[MR] Nab'a bow

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Re: a love poem by Jamil, a 7th-c. C.E. poet  from the Hejaz (the 
northwestern portion of modern Saudi Arabia)
 
"In v. 3 we come to the bow and its  string.  Nab'a is a bow made of nab' 
(cf. "yew" for a bow  made of yew), a bow wood used in the Hejaz from the 
earliest times to made self  bows (i.e. those made of a single stave) or other kinds 
of wooden (as opposed to  composite) bow.[9]  It is identifiable with Grewia 
poplifolia  [sic] (as opposed to Chadara tenax as often stated), a tough,  
resilient, semi-hardwood found in several varieties from the Mediterranean to  the 
Himalayas.  
[9] On old Arab bows in the Hejaz see Latham  and Paterson (Saracen Archery, 
London, 1970), pp. t, 10 f. and R.P.  Elmer and N.A. Faris, Arab Archery 
(Princeton, 1945), pp. 11 n. 5,  158..
(pp. 224-225 in Latham below)
 
Latham, J.D. "The Interpretation of Some  Verses by Jamil".  Journal of 
Semitic Studies, 15 (1970):  219-225.
 
Nancy  

Nancy  Spies
Arelate Studio
_www.weavershand.com/ArelateStudio.html_ 
(http://www.weavershand.com/ArelateStudio.html) 






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