Selections from the Art of Party Crashing in Medieval Iraq

199 Pages·2012·1.354 MB·English

by  Al-Khatib Al-Baghdadi

SELECTIONS FROM
The Art of Party-Crashing
in Medieval Iraq
Bunan
SELECTIONS FROM
The Art of
Party-
Crashing
in Medieval Iraq
al-Khatib al-Baghdadi
TRANSLATED AND ILLUSTRATED BY
Emily Selove
Syracuse University Press
Copyright © 2012 by Syracuse University Press
Syracuse, New York 13244-5290
All Rights Reserved
First Edition 2012
12 13 14 15 16 17 6 5 4 3 2 1
Translated from Al-tatfi l wa hikayat al-tufayliyin wa akhbaruhum wa nawadir
kalamihim wa ash‘aruhum. The Chester Beatty Library gives permission
for the text of CBL Ar 3851, as translated by Emily Selove and published
in this volume. The Trustees of the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin, are
the rights holders of the original text.
∞ The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements
of the American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence
of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1992.
For a listing of books published and distributed by Syracuse University Press,
visit our website at SyracuseUniversityPress.syr.edu.
ISBN: 978-0-8156-3298-6
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Khatib al-Baghdadi, Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn ‘Ali, 1002–1071.
[Tatfi l wa-hikayat al-tufayliyin wa-akhbarihim wa-nawadir kalamihim
wa-ash’arihim. Selections. English]
Selections from the art of party-crashing in medieval Iraq / al-Khatib
al-Baghdadi ; translated and illustrated by Emily Selove.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-0-8156-3298-6 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Parasitism (Social sciences)
in literature. 2. Arabic poetry—750–1258—History and criticism.
3. Parasitism (Social sciences)—Anecdotes. 4. Anecdotes—Arab
countries. I. Selove, Emily. II. Title.
PJ7519.P32K48213 2012
892.7’83407—dc23 2012038545
Manufactured in the United States of America
Contents

List of Illustrations * vii

Translator’s Note * ix

Acknowledgments * xiii

Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi’s Introduction * 1
The Meaning of “Party-Crashing” in the Language

and the First Person Named after It * 6

Early Party-Crashing * 11
Going to a Meal Without Being

Invited Is Deemed Rude * 19
Those Who Cast Aspersions on
Party-Crashing and Its Practitioners and

Satirize and Denounce Them * 30
Those Who Praise, Make Excuses for,

or Speak Well of Party-Crashing * 36
Contents
Party-Crashers from among the Notables,
the Noble, the Learned, and the Cultured * 42
Those Who Engage in Very Subtle Acts
of Party-Crashing * 72
Those Who Love People to Sponge
and Facilitate It * 79
Anecdotes about Party-Crashers Who Exert
Themselves in Party-Crashing and Make
It a Trade and Occupation * 85
Accounts of the Ones That the Guards
Would Refuse, but Who Outwit the
Guards with a Lie or a Ruse * 99
Mention of the Party-Crashers’
Conversations, Advice, and Poetry * 111
Accounts of Bunan, the Party-Crasher * 128
A Document Pertaining to Party-Crashing * 163
Bibliography * 175
vi
Illustrations

Eat Dates * 21

Aroma * 59

Singing-Girl * 66

Kitten * 73

Takeout * 86

Lazy * 93

Waylon * 103

Happy Trails * 107

Bunan * 129

How Many * 147
vii