Arabian Hero : Oral Poetry and Narrative Lore from Northern Arabia.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

al-Amsaḥ, Shāyiʿ.

Contributor:

Kurpershoek, P. M.

Series:

Library of Arabic Literature Series

Library of Arabic Literature Series ; v.102

Language:

Arabic

English

Subjects (All):

Ibn Mirdās, Shāyiʻ--Translations into English.

Ibn Mirdās, Shāyiʻ.

Oral tradition.

Arabian Peninsula.

Genre:

Poetry.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (323 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

New York : New York University Press, 2024.

Summary:

"The heroic deeds and words of a warrior poet of northern Arabia An epic hero and a poet, the semi-legendary Shayi' al-Amsah was a prominent ancestor of the Shammar tribal confederation that stretches across the Great Nafud desert in the northern Arabian Peninsula. Shayi's corpus of extant poems are preserved in narratives about his chivalrous exploits transmitted orally for centuries. In this volume, Marcel Kurpershoek vividly translates the deeds and verses of this compelling poet, based on recordings of late-twentieth century reciters, a testament to Shayi''s prominence as an embodiment of Bedouin virtue, courage, wiliness, and generosity. Born with one eye, Shayi' presents himself as unattractive and unassuming, only to reveal a hero's strength, sagacity, and wiliness. In a number of stories, he is shown hiding his identity, whether in disguise as an impoverished Bedouin or on a camel deliberately made to look mangy and weak. In the oral culture of the Bedouin, the epic cycle of Shayi' al-Amsah delights and instructs listeners through its unmasking of false appearances and its revelation of the hero's true character. Translated into English for the first time, these engaging tales and poems tell of dangerous desert travel, warlike exploits, chivalrous conduct and its opposite, fears of hospitality that defy belief, and convey nuggets of wisdom from the Bedouin manual of survival, making this collection a colorful compendium of the manners and customs of the tribes of northern Arabia"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Letter from the General Editor

Table of Contents

Introduction

Map: The Nafūd of Shāyiʿal-Amsaḥ

Note on the Text

Notes to the Introduction

Arabian Hero

Notes

Glossary

Bibliography

Index of Poems and Editions

Index

About the NYUAD Research Institute

About the Typefaces

Titles Published by the Library of Arabic Literature

About the Editor–Translator

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Part of the metadata in this record was created by AI, based on the text of the resource.

ISBN:

9781479834181

1479834181

OCLC:

1463080632