Jamīla and the Sultan
Raġbōn begins this evening dāndān (Ar. dāndān laylī) by praising the qualities of her niece, Jamīla (Ǧmīla) birt Makdōh and describes the contest for her affection between Jamīla’s cousin (Raġbōn’s son?) and her pet calf on the one hand, and her father and Sultan Qābūs of Oman on the other. Jamīla’s cousin and her pet calf would like her to stay with them (it is unclear in what capacity), while Jamīla’s father would like her to marry Sultan Qābūs. “Sultan Qābūs” should not be taken literally here; Raġbōn has likely chosen the sultan as an idealized suitor to reflect the high expectations that Raġbōn has for her niece. However, there is a kernel of realism in this poem. The story of young Mahri women who have been married by wealthy Arabs from the Gulf is a recurrent trope in Mahri poetry and points to the social and economic disparity between Yemen and its wealthier neighbors. Mahri women are believed to make good wives since they preserve the ʾaṣāla (“authentic virtue”) of rural bedouin women. They are highly sought after as wives in the Gulf states; indeed, Sultan Qābūs’s own mother was from Dhofār, a region heavily settled by the Mahra.
This poem should be compared to Muḥammad bir Marṭayf’s poem on the same topic, although the narrative of wounded national pride evident in Muḥammad bir Marṭayf’s poem is absent in Raġbōn’s poem. For Raġbōn, Jamīla comes out the winner whether she is married to her cousin or to the sultan.
| Poem | Translation |
|---|---|
| 1) ǧmīle śōleš hummeš // wel rōdeš beh yeźyā | Jamīla, you have raised aloft your name // you have not given it up for lost |
| 2) w-tēš reḥmōne ezyīn // w-ṭerḥayš meśśōref tḳā | The Merciful made you attractive // and allowed you to be distinguished |
| 3) hūǧēśeš bātī śḥayr // we-lyēḏ reḥbēt šūrɛ̄ | You’ve out-competed the girls of the mountains // and those of the villages stand back [from the dancing floor] |
| 4) eḥḥōrem w-ber ǧzōm // l-enḫōṭer men hal tenkā | They made an oath and gave it up // [saying]: “we’ll not compete with her whenever she comes [to dance].” |
| 5) hes seh ḫaddes erḥīm // we-ḳdēr ḫa ṭāṭḏe-rwā | Her cheeks are lovely // and her stature is as though someone had drawn it by luck. |
| 6) w-ād el tāmōr mekyeǧ // wel bōder etē teźyā | No one does make up // or powders [as good as she] so that [Jamīla] loses |
| 7) w-ān hedlūt we-ǧrūt // šīs ʿād tḳaṣyen lā | If she gets up and goes sauntering // none can go with her to the end [of her promenade] |
| 8) ṣānīn etē k-ḥerḳet // teltūwī thaṣfer lā | [They are] like the partridges in the heat of the day // that curl up and do not sing |
| 9) we-mġōren hayb w-ḫōl // bīs līḥešyen lā | Further, her father and uncles // forbid her nothing |
| 10) telbōs ār ṭarz ǧdīd // we-yšaklen hīs ʿanwā | She always is dressed in the newest fashion // and puts together outfits of different types [of clothes]. |
| 11) w-ḥōkem līs šūṣōf // w-qābūs ār tēs yenkā | The Sultan received a description of her // and Qābūs decided to approach her |
| 12) ār bir beḳrēt šākūb // w-bir raġbōn ehhelā | But the cow’s calf was distressed // and the son of Raġbōn [Jamīla’s cousin] swore: “Never!” |
| 13) ʾāmūrem ǧmīle ǧnēh // tselmeh ṣawten lā | They said: “Jamīla is like guineas // tell him our answer is ‘no’ |
| 14) tawlā ḏ-wūzem lkūk // ḏhēb mīzōnes yḳā | Even if they give her weight // in lakhs of gold.” |
| 15) ār haybes ber šēmūn // w-āzūm yeḳtīleb ṭmā | But her father went along with [the Sultan] // resolved on it and turned greedy |
| 16) teḳhērem teh b-ḳawwēt // w-l-ād ḥasbem lā | So they conquered him by force // and didn’t take anything into account |
| 17) we-ḥźawrem bāź šbāb // w-kel ḏe-ḳhēb essəbā | A number of young men showed up // and everyone who came, became allies |
| 18) ʾāmūr ġībem ġrōy // ḏōme śī ḏ-el ʾādeh yḳā | Saying: “No more talking // there are some things not meant to be. |
| 19) ār sēlem ṣōdeḳ eḥassek // we-mġōren erdēd we-hmā | Sālim [Jamīla’s father] trust your instincts // and then come back and listen, |
| 20) ḏe-nḥā neślūl eṯṯəḳayl // we-sḫōm yehwarʾen lā | We’ll bear the weight // and the expense will not cripple us.” |
| 21) ār sālem ār ḏ-īḫayṣ // wel tōhem mšemne lē | But Sālim still refuses // and doesn’t follow their counsel, |
| 22) ʾāmūr ḥōm ḥōkem eḫayr // ḥōm lešizd menh nḳā | Saying: “I think the Sultan is a better idea // and want to get recompense from him.” |