Rzewuski on the Wadhnan strain
Said Rzewuski: “Woznah: La fondatrice de cette race très fameuse par ses qualités pour la guerre fut dans l’ère nommée la Djahélieh (le paganisme) consacrée a l’étoile qui précède, de pair avec une autre, le lever de Canope. Race très antique et précieuse. Anti-prophétique. Rarissime. Forte membrée. D’origine des environs de La Mecque.”
In English: “Woznah: The foundation mare of this strain renowned for its qualities in warfare was, in the era called Jahiliyyah (paganism), dedicated to the star that precedes, along with another, the rising of Canopus. A very ancient and precious strain. Anti-prophetic. Extremely rare. Big boned. Originating from the vicinity of Mecca.”
The “rising of Canopus” refers to the annual reappearance in the late summer of the star Canopus (Suhayl in Arabic, the second brightest star in the sky). In Arabia and the Middle East in general, the pre-sunrise rising of Canopus signaled the end of intense summer heat and the beginning of cooler weather. This annual event was a major cultural marker for Bedouin and farmers.
The annual “rising of Canopus” is preceded by the rising of Sirius (in Arabic al-Shi’ra al-Yamaniyyah, the brightest star in the sky), itself preceded by the rise of Procyon (al-Sh’ira al-Shamiyyah, or al-Ghumaysa’).
Rzewuski, who was in Arabia in 1817-19, associated the foundation mare of the Wadhnan strain to either one of these two stars, but he did not say why. It is possible — me speculating here — that this association had to do with the ancient Bedouin cultural practice of slitting a foal’s ears if it was born at a particular time of the day (or the year, e.g., the yearly rising of a bright star). One of the stories about how the Wadhnan strain got its name is that the eartips of a Kuhaylah mare were slit at birth, and because of that she was named “Wadhnah” (in Arabic “that of the ear”).
Kinneir is currently the earliest Anglophone source I have for the Wadnan; I don’t know exactly when and where he got his information, beyond some time between 1810 and 1814, and possibly in Basra. He knows of it as the Wadnan Khersan, which he says is one of the Khamsa. Like Rzewuski, he spells it with a (and a ), so I suppose it’s a ذ?
Indeed there was no Wadhnah/Wathnah/Wadnah before the Khursan/Khersan. They were the ones who gave it this name.
Who are the Khursan? I am not having any luck identifying them, keep getting results for Khorasan instead.
Layard, rather later than Rzewuski, says that, according to his Shammar informant, the Wathna Khersan received its name because the mares are worth their weight in gold, and locates the strain with “the Beni Lam, Al Kamees, and Al Kithere”.
The Khersan/Khursan are the leading clan of the Fudul. Look for them in the APM account of the Wadnan strain. The Al Khamees (Al Kamees) are another clan of the Fudul (tbc, if my memory is correct).
The Fudul, the Aal Kathir (Al Kithere), the Aal Mughira (cf. K. Mimrah) and the Dhafeer are the main components of the Bani Lam tribe.
The Bani Lam before, during and immediately after their splinter into these tribes, their subsequent emigration to Irak/Khuzestan and/or their settling in Najd towns and cities, were the top power in Central Arabia.
After the splintering, some smaller sections of some of these related tribes regrouped in Irak/Khuzestan and formed a new tribal unit, also called “the smaller” or “the newer” Bani Lam, which still exists. That’s why Layard’s informant (who is very well informed) names the whole alongside the parts.
Most Arabian horse strains started with the Bani Lam. That’s why I focus on them so much.
As to the worth “their weight in gold”, I found a mention of it in Mary Gharagozlu’s writings on the Wadnan Mir. I suspect she picked it up from Layard. I don’t where that comes from. I don’t see any immediate connection between “Wadhnan” and “gold”.
Thank you. I see the APM records the slit ear story.
Yes the Arabic is a ذ
وذنة
!شكرا