Ottoman Poetry Class Handout

Another class I am teaching at a symposium tomorrow featuring some of the basics of Ottoman Poetry. You'll be missing out on a fair amount of info from the class itself, but is a great place to start. Terms are multiple languages, for now.  This is one of those research projects that will go on for years and be updated and changed. Till then...

Ottoman Poetry

Lady Eilon bat Miriam.   Mka: D. Brianne Galgano.

  Eilon.bat.miriam@gmail.com 

Poetry was the height of entertainment and the most respected form of literature in the Ottoman Empire.  Poetry was included in or part of the construct of oral stories as well. Many of the manuscripts and miniatures we have as art is actually poetic interpretations of the great myths and legends with illustration. The Ottoman Empire officially spanned from 1299 into the 20th century but saw influence from stories centuries before. The Ottomans also melded a great sum of cultures for you to draw inspiration from: Greek, Persian, Turko-Mongol, Mughal, Arabic, Hebrew, and the Steppes. I have focused here on what tends to be considered traditionally Ottoman or Islamic,  in period,  in terms of form, feel,  and verse.

Types of Poetry

·         Tekke - Religious poetry most notably associated with Sufism and Rumi. Most was anecdotal, enlightenment, or spiritual. In the 14th century there were a set of epics created to help the spread of Islam among the educated. Other sect poetry were from those chastising the orthodoxy of Islam. (Didactic)

·         Folk Poetry - Usually written by the less educated. Was a the voice of the common man sometimes bold statements of rebellion or speaking out against perceived injustices. May have been penned by scribes for the author as a means of communicating dissidence.

·         Prose - Was considered lowly, so much so that once the Divan poets had chastised it enough even the Tekke started to be written in verse.

·         Pangeric - poems of praise or public address. Here you will find odes, elegies and Propaganda.

In Arabic poetry is the boast (fakhr), the pangyric (madih) praise of a leader, and the satire of rivals (hija'). Combining of these components would create powerful speeches, elegies, or epic ballads.

·         Divan - Elite poetry written by the highly educated, nobility, and leaders. Most Divan poets went to schools where they learned the traditional forms in Arabic and Persian. Form was the focus of most Divan poetry yet eloquence and feeling was just as expected. Abstract metaphors for beauty and spiritual themes were rampant.  Throughout the forms of Divan poems the length of the relevant vowels seems to be the most important element. 

Divan also refers to collections of formal poetry usually compiled by the poet.  Formal    gatherings called meclis included performances of divan, music and manuscripts.

Poetry Forms

·         Ghazel: the lyric ode, with a minimum of five and a maximum of fifteen couplets (aa / ba /ca / da / ea) The initial couplet, the matla, should rhyme.  The end of each couplet thereafter should rhyme the matla. The final line, the maqta,  should act as the conclusion or point of the piece. The poet's name is sometimes part of the maqta as a signature/title. Redd-i matla is another way of ending the poem where the poet repeats one of the matla directly for a bookend effect.

·         Kasid/ Qasida  - rhyming couplets like the gazel, but running as long as thirty-three to ninety-nine couplets. Used for speeches and praise to Sultans (Pangyric).

·         Mesnevi - self-rhyming couplets in great quantities used for  narratives (poetic epics) or didactic works.  Ex: Fuzuli - Leylâ vü Mecnun

·         Mukhames - Stanzas of five lines with end rhymes that change each stanza.

·         Ruba'i  - Quatrains; Ex: The Ruba'iyyat of Omar Khayyam

·         Şarkı (Murabba) - couplets with themes of  love and levity; may have been set to music.

·         Musammat (extended versions of many of the other basic verse forms).

·         Aruz  - a measured prosody devised usually written in original Arabic of Persian because Turkish comprises more short vowels, where more long vowels were required. There are several meters of Aruz based on the measurement of long and short vowels in syllables where vowels at the end of syllables are short and consonants long.

                                Â-şık ol-dur kim kı-lar câ-nın fe-dâ câ-nâ-nı-na

                                –.../...–...–...‘ –

·         Tuyuğ (a quatrain utilizing a specific aruz meter)

Some Notes About Research

When researching the Ottoman Empire and surrounding areas there are a few things you should keep in mind. The greater context of the Empire is a melting pot of cultures that were conquered, revered, or relocated.  The overall culture in the three hundred years we view it in society contains very little that changes drastically.  The Arabic calendar is about six hundred years earlier than our own so double check your dates. Translations to English are always subject to the view of the translator. Some translators are coming from the outside and miss the bigger picture. Some translators keep the original Islamic context and make a direct translation, others try to capture the voice and the meter, some only seek to make a piece accessible to a Western audience. Trying to understand the Aruz, for example, may require a better understanding of its root language before being able to truly determine if it is usable in English for recreation.

Two Poems For Translation Comparison

The poem does not appear to have a title but is by the 16th century  folk poet, Köroğlu. In this piece he is challenging the oppressive lord of a nearby region.

Here I send my greetings to the Bey of Bolu!

He should come up these hills and get his comeuppance.                                                                    

As the rustling of arrows keeps echoing through 

And the clanking of shields resounds off the mountains.

Then we were faced with legions of the enemy 

And on our brows appeared dark words of destiny.                                                                        

Rifles were invented—that ruined bravery:  

Now the curved sword has to stay in its sheath and rust.

Even so, Köroğlu’s fame as a hero will glow! 

Enemies will flee as I deal blow after blow, 

Covered with all that froth from my Gray Horse’s mouth,                                                              

And with my trousers steeped in the blood of the foe!

-Talat S. Halman

Greetings from me to the Bey of Bolu.

Let him come and lean against these mountains. 

let the mountains echo and reecho

the sound of the clash of arrows.

The enemy has come, in ranks;

the black script of fate is written on my white brow; 

the musket has come, manhood is spoilt;

the curved sword must rust in its scabbard.

Has Köroğlu fallen from his glory?

He sends many from the battlefield.

Our boots are filled, our garments are stained

with the horse's spittle and the foeman's blood.

- Bernard Lewis

Here is a set from Mihiri Hatun, a 15th century female poet's divan

Since, they say, woman has no brains or wit,

Whatever she speaks, they excuse it.

But your humble servant Mihri demurs

And states with that mature wisdom of hers:

Far better to have one woman with class

Than a thousand males all of whom are crass;

I would take one woman with acumen

Over a thousand muddleheaded men.

-Talat S. Halman

Woman, they say is deficient in sense

so they out to pardon her every word.

But one female who knows what to do

is better than a thousand males who don't.

- Bernard Lewis

Annotated Bibliography

Barks, Coleman. Translator. The Essential Rumi. Quality Paperback Book Club. New York. 1998.

                Organized topically with commentary on themes at the start of each section and some notes at the end.

Cowan, James. Translator. Rumi's Divan of Shems of Tabriz. Element Books Limited. 1997.

                Based on the original translation of odes by Nicholson (1898). The new translation attempts to correct an omission of meter that makes it a more melodic presentation. Excellent history of the      friendship and spiritual development between Shems and Rumi spanning nearly half the book.

Encyclopaedia Iranica. "ʿARŪŻ: The Metrical System Used by the Arab Poets Since Pre-Islamic Times." http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/aruz-the-metrical-system. 26 May 2015.

               

                A guide to Aruz measured meter that is in much clearer English.

Faroqhi, Suraiya and Arzu Ozturkmen, Editors. Celebration, Entertainment and Theatre in the Ottoman World. Seagull Books, London. 2014.

                Many scholarly articles on the subjects listed in the title. A lot of the information is post 1600. I would assert that anything up to 1650 is fair game based on cultural cycles and sultanate of the time. Ottoman history and culture didn't move at the same rate as Europe and it is hard to compare it in terms of historical re-creation. Discusses social and formal poetic gatherings.

Fitzgerald, Edward. Translator. Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Illustrated Editions Company, New York. Fifth Version 1889, Publication Date Unknown.

                12th century Persian astronomer poet.

Ghiselin, Ogier de Busbecq. Translated by Edward Seymour Forster. The Turkish Letters of Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq. Louisiana State University Press. Baton Rouge, LA. 2008.

                [Primary] Imperial Ambassador at Constantinople to King Ferdinand 1554-1562. Translated from the Latin of the Elzevir Edition of 1633 by Edward Seymour Forster, 1927. Contains an immense amount of cultural and political information from a primary view. I constantly draw from this source as inspiration and for appropriate usage of culture or item in poems and stories.

Gibb, Elias John Wilkinson. A History of Ottoman Poetry Volume 1. University of Michigan. Digital Copy provided by google books. Original printing Luzac & Co., London. 1900. https://play.google.com/books/reader id=FStkAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&output=reader&authuser=0&hl=en&pg=GBS.PA51

                This is part of a collection of several volumes that have collections of period poems in varying styles.

Gibb, Elias John Wilkinson. Ottoman Literature: The Poets and Poetry of Turkey.  2012 Forgotten Books

                Facsimile Reprint: M. Walter Dunne, Publisher, London.  1901. "Translated from the Arabic with introductions and biographical notes by the author. With Arabian, Persian and Hebrew poems   and special Introduction by Theodore P. Ion, J.D. " Contains many pre 17th century poetry examples and poet biographies. Has a section of  Persian and Arab poems.

Halman, Talat S. A Millennium of Turkish Literature: A Concise History.  Syracuse University Press. Syracuse, NY 2011.

                Contains a fair amount of information on structure and cultural importance. Not  many examples but, does offer comparative examples to other translated versions of poems in other   sources.

Lewis, Bernard. Music of a Distant Drum: Classical Arabic, Persian, Turkish & Hebrew Poems. Princeton University Press. Princeton, NJ. 2001.

                Translation by author. Includes mini biographies of poets, and brief discussion of poetry               structures and cultural importance.

Lowry, Glen D. with Susan Nemazee. A Jeweler's Eye: Islamic Arts of the Book from the Vever Collection. The Sackler Gallery: Smithsonian Institution. University of Washington Press, Seattle and London. 1988.

                An excellent collection of Ottoman, Persian, and Mughal miniatures with descriptions of the stories they are illustrating.  The stories themselves are poems.

Lyons, C. Malcolm: Translator. Tales of the Marvelous and News of the Strange: The First English Translation of a Medieval Arab Fantasy Collection. Penguin Classics, London. 2014.

                Has excellent descriptions of story archetypes and mechanisms. Uses poetry heavily as a             storytelling element.

Kwiatkowski, Will. The Eckstein Shahnama: An Ottoman Book of Kings.

                Study of an 11th C. Persian Manuscript rewritten for the Ottoman Court (16th C.) Contains one of the many tellings of the adventures of Iskendar (Alexander the Great).   The stories           themselves are poems.

Tagore, Rabindranath Translator. Songs of Kabīr. Samuel Weiser, Inc. York Beach, Maine. 1995.

                Collection of 15th century Indian (Dehli Sultinate) poems heavily influenced by Rumi and other Tekke poetry.  Kabir tried to find common ground between Hindus and Muslims in a time where the Mughal Islamic state was growing. 

Ottoman Literature Class Handout

I finally finished putting together a lot of my research in the form of a class I will be teaching at a symposium tomorrow. There are generalizations and vague lists here that won't make as much sense without the benefit of taking the class in person. The language of the terminology sometimes waffles between Arabic, Persian and Turkish. This in not nearly the extent of my research! It is here as a starting point for those interested or if I run out of handouts. 

Ottoman Literature and Storytelling

Lady Eilon bat Miriam.   Mka: D. Brianne Galgano.

  Eilon.bat.miriam@gmail.com  

Where to Draw Inspiration

The Ottoman Empire spanned or traded with the greater part of what we often refer to as the Middle East.  As a result of their political dealings and expansions there are a fair amount of cultures that we identify separately, from a historical point of view, that are actually considered Ottoman in period, and it is well documented that the Ottomans borrowed heavily from them. The Persians(in part), Greeks, and Byzantines all became part of the empire and, even the origin of the Osman's Empire was built with the help of Mongolians.  So, generally speaking, you have  lot of cultures, Eastern and Arabic, to choose from for stories.  In this document I have tried to focus  on what I feel best captures the Ottoman spirit of story creation here. Strictly speaking, the Ottoman Empire started in 1299 and continued into the 20th century. You may choose, however,  to tell stories outside of that time. The last Crusade was only 30 years before the inception of the empire and there is evidence of 8th Century stories of varying Arabic cultures being collected rewritten by a 16th century sultan. In other words: use good judgment and follow these guidelines when choosing your story base. 

The Art of the Oral Tale

Storytelling was a well utilized form of entertainment and moral education in the Ottoman empire but was not nearly as respected as poetry. Documenting an oral tradition is difficult. Much of what has been written about it is modern but well researched. There are plenty of things written about the storytellers but much less about how they told stories in period. My research has led me to a storytelling voice that creates an Ottoman performance from other cultures' tales.  One view of many of the recorded stories in period is that they were meant to be read aloud. Translations can be problematic in that the translator might not share this view and that voice is lost. You may need to recreate that voice in your chosen tale.

Story Types

·         Fikra - Short anecdotes that are comical, informative, chastising, or serve as a rebuttal. Specialized forms of fikra include: nükete (pun) and kissa (moralistic fable, realistic).

·         Hikaye and Masal - Entertaining short stories more for the sake of enjoyment, and  Fables with fantastical elements such as talking animals.

·         Efsane and Destan - Legends, myths and epics. Ex: Shanamah, Dede Korkut, Sinbad, Gilgamesh, and the Odyssey.

Storytelling Elements

·         Tekerleme - The opening lines of a story,  It is a miniature poem with a rhyme or meter. Sometimes it will have an element of the absurd or at the very least something to make the story timeless. Perhaps the final line hints at the moral of the story. The most iconic tekerleme component is a variant of: "Once there was; once there wasn't..."  Not used as much for Fikra.

·         Closing - May recap the moral of the tale. "Three apples fell from the sky, one for the teller of the tale, one for the listener, and one for whoever will pass the tale along." "They had their wish fulfilled; let us go up and sit in their seats" (Walker 2). "This was his tale."

·         Auspicious numbers like  Three, Seven, and Forty.  Weddings were celebrated for forty days and nights. Thieves, slaves, soldiers, wise men, came in groups of forty. Three apples, hairs, flowers, seeds, pieces of instruction. Three or Seven brothers, sisters, wives.

·         Ambiguous Time - "went a little; he went far. He traveled straight over hills and over dales. He traveled six months and a summer, [...] She went for months and years, and she became very tired" (Walker 1).

·         Verbal Elements: Onomatopoeia, Repetition (Cliché) , Alliteration, and Chanting.

·         Religious Elements -  Islamic practices, Praise of Allah at his mention, offering the blessing of Allah to gain favor, Morality, ablutions, and Obedience.

·         Cultural Reminders - Sumptuary laws, Values, Social and family customs, and Historical figures.

·         Metaphors and Similes -  Culturally relevant. Aesthetic of beauty: The moon, Black hair and fair skin. "With scarcely wit enough to salt one dolma" (Walker 1).

·         Aja-ib - The Marvelous and Fantastical: Flying horses, sea beasts, magic, Ifrit, Djinn, etc. Historical and religious tales are told as legends.

Plot Devices & Themes

•          Journey - to Mecca, to follow a dream, to find what you wanted was back home.
•          Changing Fate - How the common man becomes someone great by a very simple action or vice-versa.  Becoming the perceptions of one's destiny, like following in the footsteps of the father or being great because no informed you otherwise.
•          Dreams of wealth - extravagant retellings of desires only to be distracted by them.
•          Prophecy - often made by astrologers, almost always come true. Sometimes made by clever people who are extremely perceptive.
•          Testing Virtues: loyalty, charity, honesty, etc. Competitions, Tasks, and Challenges.
•          Wagers - a way around the ills of coveting or the impolite of asking to purchase something.
•          Deceitful People - women, schemers, cheats, liars, ungrateful betrayers.
•          Romantic Complications - bride swaps, many brothers, ugly women vs. pretty, men so sick with love it ruins them, trickster mothers, already married.   
•  Secret Knowledge - magic powers that kill you if revealed, spying to use for ill/gain, confusion/misunderstanding by eavesdropper. 
• Almost every story sees a happy resolution. Plots are almost always singular.

Characters

•          Wise Man/ Hodja - Preachers (Imam), Teachers, Judges (Kadi), Nasreddin.
•          Rulers - Sultan, Padishah (Shah), Caliph, Bey, Ağa, Conquerors (Tamerlane). They are often arrogant or afraid to admit their mistakes. They will assign tasks or quests. Used as a device to allow the disenfranchised to prove themselves clever or worthy.
•          The Hero  -Stories are often like epics or contain a fair amount of the fantastical. Ex: Iskendar (Alexander the Great), Hanzal, Köroğlu and  Kirat (his flying horse), Rüstem, Dede Korkut.
•          The Wag/Jester/Trickster-  Clever or scheming character. Stories involve tricks and lessons, luck, and often irony. Ex: Keloğlan, Aldar, Nasreddin.
•          Disenfranchised - Your weak, poor, common, or uneducated souls that make better of themselves or are duped. Sometimes these characters are in a trickster (Wag) role. Ex. Keloğlan - bald, uneducated or sometimes diseased;  used as a noun. 
•          Karagöz  and Hacivat -  Comedic look at the common man vs. educated; most noted as the main characters in shadow plays. Stories were often chosen with the idea that by using puppets the storytellers could deviate from social norms. 

Glossary of Useful Words and Phrases

·         Wag - Someone who makes inappropriate humor, flippant, smartass. 1550: probably from 'waghalter, ‘ a person likely to be hanged (Dictionary.com)

·         Bismillah - "In the Name of Allah."

·         Inşallah - " If Allah wills it."

·         Göstermesin - "Allah forbid!"

·         Cüş - Whoa

·         Eyvah - Alas!

·         Öf! - Ugh

·         Selậmünaleyküm - "Peace be with you," and Aleykümselậm - "Peace to you too."

·         Effendi - term of respect added to the end of someone's name when addressing them.

·         Hanim - respectful title for a woman; "lady."

·         Herrop! - Hurrah or Vivat

·         Fikra Malum - phrase used to introduce a familiar anecdote instead of the tekerleme.

Some Notes About Research

The overall culture in the three hundred years we view it in society contains very little that changes drastically.  The Arabic calendar is about six hundred years earlier than our own so double check your dates. Translations to English are always subject to the view of the translator. Some translators are coming from the outside and miss the bigger picture. Some translators keep the original Islamic context and make a direct translation, others try to capture the voice and the meter, some only seek to make a piece accessible to a Western audience.  Ultimately, you can create your own stories about the characters or people you know in the style by using the devices and techniques outlined here and using the Ottoman voice.

Annotated Bibliography

Adler, Cyrus. Told in the Coffee House: Turkish Tales. Filiquarian Publishing, LLC. /Qontro.

               Original Publishing: Collected and Done into English by Cyrus Adler and Allan Ramsay. The Macmillan Company, London. 1898. I believe this is an OCR copy that interestingly includes book adds for 1898. Authors spent time in coffee houses listening to the oral literature in Constantinople that he believes were not previously put to paper.

Adler, Elkan Nathan Ed. Jewish Travelers in the Middle Ages: 19 Firsthand Accounts.

                English translations of Jewish traveler accounts. The Journal of David Reubeni  has him travel from Ethiopia through parts of the Ottoman Empire on his way to Rome between 1522 and 1525.

Dulcken, H.W. Editor. Tales of the Arabian Nights. Castle Books. New York, NY. 1984

                Transcription information unknown. Useful as starting place for stories.  These stories' origins are from period sources (Ex. The Thousand and One Nights) but, were most likely modernized in the 1800's. Be mindful of cultural anachronisms in SCA retellings.

Faroqhi, Suraiya and Arzu Ozturkmen, Editors. Celebration, Entertainment and Theatre in the Ottoman World. Seagull Books, London. 2014.

                Many scholarly articles on the subjects listed in the title. A lot of the information is post 1600. I would assert that anything up to 1650 is fair game based on cultural cycles and sultanate of     the time. Ottoman history and culture didn't move at the same rate as Europe and it is hard to             compare it in terms of historical re-creation.

Gabrieli, Francesco. Arab Historians of the Crusades. University of California Press,  Los Angeles. 1984.

                Translations of Crusade era Arabic writers and historians. Includes many notes and a      biographical section for each of the authors. Names some of the writers' other (often more       literary) works.

Ghiselin, Ogier de Busbecq. Translated by Edward Seymour Forster. The Turkish Letters of Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq. Louisiana State University Press. Baton Rough, LA. 2008.

                [Primary]Imperial Ambassador at Constantinople to Frederick 1554-1562. Translated from the Latin of the Elzevir Edition of 1633 by Edward Seymour Forster, 1927. Contains an immense       amount of cultural and political information from a primary view. Discusses the telling of tales at       the caravan serai. I constantly draw from this source as inspiration and for appropriate usage of      culture or item in poems and stories.

Halman, Talat S. A Millennium of Turkish Literature: A Concise History.  Syracuse University Press. Syracuse, NY 2011.

                Contains a fair amount of information on structure and cultural importance. Better as a source for poetry but discusses an overview of the literature, much of which is very post period.

Kwiatkowski, Will. The Eckstein Shahnama: An Ottoman Book of Kings. Study of an 11th C. Persian Manuscript rewritten for the Ottoman Court (16th C.) Contains one of the many tellings of the adventures of Iskendar (Alexander the Great).  

Lowry, Glen D. with Susan Nemazee. A Jeweler's Eye: Islamic Arts of the Book from the Vever Collection. The Sackler Gallery: Smithsonian Institution. University of Washington Press, Seattle and London. 1988.

                An excellent collection of Ottoman, Persian, and Mughal miniatures with descriptions of the stories they are illustrating.  

Lyons, C. Malcolm: Translator. Tales of the Marvelous and News of the Strange: The First English Translation of a Medieval Arab Fantasy Collection. Penguin Classics, London. 2014.

                Has excellent descriptions of story archetypes and mechanisms.

Tichy, Jaroslav. Legends From Eastern Lands. Paul Hamlyn, London. Translated by Alice Denesova. 1967.

                Folk tales from the area surrounding the Black and Caspian Seas. Trade routes through these lands brought stories from faraway lands. Historically, 13th C. dictator, Tamerlane was a fear of the peoples surrounding the Southern Steppes and it is evident that those such as "Nasreddin"           are present in their culture as a result.

Walker, Barbara K. The Art of the Turkish Tale: Volume 1. Texas Tech University Press, Texas. 1990.

                Extensive recordings were done of modern (1960-70's) storytellers that have carried on the oral tradition of many tales that may date back to Early Ottoman times. Contains excellent analysis   of character archetype and oral forms.

Walker, Barbara K. The Art of the Turkish Tale: Volume 2. Texas Tech University Press, Texas. 1990.

                Continuing the translation of stories, the author includes further insight into the preservation process and the overall importance still of the oral tradition of tales.

Ghazel

I am working on writing two classes for an upcoming Atlantian event in May called Cooks and Performers. I am working on Ottoman poetry and Ottoman storytelling classes, specifically. I was re-checking all the things I needed to run the arts and sciences for our Spring Coronation and saw the Poeta Atlantia competition, to decide the royal poet, would be there. Then I thought about how I'd been absent from writing for a few years now. Next I thought about how no one in this kingdom knows that I'm a writer...because I haven't really written anything since I got here. Finally, I realized that I should probably put something out there so people know I have a leg to stand on when I teach about these things. 

So, I entered the requisite two pieces. I was approached by several people that they loved my first piece, especially. I was also told that I was just a smidgen away from winning the competition. Here is the second piece that entered. It was requested that we write something in honor of their Majesties being crowned that day. I decided to do a Ghazel. It was the easiest Ottoman form that judges could look up if they were unfamiliar with...which I assumed they would be. 

Coronation Ghazel for Logan and Esa

                        Lady Eilon bat Miriam, MKA Brianne Galgano

                                                        Coronation A.S. XLIX

Tremble this day of Spring that brings with it the Might of Atlantia.

Revel  in the warmth and magic that flows from the Majesty of Atlantia.

Banners with wind do stream behind the parades of those who gather.

A promise once made,  finally fulfilled,  to return to the thrones of Atlantia.

Fierce and Tempered; For so kind and gentle a leader in he you'd not expect.

Watch how he trains our young combatants; he's earned the grace due Atlantia.

Beautiful and graceful she; For so powerful and strong you'd not presume.

Behold the inspiration she leaves in her wake;  she is a mother to Atlantia.

Tarry not, this day of Spring, we await the new crowns to claim their seat.

Humble am I, Eilon, to be present to share in the glory of their reign over Atlantia.

The Documentation I submitted for the competition:

This poem,  in honor of their Majesties,  is in the form of an Ottoman Ghazel.

In short, Ghazels consist of 5 - 15 couplets with a rhyming structure of:  aa/ba/ca/da/ea.  

The initial couplet, the matla, should rhyme.  The end of each couplet thereafter should rhyme the matla. The final line, the maqta,  should act as the conclusion or point of the piece. The poet's name is sometimes part of the maqta as a signature/title. Redd-i matla is another way of ending the poem where the poet repeats one of the matla directly for a bookend effect.

Exemplar  - Baqi (1526-1600) "Dil derd-i 'ishq-i yar ile bezm-i belada dir," Ghazel:

                All sick the heart with love for her, sad at the feast of woe;

                Bent form, the harp; low wail, the flute; heart's blood for with doth flow.

                Prone lies the frame her path's dust 'neath, in union's stream the eye.

                In air the mind, the soul 'midst separation's fiery glow.

                O ever shall it be my lot, zone-like, thy waist to clasp!

                'Twixt us, O love, the dagger-blade of severance doth show!

                Thou art the Queen of earth, thy cheeks are Towers of might, this day

                Before thy Horse, like Pawns, the Kings of grace and beauty go.

                Him hinder not, beside thee let him creep, o Shade-like stay!

                Baqi, thy servant, O my Queen, before thee lieth low.

As this poem was to commemorate their Majesties coronation, the best rhyme to use ended up being directly, "Atlantia." 

Ottoman Poetry Annotated Bibliography

Gibb, Elias John Wilkinson. A History of Ottoman Poetry Volume 1. University of Michigan.

• Digital Copy provided by google books. Original printing Luzac & Co., London. 1900. https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=FStkAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&output=reader         &authuser=0&hl=en&pg=GBS.PA51. 5 October 2014.

Gibb, Elias John Wilkinson. Ottoman Literature: The Poets and Poetry of Turkey.  2012.

• Forgotten Books Facsimile Reprint: M. Walter Dunne, Publisher, London.  1901. "Translated from the Arabic with introductions and biographical notes by the author. With Arabian, Persian and Hebrew poems and special Introduction by Theodore P. Ion, J.D. " Contains many pre 17th century poetry examples.

Halman, Talat S. A Millennium of Turkish Literature: A Concise History.  Syracuse University Press. Syracuse, NY 2011.

• Contains a fair amount of information on structure and cultural importance. Not  many examples but, does offer comparative examples to other translated versions of poems in other sources.

Lewis, Bernard. Music of a Distant Drum: Classical Arabic, Persian, Turkish & Hebrew Poems.
Princeton University Press. Princeton, NJ. 2001.

• Translation by author. Includes mini biographies of poets, and brief discussion of poetry structures and cultural importance. 

My Thoughts post competition:

This is not the best example of a Ghazel. I had certain parameters I needed to follow and a short period of time (my fault entirely). I found an example piece that barely touched on the idea of praising a monarch. In this case it is more that Baqi is professing his idealized and most likely unrequited love for a lady of nobility or otherwise someone he cannot attain. I found another piece that was actually very much in praise and honor of a noble but, sadly, it was post period. 

In terms of rhymes it is uninspired. It really is just one more "Rah, Kingdom,"  "Praise their Majesties," kind of poem. I don't often find them original or inspiring to begin with so, I suppose I am biased that way. I did find a small personal observation on each of their majesties that I utilized. I am proud of this poem only because it made it personal. That is the best thing about poetry, to me. You can analyze all you want, but it's true meaning is always the author's little secret; specifically chosen words for reasons the reader may never comprehend. A reader/listener is going to associate the words and sounds their own way, comparing it to their own experience. If it touches the audience in any way the author has succeeded. 

I have several ghazels and other Ottoman poetry in varying stages of done. When I am closer to finished and have a better work up of my class handouts and research I will post them here. 

The Bibliography is a work in progress. I mainly copied the overall annotated source list I have thus far for my class. It is an ever expanding document. I am still working on the annotation part. I forgot to mention in my documentation the the exemplar was pulled from Gibb's "Ottoman Literature." 

Camp Furniture for the Ottoman Persona

In an effort to make camp a more period appropriate visage we tend to cover things or make furniture ourselves. While I have some skill I am not an expert woodworker. I am also not prepared to make the monetary investment for the kinds of exquisite things I see a lot of people have in their camps. I am also...lazy. I don't want to spend a bunch of time setting up furniture after I've put up my period pavilion, especially if it is just a weekend event. The other important factor is space. I don't have the kind of room in my vehicle to fit all that stuff.

Pillows & Rugs

Really that's the majority of what I have for persona appropriate furniture. You don't need much more. I have a handful of covered armless camp chairs that are useful for places where you need chairs. Sometimes people just can't sit on the ground though and that is ok. I have plans to make a  divan of sorts that could be also used as a bed in camp. I just haven't figured out how to make it portable yet.

Ladies seated on a divan

Tables

This is the real reason for this post. I wanted to talk about my table. I should say that while I had a hand in making this my friend Einarr did most of the work. This was largely because I was sewing at the last minute for an event and he was perfectly capable of doing that work for me. At my second event after moving to Atlantia I wanted to have a way to meet people and participate in the arts. I made Turkish coffee and handed it for free all day long so long as people came to my merchant booth and sat at my table to chat for a few. I also entered the coffee in the competition that day. 

My coffee table

The idea came from someone else's camp at Gulf Wars and several "Moorish" style tables. I wanted a simple design that packed flat and was easy to put together. I liked the idea of using a large tray and found one at my local mediterranean food store.

Not a super period design on the tray but it is often covered with other trays or random stuff.

The basic design is two pieces of plywood with slots cut so that it can form an X. The plywood was stained but only minimally varnished. At the taking of these pictures it is 4 years old and has been in wet grass at almost every event I've attended. I left it unvarnished because I intended to paint things on it to make it more decorative. That still hasn't happened.

One challenge we faced creating this design was how to keep the tray from sliding. Our solution was to indent the top surface leaving a tab that snugly held the tray in place.

I can put this table together with one hand and a knee. Just place the slots together (lower opening over upper opening).

The other hand is usually holding the tray and you just need to drop it into place!

Here is a closeup of the join. There is a lot of sanding involved to make it fit just right. Don't forget to make it a smidge larger than you think to leave room for varnish, it makes a difference!

Here is the arabesque arches I designed for the legs. They were cut with a coping saw. Einarr was not amused with how difficult my design turned out to be in terms of cutting and sanding.

And lastly a closeup of the bottom of the slots because I felt like it.

It is a fairly sturdy design. I would still like to paint things on it. When I decided on the height, I wanted it to be at a height that worked from my chair. This is a little higher that you can expect a period dining table to be. Most often meals were at a similar type of table seated on pillows. I want to make a dining table next but using a different design altogether. The table height has been really great for large (or ample-bottomed) adults sitting on the pillows or children on their knees playing games. All in all, I love my table and look forward to adding better ones to my collection with more research behind them.

Prayer Beads

Being that I am a Jew (in terms of persona) I would have no use of prayer beads in the medieval context. But beads are shiny and I like shiny. My lord who does have an islamic persona can use them as well as them making neat presents for people who need that finishing touch to their outfit.

I took a class at an Atlantian University from someone who's specialty is jewelry and prayer beads. I haven't done a ton of research into them, not serious research any way. I was presented with a handful of rules and research and went with it.

This was made from a kit I bought from the instructor. It was glass beads on silk or cotton thread. I have since had to replace the cord with heavy duty waxed string I use for sewing shoes because my lord breaks things.

Like a rosary or paternoster there is a mathematical component to your planning stage. If you want a smaller piece you need to make your beads into a grouping that divides into the number of times you need to thank your "lord." In Islam the prayer beads are known as Tesbih (other names for research purposes are subha and misbaha). They break into sets of 33 and you would say three prayers 33 times each for a total of 99.  As with any ceremonial artifact there are going to be exceptions to the rule. This is a general summary on how to create a tesbih.

My favorite way to make them is to have the full 99 with division beads (nisane for the middle and pul for the end) at each marker of 33 for the for the 99 names of Allah. Only the camels know the 100th name of Allah. I have also made shorter ones of 33 with markers at each 11 beads.

This was wood on hemp cord because my lord breaks things. Here I tied the (pul) end bead into the end with an added elephant because it is my lord's house and heraldry. So in this case the elephant knows the last name of Allah. He wears this one like a necklace.

These are stones that look like carved pits and the nisane are carved wood. Silk cord. After creating this I realized I probably shouldn't have added the pul bead at the end. This was created as a replacement for my lord who lost the red one after breaking it. He has since found the original red one and he is only allowed to hold this one in court.

The Beads were made out of all kinds of stones, wood, seeds, and bone etc. so, you can have a little fun with making them. I've also heard tale that there are some with little carved skulls. I should warn you, these are easy and fun to make and once you start researching prayer beads you might find yourself tangenting a lot.

These are Buddhist Mala prayer beads I made for a friend in the household

And this is a paternoster for another member of the household

 A few notes of interest:

Tassels at the ends of your strand are important to ward off evil.

The closest Jews had to prayer beads were knotted shawls.

My lord has indicated that the shorter beads are great for holding his sleeves out of the way while he uses the restroom.