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WOLFGANG-E. SCHARLIPP,HAVNIÆ
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LXXIII
Contents
ARTICLES
S.GANESHRAM: Daśāvatāras in Tamil bhakti literature and
programme of sculptures in Vijayanagara-Nāyaka art ... 1 OTARED HAIDAR: The poetics the Iraqi War: Between Discursive Conflicts and Diasporic Discourse ... 17 VIRGINIE PREVOST:Mağmāğ et les sept savants : la création du Dīwān al-‘azzāba ... 35 R.K.K.RAJARAJAN:Antiquity of the divyakṣetras in Pāṇḍināḍu ... 59 JULIAN RENTZSCH: The evolution of Turkic modal verbs ... 105 STELLA SANDAHL: The seven oceans in the Purāṇas and
elsewhere ... 151 DMITRY SHLAPENTOKH: Afanasiy Nikitin’s Journey Beyond the Three Seas: An Orthodox Russian in Medieval India ... 173 STEFAN BOJOWALD: Zum ägyptischen Lautwandel zwischen „a“
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Acta Orientalia 2012: 73, 1–16.
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Copyright © 2012 ACTA ORIENTALIA ISSN 0001-6483
Daśāvatāras in Tamil bhakti literature and programme of sculptures in Vijayanagara-Nāyaka art
S. Ganeshram
SriS.R. Naidu College, Sattur, Tamilnadu, India
Abstract
The term daśāvatāras stands for the ten incarnations of Viṣṇu. They are Matsya, Kūrma, Varāha, Nṛsiṁha, Vāmana / Trivikrama, Parasurama, Rama, Balarama, Krishna and Kalki. These are noted in the hymns of Āḻvārs in orderly or disorderly pattern. The first part of the article discusses the significance of a set of daśāvatāra images in the Kaḷḷarpirāṉ temple at Śrīvaikuṇṭam in Tirunelveli district. Such images in separate enclaves were set in Vijayanagara-Nāyaka period (15th–18th centuries CE) temples in Tamilnadu, e.g. Tātikkompu and Aḻakarkōyil. To this milieu the images examined in the article add a new dimension.
Keywords: Āḻvārs, Śrīvaikuṇṭam, Viṣṇu, daśāvatāra, Matsya, Kūrma, Varāha, Nṛsiṁha, Vāmana / Trivikrama, Parasurama, Rama, Balarama, Krishna, Kalki, Vijayanagara-Nāyaka.
During the Vijayanagara-Nāyaka period the daśāvatara sculptures came to be programmed in a continuous array.1 Śāstras may talk of the daśāvataras in a sequential order2, starting with Matsya and ending with Kalki but sculptural representations in such an order may be rare. An early example of such a fixation may be found in the Pāpanāseśvara temple at Alampūr of the Eastern Cālukyan denomination, dated around the 8th century CE (Kalidos 2006: I, 187–
88). Set within a square maṇḍala, the Buddha appears in the center.3 Such a setting of the daśāvatāra images acquired popularity in Vijayanagara-Nāyaka art.4 The present communication examines such a group of sculptures from Kaḷḷarpirāṉ temple at Śrīvaikuṇṭham. This huge temple complex takes its origin during the later Pāṇḍya period in the 12th–13th century CE but most of the maṇḍapas therein are Vijayanagara-Nāyaka additions (Ganeshram 2010: Chap. III). The daśavatāra sculptures under note are set in one of the maṇḍapas. The same type of images appear in the Viṣṇu temples at Tātikkompu5 near
1 The daśāvataras are Matsya (Fish), Kūrma (Tortoise), Varāha (Wild Boar), Nṛsiṁha (Man-Lion), Vāmana-Trivikrama (the Dwarf and Virāṭ), Paraśurāma (Rāma with the Battleaxe), Balarāma, Kṛṣṇa, Dāśarathi-Rāma and Kalki (Basham 1971: 304–
49).
2 See the Śrītattvanidhi (1.2. 47–57) for such an order. The list includes both Kṛṣṇa and the Buddha. It is possibly cited from the Padma Purāṇa. At the end of the list the varṇa of each avatāra is given. The personalities (colour within parentheses) listed are the following: Matsya (sphaṭika), Kūrma (svarṇa), Varāha (nīla), Nṛsiṁha (white as moon), Prahlāda (golden), Vāmana (nīla or black), Paraśurāma (svarṇa), Rāghava (green), Bharata (green), Lakṣmaṇa (golden), Satrugna (red), Sītā (svarṇa), Māṇḍavī (red), Ūrmilā (green or blue), Sṛtakīrtī (white), Hanumat (kanaka, pale red), Aṅgada (red), Sugrīva (svarṇa), Jāmbavat (of the colour of nīlotpala), Guha (kanaka), Bibhiṣaṇa (black), Balarāma (milk white), Revatī (red), Kṛṣṇa (megavarṇa), Rukmiṇī (kanaka) and Kalki (white). The Buddha is not brought under this list.
3 The Māmallapuram Pallava inscription includes the Buddha among the daśāvatāras of Viṣṇu (Srinivasan 1964: 173) and omits Kṛṣṇa. Others are Matsya, Kūrma, Varāha, Nṛsiṁha, Vāmana, the three Rāmas and Kalki.
4 Raju Kalidos (1989: 338–40, figs. 35, 43; cf. 1988: 98–125) has reported not less than 47 occurrences in the temple cars of Tamilnadu. Most of these temple cars are of the Nāyaka or post-Nāyaka period.
5 This temple is noted for its artistically set maṇḍapa with sculptural pillars in the shrine for Lakṣmī (Gopalakrishnan 1996: 415-31). The temple was rebuilt during the period of Veṅkaṭpati Rāya and is dated in Sālivāhana era 1551 (CE 1629) that falls during the time of Tirumalai Nāyaka (CE 1623–59) of Maturai.
Tiṇṭukkal, and Aḻakarkōyil6 near Maturai, both called Saundararāja and both are of the Nāyaka period. The canonical setting for the presentation of the images may be found in the Tamil bhakti hymns of the Āḻvārs of the early medieval period (c. CE 550–850)7, which literature had a far reaching impact on the arts of the land.
Daśāvatāras in Tamil Bhakti Literature
Before taking up the images for an examination, the literary mandate may be discussed to begin with. Tirumaḻicai, Nammāḻvār, Periyāḻvār and Tirumaṅkai Āḻvār make a note of the clusters of the daśāvatāras.
Casually it may be noted here that the works of the Āḻvārs is collectively called Nālāyirativviyappirapantam, shortly Nālāyiram
“the 4,000”. Among the above mentioned four Āḻvārs, Tirumaṅkai is said to have converted the Pallava Emperor, Nandivarmaṉ II (CE 731–96) to Vaiṣṇavism, who in his work Periya Tirumoḻi notes the sequential order of the daśāvataras in a number of places. Periyāḻvār seems to have converted the Pāṇḍyan Emperor Śrīmāra Śrīvallabha (CE 815–62). Tirumaḻicai and Nammāḻvār belong to an early group and may be dated in the 7th or early 8th century CE.
Nammāḻvār notes not less than five of the avatāras in an order.
They are Matsya (Tamil Mīṉ), Kūrma (Tamil Āmai), Nṛsiṁha (Tamil Naraciṅkam or Ciṅkappirāṉ – Periyāḻvār Tirumoḻi 5.2.4), Vāmana (Tamil Kuṟaḷ means “dwarf”, also called Māṇikkuṟaḷaṉ – Periyāḻvār Tirumoḻi 1.4.1, 5.2.5, māṇi means brahmacāri, Kuṛaṭpiramaccāri – Periyāḻvār Tirumoḻi 4.9.7), Varāha (Tamil Ēṉam) and Kalki (Tamil Kaṟki):
Mīṉāyāmaiyumāy naraciṅkamumāy kuṟaḷāy Kāṉārēṉamumāyk kaṟkiyāy (Tiruvāymoli 5.1.10).
Periyāḻvār notes the Haṁsa, Matsya, Siṁha, Vāmana and Kūrma in a sequence:8
6 During the historic past, the place was known as Māliruncōlai (the place where Māl/Viṣṇu) resides, noted in ancient Tamil literature such as Paripātal and Cilappatikāram (Rajarajan 1996).
7 For a comprehensive picture of the Nālāyiram bearing on Vaiṣṇava iconography see Kalidos 2006: Chap. I.
8 The aṁśāvatāras according to the Devī Bhāgavata are Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanādana, Sanatkumāra, Nārada, Nara-Nārāyaṇa, Kapila, Dattātreya, Yajna, Ṛṣabha,
Aṉṉamum mīṉuruvu māḷariyum kuṟaḷum Āmaiyumāṉavaṉē… (Tirumoḻi 1.7.11).
In these references the avatāras are not noted in the set order.
Tirumaḻicai in two stay occurrences notes the Mohinī and Matsyāvatāras. Mohinī is called aḻakiyaṉ “He, beautifully she”.9 The Fish is one that gives life, mīṉāyuyiraḷikkum (Nāṉmukaṉ Tiruvantāti v. 22). The Vāmana and Trivikrama (Tamil Tirivikkiramaṉ – Periyāḻvār Tirumoḻi 1.8.9) avatāras are beautifully coagulated in the phrase, Ciṟiyaṉ mikapperiyaṉ “the small (Dwarf) but at the same time very big (Virāṭ)” (Nāṉmukaṉ Tiruvantāti v. 71). Periyāḻvār brings the ten in a hymn as noted in the following order: Mīṉ, Āmai, Ēṉam, Ari (Siṁha), Kuṟaḷ, the three Rāmas10, Kaṇṇaṉ (Kṛṣṇa, Prākit Kanha) and Kaṟki:
Tēvuṭaiya mīṉamā yāmaiyāy Ēṉamā yariyāyk kuṟaḷāy Mūvuruvilirāmaṉāk kaṇṇaṇāyk Kaṟkiyāy muṭippāṉ… (Tirumoḻi 4.9.9).
Pṛthu, Mohinī, Garuḍa, Dhanvantari and Vyāsa (Kalidos 1986: 183n). Haṁsa as an avatāra appears often in the Nālāyiram. The hymns note a “dancing bird”, called Āṭaṟpaṟvai (PT 9.9.10, Tiruvāymoḻi 8.2.4, 8.8.9). It is not clear whether this is Garuḍa (Chandramohan 2008: cover plate) or Haṁsa. Besides, the Rāmayaṇam (Bālakāṇḍam, 5. Tiruavatārappaṭalam, v. 22) of Kampar considers Rāma, Lakṣmaṇa, Bharata and Satrugna as the avatāras of Viṣṇu Ādiśeṣa, śaṅkha and cakra. Another avatāra-like form of the Lord is Hayagrīva (Kalidos 2006: I, 16), the Horse-headed. He is said to have admonished a horse-headed demon: Pariyōṉ mārvakam paṟṟippiḷantu (PT 7.7.5)
“Caught hold of the chest of the horse (-demon) and cleaved it (cf. Nṛsiṁha and Hiraṇya);” Nālvētapporuḷaiyellām parimukamāy aruḷiyaperumāṉ (PT 7.8.2) “The Lord who divulged the meaning of the four-Vedas as the Horse-faced (hayaśiras or hayagrīva).”
9 Aḻaki means a damsel. Āṇ is a masculine suffix. Nammāḻvār adds: Āṇallaṉ peṇṇallaṉ “He is neither a man nor a woman” (Tiruvāymoḻi 2.5.9). Again it is added he is neither a man, nor woman and eunuch: āṇallaṉ peṇṇallaṉ allāl aliyumallaṉ (ibid., 2.5.10). Tirumaḻicai adds: Āṇiṉōṭu peṇṇumāki allavōṭu nallavāy “He is both man and woman and neither of these, i.e. eunuch.”
10 The Vēlūr temple car houses an image of the three Rāmas appearing in a row (Kalidos 1989: fig. 43). The order is Paraśurāma (holds the paraśu), Dāśarathi-Rāma (carries the dhanus and bāṇa) and Balarāma (carries the halā “ploughshare”).
Tirumaḻicai in his Nāṉmukaṉ Tiruvantāti notes the Matṣya and Haṁsa avatāras of the Lord. The Haṁsa is one who ordained the precious Scriptures:
Aṉṉamāki arumaṟaikaḷ aruḷ (Periya Tirumoḻi hereinafter PT 5.1.9).
Aṉṉamākiyaṉṟaru maraikaḷ payantavaṉ (PT 5.3.8, 5.7.3).
Periyāḻvar (Tirumoḻi 1. 10) elaborates the mythology saying that the gloom of pralaya encircled the cosmos. The four Vedas disappeared.
The Lord incarnated as Haṁsa in order that the gloom vanishes and that the Vedas are recovered.
Tirumaṅkai quite often brings the avatāras in clusters. The Swan, Fish, Lion, Dwarf and Tortoise appear in a disorderly order:
Aṉṉamum mīṉurumāḷariyum kuṟaḷum Āmaiyumāṉavaṉē… (PT 1.7.11).
The word that denotes avatāra in this statement is āṉavaṉ “he became”.11 In another context the Boar, Fish, Tortoise, Lion and the Dwarf listed:
Ēṉamīṉāmaiyōṭariyum ciṟukuṟaḷumāy Tāṉumāya… (PT 5.4.8).
Tāṉumāya here means “he himself became”. Tirumaṅkai calls the Boar Paṉṟi “pig” in another context. The avatāras listed here are Pig, Fish and Lion:
Paṉṟiyāy mīṉāki yariyāyp
Pāraippaṭaittuk kāttuṇṭumiḻnta paramaṉ (PT 7.8.9).
“The Eternal He came as the Pig, Fish and Lion to create the worlds, sustain, swallow and spit.”12
11 The Tamil equivalent of avatāra is avatāram (cf. avatari in Kampa-Rāmāyaṇam, Bālakāṇṭam, 5. Avatārappaṭalam, v. 20). The Maṇimēkalai (17. l. 9), a 6th century Tamil epic, deploys the word mayaṅki (contextually transform, literally “swoon”):
Neṭiyōṉ maṅkinilamicaittōṉṟi (“The Tall [Trivikrama] transformed himself and appeared on earth”).
12 The pancakṛtyas (sṛṣṭi/tōṟṟam “creation”, sthiti/kāttal “sustenance”, saṁhāra/
caṅkāram “destruction”, tirodhana/maṟaittal “embodiment” and anugraha/
anukkirakam or viṭuvittal “release”) are attributed to Viṣṇu in this hymn. Cf. the Bhagavat Gīta (Chap. IV, vv. 7–8) version: Yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānirbhavati
The Lion, usually called Ari, is called Ciṅkam, transcription of the Sanskrit siṁha, in a hymn:
Mīṉōrāmaiyumāy…ciṅkavuruvāy… (PT 8.4.4).
“The forms are Fish, Tortoise and Lion.”13
Besides these cryptic references, Tirumaṅkai has a hymn each on Varadarāja, Mohinī and Kṛṣṇa that appear in PT (8.9):
v. 1. Kaimā matayāṉi yiṭar tīrtta karumukil
“The black cloud that removed the hardship of the elephant (Varadarāja).”14
v. 2. Tirumālai yammāṉai yamutattaik kaṭaṟkiṭanta perumāṉai “Tirumāl/Viṣṇu, the Father, the Dignified who extracted the ambrosia from the ocean (Mohinī).”
v. 3. Viṭaiyēḻaṉ ṟaṭarttu vekuṇṭu vilaṅkaluṟa Paṭaiyāḻi taṭṭa paramaṉ Parancōti
“That day he admonished the seven wild bulls, the Eternal he holds the armed-disc, He is the Eternal Lamp (Kṛṣṇa).”
Another decad (PT 9.1) brings the Matsya, Varāha, Vāmana/
Trivikrama and Paraśurāma in four hymns in an order:
v. 3. Mīṉuruvāki viripuṉalvariya kaṭṭatoḷittōṉ…
“As a Fish he contained the inundating waters within his shell (Matsya).”
v. 4. Paṉṟiyāy aṉṟu pārmakaḷ payalai tīrttavaṉ…
“That day he removed the hardships of the Earth Maid, Bhūdevī (Varāha).”
Bhārata/ Abhyutthānamadharmasya tadātmānaṁ srujāmyaham// Paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām/ Dharmasamthāpanārtthāya saṁbhavāmi yuge yuge// “Bhārata (Arjuna) whenever dharma is destroyed and adharma shoots up, I make me born again. In order to protect the righteous, to admonish the evil and to establish righteousness, I am born again and again.”
13 For a comprehensive picture of Nṛsiṁha from the Tamil bhakti hymns see Kalidos 1999: 168–78.
14 This form is counted under the līlāvatāras in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa (Kalidos 2006:
I, pp. 39–40).
v. 5. Maṉṉavaṉ periyavēḷviyiṟ kuṟaḷay mūvaṭi nīroṭuṅkoṇṭu Piṉṉumēḻulaku mīraṭiyākap perunticaiyaṭaṅkiṭanimirntōṉ…
“He appeared as a Dwarf (Vāmana) in the big sacrifice of the King (Mahābali) and got sanctified the gift of three spaces of land; later grew Tall and compressed (measured) the seven worlds in two strides.”
v. 6. Maḻuviṉal avaṉiyaracai mūveḻukal maṇimuṭi poṭipaṭuttu utirak Kulavuvār puṉaluḷkuḷittu veṅkōpam tavirttavaṉ…15
“For twenty-six generations he (Paraśurāma) toppled the crowns of kings on earth and punished them with a battleaxe and got himself appeased.”
Kulacēkara Āḻvār (Perumāḷ Tirumoḻi 10) compresses the entire Rāmāyaṇa from the Bālakāṇḍa to the Uttarakāṇḍa in decad bearing on the Cittirakūṭam (Citrakūṭa) of Citamparam.16 Tirumaṅkai extols the Rāmāyaṇa’s little heroes in his PT 10.3. The personages do exalted are Sugrīva (called Sūrya-putra), sons of Sugrīva, the vānaras (monkey horde), Hanumat, Aṅgada, Nala, Kuṁbhakarṇa, besides Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa. The pride of the demons Rāvaṇa and Indrajit were curbed.
Tirumaṅkai in his PT (8.8) summarizes the daśāvatāra activities in each of the hymns of a decad.17 The conventional order followed is Matsya, Kūrma, Varāha, Nṛsiṁha, Vāmana/Trivikrama, Paraśurāma, Śrī Rāma, Balarāma, Kṛṣṇa and Kalki. The sthala is Kaṇṇapuram in Cōḻanādu. The summary of the ideas may be presented as follows:
1. The lotus-eyed he appeared a Fish and rescued the gods when the primeval waters inundated the cosmos. He was the same Lord who appeared as Kṛṣṇa.
15 Elsewhere it is said he cut the shoulders of 1,000 kings with the paraśu:
Maṉṉanccavāyirantōḷ maḻuvil tuṇittamaintā (PT 7.2.7).
16 For a summary of this decad see Kalidos 1997.
17 This decad deploys the following terms to mean an avatāra (cf. n. 9): vantu
“came”, āy, āki or āṉāṉ “became”, eṭuttu “took (contextually appeared)”, tōṉṟi
“appeared”, vantutōṉṟi “came and appeared” and piṟantu “born”.
2. He appeared as a Tortoise when the Ocean of Milk was about to be churned and supported the Manthara mountain on his back.
3. When the primeval waters engulfed the worlds, the Lord appeared a Boar (in order to protect the Goddess of Earth).
4. The Lord presented himself a ferocious lion (agnilocana “fire- emitting face” NA 8 or jvālāmukha NA 23) mixed with the form of a man at which the gods were terrified. He cleaved the chest of Hiraṇya with his sharp diamond-like nails (vajranakha NA 54 or mahādamṣṭra NA 30).
5. He appeared a Dwarf whose form arrested the reverence of those that viewed the Lord and bagged three strides of land as a gift.
6. He appeared Paraśurāma carrying the dreadful weapon battleaxe and for twenty-six generations admonished the race of kings (kṣatriyas).
7. He appeared Rāma when the mass of the worlds adored his sacred feet and he being the Lord worships none. He staged a war with Laṅkā and extradited the evil-beings.
8. He wears a kuṇḍala in an ear and holds the ploughshare, his arm. It was he who appeared as Balarāma (name not mentioned) and sent the soldiers (kṣatriyas) at war with him to the heavens.
9. He (Kṛṣṇa)18 was born in midnight to ward of the perils to which the Goddess of the Earth (metaphorically Draupadī) was subjected and staged the Bhārata war.
10. He became the Fish, Tortoise, Boar (kēḻal), Ari (Lion), Rāma (Paraśu) the First, Rāma (Dāśarathi) the Second, Dāmodhara19 and Kalki. He is the Lord of Kaṇṇapuram.20
18 Kṛṣṇa is the most popular hero in the hymns of the Āḻvārs (Kalidos 2006: I, 11–16).
Kṛṣṇa and Dāmodhara are again equated in PT 10.5.3.
19 Dāmodhara (cf. the KA epithet 96 Dāmodhara) is the equal of Kṛṣṇa. He is one among the dvāsaśa and caturviṁśati forms of the Lord. Interestingly both Kṛṣṇa and Dāmodhara do form members of these two groups of Vaiṣṇava iconography (Caturviṁśatimūrtilakṣaṇa, p. 5). The dvādaśa are clustered in few of the Nālāyiram decades (e.g. Tiruvāymoḻi 2.7. all hymns).
20 Each of the hymn in this decad is addressed to the Lord of Kaṇṇapuram (Kannan 2007). K. Kannan 2007 deals with the following Viṣṇu temples in the Kāviri delta:
Kaṇṇapuram, Kaṇṇamaṅkai, Ciṟupuliyūr and Nākapaṭṭiṉam.
Tirumaṅkai repeats the sequence of avatāras in PT 11.4. In this order Balarāma and Kalki are omitted and Haṁsa included. The summary of ideas forthcoming from the decad may be summarized in the following account.
1. The waters of pralaya engulfed the worlds in such a way that there was not even a span of land to stand. The gods trembled and reported the matter to the Lord, seeking refuge under him.
The Lord assured them lebensraum and drew all the waters into his stomach.21 He is the Lord Mīṉ/Matsya.
2. The gods churned the Ocean of Milk having tied the mighty Vāsuki to the Manthara. In order that the churn-stick, the Manthara, may stand firmly the Lord provided a basement to it as Āmai/Kūrma.
3. During the primeval times the Lord appeared as Ēṉam/Varāha in order to protect the Earth.22 Sūrya, Candra, the devas, the celestials worlds seven, the Meru hill, six mountains and seven seas constituted the hoof of the Boar.23
4. Garlands of flowers hung on either side of his (Nṛsiṁha) eyes that emitted fire (cf. NA epithets supra). He is the most ferocious Lion who cleaved the chest of the demon (Hiraṇya).
5. As though a genuine Vedi (Vāmana), he went to the yāgaśālā of Mahābali and begged three strides of land. Once the grant was sanctioned his (Trivikrama) striding leg rose up above the
21 This is part of his Viśvarūpa activity. Periyāḻvār in his Tirumoḻi adds: Aṇṭamum nāṭu maṭaṅka viḻuṅkiya “He gulped the cosmos and the lands” (cf. Maxwell 1983:
213–34, 1993: 97–110, Gail 1983: 297–307). The Nālāyiram in a number of places sheds light on the Viśvarūpa of the Lord. T.S. Maxwell and A.J. Gail may not have an idea of the Tamil vision (cf. Kalidos 2006: I, p. 19).
22 This event is said to have occurred during the Varāhakalpa. In Hindu cosmogony
“the cosmos passes through cycles within cycles for all eternity” (Basham 1971: 325–
26). The basic cycle is kalpa, a “day of Brahmā” that constitutes 4,320 million human years. The night of Brahmā is of equal length. A year of Brahmā consists of 360 such days and nights. He lives for 100 such years. The present Brahmā is said to be his 51st year. Each kalpa consists of four manvantaras that last for 306,720,000 years. We are now in the seventh manvantara of Manu Vaivasvata. Each manvantara consists of 71 mahāyugas or aeons. A kalpa consists of 1,000 manvantaras. Each mahāyuga consists of four yugas or ages, called Kṛta, Treta, Dvāpara and Kali, each of 4,800, 3.600, 2,400 and 1,200 “years of the gods”. Each year of the god is equal to 360 human years.
23 Cf. the colossus of zoomorphic Varāha from Eran (Williams 1983: figs. 198–200).
summit of the Manthara Mountain, which was worshipped by the God seated on flower (Brahmā).
6. He (Paraśurāma) admonished the rulers of the earth on twenty-one occasions by employing the terrific weapon, paraśu. He is the Lord of Nilamaṅkai (Bhūdevī), Malarmaṅkai (Lakṣmī) and Pulamaṅkai (Nīlādevī).24
7. He (Śrī Rāma) is our Guard who identified the māyāmṛga (Mārīca) and shattered the army of the King of Laṅkā.
8. Once upon a time the seven worlds were immersed in darkness. The gods could not find out where the beginning is and where end is (ādi and anta). The Vedas disappeared. The Lord (Aṉṉam/Haṁsa) took pity on the gods and sages, appeared as Swan and preached the Scriptures.
9. At one point of time the Lord (Kṛṣṇa) sucked the teats of the ogress (Pūtanā) and when he stole butter he was tied to a mortar that he pulled and caused the two maruta25 trees to fall (Yamalārjunabhaṅga).
10. This hymn ends with exaltation of Kṛṣṇa as the Lord who admonished Kuvalayapiṭha and Rāma who shattered Laṅkā to pieces.
From the above account it is clear the Āḻvārs on a number of occasions refer to the daśāvatāras in clusters. It is not clear whether the Sanskritic literary sources meet such a need for bringing together the avatāras into a capsule.
Sculptural Presentations
The images in the Śrīvaikuṇṭham temple are arranged in the following conventional order: Matsya, Kūrma, Varāha, Nṛsiṁha, Vāmana, Paraśurāma, Dāśarathi-Rāma, Balarāma, Kṛṣṇa and Kalki.
24 This is a rare instance of the Lord associated with three Devīs (cf. Kalidos 2010).
Prof. Raju Kalidos has reported an image of Garuḍārūḍa-Viṣṇu with three Devīs and identifies the third with Nappiṉṉai.
25 Queen’s flower tree (Terminalia arjuna). According to the Bhāgavata Purāṇa (Skanda 10, Chap. 10), Kṛṣṇa pulled down the Arjuna trees that were the guhyakas, Nalakubara and Maṇigrīva, cursed to be trees and redeemed them (Kalidos 2006: I, 43).
Matsya and Kūrma are in zoomorphic form. The images being under active worship, it was not possible for us to remove the garments that cover the images. Matsya has the big head of a local variety of carp fish, Tamil keṇṭai (supra) (fig. 1). The head alone is visible. Kūrma is also zoomorphic. The head peeps out of its shell (fig. 1). Varāha is theriomorphic (fig. 1). The Lord is seated in sukhāsana. He has a human body, fitted with the head of a Boar. The head is decked with a karaṇḍamakuṭa. The hands are four. The parahastas bear the cakra and śaṅkha. The pūrvahastas are in abhaya- and varada- mudrās.
Bhūdevī is missing. This type of kevala image is called Pralaya- Varāha that appears in the garbhagṛha of the Śrīmuṣṇam temple (Rajarajan 2006: 70–72).
Figure 1. Matsya, Kūrma and Varāha, Kaḷḷarpirāṉ temple, Śrīvaikuṇṭham.
Figure 2. Nṛsiṁha, Vāmana and Paraśurāma, Śrīvaikuṇṭham temple.
Nṛsiṁha is cast in the same mould as Varāha (fig. 2). Theriomorphic, he has a lion head and human body. The mane around the face is arranged in a circular fashion. The head is fitted with a karaṇḍmakuṭa.
Seated in sukhāsana, the hands are four. The parahastas hold the cakra and śaṅkha. The pūrvahastas are in abhaya- and varada- mudras. Lakṣmī is missing and so he may be called Yoga-Nṛsiṁha or Kevala-Nṛsiṁha.
Vāmana is a Dwarf (cf. the other images of Paraśurāma to Kalki iconometrically). His head is shaven like a brahmacāri (fig. 2). Two- armed, he seems to hold a puṣtaka in the right hand and kamaṇḍalū in left hand. The image is samapāda-sthānaka.
Paraśurāma is also two-armed (fig. 2). He holds the paraśu in right hand and the left is in ūruhasta mode. He wears a karaṇdamakuṭa.
The image is samapāda-sthānaka. Śrī Rāma holds the dhanus and bāṇa is two of his hands (fig. 3). The image is slightly dvibhaṅga. The Lord wears a kirīṭamakuṭa. Balarāma holds the halāyudha in his right arm. The left hand is rested on a gadā. He wears a kirīṭamakuṭa. The image is samapāda-sthānaka.
K(&na is also two-armed (fig. 4). The right arm seems to hold a ce$)u “horse- whip”. The right arm carries a lump of butter. The headgear is peculiar and arranged like a bun. It is called k/$#a$ko$)ai (bun of K(&$a) in Tamil.
This type of bun became popular in the art of the Vijayanagara-N"yakas. The images of *$0", are set with this type of headgear in Tamilnadu (Rajarajan 2006:
II, pl. 72: *$0", in K"lam6kap Perum", Temple, Tirum1k'r, near Maturai).
Kalki is horse-faced (fig. 4). His body below neck is human. He is two-armed and carries the kha(ga and khe)aka in right and left hands. He wears a k!r!)amaku)a.
Figure 4. Balar"ma, K(&$a and Kalki, .r/vaiku$0ham temple.
Figure 3.D"!arathi-R"ma, .r/vaiku$0ham temple.
It is interesting to note that excepting Varāha and Nṛsiṁha all others are dvibhuja. Very interestingly, the Tamil bhakti hymns associate Paraśurāma with three Devīs. In sculptural art, he is never accompanied by Devīs.
The images in the Tāṭikkopu temple are housed close to the tirumatil (wall of the inner prākāra) at the edge of the Raṅgamaṇḍapa of the Tāyār shrine (Gopalakrishnan 1996: Plan 2).26 Maṭsya and Kūrma are zoomorphic. Varāha is fitted with the face of a boar and theriomorphic. He is four-armed and carries the cakra and śaṅkha in parahastas. Vāmama, Paraśurāma, Śrī Rāma, Balarāma and Kṛṣṇa are cast in the same mould as in the Vaikuntam temple. It appears the same śilpācāryas have worked in the two temples. Kalki is seated on a galloping horse, carrying the sword and shield in hands.
It is very interesting to note that in the place of Nṛsiṁha, Hayagrīva with horse-face appears. He is theriomorphic. Seated in sukhāsana, he carries the cakra and śaṅkha in parahastas. Hayagrīva replacing Nṛsiṁha is an iconographic marvel that has its roots in the Tamil bhakti hymns (supra).27
In conclusion it may be added that the type of Daśāvatāra images in a sequence has its roots in the Tamil bhkati tradition. One set of stone images alone could be reported with photographic evidence in the present article since the other images in the Tāṭikkompu and Aḻākarkōyil temples are strictly prohibited for photography. Few clusters have been reported from the temple cars of Tamilnāḍu (Kalidos 1989: fig. 36 of Matsya, Kūrma and Varāha & 43 the three Rāmas). More such images could be discovered if a systematic survey is undertaken.
26 The temple has undergone drastic renovation since S. Gopalakrishnan wrote his article in 1995, published in the East and West 1996. Another wall has been added and some modern buildings built. The original temple’s format has not been altered in any way. Dr R.K.K. Rajarajan is working with another paper on the changing phase of the Tāṭikkompu temple.
27 The temple administration did not allow us to make a photo during a recent visit.
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Acta Orientalia 2012: 73, 17–34.
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The poetics the Iraqi War:
Between Discursive Conflicts and Diasporic Discourse
Otared Haidar
University of Oxford
Abstract
This study attempts to explore the contemporary poetic scene in Iraq during the last two decades that witnessed two prolonged wars, and to investigate its prospects and challenges. What prompted and motivated this study is the discursive tension going on across the poetic community in which the only commonplace seems to be the continuous complaint of both the poets and the critics about the shortage of support and of marginalization. The internal conflict across the poetic community focuses on two issues: the authentic portrayal of the situation in Iraq, and the poetic excellence.
Drawing on many approaches taken from socio-cultural studies, textual studies and comparative poetics, the paper follows an interdisciplinary theoretical approach to defining and constructing the contemporary Iraqi cultural scene as a field meriting study by contextualizing a set of representative poetic texts. By studying and analyzing the literary and extra-literary relations of the text, this study aspires to define and classify the main trends and tendencies of the contemporary Iraqi poetry. Reading these texts within their socio- cultural and institutional contexts will cast a light on the contemporary
Iraqi poetic reading and writing culture which involves not only readers and writers, but also censors, publishing houses, official and unofficial authorities, newspapers, scholars, cultural administrations, and a host of other individuals and institutions besides.
The critical reading of the poems aspires to manifest that in view of the general atmosphere of confusion and frustration during this period that witnessed the collapse of the cultural institution among other institutions, the contemporary Iraqi poetic discourse in Iraq hold some keys to the reading of the socio-cultural wartime experience, and more importantly it holds insights into what will follow in the post-war period.
Keywords: Iraq War, Iraqi and international war poetry, Iraqi poets and literary critics, Iraqi media, discursive conflicts, home and diaspora, exilic literature, women writing.
The last two wars on Iraq (1991–2003) were a shock to all generations that witnessed them across the Arab World. Unlike the preceding period that witnessed many wars and upheavals, the last twenty years subjected Iraq and the Iraqi people to a continuous state of war and thus is often referred to by Arab and International media as “the War on Iraq or the Iraq War.” Furthermore, these two wars were characteristically marked by the heavy casualties, brutal new weaponry and most importantly the mass collapse of the cultural institutions that were standing as a symbolic representation of the rich cultural history of both modern and ancient Iraq. One of the major casualties of the war was the literary institution that was once standing at the vanguard of the Arab cultural institutions.
The difficulty of getting a well defined and precise picture of the ongoing state of affairs in Iraq today have a crucial bearing on all research topics of the contemporary Iraqi cultural life. Therefore, the research topic of the contemporary Iraqi poetry is more demanding and has a greater complexity than researching any other contemporary Arabic poetry. This is partly due to the impossibility to survey and document the recent developments in the Iraqi poetic scene. Apart from the few anthologies, which were widely contested in the Iraqi media, the main sources on the topic are the Arab and Iraqi printed
and electronic media which require regular tracking and searching, and their analyses require more complex methodological strategy.
This paper is a part of a wider interdisciplinary study that I intend to undertake in order to explore the contemporary literary scene in Iraq and to examine how the institution of literature responded to, and interacted with the war, and how it was altered by this cultural mobilization. The present paper examines the Iraqi poetic discourse during the last twenty years that witnessed two prolonged wars, thus my argument will be referring to these two decades as “the contemporary period.” However, I will place the contemporary poetic experience within its historical context and I will investigate its prospects and challenges.
In its foundational stage, the movement of modern Arabic poetry followed closely the course of the free verse movement which was started by the two works published in Iraq in 1947 and written by the two Iraqi poets Nāzik al-Malā’ika (1923–2007) and Badr Shākir al-Sayyāb (1926–64). The Iraqi pioneership of the free verse movement placed the Iraqi poetry at the forefront of Arabic literature and gave the Iraqi poets the lead in the movement of modern Arabic poetry for decades.1
Throughout the third quarter of the twentieth century, Arabic literary circles were under the influence of both the formal as well as the thematic models and prototypes that were produced by the Iraqi diligent experimentations. Some Iraqi poems such as al-Sayyab’s
“The Song of Rain” were considered as a historical poetic landmark by the historiographers of modern Arabic literature. Characterized as being ground-breaking, experimental and highly politicized, the supremacy and popularity of the Iraqi poetry was based on both its formal innovations as well as thematic features. The leading Iraqi poets at that stage showed a new understanding of both the poetic techniques and the role of the poetic discourse in the cultural and the political life of their society. Their works were also highly acclaimed by critics for reflecting the aspirations of generations of Arab people, and for placing the national issues as central to the poetic discourse.
Under the continuous strains and turmoil of the Iraq War, the current
1 See ‘Abdulla al-‘Udhari, Modern poetry of Arab World, Introduction, and Jayyusi, Trends and Movements, vol. 2, pp, 534–560.
poetic scene in Iraq, such as the other Iraqi cultural scenes, relates a completely different story.
Going through long phases of complete silence, or shattered between feelings of guilt and confusion, a big number of the renowned Iraqi poets both at home and in Diaspora, are struggling to keep alive the legacy of the Iraqi pioneers and their lineage to it. Some of them recognize and admit their insufficient interaction and response, and their statements are overwhelmed with a pronounced sense ofthe tragic. Others complain of the inadequacy of language to speak about the shocking experience of the mass death and the prolonged wars. Nonetheless as they state in their articles and interviews, they are striving to turn their works into a discursive engagement in the socio-cultural and political life of their society.2 To have a better view, the following part will analyze the ongoing feverish debates in and on the poetic community in order to reconstruct the contemporary Iraqi poetic scene.
Throughout the last few decades, the Iraqi cultural life was shattered between two groups: those who are living in Iraq and those who settled abroad. They are referred to in the Iraqi media as kuttab al-dakhil and kuttab al-kharij, the writers of the inside and the writers of the outside. Referring to these two groups respectively, my study will use the two terms of Home-poets and the Diasporic poets. The antagonistic relation between the two groups revolves around the continuous disapproval of this division by the Home-poets in particular, who view it as representative of two different “Iraqs” and as “an ideological attempt to destabilize.” “For them, Home is the heart of the whole issue, and the Diasporic poets are writing about this Home.”3
By the help of the new media, it is possible to identify the two major clusters of the Home-poets and the Diasporic poets. Whereas the second group “the Diasporic poets” appears more crystallized, stable, definable and more accessible, the Home-poets group is difficult to mark out and define distinctly. Nonetheless, with the help
2 See “Umsiya Li-Qasa’id ‘Iraqiyya fi Madrid, Shu‘ara’ fi Siyaq al-Hadarat, (Evening for Poetry Reading of Iraqi Poems)”, by Malak Mustafa, Al-zaman Newspaper, London, Issue 1496, (5/5/2).
3 See
http://www.iraqiwritersunion.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1075 0
of other sources of this study such as reviews, interviews, critical articles and manifestoes, The Home-poets can be classified into two different blocs: on the one hand those who feel that Iraq and the Iraqis are living through a historical critical moment in which the literary culture and institutions have a vital role to play in this moment.
Accordingly, these poets worked within the existent official and semi official networks, and struggled throughout the successive different periods and under different political systems to maintain their independent voices. On the other hand, the second bloc includes those poets who distanced themselves against what they consider to be an organized attempt to appropriate their works and activities by the cultural institutions throughout the different phases and by different authorities into an ideology glorifying the political period.4 However, it is almost impossible to draw a precise line between these two sub- groups of the Home-poets due to the fast changing political life inside Iraq, the inaccessibility of the institutional files and the constant mobilization which destabilizes the cultural scene continuously.
Another characteristic feature of the Iraqi contemporary poetic culture is the discursive conflict going on across the poetic community, in which the only commonplace seems to be the continuous complaint of both the poets and the critics about marginalization and shortage of support by both “the social groups and the government”.5 As for the critics, the majority of them pronounce transparently their disappointment by the inability of the contemporary Iraqi poetry to produce a wide scale phenomenal experience that match the glorious pioneering history of the Iraqi poetry as well as the critical historical situation today. Moreover, critics sometimes express their resentment about what they call “the inadequacy of the dominant poetic forms” and “the lack of the poetic innovation.”6 What is more, several Iraqi critics in recent years asserted repeatedly that the works of hundreds of contemporary Iraqi
4 For example see the interview with Khaz‘al al-Majidi by Kadhim Hassuni in the Journal Al-Sabah, 1-July-2003, on
http://www.alsabaah.com/paper.php?source=akbar&mlf=interpage&sid=8052the.
5 For more, see “Malamih wa Ittijahat al-Adab al-‘Iraqi fi ‘Ahd al-Ihtilal, (Features and Trends of the Iraqi Poetry under the Occupation),” by Wadi‘ al-‘Ubaidi 31, August 2006, in http://www.diwanalarab.com/spip.php?article5782.
6 For an example, see “Interview with Iraqi poet Shakir Lu‘aybi”, by Rayya Ahmad and Sawsan al-Barghuthi, in http://www.perso.ch/slaibi/avec%20rayya.htm.
poets have little merit both as poetry in the general sense and as a poetic representative of the wartime experience in particular. As for the poets, they repeatedly admit that the Iraqi poetry crucially needs the help of the literary criticism in order to progress.7 Some of them blame the critics and accuse them of neglecting their traditionally assigned duties and in particular the continuous evaluation of the poetic production. Other poets complain that the literary criticism is falling short from following the significant advances in the contemporary literary history of Iraq. As for the poets’ community itself, the internal conflict which is manifested on poetic inter- discourse focuses on two goals: an authentic portrayal of the situation in Iraq, and a new criterion of poetic excellence. Hence, all the arguments seem to be revolving around one major question: “How to write today a master text about Iraq?”
Throughout its history, the Iraqi modern poetry progressed along two different major courses: the first aspires for literary excellence, aesthetic accomplishment and acquiring universal recognition by concentrating on experimentation and by constantly interfering in the process of standardization and canonization. The second tendency perceived the poetic process as merely a writerly engagement with politics and social issues. To a large extent, the two tendencies had their distinct representative poets and poetics. The first group established and developed their experimentation basing it on the prose poem. The second one continued with the classical-form qasida and the metrical free verse poetry. The tension between these two tendencies was and still, in control of the poetic scene, and sometimes of the individual careers and works of the Iraqi poets. Nonetheless, the diligent and persistent ongoing attempts by the Iraqi poets seem to be attaining more balance on this issue. The most recent theoretical writings mention an undergoing development of a new poetic form of poetry at the hands of Arab poets in general, in which the Iraqi poets are contributing actively. The new form combines the prose poem with elements taken from the metrical free verse.8
7 See the debate between Poets and critics during a seminar in the Iraqi poetry Society in Baghdad in 30-December-2010:
http://www.alsabaah.com/paper.php?source=akbar&mlf=interpage&sid=95609.
8 See http://www.perso.ch/slaibi/avec%20rayya.htm.
The second part of this paper will attempt to complete the constructed picture of the contemporary Iraqi poetic scene as a field meriting study by reading and contextualizing a set of representative poetic texts that I especially translated for this paper. Since it will be difficult to select a set that can represent all shades, the illustrative texts are chosen according to the findings of my textual and extra-textual analyses and to the definitions and classification of the main trends and tendencies of the contemporary Iraqi poetry that I tried to establish in my study. The similarities and the differences according to which I will categorize the poems and the poets are not only formal and thematic but are indicative of the contextual and associative attributes that I have underlined in my paper.
Reading these texts within their socio-cultural and institutional contexts will cast a light on the contemporary Iraqi poetic reading and writing culture which involves not only readers and writers, but also censors, publishing houses, official and unofficial authorities, newspapers, cultural administrations, and a host of other individuals and institutions besides.
This reading of the representative texts is an attempt to find a point of entry to the most recent developments in the movement of modern Iraqi poetry. Furthermore, the critical reading of the poems aspires to manifest that in the light of the general atmosphere of confusion and frustration, during this period which witnessed the collapse of the cultural institution among other institutions, the contemporary Iraqi poetic discourse hold some keys to the reading of the socio-cultural wartime experience, and more importantly it holds insights into what will follow in the post-war period.
The Home-poets
“Chants, Suggesting Homeland” by Khalid al-Sa‘di. He was named the Young Poet of Iraq 2002, the president of the Young Iraqi Writers Association, and UN goodwill ambassador. He returned to Iraq in May 2009 after two years in the Gulf and was killed when his car was bombed on 29 May 2009. He received many Iraqi and pan-Arab
awards including the first award in the Arab Youth festival on 2008 for this poem:9
ٌﮫﻪﺋﺎﺗ ٌعﻉاﺍﺮﺷ ِﻦﯿﻴﻨﺤﻟاﺍ ُﮫﻪﺟوﻭ ﻼﺑذﺫ ِﮫﻪﻣﺎﻤﻛأﺃ ﻲﻓ ُﻞﻔﻄﻟاﺍ َﻲﺒﻠﻗوﻭ /ﻼَﻓأﺃ
ﻊﻣدﺩ..يﻱدﺩﻼﺑ..ِﻦﯿﻴﻨﺤﻟاﺍ ﮫﻪﺟوﻭ / /ﻲﺘﯿﻴﻓﺎﻗ
ﻢﯿﻴﺘﯾﻳ ٍﺮﮭﻬﻧ تﺕﻮﺻوﻭ ﻲﻔﻠﺧ
ﻖﺷﺎﻌﻟاﺍ ﺖﻨﻛوﻭ..تﺕﺎﯿﻴﻨﻣﻷﺎﺑ /ﺔﻘﻤﻨﻣ ﺖﻨﻏ ﻲﺘﻟاﺍ دﺩﻼﺒﻟاﺍ ﺖﻨﻛ /ﻼﻌﺘﺷاﺍ
ﻻوﻭ ﻲﺑرﺭدﺩ ﻲﻓ ﺪﯿﻴﻋ ﻻ نﻥﻵاﺍوﻭ /ﻼﻄﺒﻟاﺍ دﺩرﺭﻮﻟاﺍ ﺪﺿ تﺕﻮﻤﻟاﺍ ﻒﻟﺎﺤﺗ /حﺡﺮﻓ
.ﻼﻔﺘﺣاﺍوﻭ
The face of nostalgia is a lost sail fading/ And my child-like heart has withered in buds/ The face of nostalgia is my homeland, the tears of my rhyme/ And the sound of an orphan river blazing behind me/ You were a country, singing, ornamented with wishes/ And I was the heroic lover/ And now there are no feast on my road, and no joy/
Death had allied against the roses and celebrated.
ﻰﻠﻋ ﻢﻠﺳ /ﮫﻪﻓﺎﺠﺗرﺭاﺍ ﻮﻜﺸﯾﻳ يﻱﺬﻟاﺍ (ﺮﺴﺠﻟاﺍ) ﻰﻠﻋ ﻢﻠﺳ /ﺔﻓﺎﺻﺮﻟاﺍوﻭ ًﺎﺧﺮَﻛ دﺩاﺍﺪﻐﺑ ﻰﻠﻋ ﻢﻠﺳ / حﺡﺎﺒﺼﻟاﺍ ِﺲﻤﺷ ﻰﻠﻋ ﻢﻠﺳ /ﻦﯿﻴﻤﺳﺎﯿﻴﻟاﺍ ﺪﺧ قﻕﻮﻓ ﺎﻌﻣدﺩ ﻦﻓﺰﻧ ءﺎﺴﻨﻟاﺍ ﻰﻠﻋوﻭ /ﻦﯾﻳﺰﺤﻟاﺍ ﺮﮭﻬﻨﻟاﺍ ﺎﮭﻬﯿﻴﻗﺂﻣ ﺖﻔﺟ ﻲﺘﻟاﺍ ﻲﻣأﺃ ﻰﻠﻋ ﻢﻠﺳ /ﺔﺒﯾﻳﺮﻐﻟاﺍ ﺲﻤﺸﻟاﺍ ﻦﻣ ﻰﻠﺣأﺃ (ﻲﺘﺑﻮﻘﻌﺑ) ﻲﻓ ﺲﻤﺸﻟﺎﻓ ﻔﻟاﺍوﻭ ِقﻕﺎﺸﻌﻟاﺍ ﻰﻠﻋ ﻢﻠﺳ /ﺔﺒﯿﻴﻜﺴﻟاﺍ نﻥاﺍذﺫﻷاﺍ تﺕﻮﺻ ﻰﻠﻋ ﻢﻠﺳ /ﺔﺒﯿﻴِﺒﺤﻟاﺍ ىﻯﺮﻛﺬﻟاﺍوﻭ ءﺎﺑدﺩﻷاﺍوﻭ ءاﺍﺮَﻘ
.ءﺎﻤﺴﻟاﺍ ﻦﻀﺘﺤﯾﻳ (قﻕوﻭرﺭﺎﻔﻟاﺍ) ﻊﻣﺎﺠﺑ
Greet Baghdad’s Karkh district and the Rasafa District/ Greet the shaky bridge/ Greet the sad river/ And women who bled tears on jasmine-like cheeks/ Greet the morning sun/ As the sun in my Ba’quba is prettier than the stranger sun/ Greet my mum whose pouring eye-corners had dried up/ Greet lovers, poor people, literati, and the lovely memory/ Greet the sound of the call for prayer in al- Farouq’s mosque embracing the sky.
ِﺲﺋﺎﻨَﻜﻟاﺍوﻭ ﺪﺟﺎﺴﻤﻟاﺍ ﻰﻠﻋوﻭ /لﻝﻮھﮪﮬﻫﺬﻟاﺍ كﻙﻼﺳأﺃ ﻒﻠﺧ ﺔﻨﯿﻴﺠﺴﻟاﺍ ِﻦﯿﻴﺗﺎﺴﺒﻟاﺍ ﻞﻛ ﻰﻠﻋ ﻢﻠﺳ (يﻱاﺍﺮﺴﻟاﺍ) ﻰﻠﻋ ...ﻢﯾﻳﺪَﻘﻟاﺍ قﻕﻮﺴﻟاﺍ ﻰﻠﻋ ﻢﻠﺳ /لﻝﻮﻘﺤﻟاﺍوﻭ ﻖﺋاﺍﺪﺤﻟاﺍوﻭ ِسﺱرﺭاﺍﺪﻤﻟاﺍوﻭ
10
Greet all the fields imprisoned behind the fences of bewilderment/ the mosques, churches, schools, parks and fields/ Greet the Old Souk and the Saray.
“Acquiring a profession” by Ibrahim al-Khayyat: He held the post of the director of media department in the Ministry of Culture which he resigned from in 2005. He is now a president of the Writers’ Union.
9 For more about al-Sa‘di and his poetry see, and his poem see:
http://www.beider.se/print.php?id=1977, http://www.alnoor.se/article.asp?id=54406.
10 Saray: is a historical building turned into the provincial centre for the writers union.
The poem is published in his last collection “The Orange Republic”
(2007).11
ﻊﻓﺪﯾﻳ ﻞھﮪﮬﻫ /؟ َﺔﻘﯿﻴﻧﻷاﺍ فﻑرﺭﺎﻌﻤﻟاﺍ ةﺓﺮﺘﺳ ﻊﻠﺨﯾﻳ ـ هﻩاﺍﺮﺗ ـ ﻞھﮪﮬﻫ ؟ ﻦﯿﻴﯿﻴﺒﻨﻟاﺍ رﺭاﺍﻮﺣ ﻲﻓ ُﺖﻤﺼﯾﻳ ﻞھﮪﮬﻫ .ﮫﻪﻧﻮﻠﺘﻘﯾﻳ ﻻ ﻞھﮪﮬﻫ /ـ ﻚﻟذﺫ ﻞﺒﻗ وﻭأﺃ ـ /ﻚﻟذﺫ ﺪﻌﺑوﻭ /؟ﻲﻓﺎﻨﻤﻟاﺍ ءﺎﺴﻔﯿﻴﺴﻓ ﻰﻟإﺇ ﮫﻪﻓﻮﺧ َﺔﻤﯿﻴﻏ
Should he be silent in the dialogues of the prophets?/ Will he take of the neat jacket of knowledge?/ Should he push the cloud of his fear towards the mosaic of exiles?/ and after that/ or before that/ Do they not kill him?
“To Christopher Marlow’s Dream” by Ahmad Ali Yunis: A self- educated poet, he wrote his first collection by hand and distributed it by hand in his early twenty, forcing the literary establishment to acknowledge his work, he published his first collection in print on 1993. In this poem, he follows on the steps of “The Iraqi Poets of Rebellion,” who established their poetics in the middle of the twentieth century.
/ﻖﯿﻴﺤﺳ ﻦﻣزﺯ ﺬﻨﻣ ﺖﻘﻠﻏأﺃ ﻲﺘﻟاﺍ ﺬﻓاﺍﻮﻨﻟاﺍ /ﺮﺒﻘﻟاﺍ ﺔﻤﻠظﻅ ﻲﻓ /نﻥﻵاﺍ كﻙرﺭاﺍﻮﺟ ﻰﻟإﺇ ﻒﻘﯾﻳ ﻦﻣ هﻩﺬﮭﻬﺑ /ﮫﻪﺗﺎﯿﻴﺣ بﺏّﺮﺨﯾﻳ ﻚﻠﺜﻣ ﻞﺟرﺭ /.ﺔﯾﻳﺪﺑأﺃ ﺔﻤﺘﻋ ﻢـّﻠﻘﯾﻳ /ﻚﺤﺒﺷ نﻥﺎﻛ ﺎﮭﻬﻠﺧاﺍدﺩ ﻲﻓ /.ﺖﺤﺘﻓ /بﺏﺎﺒﻟﻷاﺍ ﺐﻠﺨﺗ ﻲﺘﻟاﺍ قﻕﺮﻄﻟاﺍ ﺪﯾﻳ ﻲﻓوﻭ /نﻥﺰﺣ كﻙﺪﯾﻳ ﺔﯾﻳﺎﮭﻬﻧ ﻲﻓ /.ﮫﻪﻗﻮﺗ تﺕﺎﻤﺴﻟ ﻞﻣﻷاﺍ ﺢﻨﻤﯾﻳ
ﻢﻟﺎﻌﻟاﺍ نﻥﻷوﻭ /ﻢﻟﺎﻌﻟاﺍ ﻒﺘﻛ ﻰﻠﻋ ﺮﻤﺗ ﺰﺋﺎﻨﺠﻟاﺍ نﻥﻷ /.ﺔﻠﯿﻴﻘﺜﻟاﺍ ﻚﺒھﮪﮬﻫاﺍﻮﻣ نﻥﺰﯾﻳ /نﻥﺰﺣ نﻥﺰﺤﻟاﺍ هﻩﺎﺠﺗﺎﺑ ﺮﯿﻴﺴﯾﻳ ًﻼﺟرﺭ نﻥﻵاﺍ حﺡﺮﺠﺗ كﻙرﺭﺪﺻ بﺏﻮﻘﺛ /.ﺔﺒﺣﺎﺸﻟاﺍ ﻚﺘﻨﺟوﻭ هﻩﺎﺠﺗﺎﺑ /ًاﺍﺮﯿﻴﻔﺻ ﻖﻠﻄﯾﻳ .ﺔﯿﻴﺳرﺭﺎﻓ ةﺓﻮﺴﻨﻠﻗ ﻞﻤﺤﯾﻳ/تﺕاﺍﺮﻔﻟاﺍ
Who is standing next to you/ In the dark of the grave/ The windows that were closed long time ago/ Are opened/ Inside them, your ghost trimmed an eternal dark/ A man like you, destroying his life/ In heart- capturing ways/ Gives hope to the features of his desire/ There is a grief at the end of your hand/ And a grief at the hand of the grief/
Weighing your heavy talents/ Because funerals cross over the shoulder of the world/ And because the world is sending a whistle/
Towards your pale cheek/ The holes in your chest are now wounding a man walking towards the Euphrates/ Carrying a Persian hood.
Al-Sa‘di’s poem reconstructs the picture of Iraq and the collective memory of Iraqi people. It interacts with different poetic forms and rhythms and it has rich intertextual links with the intellectual and
11 Ibrahim al-Khayyat, Jumhuriyyat al-Burtuqal, (The Orange Republic), (the Union of Writer and Ministry of Culture, Bagdad 2007).
cultural history of Iraq. It also resonates with echoes of the pioneers’
tunes and themes, and the well established thematics of war and Diaspora in Arabic poetry in general, such as the waiting and crying mother. It relies on an extensive cultural and literary tradition and is intensified by evoking the powerful scenes of a long line of the waiting mothers of the master Arab poets including the most famous ones such as the mothers Mahmud Darwish, and Muhammad al- Maghut, etc,. Tim Kendall in The Oxford handbook of British and Irish war poetry, examines the scene of the wives waiting for their husbands to return in a poem of Thomas Hardy’s “the Going of the Battery,” as typical to war poetry.12 The poem also includes references to Gaza bringing together the Iraqi and the Palestinian tragedies, an association that is deep-rooted in the public discourse and in the cultural discourse across the Arab World.
Al-Khayyat’s poem intertextualizes with a classical model of the intellectual struggle with the official patronage. It also experiments with combining lyrical and narrative unites, and prose and metrical rhythms. It is a remarkable poetic experiment with form, which is partly eclipsed by the graphic depiction of the harsh reality and the thematic total indulgence. The poem portrays the home- politics and speaks out the confusion and anxieties of the cultural producers in Iraq today and the difficulties they have in keeping track with the fast-changing events, rules, guidelines, redlines, sensors and sponsors.
Yunis’ poem about the British author who died in a duel has strong autobiographical echoes from the life of the poet who lived most of his life marginalized and in poverty, unable to establish connections neither with the official nor with the oppositional networks that can help him at least to publish his work. The poem interacts with a wide humanistic view and the scene of the overlooked funerals alludes to Iraq. The poem flirts with death and self- destruction by relating to one of the fascinating stories of death, well- known among educated Arabs as it exists in the educational curricula.
In a celebrative mode, the poem laments the life of the intellectual that is wasted in a coincidental occasion, and ends worthless, meaningless with no big cause and no glory. By combining all these formal and
12 See Tim Kendall in The Oxford handbook of British and Irish war poetry, p. 49.
