[Andalusi Studies] Cult of 'Tree of Colors'? Shajarat al-alwaan?

[jbellver]

Dear David,

The expression ' shajarat al-alwān ' sounds very odd. Is it possible that
the copyist forgot the upper stroke of a kāf and thus ' shajarat al-akwān '
was meant instead? The 'tree of created beings' (shajarat al-akwān) is not
that unusual and, although it is not negative in itself, the author might
be stressing the Muslim ban of swearing by anything or anyone other than
God. This is simply a guess.

Kind regards,
José

2016-12-12 15:40 GMT+01:00 David Wacks <wacks at uoregon.edu>:

> Dear colleagues:
>
> In a text I am studying, "Ziyad bin `Amir al-Kinani" (early 13th c.,
> Granada), the Muslim hero Ziyad is confronting the pagan villain, an
> astrologer king. The pagan swears by "fire, by al-`Uzza, and by the Tree of
> Colors (shajarat al-alwaan)."
>
> The references to fire worship and al-`Uzza are clear enough, but I cannot
> find any reference anywhere to a cult of a "Tree of Colors."
>
> Any ideas?
>
> Best regards,
> David
>
> ------------------------------------
> David Wacks
> Professor of Spanish
> UO Dept of Romance Languages
> agenda <http://davidwacks.uoregon.edu/agenda> / blog
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>
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