[Andalusi Studies] Meaning and translation of Mudejar

[Dwight Reynolds]

Dear Colleagues,

For a while now, I have been arguing in lectures and in print (see my *Musical
Heritage of al-Andalus*, p. 213, for example) that the translation of
"domesticated" or "tamed" for *mudéjar* (said to derive from Arabic *mudajjan)
*is probably incorrect, and may reflect the derogatory attitude of whoever
first used that translation.

Does anyone know how far back this accepted translation goes?

First of all, if we look at the medieval Arabic dictionaries, such as  *
Lisān al-‘Arab,* they do give that meaning for *animals, *but the basic
meaning for *people *is to remain or stay at home (*dajana fi baytihi idha
lazimahu*).

In addition, since this is an Arabic term, it is presumably one that was
created by Arabic-speakers and it seems to me much more likely that they
referred to themselves as those who had "stayed at home" (i.e., did not
flee or emigrate) than referring to themselves as people who had been
"domesticated" or "tamed" like farmyard animals, unless they were doing so
sardonically.

I suspect that the translation "domesticated" reflects the viewpoint of the
Western scholars who first promoted that meaning of the term, rather than
the viewpoint of the people who most likely coined it.

So I have three questions:

Do any of you have an opinion about or reaction to this argument?

Do you know of early examples of Western scholars translating the term as
"domesticated" (perhaps 19th-century Spanish sources)?

And IF we agree that "domesticated" is probably a mistranslation, could we
perhaps begin to note this in our publications and eventually correct this
error?

Dwight Reynolds


******************************************************************
Dwight F. Reynolds, Distinguished Professor
Arabic Language &  Literature
Department of Religious Studies
University of California, Santa Barbara
<dreynold at ucsb.edu>
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