Page 14 - Arab Navigation in the Indian Ocean (before portuguese)_Neat

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16 ARAB NAVIGATION
numerous examples of this scattered throughout the Fawa'id. Just
how seriously he regarded these poems as poems rather than navi­
gational mnemonics we cannot tell although he once states that a
navigational qatfda is “one of the most powerful of qa$idas both in
language and knowledge”.41 They hardly warrant the energy spent
on them by Shumovsky in analysing the rhyme and the metre.
Perhaps a man who aimed to write genuine poetry as well as nautical
rhymes, would have attempted to devote his poetical genius to all
his works: however the poetical standard of the navigational poems
is noticeably lower, especially that of the longer poems like the
Hawiya. The latter of course was an early poem and no doubt if
Shumovsky wished he could trace the development of Ibn Majid’s
poetical genius.
Nevertheless if Ibn Majid was not a poet of the first order, he was
an educated man and had a considerable knowledge of Arabic
literature. Not only does he quote Arabic poetry from a considerable
number of authors, he also has at his fingertips the authors whose
works might be useful for navigational readers. He gives a biblio­
graphy of these authors in the fifth chapter of the Fawa'id and it
is quite an impressive list. Both this and a list of other works quoted
in the Fawa'id are given on pp. 39-41 when dealing with the sources
of this work, showing his acquaintance with Arab classical works.
With regard to these “great books” he states that he just mentions
them and if anyone wishes to delve further, there is no reason why
he may not; in any case Ibn Majid has summarised what they say
whenever necessary.
Among the poets quoted by him in the Fawa'id are Imr al-Qais,
(Amr b. Kulthum, Muhalhil b. Rabi'a, al-Harith-b. ‘Abbad, ‘Antar
b. Qirad, ‘Omar b. Abi Rabica, Tughra’i (Lamlyat al-'Ajam), Abu
Nuwas, Ibn al-Mu'tazz, Mufid'b. Salim al-Makhzumi, Sayyid al-
Ra<Ji al-Musawi, al-Ma'arri and the “famous poet” al-Bahrl as well
as several poems without names attached. In addition, a curious
work known as the Wa$iyat al-Harith is mentioned and a work
called al-BadViyat according to Ferrand the work of that name by
Ibn Hijja. . . j
Ibn Majid was also a religious man, although this might be taken
for granted considering that he was a Muslim—but he gives a list
of Quranic texts which ought to be appropriate for sailors to use in
certain times of danger and oftemquotes the Quran or Hadith. He
also ridicules the practice of superstition amongst sailors—the use
of stars and planets for their auspicious or inauspicious qualities.
41 f. 8v, I. 3; trans, p. 81. it
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THE NAVIGATORS AND THEIR WORKS 17
Although he often gives these qualities in the Fawa'id, he makes no
bones about his attitude to this. According to Ferrand Ibn Majid
was one of the Shi'a, and this scholar produces several threads of
evidence to support his theory.42 The first, that he used a Shiite
festival Yaum al-Ghadir to date his poem the Hawiya, secondly he
writes a poem and attributes it to ‘All b. Abi Talib, Asad Allah
al-Ghalib43—a typically Shiite phrase; the constant use of the term
lion, either asad or laith, is Shiite in origin. Ibn Majid continually
refers to himself as the fourth of the three lions (luyuth), although
this term may be used purely as a pun on the name of Laith b.
Kahlan.
(c) Ibn Majid's writings
Shumovsky’s statement that Ibn Majid’s reputation was due to
the popularity of his works, and that he went out of his way to
produce these works for popular consumption must be wrong.
Admittedly at the beginning of the Fawa'id, Ibn Majid states that
navigational works, and particularly the one in question could be
used for non-navigational purposes like the determination of the
Qibla, but he has not made it easy for the layman to follow. Most
of the technical terms in the works are never explained as they would
have to be to a non-sailor; Ibn Majid expects his readers to be
familiar with the stars, the points of the compass, and the parts of
a ship before he even picks up the Fawa'id. The poems are even more
obscure; they are purely mnemonic devices and considerable ex­
perience of the areas treated was expected before the poems could
be used to advantage. One can sit in a library with a modern map
and attempt to follow the text of a poem, but it is an entirely different
matter to sail a ship by the same route with only the poem in one’s
hand.
Ibn Majid often gives his reasons for writing his works. These are
to correct and supplement the works of his father and grandfather
and other predecessors. His works are part of a tradition. All
navigators of any value left behind their experiences for the benefit
of posterity, either orally or in written form. I shall mention below
the passage in which Ibn Majid mentions three types of navigator.
The one who follows the works of others, the one who produces
innovations which are remembered after his death and the one who ».
writes them down (or has written them down) for posterity. Ibn
Majid himself is of course in the last and supreme category. It is
because of this literary tradition that Ibn Majid wrote, to add his
42 Instructions nautiques, t. 3, p. 228/^yTSy .
42 f. 20v, 1. 19; trans. p. 107.