2.16.35
and the durnūk,
“a kind of carpet”
and the wirāk,
“a cloth with which the place where the rider puts his leg is decorated”
and barāṭil,
“a barṭalah is a narrow sunshade”
and ẓulal,
“a ẓullah [singular] is a covering, or anything used as protection from heat or cold”
and mamāṭir,
“a mimṭar is a woolen cloth used to provide shelter from the rain”; synonym mimṭarah
and azfān,
“a zifn is a protective covering that they make over their tents to guard them from the heat of the sea and its dampness”
and surādiqāt.
“the surādiq is what is stretched over the forecourt of the tent, or a tent made of cotton”
Likewise, nasīfah (which are “pitted black stones with which the feet are scraped”) must be obtained for the bathhouse. Next, that happy home must be made attractive with
fusayfusāʾ and saranj,
“fusayfusāʾ are colored beads mounted on the inner walls of houses,” and saranj are “something crafted like fusayfusāʾ”
and with beds that are murammalah, meaning they have been “decorated with gems and so on,” and with curtained bridal alcoves, bridal thrones, couches, trellises, chairs, and small beds made from
2.16.36
ʿāj,
“ivory”
and sāj,
“a certain tree”
and shīzā,
“a black wood used for trenchers, or it may be the same as ebony, or saʾsam, or walnut wood”
and samur,
“a certain tree too well known to require definition” [“gum acacia”]
and nuḍār,
“wood for containers”
and ʿayzār,
“a certain tree”
and ḍubār,
“oak”
and saʾsam,
“a certain black tree, or ebony”
and thuwaʿ,
“a certain lofty mountain tree”
and shawḥaṭ,
“a certain tree from which bows are made, or a species of jujube”
2.16.37
and ḍabr,
“wild walnut trees”
and ṣawmar,
“grand basil trees”
and ṣinār,
“plane trees”
and salām,
“a certain tree; someone once said to a Bedouin, ‘Salām (“peace”) be upon you,’ to which the Bedouin replied, ‘And jathjāth upon you!’ ‘What kind of a reply is that?’ he was asked, and he said, ‘They are both trees with bitter fruits. You wished one on me, so I wished the other on you!’”
and kanahbal,
“a certain large tree”
and baqs,
“a tree with leaves and berries like the myrtle, or it may be that it is the same as the shimshādh (‘common box’)”
and nasham,
“a certain tree used to make bows”
and ḍāl,
“the wild lote tree, or a certain other tree”
and baqsh,
“a tree, called khūsh sāy in Persian”
and nibsh,
“a certain tree like the pine, harder than ebony”
2.16.38
and shaḥṣ,
“a certain hard tree”
and mays,
“a certain large tree”
and waʿs,
“a certain tree from which lutes and ouds are made”
and qaṭaf.
“a certain mountain tree with long-lasting wood”
Next, it must be made attractive with crystal bottles and with
qiṭr,
“a kind of copper”
and qilizz,
“copper to which iron has been added”
and filizz,
“white copper from which hollow pots are made, or…”628
and balnaṭ,
“a thing like marble but harder”
and balaq,
“stones in Yemen that illuminate whatever is behind them like glass”
and ḥakak,
“a white stone like marble”
and nihāʾ,
“a white stone softer than marble”
and muhl,
“a name that embraces the precious metals such as silver, iron [sic], and others”
and hayṣam.
“a kind of stones, smooth”
Next, the finishing touch to this noble place are withāb stuffed with ʿushar and ḥuraymilāt (withāb are “beds and bedding,” ʿushar is “a plant used as a stuffing for pillows and from whose flowers and twigs sugar is extracted,” and ḥuraymilāt are trees “whose pericarps open to reveal the softest cotton, with which the pillows of kings are stuffed”), though I have committed a grave error here in keeping mention of bedding to the end, the latter being the first thing to enter a woman’s mind when she arrives in a country. The furnishings for the house are now amassed (and you’re still worrying about the ass).
2.16.39
W
ORK
G
ROUP
5: F
OR THE
M
AKING OF
C
LOTHES
The thurqubiyyah,
“White garments made from the linen of Egypt”
the jilbāb,
“the shirt, or a wide garment for a woman”
the sakb,
“a certain garment”
silāb,
“black garments”