"Think of them in Spain"

A few weeks ago we were talking about memory and remembering, when I asked him what the word for “remember” was in Arabic.

“Thakr means to remember,” he explained. “That is, to remember by thinking. In Arabic we have a number of words for different aspects of memory…thakira is the storage of memory – as in, ‘I have no memory of it.’ Thakkirini means ‘remind me.’” He thought for a minute and then announced, “Strangely, thakr is also the word for male…tadakirru is to exchange memories, tathkira is an identity card.”

“It’s an incredibly rich language – you can play around with it and say a great deal…and still be vague if you wish! It’s terribly imaginative and yet unreal. I came to love Arabic not so much because of my teachers but because it stimulated my thinking. It’s beautiful, romantic, picturesque… “ He shut his eyes and smiled while pictures of gardens and fig trees laden with ripe fruit, no doubt, played in his mind.

“Can you remember any lines of poetry with these words for memory in them?” I asked.

He said, “Oh yes, we have a poem… just a minute…“ and began reciting. Then he translated, as usual:

“'If you want to think of the Arabs, think of them in Spain’…and the second line I recited was ‘Remember me every time the sun sets in Andalucia.’ Spain, you see, became the paradise of the Arabs, it was the height of Arab artistic and creative achievement. “

“Did you ever go there?”

“Oh yes. I loved it. But when I stood and looked at the Alhambra I felt like a tourist.  I mean –it’s magnificent – but I didn’t connect with it as if it had anything to do with me. “ He paused.

“I’d like to see it myself.”

“Yes, you should go. Actually, if I were younger and had time left, I’d want to do a study of the Arabs in Spain.” He lay there and thought for a few minutes, and then opened his eyes wide, looking mischievous. “Sometimes I have secret doubts about the creativity of the Arabs. But they were great borrowers! Look even at the Dome of the Rock – copied! Whatever they found, they said ‘give it to me!’ Even taboulleh, probably!”

Comments

[Dave]

The poetry of Arab Andalucia was, finally, re-membered and incorporated into the corpus of Spanish poetry, becoming - in Spanish translation - a major influence on poets of Lorca's generation. Intensely lyrical, vividly imagistic stuff.

[Dave]

("incorporated into the corpus" - gah!)

[language hat]

That root dh-k-r (dh representing voiced th, as in "there") is an interesting one. The dh sound has been lost in most Arabic dialects (Iraqi is an exception), and it's been replaced by d (often in basic everyday words) or z (often in more learned ones). So although 'remember' and 'male' are both from this root, the latter is pronounced (in the Levantine dialect of Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine) dakar (plural dkuura), but the 'remember' words have z: zakkar is 'remind,' dzakkar 'remember' (Saaret b-maayes 3ala-ma bidzakkar 'it was in May, as far as I remember'). 'Memory' is zaakra (as in "my memory isn't what it used to be") or zikra (as in "I have pleasant memories of it"), 'ID card' is tazkart (pl. tazaaker), 'memorandum' is mzakkra, 'reminder' is muzakkara. One of these days I really have to learn Arabic -- it's a fascinating language.

[language hat]

Oh, and of course there's the Sufi rite of zikr (repetition of praises of God, often accompanied by music and dancing), which is literally 'remembrance.'

[beth]

Dave, LH: maybe I can find a way to read and explain your comments here to him. It might make him feel good to know he's still making people think about Arabic.

That's very cool about the Sufi rite.

The next posts are less cheerful, but today he was in good shape and spirits.

[Fred Garber]

Beautifull post! Somewhere somebody remarked that all learning is remembering. I cannot remember where I heard that or who said it.