Arib al-Mamuniyya

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Arib al-Mamuniyya ( Arabic عريب المأمونية, DMG ʿArīb al-Maʾmūnīya ; * around 790 ; † around 880 probably in Baghdad ) was a singing girl ( qaina ) and one of the most important poets of the Islamic world of the 9th century.

Live and act

Although there were suspicions (encouraged by herself) that Arib was a descendant of the Barmakids , this cannot be proven. What is certain is that she appeared as a singing slave in Baghdad during the reign of Harun ar- Rashid. Famous singers of their time, such as Ishaq al-Mawsili , encouraged and admired them. In addition to her skills as a singer, poet and courtesan, she was also known for her culinary art, which was a necessary part of the art of seduction at the time. As a singing slave, she was not free, but still enjoyed the privilege of being able to choose her clients and thus mostly lovers. Their society was so expensive that several members of the upper class are said to have ruined themselves for them. Caliph Abdallah al-Ma'mun eventually acquired it for a substantial sum and further promoted her career. Among other things, she performed the office of the caliph's drinking companion, which was otherwise reserved exclusively for men. Until his death, Abdallah al-Ma'mun had a love-hate relationship with Arib, as she turned down his marriage proposal in favor of an unknown stranger. Some of the few lines she knows are dedicated to this lover (see below).

At the end of her life, Arib boasted of having slept with eight different caliphs. She died revered at the age of about 90.

Quotes

“The man I love has blue eyes and auburn hair. My heart is crazy about him and I am not ashamed. Remove it from my view, then its image remains hidden in me.
My lover is beautiful as the moon, but the moon dies with the morning. But he stays in the first light of day. My heart is crazy about him and I am not ashamed. "

"For you, betrayal is a virtue, you have many faces and ten tongues. I am amazed that my heart still clings to you, despite everything you have done to me."

- Arib. Poems.

Afterlife

Arib al-Mamuniyya is listed in various chronicles, including in the most important Arabic work on music and poetry, the Kitāb al-Aghānī by Abū l- Faraj al-Isfahānī . Abdallah ibn-al-Mu'tazz (861–908), son of a later caliph, wrote his own book about them. Little of her own life's work survived.

In 2008 Piper-Verlag published the novel The Queen of the Silk Road by Agnes Imhof, which is about the life of Arib.

literature

  • Abdullah al-Udhari: Classical Poems by Arab Women. A Bilingual Anthology . London: Saqui Books 1999. ISBN 0-86356-047-4
  • Agnes Imhof: 'Traditio vel Aemulatio? The Singing Contest of Sāmarrā. Expression of a Medieval Culture of Competition ' . In: Islam . Vol. 90, 2013. pp. 1-20 pdf
  • James E. Montogomery: The Place of Competition: Arib and Ulayya, Sisters in Song , Leuven 2004. (Orientalensia Lovanensia Analecta. 135.) pp. 63-81. Full text

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Kathryn A. Hain: Concubines and Courtesans: Women and Slavery in Islamic History . Ed .: Matthew S. Gordon. Oxford University Press, 2017, pp. 29, 64 .
  2. ↑ 'Classical Poems by Arab Women. A Bilingual Anthology. Ed. and transl. by Abdullah al-Udhari. London: Saqi Books 1999. pp. 140 f.
  3. ↑ Book Review , accessed January 29, 2018.
personal data
SURNAME Arib al-Mamuniyya
ALTERNATIVE NAMES ʿArīb al-Maʾmūnīya; Arib qaina
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Singing girl (qaina) and poet
DATE OF BIRTH around 790
DATE OF DEATH around 880
Place of death Baghdad