The Nasiri book on the breeding of horses and donkeys
As to the breeding of mules, the best mules for carrying loads are those produced in Armenia, and after these the North African mules. In breeding them, a donkey with excellent conformation and long and wide ears is put on the ramakah (see below); in this case, the offspring turns out to be a large mule, with an excellent conformation, [a] perfect [one].
If the mare was a rumiyyah [i.e., Turkish] or a countrybred (biqaa’iyyah), it is the best of mules, because it turns out to be a mule with a strong build, a broad back and hip, thick legs, [which is] enduring with loads, weights and chores.
If the horse was mounted on the she-donkey, the offspring is often is a small mule, short-headed and snub-nosed (fatssan). It might turn out free of these defects, but it won’t measure up to the offspring of the mare, in its conformation, endurance and beauty. This is because of the spaciousness of the belly of the mare, and the tightness of the belly of the she-donkey. […].
As to the breeding of donkeys, the best [donkeys] are the Egyptians, and these are those produced in Upper Egypt; and after these, the Yemeni ones then the North African ones. And what is looked for in breeding them must be what is looked for in the breeding of others, as I mentioned to you in this book and as I explained, so understand that.
A ramakah in the Arabic dictionaries I consulted is the female birdhawn, especially that used for breeding. Another instance of classifying horses according to their function.
I should not be questioning or advising you on translation, but looking at those two passages, it would make sense to read the parallel construction “as to the production” rather than “progeny.” Is this possible from the text?
By snub-nosed, is a concave profile meant, or a convex one? I’m leaning more to concave right now, but am uncertain.
So there are al-‘arabiyyat, the birdhawn (including division by function, such as broodmare ramakah, fast-walking one himlaaj), the biqa’iyyat, and then mules and hinnies. A birdhawn can also be described in terms of its place of origin, so the rumiyyah mare, the Khursani birdhawn. Is the birdhawn also kadish, or is it a separate category?
(I know you’re getting there, but I am just sticking my questions out here partly to help me formulate my ideas, partly to try keep track of the various types of horse.)
@Kate: it’s concave, and it was considered a defect. Re: your classification, yes, that is a good synpopsis. It seems to me from the title of the section “on the kadishes and the countrybreds” that the kadishes are indeed the birdhawn, and perhaps also the countrybreds.
@Michael: I have anguished over this. Literally, “nitaaj” is progeny/offspring, but it can also be “reprodcution” and in all these sections “breeding”. It indeed makes more sense to translate it as “breeding” as in “reproduction done by humans”, especially in this particular case, where mules don’t have progeny, and where the breeding of mules is by crossing horses and donkeys. I have gone ahead and changed it to “breeding” everywhere.