8/15/08

Idiiyat...

...is not a "real" whatever that means word. I made it up. It is a phonetic combination of the title of a Sura (chapter) from the Holy Qur'an which holds great meaning for me---Al Adiyat/Al Adiiyat/Adeeyat: The Charging Mares or The Mares Who Charge Forth, or simply The Chargers---and the word for dog in Tamasheq---idi---pluralized/Arabicized to make its sound and image resonate with the power and symbolism of the Sura. Idiiyat-es-Sahel: my version of "The Dogs of the Sahel" (es-Sahel is Arabic for "the coast", as in the coast of the ocean of sand that is the Sahara Desert). Below is the Sura Al Adiyat translated into English:

The Charging Mares

سورة العاديات

Bismillah, ir-Rahman, ir-Raheem (in the Name of Allah, most Benevolent, ever Merciful)

I call to witness the charging mares,
Snorting, rushing to battle before the others,
Then those striking sparks of fire,
Then those charging in the morning
Raising clouds of dust,
Penetrating deep into the armies,
That man is ungrateful to his Lord
And is himself witness to it,
And is intractable in his love of worldly goods.
Does he not know when the contents
of the graves are laid bare
And the secrets of the hearts exposed,
Surely their Lord will be aware
Of their deeds.

From the translation of the Holy Qur'an by Ahmed Ali.

No comments: