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Muwashshah

January 09, 2023

Muwashshah (Arabic: موشح muwaššaḥ  literally means "girdled" in Classical Arabic; plural muwaššaḥāt موشحات or tawāšīḥ تواشيح) is the name for both an Arabic poetic form and a secular musical genre. The poetic form consists of a multi-lined strophic verse poem written in classical Arabic, usually consisting of five stanzas, alternating with a refrain with a running rhyme. It was customary to open with one or two lines which matched the second part of the poem in rhyme and meter; in North Africa poets ignore the strict rules of Arabic meter while the poets in the East follow them. The musical genre of the same name uses muwaššaḥ texts as lyrics, still in classical Arabic.[1] This tradition can take two forms: the waṣla of Aleppo and the Andalusi nubah of the western part of the Arab world.

History

While the qasida and the maqama were adapted from the Mashreq, strophic poetry is the only form of Andalusi literature known to have its origins in the Iberian Peninsula.[2] Andalusi strophic poetry exists in two forms: the muwaššaḥ: a more complex version in Standard Arabic with the exception of the concluding couplet, or the kharja, and zajal: a simpler form entirely in vernacular Arabic.[2] The earliest known muwaššaḥs date back to the eleventh century.[2]

It was exported to the east, and celebrated there by figures such as Ibn Sanāʾ al-Mulk [ar] and Ibn Dihya.[2] The corpus of muwaššaḥs is formed by pieces in Hebrew and in Arabic.[2] Tova Rosen describes the muwaššaḥ as "a product and a microcosm of the cultural conditions particular to al-Andalus.[2] The linguistic interplay between the standard written languages—Arabic and Hebrew—and the oral forms—Andalusi vernacular Arabic, Romance, and Mozarabic—reflect the fluidity and diversity of the linguistic landscape of al-Andalus.[2]

The earliest known source on the muwashshah is Ibn Bassam’s Dhakhīra fī mahāsin ahl al-Jazīra. He ascribes the invention of the muwashshah to the 10th century blind poet Muhammad Mahmud al-Qabri or Ibn ‘Abd Rabbih.[2]: 170 Nonetheless, there are no extant muwashshah poems attributed to these authors.[3]: 563 

The poetic form

Examples of muwaššaḥ poetry start to appear as early as the 9th or 10th century. It is believed to come from the Arabic roots wšaḥ (وشح) which means any thing that a woman might wear on her neck from a necklace to a scarf, and the verb Tawašḥ means to wear.[4][5] Some relate it to the word for a type of double-banded ornamental belt, the wišaḥ, which also means a scarf in Arabic.[4] The underlying idea is that, as there is a single rhyme running through the refrain of each stanza, the stanzas are like objects hung from a belt.

Typically, Arabic poetry has a single meter and rhyme across the poem and is structured according to couplets, not strophes. The muwashah however, is generally divided into five stanzas with a complex rhyme scheme. Each stanza consisted of aghsan (sing: ghusn), lines with a rhyme particular to that strophe and asmat (sing: simt), lines with a rhyme shared by the rest of the poem.[3]: 564  Conventionally, the muwashshah opened with a matla (‘the beginning’) and closed with a kharja (‘exit’). The kharja was in a vernacular language such as colloquial Arabic or Romance. It often was voiced by a different poetic speaker.[2]: 168 

Meter

The meter of the muwashah can be one of the classical meters defined by al-Khalil or the poet can devise a new meter.[2]: 167–168  This subject is debated amongst scholars, some of whom argue for the use of a Romance metrical system based on syllable stress.[3]: 565 

Themes

Typical themes for a muwashah include love, panegyric, and wine. Some muwashshah poems are devoted to a single theme while others combine multiple themes. One common thematic structure is love, followed by panegyric, and then love.[2]: 169  The kharja also plays a role in elaborating the poem’s theme. At the end of a love poem, the kharja might be voiced by the beloved.[3]: 564  The eastern muwashshah tradition includes themes such as elegy and invective.[6] Ibn al-Arabi and Ibn al-Sabbagh composed esoteric muwashshahs that used wine and love as allegories for divine yearning.[2]: 175 

Hebrew muwashshah

An important number of the muwashshah poems written in al-Andalus were composed in Hebrew. Hebrew muwashshah authors maintained the linguistically distinct kharja of the Arabic muwashshah and often included kharjas written in colloquial Arabic. Because of its strophic structure, it was similar to some Hebrew liturgical poetry.[2]: 166  Starting in the 11th century, the Hebrew muwashshah was also used for religious purposes. The first extant Hebrew muwashshahs are attributed to Samuel Ibn Nagrila.[2]: 171  Other prominent Hebrew muwashshah authors include Judah Halevi and Joseph ibn Tzaddik.[2]: 173  The first author to compose a devotional muwashshah was Ibn Gabirol, about two centuries prior to the development of religious muwashshah poetry in Arabic. He was followed in this tradition by Moses Ibn Ezra, Abraham Ibn Ezra, and Judah Halevi among others. The poems were designed for use in prayer services and were elaborated themes of particular benedictions.[2]: 175  Unlike other Hebrew muwashshahs, the kharja of a devotional muwashshah was in Hebrew.[2]: 174 

The musical genre

Musically, the ensemble consists of oud (lute), kamanja (spike fiddle), qanun (box zither), darabukkah (goblet drum), and daf (tambourine): the players of these instruments often double as a choir. The soloist performs only a few chosen lines of the selected text. In Aleppo multiple maqam rows (scales) and up to three awzān (rhythms) are used and modulation to neighboring maqamat was possible during the B section[clarification needed]. Until modernization it was typical to present a complete waslah, or up to eight successive muwaššaḥ including an instrumental introduction (sama'i or bashraf).[7] It may end with a longa. Famous Muwashshah songs still played in the Arab World today include Lamma Bada Yatathanna and Jadaka al-Ghaithu.

Famous poets

Famous muwashshahs

See also

References

Citations
  1. ^ Touma 1996, p. 71.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Rosen, Tova (2000-08-31), "The muwashshah", The Literature of Al-Andalus, Cambridge University Press, pp. 163–189, doi:10.1017/chol9780521471596.010, ISBN 978-0-521-47159-6, retrieved 2021-06-16
  3. ^ a b c d Scott Meisami, Julie; Starkey, Paul, eds. (1998). Encyclopedia of Arabic Literature. Routledge.
  4. ^ a b Lane, Edward (1893). An Arabic-English Lexicon: Derived From the Best and the Most Copious Eastern Sources. Williams and Norgate. p. 2943.
  5. ^ Manzur, Ibn. Lisan Al-Arab. Vol. 2. p. 632.
  6. ^ Özkan, Hakan (2021). "Muwashshaḥ". Encyclopedia of Islam. 3. doi:10.1163/1573-3912.
  7. ^ Touma 1996, p. 83.
Bibliography
  • Benbabaali, Saadane, 1987, Poétique du muwashshah dans l'Occident musulman médiéval, thèse de 3e cycle, sous la direction de R. Arié, Paris 3, 1987.
  • Benbabaali, Saadane "La plume, la voix et le plectre, avec Beihdja Rahal, Barzakh, Alger, Déc. 2008.
  • Benbabaali, Saadane Bahdjat al-Nufûs fî Bahâ'i Djannât al-Andalus (l'Amour, la femme et les jardins dans la poésie andalouse) ANEP, Alger,2010
  • Corriente, Federico (1997). Poesía dialectal árabe y romance en Alandalús: cejeles y xarajat de muwassahat. Madrid: Gredos. ISBN 84-249-1887-8.
  • Emery, Ed (2006). Muwashshah: proceedings of the Conference on Arabic and Hebrew Strophic Poetry and its Romance Parallels, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), London, 8–10 October 2004. London: RN Books.
  • Jones, Alan (1987). Romance Kharjas in Andalusian Arabic Muwassah poetry: a palaeographic analysis. London: Ithaca. ISBN 0-86372-085-4.
  • Jones, Alan & Hitchcock, Richard (1991). Studies on the Muwassah and the Kharja: proceedings of the Exeter international colloquium. Reading: Published by Ithaca for the Board of the Faculty of Oriental Studies, Oxford University. ISBN 0-86372-150-8.
  • Touma, Habib Hassan (1996). The Music of the Arabs, trans. Laurie Schwartz. Portland, Oregon: Amadeus Press. ISBN 0-931340-88-8.
  • Zwartjes, Otto (1997). Love songs from al-Andalus: history, structure, and meaning of the kharja. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 90-04-10694-4.
  • Zwartjes, Otto & Heijkoop, Henk (2004). Muwassah, zajal, kharja: bibliography of eleven centuries of strophic poetry and music from al-Andalus and their influence on East and West. Leiden-Boston: Brill. ISBN 90-04-13822-6.

January 09, 2023
muwashshah, arabic, موشح, muwaššaḥ, literally, means, girdled, classical, arabic, plural, muwaššaḥāt, موشحات, tawāšīḥ, تواشيح, name, both, arabic, poetic, form, secular, musical, genre, poetic, form, consists, multi, lined, strophic, verse, poem, written, clas. Muwashshah Arabic موشح muwassaḥ literally means girdled in Classical Arabic plural muwassaḥat موشحات or tawasiḥ تواشيح is the name for both an Arabic poetic form and a secular musical genre The poetic form consists of a multi lined strophic verse poem written in classical Arabic usually consisting of five stanzas alternating with a refrain with a running rhyme It was customary to open with one or two lines which matched the second part of the poem in rhyme and meter in North Africa poets ignore the strict rules of Arabic meter while the poets in the East follow them The musical genre of the same name uses muwassaḥ texts as lyrics still in classical Arabic 1 This tradition can take two forms the waṣla of Aleppo and the Andalusi nubah of the western part of the Arab world Contents 1 History 2 The poetic form 3 Meter 4 Themes 5 Hebrew muwashshah 6 The musical genre 7 Famous poets 8 Famous muwashshahs 9 See also 10 ReferencesHistory EditWhile the qasida and the maqama were adapted from the Mashreq strophic poetry is the only form of Andalusi literature known to have its origins in the Iberian Peninsula 2 Andalusi strophic poetry exists in two forms the muwassaḥ a more complex version in Standard Arabic with the exception of the concluding couplet or the kharja and zajal a simpler form entirely in vernacular Arabic 2 The earliest known muwassaḥs date back to the eleventh century 2 It was exported to the east and celebrated there by figures such as Ibn Sanaʾ al Mulk ar and Ibn Dihya 2 The corpus of muwassaḥs is formed by pieces in Hebrew and in Arabic 2 Tova Rosen describes the muwassaḥ as a product and a microcosm of the cultural conditions particular to al Andalus 2 The linguistic interplay between the standard written languages Arabic and Hebrew and the oral forms Andalusi vernacular Arabic Romance and Mozarabic reflect the fluidity and diversity of the linguistic landscape of al Andalus 2 The earliest known source on the muwashshah is Ibn Bassam s Dhakhira fi mahasin ahl al Jazira He ascribes the invention of the muwashshah to the 10th century blind poet Muhammad Mahmud al Qabri or Ibn Abd Rabbih 2 170 Nonetheless there are no extant muwashshah poems attributed to these authors 3 563 The poetic form EditExamples of muwassaḥ poetry start to appear as early as the 9th or 10th century It is believed to come from the Arabic roots wsaḥ وشح which means any thing that a woman might wear on her neck from a necklace to a scarf and the verb Tawasḥ means to wear 4 5 Some relate it to the word for a type of double banded ornamental belt the wisaḥ which also means a scarf in Arabic 4 The underlying idea is that as there is a single rhyme running through the refrain of each stanza the stanzas are like objects hung from a belt Typically Arabic poetry has a single meter and rhyme across the poem and is structured according to couplets not strophes The muwashah however is generally divided into five stanzas with a complex rhyme scheme Each stanza consisted of aghsan sing ghusn lines with a rhyme particular to that strophe and asmat sing simt lines with a rhyme shared by the rest of the poem 3 564 Conventionally the muwashshah opened with a matla the beginning and closed with a kharja exit The kharja was in a vernacular language such as colloquial Arabic or Romance It often was voiced by a different poetic speaker 2 168 Meter EditThe meter of the muwashah can be one of the classical meters defined by al Khalil or the poet can devise a new meter 2 167 168 This subject is debated amongst scholars some of whom argue for the use of a Romance metrical system based on syllable stress 3 565 Themes EditTypical themes for a muwashah include love panegyric and wine Some muwashshah poems are devoted to a single theme while others combine multiple themes One common thematic structure is love followed by panegyric and then love 2 169 The kharja also plays a role in elaborating the poem s theme At the end of a love poem the kharja might be voiced by the beloved 3 564 The eastern muwashshah tradition includes themes such as elegy and invective 6 Ibn al Arabi and Ibn al Sabbagh composed esoteric muwashshahs that used wine and love as allegories for divine yearning 2 175 Hebrew muwashshah EditAn important number of the muwashshah poems written in al Andalus were composed in Hebrew Hebrew muwashshah authors maintained the linguistically distinct kharja of the Arabic muwashshah and often included kharjas written in colloquial Arabic Because of its strophic structure it was similar to some Hebrew liturgical poetry 2 166 Starting in the 11th century the Hebrew muwashshah was also used for religious purposes The first extant Hebrew muwashshahs are attributed to Samuel Ibn Nagrila 2 171 Other prominent Hebrew muwashshah authors include Judah Halevi and Joseph ibn Tzaddik 2 173 The first author to compose a devotional muwashshah was Ibn Gabirol about two centuries prior to the development of religious muwashshah poetry in Arabic He was followed in this tradition by Moses Ibn Ezra Abraham Ibn Ezra and Judah Halevi among others The poems were designed for use in prayer services and were elaborated themes of particular benedictions 2 175 Unlike other Hebrew muwashshahs the kharja of a devotional muwashshah was in Hebrew 2 174 The musical genre EditMusically the ensemble consists of oud lute kamanja spike fiddle qanun box zither darabukkah goblet drum and daf tambourine the players of these instruments often double as a choir The soloist performs only a few chosen lines of the selected text In Aleppo multiple maqam rows scales and up to three awzan rhythms are used and modulation to neighboring maqamat was possible during the B section clarification needed Until modernization it was typical to present a complete waslah or up to eight successive muwassaḥ including an instrumental introduction sama i or bashraf 7 It may end with a longa Famous Muwashshah songs still played in the Arab World today include Lamma Bada Yatathanna and Jadaka al Ghaithu Famous poets EditAl Tutili Avempace Avenzoar Ibn al Khatib Ibn Baqi Ibn ZamrakFamous muwashshahs Edit Lamma Bada Yatathanna لما بدا يتثنى Jadaka al Ghaithu جادك الغيث See also EditAljamiado The kharja is the final stanza of a muwassaḥ of which a few are in the Mozarabic language and therefore the first attesting of an Iberian Romance language and first written examples of the Castilian language Zajal Fasil Malouf Emilio Garcia Gomez James T MonroeReferences EditCitations Touma 1996 p 71 sfn error no target CITEREFTouma1996 help a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Rosen Tova 2000 08 31 The muwashshah The Literature of Al Andalus Cambridge University Press pp 163 189 doi 10 1017 chol9780521471596 010 ISBN 978 0 521 47159 6 retrieved 2021 06 16 a b c d Scott Meisami Julie Starkey Paul eds 1998 Encyclopedia of Arabic Literature Routledge a b Lane Edward 1893 An Arabic English Lexicon Derived From the Best and the Most Copious Eastern Sources Williams and Norgate p 2943 Manzur Ibn Lisan Al Arab Vol 2 p 632 Ozkan Hakan 2021 Muwashshaḥ Encyclopedia of Islam 3 doi 10 1163 1573 3912 Touma 1996 p 83 sfn error no target CITEREFTouma1996 help BibliographyBenbabaali Saadane 1987 Poetique du muwashshah dans l Occident musulman medieval these de 3e cycle sous la direction de R Arie Paris 3 1987 Benbabaali Saadane La plume la voix et le plectre avec Beihdja Rahal Barzakh Alger Dec 2008 Benbabaali Saadane Bahdjat al Nufus fi Baha i Djannat al Andalus l Amour la femme et les jardins dans la poesie andalouse ANEP Alger 2010 Corriente Federico 1997 Poesia dialectal arabe y romance en Alandalus cejeles y xarajat de muwassahat Madrid Gredos ISBN 84 249 1887 8 Emery Ed 2006 Muwashshah proceedings of the Conference on Arabic and Hebrew Strophic Poetry and its Romance Parallels School of Oriental and African Studies SOAS London 8 10 October 2004 London RN Books Jones Alan 1987 Romance Kharjas in Andalusian Arabic Muwassah poetry a palaeographic analysis London Ithaca ISBN 0 86372 085 4 Jones Alan amp Hitchcock Richard 1991 Studies on the Muwassah and the Kharja proceedings of the Exeter international colloquium Reading Published by Ithaca for the Board of the Faculty of Oriental Studies Oxford University ISBN 0 86372 150 8 Touma Habib Hassan 1996 The Music of the Arabs trans Laurie Schwartz Portland Oregon Amadeus Press ISBN 0 931340 88 8 Zwartjes Otto 1997 Love songs from al Andalus history structure and meaning of the kharja Leiden Brill ISBN 90 04 10694 4 Zwartjes Otto amp Heijkoop Henk 2004 Muwassah zajal kharja bibliography of eleven centuries of strophic poetry and music from al Andalus and their influence on East and West Leiden Boston Brill ISBN 90 04 13822 6 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Muwashshah amp oldid 1102260926, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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