OLD-Zajal: 12th Century Arabic Poetry Form

Poet Jayson Iwen introduced me to the form zajal in an early issue of Knock (published by Antioch University in Seattle). He uses this form in his book, “Six Trips in Two Directions.”

The zajal form became popular during the 11th and 12th Century. Its origin was earlier; it derives out of Arabic folk song traditions. Zajal was performed in public competitions with audience participation. Essentially a call and response, the audience would chant the refrains. Being an oral form tracking it is difficult. Much of what is known about the form comes from Lebanon, but it started in the Andalusian region of Spain, which was populated by the Moors, or Arabs and North African Muslims. It is one of two very popular forms; its sister form is muwaššaa. The poet Abu Bakr bin Quzman, from Spain used zajal in his poems bringing it from oral tradition to the written word.

In the Journal Oral Tradition the article “Which Came First, the Zajal or the Muwaššaa? Some Evidence for the Oral Origins of Hispano-Arabic Strophic Poetry,” by James T. Monroe (emeritus professor of Arabic and Comparative Literature at the University of California at Berkley), states: “(1) Both forms are strophic, and are closely related in structure. (2) Both incorporate elements of vernacular diction. (3) Both contain puzzling departures from the rules of classical Arabic metrics. (4) Muwaššaa poets often functioned simultaneously as composers of zajals, and vice-versa. (5) Muwaššaas frequently contain passages quoted directly from zajals, while the reverse is also true. (6) As all known medieval Arab authorities are unanimous in pointing out, both genres originated in Andalus and not in the East.[1]

A Google search on Zajal shows 136,000 results. A Google Scholar search shows 6,760 results. It’s listed in the Britannica Online Encyclopedia and on Wikipedia; there are many videos on Youtube, and MP3 downloads of music by medieval music ensembles. Contemporary zajals are accompanied by music. There is a zajal Facebook page with information from Wikipedia. There is a Facebook Zaljal Lobnan Group named after the traditional poem sung during daily activities in Lebanon.

From Wikipedia: “Lebanese zajal is a semi-improvised, semi-sung or declaimed form of poetry in the colloquial Lebanese Arabic dialect. Its roots are ancient and not sufficiently-researched, but various similar manifestations of zajal can be traced to 10-12th century Moorish Spain (Al-Andalus), and specifically to the colloquial poet Ibn Quzman (Cordoba, 1078-1160). Zajal has close ties in prosody, delivery, form and spirit with various semi-sung colloquial poetry traditions, including such seemingly disparate traditions as those of Nabati Poetry of Arabia and the troubadours of Provence. Many Near-Eastern, Arabian and Mediterranean cultures (including Greece, Italy, Algeria, Morocco, Spain and southern France) had, or still have, rich semi-improvised, semi-sung colloquial poetry traditions, which share some traits with Lebanese zajal, such as the verbal duel (e.g. the jeu parti of the troubadours), the use of tambourines or other minimalist percussion instruments, and a chanting chorus of men (Reddadi, in Lebanese) who repeat key verses or refrains recited by the poets.[2]

Jayson Iwen’s poems written from the form zajal inspired me to write my own variation. A zajal is written in two columns, which can be read separately per column and then across—the result is three poems in one, with bountiful repetition.

Given the forms Arabic origins it seemed fitting that my poem address world issues—the differences between the western and eastern worlds during wartime, hence, my title, “Over Here, Over There.” It is an anti-war poem.

In writing it, I did not use rhyming. Forms do not come easy for me, so for my poem, I wrote pages and pages, slimed back, and then made it work so I could read it column by column then across, as three poems. With much respect for the vast complexity of this form I created my own unique form.

It was first published in Drash Northwest Mosaic, 2009, a journal published by Temple Beth Am, in Seattle.

It was republished this year (2010) in “A Dream in the Clouds Anthology,” a politically-neutral collection of poetry, prose, and art inspired by the 2008 United States Presidential Election. You can order a copy of this collection from Bobo Strategy, 2406 N Clark #287, Chicago, IL 60614 or on Amazon for $9.95.

I’m pleased to post my poem with this article as it appeared in the anthology:

Over Here Over There

[1] Monroe, James T, http://journal.oraltradition.org/files/articles/4i-ii/4_Monroe.pdf

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zajal

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