159). Sow ayan’s and Kurpershoek’s definition o f n a b a tl and n a g d l poetry differs
slightly from Jargy’s view o f n abatl and n a g d l poem s as sung-poem s, (‘T h e division [o f n abatl poetry] into stanzas and
verses, indefinitely repeated, characterizes Bedouin and even sedentary fo lk sung p o e tr y today” [Jargy, 1989, 176, my
italics]). Sowayan and Kurpershoek depict n a b a tl and n agdl poetry less within the practice o f sung, collective
performance and more as individual com positions recited in an unbroken (non-choral) and non-m elodic m ode.
Sow ayan’s and Kurpershoek’s treatment o f n abatl/n agdl poetry brings it closer to the m odel o f a written, classical
qaslda while Jargy’s n a b a tl poetry is closer to their idea o f a sung sub-genre, the gisldih . Mahri dandan includes both
performance m odes, although sung, collective performances hew closer to “authenticity” in al-Mahra w hile individual
recitations are performed for the sake o f transmission and lack the historical and cultural im m ediacy o f chanted or sung
verse.
127
acco m p an im en t o f d ra m s and c y m b a ls” [54]) are b o th v iv id ly dem onstrated in the fo llo w in g
segm ent:
52 ) d Ihaws wd-bri't 11 w -gbel fa rta yn

53) w a-m haw m al rsi II albud halnayn
54) w-hajcftd agze II ba-tbul wa-fkayn
55) w -saw t gle II w at hem rtayn
56) w a-hdum a gyug II ya:m il labhayn
52) A t [W adi] D ih aw s and B rit // and the tw o m o u n tain s o f Fart

53) T he b easts-o f-b u rd en , all lo ad ed // have b een settled in tig h t row s.
54) T h e ir o w n ers u n lo ad th em // to the ac co m p a n im en t o f drum s and cy m bals,
55) E ach one lifted u p his v o ice in b ea u ty // so as to b e trading w ords
56) T h e m en w orked // to m ak e an e ch o in the h earts [of the others]
As the chief ammunition in an exchange of maraddat, the next lines provide a good example of
dandan couplets composed in an even more hostile frame of mind. This exchange was pointed out to me as
evidence of the prognosticative ability of Mahri poetry; my informants referred to this in Arabic as sicr
tanabbu3 (“forecasting poetry”). The exchange involves two poets from the rival tribes of R acflt and Hbes.
The poet of R acfit claims to be unassailable in his stronghold of Hawf, while the poet of Hbes counters that
even in their mountains, Bit R a'fit is still vulnerable to their enemies who will strike them “like a
downpour...from the sky.” Not long after this exchange, the British Royal Air Force bombed Gadab, a
village belonging to R acflt, in the course o f a joint British-Omani campaign against the Dhofar Liberation
Front and their supporters in the PD RY .10 The original village o f Gadab was abandoned after the attack
and the ruins are still visible next to the sea.
R a cfit: 1) ham d allah lek dl-ham d II si m gaw ni man a h a w f

2) hdzdm yalhajcfi la: II b-laglig w -ba:ti h a w f
H bes: 1) heh w-lu U fa nwdh II b-laglig w -ba:ti h a w f
2) yakhabsan sbib II m dallab man a g a w f
R a cfit: 1) P raise to G od, to Y ou is P raise / / 1 h av e a refu g e from fear

2) T he en em y c a n ’t co m e n e ar m e // at L ag llg o r the reg io n s o f H aw f.
H bes: 1) If h e so d esires it // at L agllg o r the reg io n s o f H aw f
10 This w as “Operation Simba” launched in 1972 in order to staunch the flow o f supplies from the PDRY to the Dhofari
insurgency in Oman. According to a statement made by the Popular Front for the Liberation o f Oman and the Arabian
G ulf (PFLOAG):
“On May 25 the RAF attacked H auf throughout the day and did not spare any civilian targets: they bombed the
school, the m edical centre, the literacy centre, and the houses o f the people. F ive PLA [P eople’s Liberation Army]
and many wom en and children were killed, and 6 people were w ounded. On the other hand tw o Strikemasters
were shot dow n” (Halliday, 1974, 338).
128
2) H e w ill co m e at you like a d o w n p o u r // the unceasing rain -sta r fro m the sky.
O f co u rse, like co u p les o f trip artite ragzlt, co u p lets o f b ip artite verse can b e strung to g eth e r
to form lo n g e r p o em s. T h ese are the dandan p ro p er: lack in g the prestig e acco rd ed to trip artite
Jo d l w a-krem krem b u t v alu ed so cio -p o etic acts n o n eth e less. A s can b e seen in the dandan tribal
o d e p ro v id ed belo w , the dandan resem b les, (in all b u t the form al div isio n s o f the lin e), the
trip artite ‘odi w a-krem krem.
A . Dandan b y T a n n a f b ir S acd H am tot. co m p o sed ~ 1920-30:
T his dandan- ode, m irro rin g the su bject m atter and to n e o f a trip artite ’dd l w a-krem krem,
in v olv es a lo n g -stan d in g feud b etw een the M ahri trib es o f S m oda and JCamsayt, and includes
JCamsayt’s ally ( ribe ), K alsat. A s the rlbe o f JCamsayt, K alsat has an o b lig atio n to take vengeance
(,hasm ) ag ain st any v io len ce d irected to w ard s JCamsayt. A cco rd in g ly , w hen S a cd o f JCamsayt w as
m u rd ered b y Sa°Id o f S m bda, K alsat attack ed S m oda b y surprise in o rd er to fulfil th e ir hasm-
oblig atio n . H o w ev er, the attack failed w hen the son o f B ir K akayn o f S m oda sing le-h an d ed ly
rep ulsed K alsat and k illed a n u m b er o f the attackers. A t the tim e o f the p o e m ’s c o m p o sitio n , the
tru ce b etw een JCamsayt, S m oda and K alsat had fallen apart and the p oet, T a n n a f b ir S a cd H am tot,
m uqaddam o f jCam sayt, ex p resses reg ret o v er this state o f affairs b u t n ev erth eless rallies {Camsayt
beh in d th e ir w a r-le a d e r,cAwaj, o f jCamsayt.
I should m en tio n from th e o u tset that this dandan is u n iq u e in m y collectio n in th at the
info rm an t, S aT d S lem on b ir S arab jCam sayt, is from the southern edge o f the E m p ty Q u arter n e ar
al-R am ah (M hr. Ydrmah) in n o rth ern al-M ahra. T his p o e m is in a M ahri dialect th at w as n o t w ell
u n d ersto o d b y H agg; he w as able to tra n sla te the gist o f the lines b u t stu m b led o v e r in dividual
w ords. T h e b est d ictio n aries, (Jo h n sto n e ’s M ehri Lexicon and L a n d b erg ’s Glossaire Datinois),
are o f little h elp since b o th are co llec tio n s o f coastal d iale cts. M uch o f the v o cab u lary o f this
129
dandan rem ain s w ith o u t satisfy in g co g n ates and a n u m b e r o f H a g g ’s g lo sses sh o u ld b e tak en as
g u essw o rk . T his area o f M ah ri d ialec to lo g y - the d ia lec ts o f the in lan d ste p p e and o f W ad i
M aslla - b eg s fo r fu rth er study.
1) odd wa-krem krem / / sobZ fayr agizw alu t 11

2) ka-mgawnZ da-hyom / / gsZrayyan attah u t 12
3) wd-hlats tamhayt / / sdbhawt akkardafut 13
4) wa-mdZt man drntla / / amhawgas ankasut 14
5) hags la:d ygowZ SZs / / wal ’dyni hagfZit 15
6) afton agayyadZn / / man hro d-al hmZZt 16
7) sabyZn sahfcabk sa:d / / hd:s swZyat beh grut 17
8) am for d-harbdyn / / w a-ssra:t m h a lw u t 18
9) balZ man tharul s cZd/ / wa-tlat haydanut 19
10) aymal hatf w-mahzem / / wa-b-rafcm y a stu t 20
11) rayta heh w-lu la fa / / m oral seh d -sa d ru t 21
12) bina:dam man assawf/ / yagsud w-yahhanut 22
13) d-a:r s cid Ijrub assawr / / w-tarhays mhamsut23
14) wad la:d afokar la: //h a :l affamah hagdut 24
11 s o b i < S.B.B.: “ssb/yasbu b/yssbeb: to clim b ...sblb: to go up a mountain (us. with animals, o ’s fam ily)” (Johnstone,
1987, 370), or < Yem. Ar. S.B.W .: "Saba: to ascend [m onter]” (Landberg, G lossaire D atin ois, 3:2019); agizw alu t <
G.Z.L.: "gezsl/g3Z3ldn: big rock” (Johnstone, 1987, 129) or < G .B.L.: dim . "gabel: mountain” (ibid., 113). S ee Chapter
1, footnote # 3 6 for an etym ological and phonological discussion o f this term.
m g a w n l< G .N .C.: "gsnd, gsn ot/tsgon a: to be nearly set (sun)” (ibid., 121); gsirayyan < G .S.R.W .: "gasrawwsn: (in)
the early evening” (ibid., 143); attahut: to disappear from sight, becom e hidden, Ar. taw ara, < Ar. W .H.Y.: "wahin:
lax; weak; frail; wanting in strength, com pactness, firmness, or toughness; unsubstantial; unsound” (Lane, 8:3062)?
M ats < H .L .C.: “h o la J/h tla 3: shade, shadow” (Johnstone, 1987, 156) + poss. suffix; tam hayt < T.M .H.: to spread over
S t ., uncertain etym ology; akka rd a fu t < K .R.D.F.(?): the edge o f a w adi, uncertain etym ology.
m an dm tla < T.L.C.: lit. “from where it arises,” i.e., the South; a n ka su t < N.K.S.: Yem . Ar. "nakasa: to stir, trouble,
upset jderanger, troubler, inquieter]” (Landberg, G lossaire D atinois, 3:2823).
' ygow i < G.W .Y.: "gawo: to leave behind, forget, lo se” (Johnstone, 1987, 146); hdgfut < G.F.W .: (h-) stem , Ar. gafd.
afton < F.T.N.: "fetsn/yaftaw n: to remember, recognize” (ibid., 108); agayyadin < G.W .D.: the strong, courageous
(men).
sahkabk < H.JC.B.: "sahkdwb: to mourn, grieve, sigh for so. dead and gone” (ibid., 176); sw lyd t (dim .) < S.W .C.: time,
Fate, < "saâh (Ar.): hour; watch” (ibid., 353); g ru t < G .R.Y.: “garo, yagdyr/yagm : to go in front of; to pass (time): to
happen” (ibid., 125).
am for < Ar. T .\R .: to take vengeance or < Y em . Ar. M.T.R.: “to be shed, spilled (tears or blood) [se repandre}"
(Landberg, G lossaire D atinois, 3:2675)?; harbdyn < H .R.B.: “(SaLd ’s) murderers” < "xorab/yaxarban/yaxorab: to spoil,
dam age...xarob: damage; ruin” (Johnstone, 1987, 446); srd :t < S.R.L: Ar. s ir ‘a; m halwut < C.L.L.: Ar. 'i'ta lla l, Ar.
câsir.
9 tharul < C.R.(.: Ar. ta 'a rra d a , lit.: “O Lord w ho stands in the way o f S cTd”?; tldt < T .L .C: Ar. ta ll'a ; haydanut <
Y .D .N .: "yadln,yadanut/yaddn: new ” (Johnstone, 1987, 461).
20
h a tf< H.T.F.: “hatf: one-shot rifle” (ibid., 161); m ahzem < H.Z.M .: “m ahzam ut/m ahdzam : w aist...m ahzem : cartridge-
belt” (ibid., 198); b -rafm : a type o f embroidered faw b (“ ’raqam a ’ al-faw b yarqum uhu raqm an w a -‘ra q q a m a h u ’
hattatahu’’ [Ibn Manzur, 3:207]); y a stu t < Ar. S.W .T.: "M liada saw t/m isw dt: to walk around [faire une p ro m e n a d e ]”
(Landberg, G lossaire D atinois, 3:2097)?
21 mbrcit: reason (for killing), i.e., self-defense, uncertain etym ology; sa d ru t < ‘.D.R.: "sadbr/yasaddr/yasaydar: to
refrain from; to refuse (a favor), excuse os., let so. dow n” (Johnstone, 1987, 14).
bind:ddm < Ar. ibn a d a m ; a s s a w f < Ar. S.F.F.: “sajf, sufuf: desire, need, matter/concern [desir, besoin, affa ire]”
(Landberg, G lossaire D atinois, 3:2036); yagsud: to explain os., uncertain etym ology; y a h h a n u t < H.N.T.:
"hnut/yahnut/yahahnat: to make so. break an oath, a prom ise” (Johnstone, 1987, 184). This definition o f y a h h a n u t is
precisely the opposite o f the sense o f this line; 1 wonder whether a negative particle is m issing.
m ham sut: confused, muddled, < Ar. H.M .S.: “to stir up, to incite (a war) [attiser la guerre]” (Landberg, G lossaire
D atinois, 1:494).
130
15) wiit tw oran yagdol / / fekdl fayrdh y a r ta b u t 25
16) w a-gbaw tar hats gziw / / ham s bfham w -hdntut 26
17) bfham m fosar la: // w a l ha:d ysabhut 27
18) yatw lw an l-m agtek / / la-m gabbat °a lu t 28
19) te w rud hfayr hm d / / am ahsat m h a g g a rb u t29
20) bit am r gaflayn / / k d - ’azztibdl w a -sw u t 30
21 ) w u d ’am ba-bdlyat la: / / w a-sw ly at a d -g r u t 31
22 ) te habsayr aw agdayn / / w -salw ig a b h ir u t 32
23) w a-hm ed bhal w -fir / / w a-hm flah sa sw a b u t 33
24) w a -d ld f hfar caw al / / la:d caynat a fd tlu t 34
25 ) w -hdbre d-bir kakayn / / ha:s alobl h a b tu t 35
2 6 ) tarhayham him ret / / w a-srub te s fu t36
27) wa-m goran saw gus / / w olam bdrh w a -fb u t 37
2 8 ) tbasslran beh m abur / / w a-m haw fi d -m a h ru t 38
24affamah < F .C.M.: “fem /fawm : foot; leg ” (Johnstone, 1987, 87); hagdu t < G.D.W .: “gadew: go! perish!...to
jso...hegdb/yahagdyd/yahegad: to forget, lose” (ibid., 133).
ya g d o l < G .D.L.: “gayddl/yagdol: to carry on the shoulders” (ibid., 132); yartabu t < R.T.B.:
‘'arotdb/yardthan/yardtab: to arrange; to pile stones up” (ibid., 331).
26 gbaw tdr: foolish, ignorant, uncertain derivation, < G .B.Y: “gabo/yagayb/yagbe: to m islead” (ibid., 131-132) or <
G .W .Y.: “gawd: to be w rong” (ibid., 146)?; h an tut: desire for a fight, battle-lust, Ar. lahfat al-ham as, uncertain
etym ology.
27 ysabhu t < B .H .[V ].: “bahot/yabhot: to convince, out argue, reduce to silen ce...sabhot: to give up arguing, be out
argued, convinced, reduced to silence; to think st. too much, too far for further effort” (ibid., 45-46).
28
yatw lw an: to set out for, Ar. ittagaha, < T.W .Y.: “tawu/yatayw/yatwe: to com e, visit at night” (ibid., 413), also Yem.
Ar. “tawa: to travel across quickly [parcourir a vec vitesse]’’ (Landberg, G lossaire D atinois, 3:2236); m gabbat: place
where the mountains end < Yem . Ar. G .B.B.: “g a b b a : to arch over, to rise up [vouter, elever]” (Landberg, G lossaire
D atinois, 1:259) or < Ar. G.B.B.: m a g a b b a T ,Ja liit: where the sands o f the desert begin, < C.L.[V]: “ ’alew: at the top”
(Johnstone, 1987, 23)?
29 - - _
am ahsat < M .H.S.: “m ahsat/m ahes: shallow w e ll” (ibid., 263); m hagrabut < G .R.B.: “m agrayb/m agrob: famous,
w ell-know n” (ibid., 141).
30 ’’azzubdt < C.Z.B.: '"azdb: to stay alone with the herds, flock s...mozab/m a'azabdtan: camel-herd, goatherd away from
his w ife and fam ily with the beasts” (ibid., 39); sw ut < S.W .H.: Omani Ar. “sah pi. sawhat: goats” (Landberg,
G lossaire D atinois, 3:2102).
3] w u d cam < W .D.L: “w ida/yaw oda/yede: to know ” (Johnstone, 1987, 421); bdiyat < B.D .Y .: Yem . Ar. “b a d a : to
initiate hostilities [com m encer la guerre],..a term for war: ta r al-badi, b a d ia l-h a rb , bada b a d i bayn a l-qabd ’il,
‘hostility erupted am ongst the Bedouin’ [// a surgi une inimite entre les B edouins]” (Landberg, G lossaire Datinois,
1:141); sw iya t ad-grut: see footnote #18.
32 habsayr < B.S.R .: “habsdw r/yahabsdw r/yw r/yahabsar: to see w ell” (Johnstone, 1987, 55); aw agdayn < W .G .D.: to
sneak up on so., to spy, Ar. al-m utagassisun, < Ar. w a g d (pi.) aw gad, (scoundrel)?; sdlw ig < L.[V].G.?: to hear,
uncertain derivation; dbhirut < B.H.R.: “baher/yabhdr/yabheran: to appeal for help to (b -) so.” (ibid., 45).
33 bha{ < “bahez/yabhoz: to jum p up on being awakened from sleep, start up in surprise” (ibid., 4 6 );//r <
F.R.R.: “far/yafror/yafrer: to fly, jump up; to flee” (ibid., 96); hm ildh < Y.M .L. (+ def. art. and poss. suffix): “hdymal:
right; right hand” (ibid., 461); sasw abut < S.W .B.: “sasw ub: to be wounded deliberately” (Johnstone, 1987, 367).
34 d lu f < D.L.F.: “dalof/yadblaf: to jum p” (ibid., 70); ‘ayndt < C.Y.N.: “ caynat: a little” (ibid., 38).
35 a lo b i< L .B .[V .].: to respond, answer, < Ar. “labbd: to respond to so .’s call [repondre a I’a ppel d e q u elq u ’un]”
(D ozy, 2:523); habtu t < B.T.T.: “habtdt/yahabtot/yahdbbat: to lop off, chop off, cut o ff at a stroke” (Johnstone, 1987,
56).
36 him ret < M .R.T. (?): piled up (bodies) decapitated, Ar. qasqasa, < Yem. Ar. M .R.T.: “m arata: make hairless,
smoothen [rendre glabre, lisse] (Landberg, G lossaire D atinois, 3:2685)?; srub < S.R.B.: to harvest, Y em . Ar. “sarb:
reaping \fauchage]” (ibid., 2124); sfut < S.F.W .: the end (o f a fight), < HadramI Ar. “sa fa : to be clean, to finish” (ibid.,
2136). The semantic shift o f safa from “to clean” to “to finish (a fight)” in HadramI Arabic and Mahri mirrors the
evolution o f another South Arabian term, n aqa, which has undergone a similar shift from “to clean (one’s face)” to “to
exact vengeance” (see Chapter 3, footnote #81).
37 saw gu s < W .G.S.: “sawgus/yasawgus/yasawgas: to go in the early evening (4-7 p.m .)” (Johnstone, 1 9 8 7 ,4 2 4 ); wolam
< W.L.M.: “aw olam /yaw alm an/yaw dlam : to prepare (us. food)...awtalum /yawtalim an/yawtaldm : to be prepared, on o ’s
|u ard ” (ibid., 429).
' 8 mhawfi: edges o f a w adi, < Ar. H.F.F.: haffa.
131
29) w -bir am ar yham dl / / w dt assorat la b d u t 39
30) akdayr brak asaw l / / w a-fm onat takkarfut 40
31) w -sum it w-hagza: / / seh w -forl ha:l h g u t41
32) blsdn amdarrakin / / w d-kkwdssdb da-sm ut 42
33) w -bargaw n am attaw i/ / la-flek y sa m tu t 43
34) da-km ut brak dgaw f/Z t-ahran blujc hm ut 44
35) b a ll ta h fif assar / / man azoydd w d -g su t45
36) now at ads attnayu / / w-tardfs bar g fu t 46
37) wd-z.rdmd w a-krem / / bd-hm ill ha:l n w u t 47
38) am rad la-ha.i a g a //la : d ysoni beh shut 48
39) yahlul b-hafgug / / wa-mgawtajc w -gaffut
40) ydjchibak sihl tat / / w a-ykundm d:r sm ut 49
41) w a-hdldl hoh caw al //h e h a r b ir a n a fy u t 50
42) da-grabk teh tm a c/ / w al yb o ri h a sh a fu t 51
43) d:r w -kassl b- ’adld / / man assabt m a tw u t 52
39 " A ' • ' '

assorat < S.R.R.: “sar: ill-health, evil” (ibid., 382) or < S.W .R.: “sa w n advice; consultation; opinion” (ibid., 388);
labdut < L.B.D.: “owbud/yalubod/yowbed: to shoot, strike; to make, knock together; still to be, continue” (ibid., 250).
There are two possibilities for the son o f Amr in the second stich: either he is steadfast in difficult times or patient when
consultation is in order.
40 a saw l < S.L.L.: “sdlwiVsolwob. ravine” (ibid., 363); takkarfut < K.R.F.: to drink, Yem . Ar.: “carafah: water
trough...krlf: large pond, rainwater reservoir” (Piamenta, 2:429). The fact that takkarfut appears to be a denom inal verb
leads me to suspect the grammatical and lexical integrity o f this line; in fact, H agg did not recognize the first hemistich
as a prepositional phrase, which it clearly is.
hgut < H.G.W .: “hagu/yahayg/yahge: to amass; to collect, round up (anim als)...hatgi: to stay at home; to be fairly
w ise...to com e hom e all together; (people) to com e together; (older m en) to gather to decide st.” (Johnstone, 1987,
173).
am ddrrakm < D.R.K.: heroes, brave men, Yem . Ar. “darak cala: to triumph over...darraka: to charge s.o. with
responsibility. ..dank: main body o f an army” (Piamenta, 1:149); sm ut < S.M .D.: Y em . Ar. “sam ada: to tie together, to
bind [attacher, lier...ram asser]” (Landberg, G lossaire D atinois, 3:2145), also Ar. sam ada: to stand firm, withstand.
bargawn: an angry cam el or a brave, vindictive man, uncertain derivation; dm dttw l < M .W .Y.:
“m atw t/yam tuw i/ysm tdyw : to have leisure, not to be busy” (Johnstone, 1987, 2 1 5 )\fle k < F.L.K.: to get ready, < ‘fs lo k :
to manage to acquire things such as provisions” (ibid., 93) and Yem . Ar. ‘fa lla k a : to provide food (for a cam el) [donner
qch a m anger, ex. falla k a a l-b a cXr\...food, sustenance \ ’akl, 'ays]” (Landberg, G lossaire D atinois, 3:2485-86); ysam tut:
to set out for vengeance < (caus.-refl. s-stem) M .D .D .: Yem . Ar. “m adda al-gazw: to go on a raid [faire une razzia]...to
set forth [s ’en aller, partir]...m adda: blood w ite [prix du sang]” (ibid., 2680-81)?
ahran < Ar. 'aljiran; b lu f < B.L.JC.: "balof: to spit out St. distasteful” (Johnstone, 1987, 49); hmut: poison, see
Chapter 3, footnote #49.
45 gsut < Ar. G .S.W .: to cover, to conceal, to overcom e, to be dark (Lane, 6:2261-2262).
n ow at < N .W .3.: dark clouds, an atmosphere o f impending catastrophe, “nawo/yandyw: poet, (rain clouds) to pile
\ip...newat: poet. rain-clouds...clouds starting to pile up” (Johnstone, 1987, 305-306); attanayu < N .W .’.: to darken the
sky (clouds), see previous entry; gfut < G.T.T.(?): to scatter, to disperse (clouds), Ar. h am adat al-sahab.
hmilJ: see footnote #33 in this chapter; nwut < N.W .Y .: "hanwo/yahanayw/yahenaw: to intend, decide (to do St.)”
(ibid., 307), also < Yem . Ar. N .W .3.: “to lift os. with difficulty f.vc lever a v e c p e in e ]” (Landberg, G lossaire D atinois,
3:2829).
48 am rad < R .D .D .: “m arad: return” (Johnstone, 1987, 314); shut < Ar. S.H.W .: to neglect or om it sth. (knowingly and
unknowingly), to be unmindful (Lane, 4:1455).
49 yajchibak < JC.H.B.: “jcaheb/yafhob: to com e about 6-9 a.m., com e in the m iddle o f the day” (Johnstone, 1987, 226);
sih l < S.H .Y.: Yem. Ar. “sayh: flow ing water [eau courante]” (Landberg, G lossaire D atinois, 3:2007); sm ut (rendered
by Hagg as smut): to consolidate o ’s forces, Ar. m utam asik al- ’a ‘w ad, uncertain derivation, < Ar. S.M .T.: to m ix,
intermingle, to becom e long, elongated (Landberg, G lossaire D atinois, 3:2082)?
50 hdidi < D .W .D . (+ def. art. and pers. suff.): ‘‘ha-dld/ha-dud: paternal uncle” (Johnstone, 1987, 75); hehar < H .X.R.:
brave, responsible man, Ar. sayh, “hexar/hixar: old man” (ibid., 162), anafyut: denominal adj., “o f the wom en o f
°Anfan.”
y b o ri < B.R.L: “ab d n /y a b a ry a n /ya b d n : to free (from guilt or debt), (ibid., 51); hashafut < S.H .F. (causative stem): to
cause harm to so., derivation uncertain.
132
44 ) w a-hrorat hatydon / / ba-sreham w a -k m u t 53
— * v ' — 54
45) bit sa:d man asrub //a ssd rd th a m jfut
46) djcd w a-ble d-hem / / ha:l agasm w a -r h u t 55
47) wa-hro bir camren / / tirklzat a z z a b u t 56
48) ysalul anayw ot / / w-la fijcal yakkanut 57
49) wa-nha twoba kal / / ser assdfh ha:l r k u t 58
1)1 b e g in w ith the N o b le and G enerous: c lim b in g to th e to p o f a hill

2) W h en the sun sets in the ev en in g and its lig h t fades,
3) D ark n ess sp read s, sw im m in g o v e r th e w a d i’s edge,
4) T hen th e sea b re e z e fro m the S outh stirred up strong feelings
5) T hat do n o t su b sid e w hen the w ind d ies, m y eye can n o t sleep.
6) I re m e m b e r th e fig h tin g m en, the v ery b e st o f Al H m ud:
7) O Y o u n g M en , I am g riev in g fo r S a cd w hose h o u r befell him !
8) T he d eed o f his k illers vio lated the tru ce betw een us.
9) O L ord w ho stan d s in the w ay o f S cid, h e ’s from this new gen eratio n ;
10) H e got h im s e lf a rifle and a b a n d o lie r and in an em b ro id ed fawb, h e strutted around.
11) I f on ly th ere had b een a leg itim ate cau se w ith him that w o u ld ex cu se it,
12) T h en [his] p e o p le in th e ir need co u ld ex p lain th em selv es and sw ea r b y it.
13) B u t S cId tra m p le d ad vice and left ev e ry th in g confused.
14) S o m etim es a p erso n d o e sn ’t th ink and fo rg ets w here [he pu ts] his foot
15) A nd en d u res it, tim e and ag ain, until the b u rd en s are p ile d on to p o f him .
16) W hen th o se h e e d le ss yo u th attack ed , th ere w as energy in th em , and battle-lu st
17) T here w a s n ’t a th o u g h tfu l one am o n g st them , n o t a single one w ho lets h im se lf be
p ersu ad ed .
18) T hey set o u t fo r W ad i M a g te^ , at the very end o f the m o u n ta in s before the sandy
d esert
19) U ntil th ey reach ed the w ater h o le, a shallow pit th at is w ell know n.
20) T he p e o p le o f B it A m r w ere u n aw are, alo n e w ith th e ir flo ck s and th e ir sheep
21) T h ey d id n ’t k n o w ab out the raid , and th at th e ir tim e had co m e
22) U ntil th ey saw th em sneak in g up on th em and h eard a v o ice crying fo r help.
52 kdssl < K.S.W.: “kassi: to get new clothes” (ibid., 216); ’a d id < =.D.W .: Yem . Ar. “adah: clothes, linen cloth es”
(Piamenta, 1:5); a s s a b t< S.B.T.: Y em . Ar. “sa b a ta : to clasp a loincloth (usbut a l-m a 'w a z) \ se r re le p a g n e ]” (Landberg,
G lossaire D atinois, 3:2017); m atw u t < T.W .Y.: “tow u/yotayw /yotw e: to wrap, wrap up” (Johnstone, 1987, 413).
53 srehdm < Ar. S.R .Y . (+ obj. suff.): to purchase (them); k m u t< K.M .T.: Ar. “kam mata fawbahu: he dyed his garment
o f the colour o f [fresh ripe] dates; i.e., o f a red colour inclining to black” (Lane, 7:2629).
b it sad man asrub: Bit Sad is a sub-division (Ar. ‘a stra ) o f Sarab, itself a sub-division (Ar. fa h id a ) o f the tribe o f
kamsayt; assdrdtham < S.R.H. (d ssdrh ath am l): "ssrhat/soworah: custom, m ode o f conduct...ssrhath: (it is) his custom ”
(Johnstone, 1987, 352) or < S.R.W .: (Yem . Ar.) “sarat: brave, great leader [brave, g ra n d chef]” (Landberg, G lossaire
D atinois, 3:1927)?; Ifut < b-Y.F.: Ar. diyafa, hospitality.
55 djta < D .K .[V ].: Ar. d a k d ’7; ble < B.L.W .: Y em . Ar. “b a l d (in the South) = war [dans le Sud c ’est = guerre]"
(Landberg, G lossaire D atinois, 1:209); agasm < G.S.M .: ”gosom : to be brave, do st. bravely...gissm : to feel pain on
hearing bad new s” (Johnstone, 1987, 125); rhut < R.H.W .: Ar. “rahw: going easy ...being soft, gentle, with
continuence...being still, quiet, m otionless, calm, allayed, or assuaged” (Lane, 3:1174).
56 azzabut: weight-bearing, < C.S.B.(?): Yem . Ar. “to bind, tie up...to back support” (Piamenta, 2:328). The
vocalization o f Is/ and loss o f / c/ in the Mahri dialect o f Qisn m ight have led Hagg to hear and render the interior-
bedouin Mahri ” ca ssa b u t” as “azzabu t” a s p e r his transcription o f this poem . Only the former - 'assabu t - makes any
sense in this line, particularly due to its evocation o f tribal partisanship: casaba.
57 anaywot: burdens, < C.N .[V ].: Ar. can a/m u ‘dna or < Y em . Ar. N .W .’.: to lift os. with difficulty (see footnote #47)?;
yakkanut: to drop (a load), < K .N.D.: Yem . Ar. “k a n ada: to oppress...kinad: heavy load...mikannid: bearing poverty and
hard work” (Piamenta, 2:436)?
58 tw oba < T.B.L: “tu ba/yatu ba/ystbe: to follow ” (Johnstone, 1987, 399); assafh < S.F. (+ poss. suff.): “saf/asfutsn:
trace, track(s)” (ibid., 373); rkut < R.K.T.: “rskut.yargkt/yarket: to step on, stand on, tread on (/-) st.” (ibid., 323).
133
R eproduced with perm ission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without perm ission.
23) H m ed w o k e su d d en ly and ju m p e d u p , h is rig h t arm w as stru ck b y a b u lle t
24) H e leap t o v er cAwal. and d id n ’t even co n sid er flig h t fo r a m o m en t.
25) T h e son o f B ir K akayn resp o n d e d and cut th em to p ieces,
26) L eft th e ir b o d ies p iled u p and “h a rv e ste d ” them until the end o f the fig h t,
27) A fterw ard s, he set o u t in the aftern o o n , rea d ied h im se lf once m o re and w as steadfast.
28) W ad i M a b u r re jo ic e s in it, and so do the en d s o f W adi M ah ru t.
29) T h e son o f A m r is stead fast w hen evil b efalls him ,
30) [Even] m uddy w a te r in a ra v in e, the th irsty drink it.
31) W ad i Sum lt and W a d i H agza, w h en e v er they and W adi F o ri are assem b led ,
32) In th em are m en w ho sh o u ld er th e ir re sp o n sib ilities, v icto rs in ra id s w ho stick
together.
33) T he angry cam el, w hile rec o v erin g , p re p ares to set out and lo o k fo r v en g ean ce
34) S u pressing its a n g e r in sid e u n til fin ally , it spits out the po iso n .
35) L ord, lessen th e evil b etw een the p e o p le, stay its increase and o v erw h elm in g
darkness.
36) R ain clo u d s are y et d ark en in g the sky, b u t they have b e g u n to d isp e rse at th eir edges.
37) A nd now , O G en ero u s O ne, [I go] w ith w h atev e r m y rig h t arm can lift up and carry ,
38) R etu rn in g to a b ro th er, on w hose p a rt he sees no in ad v erten t errors.
39) T hey live in th e w adis o f H afgug, and its fee d er rav in es o f M g aw ta^ and G affut
40) T h ey com e to y ou like a sin g le stream , and are a sin g le u n ified band.
41) M y uncle, cA w a], an e ld e r o f cA n fan on h is m o th e r’s side,
42) I k n o w that he is p ro u d and d o e s n ’t ab so lv e the sm allest in ju ry [to h is tribe].
43) H e has gotten h im s e lf new clo th es, a clasp ed lo in clo th th at is fo ld ed over,
44) A nd new silks th at he has p u rch a sed and dy ed d ark red.
45) B it Sad o f S arab, th e ir w ays and cu sto m s are g en ero sity ,
46) Q uick n ess and a fig h tin g sp irit b elo n g to them , w hen co u rag e is called fo r or
co m p ro m ise,
47) W ith the lead ers o f B i t cA m rayn, lik e co lu m n s th at support one another,
48) T hey b e a r the b u rd en s and n e v e r d ro p the load.
49) W e all fo llo w h im , rig h t b eh in d h is tracks w h erev er he steps.
H agg describ ed th is p o em like a “H o lly w o o d film ” (film holiwud)', it c e rta in ly captures the
leap in g , sh o u tin g and fly in g b u lle ts o f a su m m er b lo ck b u ster. T his p o em even co n tain s the
p ersp ectiv e o f an o m n iscien t n a rra to r w ho can see in to the e n e m ie s’ cam p in o rd e r to g enerate
d ram atic tensio n : “T he p e o p le o f B it A m r w ere u n aw are, alone w ith th e ir flocks and th e ir sheep //
T hey d id n ’t k n o w ab o u t th e raid , and th at th e ir tim e h ad co m e // U ntil th ey saw th em sneaking up
on th em and h eard a v oice cry in g fo r h e lp ” [20-22]. U n lik e the trip artite 'odi w a-krem krem o f
B ir L a ctayt, th is p o em d w ells on specific in c id en ts and on in d ividual tribesm en w ho h av e n am es,
p erso n alities and m o tiv es. T a n n a f H am t5 t is less in tereste d in baleful ru m in a tio n s and g n o m ic
sayings than is B ir L a ctayt, (w ith the exception o f [14-15]: “S om etim es a perso n d o e s n ’t th in k
134
an d fo rg ets w h ere [he puts] h is fo o t // A nd endures it, tim e and again, u n til the b u rd e n s are p iled
on top o f h im ” ). In stead , he d irects h is e n erg y to w a rd s the dep ictio n o f a tribal im b ro g lio and its
p rin cip al fig u res. M y sense is that B ir L a cta y t’s ode (from C h ap ter 3) w as co m p o se d to p ersu ad e
G idhI an d Z w edI to accep t an ag reem en t w hile T a n n a f s ode is a rally in g cry fo r JCamsayt in th e ir
co n flict w ith S m o d a; it is com es m uch c lo ser to the sig n ificatio n o f s i cr hamasi (“in citin g
p o e try ”).
In terestin g ly , T a n n a f o f JCamsayt takes a m ag n an im o u s view o f his S m o d a ad v ersaries and a
rath er d im v ie w o f his ribe, K alsat. In the central battle scene, the rec k lessn ess o f K alsat is
co n trasted w ith th e fig h tin g p ro w ess o f S m oda; JCamsayt its e lf stays in the b ack g ro u n d until the
end o f th e po em . T a n n a f b lam es h is ally, K alsat, fo r th e failu re o f the cease-fire: “T here w a sn ’t a
th o u g h tfu l o n e am o n g st them , n o t a single one w ho lets h im se lf b e p e rsu a d e d ” [17]. I h av e no
d o u b t th at th ere are d im en sio n s to the in terp erso n al and in tertribal c o n flic t d escrib ed in this
dandan th at are co m p letely lo st to m e, as th ey w ere p erh a p s lo st to H agg w hose fam iliarity w ith
the p erso n alities and p o litics o f the in lan d steppe w as lim ited.
F orm al d ifferen ces aside, th is ode follow s the sam e to p ical and n arrativ e sch em e o f the
trip artite ode c o m p o sed b y B ir L a ctayt. T he p o et b eg in s w ith the sam e in v o c a tio n , (“odt w a-krem
krem”[1]), and fro m the sam e elev ated persp ectiv e: “clim b in g to the to p o f a h ill” [ l] . E vening
com es, and as the p o et w atches, “dark n ess spreads, sw im m in g o v e r the w a d i’s ed g e” [3]; at the
sam e tim e, th e sea b reeze ( m dit ) p ick s up and stirs strong feelings in his h eart [4]. Ju st as B ir
L a ctayt recalled h is u n n am ed b ro th e r k illed in a h alf-fo rg o tten feud, T a n n a f H am to t lets us k n o w
that he is g riev in g fo r S a cd, w hose “h o u r” ( sw iyat ) had com e [7]. In T a n n a f’s ode, S a cd ’s fated
h o u r is given a n am e and a face: S cId o f S m o d a, a m acho, sw aggering y o u th w ho drag s h is tribe
in to a w ar [9-13], F earin g the rep ercu ssio n s, T a n n a f lam en ts the fact that S a cId o f S m o d a d id not
even attack in self-d efen ce since this w ould at le ast h av e given his kin “ [a] leg itim ate c au se...th at
w ould e x cu se it // then [his] p e o p le ...c o u ld ex plain th em selv es and sw e ar by it” [l 1-12]. In
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essen ce, th e m u rd e r o f S a cd is less d ep lorable as a perso n al loss th an as a d isru p tio n to the fragile
entente that had o b tain ed b etw een JCamsayt, S m o d a and K alsat.
S cTd o f S m o d a ’s m u rd ero u s folly is m atched o n ly by the reck less v en g ean ce carried o u t by
K alsat, w h o se “h e e d le ss y o u th attacked [S m oda], [w hen] there w as en ergy in them , and b attle-
lu s t” [16]. M irro rin g th e o d e o f B ir L a ctayt, the central cause o f tribal co n flict are you n g m en
w ho h a v e y et to d e m o n strate th e full ch a ra c ter o f the m atu re tribesm an; th ey h asten to exact
v en g en an ce b u t fail to tak e cou n cil b eforehand. In d iv id u al, op p o rtu n istic m u rd e r sets the scene
fo r the central act o f th is dandan: the surprise attack at W ad i M agtej; w h ere K alsat catch es S m oda
u n aw ares b u t are then re p u lse d b y the son o f B ir K ak ay n w ho “left th e ir b o d ies p iled up and
‘h a rv e ste d ’ them u n til th e en d o f the fig h t” [26], T his b a ttle scene is th e h ea rt o f this ode and
m irro rs in sequence and sco p e B ir L a cta y t’s d ep ictio n o f the violent flo o d that w ashes o v e r the
lan d , a m e ta p h o r fo r th e v io len ce th at T a n n a f H am to t d escribes b lo w -b y -b lo w .
L ike the ode o f B ir L a ctayt, the local to p o g rap h y com es to life and jo in s in on the
ex citem en t. S m o d a ’s v icto ry rip p les th ro u g h the lan d scap e w here “W adi M a b u r rejo ices in it,
and so d o the ends o f W adi M a h ru t” [28], A s jCam sayt steels itse lf fo r the e x p ected rep risals,
W ad i S um lt, W ad i H ag z a and W adi F ori jo in them in reso lv e [31-32], In the trad itio n al tribal
ode, in tertrib al co n flict sp read s through the g eo g rap h y o f al-M ahra and b rin g s to life even in ert
to p o g rap h ical featu res th at p articip ate in the m ilitary prep aratio n s and v ictory c eleb ratio n s. T here
m ay b e a less fig u ra tiv e d im en sio n to this d escrip tio n : the narrow rav in e s and wadis o f al-M ah ra
ech o w ith the sounds o f dandan -odes and o th er w ar-songs, a m ixed c lam o r that trav e ls th e ir
length and gives th em th e sem b lan ce o f a living voice.
T a n n a f H am to t b rin g s th is dandan to a close on the collective resp o n se o f JCamsayt and
th e ir w ar-lead er, cA w a[, the m uqaddam o f cA nfan. In itially T a n n a f d isav o w s the feud,
b eseech in g G od (ball) “to stay its in crease and o v erw h elm in g dark n ess” [35], H o w ev er, the
d arkn ess o f th e days is b rig h te n e d b y T a n n a f’s ow n decision to rally JCamsayt and to trav el from
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settlem en t to settlem en t in o rd e r to en co u rag e th em to v ictory, (“T his clim ate o f w ar is still
d ark en in g th e sky, b u t a p a rt o f it has cleared //A n d n ow , O G enerous, [I go] w ith w h atev er m y
rig h t arm can lift u p and b e a r” [36-37]). T h ese tw o lin es [36-37] are frau g h t w ith d o uble
entendre: the term hm ll is b o th th e bu rd en th a t T a n n a f H am tot reso lv es to carry w h erev e r it needs
to g o (nw ut), and it is also h is rig h t hand ( hm ll ) so b u rd en e d w ith its load th at it can o n ly be lifted
w ith d ifficu lty (nwut). T h e v erb in [37], nw ut, lik e w ise evokes both now at and attanayu (“the
clim ate o f w a r [i.e., ‘c lo u d s ’] d a rk en in g th e sk y ” ) fro m th e prev io u s line. T a n n a f w ill carry the
b u rd en o f his rig h t h an d w h e re v e r the c lo u d s are gath ered m ost th reaten in g ly (nowat), and
w h erev er his b u rd en in ten d s (nwut). T he “b u rd e n ” o f th e se tw o lines w as exp lain ed to m e as the
p o em th at T a n n a f w ill c a rry an d p erfo rm in o rd e r to ra lly support fo r JCamsayt’s in th e ir lo o m in g
e n g ag em en t w ith S m o d a.
S p ecifically , T a n n a f w ill carry th is ode to h is k in sm an , “a b ro th er, on w hose p art he sees no
in ad v ertan t e rro rs” [38]. T h e d escrip tio n o f T a n n a f s “b ro th e r” as one w ho m akes “no in ad v ertan t
erro rs (shut) ”[38] c o n tra sts w ith ScTd o f S m o d a w ho, as w e saw at th e b e g in n in g o f th e po em ,
“tram p led ad v ice and le ft ev e ry th in g c o n fu se d ” [13]. R esp o n d in g to T a n n a f s ode, JCamsayt turns
o ut in force and co m es p o u rin g out the wadis: “T hey liv e in the wadis o f H afgug, and its fee d er
rav in es o f M g a w ta ^ and G affut // T hey co m e to you lik e a single stream , and are a single u n ified
b a n d ” [39-40]. T he u n ity and co n sen su s o f JCamsayt stands in contrast to the indiv id u alized , p ell-
m ell vio len ce c o m m itted b y S m o d a and jCalsat. T ribal v iolence is org an ized according to tw o,
d ifferen t p rin cip les in th is ode: K alsa t’s ra id , (and S acd ’s m urder), is an in d iv id u alized exp ressio n
o f trib al v io len ce w h ereas trib al u n a n im ity is em p h asiz ed fo r JCamsayt’s re sp o n se. It is only the
la tte r th at receiv es the stam p o f approval from the p o e t since it sublim ates v iolence into an
ex p ressio n o f tribal so lid arity .
K am say t’s w ar-tim e p re p a ratio n s are ep ito m ized in the c h aracter o f cA w jat o f cA nfan, the
m uqaddam o f S arab, w ho b ears all o f the h allm ark s o f au thority and gravitas. F o r one, co llectiv e
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co n cern s ta k e p re c e d e n ce o v er personal ones since h e “d o e sn ’t ab solve the sm allest in ju ry [to h is
trib e]” [42]. In h is p erso n al attire, an in te re stin g m ix o f traditional sim p lic ity goes to g e th e r w ith a
sense fo r re fin e m e n t an d elegence: “H e has g o tten h im se lf new clothes, a clasp ed lo in c lo th th at is
fo ld ed o v e r // A nd n ew silks th at he has p u rch ased and dyed dark re d ” [43-44], T he c o n tra st w ith
S cId o f S m o d a, (w ho “got h im se lf a rifle and a b a n d o lie r and in an em b ro id ered fawb, h e strutted
aro u n d ” [10]), is starkly draw n: S cTd is attired in m ilitary reg alia u n b efittin g h is y o uth w hile
°A w [at w ears trad itio n al, y e t d ig n ified , civ ilian clothes and does n o t n eed to sw ag g ar in his w ar-
gear.
T h e clo th es o f cA w a] are an im p o rtan t m etap h o r fo r his sense o f duty. H agg exp lain ed
th a t cA w a [’s p u rc h a se o f n e w clothes (kassi b a -3adid [43]) is both a m easu re o f his d ig n ity as
w ell as a m etap h o ric ex p ressio n fo r h is reje ctio n o f any gifts that fail to b en efit the en tire tribe,
(i.e., “old c lo th e s”). T h e fo llo w in g lin e [44] in d icates th a t cA w a[ pu rch ases and dyes his ow n
clo th es, a statem en t th at is b o th a literal and fig u rativ e com m entary on his ch aracter. O n one
hand, cA w a [ is a g o o d sh o p p er, (w ith all th at it im plies fo r him as a to ugh b a rg ain er), and a
“h a n d s-o n ” ta ilo r w ho d o e sn ’t eschew ted io u s yet critical details. I f it seem s inco n g ru o u s to
co m p are cA w a[’s d u ties as a w ar-lead er to th o se o f a trad esm an , w e n eed only to re fe r b ack to B ir
L a °ta y t’s ode in w h ich th e tribal neg o tiato rs are co m pared to carpenters w ho “h av e sm oothed
w ood o f its ro u g h n e ss” [21], and to the m araddat ex changed by the n d ’ib sultan o f al-M ah ra and
B ir Freg (C h a p te r 3, B ), in w hich the d o m in an t m e tap h o r ren d ers the S ultan and his w azlr as
fish erm en . F ig u rativ ely sp eak in g, cA w jat w ears the conseq u en ces o f his d ecisions in the clo th es
th at he h im se lf h as b o u g h t and dyed. A pplied to his social and p o litical d ecisio n s, the m ean in g o f
th is m etap h o r is clear: cA w jat b ears his re sp o n sib ilities, u n like S acId o f S m oda w ho acts in spite
o f them .
In ad d itio n to c A w jat, T a n n a f m en tio n s the o th er principal leaders o f JCamsayt and stresses
th e ir p erfo rm an ce o f co lle c tiv e d uties: “B it Sad o f S arab, th eir w ays and custom s are
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Reproduced with perm ission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
g e n e ro sity ” [45] and “B i t cA m ray n, like co lum ns th at stay to g eth er and b e a r the w eig h t // they
b e a r th e b u rd e n s and n e v e r d ro p the lo a d ” [47-48]. T he final term o f the seco n d h em istic h o f [47]
stresses th e co llectiv e id en tity o f B i t cA m rayn: azzabut, (lik ely a m isin te rp reta tio n o f cassabut).
cA ssabut h e re is co g n ate w ith A rabic ‘isaba (“b an d , ligature, group, tro o p ” ) and ta cassub (“tribal
zeal, p a rty sp irit”), w ith all that it im p lies in term s o f tribal chauvanism and co llectiv e
id en tificatio n . T he final h em istich o f the p o em e n d s on an obedient n o te th at ced es ind iv id u al
freed o m to co llectiv e duties: “W e all follow him , rig h t b e h in d his tracks w h erev er they le ad ” [49].
T h ese tw o °odi w a-krem krem p o em s finish w ith a v iew to the h a rm o n io u s w orkings o f the
tribe. In th e o d e o f B ir L a ctayt, this p rin cip le is e m b o d ie d in the ch a ra cter o f B ir G aw n and the
tribal arb iters; in the o d e o f T a n n af H am tot, this role is taken b y cA w jat o f cA nfan and the
p rin cip als o f JCamsayt. T he last im age o f B ir L a cta y t’s ode is o f the trib esm an w ho w aves his
h ead d ress an d su m m o n s h is k in ; T a n n a f’s ode fin ish es w ith a sim ilar appeal to tribal con fo rm ity
and cu sto m . B eg in n in g w ith th e in d ividual as a larg ely neg ativ e m otif, b o th o d es end on the
o p p o site note: a v isio n o f co llectiv e and h arm o n io u s trib alism w here d u ties are obey ed and the
social n etw o rk re m a in s strong.
B. D andan co m p o sed and recited by cIsa K adhavt. recorded in R ehan:
In C h a p te r 3 , 1 in clu d ed a trip artite °ddT w a-krem krem b y cIsa K adhayt in w hich he
d ism isses a co m p la in t b ro u g h t to h im by cA b d allah R a cfit by co m p o sin g a p o e m th at is iro n ically
rem in iscen t o f trib al-h isto rical odes. In like fash io n , th e follow ing dandan by cIsa K adhayt is
im itativ e o f b ip artite 3odl w a-krem krem p o e try in form , b u t hu m o ro u sly play s w ith the topical
c o n v en tio n s o f h ero ism and tribal feuds by su b stituting u n paid debts fo r v en d ettas and stingy
k in sm an fo r h o stile tribes.
T he first lin es o f cIs a ’s ode estab lish es this poem w ithin the structural fram ew ork o f
co n v en tio n al °odi w a-krem krem p o em s: “ O Sun, yo u have set, there is n o th in g ex cept the
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tw ilig h t / T h e sm all shadow s h a v e all b eco m ed m ixed and faded” [l-2 ], T his reso n ates w ith the
o p en in g o f T a n n a f H am to t’s b ip a rtite dandan (“d ark n ess spreads, sw im m in g lik e w ate r o v e r the
w d d l’s e d g e ” [3]), its e lf a co m m o n tro p e at the b e g in n in g o f 'ddl w a-krem krem p o etry in general.
In all cases, th e first Scene o f th ese three odes e stab lish es the im m anent, m u tab le n ature o f th eir
topic: a m a jo r seaso n al sh ift is reflected in n ew (and d a n g ero u s) co n fig u ratio n s th at lo o m on the
social h o rizo n .
cIsa d iv erg es fro m the m odel su g g ested by the “se rio u s” odes: he is not co n fro n ted w ith the
m u rd er o f a k in sm an b u t o v e r th e im p o u n d in g o f h is car: a 1985 T o yota p ick -u p truck nicknam ed
cA nzI. cIsa had left cA nzI in al-G h ay d h a w ith a m ech an ic, a N orthern Y em eni nam ed G oban,
w ho d em an d ed 2 7 0 ,0 0 0 Y em eni riyals (-$ 1 3 8 0 ) fo r rep airs. °Isa had only 2 0 0 ,0 0 0 Y em eni
riyals (Y E R ) w hich G 5ban refu sed to accept, and kep t th e c a r un d er lo ck and k e y , “lik e som eone
w ho is im p riso n e d ” [4], cIsa retu rn ed to R ehan (in H aw f) to g ath er the rem ain in g 7 0 ,0 0 0 Y E R in
loans, (“to m assag e the u d d e r o f the m ilc h -c am e l” [10]), b u t is turned dow n again and again. O ne
“m ilch -co w ” w as so stin g y sh e w o u ld tu rn aw ay h e r ow n calv es [10-12], an o th er h ad “h is head
lo w ered ” (i.e., w as h ard -p ressed fo r cash), and “k ic k e d ” at °Isa during “the m ilk in g ” [13-15]. c!sa
goes to six m o re p o ssib le len d ers and is m et w ith refusal each tim e. T hese are the p e o p le w ho
sell tissu e p a p e r (klinaks < E ng. “k leen ex ” ) and spices fo r hot-sauce, o r p eo p le w ho lift cin d er
b lo ck s fo r a liv in g [18-21]. T h ey are d ism issed by cls a as p etty vendors too stingy to help him
out, (“they are all b u sin e ssm e n , b u t i t ’s b e tte r to b e b ro k e ” [21]). F inally, c!sa find som e “re al”
friends, B ahit, 3A hm ad and R asid, w ho recall h o w m uch cA n zi w as praised in R ehan fo r giving
peo p le rid es, and they o ffe r to return the kin d n ess [23-25], cIsa finally pay s a v isit to a certain
Q ahtan w ho lives “in h is fo rtress, like the rain c lo u d s” [26-27]. The “fortress” is the custom s
h o use at S arfet on the Y em en -O m an b order, w here Q ahtan w orks as the c h ie f c u sto m s’ officer.
Q ahtan speaks k in d ly to clsa , c a lls him “m aternal g ra n d fa th e r” ( cam oh ) [30] and enco u rag es him
“to lift u p his h ead ” [31] n o w th at his p rid e (and cAnzT) are restored to him . Q ahtan w ill “set
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lo o se th e b o n d from w here it w as all k n o tted u p ” [32] and cIsa K adhayt b rin g s the crisis - and the
dandan - to a close.
1) lawb gonas hyum / / l-ad d r dgles 59

2) w -h elcayyen / / Ibodam hwes 60
3) dr hoh b-hayr la: / / b l mekan ca:kes 61
4 ) his hoh w -canzi / / ha tat d-haybes
5) w -hel gubon / / bark mahres 62
6) mhalfcawf b-dayn / / b-jcdyd mires 63
7) her seh mltayn / / w al jcawta hies
8) Jdse b -sd b cln / / zimh gres 64
9) w-hoh b-haywon //l- a d slfw a le s 65
10 ) fo n moran gzur / / 1-'a: jydr canses 66
11) w -attoll hzut / / w -hruhs nses 67
12) w -l-ad baw t la: / / atte l-habres 68
13) wa-m goran garhlt / / attaljf mtinkes 69
14) ffilhdt ba-hrdh // wa-]hawt his yes 70
15) w-hal da-hleb / / bln makan rfes 71
16) dr tawwan nlayn //a s s a w r ndjcles 72
17) nam ed h a tr o f// man gayr manfes 73
59 lawb: asseverative particle indicating regret, Ar. tahassur, < L.W .C.: “lawb: i n d e e d . y e s indeed” (Johsntone,
1987, 257-258); gonas (2nd. pers. fem.) < G .N .C.: “gan d/gm dt/tzgdn a: to be nearly set (sun)” (ibid., 121); o g les <
G.L.S.: twilight, dusk, Ar. safaq al-sam s, “galasa al-layl: night has fallen [la nuit tom ba]” (Landberg, G lossaire
D atinois, 3:2376).
60 heVayyen < H.L.L: “small shadow s,” dim. < “hola ’/h lla 7: shade, shadow; reflection; (m et.) protection” (Johnstone,
1 9 8 7 ,1 5 6 ); hwes: to mix together, to becom e small, < H .W .S.S.: “anhawsus: (rare) to becom e weaker and weaker...to
shrink” (ibid., 195).
6! ca:kes < C.K.S.: akos/ya^dks/yakes: to mix; to make so. fed u p atkes/yatakds/yataks: to be bored, fed up” (ibid.,
18).
gubon: personal name, town (Guban) in the G ovem ate o f al-Bayda ’ where “Gubon” likely hails from.
63 m haljcawf < L.K.F.: held, Ar. mamsuk, “lijcsf: to take, get hold o f ’ (ibid., 254), m ires < M .R.S.: cam el’s halter
(through the nose), Ar. liitam , “mires: girth on the back o f a cam el” (ibid., 270); hies < H.L.S.: desire, craving, Ar. hils.
64 3ase < C.S.Y.: “ Jase: one hopes, it is to be hoped” (ibid., 30); gres < G.R.S.: “agoras/yagarsan/yagoras: to annoy (by
visiting too freqently)...agtaros: to be given a little trouble (by a person, a car, etc.)” (ibid., 125).
' haywon: b ox, bank account, < H .W .Y.: Yem . Ar. “hawiyya (pi.) hiwaya: powder horn...haniyya: packsaddle”
(Landberg, G lossaire D atinois, 1:532) rl;fw a le s < F.L.S.: (dim .) small change.
66 m oran (1st & 3nd pers. past.) m orak/m roh < M .R.[V].: Yem . Ar. “m a ra : to rub [frotter], to squeeze [presser] (the
udder [le pis] o f cow or camel [de la vache ou de la cham elle]) (ibid., 3:2690); gzur: a cam el w hose has descended,
uncertain etym ology; ‘d:lcdr< LK.R.: “ 7akdwr/ydwkar/yaj(dr: to be, becom e big, grow up” (Johnstone, 1987, 20);
‘anses: nam e o f the m ilch-cow (gzur).
hzut < H.Z.W .: “xazu,-zuh/yazayz: to refuse...to hum iliate” (ibid., 459); nses, (1st per. past.) nsask, (ptcl.) nasyus <
N.S.S.: to becom e dishevelled, to be in disarray, to lift up the head and refuse to give milk (a cam el), Yem . Ar. marsult
< “rasaha: to throw, fling, kick” (Piamenta, 1:182).
68 baw t < B .C.W.: “bo (boh), bawt: (animal) to give m ilk when the teats are fondled” (Johnstone, 1987, 42); habres <
B.R.W . + def. art.: “son” + poss. suffix.
69
garhi < G.Y.R.: “gahar, garhet: second, another, other”; a tta h f< W.H.F.: “watxaf: to be, com e in the evening; to
remain” (ibid., 434); mankes < N .K .S.: “nakus: “to m ove, to fall on (/-) so., St.; to put st. down; to hang (1-) o ’s head...to
hang o ’s head lo w ” (ibid., 296).
70 - ' '-
fa lh o t (dialectal variant?) < F.L.H.: “fazah/yafzoh: to be embarrassed” (ibid., 111).
71 rfes < R.F.S.: “rafus/yarafs: to kick and bruise” (ibid., 317).
72
nlayn, (imperative) layn! < L.Y.N .: to g o in the time between mid-afternoon (a l-ca sr) and sunset (al-m agrib ),
uncertain etym ology; a ssa w r < S.W .R . (+ def. art.): “sawr: advice; consultation; opinion” (ibid., 388); najcles < JC.L.S.:
to finalize, to wrap up, to set the bounds o f sth., Ar. h addada, < “halos: to do up a button” (ibid., 230).
141
18) hem a r yattlt / / d-nuka w -hes 74
19) b o ll kllndks / / w -bzur d-basbes 75
20) w a-bkor d-kdsreb / / slel wa-lises 76
21) tgart hem kdl / / hdyr mans fle s
22) d r hoh b-ndjclln / / ad si hweges 77
23) bhit w a-hm ed / / w -rasad hres
24) cam dram canzi / / w-kdh thlbes
25) halll w -sarbet / / ym adham tes 78
26) w-lu I-Qahtan / / d-ber lilres
21) ba-hhasan ykun / / his arw ekes 79
28) a d l-wukbah / / hm d da-)res 80
29) w -ber ydm bdt / / b-(f[c wa-nfes 81
30) cam ur 3amoh / / haddor tahses 82
31) hruhk arfa 3 / / dm -ber nlkes
32) nanofar a jcayd//m an hel d a -clkes 83
1) O S un, y o u h av e set, th e re is n o th in g e x c ep t th e tw ilig h t

2) T he sm all sh adow s h av e all becom e m ix ed and faded.
3) I ’m not d oing w ell, th ere is a m uch ag itation w ithin m e,
4 ) F o r m e and fo r cA nzI, lik e som eone w ho is im p riso n ed
5) A t G o b a n ’s, in a g u ard ed courtyard,
6) H eld in d eb t by th e b o n d o f a c a m e l’s halter.
7) H e ’s alread y got 2 00 b u t it d o e sn ’t cut o ff his craving,
8) If o n ly th ere w ere 70, m ay G od give him trouble!
9) In m y lo ck b o x th e re ’s n o t even any p o ck et-ch an g e;
10) W e h av e already m assag ed the u d d e r o f the m ilch-cam el, m ay G od in crease cA nses!
[nam e o f a m ilch -cam el]
11) B u t then she re fu se d and lifted up h er head,
73 _ _ _
' nam ed < " ’am od/ydwm sd/yam ed'. to hit so. on purpose, shoot so. from a company known to you...to intend”
(ibid., 23); h a trd f < T.R.F. + def. art.: group, section (o f kin); m anfes < N.F.S.: to make an excuse for os., uncertain
etym ology.
hes < H .Y .S.: “hays: violence: us. in the phrase, ba-hays, violently; with difficulty” (ibid., 198)?
75 bzur < B.Z.R.: “bazar: coll., Ar. peppers...a p iece o f dry s tu ff’ (ibid., 61).
76 bkor < B.K.R.: “le mehri bokor, am as de p ierre s [heap, pile o f rocks]” (Landberg, G lossaire D atinois, 1:192);
kasrib: cinder blocks, uncetain etym ology; sle l < S.L.L.: “sal, sallut/yas'lul: to carry (st. light), take, take away”
(Johnstone, 1987, 379); hses < H .S.S.: “xsis: to give so. the least or worst” (ibid., 449), also Yem . Ar. “jjassa: to be
damaged, spoiled [sc gater]...to be o f poor quality [mauvaise qualite]” (Landberg, G lossaire D atinois, 1:591).
naklin < N.JC.L.: “na]<awl: to ch oose...anjcele1: choice (livestock)” (Johnstone, 1987, 297).
h a lli< H.L.L.: inhabitants, “hal/yahlul/yahlel: to settle” (ibid., 176); sa rb et < S.R.B.: Y em . Ar. “surba: apack, a
troop [un certain nomre, troupe]” (Landberg, G lossaire D atinois, 3:1922).
hasdn < H .S.N.: “hasan/hasatan: large house..castle” (ibid., 190); arw ekes: rainclouds, uncertain etym ology.
80 wukbdh < W .K.B.: “wakiib/yawukab/yakeb: to enter” (ibid., 425); / res < 1..R.S.?: bitter, harsh, uncertain etym ology.
“Bitter water” (hmo da-lres) refers to the negative qualities that Northern Yem eni merchants and trademen, (i.e.,
“Gubon” from Guban), have brought with them to al-Mahra. A s the eponym ous ancestor o f the Southern Arabs with
whom the Mahra associate them selves particularly closely, the name “Qahtan” evokes a pure Southern lineage,
unmixed with the negative qualities o f the “Northerners.”
81 ydm bdt (passive) < N.B.L: “nabo/m buh: to inform” (ibid., 279); nfes: “anofas: to make space for (h-) so.” (ibid.,
285).
82 ’am oh < C.W.M.: great-uncle or maternal grandfather; tahses < H.S.S.: “has/yahsus/yahses: to have feelin g, be
conscious o f (b -)” (ibid., 188).
83 nandfar < N.T.R.: “nator: to untie (I-) st., so.” (ibid., 305).
142
12) She d id n ’t even give suck to h e r child.
13) A fterw ard s to so m eo n e else, b u t m y arrival (found h im ) w ith h is h e ad lo w ered .
14) Deeply ashamed (?), [unclear delivery and vocabulary]
15) D u rin g th e tim e fo r the m ilking, there w as a lo t o f kick in g at us.
16) T h a t’s en o u g h , le t’s go in the late afternoon, w e ’ll stick to the plan.
17) W e ’ll rely on certain parties o f kin w ho d o n ’t give excuses.
18) T h ere are six; w h o ev er com es (to th em ) they b at aw ay w ith th e ir h ands:
19) T he K leenex P eo p le, and th o se o f spices fo r bisbes
20) A nd p iles o f cin d er blocks that they haul and du m p
21) T here are all b u sin essm en, b u t it’s b e tte r to b e b ro k e than this.
22) I still h av e o th e r ch o ices; there are yet ideas in m e.
23) B a h i t ,3A h m ad and R asid, m ay G od p ro tec t them !
24) T h ey said: “W hy is cA nzI locked up?
25) T h e p e o p le o f th e d istrict and the packs o f ch ildren praise h e r.”
26) O r [I’ll go] to Q ah tan, the one o f the clan H ires,
27) H e ’ll b e in his fo rtress, like the rainclouds.
28) B itte r w ater h as n o t y et en tered him
29) A nd h e ’s alread y b een spoken o f in tim es o f need and tim es o f ease.
30) H e says: “ G ran d fath er, tak e care to listen w ell!
31) R aise y o u r h ead i f it w as low ered,
32) W e ’ll set lo o se th e b o n d from w here it w as all k n o tted u p .”
III. D andan L avll (“N ig h t-tim e D andan ” ):
M ahri b ip a rtite p o e try that verges on a less serious, m ore sentim ental dom ain is referred to
as dandan layli (“n ig h t-tim e dandan”). T he dandan layli genre is n o t w ithout echoes o f the
trib al-h ero ic odes: ten sio n b etw een a su ito r and h is b e lo v e d ’s fam ily m ay tak e th e to n e o f a tribal
disp u te, (as in th e jcsldat by cA w [at b ir CA1I cited above), and the p o e t’s lo n elin ess and lo nging
are lin k ed d irectly to tribal p o litics and tribal m igrations. T he tw o d o m ain s, (p u b lic affairs and
p riv ate sen tim en ts), are often ju x tap o se d in the sam e dandan layli. H ow ever, dandan layli is
n ev er scu rrilo u s and th e d escrip tio n o f the lo v e-o b ject do es n o t transgress the b o u n d s o f decency;
dandan layli is essen tially a p u b lic genre and is m ean t to b e p erfo rm ed b e fo re a large aud ien ce
and circu lated acco rd in g ly .
The d ifferen ce b etw een dandan m aydanl and dandan layli is a q u estion o f d eg re e since one
can easily b len d in to the other. T he distin ctio n is m ore topical than it is form al. In dandan
maydanl, ten sio n s tak e p lace b etw een co llectiv e in stitu tio n s (such as the tribe), w hile dandan
143
layli ex p an d s the scope to in clu d e an in terp e rso n al and in d iv id u al dynam ic. S tated d ifferen tly ,
dandan m aydanl rep resen ts the in d iv id u al w ithin a fram ew o rk o f in tertrib al d ram a w h ile dandan
layli p o em s deal w ith top ics th at are p erso n a l and have no im pact on tribal p o litics. D andan layli
d o es p e rm it social co m m o n tary since the p o e m co m m o n ly refers to social con cern s th at effect his
em o tio n al state. E x am p les o f th ese co n cern s are the h arsh n ess o f a b e lo v e d ’s fam ily (C h ap te r 6,
C and A p p en d ix C , p o em E), rich S audis w ho “o u tb id ” y o ung M ah ra m en fo r th e ir brides
(C h ap ter 4 , D ) an d m arry in g o u tsid e o f the trib e (A p p en d ix C , p o em E ), ju s t to n am e a few .
H ow ev er, th e to p ics rarely rise to the level o f in ter-trib al ho stility as they do °odl w a-krem krem
poem s. In stead , the co m p o ser o f dandan layli opts to co m m en t on co n flict in so far as it im p in g es
on his intim ate, em o tio n al life.
A lth o u g h th e p ractice has d eclined in recen t years, dandan layli w ere once w idely
p erfo rm ed at w ed d in g celeb ratio n s (M hr. m ahres). T he m ahres and the sarh, (w hich H agg called
“th e official p a rty ” [al-hafla al-rasm lya ]), w ere co n v en ed in the ev ening once the serious
b u sin e ss o f th e w elco m in g ragzlt (ragzlt tarhlbl) w as co n cluded. O nly th en co u ld th e fun b eg in
in earnest. S om e dandan p o em s are serious and are in d istin g u ish ab le from d ay tim e dandan.
O thers are in a lig h te r vein: love p o etry , m o ck in g p o e try and p o em s that ju d g e the b e a u ty o f the
gath ered w o m en . T he dandan layli p erfo rm ed at the m ahres w ere in turn ju d g e d by ex p erien ced
po ets from am o n g st the g ath ered celeb ran ts. C om p etitio n is n e v er far rem o v ed fro m fun in al-
M ahra. A co u p let from a M ahri p o em q u o ted by B akrlt, “T he Qaslda o f the M ahres” (“JCsldat d-
m a hres”), gives a feel fo r the mahres as a cu ltural in stitu tio n and as a co m p e titiv e arena:
sarh la-srdma S .W .R .W .K .S . II la ’-has ykiin l-tarkarob yasyur

nahgota w -zafyetd (?) la-habii II ylum u teh k-dofafi w a -g b u r 84
T he festival is n ow b eg u n // w h en ev er it occu rs, the [sam e] little fo rm u la is

follow ed.
84 Bakrlt, 1999, 54. I have rendered Bakrlt’s transcription o f the original Mahri text in Arabic characters with as much
accuracy as possible. Unfortunately, the transcription and Bakrit’s paraphrase o f the Mahri original into Arabic are
both problematic. M y translation is based both on Bakrlt’s paraphrase as w ell as what I am able to reconstruct from his
transcription o f the Mahri text.
144
O P eople w ho are p lay in g and d an cin g // they chide [her] w hen [she] arrives and
enters the ring.
In h isto rical reco rd s and in co n tem p o rary sch o larship, w e find an A rabic la n g u ag e an alo g u e
to the dandan layli in the “a fte r-h o u rs” v e rn ac u lar p o e try o f the A rabian b ed o u in , d escrib ed by
Jarg y as th e “co lleg ial sung p o e try th at the B ed o u in s p erfo rm n ightly fo r th e ir e n terta in m e n t o r
that o f th e ir au d ie n c e .” 85 F o r B u rck h ard t, it w as the one th in g he w as certain o f to leav en the
ted iu m o f his d aily routine: “I h ave lik ew ise passed am ong [the B edouin] som e o f the m ost
irk so m e and ted io u s [days], w hen I im p atien tly w atch ed the s u n ’s disk p iercin g th ro u g h th e tent
from its risin g to its setting; fo r I k new th at in the ev en in g som e songs and a d an ce w ould relie v e
m e from m y d ra u g h t p lay in g co m p an io n s.” 86
B u rc k h a rd t’s referen ce is to the sam ri (or sam ir ) p o e try o f A rabian v ern a c u la r p ractice. T his
genre o f p o e try is m o re “e lev ated ” than p u re ly lyric su n g p o etry (the danidan genre, see b elo w ).
R ath er, it en tails th e ch o reo g rap hy o f a chorus, resp o n siv e singing and appro p riately p u b lic-
dom ain ly rics such as w ar ex p lo its and tribal b o a sts.87 S ow ay an describ es it thus: “T he sam ri is
p erfo rm ed at im p o rtan t social ev en ts such as w eddings, and on festive o c casio n s such as ydm al-
cid, o r w h en th e k in g o r so m e h ig h o fficial v isits...T h e sin g ers o f th e sam ri sit on th e sand
form ing tw o lin es facin g each o ther; each line is m ade u p o f ten to tw en ty singers and the lines
are sep arated b y a space about ten feet w ide. The space betw een the lines is rese rv e d fo r the
d an cers.” 88
I h av e n o d o u b t that th e sam ri describ ed by S ow ayan is nearly identical to p e rfo rm an c es o f
th e M ahri dandan layli as it w as en acted during celeb ratio n s o f the mahres. U n fo rtu n ately , I have
no first-hand k n o w led g e o f the m ahres itse lf since the m ahres had fallen out o f p rac tice in the
coastal d istric ts o f al-M ah ra by the tim e I arrived in al-M ah ra fo r m y field w o rk . W edding
celeb ratio n s am o n g st the M ahri tribes, (but not M ahri speakers o f A frican d esce n t), h av e b ec o m e
85 Jargy, 1989, 184.

86 Burckhardt, 1 8 3 1 ,3 5 6 .
87 Jargy, 1989, 184.
88 Sowayan, 1985, 140-141.
145
g en d er seg reg ated in re c e n t years, ren d erin g the p ag ea n t-e sq u e aspect o f the mahres m oot.
D uring th e last m o n th o f m y resid en cy in al-M a h ra , the msdyah o f al-G h ay d h a even b a n n e d the
u se o f tap ed m u sic fo r w o m e n ’s p artie s; they fe lt it w as a n eg a tiv e in flu en ce on w o m e n ’s
m o rality an d d istra c te d th em fro m ch ild -care.
T he fo llo w in g p o e m s are tw o exam p les o f dandan layli. On one h an d , th ese p o em s are
essen tially ly ric-d escrip tiv e: they b o th start out in p ra ise o f a young w om an w hose b ea u ty is
m atch ed b y h e r v irtue. O n th e o th e r h and, the p o e m s m ove into the realm o f social, (but not
trib al), critiq u e. In b o th cases, a you n g M ah ri w om an is approached by a non -M ah ri w ho w ishes
to m arry her. T his, in tu rn , p ro v o k es an ou tcry am o n g st the young m en o f al-M ah ra w ho are
loath to lose such a “p re c io u s re so u rc e,” and th ey o p p o se those enco u rag in g the m atch. H o w ev er,
these tw o p o em s ap p ro ach th is topic in very d ifferen t w ays: one w ith a lig h tly com ic touch and
the o th er in stro n g ly n a tio n a list term s.
C. Dandan layli c o m p o se d and re cited by R ag b o n b irt S acId. reco rd ed in K zavt:
R agbon b eg in s b y p ra isin g the qualities o f G m lla b irt M akdoh and goes on to describ e the
co n test fo r h e r th at arose b etw een G m lla ’s co u sin and h er pet c alf on one hand, and h e r fath er and
S u ltan Q abus o f O m an on th e other. GmTla’s co u sin and h er p et c a lf w ould like h e r stay w ith
th em - it is u n c le a r in w hat c ap acity - w hile G m lla ’s fa th e r w ould lik e h e r to m arry the S ultan
Q ab u s, no d o u b t lo o k in g fo rw ard to a financial and social w indfall. T he topic o f M ahri w om en
w ho h av e b een rem o v ed from the “m a rria g e-m ark e t” by w ealthy A rabs from Saudi A rab ia o r the
G u lf is a recu rren t tro p e in M ahri po etry and p o in ts to a very real social and eco n o m ic disp arity
betw een Y em en and its w e a lth ie r n eig h b o u rs. M ahri w om en are b eliev e d to m ake very good
w ives: they are “u n c o n ta m in a te d ” by u rban liv in g and th u s preserve the 3asdla (“authentic
virtu e”) th at is th e h a llm a rk o f b e d o u in w om en. T hey are thus highly so u g h t after; in d e ed Sultan
146
Q a b u s’ ow n m oth er, and w ife o f the p rev io u s S ultan o f O m an, S acId b in T ay m u r, w as from
D h o far, the g eo g rap h ical c o n tin u atio n o f H a w f.89
T h is elem en t o f so cial-p o litical co m m en tary d istinguishes dandan layli p o etry fro m the
p u rely ly ric danidan p o e try th at follow s; the latte r gen re w ould only focus on the v irtu es o f G m ila
w ith o u t re fe re n ce to the b ro a d e r tensions en g en d ered b y the Sultan Q abus and the y o u n g m en o f
al-M ahra. A t m ost, ly ric p o etry w ould v iew th ese ten sio n s in personal term s, (as an age
d iscrep an cy p erh ap s, o r th e p o e t’s perso n al p en u ry ), b u t not as a part o f b ro a d e r social and
n atio n al tensio n s.
A b sen t from th is dandan layli is the n atio n a list n arrativ e that is fo u n d in a n o th e r dandan
layli p o e m on th e sam e to p ic b y M u h am m ad Sa°d b ir M artayf, (see b elo w ). F o r R ag b o n , G m ila
com es o u t th e “ w in n e r” w h e th e r she is m arried to h e r co u sin o r to the S u ltan , and the d isp u te can
th u s be treated w ith a lig h t to u ch . N ational o r eth n ic h o n o r, (so co m m o n ly located in the sexual
p ro b ity o f w om en in th e A rab M id d le E ast), is n o t at stake here; rath er, the co n flict is lim ited to
th e p atriarch al ru m b lin g s o f G m ila ’s fa th er versus the g en u in e affection o f h e r co usin and p et
calf.
1) gm ila solas hum m ds / / wal rodas beh ydlyd: 90

2) w-tes rahmona azyln / / w -tarhays m a ssoraf tjca 91
3) hugesds batl shayr / / w a-lyed rabbet sura: 92
4) ahhoram w -ber gzom / / l-anhbtar man hal tanka: 93
5) ha:s seh haddds a r h lm // wa-fcder ha tat dd-rwd: 94
6) w -ad al tam or makydg //w a l boddr ate talya: 95
89 Halliday, 1 9 7 4 ,3 1 3 .
solas (2nd pers. fem. past) < S.L.L.: “sal/sallut/yaslul/yaslel: to carry (st. light)...to lift up o ff the ground” (Johnstone,
1987, 379); rodas < R.D.D.: “rad/yardud/yarded: to return; to give back” (ibid., 314); ydlyd: < “azye'/yazye: to
lose; to waste m oney” (ibid., 478).
91 ' A. ' '
m a sso ra f < S.R.F.: “soraf: to honor, respect” (ibid., 383).
92 hugesas < W .G.S.: to arrive before, to beat (in a com petition), Ar. sa b a q a ,fa za , “hawgus/yzhawgus/yahawgay. to
take out (the beasts) in the late afternoon; to bring hom e (the beasts) in the early evening” (ibid., 424)?; sh ayr < S.H.R.:
“sahayr/’s hayr: mountains; the fertile part o f the Dhofar high plateau” (ibid., 377); sura: < W .R .C.: “saw re: to back off,
stand down” (ibid., 429).
93 dhhdrdm < H.R.M.: “hordm /yahordm : to repent; to swear not to do st.” (ibid., 186); gzom < G.Z.Y.:
“gazo/yagozi/yagze\ to prefer, be finished with (man) so., st. to be able to do without” (ibid., 130); l-a n tid td r< H.T.R.:
“xotar/yaxotar: to endanger (b-) so,...saxatar/yasxdfar: to bet with, dare” (ibid., 453); tanka: < N .K .C.:
“nuka/yanuka/yinke: to com e” (ibid., 293).
rwa: < R .W .C.: “a ro w a : to divide st. (as, e.g., meat) into lots for o ’s com panions...rd w a /a rw d : lot; lots that are drawn
for food so that there can be no selfishness or greed between travelling com panions” (ibid., 332).
147
7) w-dn hadlut w a-grut / / sis ‘ad tjcasyan Id: 96
8) sanln ate k-harjedt / / taltuw l thasfar Id: 91
9) w a-m goran hayb w-ljol / / bis llhasyan la: 98
10) ttilbos dr tarz gdld / / w a-ysaklan his canwa
11) w -hokam lls s u s S f// w -qabus d r tes yanka 99
12) dr b ir barret sakub / / w -bir ragbon ahhala: 100
13) °dmurdm gm lla gneh / / tsalmah sawtan la:
14) tawla: d-w uzdm Ik u k // dheb m lzonas yjcd 101
15) dr haybds ber semun / / w -dzum ydjctl'lab tma: 102
16) tajcheram teh b-jcawwet / / w -l-ad hasbam la:
17) wa-h[awram bal sbab / / w -kal da-jcheb assaba: 103
18) °dmur glbam groy / / doma s i d-al ’adalt yjca 104
19) d r sa:lam sodtik ahassak / / wa-m goran arded wa-hma
20) da-nha naslul affajcayl / / w a-shom y d h w a r’dn la: 105
21) d r sa:lam dr d-lfiays / / w al toham mstimna la: 106
— — — — ' ' ' ' 107
22) Dam ur hom hokam aljayr / / hom lasizd manh njca
1) G m lla, y o u h av e raised aloft y o u r n am e, you have not given it up fo r lost

2) T h e M ercifu l m ad e y ou attractiv e and allow ed y o u to be d istin g u ish ed
3) Y o u ’ve o u t-co m p eted the girls o f the m o u n tain s and th o se o f the v illag es stand back
[from th e d an cin g floor]
4) T h ey m ad e an oath and gave it up, [saying]: “w e ’ll n o t co m pete w ith h e r w h en ev e r she
co m es [to d a n c e ].”
5) H er ch eek s are lo v ely and h er stature is as th o u g h som eone had d raw n it b y luck.
6) N o one does m ak e-u p o r p o w d e rs [as good as she] so th at [G m lla] loses
95 _
m akyag < Fr. m aquillage (“m ake-up”); b o d a r < B.D.R .: Ar. b a d r (pi.) budur (“seeds, powder”) or < Mahri B.D.R.:
“bzdor/yabodar/yabder: to win, outstrip” (ibid., 43).
96 hadlut < D.L.W .: “hadlo: to pick st. up” (ibid., 70); gru t < G .R.Y.: “a g o ri: to pass by slow ly” (ibid., 125); tjcasydn <
|C.S.W.: “kaso: (road) to end; to finish; to com e to the end (o f a road)” (ibid., 241), Ar. toms/ li-ah ir al-m isw ar.
zanln: partridge, Yem . Ar. cuqabah, hibarl; taltuw i < L.W .Y.: “la tw i/yaltu w i/ysltdyw : to get bent, bend” (ibid., 258);
thasfar < S.F.R.: “hasfur/yahasfur/yhasfor: to w h istle...asferoh: bird” (ibid., 359).
98 llhasyan < H .S.[V ].: to forbid (under threat o f shame), to deny so., Yem. Ar. “heysa 'a ir = ‘ayb ‘alayya...M ehri
hase” (Landberg, G lossaire D atlnois, 1:4 2 i), Ar. hasak allah, haysak, “hasahu minhum...he exluded him from them”
(Lane, 2:578).
99su sof < W .S.F. (caus.-refl. stem): to receive a description.
100 sakub < C.K.B.: “Jatkab: to be unhappy at having to do sth. but not refuse to do it...sakob: not to be up to st.”
(Johnstone, 1987, 18); ahhala: < H.L.L: to swear ‘no!’ (< neg. particle /a?), “h le /y s h o la '/y a h a h la to adjure” (ibid.,
156).
101 Ikek < L.K.K.: Yem . Ar. "lakk (pi.) lukuk: a very large number [eine seh r grosse Zahl], a hundred thousand [cent
m illiards]” (Landberg, G lossaire D atlnois, 3:2643), < Hindi lakh.
102 _ _ _ _
semun < \M .N .: "sam un /yssam un/yasem m : to believe; to fall in with so ’s w ishes” (Johnstone, 1987, 5); azum <
C.Z.M.: azom /ydzam /ydzem : to decide, intend” (ibid., 39).
103 fh e b < {C.H.B.: "kaheb/yafhob: to com e about 6-9 a.m., com e in the middle o f the day” (ibid., 226); d ssabd: <
S.B.Y.: Yem . Ar., “sa b a : to attack by surprise [attaquer p a r su rprise]...to reconcile, settle a difference [reconcilier,
arran ger un dijferend}" (Landberg, G lossaire D atlnois, 3:1898). The verb makes more sense i f it is actually derived
from C.S.B.: “sa sa b : to join in (a fracas) on the side o f on e’s own people” (Johnstone, 1987, 30).
104 glbam < G .Y .B.: “a g y lb : to leave st. alone, let st. go, drop...agylbl, drop it!” (ibid., 146); g ro y < G.R.Y.:
“garoy/garyeh: talk, speech, language” (ibid., 142).
shorn: expense, settlement, uncertain derivation; y d h w a r’dn < C.W.R.: aw er/yaw er. to hurt....hawer: to hurt” (ibid.,
37).
106 d-lhays < H .Y .S. (?): to refuse, unclear derivation; m sam na < \M .N .: see footnote #102.
107 lasizd < Z .Y .D ., (caus.-reflex, stem); njca < N.JC.Y. (?): com pensation, Ar. m uqabil.
148
7) If she gets u p and g oes sauntering, no n e can go w ith h er to the end [o f h e r p ro m en ad e]
8) [T hey are] like th e p artrid g es in the h eat o f the day that curl up and do n o t sing
9) F u rth er, h e r fa th e r and un cles fo rb id h e r n o thing
10) She alw ays is d ressed in the n ew est fash io n and puts to g eth er outfits o f d ifferen t
types [o f clo th es],
11) T he S u ltan receiv ed a d escrip tio n o f h e r and Q abus decided to ap p ro ach h e r
12) B u t the c o w ’s c a lf w as d istressed and the son o f R ag b o n [(Sim la's co u sin ] sw ore:
“N e v e r!”
13) T hey said: “ G m lla is lik e gu in eas; tell him o u r an sw er is ‘n o ’
14) E ven if they give h e r w eig h t in lakhs o f g o ld .”
15) B u t h e r fa th e r w ent along w ith [the S ultan], resolved on it and turned g reed y
16) So they co n q u ered him by fo rce and d id n ’t take an y th in g in to account
17) A n u m b e r o f yo ung m en show ed up and every o n e w ho cam e, b ecam e allies
18) S aying: “N o m ore talking; th ere are som e things not m e an t to be.
19) S alim [G m lla’s father] tru st y o u r instin cts, and then co m e b ac k and listen,
20) W e ’ll b e a r the w eig ht and the exp en se w ill n o t cripple u s.”
21) B u t S alim still refuses and d o e sn ’t fo llo w th eir counsel,
22) Saying: “1 th in k the S ultan is a b e tte r id ea and w ant to get re co m p en se fro m h im .”
D . D andan lavII w ritten and sung b y O ad i M u h am m ad S a cd h ir M a rta v f al-GidhT. reco rd ed
in O isn:
T o p ically sp eak in g , this p o em is n early identical to the p receding dandan layli b y R ag b o n
b irt Sa°Id: a y o u n g w o m a n ’s b eau ty is p raise d and w ord o f h e r virtues trav e ls b ey o n d al-M ah ra
w here it captures th e atten tio n o f a w ealth y foreig n er. In this case, the in terlo p er is a S audi fro m
R iyadh. T his S audi re so lv e s to m arry h e r and initiates a m assive cam p aig n : telep h o n es ring,
info rm atio n is g ath ered from all p o in ts, an airport is b u ilt and gardens are p lan ted w h ere there
w as once only b lan k , w h ite d esert. E v e ry th in g is set fo r h is success, b u t th e y o u n g m en o f al-
M ah ra refu se to allo w fo reig n en cro ach m en t on a natural reso u rce as p re cio u s as H ays, a “lad y o f
good b lo o d ” [2].
A nd so the m arriag e turns into a n atio n al issue, tran scen d in g the adm in istrativ e b o rd e rs o f
al-M ahra to arrive at the very foot o f G abal S am san , th e ex tinct volcano that loom s o v e r A den.
G abal S am san, th e ico n ic sym bol o f the P D R Y , w ill n o t be m oved and “d o e sn ’t allow h e r h o m e
to be v io lated ” [18]. T he m arriag e p ro p o sed b y the S audi from R iyadh challen g es n atio n al
sovereignty, and th e crisis is referred to the realm o f international law w here “all the n a tio n s have
149
m ad e p a c ts [to p reserv e] w hat is u n d er eac h ” [17]. T he p ertinence o f the em b ro g lio , and the
n a tio n a listic rh eto ric th at it u n leash es, is d o u b tless tied to the conflicts in the 7 0 ’s and 8 0 ’s
b etw een S audi A ra b ia and th e P D R Y o v er the oil re serv e s that b o th n atio n s h o p ed w ere lo c ated
u n d e r th e ir b o rd ers. O p p o sitio n to the m arriag e com es from “the m a sse s” ( gdm hur ), a term
re d o le n t w ith n atio n alist-M arx ist rh eto ric o f th e P D R Y , and th eir resp o n se tak e s the fo rm o f
arm ed resisten ce: “T h e ir v ig o r b u rst forth and th e ir w e ap o n s w ere b ro u g h t o u t fro m sto rag e //
h ead in g u p w ard s to g et read y fo r the en em y ” [16-17]. The m ilitarism o f the M ah ra in this dandan
la yll h as n o th in g to do w ith the p lain tiv e p ro te statio n s o f G m lla’s co u sin and h e r p et c a lf in the
dandan layll by R ag b o n : “ G m lla is like guineas; tell him o u r an sw er is ‘n o ’ // even if they give
h e r w eig h t in lakhs o f g o ld ” [ 13-14].
In short, th e p o a c h in g o f M ahri w om en is presen ted by M u h am m ad and R ag b o n w ith tw o
v ery d ifferen t sen sitiv ities. F ro m R a g b o n ’s p e rsp ec tiv e, G m lla ’s d ecisio n is fam ily m atte r since
th e tw o o p p o sin g cam p s lie w ithin h er im m ed iate fam ily circle: h e r c o u sin and p et c a lf on one
side and h e r fa th e r on th e o th er. F o r M u h am m ad b ir M artayf, H a y s’ co u rtsh ip is a d ram a o f
in tern atio n al sig n ifican ce sin ce the Saudi from R iyadh in frin g es upon the national reso u rces o f
th e P D R Y and th reaten s th e cu sto m o f en o g am o u s m arriag e in al-M ahra.
It is in terestin g to n o te that in neith er o f th ese tw o p o em s does the o b ject o f th e fuss, G m lla
o r H ays, h av e m u ch to say. T hey are silent o b servers w hile co n troversy surges around them .
P resu m ab ly , the final w o rd lies w ith them , and since n eith er poem arriv es at this p o in t in the
n arrativ e, w e are left in su spense. P erhaps m ore cy n ically , th e ir resp o n se is a foregone
co n clu sio n d ep en d in g on th e v iew o f the poet: can w e actu ally im agine th at H ays w ill b etra y her
k in sm e n and n atio n b y m arry in g a S audi, o r th at G m lla prefers the O m ani S ultan to the g en u in e
affectio n o f h er co u sin and h e r p et calf?
— _ __ _ jQQ
1) sin l-hays sin l-hays / / moti tayt man hson
108 sin l-hays: “ya sin for H ays.” “ Ya sin” is a blessing for protection based on the “m ysterious letters” o f the Q ur’an:
ya sin. This exclamation is com m only heard in Hadramawt and is likely linked to popular reverence for the Pre-Islamic
150
2) bcilit addam agid / / wa-m agbbds d:r mkon 109
3) natjf w d-groy d-m dns / / h a ahaw bar dd-m zon
4) Id: tkus srah hta ' //w -ta m yeza h man mkon 110
5) te s cudl man d ry a d / / hal ysokan w-yadhdn 111
6) slham heh blog / / w -am or la-boh nkon 112
7) bar aw alm am heh m tar / / w a-m °aw dan haydon 113
8) barqiya bar a g y lt//w a -h b e r man kal mkon 114
9) w-atum d l-sra yf/ / hd-m~d:rdJ w -baston 115
10) w a-gw obl a n tw u r //h a :l khen lajca Ibon 116
11) ma:kan d-gam hur b n u f / / w a-sbab l-ham ton 117
12) boll ydshll w -gayb / / w a-srlyat m hadfon
— — J18
13) has dw a\h attam n / / attaboba yam hon
14) rdttad ba-m haw m dl kdl / / sa ’b kallah heh w-fcom 119
15) hw et staljcot / / w a-sldh mahzon 120
16) hatreyd hattalayn / / m td cad d l lutlom 121
17) bar °dssdb la-dw el / / wa-yfca nhall m on 122
18) d-sam sen m hagrayb / / la: tduram aflion 123
19) w-la:kan tw otl la: / / mlreh wlu mlon 124
m oon god Sin, w hose worship was w idely spread in Hadramawt. MotJ < M.T.W.: stature, Ar. qam at al-bin t, “palm
frond [rameau de p a lm ie r]” (Landberg, G lossaire D atm ois, 3:2701).
109 m agobas < C.G.B. + poss. suffix: remarkable (qualities); a rm k o n : Ar. bi-la m attl, m a laha makan.
tkus < K .S .\: “kiiss/yakusa: to find, m eet” (Johnstone, 1987, 215); man mkon: anywhere, Ar. ’a y y makan.
111 yadhon: to live (in a place), uncertain derivation.
slham < S.H.M .: Class. Ar. “sa yya h a : to bring to the attention o f so., to make so. aware [rendre attentif,
circon spect]” (Landberg, G lossaire D atm ois, 3:2105); nkon < N.K.L: “nuka/yanuka.yinke: to com e” (Johnstone, 1987,
293).
113
‘ mâwdan (ptcpl.) < C.D.D.: “h a d o d : to make ready” (ibid., 11); haydon < Y.D.N.: “ysdin (hayden, haydon): new ”
(ibid., 461).
114 agylt < G.W .T.(?): to confirm, uncertain derivation. H agg had difficulty interpreting the initial hem istich o f this line
and arrived at a number o f very different “readings” for this last word, agylt.
115 atiim: fields, uncertain derivation; disrayf: channels, uncertain derivation. Like the previous line, H agg had trouble
interpreting the first hem istich. H agg rejected his initial impression, which seemed better suited to the vocabulary:
“they spent the night (working) and he covered the cost” (< C.T.M.: “h atom /yshatom : to spend the night” [ibid., 33] and
S.R.F.: “saruf/yasawrgf: to be econom ical...use carefully, ration out; to spend” [ibid., 366]).
116 g w o b l < G.B.Y.: “gebyat/yaw obi: pond, round cistern” (ibid., 113); khen < K.H.N.: “kahen: (us. poet.) old times,
ancient days, long ago” (ibid., 206).
117 a n u f< N.F.Y.: to refuse; hamton < M .T.N.: having a strong back, Yem. Ar. du w l ’am tan gam lla.
yam hon < M .H.N.: “m shan/yom hon: to give so. bad news; to disturb so. while he is working; to sadden” (ibid., 263).
rdttad < R .D .D ., here, “to echo”; m hawm al: luggage, baggage, Yem . Ar. simdn. It is unclear to m e how “m haw m dF
should be understood in this line; H agg was unable to find a satisfactory interpretion o f this phrase and left it
unexplained.
120 _ _
hwet < H.W .Y.: desire, energy, Ar. quwa; staljtot < T.L.JC.
Jjatreya < H.T.R.: “En m eh ri hator, se p rom en er p a r ci, p a r la, flaner, rdder....Yst'dbe hatara, avancer, est apparente
au mehri hoter, dessous, en bas, et que veritablement hatar veut dire hinuntergehen, d escen dre” (Landberg, G lossaire
D atlnois, 1:612). This word, hatreyd, appears to have the function o f a modal auxiliary in Mahri: “[they] might, it is
possible that,” synonym ous with Ar. yumkin and ihtimal. H attalayn < T.L.L: “hatle/yahatawla ’: to put up, take up”
(Johnstone, 1 9 87,409); lutlom < W .L.M .: “owtolum /yawtallm sn/yswtalom : to be prepared (food); to be prepared, on o ’s
guard” (ibid., 429).
T? 2 _ _
’assab < C.S.B.: “Jassob: to be tied”; n h a ll< N.H.L.: “m x a li: under, underneath” (ibid., 308). The proposition
“under” figuratively refers to the rights possessed by every sovereign nation and literally refers to the oil reserves that
were believed to lie beneath the PDRY.
123 • _
m hagrayb < G .R.B.: “hagrob: to cause so. to know ” (ibid., 140); tdiirdm < D .[V ].R .: “their hom es”(?). wafhon <
W.T.H.: to be broken apart, uncertain derivation. H agg had difficulty interpreting this line and came up with a number
o f different possibilities.
124 tw o tl< W .T .1.: Yem . Ar. “ta w a tta ’a: to humble o .s.” (Piamenta, 2:526); mlreh < M .R.H.(?): plate, platter, uncertain
derivation, < Ar. mi Hah (“mirror”)?
151
20) fojcat ba-hro yres / / w a-nhat handw on 125
1) Yd Sin fo r H ays, Yd Sin fo r H ays, a sin g le b ran ch from a sturdy tree

2) A lady o f g o o d b lo o d w hose good qu alities have no equal
3) H er co n v ersatio n and v o ice are like the rep o rt o f a w eighing scale
4) Y ou find n o fault b eh in d h er, th o u g h y o u should m ark the m easu re an y w here.
5) E v en to a Saudi fro m R iy ad h , in the p lac e w here he lives and dw ells,
6) T h ey b ro u g h t h e r d escrip tio n and he announced: “L e t’s go th ere!”
7) T h ey m ad e an airp o rt fo r h im and gifts ju s t prep ared ,
8) H e co n firm ed it b y w alk ie-talkie and rec eiv ed in fo rm atio n fro m all p o in ts.
9) In the irrig ated field s [around the airp o rt], th ey readied farm s and gardens
10) P o o ls o f w ater b lo sso m ed w here once it w as only w hite.
11) B ut th e m asses refu sed , y o ung m en w ith strong b acks,
12) A p eo p le [for w hom ] d iscretio n is easy and w ho keep secrets buried.
13) L ike a groan th at arises and d istu rb s the doctors
14) It echoed in every load (?), th ro u g h all o f the p eo p le and the nation.
15) T h eir v ig o r b u rst forth and th e ir w eapons w ere b ro u g h t out from storage,
16) T hey m ig h t tak e th e m up and get read y fo r th e enem y.
17) A ll the n atio n s are b o u n d [to p reserve] w hat is u n d er each,
18) A nd G abal S am san is w ell k n o w n , she d o e s n ’t allow h e r h o m e to b e violated.
19) S he w ill n ev er su b m it to another, even if the p la tte r is filled (w ith en ticem en ts),
20) H er p o sitio n is fix ed and can even turn aw ay iron.
IV . Dandan Tanwll - W o m e n ’s D an ce P oetry:
A d istin ct subset m ay b e co rd o n ed o ff fro m the rest o f dandan layll p o etry: dandan tanwll,
th e d an cin g -so n g s o f y o u n g w om en. R eferrin g to th eir su b ject by n am e, dandan tanw ll p oem s
ad um brate th e virtues o f a y o u n g girl w ho is n o t yet m arriag ab le, and express h e r su p erio rity over
the o th e r y o u n g g irls o f h er g en eratio n . T hese p o em s are n e v e r perfo rm ed “o ff-th e -c u ff’ b u t are
given as g ifts from p a re n ts to th e ir d au g hters. If the p a re n ts’ poetic skills are n o t up to the task,
they w ill co m m issio n a tanwll p o em from a m ore d istin g u ish e d poet. O nce p u rc h ased and
reco rd ed on au d io tap e, th e p o em b ecom es the y o ung w o m a n ’s p ro p erty and is h er sig n atu re piece
in the d an cin g -circle, the m ddrdt ,126 S ince dandan tanw ll poem s are co nceived and offered to
th e ir su b ject as a w hole un it, th ese p o em s can truly b e said to be tex t-b ased and su b ject to the
125 _
fojccit < W .F.R.: position, agreement; y res < R.S.W .: “ftarsii/y.ihdrdys/yjh dr.s". to anchor; to stay in one place”
(Johnstone, 1987, 328); nhat < Ar. N.H .W .: nah haw a?
126 Hag supports his family by taking com m issions o f this type. O nce Hagg has com posed the poem , he records it on
audiotape as a blank text, (nafarl), which he gives to the young girl’s m other who then adds a m elody, (talhiri),
according to her own tastes.
152
sam e critical stan d ard s o f a literate, tex t-b ased p o e m . T his ren d ers dandan tanw ll so m ew h at
u n iq u e in th e o th erw ise oral and fluid co m p o sitio n o f M ahri poetry.
T he fem ale su b ject o f a tanwll p o em is b elo w the age o f m arriage; it is therefo re p erm issib le
to describe h e r as a p h y sical entity, (and n o t sim ply a b u n d le o f m oral and re lig io u s v alu es), and
to w atch as she d an ces to a sung ren d itio n o f h e r ow n poem . T he p e rfo rm a n c e o f the tanw ll w as
once a re g u la r p a rt o f th e m ahres celebration. O nce “official b u sin e ss” ( ragzlt and dandan) w as
taken care o f, each girl w o u ld e n te r the mdorat as h e r p o em w as su n g , and th en b e ju d g e d fo r h e r
grace, b ea u ty and th e m erit o f th e p o em itself. W h ile p o etic m aydanl ex c h an g es are th e prim ary
m eans o f su b lim atin g m ascu lin e co m p etitiv en e ss, M ahri w om en are dep icted in p o e try as
co m p etin g n o less en th u siastically in the mddrat. T he ju d g e m e n t fo r the first ran k is very m u ch a
p u blic affair, w ith th e ju d g e s th em selv es offerin g th eir o p inion in dandan verses.
S ig n ifican tly , tanw ll p o em s share th e characteristic m eter o f ragzlt p o etry , d esp ite b ein g
strictly b ip a rtite .127 D ue to th e ir m etrical eq u iv alen ce to ragzlt, tanwll p o em s can b e sung to the
ch aracteristic m elo d y (lahn) o f ragzlt, w h ich , as w e h av e seen in C h a p te r 3 , is th e cue fo r p u b lic ,
m aydanl p o etry . In d eed , the p erfo rm an ce o f tanw ll p oem s is geared to a larg e aud ien ce o f m ixed
m en and w om en at th e m ahres and req u ires a p o et, a chorus, a dancer, ju d g e s and an a p p reciativ e
audience. U n lik e all o th e r m aydanl p erfo rm a n ces, how ever, tanw ll p o e m s are th em atic ally lyric
since they featu re th e d escrip tio n and p raise o f a young w om en (w a sf and madh bint). T his
discrepancy b etw een in tim ate to pic and p u b lic p erfo rm an ce is resolved by g arbing the ta n w ll’s
ly ric co n ten t in the reg alia o f ragzlt. F o rm ally sp eaking, a tanwll p o em ca n n o t b e co n fu sed w ith
th e p u rely in tim ate p o etics o f sentim ent and th erefore rem ains an a ccep tab le form o f p u b lic gazal.
A lth o u g h it has o n ly survived in al-M ah ra in very rece n t m em ory, the p u b lic d an cin g o f
yo ung w om en w as not u n h eard o f fo r o th e r A rabian v ern acu lar trad itio n s either. In o lder
The stichs o f both rcigzit and tartwij poem s follow the same pattern: I v- I, although the number o f iterations
differs for each: ragzlt - x3 and tanw lj - x2.
153
acco u n ts o f A rab ia, w e fin d co g n ate cu ltural p ra c tic e s to the M ahri tanwll. T u rn in g o n ce again to
B u rck h ard t, w e find the fo llo w in g account:
T h e m esam er are g en eral th ro u g h o u t the D esert, b u t alm o st every trib e d iffers in the m ode
o f sin g in g them . T h e so n g is often co m p o sed ex te m p o re , and rela tes to th e b ea u ty and
q u a litie s o f the girl w ho d an ces: if the y o u n g m en are at hom e in the cam p, th ey co n tin u e
th e like mesam er, fo r m o n th s together, every n ig h t. M arried m en and w om en so m etim es
jo in ; y o u n g m en often w alk at n ig h t a d istan c e o f som e hours, and b a c k again, th at they
m ay en jo y th e m esam er o f a n e ig h b o u rin g c a m p .128
T h e m esam er d escrib ed b y B u rck h ard t b ears a clo se sim ilarity to the M ahri tanw ll in th at a
you n g w om an is sin g led o u t fo r p o etic p ra ise , she p e rfo rm s a solitary d an ce w h ile h e r p raise is
literally sung. T he o rig in al co n tex t o f the m esam er and the M ahri tanw ll m ay b e trian g u lated
from an account related b y S o w ayan. A g ain , re ferrin g to an o ld er cu stom , S o w ay an describ es a
cu sto m o f y o u n g w o m en e n te rin g th e d an c e flo o r ( m aV abah ):
S om e o f the p o e ts I in te rv iew e d said they re m em b e red in th e ir y o u n g d ay s w hen m en and

w om en u sed to sin g and p lay to g eth er in p o e tic d u elin g . T his is called al-khleti, “m ixed
p la y .” W h en th e d u elin g gets g oing, “ ila cam ar a l-li‘b,” a b eau tifu l lass steps in to the
p lay g ro u n d an d starts d an cin g , h e r h a ir u n p la ite d and h o lding a rattan cane. A fter she gets
tired an o th er o n e steps in , and so o n ...A ctu a lly , b efo re she steps in to the m a lcabah a
fic titio u s p rice is p a id to h e r fa th e r o r b ro th e r to le t h e r dance. A p o e t o f rep u ta tio n co u ld
refu se to step in to th e m a lcabah b efo re a hashi [a b e d o u in dancing girl] is b ro u g h t in. The
hashi h e rse lf m ay b e c o m e the topic o f p o etic e x c h a n g e .129
B ased on these a c co u n ts, w e can ex trap o late an ev o lu tio n ary path th at en d s in the cultural
p ractice o f th e tanw ll as w as p e rfo rm e d in al-M ah ra u n til very recently. S tarting w ith
S o w a y a n ’s acco u n t, w e h av e th e genre o f the khleti- g e n re w hich featu red a y o u n g w om an
dan cin g seco n d arily to a p o e tic p erfo rm an ce, (S o w a y a n ’s hashi), w ho b e co m es the to p ic o f a
po etic exch an g e. T his second stage is ev id en t fro m B u rc k h a rd t’s account o f the m esdm er in
w hich th e to p ic o f th e p o em and the y o u n g w om en d an cin g are one and the sam e. T his reaches
its cu lm in atio n in the M ahri tanw ll w here the su b ject-d an c er is also the “o w n e r” o f the po em ; in a
sense, the subject, the p o e m and the d an ce are all one and the sam e.
E. ( D iw an : J ) Tanwil dandan by H agg D akon fo r his d a u g h ter Fatan:
128 Burckhardt, 1 8 3 1 ,2 5 7 .
129 Sowayan, 1989, 166.
154
H agg has w ritten a n u m b e r o f dandan tanwll', this is a large p a rt o f h is p ractic e as a
p ro fessio n al ly ricist. T y p ically , rev ealin g the nam e o f the subject o f a dandan tanw ll sh o u ld not
b e a p ro b le m . H o w ev er, H agg asked th at I n o t use his d a u g h ter’s fo r p u b lica tio n and su b stitu ted
th e iso m etric “F a ta n ” fo r h e r real nam e. T he id e n tity o f H a g g ’s d a u g h te r is no secret in al-
G h ay d h a, b u t H ag g w as w o rried about it beco m in g know n by co m p lete strangers.
1) kaw ll ba-w rlt w -Fatan / / gaw tdn wa-m astlbahutdn 130

2) tnazzayfan hazw aym dt / / wd- 'azur mahtidyutan 131
3) w a-d-ba:r halrut m ddrat / / tahgos hargutan 132
4) w d-tlot assiyyat kam lat / / llsan wa-l-nahgutan 133
5) ball ha:s ahhodl zayna / / w -hdm ur mahhidyutan 134
6) wazm lsan jcasm zoyad / / la-ffwdra d-gagnutan 135
7) mokan da-w rlt ngarbds / / w al nha m affisrutan
8) w -Fatan jahkats borajc / / w-ayantan dahsutan 136
9) w a-d-ba:r sahyath Fatan / / yahne agarhutan 137
1)1 say: F a tin and th e m oon are sisters, the one lik e the other,
2) T h ey sp lit th e n ig h t-w atch es eq ually and share the night.
3) W h ic h e v e r o n e app ears on the d an cing g round, she outsh in es the rest even if they are
ju s t m arried
4) A n d sn atch es aw ay all the talk, from them and fro m those w ho are d ancing.
5) W h en G od d iv id ed b eauty am ongst w om en and co m m an d ed his d istrib u tin g [angels],
6) H e gave [F atin and the M oon] the greater share, [even m ore] than [all] the supple,
g raceful w om en.
7) C o n cern in g th e m oon, w e k n o w m uch about it and w e are n o t going to d escrib e it
8) B u t F atin , h e r sm ile is like a flash o f lightning and her eyes dazzle
9) W h o e v e r h as p assed a g reeting w ith Fatin forgets all the others.
130 _ _
w r it< \R .: “h a -rit: m oon...(B ed. haw rit) ' (Johnstone, 1987, 7); gaw tdn < G.W.: “gayt/gaw tan : sister” (ibid., 145);
m astibahutan < S.B.H .: “satbah : to be like oa., look alike” (ibid.. 371).
131
tnazzayfan < N.S.F.: “hansawf.: to be fair, treat justly” (ibid., 300); hazw aym at < Z.[V].M .: zam (pi.) zom: periods o f
tim e that the night is broken into, Yem . Ar. “zam: tim e {temps)" (Landberg, G lossaire D atinois, 3:1878); °a zu r<
C.S.R.: “âsarFasor: night” (Johnstone, 1987, 31), m ahtidyutan < H .D .Y.: “ehtodi/ahtadyam : to divide amongst oa.”
(ibid., 153).
132 v ✓ _ _s _,
tahgos < W .G.S.: to surpass (in com petition), to take, A r. faz.a, “hawgus/yshswgus: to take out (the beasts) in the late
afternoon; to bring hom e (the beasts) in the early evening” (ibid., 424); hargutan (sing.) h arget < H.R.G.: dancing
women who are only recently married and thus considered to be in the peak o f their beauty.
" nahgutein < N.H.G.: “nahag/ydnohag/yanhag: (w om en) to dance, (men) to be at leisure” (ibid., 291).
134 ahh odl < H.D.Y.: “h o d i: to divide, share out” (ibid., 152); h o m u r< LM.R.
m Jwdra (pi.) < F.R.' .: Ar. far'd (y>\.) fa w a r ic.
136 dahsutan < D .H .S.: Ar. mudhis.
137
sahyath < H .W .Y . (caus. refl. stem + obj. suff.): to pass a greeting, to say hello, (< hayy wa-sahla'.); ydhne < N .H .Y .
(caus. stem): to cause so. to forget, “nayhi: to forget, leave (st.) behind..,(he)nhu/yinhey/yinne" (ibid., 290-91),
agarhutan < G.Y.R.: “g ah or/garh et/garh otm : second, another, other” (ibid., 148).
155
F. Tanwil dandan b y R agbon birt S cid fo r T m a birt S cid b ir G and:
1) ggutan ber trok / / fa h ret w -l-ad 'd k S f 138

2) man hd:s 3ajcrot tma / / ad m adhas b er s l d f 139
3) d-m akan bis arhlm / / l-ad fayras te y s u s d f 140
4) jcndts birt hmdd / / b -la tf w -ta r h d f 111
5) ba-nhir th a w la fh ls / / w al ’dsdr ts u k d f 142
6) nhats his hre / / w a-lbats harjcafot 143
7) w -fam al seh gansayt / / wa-bden m h a g d a ld t 144
8) lag red tm a3 tajcm er// man hal d-asot n a h g o t 145
9) man m et haddut lilat / / w-bojcT hansalot 146
10) w -w udam bis dw el / / w-kal b er seham sfot
11 ) dr bir °arman hla / / w a-m latya ber brok 147
12) hajchob casrln bkur / / w-man thob g z d f xn
13) rayt tarham horam seh / / wa-m go kteb ham lok 149
1) T h e g irls h a v e ab an doned th e ir p rid e and no lo n g er g ath er th e ir h air in a bun

2) S ince T m a c has grow n up, h e r p raise h a s already p reced ed [her]
“a kof < C.K.F.: Yem . Ar. Ucakfa/cukfa, pi. cakaf. coiffure” (Landberg, G lossaire D atm ois, 3:2317).
139 ’afaot < c.fC R.: ajcdwr/yawkar: to be, becom e big, grow up” (Johnstone, 1987, 20).
140 ysu sd f < W .S.F.: to describe sth. or so.
1 (tndti (3ld fern. sing. + d.o. suffix) < JC.N.N.: verbal derivative from “jcmnawn, fanner, child; little, young” (ibid.,
232); ta rh o f < R.LF.: Ar. r a 3u f “En cOman, ’arhafa est d e ve n irp a u vre...= ta ra y h a f’ (Landberg, G lossaire D atlnois,
2:1485).
th a w la f< H.1..F.: “hazzawf/yahazzawf: to sit cross legged” (Johnstone, 1987, 199); ’dsiir < C.S.R.: '' 'dsar/'asor,
3a sdw r: night” (ibid., 31); tsukdf < W .K.F.: “sawkuf/y3S3wkuf: to sleep, go to sleep, lie dow n” (ibid., 426). A verb
derived from the same stem , hswkuf/hswkefk, means “to let so. ill rest on your breast” (ibid., 425), and forms a nice pair
with the first hemistich: during the day, she sits in her mother’s crossed lap and at night, she rests her head on her
mother’s breast.
143 nhats < Ar. N.H.T.: to fashion, hew (in equal proportions)? I would have expected to find l-st as the object suffix
for this verb and the follow ing verb, and not the personal, 2 nd fern, suffix /-s/, which w e have here. Translated
according to the latter, these two verbs would be addressed directly to the mother o f Tma. Harjcafot < R.K.F.f?):
(Gibbali) “h orqofot: waist” (Nakano, 1986, 8).
fam < F.'.M .: “fe m ,fa w m : foot, leg” (Johnstone, 1987, 87); gansayt < G .N .S.: “gaynss/ysgn ds: to be bent, twisted”
(ibid., 139); m hagdcilot < G.D.L.: tresses, Yem . Ar. “gaddala: to plait o .’s hair [tre sse rle s cheveux]’’ (Landberg,
G lossaire D atm ois, 1:271). The translation “w ell-arranged” is the closest possible fit I could find a m odifier for “her
body” [bden]; the fact that the two rest uneasily with each other leads m e to suspect that “bden” may be a m istake in
the transmission.
U5lagred: in order to, < Ar. li-garad: for the purpose (of)?; tafaner < JLM.R.: “fam u r/yafaw m ar: to beat in a game,
win; to surpass” (Johnstone, 1987, 231); a so t < C.S.S.: “ ’as/yasos: to rise, get up” (ibid., 31); nah got < N.H.G.:
“nahag/ysnohag: (wom en) to dance, (m en) to be at leisure, (children) to play” (ibid., 291).
haddut < H .D .D.: [dancing] area, Yem. Ar. “ ’s a ‘ruha murha ‘aid al-fara li-h a d d i3aq d a m : her unbound hair [fell]
onto the ground in the space before her feet’...floor, earth, ground [so/, terre, terroir]” (Landberg, G lossaire D atm ois,
1:566); hlat < H.L.[W ]: “xayli, xalyut: to be em pty” (Johnstone, 1987, 442); hansalot < N.S.L.: “n ssu l: (unfastened
clothes) to fall dow n...to feel com pletely exhausted...hm sul: to lower slow ly” (ibid., 300).
hid < H.L.W .: “xalay, xalayysf. unmarried, bereaved” (ibid., 443); m latya < L.W .Y.: to turn towards so., to wend o ’ s
way, “latw i/yaltuw i: to get bent, bend” (ibid., 258).
148 hafh ob < JC.H.B.: “hajchub: to bring the animals back at midday out o f the sun” (ibid., 226); thob < T.H.B.: “p h o b :
herd (o f about 100 cam els)” (ibid., 408); gzof. he took, < G.Z.F.: “gazfun signifies the taking a thing...or the taking
largely, or copiou sly and it is [from] a Persian word” (Lane, 2:420).
j49 _
tarham < “rdham: to be kind to so.” (Johnstone, 1987, 32J); horam < “w oram t def. horam/hayrem
(f.): road; way to obtain satisfaction” (ibid., 7); hdm ldk < M.L.K.: “hdmluk/yahsmluk: to give legal possession o f a w ife
in a marriage contract” (ibid., 266).
156
3)She has a b u n d an t b eau ty , no one ex ceed s h e r in d escrip tio n .
4)B irt H m ed raised h e r in gen tlen ess and w ith grace
5)D u rin g th e d ay, she k ep t h e r in h e r la p and at n ig h t stayed up fo r her
6)[B irt H m ed] m ad e h e r head ro u n d and m ade sure h e r h ip s g rew ev en ly and solid
7)H er leg s are n o t at all crooked and h e r bo d y is kep t w ell arranged
8)So that T m a c co u ld be the w in n er w h en e v er she gets up to dance.
9)A t that tim e th e [dancing] ground is left em p ty , and as fo r the o th e r girls, she leaves
them stan d in g o ff to the side
10) E very co u n try k n o w s o f her and o f all the w ays they have o f d e sc rib in g her.
11) B ut n o w th e son o f cA rm an is un m arried and tu rn e d [tow ards her] w ith h o b b le d
cam els [for a dow ry]
12) H e b rin g s 2 0 u n -b red fem ale cam e ls that he has taken fro m h is am ple herds.
13) W o u ld that they k eep the roads op en fo r him and that F ate giv e h e r to him !
V . D anidan - L v ric-T h em ed P oetry:
A t th e fa r en d o f th e sp ectru m o f b ip artite p o e try is p u re ly lyric v erse. T his is th em atic
p o etry in its essence: it av o id s h istorical to p icality , fo reg ro u n d s in tim ate em o tio n and, in the
absen ce o f any e x p lic itly n am ed actors, it offers universal depictions o f lov e-sick n ess, rep ro ach
and affection. T h ese are th e th em es that ch aracterize A rabian lyric p o e try in co n trast to the topics
o f trib al-h isto rical o d es. T h e ly ric genre o f th e b ip a rtite b ran ch show s th e w id est deg ree o f
m etrical and m usical v ariatio n ; it is also the genre m ost read ily adaptable to d ifferen t m odes o f
p erfo rm an ces. L y ric p o e try m ay b e sung co llec tiv ely , reco rd ed on au d io tap e fo r in d iv id u al
p erfo rm an ces o r ju s t h u m m ed to oneself, w here it rem ain s a strictly p riv a te m atter. T he d ifficu lty
o f rend erin g a strict classificatio n o f ly ric, su n g -p o etry has been noted by Jargy fo r the o ther
p o etic system s o f b e d o u in A rabia. W ith reg ard to lyric sam ri sung-poetry, he w rites:
“C o n seq u en tly , w e h av e tod ay, as in B u rc k h a rd t’s n in eteen th cen tu ry , a great v ariety o f

Sam ri w hose sp ecificatio n s depend on the g e o g rap h ical, social, o r eth n ic o rig in s o f the po ets
and sin g ers...F in ally , o n e co uld co n sid er the fu n d am en tal characteristics o f the Sam ri as being
essen tially th o se o f choral song, w ith a specific co llectiv e execu tio n m ode and d an ce
m ovem ents. In such an ev o lv in g field, one should be very careful n o t to fo rm u late ab so lu te
rales o r to p re se n t as an au th o ritativ e syn th esis w hat is essen tially c h an g eab le.” 150
W h ile the c h aracteristics o f the sam ri p re sen ted by Jarg y d iffer slig h tly from m y ow n
c ateg o rizatio n o f p u rely ly ric, b ip artite po etry - sam ri are alw ay s choral and thus m ore akin to
150 Jargy, 1989, 184.
157
dandan layll - th e p o in t h o ld s tru e non eth eless: ly ric, su n g -poetry is m o st d iffic u lt to classify . In
short, it is e a sie r to defin e a specific ty p e o f p e rfo rm a n c e than it is to d eriv e an o v erarch in g
tax o n o m y . T h is la tte r can only b e ach iev ed th ro u g h the com p ariso n o f local and reg ional
v ariatio n s o f th e A rabian p o e tic cu lture, a task th at the M ahri d ata is p artic u la rly w ell suited
fo r.151
It is the p u rely ly ric g en re o f b ip artite p o e try th at A l H a fiz has in m ind fo r h is c ateg o ry o f
“ m v f ’ p o etry , and describ es it as “attaining the h ig h est degree o f refin em e n t [al-riqqa ] and
d elicacy [al-rihafa] and m ost suited to m usical en jo y m en t [al-tarab ], so th a t it m ay b e sung to
beau tifu l, to u c h in g m elo d ies, in d iv id u a lly o r in g ro u p s.” 152 T he p a ram o u n t ro le o f m usic and
singing in lyric p o etry w as stressed to m e by °A1I N asir B a lh a f w ho referred to it as s i'r sa m a cl
(“p o etry fo r liste n in g ”). H e felt that the defin in g c h arac teristic o f s i cr s a m a l w as th at it co u ld be
reco rd ed on au d io tap es and sold in m u sic stores fo r listen in g p leasu re at h o m e o r in the car. I
h av e reco rd ed p e rfo rm an ces o f ly ric p o em s that w ere b o th recited and sung, one a fte r the other,
w ith the p o e t-p e rfo rm er p lay in g the role o f both p o et and sin g e r.153 In short, th e attrib u te o f
“sama^T’ p u lls ly ric p o etry in to the realm o f the p e rso n al and in tim ate at v a rian ce w ith the
p articip ato ry , m aydanl (“c o lle c tiv e” ) p e rfo rm a n ces o f ’dd l wa-krem krem, dandan and dandan
layll.
L y ric p o e try in al-M ahra m ay allude to a narrativ e reco g n iz eab le to an au d ien c e fa m ilia r
w ith th e p o e t’s ro m an tic h isto ry ; o th erw ise, the c ircu m stan ces m ay n eed to b e exp lain ed
b efo reh an d . H agg felt th at th e b est ly ric po etry c o n tain ed a story w ith a b eg in n in g , m id d le and an
end. F o r this reason, H agg lab elled lyric poetry nass jcsulcit (“sto ry -qaslda”). T he p re sen c e o f a
151 Because o f its isolation from the Arabic poetic system s o f the Arabian Peninsula, Mahri poetry makes a perfect
testing sample for the classificatory schem a developed by Sow ayan, Jargy, et al. It is as though Jargy had al-Mahra in
mind when he wrote: “More m odestly, w e should limit observation and analysis to the sam ples recorded and studied on
their own, but also compare them to other sam ples so diversified in this area o f the P en in su la” (ibid., 185, italics mine).
152 Ibid., 72. A l HafTz overlooks non-lyric dandan poetry in his classificatory scheme o f tripartite ragzlt vs. bipartite
lyric poetry.
153 A tape-cassette o f H agg’s lyric sung-poem s was released while 1 was in al-Ghaydha, sung by none other than Hagg
him self. The poem “Sm l-Hays, Sin l-H ays” was initially rendered in song; it was subsequent to the musical
performance that the poet recorded the lyrics for m e as a nafari recitation.
158
sequential n arrativ e is one o f th e c h ie f h allm ark s that d istin g u ish “in n o v ativ e ” ly ric p o etry
co m p o sed b y H ag g from th e “tra d itio n al” ly ric p o e try com posed by o th e rs .134 T he d ev elo p m en t
o f narrativ e in M ah ri ly ric p o etry is p aralleled b y d ev elo p m en ts in A rab ic v ern ac u lar lyric p o e try
w h ere p o e ts “h av e created a very m o d e m genre o f S a m ri m ore in tu n e w ith urb an
au d ien ces...[th ese] p o p u la r songs are called mutawwara ( ‘e v o lv e d ’).” 133
T he p h ra se nass ksidat as a label fo r n arrativ e ly ric po etry is re ally only used b y H agg. In
co n v en tio n al n o m en clatu re, lyric or sentim ental b ip a rtite poetry is n a m e d after its sy llab ic
structure. A m o n g st th e p o ets I w orked w ith, ly ric p o e try in al-M ahra w as m o st gen erally referred
to as danidan. T h is label not only p o in ts to a th em atic verse type, b u t it also dem o n strates its
m o st co m m o n m etrical foot: 1- I (D A N -i-D A N ). In a perfo rm an ce o f danidan, this m etrical
p h rase is sung at th e o u tset o f the p o em -so n g and th ro u g h o u t the p erfo rm an ce w h erev e r sy llab ic
o r m etrical fille r is called for. F rom the stan d p o in t o f re sp o n siv e p o etics, the p h rase “ danidan ”
g ives th e a u d ien ce its cue n o t o n ly fo r the m etrical shape o f the p o em , b u t also p ro v id es its
p rim ary choral lyric.
T h is is w h ere o v erlap p in g term in o lo g y fo r lyric po etry breaks dow n in to regional
v arian ts. W h ere H ag g m ig h t re fe r to danidan ly ric p o etry , a p o et o r m usician from S ayhut refers
to lyric su n g -p o etry o f the sam e m etrical sch em e as “ye d w(3)-yed” (I - v- I), according to the
m elo d y and sy llab ic fille r ch aracteristic to th at reg io n . D ifferen t m elodies m ay req u ire d ifferen t
m etrical sch em es. F o r in stan ce, the signature m elody fo r lyric songs fro m Q isn and cItab is called
lawll, w hich en co d es a m etrical foot o f tw o stressed o r long syllables: law ll ( I — I). In fact,
th ere are a m u ltitu d e o f p o ssib le m eters and m elodies all b earin g lab els that in dicate m eter,
m elo d y and lyric at once; ex am p les include: hed w a-hed (I - v- I), w d-ye dani (I " I ) , and
dani dani (I - v - " I). S om e lab els even cue the th em atic m aterial and p erfo rm an ce event: lawll,
lawld, lllyet and lolw et all refer to the n ig h t-tim e setting (< A r. layla) ap p ro p riate to the ly ric,
154 This attribute w ill be discussed in Chapter 6.

155 Jargy, 1989, 184. The parallel developm ent o f Arabic m utaw w ara lyric poetry and Mahri sung-poetry will be
analyzed in Chapter 5 o f this dissertation.
159
(even ero tic), co n ten t o f th ese p o e m s .156 H o w ev er, since m y prim ary info rm an ts u se d danidan
m o st freq u en tly , I w ill fo llo w th e ir lead in refe rrin g to the ly ric po etry in m y co llectio n as
danidan.
M ahri danidan is e ssen tially an alo g o u s to the trad itio n o f lyric su n g -p o etry fro m H ad ram aw t
called dandana. U n lik e M ahri danidan, H adram i A rab ic dandana takes b o th m o n o rh y m ed -
qaslda and stro p h ic fo rm ats, (called m ubayyat and m uw w asihat in Y em eni term in o lo g y ). D espite
the differen ce in p o ssib le rh y m e sch em es, th e A rab ic -lan g u ag e dandana is clo sely asso ciated
w ith m u sic; b y all acco u n ts is it s i cr gind°l o r si' r sam a % ju s t like the M ahri danidan. In the
in tro d u ctio n to B a H a rifa ’s c o llectio n o f H ad ra m i A rabic dandana su n g -p o em s, al-M aq alih
p ro p o ses the p re c e d e n ce o f m usic o v er ly rics in dandana p oem s. D andan ca n n o t b e con sid ered
m ere p o em s, he w rites, an d p o in ts to the m id d lin g success o f lyric p o e ts w ho h av e su cceed ed as
p o ets b u t h av e failed as so n g w riters. In h is w ords: “T hey failed b ec au se singing is an art form
u n to itself, o r rath er, p o e try is an art fo rm u n to itself, lik e speech that m akes no attem p t to satisfy
th e m u sical co m p o se r [m ulahhin ] o r the ta len ted sin g e r and th u s does n o t appeal to th e fee lin g s o f
th e p eo p le o r gain en try in to th e ir h e a rts.” 157
Im p o rtan tly fo r m y classificato ry sch em e, M ahri danidan and A rab ic dandana d o n o t stray
b ey o n d th e d o m ain o f p e rso n a l, sentim ental ex p ressio n . In th is respect, danidan is d istin ct from
dandan layll since th e la tte r v iew s h um an ex p erien ce fro m b ey o n d th e realm o f strictly
interp erso n al re la tio n sh ip s to in clu d e h isto ric al, p o litica l and in ter-trib al dim en sio n s. D anidan is
also d istin ct from dandan tanwll, w hich, as w e h a v e seen, im itates m aydanl p o e try , (d esp ite b ein g
n o n -o ccasio n al and th em atic). C ertainly danidan d o es n o t shy aw ay fro m social critique;
h ow ever, this critiq u e is p lay ed out on the in terp erso n a l level and c o n fro n ts the c h ie f issues that
156 This principle may be used as a scansion method in Mahri and vernacular Arabian poetics for non-lyric genres o f
verse as w ell. When describing metrical patterns to m e, H agg w ould use two elem ents - [DA N] and [i] or [ya] - to
describe a heavy and light syllable. The ragzlt meter w as described to me as D A N -i D A N -i D A N -i D A N (x3). This
principle is noted by Semah for the bedouin poetry o f Sinai, (albeit with the units o f [TAN] and [ta]), and by Jargy for
sam ri poetry from Qatar where the elem ents [YA], [LA] and [LI] are used, (Semah, 1991, 189 and Jargy, 1989. 185).
See Appendix A.
157 cAbd al-cA z!z al-Maqalih, introduction to D andana: g in a ’lyat, by Hasan cAbdallah Baharifa (Riyadh: Mu ’assasat
al-GarisI li-‘l-Taw zic w a -‘l- T la n , 2003), ix.
160
d efin e in tim ate, am o ro u s ex p erien ces: lo v e and lo v e -sic k n ess, je alo u sy , flirtatio n , riv alry , etc.
T u rn in g again to al-M aq alih : “In a d d itio n , sun g -p o em s [al-gina°iyat] p lay an im p o rtan t ro le in
social criticism and in ex p o sin g the u n fo rtu n ate trad itio n s th at have d isfig u red the re la tio n sh ip
b etw een m en and w o m e n ...[B a h arifa ’s dandana] still p erfo rm this serv ice in an ag e in w hich
o th e r p o e ts h av e re lin q u ish e d th is d u ty to telev isio n dram as and radio b ro a d c a sts.” 158 B y no
m eans is lyric p o etry d ev o id o f a cap acity fo r social critiq u e, yet this c ritiq u e resolves itse lf at the
in d iv id u al level and esch ew s any en tan g lem en ts w ith the p o litical, h istorical and tribal issues o f
th e day.
G . Danidan. n am e u n c e rta in , reco rd ed in Q isn:
T h is p o e m w as re la te d to m e by an o ld er p o e t fro m Q isn w ho is fam o u s fo r his b aw d y ,
rib ald ly ric s .159 H ere, h e d e a ls w ith an issu e co m m o n ly undertak en by o ld e r p o ets: the effects o f
age on his sense o f v irility . A cco rd in g to the b ack g ro u n d story, the p o e t w as trav ellin g from Q isn
to S ay h u t w hen he sp ied a y o u n g w om an m ak in g tea n e a r the coastal d eb o u c h m en t o f the W adi
M aslla. H e c o u ld n ’t p ro p o sitio n h er b ecau se he w as to o old fo r her, b u t dream t o f a life they
m ig h t h a v e h a d to g eth er: a life o f ease and lu xury in a h o u se in the m id st o f grape field s, graced
b y the sea-b reeze and su rro u n d ed b y servants. H e e m erg es from his rev e rie to co n fro n t his
ad v an ced years: “I t ’s not ap p ro p riate fo r y o u r age and th ey d o n ’t desire y o u ” [14]. A lthough his
h a ir has tu rn ed grey, he ad m its th at he can n o t co ntrol h is instincts, w hich are still those o f a m uch
y o u n g e r m an.
158 . . . .
Ibid., xi.
L This poet related to m e another poem o f his in Arabic that he had com posed about a French linguist w ho did her
fieldwork in Qisn and Sayhut: “a l-G a m a l 3am a fa ra n si w a-la min cindana” (“Beauty: is it from France or from us?”
[Appendix C, poem A ). In the poem , she approaches the poet “walking artfully” (qabbalat ‘alayya wa-hiya ta m slb i-
fann ), and “bedeviled” his heart (saytan at ruht). Though h e’s grown old, he boasts there was once a time when he used
to g o hunting with his “precious M auser” (kunt Juqanis m a cl m a yza r fam an) that always “hit the target” (yaslb al-
muntaha). Older Mahri lyric poetry is often more bawdy than that com posed by younger poets w ho are given less
license to explore erotic topics in the current socio-political climate.
161
T h is p o e m is laced w ith sexual im agery and th em es. W ith the very first line, “te a w ith
m ilk, te a w ith m ilk ” [ l] , th e p o e m intro d u ces an im a g e frau g h t w ith sexual ov erto n es, p a rticu la rly
as it “en ters the b o d y and e x tin g u ish e s the b u m in g ” [3]. In his “p erfe ct” farm , the locus am oenus
o f his d ream s, th e p o e t d o es n o t g row m ere b a rle y o r d ates, the local staples, in stead h e ’ll
“c u ltiv ate g ra p e s” [9]. A sid e fro m the sexual n u an ces o f cu ltivating o r p lo u g h in g , (“la h ra f ’[9]),
grap es th em selv es are h ig h ly sy m bolic o f sex u al dallian ce in the m etap h o ric lan g u ag e o f Y em en
w h ere th ey fig u re as b o th an a p h ro d isiac and the fa v o red snack on “a u sp ic io u s” ev en in g s, m ost
n o tab ly , T h u rsd ay n ig h t (A r. al-layla al-ham ra ’). S ince grapes are c u ltiv ated no w h ere on the
h u m id and b arren co astal strip o f al-M ah ra, th e p o e t m u st be engaged in this m etap h o ric idiom
w hen he says th at h e ’d lik e to get in volved in en o logy.
In structural term s, th is p o em fo llo w s a fairly b asic, trip artite form at: 1) en co u n ter w ith the
y o u n g w o m an , 2) rev erie, an d 3) reality . T h o u g h this p o em does com e w ith a b ack g ro u n d story,
th e details a re n ’t n e c e ssa ry fo r the ap p reciatio n o f this poem w hose th em es, the p o w e r o f first
im p ressio n s and th e d ism ay at old age, are u n iv ersal. In this w ay, lyric danidan is d istin g u ish ab le
from o ccasio n al o r to p ical p o e try w hich are re sp o n ses to a specific histo rical event, i.e., “yugad
h a d a f” (“there is an e v e n t”), to q u o te the w ords o f M ahri p oet, cAli N asir B alhaf.
1) sehT hllb / / seh l hllb

2) man hayd da-rhom / / w-m oti Iblb 160
3) a:n nasfak teh / / ahayr man atblb 161
4) yw ukab g s id / / w d -yta yf Ihlb 162
5) klafk asi'djz/ / taw b man l-akdlb 163
6) hom ladfa beh / / agoll nslb
7) w -falgam m ad / / ate tagyfb 164
8) m almars b -g d sf / / m agre da-dhlb 165
160 moti: see footnote #108; Ibib < L.B.B.: slender, Ar. raslq, uncertain derivation.
161 nasfak < N .S.F.: to sip, to drink, Y em . Ar. “nasuf. dried fruits offered as dessert [fruits se c offerts au d essert d ’un
repas}” (Landberg, G lossaire D atm ois, 3:2773).
16 yw ukab < W .K.B.: “w sku b/ysw u ksb/yakeb: to enter” (Johnstone, 1987, 425); y ta y f < T.F.W .: “hstfu/yahatdyf: to
extinguish, put out (a light, a fire)” (ibid., 407).
klafk < K.L.T.: “kalut/yakutet/ysklet: to tell, speak to, inform ” (ibid., 209). This second hemistich o f this line was a
little scrambled and H agg had trouble making sense o f it. T awb appears to be used here as a negative asseverative
particle, perhaps from T .B .C.: “faba: manners” (ibid., 40 5 ), i.e., “my manners [are not]” ; man < mon: who? H agg heard
the final verb as Idkbib, although only lakdib makes any sense here. Furthermore, I am uncertain w h eth er//-/ here is
for verbal negation or for marking the verb o f a subordinate clause, (“ [My nature is not that o f one] who lie s”).
164 Falgam: the w a d i betw een cItab and Ra ’s Darga.
162
9) hal gld yahlul / / la h rd f zbfb
10) w -labne kut / / b e l bent zhlb 166
11 ) majibdl da-m dft //w -h e h m dhdrfb 167
12) tahdam m as kal / / w-seh tdsylb 168
13) hlh jcalbl hlh / / fctl'lab °adlb 169
14) si babtak la: / / w dl suk ydtrlb 170
15) b-tayt het soh / / w -m goran grlb
16) d-a:r hoh m hantayb / / yhd mas sab lb 171
17) ba:r b lsa w g a b //w -h e h m akkallb 172
18) 'dgob ba-rhom / / ate tslb
1) T ea w ith m ilk, tea w ith m ilk

2 ) F ro m the h an d o f th e b eau ty w hose b u ild is slender
3) If y ou sipped it, it ’s b e tte r than the d o cto r
4 ) It en ters th e b o d y and extin g u ish es the bu rn in g
5 ) I sp o k e th e tru th , m y nature is n o t th at o f one w ho lies
6 ) I w ant to p ay o u t h e r p ric e, [she of] p re cio u s pedigree.
7) A nd W a d i F alg am th at stretches up to w here it disappears
8) T he riv erb ed , in its depth, is the channel fo r the flood
9 ) W h e re b e a u ty liv e s, I m ig h t cu ltiv ate grapes
10) A nd b u ild u p a to w e r w ith m any storeys all furnished fo r h er
11) T hat faces the sea b reeze and has a w all around it
12) W ith servants to serve h er so she m ig h t rest at ease
13) G ive up, m y h eart, let it go! B e m ore re aso n ab le
14) I t ’s not a p p ro p ria te fo r y o u r age and they d o n ’t desire you
15) F o r one, y o u ’re o ld and further, you are n o t fro m around here
16) I ’m ju s t ta lk in g n o n sen se like a b o n a fide p ra ttle r
17) T h e re ’s still p assio n in m e and it is deep ly w oven
18) I love the beauties even though I’m grey.
165 gasf: bottom , depth, < JC.S.F.: “jczsu f to clam ber up (a precipitous slope)” (ibid., 242)?; dhlb < D .H .B .: “d s h lb :
flood w ater; torrent” (ibid., 80).
bel < B .'.L .: “bal/bayli: ow ner, possessor; having, p ossessing” (ibid., 41); bent < B .N .[V ].: storeys; zhlb: “ zahayb,
zahaybgt/zThob: ready, p repared” and “a zh lb : to dress up (a w om an) in h e r finery, m ake so. look beau tifu l” (ibid., 465-
66).
m a h d rlb < D .R .B .: “d a rb : village street, y ard” (ibid., 73) and Y em . A r. “darraba: to encircle w ith a w all [entourer
d ’un m u r]” (L andberg, G lossaire D a tm o is, 1:726).
168 tasylb < S.B .Y .: Y em . A r. “concerning the different m ean in g s that pertain to this root, they are all linked to the idea
o f tranquility and silence...sabayt ‘I flo ated ’...istaba (am ongst the northern bedouin) ‘to look dow n from on h ig h ’
(L andberg, G lossaire D atinois, 3:2117).
169 h ih : im perative, indeclinable, “leave off! leave [it] alone!” (poetic).
170 babtak: (your) age, uncertain derivation. It is possible that the initial lb-1 is a prefixed preposition, and that the root
is T .B .C (“nature” ) w ith m etathesis and a shift from l\l -> III, although this seem s like a long shot.
171 m hantayb < N .T .B .: “h m ta w b : to d rop st., let st. fall” (Johnstone, 1987, 304); m assdblb < S.B .B .: trouble-m aker,
rum or-m onger, “ssb/ygsbub/ygsbeb: to insult, m iscall, abuse so. (as by calling him by foul n am es)” (ibid., 338).
m akkallb < K .L.B .: to be intertw ined, w oven into sth., “k o h b : to sling a hook onto a branch to put it dow n; to fetch
up with a hook st. that has fallen dow n a hole, chasm ; to fix clim bing ropes and grappling hooks onto a c liff face”
(ibid., 208).
163
H. Danidan b y R ag b o n b irt S acid H aw r. reco rd ed at K zavt:
T he fo llo w in g p o em is, in a sense, p ara lle l to the p re ce d in g danidan. T he p o e t - in this case,
p o etess - gets lo st in a ro m an tic rev erie, o n ly to reg ain h er b earin g s and ack n o w led g e the cyclical
pattern o f h u m an ex p erien ce. T his initial scene is deso late and frien d less, an in fe rtile strophe to
th e antistrophe o f b o u n ty and tribal so lid arity th at caps this danidan, (“M ay G od fav o r y o u , y o u r
m en and d isp ersed [h erd s]” [2 2 ]).173 R agbon ask s G od fo r rain in the can y o n o f Sm lm at N a tro r
w here th ere is “d ro u g h t and b u rn in g w in d ” [2]. So h o t is the w eather th at even “w ords are dried
o u t in o u r th ro a t” [4], ex cep t, o f course, fo r the w o rd s o f this poem . L ife is a battle here: the
canyon “stru g g les” (ysdttam [2]) ag ainst the heat, w hich in tu rn “b ears d o w n ” and “throw s itse lf
o n to the ro o f b e a m s ” o f th e h o u ses [7]. A lo n g sid e this ag o nistic m o tif, a m o tif o f y earn in g is
eq u ally stong here. R ag b o n asks fo r rain [1] and a retu rn to g o odness [3]; even the grass,
y ellow ed from th e d ro u g h t, “y e a rn s” (yhom [5]) fo r trees and shade u n til co o ler w eath er prev a ils
[6].
The situ atio n reach es its d ire clim ax w hen R a g b o n ’s cow , M b arak t, gets its leg stuck in a
cleft and R agbon is u n a b le to ex tricate it [8]. S he w ishes into being a strap p in g y o ung m an,
(“red -e y e d ” [hamr a l-‘ayn\[ 9]), w ho sees them fro m th e lip o f the w adi [9] and then rescues
M b arak t (“H e p u lls h e r leg, saves h e r and stayed up all n ig h t [with h e r]” [10]). R a g b o n ’s w ishful
th in k in g co n tin u es: after sav in g the co w , the y o u n g m an stays fo r h e r co m p an io n sh ip , talk in g and
exch an g in g n ew s [11-12]. W o rd s, w hich had fo rm ely dried out in h e r th ro at, now form the
central m o tif o f R a g b o n ’s p leasure: the y o ung m an “stays u p ” (sher [10]) all n ight talking w ith
173 T he m ethodology developed by Stefan Sperl for the analysis cA bbasid-era p anegyic w orks quite w ell fo r this
danidan. Stefan Sperl divides ‘ A bbasid p anegyric into tw o, equivalent m ovem ents: strophe and antistrophe. T he
strophe entails the them es o f youth (prow ess and folly), travel, hardship, frustration, barrenness, decay, old age and
m ortality. T he antistrophe entails the ooposite: the revival o f society, w isdom o f age, sustenance, rejuvenation,
fulfillm ent and fertility, (Stefan S perl, “Islam ic K insgship and A rabic Panegyric P oetry in the Early 9 111 C en tu ry ,”
Journal o f A ra b ic L iterature 8 [1997]: 22).
164
R agbon and M b arak t. T his is co nfirm ed in the fo llo w in g line: the y o u n g m an speak s ( kloi) and
gives h e r th e n ew s (w zom liber) [11]. N o r is this “id le talk ” Qaywalat [13]), b u t the talk that
p asses b etw een th em is serious and earn est, the speech o f people w ho are ex p erien c ed and
d iscern in g (zhed [13]). I w o n d er w h eth e r this im plies th at the topic o f m arriag e w as m o o ted ; this
w ould ex p lain th e an ticip atio n and ex citem en t that occasio n s R a g b o n ’s agitated m ental state,
(.hgisk [14]), a term th at freq u en tly presag es the act o f p o e tic co m p o stio n itself.
W h a te v e r p a sse d b etw een th em left such an im p ressio n that it p reo c cu p ie s R ag b o n all n ig h t
lon g , k eep in g h e r aw ak e “as th o u g h som eo n e h ad stolen som ething and got aw ay w ith it” [16],
R agbon re a ssu re s h e rs e lf that h er fe elin g s are not u n co m m o n , indeed, she even gets “the green
lig h t” to feel th e w ay she d oes b ecau se ultim ately , her state w as “ w ritten and rev e ale d by
G o d ” [17]. In flam ed b y p assio n b u t u n a b le to co n su m m ate it, R agbon co n so les h e rse lf th at life
brings p leasu re and d isa p p o in tm e n t in ro tatio n , (“It has h appened to you b efo re and you k n o w
how th in g s h ap p en / It is ju s t one th in g fo llo w in g the next, and troubles keep on co m in g
b a c k ” [1 8-19]), an ap t m e ta p h o r fo r th e cyclical pattern s o f dro u g h t and m o n so o n th a t op en th is
danidan.
R agbon seals th is p o em w ith a b lessin g fo r the (im aginary?) y o ung m an, h is trib e and th eir
h erd s, ( “M ay G od re w a rd y o u , w h e th er a tribal d ep en d en t o r m ore! // M ay G od fav o r y o u , yo u r
m en and d isp ersed [h erd s]” [21-22]). L ik e so m uch o f M ahri p o etry , this p o e m ends w ith an
affirm atio n o f th e co m m u n ity ; not ju s t its chiefs and its hero es, b u t also the tribal d e p en d e n ts Qdfl
[21]) an d its “d isp e re se d ” h erd s (riser [22]). F ro m y ea rn in g and d ro u g h t, an in term ed iate
tran sitio n , and then co n c lu d in g w ith an assertio n o f co llectiv e virtue, w e can rec o g n ize a n arrativ e
pattern that u n ifies all o f the M ahri po etry that we have thus far seen.
1) sm im at natror / / teh ball kse 174

T )ysattam harje/ / wa-rylh wa-lheb 175
3) w -hayr yam yol / / law manh ayser
174 kse < K .S.W .: to clothe (in vegetation), i.e., to give rain, “k su : to clothe, give so. clothes...(E astern M ahri) k se ”
(Johnstone, 1 9 8 7 ,2 1 6 ).
1 tsdttam < T .M .M .: “sa tm u m : to struggle w ith so. fo r a long tim e...to suffer with st. fo r a long tim e” (ibid., 411).
165
4 ) w at nha beh / / tatrub ba-bhel 176
5) te hriim katlul / / yhom sger 177
6) hal jcata h l a / / te beh Iah. re g 178
7) ar heh d-hanoh / / °amud y d z l e l 179
8) ksoh m b a ra kt/ / l-ad his majthayr 180
9) rayt ham r a l-cayn / / sadhujt nlger 181
10) w -fam ahharug / / nafcdls w -sher
11) wa-m goran k lo f/ / w a-w zom liber
12) llftirhan ten / / w-ltizimh bser
13) seh layw alat la: / / hal kal zhed 182
14) har tell hgisk / / hom jcalb yhed 183
15) asodaji h n i f / / w- ’asdr sher 184
16) ha heh d-gaysab / / w -ndfs jther 185
' _ x ' — 186
17) dom d heh ghid la: / / mafihdtayt wa-nzel
18) w -ber tger luk / / wa-tkun d-haber 187
19) his w at ajcbet/Zw-resdh yd e r 188
2 0 ) dund cads bslt / / la-sehal sber
2 1 ) aw ldnak arrab / / 0 f i w -dti-kfer 189
' — — ' — ] 90
22) wd-yhan ‘dm luk / / ba-gyug w a-nser
1) W o u ld that G od m ight g iv e us rain in the canyon o f Sm im at N a tro r
176 tatrub < T .R .B .: to dry out, to be stuck in o .’s throat [w ords], Ar. taraba: to be dusty, to abound in dust, to becom e
poor, w retched, destitute; b hel < B .H .L .: “bahlit/bahel: w ord” (ibid., 45).
hriim: yellow grass, “h srm a yt/h a ro m : tree...Jahn, herm it/hJrem ten: G rasland” (ibid., 160); katlu l < K .L .L .: “aktslu l:
to becom e little, reduced, dw indle, shrink” (ibid., 207).
178 kata < jC.T.c.: Btat: piece. ..majctat/makta: w aterless desert...(E astern M ahri) k e f of. great h e at” (ibid., 244); hla <
H .L .C.: “hola ’/ h l l a shade, shadow ...(m et.) p ro tec tio n ” (ibid., 157).
179 handh < ‘ .N.Y .: “hano/yahdyn: to decide, in ten d ” (ibid., 26); yazlel < Z .L .L .: “zaV yazlul: to accost, attack (1-) so.
w ithout right” (ibid., 467). T here is a play here betw een handh (“to decide, intend” ) y d zlel (“to fall upon, to attack ”)
and Jam iid (“ro o f b e am s”), since the latter m ay also b e interpreted as a verb, a m o d , ydwm dd: to hit so. on p u rp o se ”
(ibid., 23). T h is line describes a progression o f the dry season’s hostility from an intial intention, to taking aim and
concluding in an outright assault.
180
ksoh < K .S .3.: “kuss/yakusa: to find, m eet” (ibid., 215); m d k h a yr< fC.H.R.: to hobble, A r. qahara: to overcom e,
subdue.
181 ham r a l-'a yn : Y em . A r. “bold, courageous, intelligent, sm art, shrew d, clever, sharp-w itted, alert, brave, valient,
hero” (Piam enta, 1; 107); sadhuk < D.H.JC.: “sadhok/yasadhok: to look dow n, dow n out o f ’ (Johnstone, 1987, 66); n ig er
< N .G .R.: “nogar/nagawwar: cliff o f sand and stone” (ibid., 287).
182 layw a la t (dim .) < ^.W .L .: Y em . A r. “d a w la : hubbub, uproar, fuss [vacarm e]” (L andberg, G lossaire D atm ois,
3:2179).
183 h d r= d r ; tell < T .L .Y .: “to li: then, afterw ards” (Johnstone, 1987, 401); y h ed < H .D .3.: “h o d i: q uiet (person)” (ibid.,
152).
184 h n e f < N .F.: “h s - n o f s e l f ’ (ibid., 283).
Is<5 • '
' gaysab < G .S.B .: to be stolen, snatched aw ay, “ggsaw b/ydgaw sab: to disarm ; to take by force” (ibid., 143).
186 g hid < G .H .D .: “gahad/yaghod: to deny, refuse” (ibid., 117).
187 tg er< G .R .Y .: “g aro/ydgayr: to go in front of; to p a ss (tim e); to hap p en ” (ibid., 125); h a b e r< C.B.R.: (so. w ho) can
predict events, sees the consequences, “ ‘d ybar/yabdr: to gaze, look into the distance....skJ/wr/ya.vd/jor: to c o n sid er (st.) to
b e so.” (ibid., 11).
188 resah < R .S.H . o r R .Z .H .?: trouble, h ardship, unknow n etym ology.
189 aw ldnak < C.W .[..: A r. ra w a d a ; a rrd b < R .B .B .: A r. a l-ra b b ; lo fi < ^ .Y .F .: non-tribal dependent, below the rank o f a
tribesm an, “z a ’a y f zdf: non-tribal, da ' i f ’ (ibid., 471). T his w ord w as not very clear in the recording; it is p ossible that
it is also a reference to G od, (al-rabb), but it is not cle ar to m e how to m ake sense out o f “/o ff” if this w ere the case.
190yhan^dm (also, yhenam ) < N .C.M.: “h sn a w m : (G od) to grant a fav o r...hznaw m tin abeli: G od has favoured us (e.g.,
with rain)” (ibid., 278); n s e r < N .S.R .: “n a s s s r : (people, anim als) to spread out, separate” (ibid., 303).
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2) It has stra g g le d ag ain st the d ro u g h t, the w ind and fire fo r long enough.
3) L et g o o d n ess retu rn , certainly it’s m uch better.
4) W h ile w e are th ere, w ords are d ried o u t in o u r throat,
5) T he to u g h last g rasses o f fall h a v e d w in d led [to nothing] and w ant trees
6) In th e spo ts o f shad e [they w ait] u n til [the dry season] has dep arted
7 ) It is [the d ry seaso n ] th at bears dow n h ard , th row ing itse lf onto the ro o f beam s
8) It fin d s th e co w M b a rak t w ith no one th ere to h o bble her.
9) I f only th ere w ere a b rav e y o ung m an to spot h er from the w adi's edge!
10) H e p u lls h e r leg, saves h e r and stayed up all n ig h t [w ith her]
11) A fterw ard s h e sp o k e to m e and gave th e new s.
12) H e m ak es u s h ap p y and gives it as a gift,
13) T h is is not ju s t id le talk eith er, b u t lik e [the talk] o f all th o se w ho are kn o w led g eab le.
14) A fterw ard s I th o u g h t aw hile and I w an ted m y heart to q u iet dow n
15) It tru sts its e lf an d stayed up all n ight
16) A s th o u g h so m eo n e had stolen so m ething and g o t aw ay w ith it.
17) T h ere is n o th in g d ep lo rab le ab o u t it, it’s w ritten and rev ealed by G od,
18) It has h ap p en ed to y ou b efo re and you k n o w h o w things happen
19) It is ju s t o n e th in g fo llo w in g the n ext, and troubles keep on com ing back
20) It is such a sim p le th ing, so stay p atient.
2 1 ) M ay G od rew ard you, w h eth er a tribal dependent o r m ore!
2 2 ) M ay G od fa v o r yo u , y o u r m en and d isp ersed [herds],
I. Danidan b y cIsa K adhavt. reco rd ed in G adab:
R etu rn in g to th e co m ic p o e t o f R eh an , cIsa K ad h ay t describes h is ow n w ish fu l p u rsu it o f a
b ea u tifu l, y o u n g w om an w h o m o ther m en, m uch y o u n g e r than h im self, pay co u rt to. H e beg in s,
as is his w ont, in an iro n ic, m o ck -ep ic tone: “W e left in the late afternoon, at su n set” [1]. The
p h rasin g used h ere, “ siigdsan nha //b a r k asfejd'l 1], is evo cativ e o f the op en in g scene o f o th er
Dd d l w a-krem krem p o em s: th e p o e t faces the o n co m in g dusk, a lim inal m o m ent th at cap tu res the
tran sitio n al state o f his affairs. L ike B ir L a ctayt and T a n n a f H am tot, °Isa starts fro m atop an
e lev atio n ; not a m o u n tain in th is danidan, b u t at a “lo fty castle, like a little m o u n tain ” [2]. T he
to n e b reak s from th e so lem n in flectio n s o f the °odl w a-krem krem genre at this p oint. T he “lofty
c astle” is n o t cIs a ’s castle, o r som e iso lated m o u n tain to p in the w ild n em ess, b u t ra th e r the castle
“w here B eau ty lives, sw eet an d d esire ab le ” [3]. M o reo v er, he is n o t h ead in g to w ards B e a u ty ’s
castle b u t aw ay fro m it, re je c te d b y h e r ag ainst h is w ill: “I c o u ld n ’t get u p and leave, I ju s t w anted
to lo o k at h e r” [6]. T h e p o e t’s age disq u alifies him fro m the co m petition, d esp ite the fact th at his
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co m pany is p referab le to that o f his co m p etito rs w ho su rro u n d her “lik e a circ le aro u n d a
cam p fire” [8]. cIsa h as the b e n e fit o f w isdom and c u n n in g , (“I could perh ap s d eceiv e h e r” [7]); o r
failin g th at, he can at least k eep h er am u sed , u n lik e the o th er y o ung m en to w h o m she rem ain s
in d ifferen t [13]. In his p resen ce, at least, she is able “to laugh o r to jo k e aro u n d ” [14], alth o u g h
cIsa re co g n izes that in th e end, h e ’s m erely “the d a y ’s en tertain m en t u n til she g o es p a ck in g [to
som eone e lse ]” [15]. L ike the a u th o r o f “S ehl hllb, seh l h l l b cIsa K adhayt m oves along the sam e
trajecto ry o f old age and w ishful th in k in g , and en d s on a n o te o f self-reco g n itio n and resig n atio n .
1) siigdsan nha / / bark cisfek 191

— ' — — — \ 92
2) man jcasdr a n a w f / / his adwehejc
3) hel g fd yahlul / / holl w-masejc 193
4 ) dgeddl arkez / / w-ragb tlfk 194
5) haftatsan kal / / b-mekan tnijc 195
6) l-ad sattalk la: //h o m dr laglfjc 196
7) te wlii h w a h a r // berl Idgfffc 197
8) hem mekan hnls / / d-dlbod haylejc
9) yasfadran kal / / ad-hem y a sb i £ 198
10) had man angud / / w -sl man hyfjc 199
11) hem baj Id-ttot / / wd-mjcalld tjejc 200
12) w -baj man hem / / si la: mrebijc 201
13) thaflah la: / / ha heh l-hbylifc 202
14) ’dse w -talhok / / w le tahzejc 203
15) m aglll d-wakit / / te gfd yusfjc 204
191 sugosdn < W .G.S.: “szw gus/ygsaw gus: to g o in the early evening (4-7 p.m .)” (Johnstone, 1987, 424); dsfejc < S.F.JC.; Ar. safaq
(“twilight, dusk”).
192 _
adwehejc (dim .) < D.H.jC.: “dahjc, dehgj;'. precipice, slope” (ibid., 66).
193 masejc < C.S.JC.: Ar. m a csuq (“desireable”).
194 dgeddl < G .D.L.; “gedgl/ggdgw w gl/hggddl: foot” (ibid., 114); arkez < R.K.Z.: straight, “rgkuz.ygm kgz\ to straighten St., put st.
straight, stick st. upright” (ibid., 324); ragb < R.G.B.: “regab/raw ogab: small branch o f a tree” (ibid., 319); tlejc < T.L.JC.: to bend,
to sway, Ar. tam ayyala.
195 haftatsan (hfut, haftut/yhawft + d.o. suffix), < H.F.T.: to surpass, to beat (in competition); tn e f < T.N.jC.: “tanejc: style,
character” (ibid., 411).
196 sattalk ( l sl pers. past) < S.L.L.: “sattal/yastalul: to transhume, migrate, m ove o ’s hom e” (ibid., 379); laglejc < G.L.jC.:
aldjc.yagdwlajc: to look” (ibid., 136).
hw df}dr< H.H.R.: “hexar/hlxar: old man” (ibid., 162); lagfejc < G.F.fC.: “gafdjc/yagawfajt: to lower, bring down (a price)...to
cheat” (ibid., 133).
198 - '
ydsfddram < F.D .R .: “Safedar/yasfadram to outstrip, race past (in a race).
199 angud < N .G .D.: the highland plateau in the hinterland o f H awf, “n a g d : Negd (in Dhofar)” (ibid., 286); hye\c < H.Y.JC.:
“hayjc/hyejcat: shore, beach” (ibid., 197).
la-ttot < M .T.C.: (for) pleasure; mjcalld < JC.L.L.: “how little!” Ar. qallam a; tfejc (fyujc, fejcak) < F.[V].jC.: to occur to so., regain
o ’s wits, to enjoy, Ar. insaraha.
201 mrebejc < R.B.K.: “rtbajc: to approach, com e near, near to so.” (ibid., 313).
202 thaflah < H.F.L.: “(Eastern Mahri) hfol: to pay heed” (ibid., 169).
203 tahzejc <H.Z.JC.: “hayzaf: to joke” (ibid., 198).
204 m aglll < G.L.L.: “gal: to console (a crying child)...to be happy and as a result neglect duties” (ibid., 135), Ar. tasliya; y u sa f <
W.S.JC.: “h aw su f: to load (cam els)” (ibid., 432).
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1) W e left in the late afternoon, at sunset
2) F ro m the lo fty castle, lik e a little m ountain
3) W h e re B eau ty liv e s, sw eet and d esireab le.
4 ) L egs strong and supple, [above them ] a b ran c h that sw ays
5) She su rp asses all [the o th e r w om en] in so m any qualities.
6) I c o u ld n ’t get u p and leave, I ju s t w anted to lo o k at her
7) E v en if I am an o ld m an, I could p erh a p s d eceive her
8) T here are so m an y w ith h er, th e y ’ve b e c o m e lik e a circle aro u n d a cam pfire
9) T h ey are all jo c k e y in g fo r w ho w ill get to h er first.
10) O ne o f th em is fro m the N ag d and a n o th e r from the coast
11) S o m e h a v e co m e ju s t fo r p lea su re - h o w little she en joys it!
12) A nd fo r so m e o f th em , th ere is n o th in g in co m m o n betw een th em [in age]
13) S h e ’s in d ifferen t to him , as th o u g h h e had n e v e r been created
14) E x cep t p e rh a p s to laugh o r to jo k e around
15) T h e d a y ’s e n te rta in m e n t u n til she goes p ac k in g [to som eone else].
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Chapter 5: The “New School” of Mahri Sung-Poetrv
I. L yric P o etry and M o d ern ity :
In 1973, T h o m as M u ir Jo h n sto n e, th e p re m ie r scholar o f the M ahri language until his death
in 1983, p u b lish e d a short article in w hich he co m pared the lyric m otifs o f the A rab ic naslb to
th o se o f the Icelan d ic lyric g en re, the m ansdngur .* T he com p lim en tary placem en t o f Icelan d and
al-M ah ra am o n g st J o h n sto n e ’s sch o larly in terests is not as far-fetch ed as it m ay in itia lly seem .
Icelan d in th e first h a lf o f th e 2 0 th cen tu ry w as a close an alo g u e to al-M ah ra in th e last h a lf o f the
20 th century. B o th so cieties ch erished a p o e tic p ra ctic e that w as w oven deeply in to th e ir cultural
D N A , and b o th e m erg ed fro m n e ar c o m p lete iso latio n in co n sequence o f geopolitical upheaval:
W o rld W a r I fo r Icelan d and the ev a p o ratio n o f B ritish authority in S outhern A rab ia fo r al-M ahra.
In b o th cases, th is sh ift in to m o d e m n a tio n h o o d w as accom panied by a low -tech b ran d o f
so cialism b ased on fish in g and anim al h u sb a n d ry . D e sp ite the fact that Iceland and a l-M ah ra
occupy n early o p p o site ex trem es o f global latitu d e, the tw o are strangely close in tem p eram en t.
F o llo w in g the p re c e d e n t estab lish ed by Jo h n sto n e, I w o u ld lik e to set forth the b asic them e
o f this ch ap ter th ro u g h an Icelan dic c o m p ariso n o f m y ow n. T he fo llo w in g passag e from
Independent People (1946), b y Icelan d ic n o v elist H alld o r L axness, estab lish es a ten sio n betw een
trad itio n al and in n o v a tiv e p o etry in early m o d em Iceland th at is eq u ally applicable to a l-M a h ra at
th e p resen t tim e, and it d oes so m ore fetch in g ly than m y ow n pro se is capable of.
N e a r the en d o f the 19th cen tu ry , tw o Icelan d ic farm ers, B jartu r o f S um m erhouses and E inar
o f U n d irh lith , ca n n o t m eet w ith out d isp u tin g the quality and m erit o f “old m easures o f the
eig h teen th -cen tu ry b a lla d s” versus “h y m n s and n ew -fan g led ly rics.” B jartu r stan d s by the
form er: the b a lla d s in h erited from his fo refath ers, “m en w ho only n eed ed four lines to the verse,
1 Thomas Muir Johnstone, “N aslb and M ansongur,” Journal o f A ra b ic L iterature 3 (1972): 90-95.
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and yet y ou co u ld read it fo rty -e ig h t w ay s and alw ay s it m ade sense.” H e d erid es the n ew lyric
style “th a t’s full o f g rie f an d n erv es and soggy so u lfu ln ess; and no h y m n s eith er, they left th o se to
th e p rie sts.” T he n arrativ e co n tinues:
[B jartu r and E in ar] w ran g led on w ith o u t co m in g to any ag reem en t, the one sw earing
b y th e classical fo rm and the h e ro ic sp irit o f the old b allad s, the o th er u n sh ak en in his
faith in th e h u m an and the div in e. A s a resu lt o f th is differen ce in orien tatio n n eith er
co u ld b e p e rsu ad ed to recite any o f h is verse as long as the o th er w as p resen t.
“P eo p le w h o lik e to d isp lay co m p lic ate d tech n iq u e in th e ir verse are m ore given to
p rid e th em selv es on th e ir w ork th an are those w ho w rite fo r th e ir ow n so lac e,” said
E in ar. B ja rtu r reto rted th at h e had n e v e r th o u g h t h im se lf m uch o f a p o et, b u t to have
to listen to an y th in g less c ap ab le than in tern ally rh y m ed qu atrain s w as m ore than he
c o u ld sto m ach , “ and w ere I a p o e t,” h e said, “I sh o u ld see that n o th in g o f m ine was
e v e r m ad e p u b lic u n less it w as a crafty v erse read in g th e sam e b ac k w a rd s o r
fo rw a rd s.”
T w o p o e tic ideas are in c o n flic t here: one carries an au ra o f trad itio n that is form ally
com plex, h ero ic in to n e and em p h asiz es deeds o v e r sen tim en tal them es. O n the o th e r side is
“n e w -fa n g le d ” ly ric p o etry : th em atic, sty listica lly sim ple, and focused on h um an em otion, vu lg ar
and spiritu al. T he co n trast b etw een the trad itio n al and m o d em p o e tic m odes p e rso n ified by
B jartu r and E in ar co u ld ju s t as easily b e ap p lied to the state o f po etry as I found it in al-M ahra.
O n the o n e hand, w e find p o e try o f the trad itio n a l p raxis: ‘odl w a-krem krem, ragzlt duels,
dandan, and tanw ll d an ce p o etry . O n the o th er h and, w e fin d an in n o v ativ e p o etic p rac tic e that is
asso ciated w ith th e p o st-re v o lu tio n ary p o ets o f al-M ahra. T his d istinction is n o t an act o f
scholarly g e rry m an d erin g on m y p art, b u t is a d ev elo p m en t th at is recognized on the gro u n d in al-
M ah ra b y p o e ts and au d ien ces alike.
T he clearest testim o n y o f th is w as p ro v id ed to m e in an outlin e w ritten by the M ahri poet
cAlT N a sir B alh af, w ho lists th e “N ew S ch o o l” ( al-m adrasa al-gadlda) am ongst the basic
categ o ries o f M ah ri p o etry . T h u s, alo n g sid e the ragz.lt and cam udl (“b ip a rtite ”) qaslda g enres, the
“N ew S c h o o l” stands as a g en re o f its ow n. C o n cern in g this “N ew S ch o o l,” B a lh a f w rote: “It is
the p o etry o f ren ew al [tagdidl\... it is in te re sted in gazal m ore than in the o ther to p ics [boasting,
2 Halldor Laxness, Independent P eople, trans. J. Anderson Thom pson (N ew York: Vintage Books, 1997), 63.
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calu m n y , elegy, etc.]. Its c h ie f ch aracteristics: new co n v en tio n s ( m ustalahat ) and a sense o f
cu ltu re ( al-faqafiya ) h av e en tered it, and it lack s po w erfu l w ording (quw at al-lafz,).”3
B a lh a f co u ld b e d escrib in g E in a r’s “n e w -fan g led ly ric s” w ith h is em p h asis on new
co n v en tio n s, sense o f cu ltu re and d elicate v o cab u lary th at contrasts w ith the “fo rc e ” ( quw a ) o f
trad itio n al verse. A s fo r th e trad itio n al m o d e, B a lh a f m en tio n s by nam e the tribal ode o f B ir
L a ctayt, w hich re p resen ts all that the “N ew S ch o o l” lack s: strength o f w ording and non-
sen tim en tal, n o n -th em atic to p ics. I f M ahri po etry w ere ev er tran slated in to Ice lan d ic , I suspect
th at th e tribal o des o f B ir L a ctay t and T a n n a f H am to t w ould find a w elco m e aud ien ce in B jartu r
o f Sum m erh o u ses.
In th is chapter, I w ould lik e to ex p lo re w h at “the p o e try o f re n e w a l,” “n ew c o n v en tio n s” and
“pow erfu l w o rd in g ” m ean to B a lh a f and to o th e r p o ets o f h is generation. C an th ese p h rases be
lin k ed to a d em o n strab le ch an g e in techniques o f c o m p o sitio n , m odes o f p e rfo rm an c e o r even the
statu s o f p o etry in M ahri so ciety ? F u rth er, w h at p o litica l, historical and social factors can be
iso lated in th e gro w th o f th is n ew po etic id io m ? In o rd er to answ er th e se q u estio n s, w e m u st take
a lo o k at th e A rab ic-lan g u ag e p o ets o f al-M ahra, and in p articu lar, th o se w hose careers w ere
shaped b y the re v o lu tio n ary and n atio n a list rh eto ric o f th e P D R Y and the Y A R . T hough lim iting
th e ir w ork to the A rab ic la n g u ag e, th e ir en g ag e m en t in a national p o e tic certain ly laid the
g ro u n d w o rk fo r th e la te r effo rts o f the “N ew S ch o o l.”
T o u n d erstan d w hat B a lh a f m eans by “force o f w o rd in g ” (quw at al-lafz), w e m ust also
co n sid er the ex p an sio n o f a n ew lyric tone in M ahri p o etry , and the d ev e lo p m en t o f a contrast
betw een th e “o ld ” and “n e w ” styles. T o b e tte r u n d erstan d th is ph en o m en o n , w e w ill tu rn our
atten tio n b riefly o u tsid e o f a l-M ah ra to ex am in e the po etic clim ate o f Y em en o v e r the last
century. M ore specifically , w e w ill look to H ad ra m i ly ric poetry and the “ sch o o l” o f H usayn al-
M ih d a r w h o se in flu en ce on m o d em M ahri p o etry - in d eed , o v er all o f m o d e m Y em eni p o etry -
3 Balhaf expressed his conception o f the typology o f Mahri poetry on three pages o f handwritten text that he gave to m e
after our initial meeting.
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can n o t b e ov erstated . T hus, alo n g sid e the po etry o f engagem ent (s icr al- 'iltizam ), a lyric pu lse
from H ad ram aw t p ro v id e s th e second m ajo r th em e o f contem porary M ahri p oetics.
T he in n o v atio n s o f H u say n a l-M ih d ar b rin g us to the “N ew S ch o o l” o f M ahri p o etry , a
v eritab le “W h o ’s W h o ” o f th e c h ie f cultural figures liv in g in al-G haydha. T he activ ity o f the
“N ew S c h o o l” tran scen d s th e w ork o f p o ets to em b ra ce the activities o f th e ir co llab o rato rs: the
m u sician s, sin g ers and lo cal o fficials w h o tran sm it th e ir w ork w ithin and w ith o u t al-M ahra.
L ocal, reg io n al and fo reig n sch o larsh ip has p lay e d a particu larly interestin g and su stain in g ro le in
th e gro w th o f the “N ew S c h o o l.” R etu rn in g b riefly to the ideas raised in C h ap ter 2, w e w ill
e x am in e h o w th e M ahri intelligentsia has h arnessed contem porary lin g u istics to com bat the
n eg ativ e id eo lo g ies th at su rro u n d th e ir language.
S eco n d ly , th is c h a p te r raises the qu estio n o f w hat role co n tem porary M ahri po etry p la y s in
th e m o d e m Y em eni state. L an g u ag e p o litics is a sen sitiv e topic in the b ro a d e r A rab M id d le E ast
and n o w h ere is th is m o re ap p aren t than in al-M a h ra w here, un lik e B erb er-lan g u ag e co m m u n ities
in N orth A frica, th e sm all size o f the M ah ri-sp eak in g com m unity m akes acq u iescen ce to state
lan g u ag e p o licy a n ecessity . W h at ro o m is left fo r M ahri poetry w hen, as has b een discu ssed in
C h ap ter 2, the status o f th e M ah ri lan g u ag e as a con tem p o rary language is ig n o re d ? D oes the
lab el o f “fo lk lo re” re n d e r th e liv in g p ra ctice o f M ahri po etry p o litically and socially in ert? To
an sw er these q u estio n s, w e w ill ex am ine a c o n tem p o ra ry JodT wa-krem krem th at features a
co llab o ratio n o f p o e t and m u sician in an o b liq u e critique o f the N orthern Y em eni regim e.
A t th e m eeting p o in t o f these tw o lines o f in q u iry , I hope to p resen t a p ictu re o f M ahri
po etry and p erfo rm an ce o v e r th e last q u a rter century. T he final ch apter o f this d issertatio n ,
C h ap ter 6, is reserv ed fo r a clo se read in g o f one o f the m ost prom inent figures o f the “N ew
S ch o o l” : H agg D akon, a u th o r o f th e first w ritten diwan o f M ahri poetry.
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II. Arabic Language Poetry in al-Mahra:
A t the risk o f statin g th e o b v io u s, the d e v elo p m en t o f th e con tem p o rary p o etic id io m in al-
M ah ra w as n o t a o n e-sh o t p ro cess. T he “N ew S c h o o l” is the outcom e o f an array o f novel social
and p o litical c o n fig u ra tio n s in a l-M ah ra th at co m b in ed w ith A rabic sch o o lin g and a greater
fam iliarity w ith th e lan g u ag e o f A rabic p o e try to create a M ahri p o etics th at is at once local,
reg io n al and n a tio n a l. O n ce A rab ic w as m astered , (and along w ith it, the n atio n a list them es o f
m o dem Y em en i p o e try ), accelerated cu ltu ral activ ity in al-G h ay d h a opened the d o o r fo r po etic
ex p erim en tatio n in th e M ah ri lan g u ag e. F o r the M ah ra to achieve th e ir cu rrent rec o g n itio n , it w as
n ecessary fo r th e p o ets o f a l-M ah ra to p lu n g e h e ad lo n g in to the official p o e tic registers o f the
P D R Y and th e Y A R . T h e act o f c o m p o sin g in A rab ic w as, iro n ically , the first step on the road to
H a g g ’s Diwan.
A lth o u g h th e b u lk o f M ahri p o etry is co m p o sed in A rab ic and is im itativ e o f A rabic
p o etic fo rm s, th is p o etry is co n sid ered to b e au th en tically “M a h ri” b y th e M ahra. In th is sense,
th e “M ah ri-n ess” o f a p o e m re sid e s in the to p ic o r the p o e t’s reg ional affiliation. In calling a
p o em “M a h ri,” th e lin g u istic sig n ifican ce o f th is label is ov erlo o k ed so th at “M a h ri” b eco m e s no
m o re m ean in g fu l than th e o th e r a d m in istrativ e lab els o f m o d em Y em en , lik e “H adram I” o r
“S a n a ’a n i” fo r in stan ce. S in ce th e M ahri la n g u ag e is re g u la rly folded in to o th er A rabic d ialects,
(see C h ap ter 2), “M a h ri” is m o st co m m o n ly u n d ersto o d in an a d m in istrativ e and geographic
sense, not a lin g u istic o r e th n ic one.
T his first stage in th e ev o lu tio n o f an in n o v ativ e M ahri po etic can b e discern ed fo r the
g en eratio n o f p o e ts, p o litic ia n s and tribal lead ers w ho cam e o f age in the rev o lu tio n ary period
from the 4 0 ’s to th e 9 0 ’s. S h ed d in g th e ir n ativ e la n g u ag e, th ese p o ets saw th em selv es as
p articip an ts in th e fo rm u la tio n o f a com m on cu ltural id io m fo r the n e w ly ind ep en d en t P D R Y .
T h eir lan g u ag e w as n e c e ssa rily A rab ic since the in ten d ed audience w as m u ch m ore A rabic-
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sp eak in g th an it w as M ah ri-sp e a k in g . O ne senses th at a part o f th eir p u rp o se w as to im press th eir
c o -n atio n als (and p e rh a p s p a rty id eo lo g u es in A d en ) w ith the fact that the M ah ra are eng ag ed in
th e official n arrativ e and p o litic a l life o f the P D R Y . T w o p o ets in p artic u lar stand out in this
reg ard : M u h a m m a d b ir S alim cA kkus (b. 1941) and M u h sin b ir °A li Y asir (b. -1 9 4 0 ). B oth are
asso ciated w ith h ig h p o sts at th e regional and n atio n al levels o f g o v ernm ent. M u h am m ad cA kkus
w as G o v ern o r o f al-M ah ra (1 9 6 7 -6 9 ), G o v e rn o r o f H ad ram aw t (1971-72), M in iste r o f F isheries
(1 9 7 2 -1 9 7 8 ), and A m b a ssa d o r to T an z an ia (1 9 7 9 -1 9 8 3 ), am ongst o th er p o sts. H is diwan,
K alim at h a Dira ‘aid saw ati al-M ahra (“T u m u lto u s W o rd s from the S hores o f al-M ah ra” ) is a
co llectio n o f A ra b ic -la n g u ag e qasidas and zam ils, i.e., fu ll-len g th poem s and couplets o f m o n o
rh y m ed h e m istic h s in a h ig h ly v ern acu lar, H adram I id io m .4 A lthough en u n ciated in a colloquial
A rabic id io m , th e c o n te n t p o in ts to the fact th at M u h am m ad °A kkus, and the p o ets w hom he
q u o tes in full, are p ro u d so n s o f al-M ah ra.
T he g ro u n d in g o f M u h a m m ad cA k k u s’s diw an in his native tu rf is clea r from a qasida
th a t he c o m p o sed fo r H a y d a r a l-cA ttas, th e n ew ly ap p o in ted G o vernor o f al-M a h ra in 1994:
W e lo v e o u r lan d and th e soil and w h a te v e r// lays upon the steppe, ev ery th in g , and
also h er p lan ts
T he land n e v e r says: “I // am a child o f fa tw a s o r the fickle m oods o f the
in te m p e ra te ”
B ut she is free, in d e p e n d e n t and full o f ch arm s // and she lives according to the law
o f p ro u d w o m en
W e d o n o t d istin g u ish b etw een h e r and o u r ow n fam ily // from the co ast o f al-M ahra
to W a d i Q ana!
nahnu nuhibb a l- ’ard wal-turba w a-md / / fa w q al-barari kullaha hiya w al-nabati

w a l-’ard ma kanat w a-ld qalat 3and / / b in t al-fataw i 3aw haw agis m in fa la ti
bal 'innahd hurra 3a b iya fa tin a / / ‘asat cala al-nam us min giz al-bandti
wa-ld nufarriq baynaha w a l-ca :’ila / / min sahil al-mahra 'ild w a d iq a n a ti 5
A n o th e r qasida in the diw an o f M u h am m ad cA k k u s, (com posed by cA ll S uhayl a l-M acsanT),
cap tu res th e sam e p a ssio n fo r au th en ticatin g h im se lf th ro u g h local geography:
4 A s described in Chapter 2 o f this dissertation, the Yem eni zdm il (pi. zaw am il) are couplets o f colloquial Arabic poetry
exchanged by two or more poets and w h ose performance includes choruses who take turns chanting each couplet. The
Yem eni zam il is also performed in al-Mahra where it is called habbot. R agzlt couplets are the M ahri-language
equivalent to the constituent couplets o f zaw am il.
5 Muhammad cAkkus, K alim at a l-h a 3ira cala sa w a ti al-M ahra (no publishing information available, -2 0 0 3 ), 9.
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F rom A n cien t D h o fa r I h av e co m e, h ead in g to w ards [or co m p o sin g po etry about] //
the land o f th e u n y ield in g M ahra, so urce o f w isdom
H o m elan d o f v irtu e, h isto ry has w itn essed // declaim in g lines o f poetry ab o u t it, in
tim e p assed
W e h av e co m e to H a w f and seen its v irtu es // d au g h te r o f m o u n ta in ’s escarp m en t and
th e o c e a n ’s ch ild
W e h av e ascen d ed to G adab and h av e seen there // tow ering fo rtresses o f strength
and size
S ource o f th e G afari trib es, w hose springs irrigate [the land] // h o w often I h av e heard
o f it and m y b re a st h as y earned fo r i t !
W e h av e trav elled to al-G h ay d h a and have visited there // fo lk and friends both,
w h o se c o m p a n io n sh ip is sought
W h ere w e v isite d D h ab u t, [w hose] fo rtress w as con stru cted // by the fo refath er o f ou r
fo refath ers, if o n ly y ou k n ew [them ]!
min zufar al- ’aslla git qasidaha / / ’arc} mahran al-°abiya m a n b a c al-fikri
dirat al-m agd w a -‘l-tdrih sahiduha / / q a lfih a al-zaman ’abydt min s i cri
h a w f gind wa-sahidna ’am gadha / / bint hayd al-gabal w a-salilat al-bahri
wa-°irtaqayna °ila gadib nusahiduha / / al-husun al-samijja w a l-cizz w al-qadri
m aw rid al-gafari tarw i m anabicaha / / kam sa m icna biha w a -’istaqaha sadri
w a-°irtahalnd 'ild al-gayza nazur biha / / °ahl wa- ’ashab kullan suhbatuhu tusri
hayfu zurna dabut al-hisn Sayyadaha / / gadd ’a sla fm in °a sla fla w ta d r i6
T he qasidas and zam ils in cluded in M u h am m a d cA k k u s’s diwan are fo r the m o st p art
p o litical and occasio n al: calls fo r ju stic e (“ Q asida in R esponse to H u sayn a l-M ih d a r’s Q asida:
‘D isg u st at th e S tag ed D isp lay o f the C orp ses o f the Sayh °A1T b. H abrays a l-cAH and his G roup
on 1 /4 /1 9 9 8 ’”), co m m e m o ra tiv e qasidas (“Qasida on the O ccasion o f the A rrival o f the P o et al-
DIfnayn b. Sinan to K uw ait in 1964”), m atters o f social urgency (“C o n cern in g the M arriag e o f
C ity G irls” ), and ev en in c lu d e s a b o ast o f al-M ah ra to the tribes o f M a ’rib (“T h eir lu m in o sity is
know n in every v illag e // a fo lk o f b lack b u lle ts, fu m ig ated w ith fra n k in c en se”).7 T his diwan,
p u b lish ed by M u h am m ad cA kkus to su p p lem en t his m em oir, Waqd ’V wa- ’a h d a f (2001), fixes
h im as th e p o e tic -a d v o c ate o f al-M ah ra in an A rab ic-sp eak in g Y em en. H e d o e sn ’t shy fro m a
local affd iatio n ; in fact, th is is a source o f p rid e to him . A nd yet, alth o u g h the ev en ts and the
ch aracters are essen tially local, the v o ice, (ren d ered in A rabic), is m ean t to reach a larg er
6 Ibid., 27. The “towering fortresses” o f Gadab are a reference to the military installations at Sarfayt on the Omani
border. The fortress o f Dhabut refers to the large, multi-storey tower known as 3Isok in the center o f Dhabut; its
provenience is felt by the locals to pre-date the Portuguese and it is also the site o f communal celebrations.
“lasyathum m a cru ffi kull a l-d lr / / ’ahl al-rasds al-sud w al-'a k i bahur” (ibid., 3 & 6, 17, 12 and 71-72 respectively).
176
au d ien ce. M u h am m ad cA k k u s seem s in ten t on p ro v in g th a t al-M ah ra e x ists and th at th e M ah ra
are fit fo r in clu sio n in n atio n al p a rtn e rsh ip w ith the rest o f Y em en.
T h e p o etry o f M u h sin CAJT Y a sir is o f a d ifferen t n atu re en tirely sin ce h is to pics are
n atio n al, (not reg io n al), in sco p e. T his befits a m an w ith a career h isto ry as a central fig u re in the
ad m in istratio n o f th e P D R Y (M in iste r o f L abor), and M in ister W ith o u t P o rtfo lio ( w azir al-dawla)
in the cu rren t p resid en tial c ab in et. In term s o f p o e tic co n ten t, there is n o th in g th at w ould
p o sitiv e ly id en tify M u h sin cA li Y asir as M ahri and h is po etic idiom is a g eneric, vern acu lar
S ou th ern A rabic th a t is c lo se r to th e m o d em w ritten standard than is M u h am m ad cA k k u s’s. F o r
in stan ce, M u h am m ad cA k k u s p e p p ers h is dictio n w ith S outh A rabian v e rn a c u la r term s ( m uhallab
[“an ch o red sh ip ”]), uses /d / an d Izl in te rc h an g eab ly in h is orth o g rap h y and strays fro m n o rm ativ e,
w ritten g ra m m a r (lillil as a g en eral re la tiv e p ro n o u n , lb[a]-l as the fu tu re m arker, etc.). On idiom
alone, M u h am m ad eA k k u s is easily re co g n iz ab le as an A rabic sp eak er fro m the eastern m arches
o f H adram aw t.
M u h sin cAll Y asir, o n th e o th e r h an d , u tilize s an id io m th at ch a ra cteriz es h im m ore
g en erally as a S ou th ern A rab , b u t w ith o u t ov erd o in g th e local color. A s such, he uses a co llo q u ial
futu re m a rk e r (lb[a]-l ) and o c c a sio n ally d ro p s the ham za in the orth o g rap h y . T hese v ern acu lar
elem en ts are a literary artifice in ten d ed to giv e h is p o etry a p o p u list flavor, a tech n iq u e that is
stated o u trig h t b y cA li S a Y H ad!, (P resid en t o f the H igh C ouncil fo r P arty C en so rsh ip [Ra ’Is
Lagnat al-Raqaba al-H izblya a l-'U ly a ]), in h is in tro d u ctio n to M uhsin cA li Y a sir’s epic poem ,
M alham at al-Yaman (“T he E pic o f Y em e n ” ):
[This w ork] co m es fro m a p o et w ho add resses his folk in a la n g u ag e that is

fo rm u lated b etw een an elev ated , literary re g iste r (al-m ustaw a a l- ’adabi al-ra fic) and
a re g iste r fo r g en eral co m p re h en sio n (al-m ustaw a li-m afhum a l-‘dm m iya ). T his
d eriv es from th e k n o w le d g e and re aliz atio n o f th e im p o rtan ce o f a dialo g u e w ith the
m asses ( al-gam ahir ) in a la n g u a g e th at they can u n d erstan d .8
T he lo calism s that ap p e a r in M alham at al-Yam an are m o st clearly articu lated in d irect
8 CA1I Sa°ic Had!, introduction to M alham at al-Yam an, by Muhsin CA1I Yasir (Damascus: Dar al-Gahiz, 1980), viii.
177
speech w h ere M u h sin CA1I Y asir strives fo r a sort o f ling u istic n aturalism . F o r in stan ce, at the
o u tset o f th e poem , the B ritish co m m an d er o f A den, C aptain H aines, add resses the p eo p le o f
A den in a g en eric S o u th ern Y em eni, m ix ed -reg ister d iale ct:9
T h ey said: w e h av e co m e fo r y o u r sake // w e w ill c reate civ ilizatio n in p lace o f y o u r

b ack w ard n ess
W e w ill p ro tect and p reserv e y o u r in terests // w e w ill alw ays fo llo w the w ish es o f the
S ultan
Y ou m ust u n d erstan d th e ex trem e im p o rtan c e o f ou r in ten tio n s // and thus w e hope
that y ou w ill n o t d iso b ey us.
qalu °innama g i ’nd li-sdlihikum / / b a -n a cm al h a d a ra fi muhalifikum

w a-ba-nahfaz w a-ba-narca masdlihakum / / wa-dayim ba-nulabbT ragbat al-sultan
wa-lazim tafham u gayat m aqasidina / / w a-nargu b a cdaha ’an la y u ca n id a n a °
T he n arrativ e sectio n s are phrased in a less colloquial idiom . M u h sin CA1T Y asir gen erally
esch ew s th e spoken d ialect b y in tro d u ctin g the gram m atical m arkers o f w ritten standard A rabic
such as th e declin ed relativ e p articles, alladT and allatl, and the su b o rd in atin g p article 'an, fo r
in stan ce. T races o f co llo q u ial S outhern A rabic do show through h o w e v e r." M u h sin CAH Y a sir’s
id io m is m e a n t to g ive a general im p ression: M u h sin 0A ll Y asir is S outh Y em en i w ith o u t b ein g
ov erb earin g ly so, a lin g u istic co m p ro m ise that strikes the p ro p er note b e tw ee n the national
p a trio tism o f the P D R Y an d its p an-A rab, u n iv e rsa list rhetoric.
In term s o f co n ten t, M u h sin °AlI Y asir is p rim arily concerned in lio n iz in g Y em eni
resistan ce to th e Im am ate in N orth Y em en and to B ritish co lo n ialism in S outh Y em en.
F u rth erm o re, he links th ese tw o conflicts to b ro ad er struggles in the T h ird W orld, and sp ecifically
to em erg en t strains o f M arx ism , anti-co lo n ialism and A rab n atio n alism in the M id d le E ast. In
th is reg ard , M u h sin °AH Y a sir fits nicely into re ce n t histo ries o f Y em eni p o e try by cIzz al-D in
9
Captain H aines (o f the Indian N avy) took Aden on behalf o f the East India C om pany- by force - for use as a coaling
station in 1839.
10 Yasir, 1980, 15.
11 For exam ple, (ibid., 14):
Victory would not have been allotted to the loser // and the warrior o f the sons o f Qahtan would not have
perished
[In the fight] the fearless warrior will be distinguished // from the craven and the duplicitous shirker
la-m a kana al-z.afar m aqsiim lil-batil / / w a-ld bd-yan dah ir fa ris bam qahtan
wa-jtha bd-yuban al-faris a l-b a s il/ / min a l-ra cdXd w a-al-m u tasallil al-hatil
178
DIsm a cTl, °A bd al-°A ziz al-M aq alih and ’A hm ad b. M u h am m ad al-Sam l. F o r th ese literary
critics, th e p o e tic s o f p o litical en g ag em en t and c o n fro n ta tio n are the o n ly form s o f p o etry to m erit
th e u n q u alified title o f p o etry (“ a l-sicr ”), and the b u lk o f th e ir w ork is d ed icated to p o etry th at fits
th is d e fin itio n .12 In tone and co n ten t, M uhsin °AlI Y a sir enters into the re g iste r o f official
n atio n al p o e try ( a l-sicr al-w atam ), u n lik e M u h am m ad cA kkus w ho is d ec id ed ly p ro v in cial in
topic and id io m and is th ereb y restricted to the d o m ain o f v ern a cu la r po etry , (sicr a l-cammiya).
N ot su rp risin g ly , M u h sin CA1I Y asir’s first tw o dlw ans are sp ecifically ad d ressed to a national
audience: °Ild w atani (“To M y N atio n ”) and the afo rem en tio n ed M alham at al-Y am an , 13
M alham at al-Yaman is an in terestin g w ork. A s the title indicates, M alham at al-Yam an is
an epic p o e m in scope, co n ten t and to n e and is evo cativ e o f oth e r national fo u n d atio n epics such
as V irg il’s Aeneid. In his in tro d u ctio n , H ad! ev o k es the national, (even su p ra-n atio n al), scope o f
th is epic poem :
B etw een o u r han d s is a w o rk that em bodies the statu s o f literature in the current
rev o lu tio n ary p ro cesses o f o u r co u ntry and reflects the ad v ancem ent o f literatu re fo r the
h u m an c o n d itio n in all o f its m in u te d etails and in te ra ctio n s. T he co m p o ser o f th is
len g th y , p o e tic epic o ffers a liv in g pictu re o f scenes fro m our m o d e m re v o lu tio n ary
h isto ry , b eg in n in g w ith th e b a ttle o f o ccu p atio n and n atio n al resistan ce to the c o lo n ialist
in v asio n s, co n tin u in g to th e aw akening o f the national co n scio u sn ess and the first steps in
the fo u n d atio n o f th e n atio n al Y em eni m ovem ent, and conclu d in g w ith the in cep tio n o f
the tw o g lo rio u s rev o lu tio n s o f S ep tem b er and O cto b er and the in d ep en d en ce o f the
southern h a lf o f th e co u n try as a step on the road to w a rd s a unified Y e m e n .14
A s th is in tro d u cto ry n o te m akes clear, M alham at al-Yaman covers m o d e m Y em eni history
from a “scien tific,” rev o lu tio n ary o utlook. It is long: 123 p ag es o f rh ym ed (A A A A B B B B A
C C C C A etc.), ra g a z -m ete re d verse d iv id ed into three ch ap ters, w hich are fu rth e r d iv id ed into
scenes {masahid). T he tone o f this p o em is at once rap tu ro u sly rev o lu tio n ary (“In a night
12
For these three literary cntics, contemporary poetry (a l-si'r al-mu casir) is politically themed, nationalist poetry
(watani) and is ultimately derived from the qasida format. Other genres o f poetry, (including lyric poetry) receive
qualifiers, such as colloquial poetry, lyric poetry (a l-scir al-hum ayni) and strophic poetry (s icr al-m u bayyat and s i'r al-
m uwassahat). See cIzz al-Dln 'Isma' il, a l-S i'r a l-m u 'a s itfia l-Y a m a n : a l-ru 7ya w a -‘l-fann (Beirut: Dar al-cAwda,
1986), cAbd al-cAzrz al-Maqalih, a l-S i‘r a l-m u ‘a sirfla l-Y a m a n (Beirut: Dar al-cAwda, 1984) and 3Ahmad b.
Muhammad al-Sam l, M a r al-Si'r a l-m u ca sirfia l-Y a m a n (Beirut: Dar al-N afa’is, 1980).
’IId w atan i is not available to me, nor is any publication information.
14 cA li S a 3ic HadT, introduction to Yasir, 1980, vii.
179
p ro m ised b y h isto ry // th e p e o p le ’s stru g g le reach ed its goal / B ringing into e x isten ce its ch ild //
as th o u g h [the stru g g le] and d estiny had fix ed the d ate” [97]), and is p ack ed w ith h isto rical detail.
F o r ex am p le, C h a p te r 1, S cen e 2, (“A den A fter C aptain H ain es”) starts o u t w ith a list o f B ritish
o fficials in A den. It b eg in s w ith H a in e s’ successor, “ 3A w tram ” (C olonel Jam es O u tram ), and
in clu d es h is p rin cip al assistants:
In the a d m in istra tiv e centers, [O utram ] ap pointed // “ Layfar , ’’his rig h t-h an d m an in
ev ery d astard ly deed
A nd his asso ciate “ Badgar ” fo r ev ery th in g clan d estin e // and entrusted “ H arm az ”
w ith th e h in terlan d and th e ir a llie s .15
A l-M a h ra is ab sen t from this n atio n a list, historical n arrative; presu m ab ly a l-M a h ra ’s
m arginal ro le in th e p o w e r p o litic s o f S o u thern A rabia disq u alifies it from epic treatm en t. A l-
M ah ra sh o w s u p o n ly o n ce in M alham at al-Yam an in a pro v erb ial exp ressio n as one o f Y e m e n ’s
g eo g rap h ical ex trem ities: “W e c o n clu d ed [our rev o lu tio n ary activity] fo r the b e n e fit o f o u r u n ited
p eo p le // fro m a l-M ah ra to S a cda to H asid .” 16 In tone and content, M uhsin cA lI Y asir is a
n ational p oet. U n ificatio n , n o t internal d iv ersity , is his p rim ary m otif. A lth o u g h a l-M ah ra h as no
p lace in h is p o e tic oeuvre, M u h sin cA li Y a sir is enth u siastically claim ed by the M a h ra as one o f
th e ir ow n and ran k s am o n g st th e ir p re-em in e n t poets.
In sh o rt, th e p u b lish e d w o rks o f M u h sin CAH Y asir and M u ham m ad cA kkus p resen t them
as active - in d eed , lead in g - p articip an ts in the social an d political dram as o f p o st-1 9 6 7 Y em en.
M u h am m ad cA k k u s m ain tain s a reg io n al fra m e o f referen ce w hile M uhsin CA1I Y asir addresses
n atio n al to p ics, y et the p o in t rem ain s the sam e: both are Y em eni p o ets w ho p ra ctic e and p u b lish
th e ir p o etry fo r an au d ien ce th at is b ro a d e r than al-M ahra. T hese p o ets, and others lik e them ,
im bib ed d eep ly o f th e n atio n al rhetoric o f th e ir tim e; as such, they are disin terested in the M ahri
lan g u ag e as th e trad itio n al c o n v ey an ce o f M ahri culture. I found it n early im p o ssib le to solicit
15 “w a -cayyana ftm a ra k izih a al-qiyadlya / / bi- “la y fa r” s a cidu h u fi kull m u z r lh /w a - “b a d g a r” sahibuhu f i kull m a h flh //
w a - “h arm az” kallafuhu b il-r lf w a l-3a cw a n ” (ibid., 21). I am uncertain w ho Outram’s aides were and what their names
in English actually were.
"hasamnaha li-salih s a ‘bina a l-w d h id / / min al-m ahra :’ila s a ‘da Jila hasid” (ibid., 121). Sacda is the northernmost
city o f North Yem en and Hasid is one o f the two great tribal confederations o f North Yemen: Hasid and Bakll.
180
M ah ri-la n g u a g e p o e try fro m th em . M y re q u e sts fo r a M ahri poem w ere in v ariab ly resp o n d ed to
w ith an A ra b ic -la n g u ag e p o e m b y a M ahri p o et.
A lth o u g h I h a v e tak en M u h am m ad cA k k u s and M uhsin CA1I Y asir as m y prim ary ex am p les,
th e tone and la n g u a g e o f th e ir p o etry is m irrored by m o st contem porary p o ets o f al-M ahra. It is
im p o rtan t to k eep in m in d th at the b u lk o f M ahri poetry is w ritten in A rabic. E ven H agg D akon,
the lyric M ahri p o e t p a r excellence, p rim a rily co m p o ses A rabic lan g u ag e p o etry fo r m ixed
audien ces, and o f th e se w o rk s, the m ajo rity are national p raise po em s ( madh al-w atan o r a l-sicr
al-watariiya ) . 17 It is a co m m o n p ra ctice fo r p o e ts o f the m o d em P D R Y and Y A R to com p o se
national p ra ise p o e try alo n g sid e co llo q u ial p o e try o r lyric poetry. H asan M aqbul al-°A hdal, (the
p rev io u s g o v e rn o r o f al-M ah ra), and cA b d allah cA w ad DU m saw et are rep resen tativ es o f this type.
T h eir p u b lic iz e d an d circu lated p o etry is in v a ria b ly o f th e natio n al-p raise variety and is u su ally
co m p o sed to co m m e m o ra te a n ational h o lid a y o r the v isit o f a go v ern m en t d ig n ita ry .18 T hough
th e ir qasidas m ay fail in term s o f aesth etic n u an ce and su b tlety o f feeling, this is hard ly the p o in t.
A l-Â h d al’s an d 3U m sa w e t’s p u rp o se is a fu n ctio n a l one. S teven C aton has co n v in cin g ly argued
that honor, fo r o n e ’s trib e and fo r the in d iv id u a l, is created in the act o f po etic co m p o sitio n .19
Qasidas d ev o ted to n atio n al p raise literally earn m oney fo r al-M ahra since the various
g o v ern m en tal m in istries are h ap p y to rew ard p a trio tism w ith financial gifts. In a m ore fig u rativ e
sense, a w ell-receiv ed p o e m also b u ild s a p ersu a siv e capital w ith the g o v ern in g institu tio n s and
w ith Y em eni so ciety at larg e.
T he in trin sic a lly critical stance m ain tain ed by poets o f trad itional tribal odes, (such as B ir
L a ctayt in “A to p th e p eak o f T a rb u t” o r T a n n a f H a m to t’s dandan about the breach o f the p eace
b etw een JCamsayt, K alsat and S m oda), has changed in recen t years. In v ective o r strong, ham asl
17 At the ten year com mem oration o f Yem eni Unification in 2004, H agg Dakon presented his R u b a ‘iyat al-huruf, (“The
Acrostic Quatrains”), a fervent, national praise poem in which the first letters o f every line spell out the Arabic phrase:
b i-3ifrah ’ihtifalat al-yam an b i-3i cy a d al-w ahda (“with the joyou s celebrations o f Yemen on the occasion o f the
Unification”).
18 F ora collection o f Hasan Maqbul aI-3A hdal’s poetry, see al-Ahdal, 2000, 221-245. The national-praise qasidas by
’Um sawet were given to m e as unbound, xeroxed pages.
19 Caton, 1990, 176-177.
181
(“in c itin g ”) ex p re ssio n s o f any k in d , are w idely, even officially , disco u rag ed . “ O ccasio n al”
p o etry in th e vein o f a l- DA hdal, 3U m saw et and H agg D akon rarely strays from the rh a p so d ic since
th e p o litic a l a tm o sp h ere in a l-M ah ra is to o sen sitiv e to p erm it unab ash ed criticism o f the
g o v ern m en t. P e rh a p s the M ah ra feel too v u ln erab le to get aw ay w ith it, u n lik e th e ir co-n atio n als
in N o rth Y em en fo r w h o m p o litic ally in v ectiv e qasidas are practically a co ttag e in d u stry and w ho
are p ro te c te d ag ain st official san ctio n b y th e ir n u m b ers, m o n ey and m ilitary capacity.
In lig h t o f th e clo su re o f tribal p o e try as an o u tlet fo r social and political critiq u e, lyric
p o etry h as b e c o m e th e p rim ary m ea n s o f creativ e ex p ressio n . O ne N orth Y em eni v isitin g al-
M ah ra re m a rk e d to m e h o w th e M ah ra seem en tirely d e v o ted to th e ir lo v e p o etry . I strongly
believ e th at th is o n e-sid ed n ess com es fro m relu cta n ce on the part o f the M ah ra to en g ag e in
ex p licit e x p re ssio n s o f p o litical criticism . A s a resu lt, con tem p o rary M ahri poetics is either
ded icated to n atio n al p ra ise qasidas o r to ly ric p o etry . T his in creasin g im p o rtan ce o f the lyric
trend is h ard ly lim ited to al-M ah ra b u t is p a rt and p a rc el o f a larger po etic ten d en cy th at has
o v ertak en Y e m e n in th e last fifty y ears. Y em e n has w itn essed n o less than the d ev elo p m en t o f a
new ly ric style, a “m o d e m ” p o etic id io m w ith its ro o ts in intellectual and social d ev e lo p m en ts in
Y em en o v e r th e last h alf-c e n tu ry . T he p io n eers o f th is m ov em en t are n u m ero u s, b u t perh ap s
n o n e is m o re sig n ific a n t to al-M ah ra th an H usayn A bu B ak r al-M ihdar, (b. 1930, al-S ihr), the
m ost p re -e m in e n t HadramT ly ric p o e t o f th e last h alf-cen tu ry .
III. T he R en ew al o f S u n g -P o etrv in L ahg and H adram aw t:
T h e p o e tic ren ew al that h as tak en p lac e th ro u g h o u t Y em en o v e r the last half-cen tu ry is m ost
k eenly felt in su n g -p o etry , that is, in the ly ric, strophic genres o f sung verse. L yric p o etry ,
trad itio n ally co n fin e d to the p riv a te d o m ain , has m oved c lo ser to the co re o f the Y em eni national
h eritag e and has b eg u n to e lic it the sam e official re co g n itio n that has h ith erto been reserved fo r
182
th e p o etics o f resistan ce, n atio n al-p raise qasidas and tribal odes. F o r in stan ce, in 2 0 0 3 , U N E S C O
d esig n ated “S ongs o f S a n a a ” as a “M asterp iece o f the O ral and In tan g ib le H eritag e o f H u m a n ity ,”
and a re c e n t C D c o m p ilatio n o f S a n a’ani sung p o etry p ro d u ced by the In stitu t du M o n d e A rabe
(“M oham m ad al-H arithi: L ’H eure de Salom on ” [2001]), attests to the h ig h regard th a t S a n a ’ani
su n g -p o etry has earn ed on the in tern atio n al stag e .20
O u tsid e o f Y em en, w e h av e already noted that the samri genre o f A rabian lyric p o e try has
w itn essed the arrival o f a “d ev e lo p e d ” ( m utaw w ara ) style that appeals m ore stro n g ly to urban
ta ste s.21 W ith in Y em en , this renew al is linked to specific locales and reg io n al m usical idio m s.
T hree loci stand out in this regard: S a n a ’a, L ahg and H adram aw t.
S tarting w ith th e first and m ost p rev alen t style o f su n g -poetry, w e run into an initial
co ntrad ictio n : th e S a n a ’ani re-em erg ed o n to the Y em eni scene from the southern h ig h lan d s and
n o t from S a n a ’a, as th e n am e in dicates. T he reaso n fo r this is that due to restric tio n s im p o sed by
th e M u taw ak k ilite Im am s o f N orthern Y em en on the p erfo rm an ce o f m usic, the S a n a ’ani style
o n ly p ersev ered am o n g st em ig re N o rth ern ers liv in g b ey o n d th e bo rd ers o f the Im am ate. In d eed ,
th e co m m o n p e rc e p tio n in Y em en h o lds that a p e rio d o f cultural stag n atio n p rece d ed the re
ap p earan ce o f su n g -p o etry in the 20th cen tu ry , and this stagnation is lin k ed to the p o litic a l,
eco n o m ic and social iso latio n o f Y em en u n d e r the M u taw ak k ilite Im am s. T he co n n ectio n
b etw een cultural en erg y and p o litical p ro g ressiv en e ss is stated ou trig h t by p o et and critic, T aha
F a ric: “T he in tellectu al and social d eg en eratio n o f p re -rev o lu tio n ary Y em en ...o b literated the
artistic spirit and k illed o ff the p oetic im p u lse [a l-d b d a c] in the soul o f Y em en and en ab led the
rulers and ty ran ts to p u t the aesthetic arts [al-funun al-gam lla ] and m usic on the b lack list,
in clu d in g them am o n g st o th e r th in g s that are fo rb id d en and illeg a l.” 22
20
F ortw o recent studies on the nationalization o f Sana’ani sung poetry, see Jean Lambert, “M usique R egionales et
Identite Nationale” La R evue du M onde M usulm an et d e la M editerranee 67 (1993): 171-185 and Lucine Taminian,
“Playing With Words: The Ethnography o f Poetic Genres in Y em en” (PhD diss., University o f M ichigan, 2001): 137-
142.
21 Jargy, 1989, 184.
22 _ _ _
Taha Faric, a l-’ U gntya al-yam am ya a l-m u 'a sira (Beirut: M u’assasat Dar al-Kitab al-Hadif, 1993), 20.
183
It w a sn ’t u n til p o litic a l and social co n d itio n s in N orth Y em en opened up a fter the 1962
rev o lu tio n that S a n a ’ani su n g -p o etry co u ld b e re sto red to its native te rrito ry .23 S a n a ’ani sung-
p o etry its e lf is lik e ly the d escen d an t o f hum aym sun g -p o etry , a R asu lid -era genre o f sung, lyric
p o etry th at b ears a re sem b lan ce to the A n d alu sian zagal.24 T his hum aynl po etry , re-w o rk e d as
S an a’ani su n g -p o etry , h as b e c o m e the sig n atu re m usical genre o f th e Y A R u n d er its vig o ro u s
regim e o f p ro m o tin g a n atio n al cultu re w h o se ce n te r o f g rav ity is also its capital, S a n a ’a .25
F o llo w in g S a n a ’ani su n g -p oetry in term s o f ch ro n o lo g ical d ev elo p m en t, in n o v ativ e L ah g i
sung-p o etry ow es its flo rescen ce to th e fo rm er style. In fact, S a n a’ani m usic co n tin u es to be the
p rev ailin g m o d e o f m u sical p e rfo rm a n ce at qat sessions and w ed d in g celeb ratio n s in L a h g .26
H ow ever, in th e early d ecad es o f the 20th cen tu ry , a sp ecifically L ah g i idiom b e g an to take shape
alo n g sid e th e S a n a ’ani style. In sh o rt, S a n a ’ani//uw naym lyrical arran g em en ts and p e rfo rm ativ e
m odes w ere tran sp lan ted o n to traditional L a h g i m elo d ies and dance rhythm s. T his trend reaches
its apogee in its p re -e m in e n t pio neer: P rin ce 3Ah m ad F ad l b in cA li a l-cA bdali (d. 1943), a.k.a. al-
Q um andan (“the C o m m a n d e r”), b ro th er o f the l a s t 0A b d ali S ultan o f L ahg. A cco rd in g to the
co m m o n n arrativ e, al-Q u m an d an fo rso o k a life o f p o litics and d ev o ted h im se lf to m o re leisurely
p u rsu its such as farm in g and co m p o sin g p o etry in his g ard en o f al-H u say n i, located in the L ah g i
23 “If not for the presence o f Sana’anisinging in Aden and in other regions not submitting to the priestly rule o f the
Imamate, then this glorious heritage would have dwindled away to nothing. And so must w e turn our eyes to the
central contribution o f Aden in the preservation o f this glorious Yem eni heritage” (Faric, 1993, 36). N o less important,
perhaps, w as the fact that modern recording studios were available in Aden, and that the first records featured local,
South Yem eni performers. The first musicians and poets w ho printed their records thus received the privilege o f
setting the idiom, tone and style for the artists that succeeded them.
24There is no dearth o f scholarly writing on hum aynJpoetry in Yem en. For this dissertation, I have relied primarily on,
Muhammad Saraf al-Dln, D iwan m ubayyatat w a-m uw assahat (Sana’a: Dar al-Kalima, [no date]), Sem ah, 1988, 220-
239, Lucine Taminian, “Playing with Words: The Ethnography o f Poetic Genres in Y em en” (PhD diss., University o f
M ichigan, 2001) and G acfar al-Zafari, “S icr al-m uwassah al-carabT fi al-diyar al-yamanlya,” M agallat al-Yam an 11
(2000): 14-77.
25
The impact o f Northern Yem eni cultural policy has been commented on in Chapter 3 o f this dissertation where I
point to the fact that South Yem eni poetic genres such as the ragza tend to be reclassified as the Northern Yem eni
zam il. W hile “Songs o f Sanaa” were designated as a “M asterpiece o f the Oral and Intangible Heritage o f Humanity”
by UNESCO , the musical traditions o f Lahg, Aden and Hadramawt did not m ake the list.
Faric, 1993,61.
184
tow n o f a l-H aw ta.27 T here, u n d er the b o w ers o f his b u co lic retreat, al-Q um andan gath ered about
h im a g ro u p o f p o ets an d m u sicians w ho engaged in frien d ly po etic co n tests, and in d o in g so,
raised th e level o f su n g -p o etry in L ahg to a new deg ree o f craft and co m p lex ity . T he m em ory
liv es on: th e garden o f al-H usaym has b e co m e p ro v e rb ia l as a lyric locus am oenus and the annual
“C o m m an d an t F e stiv a l” in L ahg is testim o n y to al-Q u m a n d a n ’s c o n tin u in g in flu en ce on m usic
and p o etry in S outh ern A rab ia.28
A few d ecad es later, a H ad ram l v ersio n o f in n o v atio n lyric, su n g -p o etry w ould fo llo w the
trajecto ry estab lish ed b y the LahgT renew al a gen eratio n e arlier. A nd in p lac e o f al-Q u m an d an ,
H ad ram l su n g -p o etry w o u ld find its fo rem o st p io n eer in H usayn A bu B a k r al-M ihdar.
In a sense, a l-M ih d a r’s in flu en ce is even g re ate r than th at o f h is p red e ce sso r, al-Q u m an d an ,
since his p o etry has g arn ered a fo llo w in g th at includes the rest o f A rab ia and the G ulf. T his is a
co n seq u en ce o f the su ccess o f his p ro teg e, A bu B ak r B alfaq ih , as an in te m atio n a l-c alib re
p erfo rm er and reco rd in g artist and q u ite p o ssib ly the o n ly Y em eni sin g er to h av e ach iev ed such
an intern atio n al fo llo w in g . T h e shadow o f H usayn al-M ih d a r on c o n tem p o rary H ad ra m l singing
and p oetry is d escrib ed by T aha F a ric:
T he first tim e I v isited the G o v em a te o f H adram aw t in 1 9 7 8 ,1 n o ticed that every

citizen o f H ad ram aw t w as m em o rizin g the latest new song that a l-M ih d ar re cite d o r
p u t to m usic. T his is a rare characteristic w hich only al-M ih d a r en jo y ed from
am o n g st his colleag u es: his co m p o sitio n s w ere com p letely d issem in ated from person
to perso n . T his is th e case fo r no o th e r p o e t w ho has com e a fte r him and b rin g s to
m ind th e d ev o tio n that the peo p le o f L ahg have fo r o u r departed p o et, 0A h m ad Fadl
b in cA lI al-Q u m an d an .29
T he co m m o n d en o m in ato r in the renew al o f sun g -p o etry in L ahg and H adram aw t is that al-
Q um andan and al-M ih d a r elab o rated on local trad itio n s o f song and dan ce, ( al-fulklur a l-sa ‘bl),
according to the in stru m en tatio n and form al co m p lex ity o f the S a n a ’ani /hum aynl m odel o f sung-
27
This narrative is disputed by others w ho view him as a feudal reactionary in the pocket o f the British, and whose
praise o f the “fanning life” was nothing more than a disingenuous posture. See cAbd al-‘ AzTz al-Maqalih, S icr a l-
cam mlya fta l-Y a m a n (Beirut: Dar al-cA w da, 1978), 437-444.
28 ’Ahmad al-Muhandis, ‘A la 'al-H usaynt’...salam (Jedda: Sarikat al-Madlna al-Munawwara li-‘l-Tibaca w a -‘l-Nasr,
1999), 175-188.
29Faric, 1993, 106.
185
poetry . D esp ite th e sim ila r p ro c e sse s th at sh ap ed them , both styles retain a local fla v o r and the
u n d e rly in g fo lk m elo d ies are rec o g n ize ab le as L a h g i o r H adram l, (or Y a ficI, o r A deni, etc.).
G en erally sp eak in g , H a d ra m l m usic is m ore open to fo reig n influence, esp ec ially Indian m usic,
than are th e S a n a ’ani o r L a h g i styles. T his is d u e to tw o reasons: the first is the close re la tio n sh ip
th a t p rev ails b e tw e e n H a d ra m a w t and S o u th east A sia, a relatio n sh ip th a t ex p resses its e lf in the
fam o u sly m ix ed A sian -A rab ian arch itectu ral id io m o f H adram aw t. S econdly, H adram i m u sic has
entered in to the in tern atio n al aren a in a w ay th at L a h g i o r S a n a ’ani n e v er has, th anks to A bu B a k r
B a lfa q ih ’s success. In a sense, the in tern atio n al success o f H adram l su n g -p o etry is a fu n ctio n o f
its relativ e n ew n ess. T h e H a d ra m l “sch o o l” co u ld avail itse lf o f fo reig n instru m en tatio n and
reco rd in g tech n o lo g ies in a w ay th at w as n o t p o ssib le fo r S a n a ’ani o r L ah g i su n g -p o etry in the
3 0 ’s, 4 0 ’s and 5 0 ’s, and at th e sam e tim e, the y e t-u n fo rm ed character o f H ad ram i sung-poetry
d u rin g th is p e rio d o ffered a tabula rasa fo r the n ew ly arrived Indian m o v ie-m u sicals.30
O ddly en o u g h , H a d ra m i m usic, (o r Y em eni m usic in general fo r th at m atter), has n ev er
d ev elo p ed a fo llo w in g in E g y p t o r N orth A fric a to the degree that it has in the eastern h a lf o f the
A rab w orld. T his to p ic h as b een add ressed b y H usayn al-M ihdar in an in terv iew w ith 3A h m ad al-
M u h an d is, in w hich he cites th e lack o f m ed ia attention as the m ain reaso n , as w ell as a lack o f
in tern atio n al am b itio n on th e p a rt o f H ad ram l p e rfo rm e rs and p o ets.31
T h e ren ew al o f b o th L a h g i and H ad ram l ly ric poetry can be bro k en dow n into the follow ing
in g red ien ts. T he first is th e ad o p tio n o f rh y th m and m e ter from p rev io u sly ex isting d ance-genres.
In this sense, the lin e b e tw e e n fo lk lo re and m o dern co m p o sitio n is freq u en tly crossed since
current ly ricists are actu ally in the bu sin ess o f up d atin g earlier rhythm s and m elodies. A s F a ric
has p o in ted out, trad itio n al so n g s are often attrib u ted to H usayn al-M ih d ar, “even though th ey are
30In response to the question o f whether Indian music continues to play a role in his com positions, al-Mihdar once
answered: “Y es...it is still present...just as the performer M uhammad Gumca (Ian used to do [with Indian m usic]. And
after him, the performer known as ‘al-H ufangf used to select his m elodies from Hindi film s...this feature has continued
to the present time in Hadramawt and A den” (al-Muhandis, 1999, 237).
31 Ibid.,2 3 3 .
186
o ld fo lk so n g s...o n to w h ich h e h as m erely arranged th e ly rics.” 32 T his has led to debates
co n cern in g th e th eft, (o r lack o f attrib u tio n ), o f fo lk lo ric m elodies o r p o etry in m o d em H adram l
p o e try .33 In sho rt, it is d ifficu lt to say w here one ends an d the o th er begins.
T h e p o e t ’A hm ad F ad l al-Q u m an d an arranged his poetry acco rd in g to the rh y th m s o f

a n u m b e r o f fo lk d an ces fro m the re g io n o f L ahg and w e lik ew ise fin d in the folk-
p o e try o f al-M ih d a r so ngs w hich h e arranged according to the rh y th m s o f folkdances
from H ad ram aw t, such as the d an ce al-habba in h is song “M m hisanak tafdul gud li
bil-liqa,” and as w e h av e p o in te d out earlier, w e find the b est e x p ressio n o f the dance
al-gayya in h is song “N uw ab gardan ya lq l casal,” ju s t as w e find the d an ce al-sirr al-
sahili in his song “Na wa-fjalli turadm a w a-qam asna al-hawlya nagd "’ and the dance
al-darga in h is song “ Sabir w a-fi al-qalb ma
T he second ele m e n t is in stru m en tatio n . T rad itio n al dance genres in S outh A rabia w ere only
acco m p an ied b y p e rc u ssio n in stru m e n ts, m o st n o tab ly , the brass p late (sahn o r tdsa) and the d ra m
(tabla). U n d e r th e in flu en ce o f A deni and S a n a ’ani p erfo rm an ce m odes, the m o d em cud and the
kam anga (o r kam dn ), e n tered th e rep erto ire. T he ro le th at colonial era b an d s has play ed in the
e v o lu tio n o f H a d ra m i in stru m e n tatio n can n o t b e ov erlo o k ed ; in fact, one o f H ad ram l m u sic’s first
p io n eers, M u h am m ad G u m ca H an, ro se th ro u g h the ran k s o f the Q u cay ti S u lta n ’s m ilitary band,
al-Taramblta, to b e c o m e o n e o f H a d ra m a w t’s p re m ie r p erform ers in the p e rio d befo re H usayn al-
M ih d a r.35 T h is b a n d in sp ired th e Q u cay tl S u lta n ’s riv al, the K atin Sultan o f S a y 3un and T arim , to
fo rm u late his ow n b an d in S a y ’un. T he riv alry b etw e en the tw o sultanates had one beneficial
co n seq u en ce: ad v an ced m usical train in g in a variety o f in strum ents, (including m usical n o tatio n ),
is m o re p re v a le n t in H ad ram aw t th an elsew h ere in S outhern Y em en. E ven to d ay , H adram l
“rin g e rs” are a co m m o n fe a tu re o f m usical en sem b les th ro u g h o u t South A rabia, in clu d in g o f
course, al-M ah ra. A d d itio n a lly , m o d ern tech n o lo g y such as electric am p lification in pu b lic
32Faric, 1993, 106.

33 al-Muhandis, 1999, 232.
34Faric, 1993, 103-104.
35Ibid., 110-111. This is the sam e m ilitary band that Freya Stark heard during her stay in al-Mukalla: “And presently,
the eight brass instruments, blow ing hard, led the troops back to barracks through their battlemented gateway, with
bobbing curls, tarbushes, or turbans, and sloping rifles, and with so much obvious enjoyment to all concerned that even
a pacifist might have been carried away in that innocuous atmosphere o f military glory” (Stark, 1940,49).
187
p erfo rm an ce and m ix in g -b o ard s in reco rd ed p erfo rm a n ces h as m ade its e lf felt in H ad ram l
m u sic .36
A th ird elem en t lies in th e clo se co llab o ratio n o f p o e t and p erform er. T he im p o rtan c e o f this
pro fessio n al relatio n sh ip is ep ito m ize d by al-M ih d ar and A bu B ak r S alim , n e ith e r o f w hom
w ould h av e ach iev ed th e ir n atio n al and in tern atio n al re co g n itio n w ith o u t the other. T his im plies
a d eg ree o f p ro fe ssio n a lism and sp e cializ atio n n o t fo u n d in p re -m o d em S o uthern A rab ia w here
singer, m usician and p o e t w ere ty p ic ally one and the sam e. C o o p eratio n req u ires a w orking
p ro x im ity that is also not fo u n d am o n g st b ed o u in p asto ralists; a fixed and stable al-H u say n l (a la
a l-Q u m an d an ) is p re-req u isite fo r c o o p eratio n , o r failin g that, a p o p u latio n ce n ter such as S a y 3un,
a l-M u k alla o r al-G haydha. T his, in m y v iew , is w hat g iv e s in n o v ativ e sun g -p o etry its urban
flav o r versus the trad itio n al p o e try o f the co u n try sid e, w here p o etic and singing talen t are not
alw ays fo u n d to the sam e d e g re e in the sam e perso n .
F in ally , th e co o p eratio n b e tw ee n p o et and p e rfo rm e r is enhanced th ro u g h the ad o p tio n o f
w ritten ly rics. A p o em w ritten on a p ag e is fixed in tim e as w ell as d e m o n stra b ly the w ork o f
single p o et. In the era o f p ro fe ssio n a lism , it is an ow ned tex t w ith p ro p rietary rig h ts, (not a
v agu ely attrib u ted tran sm issio n ), th at m o tiv ates the m o d e m p o et to p ro d u c e and d istrib u te his
w ork. F a ric reco g n izes th e im p o rtan c e o f w ritin g to the renew al o f L ahgi su n g -p o etry by listing
“w ritin g dow n the text o f th e so n g ” as one o f the critical factors that led to its d e v elo p m e n t.37
T he sam e, p resu m ab ly , can b e said o f c o n tem p o rary H a d ra m l su n g-poetry.
T he fo u rth elem en t th at d istin g u ish e s trad itio n al su n g -p o etry fro m in n o v ativ e su n g -p o etry
lies in th e in creased c o m p lex ity o f its lyrics and length o f th e po etic text itself. T here is a long
h isto ry o f su n g -p o etry in H ad ram aw t: sim ple tunes w ith sim p le lyrics co m posed to accom pany
36To get a good sense o f the broader regional differences, one need only to compare audio cassettes released by Abu
Bakr Salim, with their rich instrumentation and orchestration, to those released by his contemporaries in North Yemen
such as "Ahmad al-Hubaysi, Surayga Yahya al-Surayga and Fu ’ad al-KibsI, for whom musical accom paniment is
generally limited to a single cud and sim ple percussion. A s a general rule, instrumentation from the south o f Yem en
tends to be richer and more complicated than instrumentation from the northern half o f Yem en, and is more open to
East African and Indian motifs as w ell.
37Faric, 1993, 85.
188
re p e titiv e task s such as farm in g , carpentry and m illin g .38 In addition, th ere is a trad itio n o f
re lig io u s stro p h ic so ngs ( m uw assahat dlnlya) in H ad ram aw t that o rig in ated in the suft schools
that flo u rish ed fro m th e 10th c. C E o n w ard s.39 T rad itio n s o f H adram l fo lk dance are no less
varied; in ad d itio n to the d an ces m en tioned above, w e also find dance genres such as the kasir,
darbukd, kam bura, dahlqa, hagur, razih, and qam s, ju s t to nam e a fe w .40
A lo n g sid e the ly ric g en res o f trad itio n al strophic songs, w e also find a g en eric label fo r
trad itio n al H ad ram i sung -p o etry : the dan.41 It is this final genre (if so m eth in g as b ro ad as dan can
b e term ed a g en re), that H usay n al-M ih d ar is p erc eiv ed as developing, elaborating on, and
u ltim ately rep lacin g w ith his o w n style o f su n g -p o etry . G acfar a l-S a q q a f s d epiction o f this
ev o lu tio n ary p ro cess is w orth q u o tin g in full:
O v er the p ast 2 0 0 y ears, d d n -so n g s h av e b een sung and co n tin u o u sly perfo rm ed - in
all o f th e ir v ariety - in th e W ad i H ad ram aw t, and in p articular, in the northern
d istricts and Say Tin. T h ey h av e even spread to the coast w here th ey are sung and
w h ere th a t talen ted p o et and fam ous m elo d icist [mulahhin], H usayn A bu B ak r al-
M ih d a r from al-S ih r, has risen to p re -e m in en ce . H is rem ark ab le po etic gift in
m elo d ies and su n g -p o etry has since co vered every part o f the re g io n and has even
trav elled ab ro ad , and th e m elodies o f the dan have dim in ish ed as a resu lt. O ne could
even say that th e A rab ian P en in su la and the A rabian G u lf has n e v e r know n such a
gift fo r ly rics and m elo d ies such as th at o f o u r p oet, al-M ihdar.42
In p ractical term s, w hat does in n o v atio n o r renew al m ean for the form al structure and lyrics
o f stro p h ic p o etry in the H ad ram aw t? F irst, w e need to take a traditional sung-poem as the
starting p o in t o f o u r co m p ariso n . O ne ty p e o f song, the hadam , is a g o o d ex a m p le o f a
“fo lk lo ric ,” strophic sung p o em in H ad ram aw t. T he hadanl is sung by w om en at the tim e o f the
38Ga'far Muhammad al-Saqqaf gives a rather exhaustive list o f the daily tasks that were accompanied by sim ple songs
in Hadramawt, (al-Saqqaf, [no date], 7-18).
39 " _ _ v _
cAbd al-Qadir al-Sabban, al-H araka a l-'a d a h iy a fiH a d ra m a w t (al-Mukalla: Maktab Wizarat al-Taqafa, 2001), 97-
115. The practice o f sufism in Hadramawt has been pushed underground by the arrival o f Wahhabi proselytizers w ho
have found fertile ground for their austere tastes to take root.
40al-Saqqaf, (no date), 19-33.
41 Ibid., 16. I have briefly mentioned this genre in Chapter 4 , footnote # 8, as an analogue to the Mahri bipartite genre,
the ddndan.
42Ibid., 17.
189
flo o d in g ( sayl ), w hen th e ru n -o ff ra in w a ter fro m the h ig h lan d s o f the gol rea ch es the w adi- bed o f
H a d ra m a w t:43
yd hadanl yd daha T he so u n d o f the hadanl m ad e m e sad yd daha diyana

yd hadanl yd daha It w oke m e up from m y sleep yd daha diyana
yd hadanl yd daha O S tar, the one b eh in d y o u h asten s yd daha diyana
yd hadanl yd daha T ell th e n ig h t to go m ore slow ly yd daha diyana
yd hadanl yd daha O C astle, h o w far are y o u r p illars yd daha diyana
yd hadanl yd daha Y ou lo o k ed dow n on us, ben eath the foundation yd daha diyana
yd hadanl yd daha saw t al-hadanl saganl yd daha diyana

yd hadanl yd daha w a-nabbahanl min m anam l yd daha diyana
yd hadanl yd daha yd nagam dah w arak ma cgul yd daha diyana
yd hadanl yd daha radd cald al-layl w a-am hal yd daha diyana
yd hadanl yd daha yd hisn ma ‘ab cad rakanak yd daha diyana
yd hadanl yd daha saraftana taht sasak yd daha diyana
A s w e see in th is stro p h ic song, the chorus is co m p rised o f rep etitiv e fille r and the text o f the
p o em is b a se d on fairly sim p listic, rh y m in g couplets. W e should also no te th at the rh y m e-w o rd
o f the first tw o lines c o rresp o n d s to the nam e o f the g en re itself: al-hadani (rhym ing o r near-
rh y m in g w ith saganl and manarrii). T h e lines are short m o n ostichs, and the p o em its e lf reaches
n o co n sid erab le length: eig h t lin es long in total.
U sin g these trad itio n al stro p h ic songs as th e ir raw m aterial, m odem H a d ra m l p o ets have
e lab o rated on its sim ple fo rm a t and its ly ric them es in a w ay that evokes hum aynl p o etry , (both
th e m uw assahat and m ubayyat fo rm ats), fro m w hich it lik ely draw s its insp iratio n . W e can take a
sung -p o em b y th e H ad ram i ly ric p o et, H asan cA b d allah B aharifa, as a good ex am p le o f w hat w e
find at th e o th e r end o f th e H ad ram i renew al. A p ro te g e o f H usayn al-M ihdar, B aharifa is
n o tew o rth y , (in the w o rd s o f cA bd a l-cA ziz al-M aq alih ), fo r the sim plicity o f h is style ( ihtiyaruhu
al-basata w asilat lil-ta cblr), his g en tle, tasteful app ro ach to h is topics ( n icmat al-tadaw wuq), and
h is lig h t touch ( a l-d a caba ).44 T h e fo llo w in g five strophes from the p o em cA d al- 'a m a lfih im by
B aharifa give a sense fo r the c h a ra cteristics and stru ctu re o f recent H adram i su n g -poetry. T he
43Ibid., 92.
cAbd al-cA ziz al-Maqalih, introdution to Baharifa, 2003, ix-xii. In sung performance, the refrain (the kurs or kural)
would open the poem. In the Arabic text o f Baharifa’s diw an, how ever, the refrain does not appear until after the first
strophe.
190
p oem is ad d ressed to a m arried co u p le and it u rges th em to p ersev ere d esp ite th e ir m arital
d ifficu lties and th e je a lo u s slan d er d irected at th e m :45
[T here is yet ho p e in them .]
T h ey are still lo vers E ven if they fall into

T ro u b le and then su rm o u n t it O n the strength o f th e ir love.
T here is yet ho p e in them .
H o w often they h av e said about us (A nd then interfered w ith trickery):

“I f on ly they could reach T h e ir m ost clo sely held w ish es.”
T here is y e t ho p e in them .
T h ey w ere je a lo u s, and th e ir je a lo u sy B linded th e ir sight

A nd rev ealed th eir secret A nd un d erm in ed th e ir fo u n d atio n s.
T here is y et ho p e in th e m .
W e w ere and still are W ith them , ju s t as w e used to

B e h a p p y and rejo ice W h en e v er w e m et them .
T here is y et ho p e in them .
T he b o n d b etw een a m an and a w om an can n o t be forgotten

E ven if it is som etim es b itte r
W h o e v e r lov es, does not h ate M ay G od g u id e them .
T here is y et ho p e in them .
[ 'a d al- ’am al fihim ]
°ahbab la zalu hatta w a-law malu

lil-sadd w a -ta ‘alu cala mahabblhim
‘a d a l- ’am al fih im
kam “annana qalu w a-bi-hiyal halu

wa-raytahum nalu ’adnd ’amdnihim
‘ad a l-'a m a l fih im
garu w a-gayratuhum °a ‘am at basiratahum

kusifat sariratuhum haddat m abanihim
‘ad a l - ’am al fih im
kunna w a-ld zilna m a ‘ahum kama kunna

n a scad w a-natahannd s a ‘a nulaqihim
‘ad al- ’am al fihim
ma tantasi al- ‘isra hatta w a-law murra

man habba ma yakrah allah yahdihim
‘ad al- ’am al jih im
45
Ibid., 87-88.
191
T his la tte r p o em is fairly re p rese n tativ e o f co n tem p o rary su n g -p o etry in H ad ram aw t,
alth o u g h b y n o m ean s is it re p resen tativ e o f all types o f su n g -p o etry w hich m ay vary fro m the
fairly sim p listic fo rm at o f th e p o em above to m u ch m ore com plex fo rm ats th at resem b le the
Y em eni m uwassah. In term s o f d e v elo p m en t, w e n o te th a t there is an elab o ratio n in the n u m b e r
o f lin es p e r stro p h e (bayt) from tw o lin es o f rh y m ed verse in the hadanl song to th re e lines in ‘A d
al-âm alfihim , and that the stro p he o f the la tte r n o w in clu d es a fourth lin e (simt) w hich shares a
rh y m e le tte r w ith th e refrain . T his refrain is k n o w n in local term in o lo g y as the kurs o r kural
(from “ch o ru s” o r “c h o ra l”), w hich has ev o lv ed from a string o f fille r syllab les (“yd daha”) to
sense-bearing lin es th at c o n trib u te to the m ea n in g o f each strophe. T ak en to g eth er, the featu res o f
cA d a l- ’am al Jlhim co rresp o n d to a ty p e o f Y em eni stro p h ic po etry k n o w n as the m ubayyat and
th e A n d alu sian zagal.46
F in ally , th is p o em m ay be sung to a m elo d y ad opted fro m the m usical fo lk h eritag e ( a l-tu ra f
a l-sa cbl) o f H ad ram aw t, w hich, as w e h av e already seen, abo u n d s in m usic and d an ce fo r n early
every occasio n . P erfo rm ed to the a cc o m p an im en t o f an ex tended m usical en sem ble, (in clu d in g
“fo reig n ” string in stru m e n ts such as the cud o r kam an), w e w itness h o w con tem p o rary sung-
p o etry in H ad ram aw t u n ites trad itio n al m elo d ie s and rh y th m s w ith n ew (i.e., hum aynt) po etic
form ats and in stru m en tatio n . A nd this p ro c ess o f ren ew in g trad itio n al su n g -poetry, I b eliev e, has
been im p o rted lock, sto ck and b arrel in to al-M ahra.
IV . T he R enew al o f S u n g -P o etrv in al-M ahra:
S tro p h ic p o etry form s a th ird b ranch o f M ahri p o etry , since it is n eith e r fo rm ally trip artite
n o r bip artite. R ath er, each lin e o f trad itio n al M ahri su n g -p o etry is a sim ple line (a m o n o stich )
46H owever, in neither case is there an exact match. ‘A d a l - ’am al fihim is closest to al-Zafart’s third sub-category o f
the Yem eni al-m u bayyat al-m usam m at which is characterized by the rhyme scheme: aaaA/bbbA /cccA, in which capital
A represents identical hem istichs, (al-Zafari, 2000, 29). However, ‘A d a l- ’am al fihim contains a sim t as well as a
refrain, thus: [A] bbbaA/cccaA/dddaA. The AndalusI zagal, on the other hand, includes a sim t but the refrain is a
couplet, thus: A A bbbaA A/cccaA A/dddaAA .
192
and each lin e altern ates w ith a refrain: the kurs o r kural. T he category o f trad itio n al strophic
p o etry in clu d es the m ost im p ro m ptu and least form al sub-genres o f M ahri verse. W h e re as
trip artite p o e try is entirely o ccasional and b ip artite p o etry can be b o th occasio n al and th em atic,
stro p h ic p o e try is en tirely th em atic and sentim ental. N am es and referen ces to h isto ric al events
are absent fro m trad itio n al stro p h ic poetry. T his is not the poetry o f social co m m e n tary and
p o litical c riticism ; rath er, the sw eet o r b itte r aspects o f daily life are m u lled o v e r and given a
voice, ev en if th e co m p o ser, sin g er and audience are all one and the sam e p ersom .
H agg D akon d escrib ed strophic poetry as a m eans o f refreshing the h eart and m ind w hile
en g ag ed in ted io u s chores such as fish in g , w eaving o r lu llin g an infant to sleep. A s such, certain
m elo d ies are associated w ith a specific activ ity . CA1I M u h sin Al H a fiz ’s d iscu ssio n o f the related
sung -p o em s fro m D h o far in the G ibbali lan g u ag e, the nand (from dandanal), is ap ro p o s here:
T he h eart-ren d in g son g s o f the nana are p rac tically obligatory fo r w om en in [D hofar]

at all hours o f her w ork, p artic u larly at th o se tim es w hen she is left alone to sing to
h erself, to h e r soul o r to N atu re...In h er seasonal garden w hen she u p ro o ts the sm all
w eed s from am o n g st th e stalks o f b arley o r w hen she gathers firew ood o r w atches h er
flo ck s, she h u m s the son gs o f the nana w ith th e ir soft and gentle m elo d y .47
A M ah ri ex am p le o f th is type o f strophic song is the haryot genre, deriv ed fro m the
co m m an d “haryal ’’ (“T ak e d o w n the sail!” ). F o r H agg, harya songs w ere the lu llab ies o f his
ch ild h o o d and he hold s th em in affectio n ate, sentim ental regard. H agg recalls th at haryot songs
w ere sung to h im b y his m o th e r du rin g the season w hen the ocean w as calm en o u g h to p erm it
travel, ( al-ftuh, b eg in n in g in D ec em b e r and lasting fo u r to five m onths). T his is the tim e w hen
th e m en w ould sail o ff on b u sin e ss trips and m ight d isa p p e a r fo r m onths at a stretch. D u rin g the
season o f ab sen t m en, M ahri w om en spent th eir tim e q u iltin g large m ats o f fabric fo r u se as
ro o fin g o r as flo o r coverings. S tarting w ith p atch es called kdfd, the w om en w ould w eave them
to g e th e r to fo rm la rg e r pieces called n[df or haydar. W h ile w eaving the patch es to g e th er, the
w om en w o u ld sing haryot son g s to each other. In re c e n t tim es, m ass-p ro d u ced flo o r m ats and
47A l H afiz, 1987, 34.
193
cell p h o n es h av e ren d e re d b o th the activ ity (w eaving) and the them e (u n certain ty o v e r an absent
b elo v e d ) th in g s o f th e p ast.
L et dow n your sails I sing in the n am e o f M uh am m ad , I sing L et dow n y o u r sails

L et dow n your sails I ’m singing w ith a m elody L et dow n y o u r sails
L et dow n your sails I ’ve m issed seeing him L et dow n y o u r sails
L et dow n your sails M y d esire fo r him p ierces m e L et dow n y o u r sails
yd: harya boh sillak ba-m ham m ad sillak yd: harya boh
yd: harya boh w a-trakkak ba-lhaw nat yd: harya boh
yd: harya boh w-satwajcak l-galfcath yd: harya boh
yd: harya boh wa-swejcah bi taw nat yd: harya boh
S tro p h ic p o etry is also p e rfo rm ed on a re g u la r b asis fo r recurrent celeb ratio n s, b o th relig io u s
an d secular. T h ese, as one w ould expect, are far less m elancholic than the haryot songs. O ne
ty p e is k n ow n as halyot from th e in ju n ctio n ahalyot (“L e t’s go out!”). H alyot w ere trad itio n ally
p erfo rm ed by w om en as th ey m arched en m asse at n ig h t to the g ro o m ’s h o u se in a p ro cessio n
called th e firo^dt, sin g in g alo n g the w ay:
O N ig h t o f L ig h t L e t’s go out! It has co vered the v illag e L e t’s go out!

In every d irectio n L e t’s go out! It glow s w ith light L e t’s go out!
w-ya: layla nur ahalyot goti l-rahbet ahalyot

w a-m taw lb kal ahalyot teham riiwret ahalyot
R ecen t stro p h ic p o etry in al-M ah ra has ev o lved along the sam e lines as m o d em H adram l
su n g -p o etry . In fact, th e v ast m ajo rity o f stro p h ic p o etry in al-M ahra is still com posed in A rabic
and bears no c h aracteristics th at w ould d istin g u ish it from its close n e ig h b o r across the bo rd er.
Such is th e case fo r th e diw an o f T am m am S a cd K adh (b. 1976), a M ahri bo rn and raised in
Q atar, and w hose p ro d ig io u s talent has alread y earned him a reputation w ithin al-M ahra and
b eyond. T he fo llo w in g tw o stro phes o f a su n g-poem taken from h is diwan, 3Anln al-sinln (2003),
g iv es a sense o f th e c o n tin u ity b etw een c o n tem p o rary M ahri po etry in the A rabic lan g u ag e and
m o d em strophic p o etry fro m H a d ram aw t:48
48Tammam Sacd Kadh, ’Anin al-sinin (no publishing information available, 2003), 47. Unlike ‘A d a l - ’am al fih im , the
refrain o f this poem is com posed o f hem istichs o f which only the latter carries a rhyme. There is no one, correct format
194
[I clo se m y ey es, yet m y h eart...stay s aw ake w ith an ab se n t friend]
O N ig h t, y o u r n atu re is selfish Y ou press dow n on th e one w ho suffers

Y ou p a ss b y seco n d -b y -seco n d A t the m eeting o f the lo v ers
I clo se m y eyes, y et m y h eart...stay s aw ake w ith an ab se n t friend
D eso latio n and tears and h elp lessn ess Stay all n ig h t in the in so m n ia c ’s eye
T he h eart is aflam e w ith a b lazin g h eat In the flam e o f p assio n , it is m eltin g
I clo se m y eyes, yet m y h eart...stay s aw ake w ith an ab sen t friend
[3agm ud cuyum wa-yashar...qalbi m a ca hill gayib ]
yd layl ta b cuka 'anam tafqul 'aid man y u can l

wa-tam urr m ifl al-faw ani cind al-liqd bil-habayib
3agm ud cuyiini w a-yashar...qalbl m a ca IjUl gayib
wahsa w a-dam ca w a-hayra f i cayn batat sahlra

w al-qalb y a s cal sa cIra f i harqat al-saw q dayib
°agmud cuyuni w a-yashar...qalbi m a ca hill gayib
In al-M ah ra, the ren ew al o f strophic p o etry has n o t en d ed w ith A rab ic -la n g u ag e p o etry b u t
has very recen tly spread to the M ah ri-lan g u ag e. T his p h en o m en o n d ates no e arlier th an 2001
w hen tw o stro p h ic sun g -p o em s c o m p o sed by H agg D ak o n w ere p erfo rm ed by a local m u sician
and singer, M u h am m ad M u sa cgil, on the telev ised p ro g ram , ‘A br al-qanah al-fada°iya al-
yam am ya (“ O v er th e Y em en S atellite S tatio n ” ). T his m ark ed the p o in t at w hich the ren ew al o f
su n g -p o etry , b eg u n in A d en , L ahg and H ad ram aw t, m ad e its first p u b lic ap p e aran ce in the M ahri
language.
T he tra n sfe r o f co n tem p o rary H adram l su n g -p o etry in to the M ahri lan g u ag e h a s been
pio n eered b y H agg D ak o n , w ho read ily cred its H u sayn al-M ih d ar as his artistic in sp iratio n . H agg
recognized the g ro w in g p o p u la rity o f H ad ram l su n g -p o etry am ongst y o u n g M a h ris and h o p ed to
cap italize on th is new “fa d .” T h e im p lem e n tatio n o f in n o v a tiv e su n g -p o etry in the M ahri
lan g u ag e h as b een a co llab o rativ e affair: H ag g w orks w ith local perfo rm ers such as M u h am m ad
M u sacgil, cA skarf H ug ay ran and cA b d allah H ab ray s to p ro v id e a m usical p latfo rm fo r the nafari
(“b la n k ”) te x ts o f his strophic p o etry . T he co llab o ratio n o f H agg and cA skari H u g ay ran h a s been
for m uw assahat and m ubayyat in Y em en, (or strophic poetry elsew here in the Arabic world for that matter); variations
abound according to the tastes o f the poet as w ell as the m usical template onto which the lyrics are made to fit.
195
p articu larly fru itfu l and ech o es th at o f th e ir pred ecesso rs: H usayn a l-M ih d a r and A bu B ak r S alim .
In d eed , lik e H usay n a l-M ih d a r and A bu B ak r S alim , both H agg and cA skari h av e b e c o m e a
w id ely k n o w n d u o , an d th e ir c o m p lim en tary skills have bro u g h t an u n p reced en ted d eg ree o f
p ro fe ssio n a lism and sp ecializatio n to M ahri sung-poetry.
In an in te rv ie w g iv en to th e w eekly Y em eni cultural m agazine, al-Taqaflya, H agg describ es
his co llab o ratio n w ith cA sk a ri as follow s:
I h av e w orked w ith all the singers (fannam n ) living in al-M ahra, and co llab o rativ e
effo rts h a v e b ro u g h t u s to g eth er...in p articu lar, [I h av e w orked w ith] the M ahri
s in g e r ,0A sk ari H u g ay ran , w ho is lik e a factory o f M ahri su n g -p o etry and w ho is its
c h ie f d ev elo p er, h av in g sung at and enliv en ed parties from an early age, even at a
tim e w hen th ere w ere v ery few m usical in stru m en ts and M ahri su n g -poetry w as
u n k n o w n .49
I w as lu ck y to h av e w itn essed the co llab o ratio n o f H agg and cA sk ari in b rin g in g a sung-
p o em to p e rfo rm a n c e, from b eg in n in g to end. In S ep tem b er 2003, H agg and I spent an afternoon
to g e th e r in w hat w o u ld b e c o m e a fairly re g u la r qat session. O ne day, H agg b ro u g h t out a pencil
an d p iece o f p a p e r and seq u estered h im se lf in a c o m e r o f m y hotel room . A fter m u llin g o v er
lin es, w ritin g th em d o w n , and m aking alteratio n s, H agg show ed m e h is final product: a stro phic
sung-poem , Zayn w a-kallak zayn (“B eau tifu l, E very th in g A bout Y ou Is B eau tifu l”). T he tex t o f
th e p o em w as w ritten o u t in M ahri u sing A rab ic ch aracters, and w as the first ex am ple o f w ritten
M ahri th at I h ad e v e r seen. T he fo llo w in g d ay , w e w en t over to 0A sk ari H u g a y ran ’s nicely
ap p o in ted h o m e fo r an o th e r qat session. U n lik e H agg, °A skarI H ugayran (b. 1957) has p arlay ed
his talen t in to a lu c ra tiv e career and had gained reco g n itio n thro u g h o u t al-M ahra as a m ajo r
cultu ral player. H is fam e earn ed him the no tice o f the M in istry o f C ulture and T ourism w hich
selected cA sk ari to trav el to the U n iv ersity o f H eidelberg w here he w orked w ith A lex a n d er S im a
as his c h ie f M ah ri in fo rm a n t.50 T he p restig e o f this foreign appointm ent added fu rth er to
49Interview with Salah al-Din al-Dakkak, “al-Mahra: suruh ft al-bahr wa-suruh fi al-qalb,” al-Taqafrya 217 (2003): 11.
50In the same car accident in which Alexander Sim a died, cAskari was seriously, although not fatally, injured.
196
cA sk a rf’s status, and he w as p ro m o ted to D ire cto r o f T o u rism fo r the G o v em ate o f al-M ah ra upon
retu rn in g fro m H eid elb erg .
O n ce w e w ere assem b led at cA sk a ri’s h o u se, the tw o w en t to w ork b rin g in g H a g g ’s new ly
co m p o sed sto p h ic su n g -p o em u p to a p erfo rm a b le level. F irst, H agg rea d aloud the p o em from
h is w ritten text. cA sk ari then d ictated H a g g ’s oral recitatio n by u sin g h is ow n system o f M ahri
n o tatio n , (based on th e A rab ic scrip t), th at h e had d ev elo p ed w hile w orking w ith A lex an d e r Sim a.
O nce cAskarT set d o w n th e tex t on p ap er, H ag g sang and h u m m ed the m e lo d y that he had h ad in
m ind w hen h e co m p o se d th e text. cA sk a ri listen ed b riefly and then sang it back in h is m ore
m elliflu o u s tenor, a d d in g and em b ellish in g the m elody according to his taste. A fter an h o u r o r so,
th e song w as read y to go.
T h is p o rtio n o f th e ir c o lla b o ra tio n illu strates a p o in t th at F aric m ak es w ith resp ect to the
renew al o f L ah g i su n g -p o etry ; n am ely , th at w ritin g p o etry dow n on p a p e r is a p re req u isite to the
d ev elo p m en t o f th e n ew , ly ric sty le.51 In the case that I w as a w itness to, w riting the lyrics both
satisfied H a g g ’s n eed fo r a sense o f o w n e rsh ip and cA sk a ri’s need fo r an easy m nem onic.
T w o d ay s later, I tra v e lle d b y shared taxi to R ehan w here cA sk ari w as due to p e rfo rm at a
w edding p a rty la te r th at n ig h t. A fte r sunset, a p e b b ly d an cin g flo o r ( m ddrat ) w as cleared o ff on a
low , ro ck y s h e lf o v e rlo o k in g the ocean , and flo o d lig h ts w ere set u p . A m plifiers and speakers
w ere tru ck ed in an d m u sic ia n s set up: a co m p lim e n t o f tw o cud play ers and fo u r dru m m ers w ho
arrayed th em selv es to th e rig h t and left o f cA skarI. cA skari settled h im se lf on the g round cross-
legged w ith a c o o le r filled w ith w ater in fro n t o f him and a m icro p h o n e in hand. A s m en and
w om en b e g an to g a th e r around the d ancing flo o r, a singer l cud p la y e r b egan to w arm up the crow d
w ith his ow n set. O nce th e e n erg y h ad p ick ed up and a qu o ru m o f spectators w as reached,
cA sk ari b eg in h is o w n p e rfo rm a n ce around 10:30 p .m . T he dance flo o r in itially stayed c le a r o f
51 Faric, 1 9 9 3 ,8 5 .
197
d an cers, e x cep t fo r p a irs o f m en and b rav e in d iv id u a ls w ho w ould tak e turns leap in g o n to the
d an ce flo o r, o r m ak in g m o re restrained p ro m en ad es aro u n d the p erim eter.
S oon cA sk ari h it h is p ace and the activ ity beg an in earnest. T he d an ce flo o r started to
sw arm w ith dancers w ho h o pped in tim e to the m u sic and tossed Y em eni riyals at th e b an d . The
w h ole a ffa ir w as larg ely A fro -M ahri. T he b rid e and the groom , the b u lk o f the d an cers and
cA skarf H u g ay ran h im s e lf are all the d escen d an ts o f coastal E ast A frican s, and they h av e retain ed
so m eth in g o f that re g io n ’s m o re relax ed view s reg ard in g m usic, d ancing and in term in g lin g
b etw een th e sexes. T h e few o ld er A rab -M ah ra w ho attended the p erfo rm an ce stayed o ff to w ard s
th e side. T hey clearly en jo y ed the p erfo rm an ce and p re sse d riyals o n to the b and, b u t d id not
ven tu re o n to the d an ce-flo o r. Y o unger A rab -M ah ra w ere not so in h ib ite d .52
F o r m o st o f the n ig h t, cA sk ari p e rfo rm ed songs in A rabic: m ainly p o p u la r H adram I strophic
so ngs ( dandana ) such as Tayr al-naw ariz (“T he S e a g u ll”), Laytani w a-°anta (“I f O nly Y ou and
M e ” ) and °Ayyuha al-bariq marhaban (“W elco m e O L ig h te n in g ”) by M u h am m ad G uirT a H an.
H o w ev er, th e final song o f the evening b ro u g h t the en erg y to a new p itc h : Zayn wd-kdlldk zbyn,
th e co llab o rativ e effo rt o f cA sk ari and H agg.
A t th e very b eg in n in g o f th is piece, 0A skarf intro d u ced it as a p o e m b y H agg D akon and
approval fo r the local p o e t “ m ade g o o d ” w as v o ice d lo u d ly by everyone. cAskarT started out
slo w ly , lo o k in g clo sely at th e lyrics w ritten on the pag e, w hile the m u sician s tested o u t the new
m elo d y . A cco m p an y in g M ah ri-lan g u ag e su n g -poetry w as som ething th at m ost o f the m u sicians,
m ain ly H adrarm rin g ers, h ad n e v e r done b efo re. A s soon as the ban d h it its pace and cA skarI
b eg an to b elt o u t the ly rics, M ahri w om en w ho had stayed seated o ff to the side ru sh ed o n to the
d an ce flo o r in a surge o f b lack baltos and niqabs. T hey jo in e d the m en in d ancing, sh ak in g and
52
There is certainly a class issue at play for older generations when they attend these parties. Until 1967, many Afro-
Mahra, including °AskarI him self, were formally “attached” to prominent Arab-Mahri fam ilies as slaves and dom estics.
There is still a sense o f distinction between the Arab-Mahra and Afro-Mahra, each regarding the other with a type o f
disdain. The Arab-Mahra consider the Afro-Mahra as slaves and the Afro-Mahra consider the Arab-Mahra as uncouth
bedouin, and both claim to eschew marriage with the other. The social barriers betw een the two groups have largely
been eroded in recent decades; low caste is no barrier to making m oney and wealth brings its own concom itant increase
in status. The military and civil administrations have also played a strong role in desegregating Yem eni society.
198
h o p p in g in tim e to the m u sic d e sp ite the effo rt o f one older, A rab-M ahri to h o ld the w om en back
at a re p e c ta b le d istan ce. F o r all h is zeal in p reserv in g p u b lic virtue, he w as com p letely
o v erw h elm ed in a sea o f b la c k -c lo a k ed d ancers and his castigations w ere d ro w n ed o u t in the
tum ult.
T h e a u d ie n c e ’s e n th u sia sm fo r this piece w as u n d en iab le, and it surpassed th e ir re ce p tio n to
th e A rab ic-lan g u ag e p ieces in cA sk a ri’s set. H a g g ’s ex perim ent in b rin g in g M ahri sung-poetry
u p -to -d a te h as b een an u n m itig a ted success. T he tex t is presented h ere:53
A. (D lw an: O') Zayn w -kallak zayn b y H agg D akon:
[zayn w -kallak zayn...w a-hloydt buk ]
buk 'adeb w -m ad w al tkudar h a d 54

maw ra wa-fcsa la: suk w -la :fn u k 55
zayn w -kallak zdyn...w d-hlbyat buk
het gruy 'cisel holi wd-hwel

yahnayh dhaljc kad attoma luk 56
zayn w -kallak zayn...w a-hloyat buk
het lahkatk lul bdrdjc d -ig lu l 57

w a-m fdm mel baht d-heh hnuk 58
hoh man hal sydrk wa-bjid jitirk 59

ahnehak la: w a-fw odl suk
w -het w-lu. hatgabk m nl w -gatyabk

raw hl w a-jw od wa-hgls w duk 60
^3 _
I have recreated the text here exactly as H agg wrote it in his own D iw an. A s per Arabic convention, the refrain isn ’t
introduced in the written text o f this poem until after the first strophe. However, cAskarf sung the refrain at the start o f
the piece when he performed it. The third and fourth lines o f the strophe are perhaps better analyzed as a single line
consisting o f tw o hem istichs; this would explain the lack o f a consistent rhyme for the third strophe.
54m a d < M .C.D.: “m ed: intelligence” (Johnstone, 1987, 260).
55m aw ra < W .R .C.(?): dam, Ar. sadd, Mhr. hawra, haw rak/yahw ora, ahwara: to lock, Ar. 3a q fa la ; jc?d < K.S.W .:
‘'^9sd: (road) to end; to finish; to com e to the end” (ibid., 241).
yahnayh (causative stem) < N.H .Y .; “n a y h i: to forget, leave (st.) behind” (ibid., 291); attdm a < H .M .C.:
“sttom a/yattam an/yattom a : to listen” (ibid., 158).
57 Iglul < G.L.L.: “gal/ysglol: to be alight, glow ; to boil” (ibid., 118).
58m fo n l < T.N.Y .: “m atanyet/m gtoni: incisor tooth” (ibid., 418).
59jctirk < K.T.R.: “jcatdwr/yajcdwtar: to turn round and round (us. in children’s games); to tire...to look around, go far
and w ide” (ibid., 245).
60w duk (w d l w duk, wdah, w deham ) : with you/in your company, (Qisn dialect, equivalent to hnuk and tw elyak in other
Mahri dialects), Ar. Hndaka.
199
[B eau tifu l, e v ery th in g about y o u is b eau tifu l...a n d sw eetness b elo n g s to you]
Y o u ’ve got m an n ers and a good h ead Y o u ’d never m align anyone

Y o u ’re th e u ltim a te and the e n d -p o in t T h e re ’s no one befo re you o r a fte r you
B eau tifu l, ev ery th in g ab o u t you is b eau tifu l...an d sw eetness b elo n g s to you
Y o u r speech is h o n ey S w eet and m addening

H e fo rg e ts th e rest o f creatio n W h o e v er listens to you
B eau tifu l, ev ery th in g about y o u is b e a u tifu l...an d sw eetn ess b elo n g s to you
Y o u r sm ile is a p earl L ig h tn in g that flashes

Y o u r in ciso rs are c o m p lete L ucky is the m an w ith you!
B eau tifu l, e v ery th in g ab o u t y o u is b e a u tifu l...an d sw eetn ess b elo n g s to you
W h e re v e r I sh o u ld trav el T o the p laces w here I turn here and

there
I ’ll n e v e r fo rg et you S ince m y h eart is w ith you
B eau tifu l, e v ery th in g ab o u t y o u is b eau tifu l...an d sw eetn ess belo n g s to you
E v en i f you are h id d en aw ay A nd d isa p p e ar from me

M y soul and m y h e a rt A nd th o u g h ts are w ith you
B eau tifu l, ev ery th in g ab o u t you is b eau tifu l...an d sw eetness belo n g s to you
H a g g ’s in n o v a tiv e su n g -p o em s h a v e n ’t ended h ere. In addition to Zayn wa-kallak zayn,
H agg h as a n u m b e r o f stro p h ic su n g -p o em s to his credit, as w ell as a tape that he p roduced
him self: ‘A ynl ba-dm a m lot (“M y E yes are F illed w ith T ears” ). T he fo llo w in g strophic sung-
po em , Hadh w -haddur, ( “W atch O ut and B e W a rn ed ” ), is fro m this c o lle ctio n :61
B. ( D iw an: P ) Hadh w -haddur b y H agg D akon:
s s s s s £2
[hadh w -haddur...m an tattdm d b l hasdet ]
d:n ‘dm drdm huk hoh d-asgawyan man sruk

hem d-ibdd.1 buk w -yhaym am h e n fa tn e t 63
hadh w -haddur...m an tattdm d bl hasdet
gayrdm b l w -buk hasdam ti w-hasdam tuk

wat glukl suk yam tanyam ti lamet
61 This poem fo llo w s a similar, although not identical, pattern to the HadramI Arabic poem ‘A d al- ’am al flhim , with the
difference that here the refrain is broken by a caesura.
62hadh (causative stem) < D .H .[V ].: “hddho: to m ake (st.) out, see (st.) hidden by so.” (Johnstone, 1987, 80).
63 Tbodi < B .D .Y .: “b sd o /y a b a yd : to lie, tell lies” (ibid., 43).
200
hadh w-haddur...m an tattdm a bi hasdet
bolt 'dmur ka:d-la:d m anhem haddur

m anhem gatyur wa-jcldbdm leh nyet
hadh w-haddur...m an tattdm a b l hasdet
ma:kan ba:r hluk m a n fn ln l wa-fnuk

w -ded yhaw lab luk l-a:d yfcawdar lakme
dham k tahma w-tattom a Ilham la:

fo z a man tajca h lh a m fe d i w -k a lfe t 6
hadh w -haddur...m an tattdm a b l hasdet
blham hayr la: boll gaybat a:n tda

bdyn aga w-ga yadslsam 'adwet
[W atch out and be w arn ed ...ag ain st listen in g to th o se w h o en v y m e]
I f they tell you I lo v e som eo n e else

T h e y ’re lying to y ou T hey w ant strife to com e betw een us
W atch out and be w arn ed ...ag ain st listen in g to th o se w h o envy m e
T h e y ’re je a lo u s o f m e and you T hey en v y m e and en v y you

W h en they see m e w ith you T hey ho p e I ’ll die
W atch out and be w arn ed ...ag ain st listen in g to those w h o envy me
A s fo r the g o ssip s W h o ev er is n ’t on g u ard ag ain st them

Is ch an g ed b e c a u se o f them T hey turn h is d esire u p sid e-d o w n
W atch out and be w arn ed ...ag ain st listen in g to th o se w h o en v y m e
M any h av e b een w orn dow n by them E ven befo re you and me

T he one w ho crav es you C an n e v e r hid e it
W atch out and be w arn ed ...ag ain st listen in g to those w h o en v y me
I w ant you to listen [to m e] A nd n o t to listen to them

I ’m w orried that y o u ’ll be T h eir sacrifice o r ju s t an o th e r story
W atch out and be w arn ed ...ag ain st listen in g to those w h o en v y me
T h e re ’s n o th in g good about them In case you d o n ’t k n o w about g o ssip s

E ven b etw een b ro th e r and b ro th e r T hey could po iso n them w ith h o stility
W atch out and be w arn ed ...ag ain st listen in g to those w h o en v y m e
yhaw lab (h{abk, hjaw b) < to long for, to feel tenderness towards, to yearn, to hanker, Ar. yahinn.
65kalfet <K.L.T.: “kswlet/kalsttair. story” (Johnstone, 1987, 209).
201
V . “N ew S ch o o l” N arrativ es:
W ho sh o u ld tak e cred it fo r tak in g th e se first steps to w ard s th is new cu ltural id io m ? I ask
th is q u estio n fo r the sim ple reason th at th e “N ew S ch o o l” is a m u lti-faceted p h en o m en o n , and
h ardly b eg in s and e n d s w ith strophic su n g-poetry. In iso latin g its p rim a ry acto rs, w e can d ev elo p
a b e tte r p ictu re o f the lin e a m e n ts o f this a rtistic and social m ovem ent. It w ill serve us b ette r if w e
conceive o f the “N ew S ch o o l” as an approach to the idea o f local cu ltu re, and n o t as a m ere
b u n d le o f novel m usical fo rm s o r p o e tic gen res. M o reo v er, this in n o v a tiv e app ro ach to the
en actm en t o f cu ltu re ex ten d s d eeply in to th e intellectu al and cultural clim ate o f Y em en w here it
interacts w ith an id e a o f th e “n atio n al c u ltu re ” as en v isio n ed fo r Y em en by its chief, m ain ly N orth
Y em en i, arch itects. In sh o rt, th e “N ew S c h o o l” m arks the arrival o f M ah ri cultu re and trad itio n s
to the n atio n al stage, w h ere, styled as fo lk lo re, th ey h av e beco m e one fac et o f a centrally
con ceiv ed and d irected n atio n al heritage.
I w ill start w ith the one acto r in th e “N ew S ch o o l” w ho is alread y fa m iliar to us: H agg
D akon. In rep eated c o n v ersatio n s, H agg p o in te d to h is re-in v en tio n o f M ahri su n g -p o etry along
th e lines o f m odern H adram I su n g -p o etry as the p rim a ry cause fo r the in creased atten tio n that
M ahri cu ltu re and lan g u ag e has rec eiv ed in the last ten years. T he e n th u sia stic re ce p tio n am ongst
you n g M ah ra fo r his stro p h ic song, Zayn w a-kallak zayn, ad d s w eig h t to this claim . A s I
m entioned p rev io u sly , cA sk ari w as carefu l to p o in t out H a g g ’s au th o rsh ip o f Zayn w a-kallak zayn
at the start o f the p e rfo rm a n c e, and the au d ie n ce ap p lauded him in absentia.
In ad d itio n to these strophic songs, H agg con sid ers his d ev elo p m en t o f a w ritten script fo r
the M ahri lan g u ag e to be a critical p rere q u isite fo r the official rec o g n itio n o f the M ahri language.
H agg is correct in th e im p o rtan ce th at he attaches to w ritin g as a m eans fo r the b ro ad er
accep tan ce o f th e M ahri language. In the A rab M id d le E ast, w here a p a ra d ig m o f d ig lo ssia
divides th e p resitig o u s, w ritten fu sh a fro m the lesser-statu s oral d ialects, the ab sence o f any
official M ahri scrip t co n tin u es to be the c h ie f reason th at p o p u la r and official con sen su s h o lds the
202
M ahri la n g u a g e to b e a h ig h ly d iv erg en t d ia lec t o f A rab ic - a lahga (“d iale ct”), n o t a luga
(“lan g u ag e” ). H a g g ’s diwan o f ly ric qasldas and stro p h ic poetry is certain ly the first collection
o f M ahri p o e try e v e r to b e circ u la ted , and H agg h o p es th at th is exam ple o f w ritten M ahri w ill be
th e kernel o f a fu tu re M ah ri lite ra tu re .66 F o r H agg D ak o n , the ad aptation o f A rabic p o e tic genres
and w riting to M ah ri p o e try are the q u in tessen tial acts o f the “N ew S ch o o l” since they have p u t
th e M ahri lan g u ag e on th e Y em eni cu ltural and in tellectu al radar.
T a m m a m Sa°d K adh (b. 1976) sees th in g s d ifferen tly . F o r T am m am , b o m and raised in
Q atar, th e “N ew S c h o o l” is a m eans o f particip atin g in A ra b ic poetics at a level equal to that o f
native, m o n o lin g u al A rab ic sp eakers. T h o u g h liv in g in al-G haydha, T am m am is an
in te rn a tio n a list w ho m a in ta in s clo se artistic ties th ro u g h o u t the G ulf. H is style, te n o r and tone are
less n a tio n a listic than th at o f h is o ld e r c o lleag u es, n o r is h is po etry “ Y em en -ce n tric.” In fact, he
is one o f th e few M ah ri p o e ts th at I cam e across w ho add resses h im se lf to issu es o f concern
th ro u g h o u t th e M id d le E ast, e.g. P ale stin e and the statu s o f w o m en .67 T am m am is reco g n ized in
al-M ah ra as o n e o f its p re m ie r, y o u n g e r p o ets and, along w ith H agg D akon, w as in v ited to give a
p o etry read in g at th e M ahragan al-Taqafa al-M ahrlya (“Festival o f M ahri C u ltu re ”) th at w as held
in S a n a ’a in M arch , 2004.
T w o m u sician s and sin g ers, M u h am m ad M u sa cgil and cA b d allah H ab ray s p lac e a
differen t em p h asis in th e ir fo rm u latio n s “N ew S ch o o l.” O f the tw o, M u h am m ad M u sa cgil, (b.
1976, D h ab u t), is th e o n ly M ahri p e rfo rm e r to h av e gain ed a n o n-M ahri aud ien ce th at I am aw are
of. M u h am m ad M u sa cgil c re d its the success o f the “N ew S ch o o l” to tw o o f his in n o v atio n s. The
first is his in tro d u c tio n o f th e cud as a m usical acc o m p a n im en t to h is singing, in the m an n er o f
N orth ern Y em en i sin g e rs-m u sic ian s w ho m an ag e b o th at once. In S outheast Y em en , the cud is
essen tially a fo reig n in stru m en t and p ro fic ien t cud p lay ers w ere fran k ly n o n ex isten t in al-M ah ra
u n til recen tly . M u h am m ad M u s a cgil and cA b d allah H ab ray s are the only tw o y o u n g M ah ris I m et
66 The com plete D iw an o f H agg Dakon is presented in Appendix B.

67 These were topics o f tw o poem s that Tammam recited at the M ahragan al-Taqafa al-M ahriya in Sana’a, 2004.
203
w ho p la y th e cud, th e rest b e in g tra n sp la n tee s from H ad ram aw t. In fact, M u h am m ad M u sa cgil
o n ly started p lay in g the cud in 1996 at the age o f tw en ty . W hen he first b e g an p erfo rm in g w ith
th e cud, h e en co u n tered the criticism th at M ahri songs w ere incom patible w ith “fo re ig n ”
in stru m e n ts.68 B y in tro d u cin g the cud to his p e rfo rm a n c es, M uham m ad M u sa cgil ho p ed to tie the
v ery p o p u la r - in d eed c h aracteristic - sound o f the N o rth Y em eni cud to M ahri m elo d ies and
rh y th m s. T h is w as a d elib erate m ove to bro ad en h is au d ien ce, since w ithout tailo rin g his sound
to p re v a ilin g Y em eni tastes, M u h a m m ad M usa°gil c o u ld n ev er hope to gain a fo llo w in g outside
o f al-M ah ra. M u h am m ad M u sa cg il’s g am b le has p ro v en to be a success and his first album ,
Intazartak sinln (“I H av e W a ite d F o r Y ea rs” [2001]), h as been follow ed by tw o m ore album s:
D u m u c a l-cAyn (“T ears o f M y E y e ” [2003]) and Barq al-G azlra (“A rabian L ig h tn in g ” [2004]).
M u h am m ad M u sa cgil attrib u tes a critical ro le in the co n solidation o f the “N ew S ch o o l”
to n ational b ro ad castin g and m e d ia atten tio n . In a co n v ersatio n that w e had in D ec e m b e r 2003,
M u h am m ad M u sa cgil spoke at length ab o u t the im p o rtan ce o f m edia in terest (al- ’i'ld n ) in
en co u rag in g local p ro d u c tio n o f m u sic and p o etry . T he assum ption here is that the resp o n sib ility
fo r p ro m o tin g cu ltu re lies w ith th e M in istry o f C u ltu re and the M inistry o f In fo rm atio n ; talen t and
p ro ficien cy alo n e are n o t en o u g h to earn a follo w in g . T his sam e sentim ent w as ex p ressed by
cA sk ari H ug ay ran in an in terv iew w ith al-Taqafiya. R esp o n d in g to the qu estio n o f w hy m ore
M ahri m u sician s and singers h a v e n o t so u g h t th e ir fo rtu n e in the G ulf, cA sk ari rep lied that M ahri
p erfo rm ers, lik e p erfo rm ers from the rest o f Y em en , are restricted in th eir access to recording
studios and m ed ia outlets. H e co n tin u ed : “ [T he p ro m o tio n o f Y em eni artists in the G ulf] requires
that the Y em eni m ed ia (al-Da cldm), w ith its m eagre to o ls, p lay a m ore active role. [The Y em eni
68 Even in 2 0 0 4 ,1 found a similar reluctance amongst cAbdallah Habrays to use the cud with Mahri “folk” songs. In
one instance, I asked him to accompany a song that I had com m issioned from Hagg. cAbdallah’s reluctance was
overcom e by both my and H agg’s persistence and he discovered to his surprise that the combination o f the two w asn’t
as difficult as he had supposed, and actually yielded a satisfying result.
204
m edia] m u st g ive special atten tio n to artists from a l-M ah ra in lig h t o f th e ir short reco rd in g h isto ry
w ith Y em eni satellite telev isio n , since the first [b roadcast] occurred only tw o y ears ag o .” 69
T h e b ro a d c a st th at °A sk ari is referrin g to w as M u h am m ad M u sa cg il’s first b ig break
w hen he p erfo rm e d in 2001 fo r th e telev ised p ro g ram , cA b r al-qanah al-fada°lya al-yam aniya.
M u h am m ad M u sa cgil shared th e lim e lig h t w ith cA b d allah H abrays, cA skarf H u gayran and a
group o f m ix ed M ah ri-H ad ram I m u sicia n s and d ancers. H ow ever, w hile cA b d allah and cA skari
stuck to A ra b ic -la n g u ag e so n g s, M u h a m m ad M u sa cgil perfo rm ed tw o M ah ri-lan g u ag e strophic
songs, b o th c o m p o sed b y H agg D akon: Gaw har cimrut (“G em o f Q uartz”) and Lawla (“If
O n ly ...” ). M u h am m ad M u sa cg il re c o lle cted th at the b a c k -u p orchestra, all H a d ra m l rin g ers, w ere
in itially n o n p lu sse d b y the stran g e n e w lyrics and rh y th m s th at they w ere asked to p lay, and
M u h am m ad h ad to spend tim e te ach in g th em the m elo d ies o f M ahri su n g -poetry.
T his p e rfo rm a n c e earn ed M u h am m a d M u sa cgil c o n sid erab le attention since the idiom
and m elo d y w ere a novel ex p e rie n c e fo r the listen in g au d ience. A fte r this b ro ad cast, M u ham m ad
M usa°gil re c e iv e d reco rd in g o ffers fro m the G ulf, an in terest that has led to the re le ase o f the
afo rem en tio n ed au d io tap es. On the b a sis o f th ese re c o rd in g s alone, M u h am m ad M u sa cgil has
beco m e a cele b rity aro u n d a l-G h a y d h a b u t is still, as the lo cals stay, a sabb m uhtaram (“ a
resp ectab le y o u th ” ). In te re stin g ly en o u g h , M u h am m ad refu ses to play fo r co m m issio n at private
parties and o n ly p erfo rm s at the re q u e st o f the g o v e rn m e n t, fo r cultural festiv als and fo r recording
sessions.
A rg u ab ly , the su ccess o f M u h a m m ad M u sa cgil is ow ed to H a g g ’s strophic sung-poem s.
O r, on th e o th e r h an d , the su ccess o f H agg is due to the p u b lic ity th at M u h am m ad M u sa cgil has
achieved fo r h is p o etry . E ith e r w ay , the co llab o rativ e effort b etw een the tw o , (as w ell as that
betw een cA sk arI and H ag g ), has raised strophic su n g -p o etry to a c h ie f p o sitio n in the “N ew
S ch o o l,” and has m ad e it th e v an g u ard o f M ahri cu ltu re in the p o p u lar reckoning.
69 _ v
Interview with al-Dakkak, al-T aqafiya 2 1 7 , (2003): 10. This is also the view o f Husayn al-Mihdar vis a vis Hadraml
sung-poetry, in which attributes the absence o f a broader follow ing in the M iddle East for Hadraml sung-poetry to a
lack o f media exposure, (al-Muhandis, 1999, 233).
205
It sh o u ld b e em p h asized th at the v a st m ajo rity o f M u h am m ad M u sa cg il’s p erfo rm an ces
are in A rab ic. H o w ev er, h e alw ay s co llab o rates w ith local M ahri p o e ts such as H agg D akon,
T am m am S a cd, M u h sin cA b Y a sir and S alim M u tlc a l-S u lay m l to w rite h is lyrics. E ven w hen
sin g in g in A rab ic, M u h am m ad M usa°gil claim s th a t h is p erfo rm an ces retain a M ahri tex tu re in
th e ir rh y th m s, m elo d ies and accent. In this sense, M u h a m m ad M u sa cgil claim s a M ahri
au th en ticity fo r all o f his re c o rd in g s, since any n ativ e M ahri listen in g to th em w o u ld im m ed iately
reco g n ize th e sin g e r as one o f th eir ow n.
cA s k a ri’s v ie w on the “N ew S c h o o l” takes a d iffe re n t tack. A s a p e rfo rm e r o f sung-
po etry , th o u g h n o t a p o e t h im self, cA skarf w ould certa in ly agree w ith H agg D akon and
M u h am m ad M u sa cgil th at th e ir in n o v a tiv e p erfo rm an c es o f stro p h ic su n g -poetry h av e played a
critical ro le in th e e stab lish m en t o f the “N ew S ch o o l.” In ad d itio n , cA sk a ri H ugayran has p lay ed
an im p o rtan t ro le b y in tro d u c in g b ro a d e r in stru m en tatio n fo r his b a ck -u p orch estra. N o cud
p la y e r h im self, cA sk arf H u g ay ran relies on o th e r m u sic ian s from H ad ram aw t fo r his
acco m p an im en t. U n d e r h is d irectio n , trad itio n al M ahri m u sical in stru m en tatio n th at once
co n sisted so lely o f p ercu ssio n , (and in p a rticu la r, a larg e d ru m called the hayir ), has been
ex p an d ed to in clu d e th e dumbuq, th e daff, th e m izm ar (o f the type k now n as abu casr), the
kaman, the sy n th esizer, (0urg [“o rg a n ”]), and finally, th e ‘ud.10
Y et fo r °A skari, th e cultu ral aw ak en in g o f al-M ah ra in volves an o th er im p o rtan t
d im en sio n . M uch o f cA sk arT s activ ity is d evoted to th e intro d u ctio n o f the M ahri lan g u ag e into
th e in tellectu al and social fram ew o rk o f the Y A R . A s w e have seen in C h a p ter 2, the M ahri
lang u ag e is scarely re c o g n iz e d in Y em en w here it is sub jected to v arying d egrees o f erasu re or
conceiv ed o f in p u re ly h isto rical and m y th o lo g ical term s. W hen the M ahri language is
reco g n ized as a liv in g to n g u e, it is d ism issed as an odd d ia lec t o f H ad ram l A rabic, o r a lan g u ag e
70 al-Dakkak, a l-fa q a fiy a 217, (2003): 11.
206
w ith o u t p o e try o r g ram m ar. cA skari, (and oth ers o f h is generation such as M u hsin CA1I Y asir and
H agg D ak o n ), h av e re c e n tly b eg u n to c o u n ter th is v iew o f the M ahri lan g u ag e in p u b lic forum s.
F o r cA skarI, th e g e rm o f this p ro ject w as p lan te d w hen he w o rk ed at the U n iv ersity o f
H eid elb erg as A le x a n d e r S im a ’s c h ie f M ahri c o lla b o ra to r fro m 2001 to 2003. H is em p lo y m en t at
the U n iv ersity o f H eid elb erg h as given cA sk ari an auth o rity to speak a b o u t this su bject th at o th e r
M a h ra lack . T he ro le th a t fo reig n sch o larsh ip has p lay ed in the creation o f a local language
c o n scio u sn ess sh o u ld n o t b e o v erlooked. In the last ten years alone, tw o M ah ra h av e accepted
in v itatio n s to w ork at p re stig io u s E u ro p ean u n iv ersities: S abri M u h am m ad B ahit fro m Q isn, w ho
spent tw o y ears at th e C en tre N atio n al de la R ech e rc h e S cientifique at the in v ita tio n o f M arie-
C laude S im eo n e-S en elle, an d cA sk ari H u gayran w h o w orked at the U n iv ersity o f H eidelberg.
T hese tw o v isitin g p o sitio n s created the im p ressio n b ack hom e that classes in the M ahri language
are reg u larly o ffered at w estern u n iv ersities, and th at m y ow n efforts to p ick up M ahri w ere for
th e p u rp o se o f teach in g it at th e U n v ersity o f C alifo rn ia at B erk eley .71 I f w e add to this m y ow n
w o rk w ith H agg D akon, fo r w hich he w as w ell co m p en sated , the id ea has taken ro o t in al-M ah ra
th at it literally p ay s to b e in te re sted in the M ahri la n g u a g e .72 Since the only W estern ers that
spend tim e in al-M ah ra d o so fo r the sake o f lin g u istic research , this is hard ly an illogical
c o n c lu sio n .73
V I. S em itic P h ilo lo g y in al-M ah ra:
71 The opportunity has never arisen, and I doubt that Mahri w ill be ever be taught as a five credit course in the UC
system.
The situtations in Soqotra and Oman are slightly different. In Soqotra, there is a longer tradition o f linguistic
scholarship, both foreign and local, and Thom as Johnstone did the bulk o f his work in Oman and the Gulf. My
intention here is not to provide a history o f m odem scholarship on the M SA languages, but sim ply to describe the
situation as it is currently perceived “on the ground” in al-Mahra.
73 The exceptions to this are the three Russian doctors working at the hospital in al-Ghaydha and who have no linguistic
interests. They do provide effective m edical treatment and the hospital in al-Ghaydha is a well-run, tidy place.
207
cA sk a ri’s ex p o su re to m o d em p h ilo lo g y has given him the to o ls to app ro ach the M ahri
lan g u ag e fro m a critical, acad em ic p ersp ectiv e. In an in terv iew w ith al-Taqafiya, cA skarf speaks
about th e b en efit o f h is tw o y ears at the U n iv ersity o f H eid elb erg in the fo llo w in g w ay:
A m o n g st th e m ost im p o rtan t th in g s th at I re tu rn ed w ith w as the p ro d u ct o f tw o y e a rs’

in stru ctio n at [H eidelberg]: th ree b o o k s to b e p u b lish ed at the end o f this y e a r w hose
d istrib u tio n is th e re sp o n sib ility o f the G erm an p artie s to o u r ag reem en t. T h ese b o o k s
b e a r th e fo llo w in g titles: M orphology and Syntax o f the M ahri Language, A C om pilation
o f Oral Stories fro m al-M ahra, and a G erm an-M ahri D ictionary.74
cA skarf is not the o n ly M ah ri to h av e d ev elo p ed a scholarly in terest in th e M ahri
lan gu ag e. H agg h im se lf h a s a lo ng ab id in g in terest in th e M ahri lan g u ag e , as do es M u h sin CA1I
Y asir. H ow ev er, th e ir in terest g en erally tak es the form o f co llecting p ro v e rb s, c h ild re n ’s gam es,
nam es o f b o d y p a rts, co lo rs, etc. In the fo u r b o o k s on a l-M ah ra w ritten b y M ah ri authors, the
sections that deal w ith the M ah ri lan g u ag e m erely p ro v id e w ord lists w ith tra n slatio n s into
A rabic. T his ap p ro ach satisfies an im p o rta n t need: Y em eni eth n o g rap h y is fo r the m o st part a
catalo g u e o f “fo lk lo re” : reg io n al d an ce, w o m e n ’s clo th in g , ch ild re n ’s gam es, w ed d in g cu stom s
and p ro v erb s. T his d e sc rip tiv e app ro ach rea ch es its e p ito m e w ith CAH 3A h m ad a l-S a h ri’s study
o f D hofarf h isto ry , arch aeo lo g y and society, Lugat cA d (2000). A lth o u g h this w eig h ty to m e d eals
w ith a v ariety o f to p ics, at its c o re is a co llectio n o f G ib b all pro v erb s, su p erstitio n s and cu sto m s.75
B y treatin g al-M ah ra to a sim ilar fo rm o f study, Y em eni and M ahri sch olars h av e in serted
al-M ah ra in to the fram ew o rk o f n atio n al cu ltu re by fix in g it w ithin the co n stellatio n o f accep tab le
reg io n al variatio n . T hus, at a p anel d ed icated to the eth n ic m in o rities o f Y em en th at w as
con v en ed d u rin g the M ahragan al-Taqafa al-M ahriya, cAskarT p resen te d a list o f M ahri p ro v erb s.
A th o u g h th e lan g u ag e o f these p ro v erb s w as in c o m p reh e n sib le to the n o n -M ah ra in atten d an ce,
the p o in t o f the lectu re w as w ell u n d ersto o d : cA skarI p ro v id ed a co m m o n g round b etw een the
cultural h eritag e o f al-M ah ra and that o f the rest o f Y em en. B oth o f cAskarT’s and H a g g ’s
74 al-Dakkak, a l-fa q a fiy a 217, (2003): 11. Since A lexander S im a’s death and cA skari’s injury in the same accident,
none o f the books listed above have been published.
75 al-Sahri, 2000, 242-334. This book also includes an audiocassette that features the author reading all o f the proverbs
listed in this book. Al-Sahri has published another book that exclusively treats epigraphy in Dhofar: Zufar: K itabatuha
wa-nuqusuha al-qadlm a (Dubai: Sarikat Dar al-Gurayr li- ‘l-Tibaca w a -‘l-Nasr, 1994).
208
u n p u b lish ed m o n o g rap h s treat o ne p a rtic u la r asp ect o f the M ahri fo lk cultu re th at has a read y
an alo g u e in accep ted reg io n al p e rm u tatio n s o f the n atio n al culture: A Compilation o f Oral Stories
fro m al-M ahra b y cA sk arf and a study o f ch ild re n ’s gam es in al-M ahra by H agg D a k o n .76
T h is in terest in in d ig en o u s S outh A rab ian cu ltu re has taken on a d e e p e r lin g u istic d im en sio n
in recent y ears. F o r in stan ce, A1 H afiz in q u ires into the genetic relatio n sh ip s betw een th e M S A
lan g u ag e, A rab ic and o th e r S em itic lan g u ag es in h is b o o k , M in lahagat “M ahra ” wa- 'adahiha
(1987). A lth o u g h th e th eo retical fram ew o rk o f th is text is p ro blem atic, A1 H afiz w orks to carve a
space fo r th e M ah ri lan g u ag e w ithin the h e a v ily id eo lo g ized realm o f A rabic so cio lin g u istics. T o
su m m arize th e a rg u m en t o f A1 H afiz, th e M S A lan g u ag es are the “o rig in a l” S em itic lan g u ag e and
a type o f “early A ra b ic ,” and research th a t d ifferen tia tes the M S A lan g u ag e from the su rro u n d in g
A rab ic d ialects d eriv es fro m Z io n ist and O rien talist efforts to disrupt the lin g u istic u n ity o f
Y em en and to sep arate S outh ern A rab ia fro m N orthern A rab ia.77
L ess strid en tly , M u h sin CA1I Y asir, (w h o se p o etic w ork, M alham at al-Yaman, w e have
already d iscu ssed in th e ch ap ter), has taken h is ow n stance on the M ahri language. H aving b een
an ardent p an -Y em en i n atio n alist, M uhsin °A li Y asir has recently m e tam o rp h o sed in to an active
fig u re in p ro m o tin g th e cultu ral h eritag e o f al-M ah ra. A t the sam e p anel on eth n ic m in o rities at
the M ahragan al-Taqafa al-M ahriya th at cA skarf p articip ated on, M u h sin cA li Y asir gave a
lecture on the M ahri lan g u ag e in w hich he d escrib ed the M S A languages as “ an cestral” to the
A rabic lan g u ag e. T h is th eo retical p o in t p ro v id ed the ju stific atio n fo r the m ain fu n ctio n o f his
talk: to in tro d u ce M ah ri w ords and e x p re ssio n s to a larg ely non-M ahri audience.
D uring this talk , M u h sin CA1I Y asir also took Q u r’anic vocabulary and p ro v id ed th e ir clo se
cogn ates in the M ah ri lan g u ag e. T he p u rp o se beh in d this excursus w as to assert the auth o rity o f
the M ahri lan g u ag e as a sou rce o f lin g u istic data, and b y im plication, to tie it into p re v a ilin g
Islam ic, relig io u s d isco u rse. H o w ever, m o st o f the shared vocabulary th at M u hsin CA1I Y asir
76 I doubt whether this latter entry to the field o f Mahri studies will make it to press. Originally enthusiastic about this
article, H agg’s interest in it had begun to wane in the final months o f my residence in al-Ghaydha.
77 A1 Hafiz, 1987, i-ix and passim .
209
p o in ted o u t are sim p ly b o rro w in g s fro m A rabic in to the M ahri language, o r p o in t to a co m m on
S em itic an cestry and n o t, as M u h sin °A li Y asir presen ted it, evidence o f M ahri lin g u istic
“p re c e d e n ce ” o v e r A rabic. T he b asic arg u m en t w as clear, how ever: the M ahri la n g u ag e is
capab le o f su p p o rtin g o r c o n trib u tin g to the fu sh a v o cab u lary o f A rabic. R eg ard less o f lin g u istic
and h isto rical accu racy , the talk w as n o tab le fo r in tro d u cin g the M ahri lan g u ag e as d istin ct from
the A rab ic d ialects, and m o reo v er, as p o ssessin g the p restig e o f antedating A rabic. B oth A1 H afiz
and M u h sin °A1I Y asir o ffe r a M ahri resp o n se to lin g u istic erasure by fixing it w ithin the m ytho-
lin g u istic h isto ry o f A rabia.
In creatin g a p re stig io u s h isto ry fo r th e ir language, the M ah ra certain ly have an uphill
stru g g le ahead o f them . F o r on e, and p e rh ap s m o st deep ly rooted in the p o p u lar co n scio u sn e ss o f
Y em en, is th e id e a that th e M S A -sp eak in g co m m u n ities are rem n an ts o f a p re-Islam ic k ingdom ,
cA d , d estro y ed b y G od fo r its o v erw een in g p rid e. T he pu n ish m en t m eted out by G od is d escribed
in the Q u r3an :
“T h e trib e o f °Ad b eh av ed arro g an tly on the earth w ithout ju stific atio n and said ‘W ho
is g re a te r than u s in p o w e r? ’...So w e sent upon them the S arsar w ind in days o f
calam ity to g iv e th em a taste o f a ch astisin g p u n ish m e n t in this life.” (41: 16-17)
G iven lo n g stan d in g g eo g rap h ical asso ciatio n s betw een al-M ahra and cA d, the M S A
lan g u ag es are re a d ily p erceiv ed as the “lan g u ag e o f cA d ” in both scholarly and p o p u lar
reck o n in g .78 T he b e st ex am p le o f this is, o n ce again, °A1T3A hm ad a l-S a h rl’s bo o k , Lugat cA d
(“The L an g u ag e o f cA d ”), alth o u gh the m odern lan g u ag e th at he has in m ind is not M ah ri, b u t the
clo sely related G ib b all/S h eri language. In Y em en, the M S A languages m ake so cio-historical
78 In Arab and Islam ic historical geographies, the nation o f cAd is placed in south-central and southeast Arabia,
squaring nicely with the m odem distribution o f Modern South Arabian languages. Writing in the 13th c. CE, the Arab
geographer Yaqut (d. 1229 CE) im plies the descent o f al-Mahra from the nation o f cAd through geographical overlap,
while Ibn al-M ugawir (d. 1232 CE), also writing in the 13lh c. CE, reports that the Mahra are the remnants o f cAd
whom Allah resettled in Dhofar and on the islands o f Soqotra and al-MasTra. In medieval Arabic geographical sources,
the desolate landscape o f al-Mahra (often referred to as al- ’Ahqaf). its unique ecology and its wealth o f incense and
ambergris lend it an aura o f otherworldliness. A s a result, a I- M ah ra/al - 3A hqaf is often posited as the site o f lost
kingdoms, buried treasures and odd denizens such as the fabled race o f half-m en, the nisnas. H. Stewart Edgell
exam ines the “m yth” o f a lost city (Wabar/Ubar) in the Southern Empty Quarter from Arabic historical-geographical
accounts and from the perspective o f recent archaeological work in his article: ‘T h e Myth o f the ‘Lost City o f the
Arabian Sands,” ’ P roceedin gs o f the Sem inar f o r A rabian Studies 34 (2004): 105-120.
210
sense o n ly w hen th ey are tied to the m y th ical, p re -Q u r’anic epochs o f S outhern A rabia. M ah ri,
(and b y e x te n sio n G ib b all and S oqotrf), is co m m o n ly perceiv ed as a h o ld o v e r fro m the old order:
stran g e, v e stig ia l and d isco m fitin g to o rth o d o x tastes.
T h is n o tio n , alth o u g h clo ak ed in n eg ativ e asso ciatio n s, has recen tly fo u n d a resp o n se
am on g st M S A sp eak ers w ho turn this b e lie f in th e ir cA d ite lineage to an adv an tag e. C laim ing
p re-Islam ic, cA d ite ro o ts, M S A -sp eak ers pro ject th e ir id en tity deep in to A rabian h isto ry , d e e p e r
even than th a t o f n ativ e A rab ic speakers. T his is n o t a m ere theoretical m a tte r either. D escent
from cA d, and the a u to ch th o n y th at this im plies, c o n fers territorial rig h ts fo r M S A -sp eak ers o v er
later, A ra b ic -sp e a k in g arriv als. T he serio u s im p licatio n s fo r “p ro p er” lin g u istic arch aeo lo g y are
stated b y al-S ahri:
1) T o d ay , w e reco g n ize th at the lan d belo n g s to G od and the n ation. A nd w e all

k n o w th at th e talk n o w a d a y s ab o u t “p rio r o w n ersh ip ” is n o thing b u t talk fo r the sake
o f p erso n al u sa g e (al-istihlak al-dahill). H e w ho did n o t possess land w hen the L aw
o f th e S tro n g est w as th e ru le , p o ssesses n o thing to d ay u n d e r the current system o f
p u b lic o w n ersh ip . A nd w e all k n o w that yesterd ay [i.e., in an id ealized p ast], there
w ere law s and cu sto m s th at ob lig ated us all to resp e ct the rig h ts o f each other.
2) B y clarify in g th e tru e histo rical situation, p eo p le can avoid historical errors and
som e w ill re c o g n iz e that the p e rsiste n c e o f historical disto rtio n is unaccep tab le to o u r
so ciety and to k n o w le d g e in general...
3) C o rrectin g th e an cien t n am e s o f the g eo graphical features, the nam es o f the tribes,
th e lan g u ag e, the law s, cu sto m s and trad itio n s and the ancient culture, and nam ing
e v ery th in g acco rd in g to its true n am e [in the original Sheri] w ill serve historical
stu d ies, esp ecially th o se d e alin g w ith the co m p arativ e n o m enclature and culture,
S h eri law s and lan g u ag e and o th e r Sem itic (A rabic) studies.79
E lse w h e re in a l-S a h ri’s L ugat °Ad (2000) and Zufar: K itabatuha w a-nuqusuha al-qadlma
(1994), lin g u istic and eth n ic ity au th en ticity is jo in e d to a literal und erstan d in g o f the tree-m odel
o f h isto rical lin g u istics. T h e id e a o f a S em itic, (sam lya ), language is co nflated w ith the m ythic
p erso n o f Sam bin N uh, (S h em son o f N oah from the O ld T estam en t), w ho is lo oked upon as a
p articu larly clo se an cesto r o f th e M S A -sp e ak in g co m m u n ites. F rom there, it is a sm all logical
79 al-Sahri, 2000, 75.
211
step fo r the M S A lan g u ag es to b e c o m e the “o rig in a l” S em itic lan g u ag e , o f w hich A rabic is a
m ore re c e n t d escen d an t. F rom a l-S a h ri’s Zufar:
It is c o m m o n ly accep ted th at there are ten s o f d ifferen t alp h ab ets [Dabgadlyat] that
are w ritten in an cien t A rabic c h ara cters, kno w n as the ancient A rabic m usnad script.
T h ese scripts and alp h ab ets, and the lan g u ag es o f th ese in sc rip tio n s [kitabat], are
called “ S em itic [sam iya ] in sc rip tio n s” according to the b e lie f o f sch olars th at all o f
these in scrip tio n s and alp h ab ets co m e fro m a single source and fro m a single script.
T h is is th e an cien t S em itic [samiya] script that is traceab le to S hem [Sam] son o f
N oah...
D esp ite th e fact that A rabs and m an y no n -A rab s b eliev e th at the S em itic scrip ts are
the w ork o f th e first A rab c iv iliza tio n , (w hich m o st b e lie v e to be the first cA dite
civ ilizatio n ), and th at th is civ ilizatio n and the fo llo w in g A rab ic civ ilizatio n s spread
these scrip ts b y m eans o f the A rab p eo p le s w ho em ig rated to d ifferen t p arts o f the
ancient w orld...
[al-S ahri goes on to re fu te the claim o f “W e ste rn ers” that the S em itic scripts ev o lv ed
from th e S in aitic scrip t w hich w as th en spread by the P h o en ic ian s. R ath er, h e argues
that the P h o en ician s o rig in ated fro m S o uthern A rab ia and sp o k e the G ib b ali/S h eri
language. H e co n tin u es...]
In fact, th e w ord funuq-fuiaq [ i.e ./‘P h o en ic ian ”] is a w ord fro m the sahri
[G ibbali/S heri] la n g u ag e, as D r. cAlT M uhsin A1 H afiz has p re v io u sly p o in ted o u t in
h is bo o k , M in lahagat “M ahra ” wa- 'adabiha. T his w ord in th e sahri language
m eans ‘the o n e o r ones rec o n n o iterin g fo r p astu ra g e, fo d d er, w a te r and o th er sources
o f th e su ste n a n c e .’” 80
T he asso ciatio n o f “S a m ” and M S A lan g u ag e has p articu la rly strong, local reso n an c es given
th e fact th at Sam b in N uh is a p ro m in en t fig u re in the fo u n d atio n al m yth o f Y em en, and
p articu larly , in th e fo u n d atio n al m yth o f S a n a ’a .81 T h ro u g h the asso ciatio n o f Sam b in N uh w ith
th e H im yarite k in g d o m s o f an cient S outh A rab ia , S am b in N uh b eco m e s asso ciated w ith the
M S A lan g u ag es as w ell, and the co m m on label o f the M S A lan g u ag es as himyariya
(“ H im y arite” ) and sam iya (“ S a m ite”) tak e s on a literal, genealogical d im en sio n . T he M S A
lan g u ag es, in the m in d o f nativ e, M S A sch o larsh ip , is therefo re in sep arab le from the n atio n al
fo u n d atio n m y th o f the m od ern Y em eni rep u b lic.
In short, th e v ario u s ap p ro ach es, m u sical, po etic and sch olarly, to w ard s a leg itim atio n o f
al-Sahri, 1994, 251.

81 Sana’a is com m only called by its nickname, M adinat Sam (“S hem ’s City”), a reference to this important national
identity myth. See Franck Mermier, “Les Fondations M ythiques de Sanaa et d’A den,” La Revue du M on de M usulm an
e td e la M editerranee 67 (1993): 131-139.
212
th e M ahri cu ltu re m ay all b e view ed as m an ifestatio n s o f the sam e spirit, k now n h e re sim p ly as
the “N ew S c h o o l.” W h e th e r b y ad ap tin g H ad ram l su n g -p o etry or by m o o tin g h isto rical lin g u istic
theories, a m ean s o f reco n cilin g the an o m aly o f th eir la n g u ag e to the n atio n al h e rita g e is sought
b y the M ah ra, and p articu larly b y th o se w ho are in the em ploy o f the M in istry o f C u ltu re such as
H agg D ak o n and cA sk ari H ugayran.
So far, w e h av e seen how the p a rtic ip a n ts o f the “N ew S ch o o l” h av e a ttem p ted to
accom odate th em selv es to A rabic g en res and to fashion a M ahri h eritag e in lin e w ith official
rep resen tatio n s o f th e national h eritag e. W h at ab o u t th e cap acity M ahri artists to p u sh ag ainst
rep resen tatio n s o f the “o ffic ia l” cu ltu re and “o ffic ia l” h isto ry ? Is th ere a sub v ersiv e c h aracter to
al-M ahra th at m ay be ex p ressed in the “N ew S ch o o l” ?
V II. C o n testin g H eritage:
In re c e n t y ears, th e o fficial Y em eni lin e on eth n ic and lin g u istic m in o rities has shifted
som ew hat. P u sh ed by a glo b al tren d to v ie w social div ersity in a p o sitiv e lig h t, Y em eni cultural
in stitu tio n s h av e m ad e g estu res d esig n ed to a ck n o w led g e the div ersity w ithin Y e m e n ’s borders.
T rad itio n ally , o fficial in terest in Y e m e n ’s d iv e rse h eritag e had been related in an histo rical and
archaeo lo g ical idiom . T he an cient Y em eni k in g d o m s o f S a b a 3, M a cTn, Q ataban and H im y ar are
b y-w ords o f a p re stig io u s and p re -Islam ic p a st, and u n lik e n eig h b o u rin g A rabian states such as
Saudi A rab ia, Y em en m ak es sin cere effo rts to p ro m o te its pre-Islam ic h isto ry w ith in Y em en and
abroad. G lossy b o o k s, spon so red b y the g o v ern m e n t and co v ering all aspects o f Y em eni
an tiq u ity , are testim o n y to th is n atio n al in terest in arch aeo lo g ical h e rita g e .82
The in terest in contem porary d iv ersity is fitfu lly ap plied to cu rren t ethnic o r lin g u istic
m inorities. T h e case o f the M ah ra is a d iffic u lt one fo r o fficialdom . T he q u asi-o fficial lin e seem s
82Two prime exam ples o f this are: Werner Daum,ed., Yemen: 3 0 0 0 Years o f A n a n d C ivilisation in A ra b ia F elix
(Innsbruck: Pinguin-Verlag, 1987) and cAdnan al-TarsIsI, ed., B ila d S aba ’ w a-hadarat a W A ra b al- ’ula (Beirut: Dar al-
Fikr al-Mucasir, 1990).
213
to be that th e celeb ratio n o f div ersity e n d s b e fo re it re ach es the do m ain o f language. T ho u g h no
official re so lu tio n s h av e b een p rin te d , teach ers in al-M ah ra are u n d e r tac it orders to k eep M ahri
from b ein g spoken in the c la ssro o m .83 In tw o separate co n v ersatio n s w ith h ig h ly -p la ce d o fficia ls
from the M in istry o f C u ltu re, I h eard , (n early v erb atim ), that p ractical reco g n itio n o f th e M ahri
lan g u ag e w ould lead to an “A lg e rian ” situ atio n , w here A m azight se cessio n ists em erged as one
faction in the b ro a d e r v io len ce o f the A lg erian civil w ar. U nlike the n ativ es o f S o q o tra w ho are
g eo g rap h ically co n tain ab le, the M ah ra are n o t iso lated fro m Y e m e n ’s n e ig h b o rs; in fact, m o st o f
the M ahra freely cro ss Y e m e n ’s b o rd ers and often have m u ltip le c itiz en sh ip s w ith n eig h b o rin g
co u n tries.84 D efin in g th e M ah ra as “Y em en i,” w ithout any added lay e rs o f id en tificatio n , is
p ractically a n atio n al secu rity issu e fo r Y em en.
T he focu s on a l-M ah ra as a site o f cultu ral, (but n o t lin g u istic), div ersity w as illu strate d fo r
m e by a Y em eni N G O in S a n a ’a w hich d ev e lo p ed an in te re st in rec o rd in g the oral p o etry o f al-
M ahra. T he N G O h a d a fairly grand schem e: the aim o f th e ir p ro ject w as to reco rd , tran scrib e
and store a c o m p lete reco rd o f th e oral tra d itio n s fo r a n u m b e r o f Y em en i g o v ern ates, and al-
M ah ra w as one o f th e g o v ern ates selected fo r th e ir study. In M ay 2004, an em p lo y ee o f this
N G O arrived in Y em en to b eg in his w ork. H e w as a braw n y N orth Y em en i, an ex -m ilitary m an,
orth o d o x p o litic a lly and re lig io u sly , and yet even he n eed ed to be acco m p an ied by a g o v ern m en t
m in d er.85 T he tw o o f us, m in d er in clu d ed , sp en t the next few days in H a w f acco m p an ied by the
p o e t T am m am S a cd K adh, w ho v o lu n teered to guide us to the b est p o ets o f the d istrict.
O ddly eno u g h from m y p ersp ectiv e, th e Y em eni em p lo y ee o f the N G O had no in terest in
reco rd in g M a h ri-lan g u ag e p o etry ; h e felt that it co n tain ed no value since it w as in co m p reh e n sib le
to non-M ahri Y em en is. In d eed , n e ith e r h e n o r the N G O th at h e w orked fo r had even given any
83Conversation with a teacher from the Ministry o f Education in al-Ghaydha, (1/2004).

841 have met Mahra who did not know in what country they were born. The national boundaries that separate Yem en,
Oman and Saudi Arabia are merely theoretical in som e places, particularly along the southern rim o f the Empty
Quarter.
85Incidentally, the minder had been stationed in al-Mahra for som e time and was more interested in collecting poetry
than the em ployee o f the NGO. Eventually, the em ployee handed his tape recorder over to his minder to do the work
for him and spent the rest o f his time in al-Mahra chew ing q a t with other “ex-pat” North Yem enis.
214
th o u g h t to th e p ro cess o f tran scrib in g (o r tran slatin g ) M ah ri p o etry , as w as th e stated aim o f th eir
m issio n . O n th e o th e r h an d , the e m p lo y ee w as deep ly in terested in A rab ic -la n g u ag e, ly ric p oetry
from a l-M a h ra and reco rd ed h o u rs o f it. T his, he felt, tru ly deserved atten tio n and he reg istered
h is surp rise th a t such fin e ly -w ro u g h t, sen sitiv e, A rabic p o e try w as co m posed in al-M ah ra. T his,
in the v iew o f th e cu ltu ral and in te llectu a l in stitu tio n s o f N orth Y em en, w as the sort o f h eritag e
w orth p re se rv in g fo r al-M ah ra.
H ow ever, reg io n al riv als to Y em en in the P ersian G ulf, (m ainly O m an, the U nited A rab
E m irates an d K u w ait), h av e b eg u n to sketch out a n atio n al histo ry th at in clu d es the M S A
lan g u ag es as a p a rt o f th e ir h eritag e, even w hen th is is co n tra d icted b y w id ely accepted
sch o larsh ip . T h e ir reaso n fo r d o in g so is clear: b o th K u w ait and the U nited A rab E m irates have
hosted larg e p o p u la tio n s o f M ah ra lab o u rers and m erce n aries fo r som e tim e, and u n lik e o ther
foreign w o rk e r p o p u la tio n s, the M ah ra th ere h a v e attained som e social standing. Inco rp o ratin g
th e M ah ra in to th e n atio n al fab ric m akes sense in th is regard, and is even la u d ab le . H agg D akon
to ld m e th at h e w as o n ce o ffered a co m m issio n to p ro v id e sch o larsh ip p ro v in g th at M ahri w as
native to the U n ited A rab E m irates; h e refu sed o u t o f p rin c ip le and p e rh ap s o u t o f co ncern fo r the
Y em eni reactio n .
Y em en is n o t to be o u td o n e. I f claim in g M S A lan g u ag e s is the trend, then Y em en w ill set
out its claim s w h o le-h earted ly , and w ith a b it m ore ac cu racy too. T he pan el on the fo lk lo re o f
eth n ic m in o rities at th e M ahragan al-Taqafa al-M ahriya w as actually c o -sp o n so red b y the O m ani
G overn m en t and o ffered som e sp irited d eb ates. T he arg u m en ts w ent b ac k and forth w ith O m ani
scholars claim in g th e M S A lan g u ag es as th e ir ow n and th e ir Y em eni co lleag u es coun terattack in g .
It w as o n e o f th e m o re b racin g ev en ts o f the c o n feren ce.
T he c h ie f m ean s o f Y em eni o fficiald o m and sch o larsh ip in staking a claim to the M ahra,
(and th erefo re “an cien t A rab ian a u th e n tic ity ”), is to d isp lay M ahri lan g u ag e and cultu re as
Y em eni fo lk lo re at festiv als and th ro u g h te lev isio n and ra d io b ro adcasts. T he telev ised p rogram ,
215
cA b r al-qanah al-fada ’iya al-yam am ya, w as the first exam ple o f this trend and w as fo llo w ed by
th e M ahragan al-Taqafa al-M ahrlya th ree y ears later. T his latter ev ent w as w ell attended b y
g o v ern m en t o fficials, cu rio u s Y em enis and dig n itaries from O m an. T w o p e rfo rm a n ces by
M u h am m ad M u sa cgil, cA b d allah H abrays and cA skarf H ugayran w ere held on b o th n ig h ts o f the
festiv al and lasted fo r th ree h o u rs apiece. T h ese m usical p erform ances w ere in tro d u ced by A fro-
M ah ra d an cers w ho leapt in u n iso n to A rab ic-lan g u ag e zam ils and w aved the dou b le-sid ed ,
flex ib le sw ords c h a ra c teristic o f S o u th east A rabia. In ad dition to m usical p erfo rm a n ces, there
w as a p o etry read in g and p anel d iscu ssio n s o f lan g u ag e and fo lklore on co n secu tiv e d a y s.86 An
e x h ib itio n o f M ahri art and cu ltu re w as h eld in the fo y e r o f the M inistry o f C u ltu re ’s ex h ib itio n
theater, and featu red d isp lay s o f w o m e n ’s clo th in g , m odels o f South A rabian sum buqs (sailb o ats),
the p u b lish ed diw ans o f M u h sin cA ll Y asir, and a pap er-m ach e m odel o f a g ig an tic lo b ste r
stan d in g u p rig h t.87
T he first p o in t w orth m aking w as ho w w ell th ese events w ere attended and ho w
en th u siastically th e au d ien ce o f M ah ra and n o n -M a h ra Y em enis alike reacted to the
perfo rm an ces. It w as c le a r that the M in istry o f C u ltu re had p u t itse lf at the disposal o f the
organizers o f th is ev en t and d isp layed a sin cere in terest in giving al-M ah ra a chance to p u t itse lf
o n d isp lay , and th e M a h ra p erfo rm ers sensed and appreciated this p alp ab le com m itm en t. T he
m usical p e rfo rm a n c es w ere la te r b ro ad cast th ro u g h o u t Y em en and not long th ereafter,
au d io cassettes b y M u h am m ad M u sacgil co u ld b e found in tape stores across S a n a ’a. B y v irtu e o f
its success, th e M in istry o f C u ltu re p ro m ised to m ak e the festival an annual affair and the M ahri
mahragan in sp ired o th e r g o v ern ates in Y em en to organize sim ilar events.
T he second p o in t is h o w little o f the M ahri lan g u ag e, perh ap s the defining c h a rac teristic o f
al-M ahra, w as actu ally re p ro d u ced in the co urse o f this festival and in the follow ing b ro ad casts.
86Many o f the Mahra w ho participated in the performance had never been to Sana’a before and were intimidated by the
size and bustle o f Y em en ’s capital city. M any rarely left their hotel rooms for fear o f the theft and robbery that they
had heard was endem ic to North Yemen.
87Lobster is one o f the chief exports o f al-Mahra and has becom e a m ascot for the G ovem ate o f al-Mahra. The one
traffic circle in al-Ghaydha has a statue o f a large lobster ram pant on the traffic island in its center.
216
In fact, m uch o f w hat co u ld b e called d istin ctly M ahri w as absent from the p erfo rm a n ces.
S tartin g w ith th e p o e try recital, H agg D akon and T am m am K adh recited a n u m b er o f ly ric po em s
an d n atio n alist qasldas in A rabic, b u t n o th in g th at co u ld b e called d istin ctly “M a h ri.” W ith one
ex cep tio n , w h ich w ill b e referred to sh o rtly , the m usical perfo rm an ces and d an ce n u m b ers had a
S outhern Y em eni fla v o r in general and a H a d ra m l c h aracter in p articu lar, w hich w as no surprise
at all since the o rc h e stra w as m ade u p o f H adram l ringers. It struck m e that the p o in t o f these
perfo rm an ces w as n o t to d istin g u ish M ahri cultu re on a local basis so m uch as to d e m o n strate
h ow “Y em en i” a l-M a h ra really w as. T h e celeb ratio n o f cultural d iversity w as actually a
celeb ratio n o f al-M a h ra ’s cap acity to m ove b ey o n d it, to reach - at last - the d o m ain o f “national
cu ltu re.”
V III. C h an g in g T un es:
A n ex cep tio n to th e absen ce o f the M ahri lan guage in the national cultu re has b een alluded
to earlier. U n lik e th e m ajo rity o f M ahri p erfo rm ers fo r w hom the M ahri lan guage has no ro le in
perfo rm an ce, M u h am m ad M u sa cgil clo sed the n ig h tly concert w ith the sam e M ahri-lan g u ag e
song, DA sar seh drlyat la:. D u rin g the spring o f 2004, this song b ecam e so p o p u la r in al-G h ay d h a
that the m elo d y w as co n v erted in to a rin g to n e fo r cell p h o n es and could be heard rin g in g all day
lo n g from the c e ll-p h o n e h o lsters o f you n g M ahra.
W h en I first ask ed H agg about the p o e m that this song is based on, he h esitated and
w orried that S alim M u tlc, the p o e t w ho w ro te the lyrics, w ould be nervous about the p u b lic ity .88
T he p o em w as c o m p o sed in re sp o n se to a sh o o to u t in the p o rt-tow n o f N istun betw een som e local
M ah ra and a g ro u p o f N o rth Y em eni troops w ho w ere statio n ed there. A n argum ent b etw een an
88At the time w e translated this poem , Muhammad M u sa'gil had not yet performed this song in Sana’a and had not
released the album which features it: D u m u 1 a l - cayn (2004). Since then, ’A stir seh d riy d t la: been performed and
broadcast at the M ahragan al-Taqafa al-M ahriya and has been made available to the buying public on D u m u‘ a l- cayn,
on which Salim M utlc is credited for writing the lyrics. In light o f these developm ents, I do not feel constrained against
talking about the content o f this poem any longer.
217
o fficer in P o litical S ecu rity and a fish selle r tu rn e d u g ly , and the o ffic er discharged h is pisto l in
th e air. T he M ah ra n earb y h eard the shots and ran to the scene, loading and co cking th e ir ow n
w eap o n s as th e y did so. P e rc e iv in g a th reat ag ain st one o f th e ir ow n, the N orth Y em eni tro o p s
tu rn ed out in fo rce and b eg an sh o o tin g . B y the tim e the co n fro n tatio n had ended, fo u r M a h ra had
b een k ille d , tw o m o re h ad b een w ounded, and ho m es h ad been d a m ag e d .89
'Astir seh driydt la: is b ased on u n its o f ragzlt and is therefore tripartite, sim ila r in fo rm
and tone to th e tribal odes in C h ap ter 3. A s a g estu re to traditional tribal p o etry , 3A sar seh driydt
la: p artak es in th e ep ic m o tifs and n arrativ e stru ctu re o f the °6dl w a-krem krem genre and ev o k es
the ham asl to n e o f p o em s by B ir L a°tayt, T a n n a f H am to t, et al. ‘A sdr seh driydt la: w as also the
o n ly trip artite p o em I fo u n d th at had b een rece n tly com posed. Its un iq u en ess as a “m o d e m ” °odl
wa-krem krem is th e e x cep tio n that pro v es th e ru le; ragzlt tribal odes are essen tially defunct at the
p resen t tim e.
T he m elo d y to w hich M u h am m ad M u sa cgil sings this poem is b a sed on the ch an ted
m elo d y c h aracteristic o f co lle c tiv e p erfo rm a n ces o f ragzlt maydanl. E ven w hen sung to the
a cco m p an im en t o f th e ‘ud, ‘A sdr seh driydt la: is im m ed iately reco g nizable as a tribal o d e and
therefo re fu n d am en tally d ifferen t in to p ic and to n e fro m his lyric su n g-poetry. In such a w ay, the
M ahri au d ien ce is cued to th e p o litical, social and histo rical co n ten t o f th is poem even befo re
M u h am m ad M u sa cgil g ets to the lyrics. O f co urse, this dim ension is lost on any n o n -M ah ra in
the audience.
T his p o em b reak s from the co n v en tio n s o f tribal odes in one sig n ifican t w ay. The
trad itio n al actors o f a trib al od e, (the p o e t’s tribe, th e ir tribal allies and th e ir tribal en em ies), are
tran sferred h ere to n o n -trib al entities: the co llectiv e M ah ra versus an ob liq u ely referenced
n ational arm y. T his p o em co n tain s the only referen ce to a collective id en tity fo r the M ah ra th at I
h av e e v e r en co u n tered in poetry : da-m hareh (“the M a h ra ”)[10]. T his is likely an u n in ten d ed
89 _ _ _ _ _
a l-’Ahdal, 2000, 111: “H adifat Nistun al-dam iya ” (“N istun’s B loody Incident”).
218
c o n seq u en ce o f th e p ro m o tio n by the go v ern m en t o f n o n -trib al id en tification in al-M ah ra o v e r the
last decade. T o w it, tribal id e n tity has been su blim ated in to a p an-M ahri, reg io n al id en tity th at is
n o t alw ay s in lo ck step w ith the n atio n al project.
C. DOdi w a-krem krem b y Salim M u tic al-S ulavm i:
1) ’asdr seh driydt la: / / ba-rhoyab d-garbet / / wa-ttahawdl d-mdsk.dt 90

2) w a-mhabbi hayya beh / / has yjcobal w a-sher / / zrrii wajcb d a -s fo t 91
3) 'dm ur w azm ank man asidjc/Zhal d-bd:r groh h lo k // a:n tlot m nl hlot 92
4) nagm artabub w-han / / man hom ar d-haklll / / newah 'addh a:n fbut 93
5) ham ldt arjcas / / man arams da-kse / / yahlllan abyut 94
6) d:r hlutam seh ngum / / man °asaf da-rylh / / wa-tjcawlab d -b lld t95
7) w d-mhdydl l-arfcas / / w a-m lobl w -m aklayt / / w a-hzbydm d-m aslot
8) sayyat ya:gibam b is / / w -yaslulas ba:d a g a d // wa-k-gema da-ghot
9) sahfayin nsoram tes / / hal agem a da-dw el / / w a-b-sats w a s ld t96
10) w -grayad b-sujfayn / / ka-d-nuka d-lstom / / so r a f da-mhareh drot 97
11) wa-jcboyal da-m hareh / / groysan ’d:kfd / / m lw at moh w-law hyot 98
12) w -d:l-ktir ba:r seh hber / / man ’asdr hawli / / gohaz ba-ssyaryot
13) wa-d-barh m haktib //m a n hal ball m ahhatayt/ / wa-mjcayyad b-ayyot
14) w d-srom a w e-krem / / si m gaw nl man a h a w f / / b-karm aym haw rdt
1)1 h av e a frien d w ho d o e sn ’t know // liv in g in the w estern tow ns // at the edges o f

M a sc o t
2) M y frien d , I say “w elco m e” // w hen he d raw s n e ar and show s up // “G ive m e a
sum m ary o f th e n e w s!”
3) H e says: I ’ll g ive you the truth // o f e v ery th in g that h appened there // if y o u ’ll take the
sto ry from m e:
4 ) T he rain -stars are n u m erous and [the rain] is n o isy // at the edge o f the southeastern
clo u d s // th e rain -clo u d s are about to settle in place.
90 _
rhoydb < R.H.B.: “rahbet, rsh o ysb (pi.): town; (dim) little settlement” (Johnstone, 1987, 320); attah aw di <
H.D.D.(?): “had, hsdaw d: place; border, frontier (Ar.)” (ibid., 166), dawahin (Ar.).
91 sh e r < S.H.R.: (Ar.) Sahara.
92
hlot < H .L.[V].: “halot: description, what is said o f s.o ...hzldtham saydw r rehak: it is said they travelled far” (ibid.,
179).
93
' artabub < R .B.B.: to be multitudinous (i.e., the rain-stars [nagm] immediately before the rain); hdn < H .N .N.: “hsn:
to make a sound like an engine running, whirring” (ibid., 183) and Yem. Ar. “hanna: to roar, rumble (thunder)”
Piamenta, 1:109; hom ar < H.M .R.: edge (o f a cloud), “hemar. belt, string tied around the w aist...mahawmar. raindrops
dripping o ff the bushes and trees” (Johnstone, 1987, 181); haklll: the Southeast, a cloud bank, uncertain derivation;
newah < N .W .1.: “newst: (poet.) rain-clouds...clouds starting to pile up” (ibid., 306).
94aram s d-kse: this entire phrase makes very little sense to me and I have been unable to find any convicing
etym ologies or derivations for the vocabulary, ydhltlan < H.L.L.: “xlul/yaxlbh (roof), to be penetrated by rain, let in
rain; (rain) to com e through...abdyt xsllut: the house is letting in water” (ibid., 439).
95 tilutam < H.L.T.: “x slu t/ya x a w b t: to stay with, go and stay with people; to m ix” (ibid., 442); bilo t < B.L.[V ].: desert
wind, “b a le t: North wind” (ibid., 49).
96nsoram < N.S.R.: Ar. nasara.
91 ' - A ' '
d-lstom < S A M .: “setgm /yzstom : to buy” (ibid., 369).
98 ~
moh < M A : “mo: w e l l , indeed” (ibid., 260).
219
5) T hey fall u p o n A râs // fro m m o u th s o f the black thu n d erh ead s // they co m e through
th e ro o fs o f th e houses
6) O th e r rain -stars h av e arrived w ith them // from a w indy storm // th at has started to
b lo w from th e north ern d esert
7) R ain in g dow n on the h o u ses at A r^ as / and M Jobl and M ak lay t // and H zo y am and
M aslo t.
8) T hey en jo y th e ir re p u tatio n // th ey carry it from th e ir ancestors // and fro m every
direction
9) Jo u rn a lists b ro ad cast it // in every co u ntry // w hen the new s com es on at its h o u r
10) T he n e w sp a p e rs in the m ark ets // ev ery o n e w ho com es and b u y s them // [reads] about
th e fam e o f M ah ra that k e ep s on co m in g around
11) T h e trib es o f al-M ah ra // th e ir w ord is certain // w h eth er dead o r alive
12) T h e K atiri also have the n ew s // fro m the very first n ig h t // and are read y w ith th eir
cars
13) T hat w hich h a s h ap p en ed , is w ritten // in scrib ed in in k by G od // and b o u n d by H is
ay at
14) A nd n o w , O G en ero u s O ne, I I I h a v e a re fu g e fro m fear // in the B lack M o u n tain [o f
K arm ay m H aw rot]
A s a p o e m o f p o litical critiq u e, it o p en s on a su itably o b liq u e note. T he su b ject o f the first
lin e is °asar (“co m rad e, frie n d ,” Ar. caslr), a term that can b e used to refe r to p eo p le w ithou t
rev ealin g th e ir n am e, in clu d in g th at o f the sp eak er if h e is unco m fo rtab le about rev ealin g his
id e n tity ." S eco n d ly , th e p o e t n e v e r m en tio n s the site o f the in cid en t by nam e; in stead , h e refers
to the su rro u n d in g areas such as A râs, M jo b i, M ak lay t, et al. [7]. A ken n in g liste n e r is expected
to trian g u late th e lo catio n th ro u g h th ese h in ts and by oth ers that are laced th ro u g h o u t the poem .
F o r in stan ce, the p o e t sp eak s fro m a v an ta g e p o in t in the o u tly in g districts o f “w estern ” M a sco t
[1], (not to be co n fu sed w ith th e O m ani M u sq at), and m ust therefore b e facing in the d irectio n o f
the appro ach in g th u n d e rc lo u d s (haklll [4]), w hich alw ays com e from the E ast. F rom th ese tw o
h in ts, w e can in fe r that th e p o e t is lo o k in g dow n on N istu n from a van tag e p o in t on the east-
facing flan k s o f G abal F artak.
O nce w e h av e a sense o f the lo catio n , the p o et goes on to describe an im p en d in g storm and
then a d o w n p o u r so v io len t that it b u rsts th ro u g h the ro o fs o f ho u ses, a m etap h o r fo r the
d isru p tio n o f th e co m m u n ity b y fo reig n soldiers as w ell as a literal referen ce to the d a m ag e to the
99 '
There is a taboo in al-Mahra against referring to o n e’s spouse by name; ’astir (m asc.) and ’a sn il (fern.) are used
instead.
220
h o u ses th at resu lted fro m th e sh o o to u t. T he ra in sto rm described in this p o em is also rem in isce n t
o f the a p o caly p tic flo o d that p ro v id es the central m o tif to the °odl w a-krem krem by B ir L a°tayt,
(C h a p te r 3, C: 17-19), a m etap h o r fo r the tribal v iolence that sw eeps the land.
D esp ite th e d am ag e to th e ir co m m u n ity , th e M ahra w ill have th eir day. S tarting in [8], the
th ird m o v em en t o f th e p o e m p a in ts a tableau o f resistan ce that ex tends even to the n o n -M ah ri,
K a tin trib esm en w ho liv e alo n g side the M ah ra [12], A new social gro u p in g is b ein g fo rg ed h ere,
o n e that en co m p asses th e in h ab itan ts o f the G o v e m ate o f al-M ahra re g ard less o f trib e o r nativ e
language. T he a d m in istra tiv e d elin eatio n o f the G overnate o f al-M ahra has taken on a rea lity o f
its ow n.
F in ally , th e p o e t rem in d s the liste n e r that the M ahra h av e a fig h tin g re p u tatio n and are n o t
to b e trifled w ith. T w o lin es, (“Jo u rn alists bro ad cast it // in every co u n try // w hen the new s
com es on at its h o u r” [9] and “T h e new sp ap ers in the m arkets // every o n e w ho com es and b u y s
th em // [reads] ab o u t th e fam e o f M ah ra that k eep s on com ing around” [10]), m ake in terestin g use
o f co n tem p o rary m e d ia - b ro ad cast telev isio n and new spapers - to p ro p a g ate the re p u tatio n o f the
M ahra. T his m ay b e a sub tle in d icatio n o f the g eneral decline o f tribal p o etry in p erfo rm in g its
trad itio n al ro le in d issem in atin g p ro p ag a n d a and new s.
T he final lin e [14] co n tain s the ultim ate appeal to traditional po etics. R ath er than
b eg in n in g w ith a statem en t o f “°ddl w a-krem krem, ” the poem ends w ith a varian t o f it: w a-srom a
we-krem (“A nd n o w , O G en ero u s O ne” [14]). I f any M ahra had any d o u b ts about the fo rm at,
to p ic and tone o f th is p o em , they should all b e on the sam e page by this final line. T he fo llo w in g
stich, si m gaw nl man a h a w f (“I h ave a refu g e fro m fe a r” [14]), evokes an o th er fam o u s dandan
ex ch an g e b etw een a p o e t o f H b es and a p o e t o f R a°fit: ham d allah lek d l-h a m d //s i m gaw nl man
a fia w f/h d za m yalhajijd la: //b -la g llg w -ba:tl h a w f (“P raise to G od, to Y ou is P raise // I h av e a
refu g e fro m fear / T he en em y c a n ’t co m e n e ar m e // at L agllg or the re g io n s o f H a w f ’) .100
100See Chapter4, Section II: “D andan Poetry.”
221
W hereas th e p o e t o f R a cfit takes the fam o u sly w o oded and lab y rin th in e G ibal al-Q ara fo r a
refuge, th e p o e t o f N istu n h as K arm ay m H aw ro t (“T he B lack M o u n tain ”) fo r his. T his m ountain
show s u p else w h e re in M ahri p o etics as the p ro v erb ial re fu g e fo r the M ah ra, w h e th er the attackers
are P o rtu g u ese ra id e rs, the K a h n fro m H ad ram aw t or, as in th is po em , troops fro m th e Y A R .101
It m ay seem lik e an act o f b rin k m a n sh ip th at this p o e m , w ith its p o lem ic to p ic, should be at
the fo refro n t - in d eed , th e o n ly ex am p le - o f p u b lic p erfo rm an ce in the M ahri lan g u ag e fo r non-
M a h ra .102 On th e o th e r hand, w ith o u t any k n o w led g e o f th e M ahri lan g u ag e, n o n -M ah ra have no
reason to su sp ect that th is p o em is an y th in g o th e r than a ly ric sung-poem . M y sense is that the
M ah ra are en jo y in g a jo k e at th e e x p en se o f the cu rren t regim e by p u b licly co n trad ictin g the
official h isto ry o f Y em en in th e ir “c o d e lan g u a g e.” T h at the objects o f the jo k e are so clearly
en jo y in g th e catch y tu n e and p e rfo rm a n c e p ro b a b ly adds to the am u sem en t o f the M ahra.
T h ere m ay b e so m e co n scio u s m isd irectio n in the lab ellin g o f the song. B ased on the
rath er b la n d A rab ic title o f the song p rin ted on the c assette case o f D u m u c a l-cAyn and on the
p ro g ram o f th e M ahragan al-Taqafa al-M ahrlya, the ex p ectatio n o f the n o n -M ah ra audience is
th at 'A var seh driydt la: is sim p ly a ly ric su n g-poem . T he A rabic title, “al-M ahrlya ” (“T he M ahri
[Song o r W o m a n ]” ) ev o k es th e S a n a ’ani an th em to its ow n rep u ted ly b eau tifu l w om en, al-
S a n canlya (“T he S a n a ’ani [W o m an ]”), and its A deni eq u iv alen t, a l-cAdanlya. W ith o u t closely
follow ing th e M ah ri-la n g u a g e ly rics o f th is song, th ere is n o thing about it to in dicate that it
speaks to a d ark c h a p te r o f m o d e m Y em eni h isto ry . In this poem , w e fin d the fine ex am p le o f the
M ahri lan g u ag e u sed fo r p o litical and social p u rp o ses; w h e th er this w ill be a future trend is
101 Karmaym Hawrot is a remarkable feature in the geography o f al-Mahra. It lies in the chain o f Fatk mountains
separating Haswayan from Nistun and until recently, was only crossed by a single dirt road that took seven to eight
hours to traverse. Karmaym Hawrot lies in the m iddle o f this chain o f mountains w hose tops are covered in clouds
throughout the m onsoon m onths. M onsoonal precipitation is funnelled onto Karmaym Hawrot which stays green,
moist and verdant for half the year. The flanks o f Karmaym Hawrot are dotted with cisterns built under trees that
capture the fog as it passes; they are filled by a constant patter o f condensation. Karmaym Hawrot is com pletely
hidden by the other m ountains and is linked to Nistun by a single path that takes at least two days to travel, carrying
one over broken slate mountains, precipitous cliffs and finally, through blinding fog and wind. When I was invited to
Karmaym Hawrot by an older Mahri, it was not without som e disapproval from other Mahra w ho worried that their
secret refuge would be exposed. I was asked to promise that I would never bring tourists there.
102Conversely, the governm ent may not be as jealous to preserve an untarnished im age or as repressive towards critical
expression as is som etim es believed. Certainly freedom o f expression in Yemen is much more widely respected, (or
the repression o f it is much less effectively enforced), than elsew here in the M iddle East.
222
b ey o n d m y ab ility to pred ict.
IX . C on clu sio n :
H o w can w e su m m arize the ach iev em en ts o f the “N ew S chool” ? T h e “ N ew S ch o o l” is a
n etw o rk o f p o e ts, m u sician s and p e rfo rm ers w ho co llab o rate, cooperate and co m p ete am ongst
th em selv es w ithin th e re la tiv e ly lim ited social en v iro n m en t o f al-G haydha. T h ro u g h th eir
co llab o ratio n , a co n v erg en ce o f styles, g enres and tastes has taken p lace and has pro d u ced a
cultu ral id io m th at is ap p ro p riate to the era o f cen tralized go v ern m en t in Y em en. The
p articip an ts o f th is n etw o rk o f a rtists are characterized by a relativ e degree o f p ro fe ssio n a lism ,
(som e m o re than o thers), b u t all b e a r official reco g n itio n as singers, m u sician s o r p o ets. A t one
en d o f th e sp ectru m is M u h am m ad M u sa cg il, w hose reco rd in g career has b ro u g h t him an in co m e
and status ra re to so m eo n e o f his age. A p p ro x im ate to M u h am m ad M u sa cg il’s deg ree o f
p ro fe ssio n a lism is H agg D ak o n , w ho is kep t on retain e r by the M in istry o f C u ltu re to p ro d u ce
p raise p o etry fo r v isitin g d ig n itaries and national h o lid a y s b u t w ho needs to su p p lem en t his
in co m e w ith fish in g w ork on th e side. O ne p erfo rm er, cA skari H ugayran, has p arlay ed h is status
as a sin g er and sch o lar o f th e M ahri language into a full tim e p o sitio n as the local d ire c to r fo r the
M in istry o f T o u rism . T h ese p erfo rm ers, and others lik e th em , are the p u b lic face o f M ahri po etry
and song. It is they w ho are called upon to give p erfo rm an ces in S a n a ’a o r at festiv als in al-
G haydha, to g iv e in terv iew s to n ew sp ap ers and to m e n to r v isitin g scholars.
P ro fessio n alism and g o v ernm ent p atro n ag e are the d riv in g factors o f this new cultural
idiom . P ro p riety and co m m o n co m p reh en sio n are no w essen tial feature o f “ m o d e m ” M ahri
p oetry. S c u rrilo u s m aterial, tribal bo astin g and obscu re v o cabularies are no lo n g e r d esireab le; in
th e ir p lace, w e fin d h y g ien ic th em es, non-tribal id en tity -o rien tatio n , and a lim p id idiom filled w ith
clo se A rab ic co g n ates. S um m ed up, this style can b e referred to by the single phrase: kalam raqlq,
223
an alo g o u s to E in a r o f U n d irh lith ’s “h y m n s and n ew -fan g led ly rics” fro m the b e g in n in g o f this
chapter.
T h e “N ew S ch o o l” is also a m eans o f re co n c ilin g the anom aly o f the M ahri lan g u ag e to
th e Y em en i A rab ic n atio n al cu ltu re. T his entails the ad o p tio n o f cetain p e rfo rm a n ce “k e y s,” (such
as the cud, w ritten ly rics and stro phic singing), to m ake M ahri p o etics “leg ib le ” to n o n -M ah ri,
Y em eni a u d ien ces. T he artists o f the “N ew S c h o o l” are thus engaged in the p ro ce ss o f
reco n fig u rin g M ahri cu ltu re as a co n situ en t m em b er o f the national culture by esch ew in g tribal
id en tificatio n fo r a d m in istrativ e id en tificatio n , o r even b y eschew ing the M ahri lan g u ag e entirely.
D o es th is m ean th at a n ativ e, in d ig en o u s M ahri cultu re is fin ish ed ? A b so lu tely not,
alth o u g h th e sig n ificatio n o f “M a h ri” m ay need to be b ro ad en ed som ew hat to in clu d e non-
lin g u istic d im en sio n s. In som e situ atio n s, a deeply su b v ersiv e trend m ay still b e noted, such as in
JAstir seh drlyat la:, w hich o ffers the b e st evid en ce fo r survival o f an in d ig en o u s trad itio n th at has
y et co n fo u n d ed attem p ts at a ssim ilatio n . T he D lwan o fH a g g Dakon is an o th er in d icato r o f the
v itality o f in d ig e n o u s M ahri cu ltu re and the M ahri lan g u ag e, although the p ractical e ffec ts o f its
p u b lic a tio n are y et to b e seen. T his w ork, the first co m p lete w ork in the M ahri lan g u ag e ev e r
p u b lish ed , d eserv es a c h ap ter in its ow n rig h t and is therefo re the topic o f the n ex t, (and
co n clu d in g ), c h a p te r o f th is d issertatio n .
224
Chapter 6: The Diwan of Hagg Dakon
I. T rad itio n and th e In d iv id u al:
In the w o rk o f fo lk lo rists, a n th ro p o lo g ists and social scientists from the e arly 20th century
o n w ard s, w e can d etect an assu m p tio n o f c o llec tiv ity that lies b eh in d th e p ra ctic e o f oral
trad itio n s: fo lk lo ric p e rfo rm an ces and o rality are p atte rn s o f b eh a v io r w ithin social system s; they
are ex p ressio n s o f a common, cultural idiom and a re -e n actm en t o f shared history, and so fo rth .1
It is not m y in ten tio n to cast any do u b t on the valid ity o f the “co lle c tiv ist” approach; indeed ,
m uch o f w hat w e h av e seen in th e p re v io u s ch ap ters agrees su p ports this it. H o w ev er, w e run the
risk o f lo sin g the in d iv id u al in the ru sh to articu late “th e b ig p ic tu re .” In so cieties w ithout
w ritten, auth o red tex ts, w e to o easily disreg ard the ro le o f in d ividual au th o rsh ip in co n stru ctin g
acts o f culture. T his lead s, acco rding to John N iles, to an absurd c o n c ep t o f “the fello w sh ip o f
song...a pasto ral co n cep tio n o f an ideal fo lk c o m m u n ity - an u n d ifferen tiated c o m p an y o f rustics,
each o f w hom co n trib u tes eq u ally to the p ro ce sse s o f oral trad itio n .” W ith referen ce to h is ow n
field o f A n g lo -A m erican b allad ry , N iles adds: “C ro w d s o f d an cers o r singers are co m m o n p lace
1The groundwork for the collectivist approach was laid by Levy-Bruhl, Em ile Durkheim, Evans-Pritchard and Levi-
Strauss w hose works had a pervasive effect on successive generations o f social and cognitive theorists (David Olsen,
‘T heories o f Literacy and Mind from Levy-Bruhl to Scribner and C ole,” in The W orld on P a p e r [Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1994], 20-44). Thus, Levy-Strauss’ la p e n se e sauvage “is essentially social thought,” and
la p en se e d om estiquee may be presumed to be the opposite: intellectual, individual thought, (Jack G oody, The
D om estication o f the Savage M in d [Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1977], 24). G oody summ arizes Levi-
Strauss’ conception o f oral traditions as follow s:
“The emphasis is on the myth as a social fact, a cultural statement, the key to a code, a window on structure,
as well as a product o f the human mind tout court, but not on the process o f creation itself. H is approach thus
tends to treat myth as a static factor in a society, closely linked to the cultural framework, and to that extent
removed from the manipulation o f p a rtic u la r individuals w ho m ig h t have som e p a rtic u la r g ift f o r the verbal
arts” (ibid., 24, italics m ine).
The collectivist approach can be detected in literary studies o f early Arabic poetry as w ell. This approach inform s
Muhammad B adaw i’s conception o f the pre-Islam ic qasida: “[The primary qasida] was a ritual, more akin to ancient
Greek tragedy, a reenactment in recital o f the com m on values o f the tribe, with a similar cathartic effect, asserting life
im pulses and enabling the tribe to face with greater fortitude the threatening and inexorable forces o f death in a hostile
world” (Muhammad Badawi, “From Primary to Secondary Qasldas: Thoughts on the D evelopm ent o f Classical Arabic
Poetry,” Journal o f A ra b ic L iterature 11 [1980]: 7).
225
e n o u g h , b u t they d o n o t tend to g iv e issu e to an y th in g as coherent and ae sth etica lly satisfy in g as
‘T h e B o n n y Earl o f M u rra y ’ o r ‘H ind H o rn .’” 2
O ral trad itio n s, w h e th e r th ey are co m p o sed o f stories, songs, p o em s o r a n ce sto r lists, are
m ain tain ed and tran sm itted b y in d iv id u als w h o excel in th e ir perfo rm an ce. T hese few in d iv id u als
are the activ e b earers o f trad itio n , d istin g u ish ed from p a ssiv e bearers w ho c o n stitu te the listen in g
au d ien ces and w ho rep resen t th e g reater part o f the p o p u latio n . P assiv e trad itio n bearers m ay
show co m p eten ce in th e p e rfo rm a n c e o f oral tra d itio n s and even dab b le in th e ir re p ro d u ctio n , b u t
they d o not seek out o p p o rtu n ities to p erfo rm n o r do th ey engage the to o ls o f the oral trad itio n on
th e ir ow n term s in o rd e r to articu late a p erso n aliz ed , creativ e idiom .
F ro m the 1970’s o n w ard s, the in d iv id u al p e rfo rm e r began to re p la ce “tra d itio n ” and
“p e rsiste n c e ” as the p rim ary in te rest o f a n th ro p o lo g ists and fo lk lo rists.3 T his shift in approach
m ay b e cred ited to th e sim p le realizatio n that fo lk lo rists rarely co llected th e ir data fro m m o re than
a sm all n u m b e r o f in d iv id u als in th e ir target co m m u n ity , and that m o st m ak e do w ith a single,
g ifted in d iv id u al. F am o u sly , th e co llab o ratio n o f A m erican fo lk lo rist Jo h n F o rn ax and singer-
g u itarist H ud d ie (“F e a d b e lly ”) L e d b ette r y ield ed a trove o f nearly fo rg o tten rural m usic. Texan
sto ry te lle r Ed B ell has b eco m e sy nonym ous w ith the “tall tale ” in C en tral and E astern T exas
thanks to the w ork o f fo lk lo rists P at M u llen , P at Ja sp e r and R ichard B au m an n . C lo se r to o u r ow n
dom ain , M arcel K urp ersh o ek d evoted an en tire vo lu m e o f h is th ree-v o lu m e series to h is favorite
b ed o u in bard: al-D in d an .4
In N ile s’ term in o lo g y , th is prim ary in fo rm an t is a “strong tra d itio n -b e arer,” characterized
by five c h ie f traits: “ (1) engagement, (2) retentiveness, (3) acquisitiveness, (4) a high degree o f
critical consciousness, and (5) at least a shake o r tw o o f show m anship.”5 T o g eth er, th ese traits
2N iles, 1999, 174.

3Richard Baumann, Story, P erform ance an d E vent (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986), 80. According to
Baumann, the growth o f a “performance-centered perspective” has caused a re-evaluation o f the role that individual
creativity plays in an oral tradition. Accordingly: “the individual performer [is] now beginning to replace the
anonymous collectivity as the focus o f folkloristic attention in explorations o f the social base o f folklore” (ibid., 78).
4 Kurpershoek, 1994.
5N iles, 1999, 180.
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d istin g u ish th e strong tra d itio n -b e arer from the p a ssiv e trad ition-bearer w ho m ay p o sse ss som e,
b u t not all, o f th ese traits. S ig n ifican tly , the strong trad itio n -b earer is n o t a slav ish im ita to r o f
ea rlie r p e rfo rm a n c e; rath er, he resh ap es in h erited trad itio n s according to his tastes and th o se o f
h is tim e. W ith o u t th is ad ap tiv e elem ent: “all th at w o u ld soon rem ain o f an oral tra d itio n w ould
b e a set o f half-rem em b ered frag m en ts o r the m u seu m tex ts o f the p u b lish e d a n th o lo g ie s.”6
T his is w here H ag g D ak on steps in to m y an aly sis o f M ahri po etry and society. H agg
am ply illu strates th e fiv e traits o f N ile s’ strong trad itio n -b earer, and his rein v e n tio n o f M ahri-
lan g u ag e stro p h ic p o etry is w hat has m ade M ahri w o rd -cu ltu re “tick ” in to the p re se n t tim e.
F o llo w in g the p erso n al n arrativ es o f so m any strong trad itio n -b earers, in clu d in g N ile s’ D un can
W illiam so n , L o m a x ’s L ead b elly and K u rp e rsh o ek ’s al-D indan, H agg o b serves h is ow n cultu re
from th e m arg in s o f “re sp e c ta b le ” so ciety .7 T he story is alw ays the sam e. R eg ard less o f w h eth er
a society is in d u strial o r p a sto ra list, literate o r n o n -literate, b u re au c ratic o r trib al, in d iv id u a ls w ith
a su rfeit o f creativ ity tend to em erg e on the social p erip h ery , o r m igrate th ere late r in life.
II. A B io g rap h ical S ketch o f H agg D akon:
H agg b ir A ll D akon (b. 1962 in Q isn) is a re sid en t o f M hayfff, a fish in g v illag e five
k ilo m eters from al-G h ay d h a. A lth o u g h tech n ically an em ployee o f the G eneral A u th o rity for
A n tiq u ities (al-Hayâ a l-cAm m a li- ‘I-1Afar) in al-G haydha, H agg rarely m akes an ap p earance at
th e office; in stead , h e p lies his craft w h erev er a p o e tic recitatio n is called for. A s an irre g u lar
em p lo y ee o f th e M in istry o f C u ltu re, H agg m ain tain s a tense, yet n ecessary, relatio n sh ip w ith the
D irecto r o f C u ltu re fo r al-M ah ra. In additional to the n atio n al praise qasldas co m p o sed fo r
govern m en tal ev en ts, H agg also pro d u ces p o e try in a lig h ter vein: lyric songs in A rab ic and
6Ibid., 193.
7 Kurpershoek devotes an entire chapter to al-Dindan’s anti-sociability: “Dindan’s Bedouin ‘U nruliness’”
(Kurpershoek, 1994). Kurpershoek offers an intimate and poignant account o f his relationship to al-Dindan in A rabia
o f the Bedouins, trans. Paul Vincent (London: Saqi Books, 2002).
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M ahri p e rfo rm e d and reco rd ed by local artists and d istrib u ted through local tap e-cassette k io sk s.
D u rin g slo w p e rio d s, H agg jo in s his fam ily in fishing fo r the cu ttlefish and sardines th at are found
in ab u n d an ce o ff th e co ast o f al-M ahra.
H agg is one o f al-G h a y d h a ’s m o st colorful characters. He is funny, n o n -c o n fo rm ist and
in v ariab ly skirts th e ed g e o f official sanction. R eferring to h im se lf as m uharib a l-caw lam a, ( “a
w arrio r ag ain st g lo b a lism ”), H agg often m isplaced his cell-p h o n e and liv ed in a state o f low -level
co n flict w ith th e local electricity c o rp o ratio n o v er u n p aid b ills. H ag g ’s n a tio n alist p o e m s needed
to be rev iew ed b y th e D ire c to r o f C u ltu re in al-G h ay d h a p rio r to th e ir p e rfo rm an c e; u n o rth o d o x
p o litical sen tim en t w ould o c casio n ally b u b b le to the surface. T hat said, H ag g p ro n o u n ced
h im se lf a p a trio tic Y em eni and re n o u n ced his tribal p atro n y m ic ( laqab ) in o rd er to em p h asize his
n atio n al, Y em eni identity.
H agg is a re g u la r and u n ap o lo g etic qat chew er. T his p u ts him at odds w ith o lder, m ore
trad itio n al seg m en ts o f M ah ri society w ho lo o k dow n on chew ing qat and sm o k in g cig arettes as
“fo re ig n ” b eh av io rs, and n o t re c o n cila b le w ith the b ed o u in virtues o f fru g ality and clean living.
C o n seq u en tly , H agg m ain tain s friendly ties w ith the seam y u n d erb elly o f al-G haydha: N orth
Y em enis lo o k in g to c ap italize on the laissez-faire atm o sp h ere o f al-G h ay d h a and M ah ra
rep atriated to Y em en from th e ir h om es in E ast A frica a fte r the US E m bassy b o m b in g s in N airobi
and D ar es-S alaam in 1998.8
H a g g ’s p erso n al asso ciations had both p o sitiv e and n egative effects on m y research . On
the one h an d , I tended n o t to have p ro b lem s w ith the “u n d erw o rld ” since H agg m ade it kno w n
that I w a sn ’t m uch o f a m ark; n e ith er w ith m oney to b u m n o r any in terest in illic it co m m erce . On
8Having left behind the cosm opolitanism o f Kenya and Tanzania, these repatriated Mahra are unsatisfied with life in
al-Ghaydha and have habits that put them out o f touch with their co-nationals. Their native language is Swahili and
“kitchen” Mahri, and many speak English as m uch as they speak Arabic. Since they were deported from Africa for
political reasons and possibly immigration and criminal violations, they are view ed with suspicion by the local security
apparatus. My guard and minder, cAbd al-Sayf, used to perch on m y rooftop at night in order to stake out my
Tanzanian-Mahri neighbors, an act that did very little to increase my standing in the neighborhood. A ctually, it turned
out that one o f m y neighbors w as using her house for nefarious purposes. cAbd a l-S a y f s nose for criminality was
confirmed when one o f her com panions, a gdt-seller with ringlets and a mesh t-shirt, tried to have me evicted from my
house in order to get out from under my minder’s hawkish gaze. D id this have anything to do with the sheep’s corpse
that was deposited in front o f my house one night? There are many m ysteries to al-Mahra that may never be explained.
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the o th e r h an d , th e m o re u p stan d in g d enizens o f a l-G h ay d h a assum ed that I w as u p to m y elbow s
in it, and m ain tain ed th e ir d istan ce.
H a g g ’s keen in tellig en ce and sharp w it w ere rec o g n iz ed early on. D esp ite an inco m p lete
seco n d ary ed u catio n , H agg w as selected to jo in a d e leg atio n o f young Y em enis fro m the P D R Y
to receiv e a u n iv ersity ed u catio n in E ast G erm any. H ag g fondly recalls the tim e h e spent
stu d y in g and trav elin g in E ast G erm any w ith his co m rad es from L aos, A fg h an istan and o ther
co u n tries w ith ties to the S o v iet B loc. D esp ite his y o u th , H agg w as elected the le a d e r o f his
cohort o f in tern atio n al stu d en ts and p ro u d ly recalls “d e b u n k in g ” the M arx ist, scien tific aetheism
o f his teachers. H e also recalls the surprise o f his g ro u p ’s escort, a G erm an flu en t in Syrian
A rabic, w hen she learned that A rab ic w as H a g g ’s seco n d language, ju s t lik e h e rse lf.9
A fte r n ine m o n th s in E ast G erm any, H agg w as re ca lle d to Y em en at the o u tb reak o f the
Tashihat (“T he C o rrectio n s”) in 1986, a veritab le civil w a r betw een M arx ists h a rd lin e rs and
refo rm ers th at left A d en b lo o d ie d and co n firm ed the h a rd lin e rs in pow er. H agg rem ain ed in al-
G hay d h a d u rin g the Tashihat and w aited fo r the green lig h t to return to E ast G erm any. W h en
p erm issio n fin ally arrived and a d ate w as assigned fo r H a g g ’s departure, it w as already to o late
and he w as u n ab le to reach A d en in tim e to g e t his p la n e .10 T his early d isap p o in tm en t m arked
H agg and I th in k that he w as b u rd en ed by a sense o f un fu lfilled pro m ise th ereafter.
T od ay , H agg is one o f the rare, y o u n g e r p o ets w ho co m p o ses as m uch M ahri p o etry as
A rabic p o etry an d is also d istin g u ish ed b y his vocal advo cacy o f the M ahri lan g u ag e and M ahri
cultural trad itio n s. L ike m any o f his g en eratio n , H a g g ’s education got o ff to a ro u g h start; he
rem em b ers his p rim ary sch o o lin g as a ted io u s and in co m p reh en sib le exp erien ce. A cco rd in g to
H agg, y o u n g M ah ra w ere tau g h t by non-M ahri teachers w ho seem ed ignorant o f the fact th at th eir
you n g charg es h ard ly u n d ersto o d a w ord they w ere saying. H agg adm its that he sp en t very little
9During the era o f the PDRY and “the days o f the Party” (■’ayyam al-hizb), many Southern Yem enis, including the
Mahra, received the benefit o f visiting Soviet satellite states. Salim Luhaymar al-Qumayri, for instance, toured
Bulgaria and Romania where he met “bedouin Romanians” (Tzigane) w ho embraced Salim as one o f their own after he
«ave them a powerful demonstration o f his sheep-m ilking technique.
0In 2004, it still took at least three days to reach Aden from al-Ghaydha even under the best circum stances.
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tim e in th e classro o m and en tertain ed h im se lf w ith his tru an t classm ates elsew h ere. H ow ever,
H a g g ’s in tellectu al p ro m ise w as re co g n ized around al-M ah ra and, as m en tio n ed above, he w as
sent to E a st G erm an y to c o n tin u e his ed u catio n . U pon returning fro m E ast G erm any, H agg held a
series o f p o sitio n s in th e civil ad m in istratio n o f al-M ahra, m arried tw ice, and is no w the fa th e r o f
seven children.
I f w e retu rn to N ile s ’ fiv e-p o in t c h a ra cterizatio n o f the strong trad itio n -b earer, H agg
D akon certain ly q u alifies as one. In term s o f engagement, retentiveness and acquisitiveness,
H agg ran k s am o n g st th e p re m ie r M ah ri-la n g u a g e tradition-bearers. T here are certa in ly o th er
talen ted and p ro d ig io u s p o ets in al-M ah ra, b u t the v a st m ajo rity o f them co ncern th em selves
solely w ith A rab ic-lan g u ag e p o etry . N o n e can m atch H agg fo r his active co m p o sitio n o f M ahri-
lan g u ag e p o etry , even i f m an y M ah ra c o n tin u e to m em o rize and tran sm it it. H agg is, I b eliev e,
alm ost u n iq u e am o n g st h is g en eratio n in th is regard.
W ith o u t th e p ro m p tin g o f g o v ern m en t in stitu tio n s, N G O ’s o r foreign scholars, H agg w as
d ed icated to c o llectin g and c o m p o sin g M ahri p o e try b e fo re it b ecam e v o g u e to do so and has
spent co n sid erab le tim e g ath erin g data fo r his (yet u n p u b lish e d ) book: Kunuz tu ra f al-M ahra
(“T reasures o f M ahri H e rita g e ” ) .11 H agg is n o t in terested in poetry alone, b u t conceives o f the
w hole o f M ahri oral cu ltu re as a com p lim en tary p ac k a g e o f b eh av io rs and p erfo rm an ces. In
add itio n to his co m p o sitio n o f p o etry fo r official occasio n s, H agg co llects and com poses stories to
tell to h is child ren at n ig h t and u ses riddles to ho n e th eir kn o w led g e o f th e ir social n e tw o rk .12
D uring ^d r-ch ew in g sessio n s, H agg w as alw ays the c h ie f reconteur o f stories am ongst his friends
- th e “life o f the p a rty ,” so to speak.
M ost im p o rtan tly , H ag g has a “high deg ree o f critical consciousness .” T his m anifested
its e lf in a v ariety o f w ays. In its m ost basic sense, H agg freely ju d g e d o th e r perfo rm an ces and did
not stint in his p raise o r critic ism w here it w as d u e. H ag g had a cle ar sense fo r w hat M ah ri po etry
11al-Dakkak, a l-fa q a fiy a 217, (2003): 11.

12This aspect o f H agg’s activity as a strong tradition-bearer w ill be explored later in this chapter: M ixing G enres.
230
“should b e .” H agg also reco g n ized that M ahri po etry w as not m erely d eriv ativ e o f A rab ic p o etics
o r som eh o w lack in g in d ep th or b read th , (as is m ain tain ed by m ost c u ltu ral-lin g u istic id eo lo g u es
in Y em en). In short, H agg saw M ahri p o etry fo r w hat it w as: an in d ep en d en t, h o listic system
w o rth y o f p reserv atio n .
O n a lin g u istic level, H agg ad opted a critical approach to w ards the h isto ry o f the M ahri
lan g u ag e and did n o t engage in q u e stio n a b le h isto ric al-lin g u istic sp eculation. H agg m ade no
claim s ab o u t th e chro n o lo g ical p re ce d en ce o f the M ahri language o v e r A rabic, o r vice versa.
H agg ad m itted th at th e M ahri lan g u ag e w as at the receiv in g end o f A rab ic w o rd -b o rro w in g s m ore
often than n o t; at th e sam e tim e, h e p ro v id ed careful arg u m en ts w here the o p p o site m ay have
been th e case, (su ch as A r. saytara and suwaz). H is M ahri script show s an in n ate reco g n itio n o f
co rresp o n d in g p h o n em es in A rabic and M ahri such as A rabic /d / and M ahri /{/. H agg only
in v en ted n ew ch aracters fo r h is M ahri script fo r th o se M ahri ph o n em es w ithout co g n ates in the
A rabic script: /s/, Iql, /z/, /e / and /o/. In contrast, a l-S a h ri’s o tiose system o f co lo r-co d ed
ch aracters used to w rite the G ibbali lan g u ag e in Lugat cA d renders allo p h o n es ex p licit and uses
different g rap h em es fo r obvio u s A rab ic -G ib b all c o g n ate ph o n em es such as A r. /q / and G ibbali
!\I. H a g g ’s system is sim p le and m eth o d ical; in d eed , the M ah ra to w hom he show ed h is Diwan
had no p ro b lem read in g it aloud.
III. L iteracy and G ram m ar in the Diw an o f H agg D akon:
H agg is u n iq u e as the o n ly po et to brid g e the oral and literate m odes in the M ahri
language. I h av e seen H agg sitting dow n w ith pen and p ap er and co m p o sin g a tex t w h ich he
edited and re-ed ited until satisfied w ith the final pro d u ct. Im p o rtan tly , H agg used th ese w ritten
texts as a cue w hen recitin g p o etry ; u n lik e som e o f his peers, H agg does not h av e m u ch poetry
m em o rized , (in clu d in g his ow n p o em s). H a g g ’s Diwan therefo re offers a rare o p p o rtu n ity to
231
m easu re th e effects th at th e sh ift fro m an oral to a literate prax is has had on the co n cep tio n ,
co m p o sitio n , p erfo rm an ce and tra n sm issio n o f A rab ian p o e try and songs. A lth o u g h the pro fo u n d
effects o f literacy on oral cu ltu re h av e b een stu d ied and given nuan ced treatm en t b y such scholars
as Jo h n F o ley , Jack G oody, E ric H av elo ck , D avid O lson and W a lter O ng, ra re ly do w e find an
in stan ce w h ere th is sh ift can b e w itn essed first-h a n d and o v er such a short p e rio d o f tim e .13
O ne a sp ect o f th e c ro sso v er fro m o ra lity to literacy deserves clo se study: the effect o f
w riting on p o e tic g ram m ar and syntax. A n in q u iry o f th is nature can giv e sp ecialists in pre-
Islam ic and C lassical A rab ic p o etry a u se fu l tech n iq u e in settling q u estio n s o f w hen and how
early A rab ic tex ts w ere in itially c o m p o sed . R ath e r th an rely in g on easily m an ip u lated chains o f
a ttrib u tio n , m y p ro p o se d m odel o f g ram m atical and sy n tactic analysis p ro v id es a co m m on
b en ch m ark fo r d ete rm in in g the c o m p o sitio n al m ode o f a specific w ork and by ex ten sio n , w hen
such a w o rk w as co m p o sed .
It has b een n o ted that oral co m p o sitio n s are characterized by “ad d itiv e” gram m atical
structures w h ile literate tex ts are c h ara cteriz ed by a “su b o rd in ativ e” sy n ta x .14 T he oral p o e t o r the
im p ro m p tu sp e e c h m a k e r is alw ays at risk o f gettin g lo st in hierarch ies o f g ram m atical
su b o rd in atio n , and is w ell-ad v ised to k ee p in m ind the tim eless ad m o n itio n to “k eep it sim p le.”
A s a re su lt, p h ra se s in an oral co m p o sitio n te n d to be stacked as p arallel u nits, a tech n iq u e that
recalls th e “sem an tic p a ra lle lism ” and “th e m atic e c h o e s” illu strated by R o b ert A lte r fo r the
H eb rew B ib le, (“I f so m eth in g is bro k en in the first verse, it is sm ashed o r sh attered in the
seco n d ” ) .15 O ng u ses tw o d iffe re n t tra n sla tio n s o f the sam e p a ssag e from the creatio n n arrativ e in
th e H ebrew B ible (G en esis 1:1-5) to illu stra te this p oint. T h e D ouay V ersion o f the H ebrew
13A brief list o f som e key scholarship on this topic includes: John F oley, H ow to R ea d an O ral Poem (Urbana:
University o f Illinois Press, 2002); Jack G oody, The Interface B etween the Written an d the O ral (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press 1987); Jack G oody and Ian Watt, ‘T h e C onsequences o f Literacy,” in L iteracy in
Traditional Societies, ed. Jack G oody (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1968); Eric H avelock, The M use
Learns to W rite (N ew Haven: Y ale University Press, 1986); D avid Olson, The W orld on P a p er (Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1994) and Walter Ong, O rality a n d L iteracy (London and N ew York: Routledge, 2002 [first printed
in 1982]).
14Ong, 2 0 0 2 ,3 8 .
15Robert Alter, ‘T h e Poetry o f the B ib le,” The N ew R epublic, Septem ber 30, 1985, (citation in H avelock, 1986, 72-73).
232
B ib le (p ro d u ced in 1610 w h ile th ere w as still a “m assiv e oral resid u e” in E u ro p e), features nine
in tro d u cto ry “a n d s” that in tro d u c e ch ain s o f p arallel, in d ep en d en t clau ses. P rin ted in 1970 w hen
th is “m assiv e oral re sid u e ” h ad p resu m ab ly evap o rated , the N ew A m erican B ib le ren d ers these
n in e “a n d s” as su b o rd in atin g co n ju n ctio n s: “w hen,” “th e n ,” “th u s,” o r “w h ile ” . S o m etim e
b etw een 1610 and 1970, the in d ep en d en t clauses in the E nglish tran slatio n o f the H ebrew B ible
w ere re o rg a n iz ed in to a h ierarch y o f su b o rd in ate p h rases, and in p lace o f the parallel
co n stru ctio n s o f residual o rality , w e n o w see “the analytic, reasoned su b o rd in atio n that
ch aracterizes w ritin g .” 16
R etu rn in g to al-M ah ra, w e can track a sim ilar stru ctural-syntactic shift in H a g g ’s Diwan.
H a g g ’s co m p o sitio n al style, in fo rm ed by literate co m p o sitio n al tech n iq u es, stands in co ntrast to
the e p iso d ic and p arallel stru ctu res favored by trad itio n al M ah ri-lan g u ag e poetry. A co m p ariso n
b etw een o n e o f H a g g ’s nass jcsldat (A r./M hr. “story qasida”) poem s and an orally co m posed
poem on a sim ilar to p ic w ill m ak e this distin ctio n clear. W e have already seen o u r oral b aselin e
poem : Sehl hllb, a danidan a d d ressin g the p o e t’s advan ced age and his y ea rn in g fo r a y o u th fu l
lover, (C h a p te r 4, G ). E v en th o u g h the c o m p o ser o f S ehl hllb m ay h av e been literate in A rabic,
h is M a h ri-lan g u ag e co m p o sitio n s w ere conceived en tirely w ithin an oral fram ew o rk , from the
poin t o f th e ir co m p o sitio n to th e tim e o f th eir recitatio n . F o r ease o f referen ce, I h av e inclu d ed
th e text o f this p o em below :
A. Sehl hllb (C h ap ter 4. G):
1) sehl hllb II sehl hllb

2) man hayd da-rhom II w -m otl Iblb
3) a:n nasfak teh II ahayr man dtblb
4 ) yw ukab gsed II w d -yta yf Ihlb
5) klafk asidjc II tawb man l-akdlb
6) horn ladfa beh II dgdll nslb
7) w -falgam m ad II ate tagylb
8) m almars b -g a sf/l m agre dd-dhlb
9) hal gld yahlul II la h ra f zblb
10) w -labne kut II bel b enl zhlb
16
Ong, 2002, 37.
233
11 ) majcbol da-m dit II w-heh m ahdrib
12) tcihddmmds kal II w-seh tasyib
13) hlh fcalbi hlh II jctllab 'cidib
14) si babtak Id: II w al suk yatrlb
15) b-tayt het soh II w -m gdran grlb
16) d-a:r hoh m hantayb II yfia m assablb
17) ba:r bi saw gab II w-heh m dkkallb
18) ‘agdb ba-rhdm II ate tslb
1) T ea w ith m ilk, tea w ith m ilk

2) F ro m th e h and o f the b e au ty w hose b u ild is slender
3) I f you sip p ed it, i t ’s b e tte r th an the doctor
4) It en ters th e b o d y and ex tin g u ish es the bu rn in g
5) I sp o k e th e tru th , m y n ature is not that o f one w ho lies
6) I w an t to p ay out h e r p rice, [she of] precio u s pedigree.
7) A nd W adt F alg am th at stretches up to w here it disappears
8) T he riv erb ed , in its d ep th , is the channel fo r the flood
9) W h ere b e a u ty liv es, I m ig h t c u ltiv ate grapes
10) A nd b u ild u p a to w er w ith m any storeys all furnished fo r her
11) T hat faces th e sea b reeze and has a w all around it
12) W ith serv an ts to serve h e r so she m ight rest at ease
13) G ive up , m y heart, let it go! B e m ore reaso n ab le
14) I t’s not ap p ro p riate fo r y o u r age and they d o n ’t desire you
15) F o r one, y o u ’re old and further, y o u are n o t from around here
16) I ’m ju s t talk in g n o n sen se lik e a b o n a fide p ra ttle r
17) T h e re ’s still p assio n in m e and it is deeply w oven
18) I lo v e th e b e a u tie s even th o u g h I ’m grey.
T his danidan p o em is d iv id ed in to three d istinct, yet p arallel, them es. It opens w ith the
p o e t’s ferv en t reactio n to the sight o f a b eau tifu l w om an p reparing tea. The p o e t’s in terest in h er
is both aroused and q u en ch ed b y the “te a ,” a m etap h o r fo r the lady herself. A lth o u g h she is not
ex p licitly d escrib ed , h e r b e a u ty m ay be assum ed due to the strong, ph y sio lo g ical reactio n that the
sight o f h e r pro v o k es. T he p o e t b u rn s w ith d esire and m ust satisfy his thirst fo r her; this is the
topic o f lin es 1-6. T he p o em shifts to a visio n o f ease and pleasure in lines 7-12; this section is
b o th a rev erie o f th e ir life to g e th er and a m etap h o r fo r the com plete, earth ly satisfactio n that
having h er w o u ld b rin g . T h e th em e o f this section is ease and luxury, in contrast to the m o tif o f
b u rn in g desire fro m th e p reced in g section. T he final sectio n , lines 13-18, b rin g s us (back?) to
reality: th e p o et re g re tfu lly a ck n o w led g es the im p o ssib ility o f h o lding a young w o m a n ’s interest
234
and ad m its to th e d ifficu lty o f tem pering h is d esire. T he th em e o f reg ret and resig n atio n cap s this
danidan.
E ach to p ic in th is danidan is o f n ear-eq u al length, (6-5-5 lin es), and is o f equal relev an ce
to the th em atic n arrativ e p ro p o sed in this p o em , (desire-d ream -resig n atio n ). N o one seg m en t is
g ram m atically o r th em atically su b o rd in ate to the other; in fact, if the topics w ere disasso ciated
from each o th er, each co u ld stand in d ep e n d en tly as a separate, although brief, danidan.
T ran sitio n s from to p ic to to p ic in this danidan are en u n ciated clearly and p ro v id e a cle a r signal to
the audience w h ere each seg m en t b eg in s and ends. T he b eg in n in g o f the second seg m en t in lin e 7
is m arked w ith th e co o rd in atin g p article w- (“ an d ”): w -falgam m add (“A nd W ad i F alg am that
stretch es”). T h e fo rce o f th is w(a)- is em p h asiz ed by the fact that w(a)- is only used tw ice in the
poem : in th is lin e and in line 10 w here it c o o rd in ates b etw een tw o item s in a list, (“W h ere beau ty
lives, I m ig h t c u ltiv ate grap es // A nd (w -) b u ild up a to w er w ith m any storeys all fu rn ish ed fo r
h e r” [9-10]). T h e p o e tic stock p h rase fiih jcalbi jfih (“ G ive up, m y h eart, let it g o !” ), abruptly
signals the tran sitio n from the second th em e to the third them e in lin e 13. G ram m atically and
them atically , th is p h rase sh arp ly delin eates the n ew m o tif from the preced in g one and calls the
au d ie n c e ’s atten tio n to th e new topic and a new tone.
A d ifferen t g ram m atical and structural p rin cip al is at w ork in the w ritten Diw an o f H agg
D akon. W e can take the p o em Sawjc (“D e sire ”) as a fairly typical w ork by H agg:
B. (Diwan: I) N ass Ksidat: Sawjc (“D e sire”]
1) ri w a-fw od II ym dh d -ya rfif

2) bd:r m il0am sawjc II w -ba:r g a t l if 17
3) l-a:d wi'fham la: II man zaw l w a - d lifn
4) wa-m -bayn jila II d-yahhdrgif
5) a:r safh sawjc II htayr w a -klif
6) am bd:r matkun II w -hal ba -g w if
7) yasdud ndfset II w a-tldbdd tlif
8) wd-tkun mahses II s ’S f w d -h fif 19
17g a tlif (sing, g a tla f transitive: agalfak, cigolf) < G.L.F.: to be filled with fluid vs. k a tlif< K.L.F.: to be filled with a
solid.
18wifham (wifhcik, wlfaii) < W .T.H.: to settle dow n, to quiet.
235
9) ha tat d-halujc II siw ot b - lif20
10) hoh sabri tim II w -holi s f i f 21
11) w ti-mhawgtisi ktil II m nl d -n tissif 22
12) Itiywti swojctir II fr e r w -d y ljri
13) w-bostir w -bar II man tim h a yfif 24
14) w-het h a tfo f II fra him w k i f 25
15) w -m dn-bd:d tisslom II mdtibbtil r d if
16 ) 0timer badis II ha hoh m htisrif
1) M y lungs and h eart // today are flu tterin g

2) D esire has filled th em // they have been filled to the brim .
3) T hey h a v e n ’t y et settled dow n II fro m an xiety and excitem ent.
4) B etw een m y rib s // they are shivering.
5) I ’ve seen th at d esire // is dangerous and tro u b leso m e
6) If it b eco m es ro o ted // and settles in its cavities,
7) It blo ck s th e b reath in g // and you b e c o m e a w reck.
8) Y ou are agitated // q u ick to an g er and im p atien t
9) L ike a dry p a lm fro n d // w ith fire on its fibres.
10) M y p atien ce has fin ish ed II and m y co n d itio n is w eak,
11) A ll m y e m o tio n s // have been to m to shreds.
12) O little falcon! // G o quickly! Fly!
13) G o at dusk, trav el all n ig h t // from M hayfif,
14) K eep m y o rd e r in m ind // and act faith fu lly in m y stead.
15) A fter th e g reetin g s // have been ex c h an g ed tw ice-o v er
16) Say: “A fte r you // I ’m lik e a m an all used u p .”
U nlike Sehl hllb, there is n o th in g that estab lish es a physical o r tem poral settin g fo r this
poem . T h ere is no lo v e o b ject, no indication o f w here she lives nor any b ack g ro u n d in fo rm atio n
that m ig h t p ro v id e e v id en ce o f an actual occu rren ce. T h is poem is com p letely th em a tic, d evoid
o f any specific, co n crete referen t. T he th em atic u n ity o f this poem m eans th at its topic can b e
su m m arized b y a single w ord o r phrase: “d esire” (u n lik e occasional po etry that assum es
b ack g ro u n d k n o w led g e o f an ev ent). T his gives rise to a distin ctly literate featu re o f H a g g ’s
D iw an : titles. T his is the case fo r the p o em u n d e r co n sideration; although the w ord sawjc
19 ' ' ' ' '

m ahses (hatsak, pres, ahsos) < H .S.S.: to be tense, angry, < “h esyd s: having all the bones sm ashed” (Johstone, 1987,
191); s 3o f (s a t’afk, yastof) < S .C.F.: to get angry very quickly; hfif < H.F.F.: “hattaf: to be easily angered...hrfayf: easily
angered” (ibid., 168).
20 _ _ _
haluji < c.L.jC.: a dry palm frond used a kindling for a fire, “halo^/yahald^'. to light, kindle” (ibid., 21), also < H.L.K.:
“h th k : to be very tired and thirsty...hliik: to make so. tired and thirsty” (ibid., 156); Ilf < L.Y.F.; “la yf: coconut hair,
fibre” (ibid., 259).
21
sfif (satfak, sattaf) < S.F.F.: to be weakened, Ar. nahlf.
22n d sslf (ndsfdk, nsuf) < N .S.F.: to shred, Ar. mansuf.
23aylf(dyfu t, pres, tayif) < 3.Y.F.(?): to take to wing, Ar. gannaha.
24b o sar < B.S.R.: “a bossr. to g o in the twilight, evening” (Johnstone, 1987, 55); b a r < B .C.R.: “bar/ydbor: to g o by
night, be out at night” (ibid., 41).
25 w k lf< W.K.F.: a support, an equal (colleague), “hawkuf/hewkefk: to let so. ill rest on your breast; to set up (a stone)”
(ibid., 425).
236
(“d esire” ) d oes n o t o ccur in the first lin e o f the p o em , the title, Sawjc, co n v ey s the b asic gist o f
th is poem and w as the label b y w hich H agg referred to th is poem .
T he ap p earan ce o f titles and labels has b een dem o n strated as a key in d ic a to r o f a literate
p ractice. O ng m ak es this claim from an ep istem o lo g ical standpoint: “O ral fo lk h av e no sense o f a
nam e as tag , fo r they h av e n o id ea o f a n am e as so m eth in g that can b e seen. W ritten o r p rinted
rep resen tatio n s o f w ords can b e labels; real spoken w o rd s cannot b e .”26 In oral A rab ian p o etry ,
M ahri o r A rab ic, in d iv id u al p o em s are referred to b y th e ev ent that in sp ired them o r by th e ir first
line, (Astir sell drlytit Iti: o r Ttir jctittin w-tarbut, fo r e x am p le). T he first lin e is n o t a title p e r se,
b u t a m n em o n ic device that en ab les the recall o f the rest o f the p o em . T his is an alo g o u s to O n g ’s
d iscu ssio n o f p re-p rin t, h an d w ritten m an u scrip ts th at lack title s and title pag es and are catalo g u ed
b y the first few w ords o f th e ir texts ( incipits ).27 H e w rites:
[A lthough] oral cultu res o f co urse h av e w ays o f referrin g to stories o r o th e r traditional

recitatio n s (the stories o f th e W ars o f T roy, the M w in d o stories, and so on), lab el-lik e
titles as such are not v ery o p erational in oral cultures: H o m er w ould hard ly h av e b e g u n a
recitatio n o f ep iso d es from the Iliad b y ann o u n cin g ‘The Ilia d ’.28
T his facet o f the o rality -literacy shift is am ply dem o n strated in H a g g ’s han d w ritten
Diwan. N ot o n ly are all p o em s given a title, (placed above the first lin e and o u tsid e the u p p e r
m argin o f the text itself), b u t each title is in tro d u ced w ith its ow n head in g : nass b i-cunwan...
(“T ext w ith the title...” ).
L o o k in g at the structural syntax o f H a g g ’s Sawjc, w e n o te th at this poem u n fo ld s through
causal re la tio n sh ip s and th ro u g h a hierarchy o f gram m atical and them atic su b o rd in atio n . T he
first section, [1-9], is d escrip tiv e: the p o et lists the rav ag es o f desire on his body. L ike the
c o m p o ser o f Sehl hllb, H agg lin g ers o v er the co rp o real, ph y sio lo g ical effects o f desire: lungs,
heart, rib s and th e b o d y ’s cav ities are all afflicted w ith it. H agg m ay also b e striving fo r an effect
o f d isso n an ce in the first line. T he ph rase ri wti-fw od (“lu ngs and h e a rt”) seem s o d dly anatom ical
26 Ong, 2002, 33.

27 Ibid., 123.
28 Ibid., 123.
237
in co n trast w ith th e m ore p rev alen t and p ro sa ic co u p lin g o f rawh w a-fw dd ( “soul and h e a rt,” C :10
in the Diwan). H a g g ’s analysis o f d esire as th o u g h he w ere offering a m edical d iag n o sis (“it is
d an g e ro u s” [5] and “b lo ck s th e b re a th in g ” [7]) is p ro b a b ly related to h is in terest in e x p o sin g the
m erits o f trad itio n al M ahri m ed icin e versus foreign m edicine, a m o tif th at ap p ears th ro u g h o u t his
Diwan (D: “O M y L o v e, If O nly Y ou K n ew ,” fo r instance).
A tran sitio n al segm ent, [10-11], spans the an aly tic, d escrip tiv e sequence th at had
preced ed it w ith the m essen g er m o tif th at fo llo w s. T he transition is signaled by a shift in verbal
actors fro m a d etach ed second p erso n (“y o u ”) in lines 7-8 to an im m ediate, an g u ish ed and
em p h atically stated “I” (“hoh”) in lines 10-11. T his splash o f im m ed iacy p ro p els the poem
forw ard and creates a logical b rid g e b etw een the d e-p erso n alized desire o f [1-9] and the
p erso n alized actio n taken to reso lv e it [12-16]. U nlike Sehl hllb, the m ov em en t fro m m o tif to
m o tif is not sig n aled b y th e co o rd in ativ e p a rtic le w(d)-, (or any o ther p article fo r that m atter), but
through a subtle, g ram m atical pirouette th at o ccurs o v e r a tw o -lin e bridge. E ven if b o th the
verbal a c to r and th e tone o f the p oem have shifted, the essential idea rem ain s the sam e: desire
w astes th e b o d y , m in d and soul.
T he final sectio n , [12-16], p ro v id es an antidote to the p o e t’s m iserab le state: a co nfession
o f love to th e o b ject o f his desire. A lth o u g h this section b eg in s w ith an in terjectio n (laywa), the
conceptual n a rra tiv e is easy to follow : the poet is w racked by desire and so sends a m e sse n g e r to
carry a n o te to h is b elo v ed . In an in terestin g rev ersal o f co n tem porary b ed o u in p o etry , both
nabatl and ly ric, th e b elo v ed o n ly en ters this p o e m in th e last tw o lines as an u n seen cipher, a
m ere d estin atio n fo r the m essen g er-bird. H ow ever, her absence does not co ntravene the p o in t o f
this poem . A s in d icated b y th e title, the topic o f Sawjc is n o t an actual o r im agined love-object,
b u t an a b stract em o tio n : desire. A s m en tio n ed above, the topical shift from a co n crete love-
object, (no m a tte r how co n v en tio n alized she m ay b e in bed o u in A rabian p o etics), to an ab stract
ideal is th e R u b ico n o f o ral-literacy d ialectic; if it is cro ssed , the poetic praxis has lik ely m oved
238
in to the realm o f literacy . T his d istin ctio n is sum m arized by O ng as the differen ce betw een
“situ a tio n a l” (oral) versus “a b stract” (literate) m o d es o f th in k in g , and has been d em o n strated by
H av elo ck fo r th e p re -S o c ra tic and p o st-S o cratic G reeks and by an th ro p o lo g ist A lek san d r L u ria in
h is field w o rk in the (th en ) S o v iet rep u b lics o f C entral A sia.29
T he final seg m en t o f Sawjc in tro d u ces the “m essen g er m o tif,” a standard c o n v en tio n o f
A rab ian b ed o u in p o etry . H o w ev er, th ere are substantial differences betw een con v en tio n al
b ed o u in u sag e and H a g g ’s d ep lo y m e n t o f this m o tif in Sawjc. In the p o e try co llected b y B ailey,
K u rp ersh o ek and S o w ay an , the m e sse n g e r m o tif alw ays opens the p o em . T he p o et en jo in s a
c am el-rid er to carry a m essag e to his in ten d ed audience, w hether it is an in d iv id u al o r the peo p le
o f a certain tribe o r d istrict. T h e in ju n ctio n , (“ O R ider, take this m essag e to so -an d -so !”) sets the
stage fo r th e rest: th e m essag e as a p o e m .30 O ptim ally, there should be n o discrep an cy betw een
th e m essag e and th e p o e m since, according to the p o etic p o sture, they are o n e and the sam e.
In the ca se o f b e d o u in A rabic p o etry , this p o stu re entails a crea tiv e fallacy since the
p o etic m essag e is im ag in ed as a w ritten letter, to b e re ad - n o t recited - u p o n arrival.
K u rp ersh o ek m akes th is p o in t clear: “A gain, the p o e m ’s w ording su ggests that w hat has been
e m bo d ied in th e oral tex t in fact occurs o u tsid e it. F o r the m essen g er w ho carries the p o em to its
d estin atio n , as if it w ere a p a rc e l o r ro lled -u p scroll, is upon h is arrival supposed to d eliv er the
real text - a m o m en t sig n alled in sid e the text by the fo rm u la gul lih ‘T hen tell h im .’” 31 In the
M ahri case, th is fictio n m u st b e d isp en sed w ith entirely since a m essage in the M ahri lan g u ag e is
b y natu re an oral one; th ere are no “ro lled -u p scro lls” in the M ahri lan g u ag e. The nabatl
29
Ong, 2002, 37-38; Eric H avelock, The G reek C oncept o f Justice: From Its Shadow in H om er to its Substance in
P la to (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1978); Aleksandr Luria, C ognitive D evelopm ent: Its C ultural a n d Social
Foundations, trans. Martin Lopez-M orillas and Lynn Solotaroff (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1976).
30 O f the poetry collected by B ailey from the bedouin tribes o f the Sinai and N egev deserts, eleven poem s com m ence
with the m essenger motif: a man mounted on his horse or cam el. In B ailey’s collection, a bird is only ever queried for
information but is never asked to relay it. B a iley ’s data corresponds with the m essenger (nadib) m otif from Sow ayan’s
collection o f nabatl poetry; how ever, the n adib occurs in six o f Sow ayan’s poem s (Sow ayan, 1985, 106). The
m essenger m otif occurs only once in the diw an o f al-Dindan, who hails from al-Dawasir in southern Saudi Arabia
(Kurpershoek, 1994, 177). The m otif o f a human, (not animal), messenger never occurs in the poetry that I collected in
al-Mahra. The geographical distribution o f this m otif makes m e believe that the mounted m essenger m otif is primarily
found amongst the bedouin poets o f Northern Arabia and less so amongst the poets o f Southern Arabia.
31 Kurpershoek, 1 9 9 9 ,3 6 .
239
co n v en tio n as w e find it in B ailey, S ow ayan, et al., is non-ex p o rtab le to al-M ahra; fo r this reason,
w e find th a t its fo rm u latio n and role in M ahri p o etics m u st b e su bstantially altered.
In Sawjc, th e m e sse n g e r is in tro d u ced at the very end o f the poem ; therefo re, it b ears a
m essag e th at is n o t at all c o n c u rren t w ith the tex t o f the p o em itself. A tten u ated to a single line,
[16], th e actual m e ssa g e su g g ests a po etic co n v en tio n ra th e r than rep ro d u ces it. To use B a d a w i’s
term in o lo g y , H a g g ’s p o e m Sawjc is a “seco n d ary qasida” since it alludes to the p rim ary tradition,
(A rab ic, nabatl p o etry ), and d o es so fro m a p o sitio n o u tsid e o f the p rim ary m ilieu , (o rality ).32 In
a seco n d ary trad itio n , th e su g g estio n o f a p rim a ry m o tif is enough to ev oke it in toto. A ccording
to B ad aw i, th is leads to a g reater co ncern am o n g st p o e ts o f the secondary trad itio n fo r “detail and
n o t w ith b ro ad o u tlin e s” ; in o th e r w ords, seco n d ary p o e ts are released fro m the need to re sta te the
m o tif from start to fin ish .33 W h ereas B adaw i en v isio n s the d istinction as one betw een a p rim ary
literary trad itio n versus a seco n d ary literary trad itio n , the situation in H a g g ’s Diwan p resents us
w ith a d ifferen t scen ario : a p rim ary oral trad itio n versus a secondary literary tradition.
T he final line, th e m e ssa g e itself, is a coda. A s a note o f direct d isco u rse em b ed d ed in
th e p o e t’s p erso n al n arra tiv e , it is sy n tactically and stru ctu rally d istin ct from w h at p recedes it.
T he co d a b e g in s w ith th e co m m and: “°amer” (“sa y !”), eq uivalent in po etic function to the nabatl
A rab ic “ gul lih ” (“ say to h im !” ). A s I h av e n o te d above, this line, (“ Say: ‘A fter you // I ’m lik e a
m an all u sed u p ’” [16]), is an atro p h ied re m n an t o f th e m essag e-as-tex t tech n iq u e o f A rabian
b ed o u in p o etry . It is an in d ep en d en t segm ent in itself; gram m atically and th em atically d istin ct
from w hat p re c e d e s it y e t to o short to stand as a co m p lete poem on its ow n. H o w ev er, in alluding
to a m otif, it ev o k es th e se lf-stan d in g , m essage segm ents o f the p rim ary tradition and fu rth er
ch aracterizes th is p o em as th e p ro d u ct o f a secondary tradition.
T he d ifferen ces in c o m p o sitio n al tech n iq u e do n o t end here. In ad d ition to the increased
sy n tactic co m p lex ity , a co m p lex d isco u rse stru c tu re fram es H ag g ’s Sawji. T his poem co n sists o f
32 Badawi, 1980, 8.
33 Ibid., 8.
24 0
three sp eech acts: th e p o et to h im se lf [1-11], the p o e t to a falcon [12-15], and a falcon to the
b elo v ed [16]. E ach speech act is fram ed b y the p re ce d in g one, and each sp eech act is
co rre sp o n d in g ly sh o rte r than th e one th at fram es it. T his creates a rev erse-telesco p in g effect:
from an in itia l, top ical seg m en t, the p o e m atten u ates in a sequence o f dim in ish in g len g th and
im p o rtan ce. T his is c o n sid erab ly d iffe re n t fro m Sehl hllb w here, as I h av e noted above, the three
sections are o f ro u g h ly equ al len g th , (6-5-5 lines each).
In all, Sawji show s a co m p lex and su b o rd in atin g structure th a t is d em o n stra b ly the
p ro d u ct o f its literate c o m p o sitio n al m ode. T he ad v en t o f pen and p a p e r has p ro v id ed H agg w ith
greater sco p e fo r p la n n in g and im p le m en tin g structural co m plexities; at the sam e tim e, a w ritten
text en ab les H ag g to m ain tain a c le a r n arra tiv e co urse d esp ite the m ore c o m p licated syntactical
terrain th at h e n av ig ates.
IV . E x p an d in g T h em es in th e Diwan:
A lo n g sid e the atro p h y o f tra d itio n al m otifs in H a g g ’s Diwan, w e also fin d the opposite:
segm ental e x p an sio n o f sin g le m otifs in to co m p lete p o em s in th eir ow n right. W ith the freedom
o f reflectio n , H ag g has th e c a p a c ity to b rin g to g e th e r all o f h is th o u g h ts on a single m o tif and to
p ro d u ce a m o n o th em atic p o e m o f req u isite len g th fo r recital. T raditional po ets o f the oral praxis
d o not h av e th e lu x u ry to d w ell at length on a single topic; th e ir tech n iq u e is to shift fro m one
m o tif to an o th er as soon as th e ir availab le stock o f fo rm u la ic p h rases, ideas and im ages b eg in s to
w ane. F o r a v iv id d escrip tio n o f th is co n strain t, w e can recall the ragzlt e x ch an g e o f M u ham m ad
CA1I and B ir F reg fro m C h ap ter 3. H aving reach ed the o u te r lim it o f th e ir oral co m p ositional
sk ill, M u h a m m a d °A1I u rg es th at they finish up since “ [their] storage-room s are closed // though
they b e sp acio u s // they are b lo c k e d o ff and lo c k e d .” 34
34 Chapter 3:V, B, couplet 1:2.
241
T he ev o lu tio n o f in d iv id u al m otifs w ith in a single p o e m into in d ep en d en t, p o e tic g en res is
m irro red in th e h isto ry o f C lassical A rabic p o etry . S eem in g ly in n o v ativ e genres such as the
tardlya (h u n tin g p o em ), iiamrlya (drin k in g p o em ) and lahcini3 (co ngratulatory p o em ) are
o u tg ro w th s o f in d iv id u al m o tifs fo u n d sid e-b y -sid e in th e early A rabic qasida. W ritin g w ith
regards to th e ev o lu tio n o f g enres ( m a w d u cat ) in °A b b asid -era p o etry , S aw qi D a y f m ak es this
p o in t clear: “A nd so to o did su b -g en res (fu ru c) o f the trad itio n al genres ( m aw ducdt qadlm a)
b eco m e in d ep en d en t and flo u rish on th e ir ow n u n til th ey b ecam e co m p letely n ew genres
( m aw ducat gadlda halisa ).” 35 O f co u rse, the shift from “tra d itio n al” to “n ew ” in D a y f s
recko n in g occu rred w ith in a w ritten p ra x is, (u nlike o u r ow n M ahri d ata th at spans b o th the oral
and the w ritten ). H o w ev er, even in U m ay y ad and cA b b asid era p o etry , there w as d o u b tle ss a
m o v em en t to w ard s a g re a te r re lia n ce on w ritten tex ts fo r co m p o sitio n and tran sm issio n .
A ltho u g h D a y f d o es n o t ad d ress th e issu e o f o rality and literacy in his w ork, it is in co n ceiv ab le
th at d iffering m o d es o f co m p o sitio n and tran sm issio n d id not play a role in shaping these
in d ep en d en t g enres.
In th e M ahri case, w e can d em o n strate the fo rm atio n o f ind ep en d en t genres fro m earlier
m otifs b y co m p arin g tw o dandan layll p o em s recited b y cA w a( bir cA li cA w a( (see b elo w and
A ppendix C, p o em E) ag ain st tw o sim ilarly th em ed p o em s from H a g g ’s Diwan. T he p o em s
recited b y cA w a | b ir cA ll are lo n g, (46 and 80 lines resp ectiv ely ), and b o th address a sim ila r
topic: th e a lien atio n o f m arry in g in to an u n frien d ly trib e th at snubs the w ould-be g room . T hough
in sp ired b y a sin g le in cid en t, these p o em s tra v erse a n u m b e r o f th em es, m otifs and even su b
n arratives. T his is n o t to say that th ese p oem s are a m ere ag g lo m eratio n o f p o etic fo rm ulas;
rather, these th em es g ath er around one to p ic that ad opts d ifferen t g u ises and a sso ciativ e im agery.
In short, these p o em s trace a n arrativ e arc th at passes th ro u g h a series o f m o v em en ts, each o f
w hich is sep arated fro m p reced in g seg m en ts b y clea r lexical and gram m atical caesuras.
35 Sawqi D ayf, a l- ‘A s r a l - ‘abbasi al-iam (Cairo: Dar al-M acarif bi-M isr, 1975), 228.
242
W e w ill u se the sh o rter p o em recited by cA w aJ,bir °A h as o u r startin g po in t; it is h a lf the
len g th o f h is o th e r dandan layll and is m ore m an a g ea b le fo r presen t p u rp o ses:
C. Dandan lavll co m p o sed and re cited by cA w al b ir °A1T cA w al:
1) hay bis amdi't II akkaws d-agrlr

2) naksft fw d d II w -sls s a n s lr 36
3) w -sa lf ayom II ll w a tfw lr
4 ) w-Jcalbalob II ym oh s a g h lr 37
5) has slnam agaw t II wal si s a b r ir 38
6) has roram a h a tf II hyes w d -m slr 39
7) tabhot rabne II w a-lyed yciswlr 40
8) w-saw dah lawh II w -law m hoslr 41
9) w -bdll m alk II lagld yanhlr 42
10) yhardud binah II hal heh m h o tir 43
11) yhokl hm d II w-teh yhddw lr 44
12) w -ser awle II kal yagtarir 45
13) wa-d-heh m anbar II al seh m dhylr
14) w-law fcdom heh II lyed d-yaglr
15) ynajcsam hat II w -ydktdrlr
16) y^dldbh kal II hfar a[hlr
17) raytl dhm um II lasbe'lc a ty lr 46
18) Iaka sawjcar II man w d tfr ir
19) lahanfajc a\aw t II w a -la td f kdlr 47
20) w-\am d-wadh II w at heh m asblr 48
21) hal hem yahlol II w a-yhadklr
22) w-anjcad bajfllt II haw el da-dylr
23) tazhod da-gw ob II habbor ta g tir 49
24) w-natjc ykun II hfar tajcdlr 50
25) w -zaynas hnls II aregab n w lr 51
26) sagret d-m asm um II w- ’ltd al-kslr 52
36naksit < N.K.S.: Ar. nakasa (to shake, to ruffle).

37 _ v
jcalbdlob < kalh (heart) and lob < L.B.B.: heart, pith, Ar. lubb: sa g h lr < G.H.R.: “gaher/yoghor: to be dazzled”
(Johnstone, 1987, 117), Ar. ’is ta 's a b a .
38iigawt: distance, gulf, Ar. cam q\ sa b rir < B.R.R.: to consider st. easy, Ar. 3istashala.
39hyes < H .Y.S.: violent (w ave), “hays: violence” (Johnstone, 1987, 198); m s lr < m s lf l
40tabhot < B.H.T.: to hide St. in the shadows, Ar. tazallala, Mhr. B.H .[V ].: “b a h e t/y M tb t: to convince, out argue,
reduce to silence, leave without a leg to stand on” (ibid., 46).
41 saw ddh < S .D .C.: Ar. sa d a ca; m hoslr < C.S.R.: to be new ly manufactured.
42yanftrr<N .H .R .: to head towards st.,A r. ’ittagaha.
43m hotir < \T .R .: to follow the traces, to accustom os.
44y h o k l < L.K. W.: to change the course o f a water channel, Ar. y u m a yyil al-m a ’, Y em . Ar. '“aka: replier et n o u e r [to
fold over and to fasten]” (Landberg, G lossaire D a tln o is, 3: 2318).
45aw le < W .L.Y.: property, capital, Ar. m ulk; y a g ta rir < G.R.R.: to labor, to tire os. with work, Ar. fabara.
46dhmum < H.M.M.: “hom /yohmom : to be able (to do st.)” (Johnstone, 1987, 157).
lahanfak < N.F.K.: to go past St., to exceed, Yem . Ar.: “n a fa q a : convenir, p a s s e d ’ (Landberg, G lossaire D atlnois,
3:2809).
48m a sb lr < S.B.R.: Yem . Ar. “sa b b a ra : entasser, fa ir e un tas [to pile up, to accum ulate]” (ibid., 3:2114).
49h a b b o r < H.B.R.: “h ob o r: (poet.) when, w hile” (Johnstone, 1987, 165).
50 ta^dlrK JC.D.R.: “takddyr. G od’s decree” (ibid., 224).
51 aregab < R.G.B.: “regsb/rogowob: small branch o f a tree” (Johnstone, 1987, 319).
243
27) aw gld m anser 11 m d n fd n n h r l r 53
28) awla rwajcat II w at a:ym al hglr 54
29) ydrhom aruj II w -law d a -h w lr 55
30) w-jca badah II ydhsaw bdh n w lr 56
3 ]) ha hoh m harlfII w ld m h a fir 57
32) w ld man agayl II w-dtom a s s lr 58
33) habu swe la: II w at hem dabblr
34) bdl man hw e II bar la:d y d h s lr 59
35) yabllg ’cidi'd II tolu sg lr 60
36) w -ha:d lagw od II tolu sajcmlr 61
37) wd-ttin d -g a w f/l w -bdr agylr
38) w at jaybat gsed II wa-d-heh m dsrlr
39) wd-lhdjc m d n jd f/l w -h a lfd lr 62
4 0 ) d:r jcalbl hlh II la:d s i tgtlr
4 1 ) w a-km et maske II brek asdlr
4 2 ) h it d:r da-hw alk II kal s i m hablr
4 3 ) anUf mjcaym II w -bdr hylr 64
4 4 ) ywozam anse II a:r kad yasw lr 65
4 5 ) te-bdll snat II w -sl laftaklr
4 6 ) yam dud hlrob II w -kal yu slr 66
1) W elco m e to you, sea-b reeze // the gen tle w ind that com es from the S o uthw est
2) It stirs u p m y h eart // and w ith it, I am glad
3) B y the th ird day // it has begun to seethe in m e
52masmum < amber, Yem . Ar. “m asm um : bouquet” (Landberg, G lossaire D atln ois, 3:2080); k sir < K.S.R.: a
“m agic” plant that preserves milk and turns frankincense into silver, Yem . Ar. “k isr: le p e tit poteau de bois qu ’on p la ce
a chaque extrem ite de la tariqah [a small, wooden post that one places at each end o f a road]” (Landberg, G lossaire
D atlnois, 3:2573).
53 ” ' '
m anser < N.S.R.: “nosur: to wear new clothes” (Johnstone, 1987, 302).
54awla: or, Ar. ’aw: rwajcat < R.]C.Y.(?): thunderheads, dark rain clouds. It is likely that Mhr. rwajcat is related to the
Ar. R .Q .Y. (to be high, elevated) and Heb./Ar. raqV (< R.Q.L): the waters o f the sky, i.e., the firmament o f Sem itic
cosm ology. Landberg provides an extended discussion o f the interrelationship o f the Sem itic roots R .Q .’., R .Q .C. and
R.Q.Y. in his G lossaire D atlnois, 2:1361-1379. h g ir < H.G.R.: steady rain without wind, Y em . Ar. a h g a ra : siffler,
vent et nuage, c a r on croit que ce sont les nuages et non le vent qui sifflent” (Landberg, 1:358). Landberg quotes a
stich o f tribal poetry by the headman ( caqil) o f al-Hawra, ’Ahmad b. ‘A ll al-Himyari: h ayyal m ahila m ihgara yd ‘ahl
al-salab. This stich is translated by Landberg as: “/ / (le seyh des D iyeb) apergut un nuage de p lu ie sifflant, o gens
d ’a n n es” (ibid., 1:358).
55ydrhom < R.H.M .: “rshdm : to be kind to som eone...serhdw m : to rain; to have rain in a dry period” (Johnstone, 1987,
321); hw lr < H.W.R.: “h a w rst: drought, rainless period; parched barren land” (ibid., 162).
56y dhsaw bdh (causative stem) < S.B.H .: “hssbah/yohosdw boh...to be in the morning, to becom e” (ibid., 357).
57wld: see footnote #54; m hafir < LF.R.: a fo r: to dig, dig o v e r ..ia tfsr : to paw the soil, play in the soil” (ibid., 14).
58atom: see Chapter 4, footnote #115.
59
yah sir < H.S.R.: to withhold, to hold back.
60 ’a d i d < C.D.D.: “’’tided: each, every; total, amount” (Johnstone, 1987, 11).
61 sajcmlr < JCM.R.: “sajcamar: to vie with oa. in showing o ff possession” (ibid., 231).
62m d n jd f< N.^.F.: vital organs, viscera:fd ir < F.D.R.: the heart and liver, Mhr. “fodar: pubes (us. animals, wom en);
large m ilkless udders, breasts” (ibid., 87). It is possible that “heart and liver” is the G-rated translation o f an earthier
original.
63hwalk < H.W.L.: “hwul/yahwul: to understand (a language)” (ibid., 193).
64a n u f< N.F.[V].: Ar. nafa: mjcaym < K.W.M.: Ar. stihib mulk, rabb a l-b a yt; hyir < H .Y .R .(< H.G.R.): Y em . Ar.
“h ayyara: retenir, em pecher [to prevent, to stop]...= mehri haylr: verw eigern, zuriickhalten [to refuse, to
suppress]...hawwara: m ettre aux arrets [to put an end to sth.]” (Landberg, G lossaire D atlnois, 1:534).
65anse < N .S .3. (N.S.[V ]): extension (of patience), Ar. m utawala, Y em . Ar.: “n a sa : etre en con valescen ce...”intasti: to
be in a good humour” (ibid., 3:2768).
66y u sir < W .S.R .(< N.S.R.): to build a boat from rudder up; Yem . Ar. “w asara: sc ier [to saw ]” (ibid., 3:2921).
244
4 ) A nd to d ay all the senses o f m y heart // b ecam e even m ore frantic
5) A fter th ey saw the d istance // and that n o thing w ill com e easily.
6) L ike the sea during th e fall // w ith big w aves and dangerous curren ts
7 ) It co n ceals its in ten tio ns from the ship -cap tain s // and those w ho k n o w it w ell
8) A nd b reak s u p the p lan k s // even if the b o a t is new ly built.
9 ) T h o se w ho earn th e ir living from the sea // head tow ards its b o u n ty [them selves]
10) H e alw ay s retu rn s to w ork at it II in the very p la ce w here h e w as a ccu sto m ed to
d o in g so
11) H e alters the cou rse o f the w ater ch an n els // and turns it back to fertile soil
12) B eh in d th e p ro fit and gain // they are hard at w ork.
13) B u t th e one w ho is o utside // he is left w ithout a choice
14) E ven i f they offered him [help], // th o se w ho are envious,
15) A nd w ro te a letter [for the p o e t’s sake] // and settled on it together,
16) T h ey w o u ld pile ev erything // atop [the p o e t’s] back.
17) If o n ly I w ere able // to arrive befo re the b ir d !
18) O r th at I w ere a falcon // and so w h en ev er it takes o ff
19) A nd goes b ey o n d W ad i A ja w t // and circles the p lateau at K d lr
20) To w h ere the wadis m eet at W adh // after descen d in g from the h e ig h ts
21 ) A nd th e p lace w here h er p eo p le liv e // and are w ell rem em bered.
22) I ’ll ch o se that o f B a^lit // w hose settlem ent w as the first [I visited]
23) H er resp o n se is alw ays p lea sa n t // from the very m o m ent she b eg in s to speak
24) A nd h e r co n v ersatio n // is alw ays rig h t on the m ark.
25 ) H er b eau ty goes w ith h e r // a b o ugh that gives o ff light
26) A tree o f am b er // a b ranch o f the m agic Lvlr-plant
27 ) W e a rin g n ew clo th es // o f the silky type.
28) O r lik e d ark rain -clo uds // that p ro d u ce rain w ith o u t storm s
29) A n d d ren ch the g ard ens // once stricken by d ro ught.
30) T h e land afterw ards // is colored w ith flow ers
31) L ik e irrig ated land II o r fu rro w ed earth
32) O r n e x t to a stream // that flow s in its channel.
33) P eo p le are not alw ays on the sam e footing // w hen they deal w ith each other.
34) S o m e p e o p le w ho w ere spoiled // w ill never h o ld an ything back
3 5 ) H e ’ll p ay any p rice // even if it causes him trouble.
36) A n o th e r p e rso n raised on virtue // if he c a n ’t co m p ete [w ith the fo rm er],
37) A feelin g [hidden] in his chest, // it alters him .
38) It tak es o v e r his b o d y II th at w hich is hidden [inside him ]
39) A nd c lin g s to his o rgans // and “the heart and the liv er” .
4 0 ) B u t O , m y heart, leave o ff it // and stop talking to m e,
4 1 ) C on ceal y o u r co m p lain ts // in side m y chest.
4 2 ) Y ou k n o w [the situation] w ell // since ev erything is clear:
4 3 ) T he p ro p e rty o w n er has refused you // and forbids it.
4 4 ) S o m e p e o p le can d raw out th e ir patien ce // those w ho know how ,
4 5 ) O r p erh ap s the craftsm en // w ill deliberate
4 6 ) M easu rin g out the ru d d er, // they all w ill b u ild a bo at ato p it.
T he p o e m b eg in s w ith an in v o catio n to the sea breeze, ( am dlt ), the h a rb in g e r o f em otional
turm oil and p o e tic insp iratio n [1-5]. T he poet faces a fu ture o f difficu lty and h ard sh ip , “like the
245
sea during the fall ( rordm aharf) II w ith b ig w aves and dangerous c u rren ts” [6]. T his leads the
p o e t in to an ex ten d ed sim ile o f a sh ip -cap tain ( rabne ), w ho steers his co urse th ro u g h h id d en
cu rren ts and treach ero u s w aves cap able o f tearin g h is sh ip to pieces [6-8], T his m o tif - a cap tain
n av ig atin g treach ero u s w aters - is ty pical to M ahri po etry from the coastal d istricts, su ch as the
ragzJt dual o f M u h am m ad °A li and B ir F reg (C h ap ter 3, B).
In line 9, th e p o em m oves to a d iffe re n t them e, u sing the co n cep t o f “tra d ec raft” as the p ivot
p o in t. T he p o e t tells u s th at the p ro p erty o w n e r ( boll malk), w h eth er a sh ip ’s cap tain , a fisherm an
o r farm er, retu rn s to th e sam e spot to p ly h is craft and harv ests its b o u n ty h im se lf [9-10]. A s a
farm er, he b u ild s irrig atio n chan nels and tills the soil over and over. I f the field y ield s a cro p , it is
than k s to h is u n ceasin g labor: “b eh in d the p ro fit and gain // they are hard at w o rk ” ( w -ser aw le II
ka l yagtarlr)[ 12]. T he m en tio n o f tillage (mhofar)[ 10] and w ater ch an n els (hm o)\ 11] evokes
sim ilarly b u co lic scen es in Sehl hllb [7-12] and cA w a | b ir cA ll’s o th e r dandan layll, E :2 0 -2 6
(A ppendix C ). A lo n g sid e th e in tro d u cto ry sea b reeze and skilled cap tain/fisherm an m o tifs, w e
can id en tify a b u co lic m o tif in lines 10-12.
T he fo llo w in g lin es [13-16] p ro v id e som e b a ck g ro u n d and perso n al co n tex t fo r this p o em .
T he poet rev eals th a t he is “on the o u tsid e ” (w a-d-heh manbar)[ 13], that is, o u tsid e the circle o f
su itab le m arriag e-p ro sp ects. H e adm its th at h e is not one o f those “hard at w o rk ” on the inside,
w here h e can retu rn to th e sam e “fie ld ” - the b elo v ed - again and again. The po et en lists the help
o f p eo p le w ho are en v io u s o f th e b e lo v e d ’s trib e and w ill connive on th e p o e t’s beh alf, (but w ho
w ill refu se any re sp o n sib ility if the m arriag e p lan fails). T hese few lines evoke the m o tif o f
je a lo u s ru m o r-m o n g ers co m m o n to co m p lain t-th em ed (A r. sakw a ) poetry. A t the sam e tim e,
these lin es p ro v id e a factu al lin k to the p o e t’s life and ground this p o em in actual exp erien ce.
T here are referen ces h ere that w ere lik ely u n d ersto o d by his close friends; u n fo rtu n ately , I am
ig n o ran t as to w ho th ese “ e n v io u s” allies o f the p o et w ere and w hat th ey w ere w illing to do on the
p o e t’s behalf. T his stan d s in co n trast to the abstract them es o f H ag g ’s Diwan, (such as Saw £), by
246
w hich H ag g strives to d e sc rib e u niversal ex p erien ces in a w ay that appeals to as b road an
au d ien ce as p o ssib le.
L in es 17-21 b rin g us to a fa m ilia r m otif: the falco n -m essen g er (saw/tar). W e have already
in tro d u ced th is m o tif in Sawjc [12-16], w here H agg ask s a little falcon ( swojcar) to carry a
m essag e to his b elo v ed . In cA w a[’s po em , th e p o et is so im patient to reach his b eloved that he
w ish es th at h e m ig h t arriv e before the m essen g er, (“if only I w ere able II to arriv e befo re the
b ird !” [17]). T h e p o e t then ado p ts the van tag e p o in t o f a falcon speeding to w ards its d estin atio n :
p a st W ad i A Jaw t and th e p lateau o f K d lr [19] to the co nvergence o f the w adis at W adh [20], and
fin ally to his b e lo v e d ’s e n cam p m en t [21].
T he m essen g er-b ird m o tif b rin g s us to a d irect d escrip tio n o f the b e lo v ed h erself, B a^llt
[22], T his section th e m a tic a lly falls u n d e r the h ead in g o f “praise fo r a m a id en ” (m adh bint), the
m ain stay o f m ost am orous p o etry . °A w a[ is u n stin tin g in his praise: “H er resp o n se is alw ays
p leasan t // from th e very m o m en t she b egins to sp ea k ” [23], “H er b ea u ty goes w ith h er // a bou g h
that gives o ff lig h t” [25], and she resem b les “a b ra n ch o f the m agic L slr-plant” and “a tree o f
a m b er” [26]. B a ^ lit’s clo th es are an abu n d an ce o f silk, a billow ing m ass “like dark rain -clo u d s //
th at p ro d u ce rain w ith o u t sto rm s” [28], T his lin k betw een B a ^ llt’s clo th es and “dark ra in -c lo u d s”
ex ten d s b ey o n d m etap h o r in to the life-giving rainfall o f the fo llo w in g line: “ [clouds that] drench
th e g ardens // o n ce strick en b y d ro u g h t” [29].
T he shift in to m etap h o ric lan g u ag e and b ack again to concrete reality p aves the w ay fo r the
m o tif o f lines 3 0-32: a b u co lic m o tif that re cap itu la tes an earlier iteratio n o f it in lines 10-12. T he
b e lo v e d ’s shadow - like a rain clo u d - spills across the land and h e r silk clo th es blend in to the
e a rth ’s florid g arb after a rain fall. The p o e t’s d esire fo r m arriage and u n ion w ith B a^llt is
su b lim ated in to a scene from a M ahri p aradise: flo w e rs, farm land, w ater-filled ch annels and
leisu re tim e fo r th e p o et and his b eloved. T here is no h eav y labor here; ra th e r the b elo v ed
g en ero u sly “sh o w ers” h er fa v o r u p o n land and p o et alike.
247
S tartin g in line 33, the to n e su ddenly shifts. F rom re v erie, w e m ove b ack to a non-
sentim ental re a lity in w hich th e p o e t offers the w isd o m born o f experience. H e n o tes that
o b sessiv e lo v ers ( ba\ mart hw e ) [34] w ill spare no e x p e n se in getting w h at th e y w ant, (i.e., th eir
ideal b rid e). A v irtu o u s p e rso n ( ha:d lagwdd), on the o th e r hand, con ceals h is desires and suffers
in silence. R a th e r than ach iev in g any good by h id in g h is love, the virtu o u s lo v e r’s thw arted
desire “tak es o v er his b o d y / and clings to his organs // and in the h eart and the liv e r” [38-39].
cA w a[ p ro p o ses an eq u atio n o f re g re t and d isease, a fairly typical m o tif o f M ah ri p o etics that
appears elsew h ere in the Dlwan o f H agg, (A , D and G), in the tribal odes o f B ir L a ctayt (C h ap te r
3, C) and T a n n a f H am to t (C h a p te r 4, A ), and in the rdgz.it exchanged by M u h am m ad CA1I and B ir
F reg (C h a p te r 3, B).
In lin e 40 , the p o em tra n sitio n s to the final th e m e b y m eans o f a fa m iliar form ula: a:r fcalbi
hlh (“B u t O , m y heart, leav e o ff it”). T his lin e sig n als a defin itiv e break: h av in g m u lled o v e r his
thw arted w ish es fo r the p rev io u s 39 lines, the p o e t reso lv e s on a co urse o f action. F o r one, he
asks his h eart “to stop ta lk in g ” to him [40] and to “co n ceal [its] com plaints in sid e [his]
ch e st” [41]. T he p oet reco g n izes th at m arrying B akit is p u re folly since h e r fam ily is dead set
again st it; in the m etap h o ric lan g u ag e o f p o etry: “th e p ro p e rty ow n er has refu sed you // and
forbids it” [43]. A t th e sam e tim e, the p o et h o lds o u t h o p e th at h is “allies” (in tro d u ced in [13-16])
w ill co n tin u e to sch em e on his b eh alf, (“p erh ap s the craftsm en // w ill d e lib era te” [44]), and
con triv e a m ean s o f u n itin g the lo v ers, (“m easuring out the rudder, II th ey w ill b u ild the b o a t atop
it” [45]).
In short, cA w a[ b ir cA ll em p lo y s several d ifferen t m otifs from the rep erto ire o f traditional
M ahri p o e tic s to get his p o in t across: his m arriage to B a ^ llt has been th w arted by h e r fam ily.
T hese m o tifs give cA w a[ a tan g ib le fram ew o rk o n to w hich he m ay h o ld as he co m p o ses and
recites h is p o etry . W ith o u t th ese trad itio n al m o tifs, cA w a[ w ould b e cau g h t in the uncharted
territory o f p u re im p ro v isatio n , lo o k in g fo r fo c i around w hich to assem b le h is central idea. cA w a[
248
does n o t ex p lo re each m o tif in any great d ep th ; h o w ever, the sheer n u m b er o f m otifs com p en sates
fo r the re la tiv e ly short treatm en t th at each receiv es. T he sam e m eth o d can be seen to an even
g reater d eg ree in the dandan layll (A p p en d ix C, p o em E), com posed by his fath er, °A1I b ir cAw a(.
A t 80 lines lon g , the p o em ex p lo res th e to p ic o f cAU’s separation from his w ife and son w h ile h e
w as w orking in H y d erab ad , and does so th ro u g h the sam e parallel arran g em en t o f in d e p en d e n t
m otifs. A lth o u g h th e sim ilarity in structure and style m ay stem from fath er-to -so n im itatio n , I
p ro p o se th at the v ery m ode o f co m p o sitio n and tran sm issio n - the oral praxis - req u ires this
technique. T his p o in t w ill b e m ade c learer if w e turn o u r attention to a p o em from the Dlwan o f
H agg D akon.
In b o th S e h lh llb and cAwal, b ir eA ll’s dandan layll, w e have seen h o w a single fo rm u la, hlh
Jcalbl hlh (“G ive u p m y heart, let it g o !” ), signals the fin al th em e o f traditional M ahri ly ric p o etry .
T h is p h rase occu rs q u ite c o m m o n ly and is clo sely p aralleled b y the A rabic fo rm u la, d a c canka
dalika (“L eav e o ff o f it!”), w hich serves a sim ilar pu rp o se: to snap the p o et out o f h is m o o n in g
o v er a d istan t lover. In the p rim ary trad itio n , this fo rm u la alone is not su fficien t fo r a se lf
standing p oem ; w e need to k n o w w h o m the p o et is giving up on and w hy fo r the p erfo rm an c e to
be a sensible one. P o em s o f th e secondary tra d itio n already reso n ate w ith the th em es and m otifs
o f the seco n d ary trad itio n . In a secondary qaslda, a g estu re th at p o in ts to a fo rm ula is sufficient
to evoke its en tire h isto ry in the p rim ary trad itio n , and the aud ien ce is inv ited to stam p th eir ow n
fam iliarity w ith the p rim ary trad ition o n to this p o e tic “b lan k .”
In H a g g ’s Dlwan, w e h av e a p o em in w hich the “L eave o ff it!” m o tif stands alone as an
in d ep en d en t co m p o sitio n , and does so w ithout the p erso n a lizin g d etails o f Sehl hllb and the
dandan layll o f cA w aJ b ir CA1I. L acking the restrain ts im p o sed by oral co m p o sitio n and recital,
H agg is able to explore the “ hlh jyalbl hlh” m o tif at length: eight lines in his Dlwan versus three
lin es in cAwaJ,’s dandan layll and six lines in Sehl hllb. To w it, H agg takes the m ag n ify in g glass
to a con v en tio n al fo rm u la, and in so d o in g , finds su fficien t m aterial fo r an in d ep en d en t p o em .
249
D. (Diwan: M') N ass ksiddt: Hih kalbi hih (“E no u g h . M y H eart. E n o u g h !”')
1) hlh jcalbi hih II man hi tahges

2 )fo n bark b-lidyr II man awsawes
3) w -ded sagyuk II w-dijt agres
4) leh sabk hdfd II w-leh mteres 67
5) w -hod wa-jcton II w-mdnh gmes 68
6) km et sgayb II w-sciwkak hbes
7) te wlu thorn seh II tcigwe w -tdrm es 69
8) ytarhak la: II lyeh haryes
1) E n o u g h , m y h eart! L eave o ff // fro m m u rm u rin g to me!

2) O nce u p o n a tim e I w as safe // fro m (your) w hispers
3) A nd as fo r th e o n e stirring you up // and rin g in g y o u r bell
4) S h e ’s got iron b ars on h e r w in d o w // and b o lts (on her door).
5) B e q u iet and b e firm // and stay aw ay fro m th at one,
6) H ide y o u r d istress // and co ntain y o u r desire.
7) E ven i f y ou w ant h e r //j u s t to sit to g e th e r and talk all n ight,
8) T hey w ill n e v e r let you, // th o se w ho are gu ard in g her.
The sam e p rin c ip le o f th em atic ex p an sio n and indep en d en ce is at w ork in an o th er one o f
H a g g ’s p o em s: K obl mahhalTjc ysaw bar (“I U sed to T hink T h at M an C ould E n d u re ” ). A s the first
lin es in d icates, th is p o em deals w ith the q u estio n o f endurance (A r. sabr) in the face o f p erso n al
suffering, a co m m o n trope in M ahri po etry (see C :44 above). H agg in itially hew s clo sely to the
co n v en tio n al th em e o f p atien ce and the bu rd en o f m aintaining a stoic m ien in p u b lic [1-3].
H o w ev er, the p o em d eep en s its scope to in clu d e a psych o lo g ical in v estig atio n o f hum an
vu ln erab ility , w h e th e r in th e face o f a h arsh , u n ju st w ord from a lo v e r o r in the face o f an
arbitrary, u n y ield in g F ate. H agg expresses his b e lie f th at hum an b ein g s are apt to p ro je ct th e ir
p o w erlessn ess o n to all ex isten ce, no m a tte r ho w slight the injury: “m an is pitiful // a d u sty w hirl
o f w ind w ill ban ish h im ” [2]. S tripped o f ag en cy , a jilte d lo v e r is lik e a b oat, “ro llin g ...in to the
deeps o f a d an g ero u s c h a n n e l” [7], u n salv a g ea b le and p ro b ab ly lost forever. T here is little h o p e o f
red em p tio n in th is po em , (“and then only the M erciful m ay pull h im o u t” [7]), as w ell as a
tren ch an t stab at fatalists w ho turn “a d u sty w hirl o f w in d ” [2] into the “overp o w erin g seas” [5].
m teres < T.R.S.: Ar. m atras, pi. m atarls.

68jcton (katnak, jaitna) < JC.N .c.: Ar. qani'a.
69 tarm es < R.M .S.: “ram us/yaruim s: to chat at night to so.” (Johnstone, 19 8 7 ,3 2 7 ).
250
R a th e r than re cap itu latin g th e m o tif o f p atien c e as its stands elsew h ere in the po etic trad itio n ,
H agg d ev o tes an en tire p o e m to u n d erm in in g its value. P atience in the face o f adv ersity , the
fo u n d atio n al v irtu e o f th e b e d o u in creed, is ex p osed to b e a self-destructive illu sio n at w orst and a
p o etic w h im sy at b est. H agg co n sidered Kobi mahhalik: to b e one o f h is fav o rite p o em s and cited
it in full d u rin g his in terv iew w ith a l-fa q a fty a .70
E. (Dlwan: F) N ass ksldat: Kobi m ahhalik ysaw bdr (“I U sed To T hink T hat M an C ould
E n d u re ” )
1) kobi mahhalik, ysaw bdr II w -sigwe d-beh yhayfcih11

2) stifh mahhalljc bhim at II 'okar da-rylh y n ifa h 72
3) w a-kdayt man am habbah II tdsdidh w a-tkifah 73
4 ) m dnd yahm ol ariddat II man assahb ded yâyfah 74
5) sdhb da-rw oram folam II a:m -ba:r jcaysafbeh yg ifa h 75
6) w a-ylubad beh sroyar II ‘amjc d-m akser ysifd h 76
7) d:r w -rahm on ahf}drag II heh yfcawdar w a-yhayfah 77
1)1 used to th in k that m an could en dure I I and hid e the distress th at is in him
2) B ut it tu rn s out that m an is pitiful // a d u sty w hirl o f w ind w ill b an ish him
3) O r a b itin g w ord from a lo v e r // is en ough fo r him and suffices.
4 ) W ho can stand ag ain st the force // o f a w ave that surges around him ,
5) A w ave from the o v erpow ering seas // that, if it b ea rs dow n on him , w ill flip him
over?
6) It tu rn s (his b o a t) to splinters, // rollin g it in to the deeps o f a d an g ero u s channel
7) A nd then only T h e M erciful m ay p u ll him out // and is able to rev iv e him .
In th e th em atic e x p an sio n d em o n strated b y th ese tw o poem s fro m H a g g ’s Dlwan, w e find a
p ro cess at w o rk that h as already b een noted fo r the early A rabic qaslda. T urning once again to
S aw ql D ay f, he p ro p o ses a d istin ctio n in the fo rm u latio n o f descrip tiv e m otifs ( suw ar) betw een
th e m u ‘allaqa o f Irn ru 0 al-Q ay s (d. ~ 544 C E ) and the m u callaqa o f Z u h a y r b. A bl S u lm a (d. 609
70al-Dakkak, a l-fa q a fiy a 217, (2003): 11.

71k o b i (kabyak, kabah, pres. [a]kdbi, tkobi) < K.B.Y.: to be certain, consider true, Ar. ’i cta q a d a .
72 safh (saffah, frozen form) < S.F..: “s a f: as it transpired....it turned out [that he]” (Johnstone, 1987, 373), A r . f i ‘ifrihr,
bhim at < “bahaym zt: poor, sim ple fellow ” (ibid., 45); ’okar < C.K.R.: a sudden p u ff o f wind, smoke or sand
that blow s in your face (when a car passes by, for instance), ’a kuref. a whirlwind o f dust and sm oke, akarit: smoke
rising from a house, ship” (ibid., 18).
73kdciyt < K .D .Y . or K.D. ’.: to hurt with words, “kdu/yakdyd and ydkiida: to make (a cam el) trot, run at a fast trot”
(ibid., 203), Ar. nakkada; tdsdidh < S.D.D.: “sod/yosdud: to be enough...to block so ’s vision” (ibid., 341).
74assahb (pi. sh obat/shib) < S.H .B.: wave; y\ayfah < [..F.W .; Yem . Ar. “d a fa : entourer, e n ferm er [to enclose,
surround, encircle]...''istadfd: su b m erg er [to subm erge]” (Landberg, G lossaire D atinois, 3:2174).
75ygeftih < G .F.Y.: "g,)fd/yt)gdyf: to turn over; to knock over...to turn upside down” (Johnstone, 1987, 116).
76sro ya r < S.R.R.: splinters; m dksar: a dangerous channel, where boats are broken (Ar. kasara ); ysefdh < S.F.Y.: to roll
downwards, "sofu/yssdyf: to throw sand, soil” (ibid., 343).
77yhayfah < C.F.[V].: “sa fo /y ssd y f: to improve in health, get better, recover” (ibid., 15).
251
C E ). D a y f w rites: “Im ru 3 a l-Q a y s’ ex p o sito ry m eth o d ( al-tarlqa al-bayanlya), as I see it, relies
on the accu m u latio n ( tarakum ) o f sim iles and [on the fact] that the lines o f p o e try are p ro d u ced in
sectio n s th a t fo llo w o n e an o th er (su fu f m inha m utalahiqa).”ls T his descrip tio n o f Im ru 0 a l-Q a y s’
co m p o sitio n al tech n iq u e co u ld ju s t as easily b e ascrib ed to Sehl hllb, the dandan layll recited by
cA w a[ b ir °AlT, o r any a n o th e r p o em fro m the oral p ra x is o f M ahri p oetics. T he em p h asis h ere is
on “a c c u m u la tio n ” and a su ccessio n o f m otifs and im ag es, each bearing equal w eig h t and
im p o rtan ce w ith resp ect to th e central to p ic o f the poem .
Z u h a y r b. A b l S u lm a, fo llo w in g Im ru 3 al-Q ays ch ro n o logically, follow s a d ifferen t tack in
th e ex p ressio n o f in d iv id u al m o tifs. D a y f continues: “I f w e p roceed to Z uhayr, w e fin d that this
m eth o d h as g ro w n co m p lic a te d ...p erh a p s the first th in g th at a scholar notices in the w orks o f
Z u h ay r is th at he strives to g iv e h is im ag es substan ce ( tahqlq ), not through accum ulation
{tarakum), as does Im ru 3 al-Q ay s, b u t in ste ad relies on d etailed elaboration ( tafsll ) and the
rep resen tatio n [o f im ag es] th ro u g h th e ir co n stitu en t m em b ers ( su cab ) and ram ificatio n s
(.ta farlc).”79 Z u h a y r’s fractal a p p ro ach to in d iv id u al im ages is akin to H a g g ’s app ro ach to
in d iv id u al m otifs: b o th d elv e d eep ly in to th e ir co m p o n en t p a rts to give each im age o r m o tif a
rich, in d e p e n d e n t life. A s D a y f p u ts it: “ [Z uhayr] g iv es every part its due ( 3an y u ctiya kulla
guz°in haqqahu).”m
W h ile th e d ev elo p m en t o f a literate p ra x is fo r early A rab ic po etry is n e v e r ad dressed by
D ay f, th is elem en t should not be o v erlo o k ed w hen w e talk about Im ru 3 a l-Q ay s’ “ ac cu m u lativ e”
tech n iq u es versus Z u h a y r’s “e la b o rativ e” techniques. Indeed, the co m p arativ e analysis o f M ahri
p o etics from th e oral p ra x is, {Sehl hllb et al.), and the p o em s o f H ag g ’s w ritten Dlwan indicates
th at a sim ila r e v o lu tio n has taken p lace in the co u rse o f H a g g ’s lifetim e. W hile the A rabic and
M ahri cases d iffer in th e ir d e ta ils, la rg e r tren d s p o in t to a co m m onality th at u n ites the po etic
p ro cesses o f A rab ia in th e 6th cen tu ry C E to co n tem p o rary M ahri poetics.
78 Sawql D ayf, al-Fann w a-m adahibuhu f t a l - s f r a l-‘a ra b l (Cairo: Dar al-M acarif bi-M isr, 1966), 25.
79Ibid.. 26.
80Ibid., 28.
252
V. The Nass K sldat:
In d istin g u ish in g h is p o etry fro m th at o f the trad itio n al praxis, H agg referred to in d ividual
po em s in his co llectio n as nass ksldiit (“sto ry -qasldas”). T his p h rase is a h y brid o f A rabic (nass)
and M ahri (jcsldat), an o n o m astic su g g estio n o f H ag g ’s in term ingling o f the M ahri language w ith
A rab ic p o e tic g en res. In C h ap ter 4 :V o f this dissertatio n , I in troduced nass jcsldat as a rough
eq u iv alen t to th e M ah ri danidan g en re o f sun g -p o etry . A lthough this association w orks for
tax o n o m ic p u rp o se s, as a label it still req u ire s som e clarificatio n . F o r one, I only ev e r heard H agg
D akon u se th e p h ra se nass jcsldat, and it seem ed to h a v e no p ractical circulation ou tsid e o f peo p le
fam iliar w ith H a g g ’s m eta -p o e tic term in o lo g y . Indeed, the term '‘ksld a t” m ust b e b o rro w ed from
th e A rabic p o e tic s sin ce th e qaslda g en re has no histo ry in al-M ahra, (as dem o n strated in
C hapters 2 and 3 o f th is d issertatio n ). T h e te rm jcsldat is u n q u estio n ab ly a m o d em one; the
qu estio n rem ain s w hy it has b een b o rro w e d in to the M ah ri lan guage and fo r w hat pu rp o se.
S ince the p h ra se nass jcsldat is so clo sely linked to the Dlwan o f H agg D ak o n , it m akes
sense th at nass (csldat is lin k ed to the m o d alities o f w riting. H agg, u n lik e o th e r p o ets w ith w hom
I spoke, w as d ee p ly co n scio u s o f p o etic stru ctu re and narrative. O n the one hand, H agg spoke
about h is p o em s b e in g in “p a rts” ( pa § zd D), ju s t like the “p a rts” o f an A rabic qaslda, (from w hence
the term “jcsldat”). O n th e o th e r h an d , H agg believ ed th at his poem s told a story and therefore
m erited th e label “nass” (A r. “n a rra tiv e ” o r “te x t”). W ith o u t articulating it as such, H agg
distin g u ish es h is o w n cau sal, su b o rd in atin g syntax fro m the tarakum (“accu m u latin g ”), paratactic
m o tifs o f tra d itio n a l M ah ri p o etry . In h is ow n w ords, H agg says that his p oem s have “a
b eg in n in g , a m id d le and an en d .”
S u rp risin g ly , th is can b e a ra th e r su b jectiv e call. C ertain ly o th er M ahri poets follow
n arratives and ch ro n o lo g ical d ev elo p m en t, although the details that tie a p o em to a historical
253
n arrativ e m ay re q u ire fillin g in th ro u g h the a u d ie n c e ’s p ersonal kn o w led g e o f the p oet. I think
th at H agg w as lim itin g h is co m p ariso n to the class o f ly ric-th em ed , danidan p oem s co m p o sed by
o th e r p o e ts, and not to the °odl w a-krem krem genre, dandan, et al. W ith this qu alificatio n in
m ind, H a g g ’s claim to a u n iq u e p o e tic m odel gain s m ore legitim acy.
F o r on e, tra d itio n a l danidan p o em s ten d to le ad the aud ien ce b ack aro u n d to the initial
p ro p o sitio n o r fram e o f m ind. F o r in stan ce, Sehl hllb circles aro u n d fro m a statem ent o f the
p o e t’s desire at th e b e g in n in g o f the p o em to a reco g n itio n o f its fru itlessn ess b y the end. W e can
tak e the danidan p o e m co m p o sed b y R ag b o n b irt Sa°id, (C hapter 4, H ), as an o th er ex am p le o f
th is circular, (o r stro p h ic and an tistro p h ic), n arra tiv e structure. B eg in n in g w ith a scenario o f
sterility and d eso latio n , (“T he to ugh last grasses o f fall h av e d w indled [to nothing] and w ant
tre e s” [5]), th e p o e m co n clu d es on a n o te o f p erso n a l resig n atio n , (“It is ju s t one th ing follow ing
th e next, and tro u b les k eep on co m ing b a c k ” [19]). In the “unfu lfilled w ish ” them e at the
co n clu sio n o f R a g b o n ’s p o em , w e find the p erso n a liz e d , h um an an alogue to the recu rren t,
seasonal d ro u g h t th at o p en ed it.
H a g g ’s p o e m s ten d to b e m ore lin e a r in structure: th e y m ove fro m an initial p ro p o sitio n
(“d e sire ,” fo r in stan ce) to th e re su lta n t a ctio n (d isp atch in g the m essen g er-b ird ). In a
m o n o th em atic p o e m such as K obi mahhall^., the in tro d u ctio n in tro d u ces the p rim ary m o tif and
th e rest o f th e p o em fo llo w s as an elab o ratio n of, and n o t a retu rn to, this prim ary m otif. H a g g ’s
po em s tak e the au d en ce th ro u g h a lo g ical su ccessio n o f cause-an d -effect; stru ctu rally speaking,
th is is in sep arab le fro m the d escen d in g , h ierarch ical syntax d iscussed earlie r in this chapter. T he
fo llo w in g p o em fro m H a g g ’s Dlw an is a good ex am p le o f w hat H agg m eans by nass fzsldat.
F. (Dlwan\ K ) Sent w a-kddrs gld (“H er L o o k s and F ig u re A re B eau tifu l’”)
1) senl wa-jaidrs gld II man hcifte gbln 81

2) w-rahm on d-fabtls II 0ajcal wd-tjca w -dln
3) na(cs w a-m slras gayr II w d-l ’aw m dr d-farhln 82
4 ) sattdm m ut rhom at tam II [ohdr w d-hfe yjcin
81 s e m < S.N .Y .: “sen i: sight, view ” (Johnstone, 1987, 382).

82fcirhm < F.R.H.: “forh ayn forhayen: mare, horse” (ibid., 98).
254
5) bdl w a sfy a h yu r II ba-hw ogbb w-safrln
6) d:n 'am ark naiilit II deh dgaw t brek atm 83
7) w-a:n 'dmdrk seh asel II ba-fnogan man assln
8) gama da-sfolat kal II man 'digebds da-w nin 84
9) w -garhutan sar w a sf II ydrbubam w -ybhnm 85
10) la.'kdn yplhlram la: II wa-swejthdm dfin
11) sobar hem hfar hat II doyam w a ft w a-snin
12) bd:r jjlotam hayrem II kam man h a fw -h eh Igin 86
13) hdysdr bihdm a(m dr II man jtwom d-heh fmin
14) w a-hber man bdl w agd II may tan ’d.ddh labyln
15) lu ffe d brek d s su f 11 hal w zunat yaw zin
1) H er looks and statu re are b eau tifu l // fro m fo o t to forehead,

2 ) G od the M ercifu l co m p leted h er // w ith rea so n , reveren ce and relig io n .
3) H er form and strid e are u n lik e the oth ers // y o u ’d say it’s that o f a m are
4) B eau ty b ro u g h t to p e rfec tio n , // the o b v io u s and the hidden m ade true.
5 ) T he m a ste r o f d esc rip tio n is at a lo ss // w hen describ in g h er ey eb ro w s and eyelashes:
6) If I say “d ate p a lm ” // then she is a d a te-p alm sapling [planted] in rich soil,
7 ) I f I say “h o n e y ” // she is h o n ey in a teacu p fro m C hina.
8) A ll o f th e u n m a rrie d m en // sigh fro m lo v e fo r h er
9) A nd oth ers, a fte r a d escrip tio n o f h e r // m oan like a cam el fo r its y o u n g and m urm ur.
10) B ut th ey n e v e r d eclare it // and k eep th e ir d esire buried.
11) T hey are alw ay s on the path (to h er) // all th e tim e th ro u g h o u t the year.
12) T h e ir track s are all m ixed to g eth e r // so m an y fo o tp rin ts are soft and tender!
[belonging to th e “c ity ” peo p le]
13) (T heir) in n e rm o st h earts are ag g riev ed // from the co st o f th is d ea r prize.
14) T he lo v e-strick en ask // “W hen w ill he appear,
15) O ne w ho w ill co m e dow n to the m ark et // and w eigh out the p ric e ? ”
T his is one o f th e p o e m s in the Dlw an that H ag g sp ecifically p o in ted out as a “ story in three
p a rts.” T he p o em is, tech n ically , a w a s f bint (“d esc rip tio n o f a m aid e n ”) p o em ; th at is, a lyric
m ed itatio n on beau ty . It b eg in s fairly co n v en tio n ally : “H e r looks and statu re are b eau tifu l // from
foot to fo re h e a d ” [ l] . H o w ev er, w e d isc o v er that th ere is m ore here than m eets the eye. R a th er
than o ffering a fo rth rig h t d escrip tio n o f h e r b ea u ty , H ag g addresses the p ro b le m atic o f p o eticizin g
b eau ty : “H er form and sa u n te r are u n like th e others // yo u say i t ’s th at o f a m are ” [3]. T he
w ording h ere is sign ifican t: w b -fa w m a r d-farhln (“y o u ’d say it’s that o f a m are”) p o in ts to the
in ad eq u acy o f the co n v en tio n al d escrip tiv e lan g u ag e and its form ulas, as w ell as the gap betw een
83d g a w t (m. dgdh, pi. dglw): date palm, Ar. natila.

84sfdldt (sing, saflut) < S.F.L.: unmarried man.
85ydrbubam < R .B.B.: “rgb/tsrbub: (cam el) to becom e disoriented...herbub: to have a pain in the groin” (Johnstone,
1987. 311); yahnln < H .N .N.: “h m : to m ake a sound like an engine running, whir, purr” (ibid., 183).
86Igm (pi. iJgon) < L.G.N.: feet not used to walking barefoot, tender feet.
255
a p o e t’s e x p erien ce o f beau ty and a la y p e rso n ’s ex p re ssio n o f it. A lth o u g h the a u d ien ce w ould
say she sau n ters lik e a m are - a fairly typical trope o f M ahri lyric p o etry , (see A p p en d ix C, A: 1-2
and G :5 b e lo w ) - a p o et o f H a g g ’s c a lib e r should do a b e tte r jo b o f it. H o w ev er, she is so
b eau tifu l th at not even the “m a ster o f d e scrip tio n ,” (bdl wasf), is u p to the task [5], and he is left
at a loss fo r th e rig h t w ords. W h ile the p o e t reso rts to fairly co lo rless m etap h o rs in d irect speech,
(she is a “d a te -p a lm ” [6] and “h o n e y ” [7]), h e lets us k n o w th at his u n ex p ressed in te n tio n is m uch
richer: “then she is a d ate-p alm sap lin g [planted] in rich so il” [6] and “h o n e y in a teacu p from
C h in a” [7], O f course, these tw o lin es are p u re irony: th e “m aster o f d e sc rip tio n ” d escrib es h e r in
th e very term s that he claim s to b e in cap ab le o f form u latin g .
F rom the in itial w a s f bint th em e, H agg slides in to the second p h ase o f this p oem : the young
w o m a n ’s effect on th e m en o f the v illag e w ho “sigh fro m lo v e o f h e r” [8] and “m o an lik e a cam el
after its y o u n g ” [9]. H agg in tro d u ces an interestin g tw ist here and b rin g s us b a ck to the m eta-
p o etic to p ic o f “d e sc rip tio n .” W e d isco v er that the y o u n g w om an h e rse lf d o es n o t in sp ire the
you n g m e n s’ sig h in g and m o an in g , b u t rath er, it is h is descrip tio n o f h er (sa r w asf) th at causes
such disorder. H aving p la y fu lly den ied h is ability to ad eq u ately describ e h er, H agg reasserts his
skill in p ro v o k in g u n co n tro llab le em o tio n am ongst his audience.
A las, the y o u n g m aiden is en tirely o u t o f reach b o th as an object o f d e scrip tio n fo r the po et
and as an o b ject o f desire fo r th e you n g m en. A lthough m en from the c o u n try sid e and m en from
the city (“ [w hose] fo o tp rin ts are soft and te n d e r” [12]), co u rt h e r n o n sto p , no n e can afford the
bride price. C o m in g u p short, they w o n d er if an y o n e w ill ev e r m arry her, p e rh ap s a m an o f
m eans “w ho w ill co m e d o w n to the m ark et and w eigh out th e p ric e” [15]. T he p o e m ends w ith
th is q u estio n , and th e au d ien ce is left hanging.
T his p o e m fo llo w s a lin ear path: d escrip tio n o f the y o u n g lady -> the frustrated effo rts o f the
m en in m arry in g h e r -> a future p ro p o sitio n : “W h o w ill m arry h e r? ” M o reo v er, th e p o em m oves
through th ese three m o v em en ts w ithout lo o p in g b ack to an earlier m otif. I b eliev e th at th is type
256
o f n arrativ e, trav ellin g through three ran k ed , n o n -p arallel m otifs, is w hat H agg had in m ind w hen
he referred to th is p o em , (and p o em C in h is D lw an, see b e lo w ), as nass jcsidat.
V I. M ix in g G enres:
In ad d itio n to his advocacy o f M ahri p o etry , H agg is c o m m itted to safeg u ard in g o th e r
aspects o f M ah ri oral culture. O ne such endan g ered trad itio n is rid d lin g in the M ahri la n g u ag e, a
type o f w o rd p lay called hazallek amzallek.*1 T he im p o rtan ce o f rid d les to the oral tra d itio n s o f
S ou th ern A rab ia is attested to in W ilfred H e in ’s co llectio n o f M ahri and H adram I texts in w hich
rid d les m erit a c h a p te r o f th e ir o w n .88 In fact, w hen I read a n u m b er o f th ese rid d le s to H agg, he
w as p leasan tly surprised to h ear such o ld -fash io n ed rid d le s read to him from a fo reig n so u rce th at
w as o v er a cen tu ry old. H agg w as even fa m ilia r w ith a n u m b er o f the rid d les from H e in ’s
co llectio n and k n ew th e co rrect answ ers rig h t o ff the bat.
H agg is w ell aw are o f the im p o rtan t ro le th at trad itio n al w o rd-gam es play in M ahri
society. H agg b eliev ed in the in stru ctio n al valu e o f hazallek am zallek riddles and m ade a n ig h tly
gam e o u t o f th em fo r his child ren . In one ty p e o f hazallek am zallek rid d le, the rid d le r d escrib es a
n eig h b o rin g fam ily u sin g term s fro m the anim al w orld and the listeners are ex p ected to guess
w hat h o u seh o ld he has in m ind. F o r in stan ce, the rid d le r m ight describe the fa th e r as a w el
(“ib ex /ram ”), the m o th er as m o t (“sh e-g o at”), o ld e r sons as ganhayr (“y o ung ra m s” ), o ld e r
dau g h ters as ganhayrut (“you n g lam b s”), y o ung sons as fa srd y r (“m ale k id s”) and y o u n g girls as
fa sro t (“fem ale k id s ”). B eyond th eir entertain m en t v alue, H agg describ ed these rid d les as a
87There are two possible derivations o f the phrase “hazallek am zallek.” In H ein’s collection, w e find the phrase ”hize
hize luk, m ize m ize lu k ” introducing a number o f riddles. This phrase is translated into HadramI Arabic as “a riddle, a
riddle for you, pay attention, pay attention to m e” (“ah zi ahzi lek, anbah w a-anlaba(h) li”), (Hein, 1909, 184). Here,
hze is clearly related to Ar. H.Z.Y., ( "haza: reflechir, considerer...D eviner une enigm e” [Landberg, G lossaire D atinois,
1:415]). I have found no convincing etym ology for m ize in Arabic or Mahri, although I suspect that m ize, (and
am zallek as w ell), is related to Ar. and Mhr. M .Z.H., (“hgm zeh: to make fun o f so.” [Johnstone, 1987, 277]). Hagg
believed that hazallek w as derived from Arabic haz.l (“joking, jesting”). Since /hi and /h/ are often interchangeable in
Mahri, either possibilty is a good one; for practical reasons, both may be true thanks to semantic and phonological
convergence.
88Chapter III, “R atsel,” in Hein, 1909, 184-187.
257
m ean in g fu l social p ra c tic e sin ce they serve to acq uaint h is children w ith th e ir social su rro u n d in g s
and teach th em im p o rta n t an im al-h u sb an d ry term s. W e find a close p arallel to this ty p e o f
hazallek am zallek rid d le in H e in ’s collection, tran slated from the Q isn dialect o f M ahri (a) in to
G erm an (b) and H adram I A rabic (c):
(a) hize hize luk: min w al w a-renuti srit u-derhis wa-a$ay<i [sic?] wa-aguz.
zaydet wa-riwon zaydet wa-derhiz hoz wa-teh wa-aguz.
(b) Errat, errat dir: Von einem Steinbock und zwei W ildziegen und einem Kleinen
einem [sic?] Knochen und einer Alten. - Ein weibliches W ild und Wildziegen
w eibliche und eine kleine Ziege und ein Ziegenbock und eine Alte.
( c )fa s sir : min w a d wa-dabyah itnen w a-sat wa-tays w a -cajuz. al-unta hag l-
w a cl, yugal laha bi-l-m ehri zaydet, w a-arnab w a-zaydet unta min ja m ic el-wuhus,
wa-sah, m a cna ganam, wa-tays w a-h6rm .ahm
H agg does m o re th an re-create hazallek am zallek riddles; h e also w eaves th em into
po etry . T o do so, H agg m u st view trad itio n s as cultural objects that can b e m an ip u late d o u tsid e
o f th em selv es. T his m an ip u latio n stem s fro m tw o com plem entary d ev elo p m en ts. T he first is the
rise o f an eth n o g rap h ic literary genre in Y em en that is w ritten by Y em enis fo r local co n su m p tio n .
A s m en tio n ed in C h a p te r 5, w e find a n u m b e r o f collectio n s o f p roverbs, rid d les, p o e try and o th e r
“fo lk ” trad itio n s cu lled b y Y em eni scholars and am ateu rs alike from th e ir h o m e d istricts. H agg
h as expressed an in te re st in p u b lish in g a co llectio n o f M ahri “fo lk ” tra d itio n s (in clu d in g rid d les)
in his boo k : K unuz a l-tu ra f al-mahri. D ivorced from th e ir original co n tex t in H a g g ’s K unuz al-
tu ra f al-m ahri, the oral trad itio n s o f al-M ahra have taken on an objectified existen ce in H a g g ’s
cultural aw areness. A s a resu lt, H agg m an ip u la te s th ese traditions as th o u g h they w ere discrete
o b jects, b u n d lin g and re fo rm u latin g them as he sees fit.
T his d ev elo p m en t is clo sely linked to the arrival o f w riting in H a g g ’s D lw an. A s w ritten
texts, H a g g ’s p o em s p o ssess a reality o u tsid e o f th eir co m position and perfo rm an ce. T h ey too,
89H ein, 1909, 184-85. It is clear that the German translation com es from the HadramI Arabic and not from the Mahri
original. Furthermore, the HadramI Arabic is not even a literal translation o f the Mahri. Secondly, H ein ’s transcription
o f Mahri is not always consistent, (“derhiz” and “derh ts” for instance), and does not distinguish betw een /z / and Is/,
both o f which are transcribed as /z/. The follow ing is my own translation o f the Mahri text: “A riddle, a riddle for you:
from an ibex-ram and two she-goats, a female kid, a bone [?] and an old [one], A she-goat, (sam e as riwon), a female
kid (a ew e), a goat and an old [one].”
258
lik e rid d le s, g am es and stories, h ave beco m e “o b je cts” in H a g g ’s p ercep tio n o f M ahri oral
trad itio n s, o ccu p y in g an equ al fo o tin g w ith the o th e r elem en ts o f M ahri “fo lk ” h erita g e. In
H a g g ’s p ractice, a p o em can b e re-w o rk ed as a hazallek am zallek rid d le and vice versa, w ithout
co n fo u n d in g th e trad itio n al, co n cep tu al bou n d aries o f the M ahri oral cu ltu re. In h is ow n w ords,
H agg has co m p o sed nass jcsldat m odeled after hazallek amzallek riddles. In th is h y b rid genre,
H agg seeds clu es ab o u t th e su b je c t’s id en tity w ithin the po etic text and then in v ite s the audience
to guess w ho it is. T his is a d ep artu re from trad itional lyric poetry in w hich the id en tity o f the
b elo v ed is a g u ard ed secret; in th is case, the audience is p rodded into rev ealin g it. T he follow ing
nass jcsldat w as d escrib ed b y H agg as one such hazallek am zallek poem :
G. (Dlwan: C l Horn lasahbar boll ars (“W ho Is T his W h o H as S how n U p ? ” ')
1) hom lasahbar b o ll ars II dlma mon d-gabrut

2) dlma lls msobah la: II hal ’dynl ba:r snut 90
3) zaynas wa-jcderas gayr II w a-rhom at sattam m ut
4 ) gam d da-fila hnls II kal d-bllah w a -sk u t 91
5) seh mslras ha:s ahayl II w at barkisan slyrut
6) t-dfor d-glrl mans II wa-hyom d-sadrut 92
7) wa-m saw bah yagm ls II w a tfn lh a m hat rut 93
8) hdh man hd:s glajck tes II °aynl l-a:d l-sabrut
9) klnan doyam lassanas II a:n jiayrat h a s lu t 94
10 ) raw hl w a-fw odl sis II w a-m haw gasl sgut
j' ’ * _S * S '*
1 1) am l-seh driyat la: II w al man rehajc da-nsut
12) °amrdnd man jcrlb II w a-b-haft d -h a llu t 96
13) dakrona ham m as la: II a:r ham d-sam rut 97
14) g o ll tashuma beh II wa-hnen m h u sfu t 98
15) kalian nam affildn bis II hal njiawtar w -n a stu t 99
16 ) w -nusafs k-rlhom II ba-srowah w a-byut
1) I w an t to ask th e p eo p le at the w edding p arty // “W ho is this w ho h as show n u p ? ”

2) T here are n o eq u als to this one // fro m w hat m y eye has seen.
3) H er b eau ty and statu re are w ithout com pare // h er virtue is com plete.
4) T he w hole g ro u p o f y ou n g date p alm s around h e r // are distracted and silent.
90m sobah < S.B.H .: equivalents, Ar. m usabih.

91 /j/o (pi., uncertain derivation): small date palms; bildh (bilh ak, pres, cibdldh) < B.L.H.: to be distracted.
92 3a fo r < C.F.R.: “ ’d/or/ 3d/ar?n: cloud” (Johnstone, 1987, 15).
93yagm ls < G.M .S.: “gsm ds: to disappear (behind S t .) ; t o be eclipsed” (ibid., 138).
94klnan (kncink) < K .N.N.: I wish that...(not conjugated).
95 nsut < N .S.W .: "nasu/yanays: to transhume, migrate” (ibid., 303).
96haft < H.W .F.: “(Jahn) haft/hawef. Stadt, D orf [town, village]” (ibid., 193).
97sam rut < C.M.R.: “sam or: to fondle and talk pleasantly to a child” (ibid., 25).
98 i v
tashuma (caus.-refl. verb) < H.M .Y.: to be called (by a name).
99 ' - ' ' ' '
nastut (sat, stilt, sdttdn) < S.T.T.: to go.
259
5) H er g ait is lik e a m a re ’s // w hen she goes am o n g st them .
6) E ven th e clo u d s en v y h er // and the sun h o ld s itse lf back.
7) L am p s g ro w d im // w hen she p asses befo re them .
8) F ro m the tim e I saw h e r // m y eye cannot en dure to w ait
9) M y h o p e is to see h e r alw ay s // if good th in g s ev e r com e to pass.
10) M y h eart and soul are w ith h er // m y feelings are in turm oil.
11) If she h e rse lf is n o t a stra n g e r // and h a sn ’t tra v elle d from afar
12) I ’d say sh e ’s fro m n earb y // fro m a v illag e in this district
13) I w o n ’t m en tio n h er n am e // ex cep t by h e r childhood nicknam e.
14) S h e ’s called “P recio u s” // w hen she is describ ed b y us
15) A ll o f u s id ealize h e r // w h e re v e r w e jo u rn e y and travel
16) W e p raise h e r w ith the o th e r b e au ties // w h eth er at parties o r at hom e.
L ik e p o e m F in this c h a p te r ( D lw an : K ), H agg m ain tain s that this poem is a nass jcsldat, a
story in th ree p arts. In a d d itio n , this p o em inv ites the aud ien ce to a n sw er a qu estio n p o se d in the
first line: “W h o is th is w ho has show n u p ? ” [ l] . T his qu estio n appears to b e straig h tfo rw ard
enough: H agg sees an attractiv e, m y sterio u s y o ung lady and asks the w edding p a rty w h o she is.
She is statu esq u e and p ro u d , sau ntering lik e a m are as she m oves through the p a rty [3-5]. She
co m p letely o u tsh in e s the o th e r w om en (the “you n g d ate p a lm s” [4]); even electric lan tern s and the
sun are d im m ed w hen she w alks b y [6-7]. In lin e 8, w e disco v er that the q u estion in lin e 1 is
really a c le v e r set-up since H agg ad m its to k n ow ing the y o ung lady b e tter than he had o rig in ally
let on, (“F ro m th e tim e I saw h e r...” [8] and “M y heart and soul are w ith h e r / / m y feelin g s are in
tu rm o il” [10]). H ag g k n o w s th e an sw er to his ow n qu estio n and it is up to the aud ien ce to guess
H a g g ’s secret.
A t th is p o in t, H ag g m o v es in the rid d le p roper. T he first hint: the m y sterio u s you n g lady
has not trav elled fa r to celeb rate the w ed d in g , and is therefo re no stran g er to the v illag e [11-12].
H agg ad m its to k n o w in g h e r from ch ild h o o d : “I w o n ’t m ention her nam e // excep t by her
ch ild h o o d n ick n am e” [13]. H e r n ick n am e is “ G o ll” (“P rec io u s”), and H agg rev eals an o th er
im p o rtan t clue: she is often the to pic o f p o etry . H agg in v o lv es his fellow p o ets in the fun,
(“ [ Goll] is d escrib ed b y us”[ 14], and “w e p raise h e r w ith the o th er b ea u tie s” [ 16]). H agg sid esteps
the accu satio n o f an u n seem in g fix atio n on “ G o lf ’ by p o in tin g to the fact that all the p o e ts o f
260
M h a y fif are all g u ilty o f adu latin g her. A t the sam e tim e, H agg rev eals a “trade sec re t” : the local
p o ets u se h e r as th e ir tem p late fo r b eau ty , ( “all o f us id ealize h er” [15]). H agg w rap s up th is poem
b y p o k in g fun at b o th h im s e lf and his fe llo w p o ets: n o t only is the id en tity o f “G o lf ’ ren d ered
o b v io u s, b u t so too are th e te ch n iq u es o f d e sc rip tio n and m etaphor.
H agg to ld m e th at th e subject o f this p o em is really from M h a y fif and th at h e r beau ty is
indeed pro v erb ial. B y his ow n ad m issio n , H agg says th at the p o in t o f this hazallek am zallek
poem is n o t to ch allen g e th e au d ience b u t to m ak e them laugh. In the final an alysis, Horn
lasahbar boll ars d eriv es m ore from H a g g ’s risque sense o f h u m o r than fro m a sense o f cultural
didacticism .
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Conclusion
T w o in cid en ts that occu rred d u ring m y re sid en ce in al-M ah ra ep ito m ize the co n trad ictio n s
and ten sio n s em b ed d ed in th is rem ote c o rn e r o f A rabia. T he first in cid en t o ccurred at the en d o f a
shared-taxi rid e fro m al-S ih r to Q isn. T he trip w as lo n g , d u sty and ex h au stin g ; how ever, the
b u rd en o f it w as leav en ed b y m y trav ellin g com p an io n s: a group o f M ah ra - m en, w om en and
child ren - w ho k e p t u p a frien d ly p atter o f co n v e rsatio n th ro u g h o u t the ten -h o u r d rive. S in ce the
d riv er w as M ah ri, w e sto p p ed along the w ay to v isit frien d s and even w ent sho p p in g fo r a
h an d g u n fo r one o f o u r fello w p assen g ers, a y o u n g M ah ri from S audi A rab ia w ho w anted to m ak e
a d isp lay o f his bravado in true, Y em eni sty le .1 It w as a fatiguing, hap p y d ay and w e d id n ’t reach
Q isn until late th at night.
H o w ev er, due to co n stru ctio n w ork on the Q isn -S ay h u t road, w e b e ca m e lo st in a m aze o f
d irt roads and co n stru ctio n sites on the o u tsk irts o f Q isn and the taxi d riv e r b y p assed a m ilitary
ch eck p o in t w ith o u t sto p p in g . T he soldiers m anning the checkpoint, n o n e o f w hom w ere M ahra,
fired w arn in g shots in to th e air. A fter the d riv er did a quick U -turn and retu rn ed to the
ch eck p o in t, the soldiers g athered around and th reaten ed to im pound b o th c a r and p a sse n g ers
alike. O ne b y one, th ey grilled us, (m y se lf m uch less than the other p a sse n g ers), and b erated the
d riv er som e m ore. T he d riv e r ap ologized p ro fu sely and the soldiers w aved us on.
O nce w e w ere out o f earsh o t, the p assen g e rs began to m ock the A rabic o f the soldiers by
e x ag g eratin g its in flectio n s and em p h atic p h o n em es. T o this group o f M ah ra, A rabic w as the
lan gu ag e o f co m m an d s: “ S to p !” “I.D . ca rd !” “W here are you go in g ?” In this encounter, A rabic
ceased to be the lan g u ag e o f p o etry , the lan guage o f the Q u rDan and the co m m on g ro u n d fo r the
several hun d red m illio n sp eakers o f A rabic today. In stead , fo r a few m o m en ts on a dark, dirt road
1I noticed that the Mahra take it easy when travelling. This point was emphatically demonstrated to m e one day on a
taxi-boat {hurl) that ran out o f gas half way between Haswayn and Nistun. W e drifted happily for about 45 m inutes on
a beautiful, azure sea, all calm but for the nervous agitation o f one Northern Yemeni passenger who sputtered in
exasperation: “Why didn’t they check the gas before we left?”
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o u tsid e o f Q isn , it w as a ju m b le o f h arsh and fo reig n sou n d s. H aving ju s t begun m y ow n field
research , it stru ck a d isc o rd a n t n o te am o n g st m y n o tio n s o f A rabian m o n o lin g u alism to hear
A rabic im ita te d as a fo reig n to n g u e b y n ativ es o f A rabia. A t that m o m en t, I k n ew th at I had
p ick ed a g o o d to p ic fo r m y d o cto ral d issertatio n .
S h o rtly th e re a fter I learn ed th at th e situ atio n w as n o t as straightforw ard as th at n ig h t led m e
to b eliev e. T h ere is fa r m o re to the M ah ri co n cep tio n o f “M ah ri-n ess” than a sim ple bin ary
o p p o sitio n o f M ahri and A rabic.
O ne day , d u rin g an aftern o o n w ork sessio n w ith H agg, I asked him to co n trast the w edding
trad itio n s o f A rab s and M ah ra. H agg w as u su ally fo rg iv in g o f m y lin g u istic and cultural
b lu n d ers; h av in g o n ce b e e n a fo re ig n er in E ast G erm any, H agg knew w hat it felt lik e to ask “the
w rong q u e stio n .” T h is tim e, h o w ev er, H agg offered no q uarter. H e b ru sq u ely cut m e o ff and told
m e that th e M ah ra were A rabs and th at th ere w as no differen ce betw een the tw o. H agg w as livid
at the im p lic a tio n s o f m y q u estio n ; if th e M ah ra w e re n ’t A rab, then they w o u ld n ’t b elo n g in the
Y em eni A rab R ep u b lic. M o re o v e r, if the M ah ra - b e d o u in p asto ralists p a r excellence - w eren ’t
A rabs, th en w ho w as?
H a g g ’s u n d erstan d in g o f “A rab ” resto res an an cient, p re-Islam ic co nnotation to this term .
F o r H agg, “A ra b ” m ean t b ed o u in ( a l-Da crab ), re g ard less o f m aternal language. T his contrasts
w ith the sig n ificatio n o f “A ra b ” ( carabi ) in its m o d em , p o litical-h isto rical sense as a native
sp eak er o f A rab ic. W h e th e r h e in ten d ed it o r n ot, H a g g ’s und erstan d in g o f “A rab ” hark s back to
an era w hen th e b e d o u in o f A rab ia did n o t sp eak a single lan guage b u t spoke m any lan g uages,
som e m u tu ally in c o m p re h e n sib le and som e ju s t v erging on the com p reh en sib le. A l-M ah ra is one
o f the last v estig es o f th is A rab ia, an A rab ia that w as once m arked by lin g u istic diversity.
T o g eth er, th e se tw o an ecd o tes sketch out an anxiety o f identity - a rejectio n and an em brace
- that c h aracterizes al-M ah ra in co n tem p o ra ry local, national and su p ra-national d iscourses. One
m eans o f re so lv in g th is so cio -eth n ic am b ig u ity is through the pro d u ctio n o f p o etry ; this is the one
263
a ctiv ity th at tran scen d s all b o u n d aries in A rab ia. T he ad o p tio n o f stro p h ic p o etry in to th e M ahri
lan g u ag e, th e creation o f a w ritten script, the use o f the cud in p erfo rm an ce...all these features o f
th e “N ew S c h o o l” m ed iate b etw een an im ag in ed n atio n al culture and the d iv ersity o f actual
p ractice. In lig h t o f th ese issu es, I have attem p ted to giv e a sense o f M ahri p o etry as an e v o lv in g ,
ad ap tab le system even in th e p resen t tim e. T he Dlw an o f H agg D akon certain ly su ggests that
M ah ri-lan g u ag e p o etry has a v iab le future ahead o f it.
S adly, it only takes a sh o rt generation to b re ak the chain o f tra n sm issio n , and u n less the
M ahri lan g u ag e is g iv en official status b y the Y em eni g o v ernm ent, it is d ifficu lt to b e sanguine
about its pro sp ects. I b e lie v e that com m u n ity resp o n se s or grassroots activ ity w ill be in ad eq u ate
to safeguard a liv in g , M ah ri lan g uage b e y o n d the n ex t generation o r tw o. W h at is n eeded are
rad io b ro ad casts in th e M ah ri lan guage and b ilin g u a l, M ah ri-A rabic in stru c tio n in prim ary
schools in al-M ahra. T his can only b e done w ith the full cooperation o f the Y em eni g o v ern m en t
w hich has, adm itted ly , m o re p ressin g issues to deal w ith rig h t now . T h o u g h p ro sp ects are slim , I
w ish M u h am m ad cA k k u s, H agg D akon, cA b d allah H abrays, cA skari H u g ay ran , S alim L u h ay m ar,
M u h am m ad M u sa cgil and M u h sin cA li Y asir all p o ssib le success in b rin g in g the M ahri lan g u ag e
th e reco g n itio n that it deserv es.
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Appendix A: Mahri Prosody and Beyond
T he q u estio n o f w h e th e r M ahri p ro so d y is accen tu al, q u an titativ e o r a co m b in atio n o f the
tw o n atu rally co m es u p w hen talk in g ab o u t M ahri po etics. In asking this q u estio n , w e fall into
academ ic territo ry w ell m ap p ed out b y sch o larly deb ate. T w o cam ps o f th o u g h t are d elin eated on
th is topic. O n one h an d , w e find th e sch o la r o f b e d o u in eth n o -p o etics, C lin to n B ailey, claim ing
that the p ro so d ic system o f b e d o u in p o e try from the Sinai and N egev is en tirely accen tu al, (i.e.,
b ased on th e o p p o sitio n o f stressed and non -stressed syllables). M oreover, h e p ro p o ses that th ese
“p a tte rn s” are irre g u la r and su b o rd in ate to the rhy th m ic exigencies o f any acco m p an y in g m elody.
T he only co n strain t in a lin e o f b e d o u in p o etry , o th er than rhym e, is th at the n u m b er o f syllables
m ust rem ain co n stan t th ro u g h o u t.1 I w ould add m y ow n o b servations in su p p o rt o f his co nclusion:
stress p attern s in d eclam ato ry re c itals are in c o n tro v ertib le fo r M ahri p o etry . In n o n -m elo d ic
recitatio n , M ahri p o etry h as th e sound o f rap and I w as easily able to m ark stress th ro u g h o u t the
poem s that I co llected . T his is not m y im p ressio n alone: the cultural re p o rte r fo r a l-faqafiya,
S alih al-D ln al-D ak k ak , rep o rts a sim ila r im p ressio n o f overpow ering rhythm in H a g g ’s M ahri-
lan g u ag e poetry:
I d id n ’t tro u b le m y se lf very m uch to search fo r the m eaning o f the lines w ritten in the
M ahri lan g u ag e; su ffice it to say, the rh y th m m a d e q u ite an im pression on m e
[Saddam ‘an nahwin ma], T his tendency fo r the trium ph o f rh y th m o v er m eaning
[taglib a l-'iq d ' ‘aid a l-m a cnd ] is the thread that leads us to the m o d em th e o ry o f
p o etry th at states: “In th e b eg in n in g , p o e try w as p u re rh y th m [DTqa‘~\...a ch an t that
to o k after the chan t o f cam el d ro v ers.” 2
1“Although the sung verses o f the above poem s could ignore the natural stress and bend any o f their component words
to the dictates o f the tune, they were not devoid o f scansion. Both the b id a c and the imwelJ, when sung, comprised
three stressed syllables to a hem istich, six to a line. Even b id a c poem s not com posed to m usic...are generally careful to
keep to a six-foot line, despite their not being sheltered by the tune o f a song to relieve them o f the need to accent the
poem ’s words naturally. The com position o f a non-sung b id a c, like its sung counterpart, is none the less facilitated in
com position by the device o f irregular metre” (Clinton B ailey, Bedouin P oetry from Sinai an d the N egev [London: Saqi
Books, 2002], 387).
2 al-Dakkak, a l-fa q a fiy a 217 (2003): 11.
265
T h e im p o rtan ce o f stress in recitatio n is dem o n strab le in a nass jcsiddt c o m p o sed by H agg
D ak o n , Sawjc, (C h ap ter 6, B :9 -1 0 ) in w hich nearly ev ery sy llab le is “h e av y ” (C V :, C V C , C V :C ,
C V C C ):
ha, tat d-halujt / / siw ot b d -llf I — II — I // I — II v - I

hoh sabrl timm / / w -hdli sajrf I — II — I // I — IIv - I
L ik e a dry p alm frond w ith fire on its fibres

M y p atien ce h a s fin ish ed and m y co n d itio n is w eak
T he m eter o f th ese lin es is ex p ressed by ex p irato ry stress on alternating sy llables startin g w ith the
second syllable. T his p attern is co n sisten t th ro u g h o u t this en tire jcz,idat: fo u r sy llab les p e r
hem istich and ev ery o th e r sy llab le stressed. H ow ever, since seven o f the eight sy lla b les are h eavy,
any q u an titativ e m etrics m ust be au gm ented by stress.
W e can add to this o b serv atio n the p o in t that in altern atin g stress p attern s, lig h t sy llables
(C V ), in clu d in g th e co o rd in atin g co n ju n ctio n wa- o r perso n al verbal p refixes, w ill o cc asio n ally
receive stress w h ile n e ig h b o u rin g h eavy sy llables to do not. F o r ex am p le, the fo llo w in g lin es o f a
tanwll dandan b y R agbbn b irt S a cid, (C h a p ter 4, F :3 -4 ), ad h ere to a pattern o f six -sy llab le s p er
hem istich w ith an altern atin g stress pattern estab lish ed at the o u tset o f the po em . W h en
transcribed w ith an ap ty ctic v o w els, w e have:
3) da-makan bis arhlm II l-ad fayras te y su sS f

4) k,mat,is birt hamed II bt>-lapf w a-tarhof
She has ab u n d an t b ea u ty // no one ex ceed s h e r in d esc rip tio n

B irt H m ed (raised her) // in g entleness and w ith grace
In line 4, th e co o rd in a te co n ju n ction wa- (“and”) rec eiv es the p en u ltim ate stress o f the lin e w hile
the n eig h b o rin g heavy syllab les, l- p fl and ltar-1 do not. T he sam e n o n -q u an tita tiv e , accentual
scansion can b e d em o n strated in a line o f ragzit maydani (C hapter 3, A , co u p let C :l) :
gaybar sdttal ka-n,ibe ’ / / wd-s,meg ds-heh aa :d fd / / rokab w a-gsze hsm ul
T he guests p a c k e d u p and w ent w ith th e new s // p eo p le o f d e a r relatio n s // the

trav eller has b ro u g h t [his] kin
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In this lin e o f ragzlt, the p re p o sitio n ka- (“w ith ”) and th e co njunction wa- tw ice receiv e stress,
alth o u g h su rro u n d in g h eav y sy llables do not. In the ch an ted perfo rm an ce th at I reco rd e d fo r this
ex ch an g e o f ragzlt, the stress p attern is clearly au dible even w hen it falls on lig h t syllables.
Y et M ah ri, lik e A rab ic, d istin g u ish es betw een long and short v ow els and w e should
therefo re e x p ect q u an tity to p lay a ro le in M ahri p ro so d y as w ell. B oth H agg D akon and °A li
N asir B a lh a f in sisted that M ahri p ro so d y follow ed A rab ic p atterns o f syllabic q u an tity , ( buhur ).
In an in te rv ie w w ith a l-fa q a fiya , H agg con ten d s that M ahri p o etic is ric h e r than A rabic p o etics in
m etric p attern s, (alth o u g h in the sam e quote H agg avers that M ahri has b o th m etrical pattern s
[buhur] and rh y th m s [ ’iqti'tit]).5 B oth p o ets dem o n strated the specific m eters fo r specific genres
o f po em , each w ith its ch aracteristic m elody. F o r exam ple, the poem co m m issio n e d fo r m y w ife,
Writ d-Btirls, is m ean t to b e sung to a m elo d y know n b y its refrain , Yd stim acl sa m cl, w hich is
q u ite d ifferen t from that o f the tanw ll dandan p o em s [C hapter 4, E & F ]).4 S eco n d ly , m y
in fo rm an ts sugg ested a m etrical system o f pro so d y th at is in d ep en d en t o f m elo d y . F o r instance,
H agg sang th e p o em 3A stir seh drlytit Iti: according to tw o d ifferen t m elo d ies: the “n ig h t tim e ”
m elody ( law ll ), and th e m elo d y fo r tribal odes f ’tidl w a-krem krem). In each case, the m eter w as
preserv ed in tact, alth o u g h H agg averred th at in stru m e n tatio n m ight throw o ff the count.
T his b rin g s us to th e p o sitio n o f D avid S em ah, S aad S ow ayan, M arcel K u rp ersh o ek and
Steven C ato n , th e second cam p o f m odern A rabian m etrics. A ll fo u r apply classical A rabic
m etrical sch em es, (vow el o r sy llabic length), to c o n tem p o rary “fo lk ” A rabian p o etry , (that is,
com p o sed and p e rfo rm ed orally ). S em ah trenchantly critiq u es B a iley ’s ch aracterizatio n o f
bed o u in p ro so d y in h is rev iew o f B a ile y ’s Bedouin Poetry fro m Sinai and the N egev.5 S ow ayan
3 “Mahri poetry is just like Arabic poetry with respect to its metrical patterns [buhur] since it branches out into the
same patterns [buhur] as Arabic poetry - approximately - and with the added consideration that Mahri poetry has its
own rhythms Y iqa'atah u ] which differ from the rhythms o f other types o f poetry” (al-Dakkak, al-Taqafiya 217 [2003]:
1 1).
W e can contrast the syllabic length o f gdbdm g o ll l a ’assbjt / / wa-lagtTr man afam m ath (“Leave my darling to her
heart’s desire and let her speak from her m ind” [Appendix B: O ]) - 7 syllables per hem istich - and ta t w a tfg ta w n / /
gw e d a - b to f (“When one remembers his passion for gentle w om en” [Appendix B: E]) - 4 syllables per hem istich. In
order to achieve this count, I have indicated the anaptyctic vow els.
5David Semah, “On the Metre o f Bedouin Poetry.” Asian an d African Studies 25 (1991): 187-200.
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is n o less em p h atic in d e m o n stratin g the q u a n tita tiv e m etrics o f nabati p o etry ; in d eed , h e fin d s 51
q u a n tita tiv e p attern s.6 C ato n lik ew ise deriv es a series o f q u antitative p attern s fo r the Y em eni
p o e try o f H aw lan ; fu n d am en tal to his arg u m en t, h o w ev er, is the o p tional se g m en tatio n o f a w ord-
final m o n o sy lla b le C V :C in to tw o syllables: CV : + C (V ). Thus, “ha w la n ” can b e scan n ed as Ijaw
la n(V) {I — "I}, “a lla h ” as Dal la h(V) {1 — ~l}, salah as sa la h(V) {I v- H }, e tc .7 C a to n ’s
ad d en d u m to the p ro so d y o f th e Y em eni zam il p rec ise ly m irrors S e m a h ’s critiq u e o f B a ile y ’s
an aly sis o f b ed o u in m etrics. L ike C aton, S em ah finds re g u la r qu an titativ e m eters th ro u g h the re-
in tro d u ctio n o f an ap ty ctic v ow els. F o r in stan ce, Sem ah rig h tly po in ts o u t th at kull sahib should
b e scan n ed as kull(i) sahib {I - v— I}, and n o t { I 1} as B ailey scans it.8
S e m a h ’s and C a to n ’s in tro d u ctio n o f an ap ty ctic vow els into the scan sio n o f A rab “fo lk ”
p o etry is tailo r-m ad e fo r M ahri p oetics. U nlike A ra b ic, there are no d ictio n ary form s o f M ahri
w ords ag ain st w hich d ev iatio n s can be m easured. A s w e have already seen, h elp in g v o w els, ( h i
and /a/), are reg u larly in tro d u ced to reso lv e co n so n an tal clusters o r to “fix ” m etrical p attern s.
P ro v id ed th at these a lteratio n s are m in o r, they do n o t v iolate any “ru le s” fo r the lan g u ag e since
th ere are no n o rm ativ e v o c a liz a tio n s in M ahri in the first place, not to m e n tio n the lack o f a
single, can o n ical d ialect o f M ah ri. F o r an ex am p le o f this p rinciple, w e can take lines 12 and 13
from th e p o e m Sawjc (C h a p te r 6, B: 12-13) by H agg D akon:
laywa swajcar / / fr e r w -a yif

w -bosar w -bar / / man a m hayfif
O little falcon! G o quickly! Fly!

G o at d u sk , travel all n ig h t from M h a y fif
In the second h em istich o f the second line, w e notice that an anaptyctic vow el has b een affix ed to
M h ay fif. In p o etic re c ita tio n , the h em istich is rendered: m(p) nam h a y fif, w ith the re d u ctio n o f
th e p rep o sitio n man (“fro m ”) to a q u asi-sy llab ic m (a). T he sy llabification and v o calizatio n o f this
v illa g e ’s n am e is su b o rd in ate to p ro so d ic req u irem en ts.
6 Sowayan, 1985, 159,

7 Caton, 1990, 279-281.
8 Semah, 1991, 190-191.
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Q u an titativ e an aly sis o f M ahri p ro so d y m ay b e fu rth e r supported b y the fact that th e w ord
final sy llab le C V C , else w h e re co n sidered h ea v y , is treated as a short syllable in spoken M ahri
stress p a tte rn s.9 T his en ab les us to scan M ahri p o e try according to q u an titativ e m etrics w ith som e
reg u larity . I f w e tak e a lo o k at a tanw ll dandan R ag b o n b irt S a cId, Ggutan ber tro kfa h ret
(C h ap ter 4, F: 1-3), and scan it w ith this p rin c ip le in m in d , w e can begin to see som e p atterns
em erg in g . In th e first th ree lin es, w e h av e the fo llo w in g :
1) 8d\gu\tan ber ta Irok II fah\ret wa lad ca \kd f

r i-ri/i-ri-i //i-i-r i/j-n -i
2 ) man hd:s Cajc\rdt ta \m a c II cad m ad\has ber sallof
i - i - r i / i - r i - i // i - i -ri / i-ri -i
3) dd-m d\kdn bis ar\hlm 11 l - ca d fay\rds te-y\su\sdf
r i - r i / i - r i - i // i - i - r i / i - i - i - i
1) T he g irls h av e aband o n ed th e ir p rid e // and no lo n g e r g ather th eir h a ir in a bun

2) S in ce T m a c has grow n up // h e r p raise has already p receded [her]
3) She h as ab u n d an t beau ty // no o n e ex ceeds her in descrip tio n
F o r on e, w e n o tice in these lines th at th e initial h em istichs have one p attern , {I v I - I v I / I
- I "I - I], c o n sistin g o f tw o feet: {I " I - I “ I] and {I - I v I - I}, w ith one excep tio n in line 2: {I - 1-
I “ I}. T h e second h e m istic h s h av e a slig h tly d ifferen t p attern , { l - l - l ' d / l - l ' d - l } , c o n sistin g o f
tw o feet: {I - I - I v I} and {I - I v I - I}, w ith an ex ce p tio n in line 3: {I - I - I - I}. T he pattern o f the
in itial h em istich , {I" l - l ' d / l - l ' d - l ^ i s p recisely rep eated in fo u r lines and w ith one syllable
altered in an o th er five lin es; n in e out o f th irteen lines in this tanwll dandan. The initial
h em istich s o f the re m a in in g fo u r lines co n sisten tly fo llo w another p attern : { l - l - l - l / l - F I - l } .
T he p attern fo r th e seco n d h e m istich s, {I - I - I ~ I / I - I ~ I - I}, is p recisely rep eated in six lines
and w ith o n e sy llab le altered in an o th er fo u r lin es; the rem aining th ree are problem atic.
It is safe to say that som e type o f q u alitativ e m etrics is follow ed in M ahri poetry since
scansion does rev eal a g en eral rep etitio n o f p a tte rn s. I am certain th at a n u m b er o f the
in co n sisten cies in th e m etrical p a ttern s deriv e fro m the fact that I tran scrib ed m y collected data
9The rules o f stress in Mahri are summarized as follow s: “L ’accent tombe su rla (dem iere) syllable longue jC V C (C ),
CV:(C)) ou, si toutes les syllables sont breves {C V }, sur la premiere (C V C enfin de m ot com pte p o u r breve)” (Lonnet
and Sim eone-Senelle, 1997, 354; my italics).
269
w ith th e h e lp o f H ag g D ak o n . W h ere v e r d ia le ct d iscrep a n cies arose b etw een H agg and the po et
in q u estio n , (as is the case fo r th e tanw ll dandan above b y R agbon from H aw f), p h o n etic and
m o rp h o lo g ical co n fu sio n co u ld arise and obscu re the m e te r.10
T hat said , I th in k that S em ah, (and to a le sse r degree S ow ayan), e rr in in sistin g on the
e x clu siv ity o f th e ir q u a n tita tiv e analy sis; I h ard ily disag ree w ith S e m a h ’s su ggestion th at “the
theory o f accen tu al m etre e x p o u n d ed [by B ailey] has little relev an ce to the poetry o f the B edouin
w ith w hich w e are d e a lin g .” 11 T his statem en t d o es not ag ree w ith m y ow n ex p erience; as pointed
out earlier, th e accen tu al m etrics o f M ah ri p o etry in re citatio n is audible. H ow do w e reco n cile
these tw o o p p o sin g view s w hen m y e x p erien c e in d ica tes that b o th seem to be valid?
F o r th e an sw er, w e can turn to an o b serv atio n m ade b y L andberg. W h ile a ttem p tin g to
reso lv e m etrical and p h o n o lo g ic a l d iscrep a n cies in h is tra n sc rip tio n s o f H adram I poetry,
L and b erg rep o rts th e fo llo w in g statem en t he m ad e to h is in form ants: “B u t you p ro n o u n ce the
w ords in an en tirely d ifferen t w ay w hile ch a n tin g .” T o th is, he receiv ed the “sig n ifica n t”
response: “T his is b e c a u se ch an tin g is so m eth in g o th e r than re citin g .” 12 L a n d b e rg ’s o b servation
is noted b y b o th C aton and S o w ayan, yet th ey fail to fo llo w the im p licatio n s o f this statem en t to
its logical c o n c lu s io n .13 I u n d erstan d L a n d b e rg ’s co m m en t to m ean th at d ifferen t sy stem s o f
p ro so d y are u sed fo r d ifferen t m odes o f p erfo rm an c e. In m elodic o r ch an ted p erfo rm a n ces, a
q u an titativ e system p ro so d y co m es to th e fo re and resto res the short v o w els that are elid ed in
recitatio n . C o n v ersely , a n o n -ch an ted , n o n -su n g recitatio n o f p o etry , (g enerally the p erfo rm an ce
o f a single, u n a c c o m p a n ied in d iv id u al) the effect o f stress are em phasized and an accentual
10The presence o f cayin in the dialects o f the hinterlands o f H aw f is one such obstacle to scansion since ‘ayin was
generally omitted by H agg, a speaker o f the ‘ayin -less Qisn dialect. Thus, bu 'l (“G od”) { l - H } in the dialect o f
Ragbon would be related to m e as bd:l {I - I] by Hagg.
" S em a h , 1991, 192.
Carlo Landberg, 1905, 117. Elsewhere, Landberg states: ‘T here are many exam ples o f this in my work. The form
git, with a short ‘i’, is much rarer than ga:t, I asked my Datlni [informants] why they do not say ga:t. ‘It doesn’t work
here,’ they responded, and yet they all chanted g d :t\ This is explained by the rhythmic accent o f this syllable: ‘i ’ often
becom es becom es ‘a ’ in chanting and the vow el is elongated under the accent. When I asked them to chant the second
verse and to substitute g d :t for git, they began: ‘la -g a d e -g e , but then immediately stopped and said: ‘Look! It doesn’t
work.’ I repeat that these people do not know what a ‘meter’ is and were com pletely ignorant o f why I always had
them chant ‘recited poetry’ (le s p o e s ie s d icte es)” (Ibid., 1905, 134).
13Caton, 1990, 280-81; Sow ayan, 1985, 152.
2 70
system o f p ro so d y tak es p rio rity . T he critical elem ent o f d ifference is m elody: in the ab sence o f
it, accen t b eco m es th e stru ctu rin g p rin cip le b eh in d v erse, w hile q u an titativ e p a tte rn s go han d -in -
h and w ith th e p resen ce o f m e lo d y .14 T hus, b e d o u in m etrics is both q u an titativ e and accentu al,
d ep en d in g on th e p e rfo rm a n c e ev ent in w hich the p o e m is reproduced.
T he q u estio n fo llow s: w hy do som e field research ers hear stress (such as B ailey and
m yself), and o thers (S o w ay an , C aton, et al.), h ea r q u a n tity ? T he an sw er to th is q u e stio n is related
to the p u rp o ses b eh in d the d a ta co llection and the te ch n iq u e s used to gath er it. B ailey recorded
p erfo rm an ces b y in d iv id u als w ith the p u rp o se o f ca p tu rin g an “o rig in al” tex t o f the p o em in m ind.
T his in v o lv ed w riting an oral p o e m dow n in A rabic c h aracters and circu latin g it am o n g st the
tribal ruwah (“tra n sm itte rs”) w ho w eighed in w ith th e ir em en d atio n s. T he p o ets o r ruwah w ere
aw are that they w ere co m m e n d in g a text to an abstract and de-co n tex tu alized p o sterity . U n d er
these circu m stan ces, m elo d y , d ance and co llectiv e p e rfo rm an c e w ere u n n ecessary , (o r even
d etrim en tal), to the p ro cess o f reco rd in g a fixed and co u ld therefore be d isp en sed w ith. This
y ielded p o etry in spoken recitatio n , n e ith e r ch an ted n o r sung, w hich lacked the re g u lar
q u an titativ e m eter n o ted b y C arlo L andberg.
M y ow n m eth o d s o f p o etry co llection w ere sim ila r to B a ile y ’s. W hen I ask ed an
info rm an t to p ro v id e a p o em , th e in form ant gen erally w en t into his “m em ory b a n k s” and
retriev ed a p o em that h ad b een p rev io u sly m em o rized , and w as often the w ork o f an o th er p o e t to
bo o t. T his suited the setting: I w ould g enerally sit in th e m afrag o r maglis, arm ed w ith a tape
reco rd er and m icro p h o n e, and w ork alone w ith the in fo rm an t and a lim ited n u m b er o f friends or
fam ily. M elo d y and d ancing, so in trinsic to the p ro d u ctio n o f M ahri p o etry , w ere alm o st alw ays
absent. T h ough m y reco rd in g ap p aratus and p u rp o se o f solicitation w ere alien to the collective
p erfo rm an ce and app reciatio n o f M ahri p o etry , spoken recitatio n is still com m on m eans w hen a
p o em is casu ally d eliv ered to a sm all audience. S poken recitation is the u n m ark ed fo rm o f
14This is easily demonstrable in recordings where I solicited recitations and sung performances o f the same poem one
after the other. One such recording was made for a tanw ll dandan poem com posed by Muhammad ’Ahmad Za’banot
for his daughter, Waklla, and both recited and sung by him, (January 12, 2004, al-Ghaydha).
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p erfo rm an ce, lack in g the cultural and social sig n ifican ce o f a co llectiv e and ritualized
p erfo rm an ce, y et co m p en satin g fo r this lack o f social p o ten cy th ro u g h sheer freq u en cy . T hese
w ere th e p e rfo rm an ces that I m ain ly w orked w ith, and lik e al-D akkak and B ailey, I w as struck by
th e reg u larity o f stress in M ahri poetry.
A d ifferen t set o f co n d itio n s and in terests obtained fo r C a to n ’s and S o w a y a n ’s co llectio n s
o f A rabian po etry . C a to n ’s in terests lie in the en actm en t o f social co n flict and re so lu tio n th ro u g h
Y em eni tribal po etry . T his n atu rally lead s h im to em p h asize the tw o, ex tem p o rized g en res o f
co llectiv e p o etry , the balah and the zam il, and to dev o te less energy to the w ritten texts o f p re
com posed qaslda. A s a resu lt, C a to n ’s d ata w ere gathered in the co n tex t o f ch an tin g and the
sw aying, rh y th m ic d an ces o f H aw lani trib esm en ; in this m o re m usical p erfo rm an ce env iro n m en t,
accentual stress w as d o u b tless su b o rd in ate to q u an titativ e m etrics.
S ow ayan h a s a d ifferen t app ro ach to A rabian p o etics and yet arrives at the sam e
co n clu sio n . In m y view , th is is the resu lt o f tw o p rin cip les. T he first, as is m ad e ab u n d an tly clear
in Sow ayan (1985), is th at he v iew s the long, m o n o -rh y m ed texts o f nabatl po etry to b e the direct
d escen d an t o f th e classical A rab ic qaslda, w h ich , o f course, follow s q u a n titativ e m etrical
p a tte rn s.15 S eco n d ly , in a w ay that n e ith e r m y se lf o r any o f the a fo rem en tio n ed re se arch ers can
claim , S o w ayan g rew up in the m ilieu o f h is d ata and n o d o ubt heard m uch o f the po etry
presen ted in N abatl Poetry (1985) p erfo rm ed in a variety o f differen t m odes: sung, ch an ted and
recited, co llectiv ely and in d iv id u ally .16 In ex am in in g the text o f a nabatl p o em fo r scansion ,
S ow ayan co u ld p e rh ap s “h e a r” the q u an tita tiv e m etrics w ithout resort to singing o r ch anting,
15‘T h e roots o f [modern vernacular poetry] can be unmistakably traced back to [classical Arabic poetry), and the
divergences that distinguish the two traditions from one another do not imply any categorical difference between
them ...E m ploying the same formal principles and com positional devices o f their ancient predecessors, vernacular poets
continued to discover new themes and explore new com positional techniques without interrupting the continuity
between their poetry and that o f the ancients” (Sow ayan, 1985, 167).
16“I have been effectively exposed to Nabati poetry since my childhood. I have heard it quoted or recited almost every
day o f my life at hom e or elsew here. M y hom etown, cUnaizah, is fam ous for its outstanding Nabati poets, som e o f
whom I know personally. However, I ow e my early introduction to Nabati poetry chiefly to my maternal grandfather,
Mhammad as-Sleman as-Swayyan, an excellent raconteur o f anecdotes and a gifted reciter o f poetry. H is polished
style and elegant delivery have fascinated m e and captured my imagination since I was a small boy; it was he, more
than anyone, who opened my eyes to the rich field o f this poetry” (ibid., 11).
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since th ese tu n es w ere effectiv ely in his ears fro m h is ch ild h o o d on. T he fifty -o n e q u an titativ e
p attern s an aly zed b y S o w ayan m ay h av e b ee n c le a r to him even in spoken recita tio n s o f p o e try ,
w hereas to o th e r research ers such as B ailey and m yself, only stress pattern s w ould b e au d ib le fo r
th e sam e p erfo rm an ce.
273
Appendix B: The Complete Diwan of Hagg Dakon
Diw an A: N ass ksidat: Si m a:kdn w kavt (“F o r A L ong T im e”)
1) s i ma:kan wjcayt II °d:gebdk d-fcark 1

2) as sen beh la: II w al had h a b a r k 2
3) temoh man d(il< II hoh teh halhark
4) l-a:d ham lak la: II w al satdn shark
5) °d:gebak kwdy II a:n tek sdnhark 3
6) man ha:s b l hal II w -beh d-hankark 4
7) l-a:d hoh b-hayr la: II w al hoh d-hansark 5
8) w at m dnk gm isk II w -rlhdk syark
9) asenak hnl / / hal hissak w -dark
10) w -hoh l-wajtfet II fo n a:r da-lm ark 6
11) a :r boll sa w f II w- 'am ur w- Jdm ark 1
\2 ')y d ffd z°d m b l II w at luk sahbark
13) w a-y 'amrdm hi II het bark w -bark
14) hoh w ud°dk la II w -hom labark 8
15 ) de gaybak a :r si 11 w -ll d-jcatrtirk9
16) aw si man hwol II b l hoh d-saksark
17) aw slnak sleh II w -gayr Ijatyark
18) hreg ll sidjc II w-hoh d-haddrk
19) hoh l-hoh fa h r l II w at het fa tka rk
20) w al man fa h re t II akun d-zitw ark 10
2 1 ) w -a:d la nhor II w at hissak lazark
22 ) ahaw sdb hsub II laka d-fathark
23) w al hoh man lyek 11 b d -'a w s ydgrdrk 11
24) te w-lu d-attalek 11 w -hom lagrark 12
25) y h a y z fw o d II w- 'dyn tsdsdrk 13
1) F o r a very lo n g tim e // I ’ve h id m y lo v e fo r you.

2) I d o n ’t show it // and I ’ve told no one
3) U ntil today fro m d istress / / 1 rev e aled it.
4) I c o u ld n ’t b e a r it // o r b e p a tie n t a n o th e r h o ur,
5) I lo v e y ou stro n g ly // even if I have co m p lain ed to you.
6) E v e r sin ce (lo v e) settled in sid e m e // I ’ve com e to know it w ell.
7) I ’m not d o in g all rig h t // and I c a n ’t fin d any peace.
1kark < jC.R.[V]: to hide” (Johnstone, 1987, 237).

assert (yassen, assanek/assano) < S.N .Y .: to show , make visible, Ar. tazahara; habark < C.B.R.: to express, reveal.
sanhark < N.H .R.: “ssnhdw r/yasanhaw r: to com plain, to raise a plaint in court” (ibid., 292).
4 hankark < N .K .R .: “h m k u r/y a h a n k u r to feel, to feel (as if); to realize, understand; to feel (p ain )” (ibid., 295).
' hansark < N .S.R .: "Iransftr/yahansur: to have had enough sleep and feel fresh” (ibid., 302).
6wajcfet: “wajcawf/yawkof to fall silent, keep quiet” (ibid., 427).
sa w f< S.W .F.: embarrassment, Ar. 3ihrag, Mhr. saw w afkak = Ar.3ahragtuka.
labark < C.B.R.: see footnote #2.
9gayb < G .Y .B.(?): Ar. m awqif.
10zitw drk (za tw u r, fern, zturdt) < Z.W .R.: to be interested in sth.
3aw s (conjugated verb: ■ ’w ask/'w Ts/’w tso t) < \W .S .: overw eening pride, outward splendor, Ar. tabahl.
attalek (a ttald, pres, attdyl, yattdyl), uncertain derivation; to wish, want, Ar. tamanna, Ja ra d a .
' yhayz < H.Z.Y.: “xazu/yaxayz: to refuse” (ibid., 459); tsdsdrk < ‘■'.S.R.: “sasor/yasasdr: to love, like” (ibid., 29).
274
8) W h e n e v e r you leave m e // to travel fa r aw ay,
9) I see y ou w ith m e // and feel you w h erev er I turn.
10) I stayed silen t // b efo re w hen I h id the secret,
11) B u t th e p e o p le w ho e m b arrass others // the “h e -sa id -so -th en -I-said ” type,
12) T h ey frig h ten m e // w h en e v er I ask about you.
13) T hey tell m e // “Y o u ’re ju s t lik e this and th a t.”
14) I d o n ’t k n o w any m o re // and w an t to let it out:
15) Is y o u r p o sitio n w ith m e // and have you settled on m e?
16) Is th ere so m e co n d itio n // in w hich I fall short?
17) H ave you seen so m e virtu e // and ch o sen another?
18) Tell m e th e tru th II I ’ll fo rg iv e you.
19) I ’m n o t v ain o r d elu d ed // even if you th ink (m e) so:
20 ) In v an ity , // I ’m not even interested .
21) T h ere n e v e r w as a d ay // w hen I th o u g h t to v isit you
22) T hat I g av e any co n sid eratio n // to being overly pro u d .
23) I ’m not o n e o f th o se // to im p ress you w ith a splendid ap pearance,
24) E v en i f I h o p ed // and w an ted to d raw you aw ay
25) M y h eart w o u ld re fu se // since m y eye adores you.
Diwan B: N ass ksidat: K al vaw m w-hoh d-asek (“E v ery d ay I C o m e C o m p la in in g ’”)
1) kal yaw m w-hoh d-asek II w a-hniik asanhaw r

2) maytan galkdnd si II w -rahm anl man agaw r
3) mah/c da-rge w -w dyd II hak asaw bar da-hljdtur 14
4) sehar w -w alhlt w -Jdynf II bd-dm a tgargaw r 15
5) het w-koh Ibi'dk jcosl II w -rahm atk bars Ijawr 16
6 ) fo n d si Itlf w -hodl II sobdr ll tsdhbur
7) hd:sdn da-kdur asaw lak II w d-m haw gas da-kfaw r 17
8) d:n ngam k ll g tlrl II haddal w a-kse b-stiwr 18
9) h d f hta d-hagrekah II dom a w at tw or ydur
\0 )w a -b n d :d a m a:ryljaw lds I I w -dd-hlus ysadur 19
11) la:kan hoh te lahehat 11 w -lagrah m nl jcsur
12) ha:san ll d-hagrekah II te hta lafca b-daw r
13) dw la(<d man boll gaybat II w d-m sabbabln am ur
14) hem wjcona d:r y ’dmrdm II w -d-attom a boll zaw r
15) bd:r yfolam am habba II wa-hta hnah ysaw r 20
16) het d:r dd-gribk tehdm II w a-tgaw rab d-l\rur
17) hoh la: gaw rab m anhdrlyat II w al b-gayr asahlaw r
18) sbbrdnd la-m saw kl II te man hal w -hed afaw r
1) E v ery d ay I co m e co m p lain in g // and to p le ad m y case w ith you:
14mahti < “mahak/y^mhdk, vn. mdyhajy, mahjc’- (children) to annoy so., pester” (ibid., 263); w a y d < W .C.D.: Ar.
wo cd.
15w dlhlt < W .L.H.(?): anxiety, Ar. qalaq, Mhr. heh d-wTlah: h e ’s anxious; tg a rg a w r < G.R.G.R.: “ag d rg a w r: (rare) to
bubble” (Johstone, 1987, 141), to drip continuously.
16haw r < H.W .R.: “xa w r: a little, a fe w ” (ibid., 456).
17k fa w r< K.T.R.: “todaw r/yakudar: to know, tangle...kaddsr: to be knotted” (ibid., 203).
18haddal < D.L.L.: “hadlol/yghadlol: to inform (of); to show, direct, guide (to)” (ibid., 70).
19yhaw las < H.L.S.: “xglus/yaxaw hs: to stray, get lost; to lose, lose in court; to guess wrong; to m iss” (ibid., 441).
20ysa w r < S.W .R.: “so r/y ssa w r: to stand; to begin” (ibid., 368).
275
2 ) W h en w ill y o u lo o k at m e // and sh o w p ity on this cruelty?
3) I ’m tired o f ho p e an d p ro m ises // m y so u l’s p atien ce is w orn dow n,
4) S leep lessn ess and an x iety and eyes // d rip p in g w ith tears.
5) W hy h a v e y o u b e co m e so cruel // and y o u r sym pathy so m eag er?
6 ) B efo re y ou u se d to be k in d and gen tle // and alw ays asked about m e.
7) W h at sp o ile d y o u r te m p er // and tw iste d y o u r feelings fo r m e?
8) I f y o u ’re an g ry w ith m e, speak! // A d v ise m e and seek advice.
9) P erh ap s I m ad e a m istak e // th is does happen from tim e to tim e.
10) H u m an b e in g s g et it w rong // b u t th ey fo rg iv e the one w ho does.
11) E ven i f I w ro n g ed you // and a sho rtco m in g befell m e,
12) W h at did I d o // that the m isd eed sh o u ld com e b ac k around?
13) O r m ay b e it’s b e c a u se o f go ssip s // o r p e o p le w ho m ake pro b lem s
14) P erh ap s th ey are say ing th in g s // b u t the one w ho listens to slanderers
15) A cts u n fa irly to th e lovers // and a sin is co m m itted by him .
16) Y ou k n o w th e m // and you k n o w h o w they cause harm .
17) I k n o w n o th in g ab o u t m aking c o m p lain ts // I ’d n ev e r speak ab o u t this to anyone.
18) I w ill e n d u re m y g rie f // until the tim e (m y) sim m ering (feelings) qu iet dow n.
Diwan C: Horn lasahbar boll ars (“W h o Is T his W ho H as Show n U p ? ” ! - S ee C h ap ter 6 (G )
Diwan D: W d-mhabb w-lii tda (“O M y L ove. If O nly Y ou K new ”)
1) w a-m habb w-lu tda II b-sigw e°l w -sabbet

2) man ’d:gebdk d-aw nun // ha:s abal am uhset 21
3) si kde kde 'cisitr II l-a:d dgafk a s s a n e t 22
4 ) kdtl habgalk tes II wa-slyamk dnfdset
5) wa-hm o atam h sam II w at 'atafk "atfet 23
6) "ddddm hi kattubat kal II w a-tbobdt d-rdhbet
7) w d-d-nuka yafkur II bd-m refi w- ’dllet
8) d:n fh a sa m ll ghaz II gdhdfham w ti-b h e t 24
9) w -a:n gldâm ll hayom II sajcsir man am annet
10) saw bl tasyidh la: II la: brah w-la: h a b b e t25
11) wal ynoka beh ktob II gayr arahm on w -het
12) het thami hoh lahye II aw tham l hoh lam et
1) M y love, i f on ly y ou k n ew // m y d istress and sham e!

2) I m oan fro m lo v in g y ou // lik e so m eo n e w ith m alaria.
3) I h av e h ad so m an y n ights // in w hich I n ev e r tasted sleep,
4) I find m y fo o d lo a th so m e // and I ’ve starved m y body
5) A nd w ater tastes b itte r // w hen I d rin k a d rau g h t o f it.
6) A ll the a m u le t-w rite rs have alread y (treated) m e II and so to o the doctors o f the
tow n
am uhset < malaria, Y em . Ar. al-m aw hisa.

22
kde k d e < Ar. k a ttr kafirCly. many, without count.
23sam < S.M .M .: bitter; ’atafk ( ’a ta w f yâtawf) < C.T.F.(?): to take a drink.
24gahdiham < G.H.D.: “gah ad/ysgh od: to deny, refuse” (Johnstone, 1987, 117); bhet < B.H.T. (B.H.S): “bahet/yabhdt:
to convince, out argue, reduce to silence, leave without a leg to stand on ...ssbhof. to give up arguing, be outargued,
convinced, reduced to silen ce” (ibid., 45-46).
25 _
tasyidh (syidk, syud) < S.D .Y .(?): to help, aid, benefit.
276
7) B u t w h o e v e r co m es p o n d ers // m y illn ess and m alady.
8) I f th ey ch eck m e w ith a dev ice II it fails th em and gives no answ er.
9) I f they o b serv e m e fo r a few d a y s // they are stripped o f hope.
10) N o th in g h elp s m y a fflictio n // n e ith er sh ots n o r p ills.
11) N o am u let co m es (to cu re it) // only the M erciful o r you.
12) E ith e r you w a n t m e to liv e // o r you w an t m e to die.
Diwan E: Gwe d d -lto f (“A P assio n F o r B e a u ty ”!
1) tat w a tfta w n II gw e d a -ltd f

2) y 'a wz.dm l-ber II man far m a n fe /26
3) w a-d-ba:r atlufc II ba-hharfarU f 27
4) srlsan yhem II w -l-a:d y u k b f
5) m ahldfsan ham II dm teh lu s d f2S
6) ha tat d-sajcnoh II l-asel w a -sfiS f29
7) w a-m goran g ylr II m ta:t d -h ifd f 30
8) dkklis w-drJm II w d-bzer h a y fd f 31
9) sen w at fa th a y r II w a-lbud n ifd f
10 ) w -sa fw a -h g u r II w-jcas m a g ld f32
11) wa-fclawr k-nun II man hal y a n tS f 33
12 ) ba-m loda gyld II w d-hsum rih d f M
13) tndbgcin kalb II wa-slTb yafcsSf35
1) W h en o n e re m em b ers // h is p assio n fo r gen tle w om en

2) H e reso lv es to le a v e at n ig h t // fro m atop h is bed.
3) T he o n e w ho h as g o tten h u n g up // on th ese bejew elled ladies
4) W an d ers a fte r th em // and w ill n e v e r again b e still.
5) T h eir d e p a rtu re is a w orry // i f I d escribed it (correctly).
6) L ike one w ho w as n o u rish ed // on h o n ey and c a m e l’s m ilk
7 ) B u t afterw ard s ch an g es // to the p leasu re [i.e. food] o f the stingy,
8) M eag er, p lain b read // and dry p e p p ers and u n seaso n ed crum bs.
9) W h en th ese w o m en d ress in th e ir fin est // and b e au tify them selves
10) A ll arrayed and sittin g in a circle // and h av e lifted th eir veils,
11) A nd they turn th e b la c k s’ o f th eir ey es II to w h ere the tears drip forth [i.e., they
g lan ce fro m the c o m e rs ’ o f th e ir eyes]
12) W ith b eau tifu l ch eek s // and a sle n d er n ose,
13) T hey cap tu re y o u r h eart // and dash the h a rd -h ea rted to pieces.
26m a n \o f< N.[..F.: “ntzaf/nazrfdtm : covering, covers; mattress” (ibid., 310).

27harfaruf (uncertain derivation): wom en wearing bangles, “harf/harawf.: gold coin; gold amulet” (ibid., 185).
28 mcifilafsan < H.L.F.: “xluf/yaxlof: to leave behind; to transhum e” (ibid., 439).
29 salcndh < jC.N.[V].: to be reared, brought up” (ibid., 233).
30m ta:t < M .T .C.: “m stat: food” (ibid., 273); hlfdf (uncertain derivation): misers, Ar. al-bu h ala3.
31 akkds < K.S.S.: “saksus: to get very little (food, m oney)” (ibid., 215); a rim: plain rice without fish, meat or ghee;
b zer < B.Z.R.: dry spices, “bazar: peppers” (ibid., 61); h a yfu f< H.F.F.: dry bread, Ar. haff.
32h g u r< H.G.R.: “hagret/hager: company o f m ales sitting in a circle, public gathering” (Johnstone, 1987, 172); jias
(Iriisbt, ykbs) < K.W.S.: to lift; m a g lo f < G.L.F.: veil, Ar. niqab.
" k la w r < (C.^.R.: “fm a w r: to twist (the neck)” (ibid., 248).
34mlodci (uncertain derivation): cheeks.
35 tnabgdn < N .B.G .(?): to steal.
277
Diwan F: K obi m ahhalik vsaw bar (“I U sed T o T hink T h at M an C ould E n d u re” ) - See
C h ap ter 6 (E)
Diwan G: H et w -koh brek azehi t “W h v A re Y ou W o rk in g U p A D u st C lo u d ?” ')
1) het w a-koh brek cizeljT II wd-b-har/c td d d d w lrl 36

2) ha:san heh ysul attdbds II te man sonah td ttlr l 37
3) ham s a:r brek ahola II w al hams ta zta w irl 38
4) b - ’dle man dm gaw lds II hal tslnl w -ta b lrl 39
5) fa r jctoyaf w a-m daw ki II Ilham kal th o m lr l 40
6 ) ga b l m addaw lr l-gayras II w -a:n °amdrs la: m a g tlrl41
7) 'dm rdnd sehal Ilham II larw lham l d - ‘d:m lrl
8 ) gabh lazyed hgallah II kad hattds w a -d -g e rl 42
9 ) m isk w d-dhon h letl II wd- ’dw lsl w a-ftdherl
10) w a-lblsl m an agdll II Ilham la: tsaf}blrl
11 ) te w-lu 1a mu ram hayw al II wa-jclub mloyam fayrl
12) het ’d:gebds has dgaw fi I I lay bat ’ajcdl w -ta fk lrl 43
1) W hy are y o u in th e m id d le o f a d u st clo u d 11 w orking in the heat?

2) W h at is h e w ho eq u als y o u r d isc o m fo rt // fo r w hose sake do you tire y o urself?
3) I w ould lik e y ou in th e sh ade // I d o n ’t w ant you to b e concern ed (w ith an y th in g ),
4) S ittin g in th e lo ftie st spot at the gath erin g // w here y o u can see (all) and gaze (at
ev ery th in g ),
5) On cu sh io n s and p illo w s // th ey h av e all th at you com m and.
6) L eav e w o rk fo r so m eo n e o th e r th an yo u // and if yo u say “n o ,” I ’ll speak (to them ),
7) S aying: “I t ’d be so easy fo r them // to give m y p rin c ess a b re a k .”
8) L et h im in crease h is re sen tm e n t / / w h o ev er is angry and th o se w ho are jea lo u s.
9) M u sk and th e in cen se o f the hletl- b ran ch // show y o u r beau ty and be proud,
10) W e a r o n ly ex p e n siv e clo th es // y o u ’ll n ev e r h av e to ask about them again.
11) E ven i f th ey to ld m e I w as o u t o f m y m ind II and b egan to p u t b lam e on m e,
12) L o v e fo r y o u h as p ierced m y ch e st // and taken aw ay m y reaso n and m ind.
Diwan H: Horn lakteb hat (“I W an t T o W rite A L ine o r T w o ” )
1) hom lakteb bat II w -la3on l rsiil

2) ka-lyed yaghlm II w -slham dhfd 44
3) w-hoh dfon heh II m asrufh w -naw l
4 ) w -zoytid h n l II hal \aybat kbul
36azefti (uncertain derivation): small whirlwind o f dust and sand (from sweeping); taddaw irl < D.W .R.: to work, Ar.
hadam a.
37 _
ysu l’. to deserve, m erit, to equal, “sol/yasol: to dem and paym ent o f a d e b t” (Johnstone, 1987, 338); sonah: his sake,
Ar. s a 3nuhu\ ta ttlrt < C.T.R.: “ ’attar: to be tw isted ” (ibid., 35).
38 tdztawJrl: see footnote # 10.
39 _ _ _ _
tabiri < C.B.R.: “ 'dybar/yahor: to gaze, look into the distance” (ibid., 10).
40fto y a f < K.7 .F.: Yem . Ar. “q a ta yif: carpet” (Piamenta, 2:406); m daw kt < W.K. '.: Yem. Ar. “m atakl: cushion or
pillow to lean on” (ibid., 530).
gabi < G .Y .B.: leave it! “agylb: to leave st. alone, let st. go, drop” (Johnstone, 1987, 146).
42hattds < H .S.S.: to be angry, see Chapter 6, footnote #19.
43 has < H .S.S.: “xas/yazsos: to penetrate, enter, go through st. difficult (such as a thicket)” (ibid., 450).
44yaghlm < G.H.M.: “gahem /yaghom : to go (a long way); to go in the morning” (Johnstone, 1987, 1 17).
278
5) d:r hoh massagayb II l-aded da-hlul
6) w -agarbas Id: II snet wa-dhiil 45
7) w -hdssl a:r bis II man hal tahlul
8) d:n jcalb w -hed II w -satan gful
9) ayantan jched II wa-dma h m llu l 46
1) I w an t to w rite a line // and h ire a m essen g er,

2) (T o g o ) w ith th o se w ho travel // and have an entry visa.
3) I ’ll p ay him fo r his ex p enses // and the cost o f shipping
4) A nd even m ore from m e // since w h atev er he tak es is acceptable.
5) I ’ve b een in turm oil // day after day,
6) I h a v e n ’t k n ow n // sleep o r a m o m en t o f peace
7) S ince m y feelin g s are w ith h er // w h erev er she has settled.
8) E ven if m y h eart q u iets dow n // and forgets fo r a m om ent,
9) M y eyes b u m w ith in so m n ia // and tears p o u r dow n.
Diwan I: Saw k (“D esire”! - S ee C h ap te r 6 (B l
Diwan J: W rit w -Fatan (“F atin and the M o o n ”) - See C h ap ter 4 (E)
Diwan K: SenI w a-kdars gld (“H er L o oks and F ig u re A re B eau tifu l’”) - S ee C h ap ter 6 (FI
Diwan L: M aw tl w a-hyotl het (“ Y ou A re T he D eath O f M e and M y L ife ’”)
1) m aw tl w a-hyotl het II a:n tsahbar w a-F timer

2) w a-ffw odl w a-bsa:r II w -fdrhatl w a-bser
3) jcalbl yantaw lran buk 11 w a-k-rawh yhanser
4 ) w d-m ' awldk. la -g sid II w at anurak l l / h e r 47
5) kal yhanslram suk II had tfcobal w a-tder
6) w-a:n gyabk ll nhor II saw l w-hags yakkader 48
7) w a-m haw gas yarhayjc II yallulam ka-fker
8) m ini l-a:d yjcatriir II ba-ttjcawlab la-nser 49
9) yddflram man 'allot II w a-m saw dah la-gm er 50
10) ha:s atbfal d-ltwbh II m onl y ’dm dr heh s b e r 51
\ \ ) te lalaytam teh b -la tf II man assdfa w a-kher 52
1) Y ou are m y death and m y life // if y o u ’d ask, so I ’d tell you,

2) M y soul, m y sight // m y h ap p in ess and jo y .
3) M y h eart is illu m in ated by you II and w ith m y soul, is refreshed
45dhul < D.H.L.: peace, quiet, Ar. sakt, (dhalk, dhel: to be quiet).
46k-hed (Jchiidk, yajchod) < JC.H.D.: to burn with insom nia, Ar. sah ada; hm llul (seh hmilut, tahm llul) < H.M .L.L.(?): to
fall down, drop, Ar. saqata.
47m ’aw lak < C.L.(C.: senses, feelings, Ar. hawass.
48sawl: clarity (water and feelings), Ar. s a f a \ (verbal conjugation: sdyw dl, saw lak).
49riser < N.S.R.: periods o f the night, stages o f sleep, hansdrk, hansur: to pass a peaceful night.
50yadfiram (dafrdk, dlfdr) < D.F.R.: to be consumed with fire, Ar. dhtaraqa; m sawdah (sing, m asdali) < S.D.H.:
sparks, Ar. sarar.
5 d-Jtwdh (taw hak, twoh, yatw oh ) < T.W.H.: to cry violently (infant).
52dssafd (sfay, si fa ) < S.F.Y.: a sharp gust o f wind that blow s sand or dust in o .’s face, “hssfu: to throw dust,
sand...satfi: to throw sand, dust over os., play with dust” (Johnstone, 1987, 343), Yem . Ar. yasfi, see Chapter 6,
footnote #76; kher < K.F1.R.: like dssafd, but with a continuous force, not a single gust.
279
4) A s are all o th e r b o d ily senses // w hen y o u r lig h t appears b e fo re m e;
5) E v ery one o f them is refresh ed // w hen you approach and com e around.
6) I f you d isap p ear from m e even fo r a day // m y clarity o f th o u g h t and em o tio n s are
ro iled ,
7) M y th o u g h ts go far aw ay // and get lo st along w ith m y m ind.
8) M y p u p ils get n o re st at n ig h t // w hile to ssin g back and forth at (ev ery ) stage o f
sleep,
9) T hey b u m from sickness // lik e sp linters o f h o t em bers.
10) W hen a b aby w ails // w ho tells him to b e patien t?
11) In stead they tak e him g en tly // from the h o t gust (o f tears) and (their) co n tin u o u s
force.
Diwan M : Hlh kalbl hlh (“E n ough. M y H eart. E n o u g h !”) - See C h ap ter 6 (D )
Diwan N: Gabam i’dli lil'assdk (“L eav e M y D arling T o H er H e a rt’s D e sire ”)
1) gabam goll l a ’axsbji II w -lagtlr man ajcammath 53

2) takderam bolah la: II w al tdm haykdm dnfidwdth 54
3) danye tlubad Ilk II a:n ’a: kbskdim anfasath
4) kalian nartllan la: II w al nhaw m al angam ath
5) hoh mahsawl aham h la: II kefar m o wle jcallath
6) horn a:r lagtlw l seh II w-lattdm a l-hargath 55
7) w a-bsarl lahkd II man azaynah w -ldhkath 56
8 ) la 0am ell m adduw lr II d-tdrtubdh w- ’abldlh 57
9 ) w -lahom ar w-latleb II hoh fd e d-farhath
1) L eav e m y d arlin g to h er h e a rt’s d esire // and let h e r speak fro m h e r m ind.

2) D o n ’t sully h e r th o u g h ts // and d istu rb h er bliss.
3) T he w hole w orld b ec o m e s tense // if yo u o p p o se (one of) h er m oods,
4) N one o f u s can be at ease // since w e c a n ’t endure h er anger.
5) I d o n ’t w ant p erso n al gain // n e ith e r a little n o r a lot,
6) I ju s t w ant to flirt w ith h e r II and listen to h er talk,
7) To q uench m y eyes // w ith h e r beau ty and sm ile,
8) To m ake m e h e r serv ant // w ho arranges (ev ery th in g ) and takes care o f her,
9) T o o rd er and d em an d // I ’ll sacrifice m y se lf fo r h er pleasure.
Diwan O: Zayn w -kallak z.ayn (“B eau tifu l. E v ery th in g A bout Y ou Is B ea u tifu l”! - See
C h ap ter 5 (A1
Diwan P: Hadh w -haddur (“W atch O ut A nd B e W a rn ed ”! - See C h a p ter 5 (B )
Diwan O: Hoh ll lawm la: ('“I ’m N ot T o B lam e” !
53 la ’assojc'- to dally, to flirt, Ar. tadallala; ajuimmath < (C.M.M.: the top (of her head), A r. qimm a.
54 tdmhayjcdm < M.H.JC.: to upset, disturb, to pull out (a dagger) violently; to flee; to be scratched; and to
scratch” (Johnstone, 1987, 275); cinliawath < N.H .W .: pleasant interpersonal atmosphere, "n,)xiv. to relax” (ibid., 309).
35 IdgtlwJ < G.W .Y.: to flirt, “gayyat: flirtation, love-talk” (ibid., 146).
56 lahjca < H.jC.Y.: “hsku/yahayk’. to irrigate; to give a drink” (ibid., 155).
57 3ablath < C.B.L.: “3a bol/yaw bdl: to look after, tend (a sick person or animal)” (ibid., 10).
280
Kurs/K oral: hoh li lawm la: II a:n hatw alk luk
1) hoh m agtlri sidk * w d-Jam rond huk

het m dahk tl * w-jcalbl barh suk 58
2) bolak tl b-zayn * b-\ahket w d -3ayn 39
wa-b-labnln * w -latfin d-buk
3) rodak bd-hhadm et * Idgre d-het 60
madh w -sabbet * sobar hoh sruk
4) d:n gldjikdk la: * b l yalyujc ajya
w -artljan la: * gayr w-hoh hnuk
5) ahalj< 'dujurbm tl * w -het hadark h i
w -kad m anhem Iml * raytah sanyuk
C horus: “I ’m not to b lam e if I ’ve go n e m ad fo r y o u ”
1) I w ill speak the truth * A nd tell you

Y o u ’ve b ew itch ed m e * M y h eart has fallen fo r you
2) Y o u ’ve afflicted m e w ith b eau ty * W ith y o u r sm ile and y o u r eyes
W ith th e w hiten ess o f y o u r skin * A n d the g race th at lies in you
3) I ’ve to ssed aw ay m y w o rk * O n acco u n t o f you
E n ch an tm en t an d a fflictio n * I ’m alw ay s rig h t b eh in d you
4) I f I c a n ’t see you * T h e w orld tig h ten s around m e
I c a n ’t be co n ten t * U n less I ’m w ith you
5) E v ery o n e fo rg iv es m e * E ven yo u h a v e fo rg iv en m e
A n y o n e w ho w ould b lam e m e * I f o n ly he co u ld see you!
Diwan R: °A \n l hoh hlboh ts ik f( uO M y E yes. H ow C an T hey S lee p ?’”)
1) ‘ciynl hoh hlboh ts ik f II w -tattdna a ss d n e t 61

2) w a-hrohl lafyol II far asso fw -m a m d et
3) w -gure man agdnbayn II da-tw llam ba-ssam ret
4) tijfataynam tl m hab II bal abol w -num set 62
5) tdbd w-m adhebah gayr II wd- ’d.'sfcdth w d-fhdret
6) w at assotar w -attlll II ha jcruh man a h ta m e t 63
7) ybhhayuw l d-heh m rlj II b-h a rg a th w-lahket
8) hags ydjctdllban beh II ba-rhoyab d-garbet
9) wb-ym bh ffididk teh H w a-nhor h n l snet
10) w -d-ahaw sab kal yaw m 11 l-awsolah kb- ’dbret
11) raytah heh lajca hnl II wa-m na 3l w -nam et
12) d:r mne d-mafjhalljc II tasylrbn teh kadret
mdahk (madh, yam uddh) < to bewitch, sahhara.

59 boldk < B.L.[V].: “b slo /y b a y l: to trouble, tire out; to nag, interrupt” (Johnstone, 1 9 8 7 ,4 9 ).
60 rodak < R.D.W .: “radu /ysrayd: to throw overhand, pelt...herdu/yahsrayd: to leave...to jettison st.” (ibid., 315); Idgre:
on account of, Ar. min aglika.
61 tsikf < W .K.F.: “sawkuf/yaszwkiif: to sleep, go to sleep” (Johnstone, 1987, 426); tattona < H.N. '.: to take pleasure in
sth., Ar. tahannaâ.
62 num set < N.W .M .S.: proper upbringing, virtuous tribalism (al-natjw a al-qabJlTya), Yem . Ar. “n aw m asa: to educate,
teach manners...tnawmas: to be polite, well-m annered, well-bred” (Piamenta, 2:501).
63 asso ta r (assatrak) < S.T.R.: to begin to speak, to organize o .’s thoughts, Ar. rattala al-kalam , (asotar: to put sth. in
lines [sardines on the beach to dry]); d ttlll (attaldlk, yattdltlan ) < T.L.L.(?): to recite poetry, in H aw f dialect: riwl.
281
1) O m y ey es, h ow can they sleep // and enjoy th e ir slu m b er
2) O r m y h ead re st h eav ily II on the w ool (c u sh io n s) and p illow s
3) W h ile m y n eig h b o u rs on e ith er side // co n tin u e th e ir soiree ?
4) T h ey m ak e m e th in k about m y b elo v ed // the p o sse sso r o f a good h ead and artful
tastes,
5) H er d isp o sitio n and style are w ith o u t co m p are // and so are h e r p assio n and h e r
bearin g .
6) W hen she p h rases h e r sp eech o r recites a verse // it is lik e som eo n e read in g fro m
th e F inal R ev elatio n ;
7) She b rin g s the sick b ack to health // w ith h e r voice and h e r laugh.
8) M y m ind is p reo ccu p ied w ith h e r // liv in g in faraw ay lands.
9) T oday I m iss h er // and each day fo r m e is lik e a y e ar
10) Since I co u n t ev ery day // fo r h e r arrival by car, b o at o r plane.
11) I f on ly she w ere w ith m e // m y h o p e and m y g ra c e !
12) B u t th e d esires o f m en // w alk w ith Fate.
282
Appendix C: Other Poems Cited in Dissertation
A. P o et from O isn (nam e u n know n):
1) al-jam al ’a m a fa ra n si wa-la min ‘indana II qabbalat calay wa-hiya tim si bi-fann

2) tusbih cala hayl a l-‘aw aliq min saba ’ II al-hasm hangar g u d a y h iq a d fa ta n
3) w a -‘uyunha kama satt al-maha II saytanat ruhi w a-zad q albi sagan
4) dakart w a q tiza m a n i ll m ada II qad kunt 3uqanis m a ‘i m ayzar faman
5) abu zagdg yasib al-m untaha II subhan al-haliq za yn h a fita n
6) hat a w a-law sabih m u callaq bi-dalal II ma s i malam a 'ida a l-caqil tagann
7) ? ? ? ? ? ......// suft al-gaw ahir famanhun
1) B eauty: is it from F ran ce o r does it b e lo n g to u s? // she app ro ach ed m e, w alking w ith grace
2) Ju st lik e a h o rse o f th e cA w aliq fro m S a b a 3 // h e r n o se lik e a Ju d ay h i dag g er, it has entran ced
me
3) H er eyes give o ff g lan ces lik e a you n g co w // she has captured m y h eart and m y h e a rt’s
d istress grow s
4) I rem em b ered m y age, m y tim e that p assed // I used to go h u n tin g w ith m y p rec io u s M au ser
5) It had a scope that alw ay s hit the target // G lory B e to the C reato r w h o created such entran cin g
beauty
6) E ven i f there is an o th er like m e hung u p w ith h e r co q u e try // th e re ’s no b lam e if even the
reaso n ab le g oes m ad
7) ? ? ? ? ..........// I ’ve seen th o se p rec io u s je w e ls.
B. M ahri living in Saudi A rab ia (nam e u n k n o w n ):
1) qalbi sahan dis w a -cuyunik carabsat II w a -l-b iff 'irsdl hayy m ubasir min sifatik
2) wa-l-qalb muhrig w a-l-m usacir mudVcit II wa-l-sawq m a b cu f w a-m urasil li-datik
3) ‘irsdl m utaw asil cala ham s fitr a t II wa- ’ahld baram ig sahrati dikrayatik
4 ) w a-3irsdl hussadik q a tta ctuh can al-dat II baddalt kaybalhum bi-kaybal galatik
5) law waswasat b i-l-b iff kull al-m ahattat II yalqat risayfir hatiri dibdibatik
6) garrab ‘aid rimut al- 'ihsds dagtat II tilqdh ma yahtar 3ilia qinatik
1) M y heart is a satellite d ish and y o u r eyes are A rab sat // the signal is a liv e tran sm issio n direct
from y o u r lips
2) T he h eart is the p ro d u c e r and feelin g s are the b ro ad c aste rs // desire is the in-field
co rresp o n d en t to you y o u rs e lf
3) A n o n -sto p tran sm issio n show n five d ifferen t tim es // b u t the best p ro g ra m is w hen I stay
aw ake all nig h t th in k in g ab o u t you
4 ) I ’ve cut o ff the tran sm issio n o f y o u r en em ies from the satellite dish // and rep laced th e ir cable
w ith the cable o f y o u r p recio u sn ess
5) I f all the statio n s h ad static in the signal // the receiv ers in m y fe elin g s w ill alw ays find y o u r
w ave-lengths
6) Try the b u tto n s on the rem o te o f m y fe elin g s II y o u ’ll find only w h at it chooses: n o th in g but
y o u r channels.
C. Dandan recited b y R ag b o n b irt S acId. c o m p o sed by H m ed b ir S alim b ir B a cbet:
283
1) hatum ll hags II w -sl hagzom
2) b-slbl hgisk II bis hdgsl dom
3) hw ut b-lljc II ba-mkon m a cdum
4) a rso la m hm ed II has his hajcdom
5) hal heh m a sh u rll heh ba 'lsa n dom
6) has gofl m gat II w-wojcd dzor
7) w -lls cayyld II ba-hlejc hataw r
8) wa-gyug sighlm II l-ad ha:d w dthaw r
9) w-heh gbllul II w a-zyud w- 'aka wr
10) wd-klul kanslt II w -nakfls man faw r
11) w a-hw obl hgom II hodoh w -sugaw r
12) rdktlsdn b -h a f/l w -hays al Itsawr
13) wd-grut fy o l II hal slsdn tkun
14) tdtbd: b-rdkslt II w al tes hatawn
15) mgd hdbres II gruh w -sadhaw r
16) yastahal hm ed II lajca d-sdnsaw r
17) ykasfds la: II dr bis fa th a w r
1) A feelin g has sp en t all n ig h t w ith m e // and stayed w ith m e the n ex t day too
2) I am th in k in g about m y cam el, S lbl // w h o ’s alw ays on m y m ind
3) She fell in to a cleft // in a d eso late place
4 ) M ay G od stren g th en H m ed // as he com es o v e r to h e r
5) H e ’s v ery w ell kn o w n // as his h e rd ’s c o n stan t sh epherd
6) W hen h e lifted h e r up b y the n eck II and p lac ed h e r fo requarters h is back
7) To h elp w ith this d eed // [the p eo p le called to each oth er], w hirling th e ir shaw ls overhead
8) T he m en arrived // n o t a single one tarried
9) A nd b e c o m e s like a m o u n tain // and h is stren g th grow s greater.
10) H e h eav ed w ith h is sh o u ld er // and lifted it all at once
11) Then attacked the w o lv es // and took som e ro ck s and th rew them ,
12) H e g ro u n d them u n d erfo o t // and his p o w e r n e v e r failed.
13) T hen the she-cam el left on a safe path // to w h ere the o th e r cam els g razed ,
14) She follow s th e lead cam el // and h e lets h e r go u n fettered
15) A nd after her, h e r foal // w ent and p astu red w ith her.
16) H m ed d eserv es // to b o ast,
17) He d o e s n ’t hide [his d eed ] II but is pro u d o f it.
D . P o et from O isn. (nam e u n k n o w n ), opening “m o v e m e n t” o f Jddl w a-krem krem by S a cId b ir

L a ctavt:
1) °odl wa-krem krem II bd-garef 'ir.lydt II far jtatan w -tarbub

2) hal agenl d-rlhayn II harrdt heham w -flek II w at gdzam wd-jdub
3) wa-tworam am dlt II bayn adofbr w a-rbeJ II fa y sa l haw ll jclob
4) wan zrom a mahblb II far alahn matllm II han dw akb artakub
5) hags d:r bal damjcawt II manh hagwayyan la: II ba-ffw odl atyub
6) doyam lahhamls agayb II ydtkdybdn larjca:t II w d-m sow l dtliib
l) fita n htoya: la: II hal d-ba:r groh s lu f II w -lagzem man heh hsub
1)1 b eg in w ith the N oble and G enerous // in the h ig h est caves and h o llo w s II ato p the m o untains
and th e ir peak s
284
2) A t a p lace ex p o sed to the w inds on all sides // w inds fierce at certain seasons // w h e n e v e r they
should rise up and b lo w
3) T he se a -b re e ze com es soon afterw ard s // betw een the stars o f D ofar and R b a 3 // th e first season
has co m e again
4) N ow I w ill re c ite [a p oem ] // atop a w ell-crafted m elo d y // if the m eters fall to g e th er
5) M y th o u g h ts are w ith a m an from D am ^ aw t // o f w hom I cannot forget // since h e is fixed in
m y h eart
6) T hey alw ay s stir up m y ch est // fo llo w in g gen eratio n a fter generation // o f the o n e in ju red w ho
is still seek in g [redress]
7) H e n e v e r co n sid ered the errors // th at o ccurred and p a sse d to us, // I am certain he n e v e r took
them in to account.
E. Ddndan lavh recited by cA w dat b ir cA li cA w dat fro m O isn: co m posed by h is fath er. cA li
°A w lat:
1) hagask ba-sar II ha hoh mathayn

2) w a-hyom dim oh II b-rds wd-rlayn
3) mhafrdjc la: II wlcbna b-sayn
4) man assarjcawt II te bar tgayn
5) w-hazyu jclob II manse wa-fjyayn
6) la:d ribham la: II wat h em fta yn
7) w a-hfafk hm ud II wa-d-heh mahlayn
8) kanhon d:r seh II lahneh mamhayn
9) heh sanh d fe DII wat si lahfrayn
10) wd-wkayt la-grlw II w a-sfe0 wa-rlayn
11) has w ikd' hrir II w-bars haltayn
12) w -birt ’A ll II assatt wa-zzayn
13) his het fidzzat II w-zoydb tsayn
14) w -zdyd1’ gyed II tger mdhzayn
15) ttidhoban wle II m ankal ganbayn
16) tzahyan naw t II w -bdll argayn
17) w - ’dgle man am ask II w a-rhlt wa-gzayn
18) hbor sofu II w-sitt ba-°ayn
19) ha heh la-mayyon II wd- ’dtdm ysayn
20) d:n heh ba-sret II w a-hrlh d —hltayn
2 1) w -hat m assanl II w-kad yashayn
22) w-bal hwe 11 leh kalb ytayn
23) w -ser srag II hwe ’ah ybayn
24) wla la-m agre II yahlul wa-yfayn
25) yhazrah la: II w al heh mattajidyn
26) te bdl yahm um 11 w a-m now yafgayn
27) wa-zm lham anse II wa-wobal ybayn
28) w a-rzayd leh jcam II d - k a ff0ayntiyn
2 9 ) w -sattl l-hayd II tarhayn m hdrzayn
30) temayt d-sajcful 11 manse d-bdrfcayn
31) wa-msojc da-ngum II man hal yafhayn
32) w a-lhaym ar ygayn II dek bdl gatnayn
33) w -alhut w-dlndl: ’ II w -blt la:btayn
34) w -sorab asom II w -sa:t yfayn
285
35) w -haym ad anes II w-gldh yahm ayn
36) wat sitt wa-rhajc II wla bgaw t 3ayn
37) b[d:t d-m asm um II goll maffam ayn
38) seh lis tm a:t // takhob bazzayn
39) yam llas tbob II la:d si tarhayn
40) am ur dw el II la:si tarhay
41) si d-hdm m dh mbd° II w -w a zf cinkayn
4 2 ) w a-lbodam shlb II w-kdl dr [ayn
4 3 ) kfd lu frd :r II w a-bnud sujyayn
4 4 ) has hem yanw ll II w -slham awayn
4 5 ) wa-m rakab njcaw f/l w-tesan htishayn
4 6 ) w -g d llfn u d II brak awlayn
4 7 ) y°olam hm lm II ba-lyed d-ydtgayn
48 ) w -sl ba-ryul 11 b-bar y a f ayn
4 9 ) w-sl bd-sm d ' II tyar yasayn
50) yhayl magre II brak gltayn
51) amoram kdem II w -ta f hatrayn
52) dlliawz, w a-brlt II w -gbel fa rta yn
5 3 ) w a-m haw m al rsl II dibud halnayn
54) w-hajcfid agze 11 ba-tbul wa-ffcayn
55) w -zaw t gle II w at hem rtayn
56) wa-ltdumd gyug II ya:m ll labhayn
57) w -afur d:ru[ II m anbad hlayn
5 8 ) haz,baham anhayl II w-z,d:rd ' glayn
59) wa-bnlw maz,nat II b-gam[ d- ‘ayn
60) mgawlas ybayt II man gayr darfayn
6 1 ) w-dufa: a y le f II wd-hluz wdrfcayn
62) l-yastaruf II l-ha:s yassayn
6 3 ) w -ded rabyah II yashor wd-yjsayn
6 4 ) tint m a rd a w f/l w d-gbe ' d-ydhgayn
65) w-gayw rdb[d: II wa-lyeh d-yalhayn
66) hm ud w d-sya:d II w -blt yasrayn
67) am ur azyem II am a:r hatmayn
68) hdyn bd:[ mlhon II w a-d-gadlam dayn
69) w -attoll am ur II la:d ha:d tbayn
7 0 ) w-zey a:r gatlub II wa-ksub arâyn
71) w-blt am ded II dek a:r yam hayn
72) wat ber da-hzob II wa-wkawb sotdyn
7 3 ) am or grayb II ba-m doyam nkayn
7 4 ) msdrkd la: II am a:r galtayn
75) ha:s heh w-hajczoh II w -tor ba-lhayn
76) w -attoll ardud II w -rad dwtayn
7 7 ) man la kta lu fll w -lagdol sayn
7 8 ) w -habsor m akser II w -zikk tarfdyn
79) sud d r d-galkdt II man alhayn w-alhayn
80) y ’alydn mans II w -ha:d yahgayn
1) I felt an illn ess // as th o u g h I w ere being cru sh ed

2) On th is very d ay // inside o f m e are fatigue and ach in g m uscles
3) I ’m n o t g ettin g b e tte r // p e rh ap s that is not even p o ssib le
286
4) F rom th e e ast // and as fa r as w here the sun has set.
5) M y h eart, m in d and b o d y refu se // to b e cheerful and stay glad
6) T hey w o n ’t q u ie t dow n // should th ey e v e r recall th e m ...
7) G od P re se rv e H m u d // and the others still in th e ir m o th e r’s lap,
8) I w ish I w ere w ith h im // b u t I am b u sy .
9) H e ’s th e w in d w ard rid g e that keeps [us] w arm // if an y th in g should com e upon us,
10) In tim e s th at h av e p assed // days calm and content
11) W h en h e w as w ith us // and w e w ere all m ixed together,
12) [Including] th e d au g h te r o f A ll // w ith h er n ecklace and h e r beauty.
13) T o you, B irt A ll, are d istin ctio n s // yo u see th in g s correctly
14) Y our in b o rn tra its are good // and rise ab ove [the rest]
15) T hey m erg e all to g e th e r// flo w in g from both sides [her m other and father]
16) T hey b e a u tify h er, a b lan k slate // [traits inherited] from a noble peo p le.
17) M ore p re c io u s than m u sk // [from ] a th ick et o f slen d er trees and b ran ch es,
18) W hen it g ro w s to co m p letio n // it attracts the eye.
19) Ju st lik e a sp rin g w ith w a te r // flow ing forth in a channel
20) I f it is in th e h ig h la n d s // on the very to p o f m ountain gardens
21) A lin e (o f irrig atio n ) seen from a far // by all w ho can appreciate it.
2 2 ) T he o n e w ho d esires [to be there] // h is h eart takes him aw ay
23 ) A nd b e h in d th e w ant // his desire [for it] bu ild s up,
24) O r [he goes] to th e irrig ated garden // and sits there, [often] returning
2 5 ) H e n e g le c ts h is ow n land // and is no lo n g er certain o f it.
26) E ven so m e p e o p le are able [to reach it] // since the ro u te is in scrib ed in th e ir m inds;
27) [G od] g av e th em strong v ision // to see exactly w here the do w n p o u r falls
28) B ut [this gard en ] h as h ig h w alls // it is m erely fo r the eyes to see,
29) A p ro p e rty in th e h an d // [of an o w n er w ho] keep s it held tightly.
30) U ntil th e tim e that the rain falls ab u n d an tly // and th e lig h tn in g storm s arrive
31) A nd stars h a v e jo u rn e y e d h ith e r // from w h erever th ey had settled
32) T hen th e sta r L h a y m a r g ath ers [the clo u d s] // L ord o f the H eavy R ain
33) A nd the stars o f H ut and N a ^ c // at the tim e o f the b arley crop.
34) S o m etim es th e clu stered rain -stars // com e around again,
35) H ay m ad [H m u d /M u h am m ad ] is lik e the rain-stars // his g o odness exceeds the expectation.
36) E ven w hen he travels fa r aw ay // and disap p ears fro m sight.
37) B un d les o f a m b e r // ex p en siv e and valu ab le [H m u d ’s beloved]
38) E very o n e is greed y fo r it // and it fetch es a high p rice [the dow ry]
39) T hey u se it fo r m ed icin e // to treat the ill.
4 0 ) [H m ud] said: ‘T h e g o v e rn m en ts’ [the o ld er kin o f his beloved] // have besto w ed n o th in g on
us.
41 ) A b it o f new s // and a d escrip tio n s [o f events] has reach ed us
4 2 ) B ecom ing a w av e // that spreads th ro u g h every land [O ther fam ilies are ag ainst the m arriage
as w ell]
4 3 ) T hey h av e b lo c k e d th e d o u b le-w in g s o f the doors // and closed the m arkets
4 4 ) B ecause th ey can reach it // and have the m eans to do so. [W ealthier fam ilies prep are to
com p ete fo r H m u d ’s beloved]
4 5 ) T hey h av e m o v ed th e ir ships // and fd le d them w ith cargo,
4 6 ) T hey h a v e k ep t w hat is p re cio u s fo r them selves // from am ongst all the th in g s that peo p le
covet. [T h ey refu se all su itors fro m o u tsid e o f the tribe]
4 7 ) T h ey aim th e ir rifles // on th ose w ho can b reak through obstacles
4 8 ) O r th ey co m e on foot o v erland // and strike them b y hand,
4 9 ) S o m etim es fro m the sky // b o m b in g them w ith airplanes
287
50 S teering th e ir cou rse // h ig h in the cirru s clouds.
51 T hey tell him : G o fo rw ard // and look around the b o u n d aries betw een the tribes
52 A t W ad i D lh aw z and B rit // and the tw o m o u n tain s o f F artayn
53 T he b e a sts o f b u rd en , all lo aded // are h alte d there and h av e b een settled in tig h t row s.
54 T h eir o w n ers u n lo ad th em // to the ac co m p a n im en t o f drum s and cym bals
55 Each o n e lifted u p his voice in b e au ty // so as to b e trad in g w ords
56 T he m en w orked to m ak e // an e ch o in the h earts o f the others
57 ‘T o p lo u g h th e la n d ,’ // after she has left h e r m o th e r’s lap.
58 In the m o rn in g [the land] g ro w s // w ith date-p alm s and ripened crops,
59 T h e y ’ve b u ilt a larg e h o u se th ere // all in the w ink o f an eye
60 W ith sev en stories // n o t to m en tio n a top flo o r open to the sky.
61 H e p a y s o u t th o u san d s // and fin ish es o ff the p aperw ork
62 To raise h is este e m in th e ey es o f oth ers / / j u s t as h e w ishes to b e seen.
63 T he o n e w ho raised h e r // staying up at n ig h t and h o ld in g her in h e r lap
64 T akes tw ic e th e gifts // m o re than w hat suffices,
65 As do th e b ro th ers o f her m o th er // and fa th er and h er n e ar relations.
66 H m ud and S a cId // and th e fam ily o f Y asir
67 T hey said th at th e y ’ll th in k [about the p ro p o se d m arriage] // if he has enticed them
68 S ince am o n g st them are ones w ho are n eed y // and those bearing debts,
69 S aying: “A fterw ard s // n o one w ill co m e after us [looking fo r p ay m en t o f th e ir debts].
70 H er p e o p le w ere c o n v in ced // and he earn ed th eir satisfaction,
71 B ut B it A m d ed // are o n es w ho lik e to p u t peo p le th ro u g h trouble
72 W hen th ey b an d to g e th e r // they en ter in to the flam es to g eth e r
73 T hey said: “A stran g er // h as co m e to us in o u r open squares,
74 H e ’ll b e n e fit b y n o th in g // if he sh o u ld com m it any errors against us
75 U nless h e relen ts // and ch an ges h is tune
76 A nd afterw ard s w ith d raw s his suit // and returns to his native land
77 Instead o f b u rd en in g h im se lf // and b earin g the disg race on his shoulders.
78 H e can see that the n arro w s // are clo sed on eith er side
79 A nd that th e dark, b lack sea // is shut now and forever;
80 O ne sh o u ld haul [his ship] up // fro m the sea and take it to shelter.
288
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Arabic in Yemen

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Bedouins Without Arabic: Language, Poetry and the Mahra of

Samuel Joseph Liebhaber

A .B . (Dartmouth College) 1996

A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the

All rights reserved.

ProQuest Information and Learning Company

S am uel Jo sep h L ieb h ab er

D o cto r o f P h ilo so p h y in N e ar E astern S tudies

U n iv ersity o f C alifo rn ia, B erkeley

P ro fesso r M a rg a re t L arkin, C hair

T he M ah ri lan g u ag e o f S o u th east Y em en is one o f the few rem ain in g in d ig en o u s

th a t it has ro u g h ly 100,000 sp eakers and is by m o st m easures a vital language. H ow ever, as

pav ed ro ad s, c e ll p h o n es and n atio n al g o v ern an ce h av e m ad e th e ir w ay to al-M ah ra, M ahri

th e ir ow n, p a rtic u la rizin g o ral culture.

th e prim ary m o d e o f co m m u n ic a tin g social order. F o rm al structure, m u sical a cco m p an im en t and

in terp erso n al netw orks.

T h e seco n d o b je c tiv e o f th is d issertatio n is to describ e M ahri p o etics in th e p o st­

co n trib u tio n o f th e “N ew S c h o o l” has been the in v en tio n o f a w riting system fo r th e M ahri

D ak o n , p resen ted in its en tirety in this dissertation.

B etw een th e se tw o ap p roaches, I ho p e to p ro v id e a h o listic acco u n tin g o f M ah ri poetry

co rp u s o f 4 5 + p o em s w ill lay th e gro u n d w o rk fo r fu tu re analysis o f th e M ahri lan g u ag e and the

o ral cu ltu re o f S o u th ern A rabia.

(P ro fesso r M arg aret L arkin, C hair)

Map of Yemen and al-Mahra...................................................................................................... iv

Key to Transcriptions in Arabic and Mahri............................................................................v

Chapter 1: L in g u istic O v erv iew o f the M ahri L a n g u a g e ........................................................ 1-32

I. T h e M o d e m S outh A rabian L anguages - B ackground,

Chapter 2: In te rse c tio n s o f M ahri and A r a b ic .................................................................................... 33-78

Chapter 3: T ra d itio n a l M ahri P oetics In P ractice - T he T ripartite B ranch ............................. 79-122

I. D e fin itio n o f th e T erm s

Chapter 4: T rad itio n al M ahri Poetry In P ractice - T he B ipartite B r a n c h ................................123-169

I. F u n d am en tals o f B ipartite V erse

I. L y ric P o etry and M o d ern ity

Chapter 6: T he Diw an o f H ag g D akon 225-261

I. T rad itio n and the Individual

Appendix A: M ah ri P ro so d y an d B evond , 265-273

Appendix B: T h e C o m p le te Diwan o f H agg D akon , 274-282

Appendix C: O th e r P o em s C ited in D issertation .283-288

From “Yemen Maps: Country Maps (Political) CIA 1991,”

A rab ic M ahri (IPA )

A rab ian in d ig e n o u s m in o rity c o n tex tu alized in an A rab republic?

T h ese are so m e o f th e q u e stio n s th at led m e to S o u th east Y em en w here I conducted

M u ir Jo h n sto n e , M arie-C lau d e S im eo n e-S en elle, A n to in e L onnet, B ertram T h o m as and others.

stretch b etw een H ad ram aw t and O m an.

I h o p e th is d issertatio n w ill reso lv e tw o ou tstan d in g issues. T he first is to p ro v id e a survey

T im e is a lim itin g fa c to r on a stu dy o f this nature since the M o d em South A rabian (M SA )

W h ile co g n izan t o f th e d an gers in h eren t in cate g o riz in g d iscourse, I ho p e to describ e M ahri

celeb ratio n s o f al-M ahra.

o f w hat I fo u n d to b e truly ex h ilaratin g in m y field w o rk w as in w itnessing shifts in style and

“national c u ltu re .” A resp o n se to this pressu re has b e en fo rm u lated by the “N ew S ch o o l,” a

A rabic p restig e-cu ltu re.

M y seco n d lin e o f in q u iry co n ce rn s th e in flu e n ce o f A rabic lan g u ag e id e o lo g ie s on the

o f classical and m ed iev al A rab ic scholarship.

years, and in p articu lar, to th e c o n trib u tio n o f the “N ew S ch o o l” in fo rm u latin g a n ew p o etic

U n ificatio n in 1 9 9 0 ,1 w ill ex p lo re h o w M ahri po etry and song has been p a ck ag ed fo r national

co n su m p tio n , d esp ite the p ro b le m a tic o f in co rp o ratin g a n o n -A rab ic substrate in to th e prestig e

cu ltu re o f the m o d e m Y em eni state.

M ahri p o e tic s as o u r b aselin e, w e can see ho w H a g g ’s b rie f e n co u n te r w ith w riting has

p ro fo u n d ly altered p o etic g ram m ar, structure and them es in h is Diwan. F ro m a p ractical

C E can be said fo r A rabic p o etry in the earliest c en tu ries o f its attestation.

found in al-G h ay d h a, since th e tw o deep ly in fo rm the n atu re o f the m aterial th at I c o llected . I

cannot w rite m y se lf out o f th e d ata since m uch o f it w as d eterm in ed b y the fact th at I, as an

flav o r to w hat fo llo w s and g ive a sense o f ch ro n o lo g y to the p ro je ct as a w hole.

A t th e start o f th e p ro ject, I sp en t six w eeks in S a n a ’a w aiting fo r m y resid e n ce p e rm it

T h e seco n d o b je c tiv e o f th is d issertatio n is to describ e M ahri p o etics in th e p o st