Zajhal

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Pronunciation of the word "Zaǧal"

The Zajal (from Arabic زجل, DMG Zaǧal 'to vote  (loudly)' or 'stir your spirits'; Spanish zéjel , French zadjal , Catalan zagal , Italian zaggial , English zajal ) is a Hispano- Arabic , strophic form of poetry and song , which emerged from the Muwaschschah and which was invented in the Muslim al-Ándalus . Linguistically, the Zadschal is entirely in dialect Arabic or Ibero-Roman colloquial language.

Nowadays the tradition of the Arabic zajal is still cultivated as an impromptu poetry in the Levantine region, especially in Lebanon , where the zajalī enjoy high recognition and popularity.

Poetic structure

The Zajal is a variant of the Muwaschschah . While the muwashshah usually comprises five to seven stanzas, the number of stanzas of the zajal is unlimited.

Scheme of the Muwashshah

The rhyme scheme of the Muwashschah from which the Zajjal emerged is in its simplest form:

aa "Qufl"
bbb aa “Bayt” (bbb) and “Qufl” aa
ccc aa
... ..
xxx AA        last Qufl = the Chardscha

The final verses AA of the last stanza are called Chardscha . The Chardscha is in Arabic dialect or even written in Mozarabic language , that is, in an Ibero-Romanic dialect , but written with Arabic characters ( Aljamiado ). Except for the Chardscha, a Muwashschah is written in Arabic or Hebrew standard language.

Scheme of Zajal

The rhyme scheme of Zadschal is in its simplest form:

aa «matla» or prelude
bbb a "mudanzas" (bbb) and "vuelta" a
ccc a «mudanzas» (ccc) and «vuelta» a
...
xxx a «mudanzas» (xxx) and «vuelta» a

The Zadschal consists of a pair rhyme (aa) and several three-line stanzas with pair rhymes (bbb ccc etc.), called "mudanzas", to each of which a fourth verse ("la vuelta") that rhymes with (a) is appended.

Some zajals have a refrain (aa) that is repeated after each stanza.

In contrast to the Muwaschschah, the entire Zajal is composed in dialectal Arabic or Romance colloquial language.

The only literary motif of the Zadschal is love, which is sung about in a popular tone.

The Dīwān , a collection of songs by the Arab-Andalusian poet Ibn Quzman from Córdoba (1078–1160), found in Saint Petersburg in 1881 , is the most extensive compilation of Zajal poems.

Example of a Castilian zajal

"Byuo [Vivo] ledo con razon / amigos toda sason" - Cancionero de Baena , BnF ms. Esp. 37, folio 20v , (dating: 1430–1445) - on Gallica

The genre of zadschal , invented by Arab poets in the Muslim al-Ándalus, was continued by Spanish and Portuguese poets. Here is an example from the Cancionero de Baena (15th century), the extensive collection of songs by the Sephardic Marran Juan Alfonso de Baena (around 1375- around 1434), poet and collector.

The example “Vivo ledo con razón” is written in old Spanish, Castilian colloquial language and is traditionally attributed to the work of Alfonso Álvarez de Villasandino , a song poet from the 14th / 15th centuries. Century. Linguistically, there is a Galician-Portuguese influence, for example “desfecha” instead of Castilian “deshecha”, “fizo” instead of “hizo”.

The illustrated manuscript introduces the Zajal “Vivo ledo con razón”, (left column, middle, in red letters) as follows:

"Desfecha d'esta cantiga que fizo Alfonso Alvarez [de Villasandino]"

"Final poem of the Cantiga compositions, which Alfonso Alvarez [de Villasandino] composed."

- Cancionero de Baena , BnF, ms Esp 37, folio 20v.

Vivo ledo con razón, (a)
amigos, toda sazón. (a)

Vivo ledo e sin pesar, (b)
pues amor me fizo amar (b)
a la que podré llamar (b)
más bella de cuantas son. (a)

Vivo ledo y viviré, (c)
pues de amor alcancé (c)
que serviré a la que sé (c)
que me dará galardón. (a)

...

I am right to live happily,
friends, in every season.

I live happily and without sorrow,
because love made me love that
I can say
is more beautiful than many.

I live happily and will live
Because I have achieved love
That I will serve those who I know,
Who will reward me.

Influence of the zajal on other song and poem forms

The American musicologist Ned Sublette quotes the Spanish Romanist Ramón Menéndez Pidal and draws a breathtaking connection between the two Arabic song and poem forms invented in al-Ándalus in the 11th century, Muwaschschah and Zaǧal , via Arabic-Andalusian " nawba " "nouba music ", old-Galician-Portuguese cantigas , the trobador lyric and the Castilian villancicos up to the Cuban bolero , son montuno and mambo range (Spanish conquistadors in Cuba):

" The verse of the zajal was sung by a solo singer, and the refrain was sung by the chorus. With this easily understood verse form, a traveling juglar could get a crowd to work with him. "
( The verses of Zajal were sung by a solo singer and the refrain by a choir. With this easy-to-understand metric form, the minstrel was able to get the crowd to work with him. )

The influence of the zadschal on other Romance poetry and music forms, especially on trobador poetry , remains controversial in literature.

Lebanese zajal

The Lebanese Zajal is a form declaimed in the Lebanese dialect. The earliest Zajalī in today's Lebanon was probably the Bishop Gabriel Al-Qla'i Al-Hafadi (1440–1516), although some scholars place the beginnings of Zajal two centuries earlier and with the poet Suleiman Al-Ashluhi (1270–1335) and some of his contemporaries. Like them, many of the early zajali were clergy. Zajal advanced to an extremely popular art form in the 19th century, when the numerous poets contributed to a refinement in content and form.

The form of the modern Lebanese Zaǧalevening usually follows the sequence

  • Debate or verbal duel between two or more poets in the qassida form (an ode ) followed by
  • Debates in M'anna and Qerradi forms followed by
  • Love recitation in the Ghazal - shape and ultimately often concluded with
  • a love lament Shruqi -form.

The whole thing is accompanied by a choir with tambourines and other percussion instruments.

The regional differences in the appreciation of Zajal in Lebanon reflect a remarkable extent to the ethnic and religious division. On the one hand, communities like Sunnis , Greek Orthodox or Armenians who inhabit the cities have relatively little affinity for Zaǧal and have produced only a few Zaǧalī. On the other hand, Maronites , Druze or Shiites who inhabit the Lebanese mountains and rural areas have produced a disproportionately large number of zajalī in the centuries-long development of the zajal. This regional orientation is also reflected in the imagery of the Zaǧal, which reflects the bucolic and sensual sensitivities of the rural landscape as well as the interests of urban intellectuals. However, many poets have been able to transcend these fluid boundaries and compose verses that expressively tackle almost the full spectrum of human concerns.

literature

  • Henk Heijkoop and Otto Zwartjes: Muwassah, Zajal, Kharja: Bibliography of strophic poetry and music from al-Andalus and their influence in East and West . Brill, Leiden 2004, ISBN 90-04-13822-6 ( excerpts in the Google book search).
  • Wilhelm Hoenerbach , H. Ritter: New materials for the Zacal. 1. Ibn Quzman. In: Oriens. Volume 3, No. 2, October 31, 1950, pp. 266-315.
  • Wilhelm Hoenerbach, H. Ritter: New materials for the Zacal. 2. Mudgalis. In: Oriens. Volume 5, No. 2, December 31, 1952, pp. 269-301.
  • Ramón Menéndez Pidal: Poesía árabe y poesía europea. 4th edition. Espasa-Calpe, Madrid 1955, pp. 13-78.
  • Klaus Heger: The Hargas published so far and their interpretations . Niemeyer, Tübingen 1960, pp. 5-13.
  • Pierre Le Gentil : A propos de la strophe zéjelesque. In: Revue des langues romanes. 70, 1949, pp. 119-134.
  • Pierre Le Gentil: Le virelai et le villancico. The problem of origins arabes. Société d'Editions "Les Belles Lettres", Paris 1954; Second chapter Le Zadjal. Pp. 13-74.
  • Pierre Le Gentil: La strophe zadjalesque, les khardjas et leproblemème des origines du lyrisme roman (premier article). In: Romania. Volume 84, No. 333, 1963, pp. 1-27; First part - on Persée.
  • Pierre Le Gentil: La strophe zadjalesque, les khardjas et leproblemème des origines du lyrisme roman (deuxième article). In: Romania. Volume 84, No. 334, 1963, pp. 209-250; Second part - on Persée.
  • Reinhold Kontzi : Two Romance songs from Islamic Spain. (Two Mozarabic Harǧas). In: Romania cantat. Dedicated to Gerhard Rohlfs on the occasion of his 85th birthday. Volume II: Interpretations. Narr, Tübingen 1980, ISBN 3-87808-509-5 , p. 307. pp. 305-318. in Google Book Search.
  • James T. Monroe: Which Came First, the Zagal or the Muwass'a? Some evidence for the oral origin of Hispano-Arabic strophic poetry. In: Oral Tradition. 4 / 1-2, 1989, pp. 38-64. Full text pdf
  • Zajal and Muwashshaha: Hispano-arabic Poetry and the Romance tradition. In: Salma Khadra Jayyusi, Manuela Marín (Ed.): The Legacy of Muslim Spain. Brill, Leiden 1992, ISBN 90-04-09599-3 . (Excerpts) limited preview in Google Book search
  • Gyual Veber: Considerations on the origin of the Zagal structure. In: Studia Musicologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae. XXI, 1979, pp. 267-276.
  • Otto Zwartjes: Love Songs from al-Andalus. History, Structure and Meaning of the Kharja (Medieval Iberian Peninsula). Brill, Leiden 1997, ISBN 90-04-10694-4 .

Web links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Pierre Le Gentil : La strophe zadjalesque, les khardjas et leproblemème des origines du lyrisme roman (premier article). In: Romania. Volume 84, No. 333, 1963, pp. 1-27; First part , p. 6 - on Persée.
  2. ↑ Reinhold Kontzi : Two Romance songs from Islamic Spain. (Two Mozarabic Harǧas). In: Romania cantat. Dedicated to Gerhard Rohlfs on the occasion of his 85th birthday. Volume II: Interpretations. Narr, Tübingen 1980, ISBN 3-87808-509-5 , p. 307. pp. 305-318. in Google Book Search.
  3. ↑ Pierre Le Gentil: La strophe zadjalesque, les khardjas et leproblemème des origines du lyrisme roman (premier article). In: Romania. Volume 84, No. 333, 1963, pp. 1-27; First part , p. 7 - on Persée.
  4. ^ Pierre Le Gentil: Le virelai et le villancico. The problem of origins arabes. Société d'Editions "Les Belles Lettres", Paris 1954; Second chapter Le Zadjal. P. 31.
  5. ↑ see: Ibn Quzman , Emilio Gracía Gómez: El mejor Ben Quzmán en 40 zéjeles. Alianza, Madrid 1981, ISBN 84-206-3067-5 . - Emilio Gracía Gómez: Todo Ben Quzmán. 3 volumes. Gredos, Madrid 1975, ISBN 84-249-1312-4 .
  6. ^ Ned Sublette: Cuba and its Music. From the first drums to the Mambo. Chicago Review Press, 2007, ISBN 978-1-55652-632-9 , especially pp. 25-72. (P. 27) in Google Book search
  7. ↑ Gerold Hilty : ¿EXISTIÓ O NO EXISTIÓ UNA LÍRICA MOZÁRABE? In: ACTAS DEL VIII CONGRESO INTERNACIONALDE LA ASOCIACIÓN HISPÁNICA DE LITERATURA MEDIEVAL. SANTANDER 22-26 de septiembre de 1999 PALACI O DE LA MAGDALENA Universidad Internacional Menéndez Pelayo. Full text online