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The arrival of Shibo (1) and Qaiser's daughter (2) at Jamhun Zangi Castle.

 

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Old man, I don't drink wine; but my son has been killed, when is it time to drink wine? When he said this, he cried so much that all the thieves started crying and said: Don't kill this old man, let us leave him on this island to die on his own. They agreed to this, and their commander said: We will kill this old man and not leave him alive! They were drinking wine and Shibo heard the sentence and laughed under his breath, then they were half drunk after an hour. He laid them on the ground in front of them and started eating raisins and pistachios that they had never seen before. It hadn't gone down their throat yet when they fell asleep. Shibo got up, took out the dagger and killed them; and beat their commander firmly. He threw those corpses into the sea and left one of the sailors alive but also severely cut his hands and feet. The girl was surprised by Shibo's work, they collected the riches of the ships in that ship and raised the sail of the ship and the ship floated on the water of the sea for a few days. But the chief of thieves came to his senses and said: Who are you who made me like this? Where did my friends go? Shibo: He said that I am an old merchant who wanted to kill me. Now, I will punish you next; and I killed your friends too. Then, the man said: I had heard [that] Umar ibn Umayyah (3) used to do these tricks during the time of Hamzah (4). Shibo said: I am Umar's son, I will kill you right now and throw you into the sea. He said this and pulled a dagger and cut off his head and throw it into the sea. Then the sailor came to his senses, shaking like a willow, Shibo asked him where this road goes and what province is called here? : He said to call this place Maghrib. When he said [this], he shouted that we took the wrong way and reached Jamhun Zangi Castle. From that castle up to a hundred farsangs (5), no creature can take his life out of its hands. It has two hundred and fifty Zangis, each of which is twenty-four yards tall; We will surely perish. Shibo laughed and said: I will destroy this castle in such a way that the stories will be told again. After saying this, he took out some medicine and applied it on himself, it turned him black like tar.

 

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And also applied it on the girl, she also turned black. He dressed himself in the form of a servant and behaved as a Zangia so much that he and the girl laughed. And from the clothes that were among the thieves, he chose some and put them together. They hoisted the sail and headed towards the castle. The watchman at the top of the fort saw them and took the news to Jamhun and said: There is no need to follow them, they will come by themselves. But when Shibo reached under the castle, he shouted that you should inform Amir Jamhun and tell him that Farrokh's son is coming from Zanzibar and has many riches, he will join the service. Farrokh Matrab (6) was famous in Zanzibar. Jamhun had heard his name, he said: Bring him soon, and I don't have a singer here to welcome me! He sent a man to bring them up. Jamhun called Shibo Zangi, who fell to the ground and prayed for him in Zangian's words. Shibo said: Yes. He said: What did you do? He replied that my father is old, he sent me to serve you for a few days. This Jamhun liked, called him and said that he heard that there was no singer like your father in all of Zanzibar. For a long time, I wished that your father would come to me, but he didn't. Shibo: He said, O warrior, my father is old and weak, and if not, he would have been very interested in your stature. Now, I brought some gifts from Dervish; Although he is not worthy of the job, but you should accept it with your kindness. After saying this, Jamhun took the thieves' clothes in front of him and said to the minister: This is over-allocation of the singers, I don't know how it is and what is the problem with this? The minister said:I don't think that this boy is Farrokh Matrab. Jamhun gathered his people, he shouted the word ‘Zangiane’ and the Zanj roared. And the girl was also dancing. Shibo was a good dancer and played a good four-string, Jamhun said to Shibo, "You played the sama (9), now it's my turn." He started dancing and dancing. Although he was black himself, he was good and gentle; And the Zangian were about to lose consciousness. …………………..

(Some time later another ship arrives at the place)

 

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Many of the sailors started crying and gave up hope. They were talking when the Zanj watchman noticed them. Ironically, Shibo was there, he came to the fort, saw the ship decorated, and said to himself: Oh my God, who is the poor thing that has fallen into the hands of these cannibals? Shibo saw in that castle that every day a Muslim man was killed and eaten. Al-Qasa, the ship of Seyyed (7) Junaid arrived there. Seyyed Junaid stood with his weapon raised. At that time, Jamhun heard a Zanj calling over the castle and saw a ship full of riches and laughed. Syed said that he saw Junaid standing alone and pointing a weapon at himself. I want to take his wealth from him and set him free. It's a shame to kill such a young man! He turned to his vizier to go and bring him. The vizier came down from the castle with four Zanj. When they reached Seyyed Junaid, they said he wants you as a warrior. Seyyed Junaid: He said that if he had work, he should come himself! The minister pointed to the Zangi to grab him, Zangi went forward and stretched out his hand to grab Seyyed Junaid, Seyyed Junaid grabbed a knife and cut one hand of him. The minister ran away with two Zanj. Seyyed Junaid threw a spear to the Wazir, the Wazir went to Hell, the other had reached the door of the castle, Seyyed Junaid shot an arrow on his shoulder; at the time of his death, Seyyed Junaid let out a thunderous roar from inside, that the castle shook. But Jamhun looked from the top of the castle and saw that he had killed the minister, he went crazy and sent his son to go tear this man apart, but Shibo thought to himself that this cry was not from anyone, but from the Banu Hashem tribe (8)! Shibu: He said, allow me to go and get him. They were talking when Jamhun's son came to Seyyed Junaid with a few more Zanj. He called out to him and said: O lowly man, an old man came, did you kill him? Now, let's go soon! Seyyed Junaid said: Don't be so absurd that I sent you to the minister at this very hour! Jamhun's son pointed to him to go grab him and bring him! There was a Zanj going. Seyyed Junaid took a razor and threw his head off. The other one went, that's how it happened up to

 

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Seven Zangis went, each one of them was killed like a mountain. Jamhun's son got scared and turned to defeat and went to the castle. When Jamhun saw the boy safe, he took up arms himself, and went to the battle with Seyyed Junaid with the Zangians. Shibo also came out with them. When he got to Seyyed Junaid, he recognized him and the fire of love fell in his heart, he came to Jamhun and said: O warrior, don't fight because I will bring him to you without a fight. So, Shibu came near Seyyed Junaid and sang: O Seyyed Arab, I am Shibu, your slave. Seyyed Junaid looked at him and said: What should I do to get rid of these Zangians! Shibo: He said don't fight because there are many of them, they are like warriors. And no tactic will work against Jamhun, let each of them shoot and destroy you; And my situation is far from how I fell into their hands. Seyyed Junaid said that I have killed several of them, how will it happen? Shibo said, don't think that I will make you dear. After saying this, he came to Jamhun again and said, O Ruler, this is a great warrior, the Zangians can't catch him. Jamhun said: So what should I do? Shibo said: I will bring him to you in such a way that his ship is full of riches, we will take it from him and after that, if you want to kill; kill him, if you don't want to, don't kill him! Jamhun: He said that he should come and become one with us. I will not kill him Shibo came to Seyyed Junaid again and said that the sorrow in this castle is such a blessing that it cannot be described. Seyyed Junaid said: I am not bound by worldly dinar, what is the use of riches? After saying that he trusted in God, he read the Qur'an and came to Jamhun. Jamhun looked at him, he seemed to be a brave young man, Seyyed Junaid's love fell in his heart. Jamhun said: It was good that I didn't kill him. If he becomes a pagan, I will give him my daughter. I have married several Muslims. Let's kill one of them and eat it. He was saying this and frowning. Shibo was laughing. In the meantime, Jamhun ordered that the ship's belongings were taken out and taken to the treasury. Seyyed Junaid went to the castle with him. Jamhun sat on the throne and started drinking wine; And Shibu played the fiddle and Sama (9).

 

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He was ringing the bells and the bells of the word were ringing, the daughter of the emperor was playing four strings and dancing.

Seyyed Junaid was surprised and fainted from laughing. He said to Shibo: Where did this servant fall into your hands? She said that she is the daughter of Caesar. He said that the people were talking about the arrival of Jamhun's daughter. Some of the warriors stood up. Seyyed Junaid looked and saw a monster with a head like a rotating dome, a nose like a Turkmen hare, a mouth like a blacksmith's furnace, and a hand like a burning tree. When she came to sit down, Jamhun said to Seyyed Junaid: If you take my command, you will prostrate to idols and kill Muslims, I will give you this bride like the moon! Seyyed Junaid did not say anything out of anger. Shibo: He said: A warrior is her guardian. But when the girl noticed Seyyed Junaid, she ran forward and kissed Seyid Junaid, Seyyid Junaid was amazed by the smell of the girl's mouth, Jamhun was laughing and he liked it. Meanwhile, they informed the girl's mother and the girl's mother placed a gold plate on Seyyed Junaid's head, and it was so sad that the old Seyyed Junaid, whose hair had turned white, screamed a thousand times. She also came and kissed Seyyed Junaid, Seyyed Junaid was fed up with himself. Shibo asked permission from Jamhun to order Seyyed Junaid to be in front of us tonight. Jamhun: He said take good care of him and give him good food! Shibo said: I look forward to seeing you. Seyyed Junaid came to Shibu's house, they talked about the past. Seyyed Junaid said: Now, what should be done? You didn't let me fight in the desert. We came to this castle. How can we get rid of it? Shibo said: Let me tell them to have a party tomorrow where I will be the cook and the girl will be the bartender. I will put poison in their food, the girl will put medicine in the wine. Seyyed Junaid said: I will not kill anyone while drunk or asleep. I am not incapable of this people. If I have a weapon that is worthy of me, I will not leave one of them alive. Shibo said: My work is theft and trickery, and I do not have the strength to fight and I am not armed. Now I will do my job, the war will be your job. It struck me in my heart that there will be a war. I will go and bring Siamak Shah's weapon, I don't have it and I am not armed. This castle belonged to Siamak Shah, and these Zangians fight

 

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and are brave because no blade, mace, arrow or spear can stop that weapon; And this is a blade [which] if hit on a mountain, it will tear it in two. And the other treasures of this castle belong to Siamak Shah and there are many weapons in this castle. Seyyed Junaid said: I like this weapon that you said more than Siamak's treasure, but I don't want to steal it. Shibo: He said, I will go and ask your wife's mother to watch over us, if anything happens. After saying this, he went to Jamhun's wife and said that your son-in-law has sent me to watch Siamak Shah's weapons and prepare for the wedding tomorrow so that I can prepare food. But that monster was angry and gave the weapon to Shibo. Shibo was upset and brought it to Seyyed Junaid. Seyyed Junaid was left with that strange weapon and said, God willing, I will take the world with this weapon! They were busy with their stories and work until the next day when the golden morning dawned and the world was illuminated and decorated with its light. The order of the morning rose …………  Jamhun entered the court, sat on the throne, and was impatient and restless. He called for Shibo and asked about Seyyed Junaid's condition. They were talking like this and Jamhun said to Shibu: Let your slave be a butler! Shibo also wanted to tell Seyyed Junaid about the situation. He said to Seyyed Junaid: You know I

 

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poured poison into the food; And he gave medicine to the girl and told her to pour in the wine, the girl became a bartender and they started drinking wine. Each of them had not taken a sip [when] they fainted. As many as two hundred Zanj and Jamhun's turn had not yet arrived. Black Jamhun was cunning, doubt fell in his heart and he said: Whoever drinks a cup, he will fall like a dead man. Of course, they have put something inside. He reached out, grabbed the girl's hair, and said: Let me see how it is, but tell the truth! The girl was afraid and said: I am Caesar's daughter. And he is the son of Umrah ibn Umayyah. That young man is Hamzah's cousin. Some of the food has been contaminated with poison. Shibo was standing and listening. He heard Jamhun: He said you are a Roman, why is your color black? The girl said that he gave me medicine. I rubbed it on myself and he did the same. Jamhun cut the girl's body in two. Shibo was standing when he saw that the girl was killed, he came to Seyyed Junaid and said: O Amir, our work has been revealed, thirty-forty Zangi have remained awake. That girl who was my favorite was killed. Seyyed Junaid laughed and said, hide somewhere and see what I will do with them. There was a high mountain in the middle of that castle, Shibo climbed on top of that mountain and hid. He was watching in a corner when Amir Junaid got up, put on Siamak’s armor and put on his helmet. He pulled Siamak's blade and let out a thunderous roar, which made the castle tremble. And turning to Jamhun, then Jamhun said: O you thieves, you are doing tricks and you are going around in the world. When Hamza came to this province and killed my father and killed my relatives, I was a child. Sitting on a ship, I fled to the island of Taosian and went to Ahansar Zangi; And Umar Ibn Umayyah killed a hundred thousand Zanj in Zanzibar. I will do something with you right now. Seyyed Junaid answered: If my uncle killed eighty people, I will kill your as a sentence. He said this and attacked together. Seyyed Junaid raised the blade to hit Jamhun, Jamhun looked like a chicken and [the blade] landed on Jamhun's leg and the blood flowed. Jamhun got angry again and reached out and grabbed Seyyed Junaid's belt. Seyyed Junaid also grabbed his belt and they forced themselves into the house. They hit each other so hard that blood flowed from their nails. So Seyyed Junaid let go of his belt

 

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and let out a loud cry of Allahu Akbar from deep inside, which made Jamhun tremble and said: I have never heard such a terrible voice. Shibo was sitting on top of the tower of the castle and had gathered a lot of rope so that if they kill Seyyed Junaid, he will come down from the castle and run away, when you hear Seyyed Junaid's shouts, he said, Seyyed Arab, kill Jamhun so that I can come down and get to the group that has fallen unconscious and, to finish their sentence. Jamhun said to himself: What are you doing that this young man is going backwards, that I have no war with him! Seyyed Junaid remembered God, sent greetings to Muhammad, ran, took his belt, snatched it from the ground, and like a mountain that hit the ground, he severed his head from the castle. The blood flowed from that castle like joy. [Seyyed Junaid] took the blade and sent the rest of Zangian to hell. When Shibo saw that the castle was empty of Zangians, he came down from the top of the tower and kissed Seyyed Junaid's hand and said that these Zangians, who fell unconscious, should take the sentence in one hour. After saying this, he took out a knife and cut two hundred Zanj like a minaret. Instead of Qaiser's daughter, he killed the wife and daughter of Jamhun. Seyyed Junaid went to prison and found the group that was brought from one each province. When the prisoners saw Seyyed Junaid, they started praying and extolling the joy. They said that there were six people from Makkah and Madinah. Seyyed Junaid recognized them and said that the Almighty had made such a destiny so that we would suffer all these troubles and come to this position. And be your salvation! He said this and opened for them [then]: He said, take as much of this jewel as you want! Seyyed Junaid himself went to see Siamak's treasure. He saw a palace of jewels, but no one was there; And good weapons were there. Jamhun had not captured any of them. A green house, a white house, one of ruby, one of camphor and musk, others of coral and jewels. There were so many riches there that he did not count. Seyyed Junaid and Shibo were surprised. They took what was good and valuable and filled the ship and gave the rest to them. There were two or three Zangians left, they took them with them and set fire to that fort. Those Muslims who were in prison filled fifty ships with riches, set sail on the sea. Shibo was good-natured and welcomed Seyyed Junaid. Shibo said: Arab warrior, I need one thing from you, that you don't stop me from stealing.

 

(1) Shibo: an arch-tricker who is the lead character in this part of the story.

(2) Qaiser's daughter: her presence is only due to a former story; and she will be killed in this story. She is mostly called ‘the girl’.

(3) Umar ibn Umayyah is an important character and an ayyar (trickster) in the Hamzanama (15^th).

(4) Hamza: the paternal uncle of the Prophet and the main character in the Hamzanama (15th).

(5) farsangs: The parasang is a historical Iranian unit of walking distance, the length of which varied according to terrain and speed of travel. The European equivalent is the league. In modern terms the distance is about 3 or 3½ miles (4.8 or 5.6 km).

(6) Farrokh Matrab: Matrab = the singer.

(7) Sayyid is an honorific surname of Muslims recognized as descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his grandsons, Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali.

(8) The Banu Hashim is an Arab clan within the Quraysh tribe to which Muhammad belonged.

(9) Sama is a Sufi ceremony performed as part of the meditation and prayer practice. These performances often include singing, playing instruments, dancing, recitation of poetry ……

 

Note on the place of East Africa in the Abu Moslem-name.

In this gigantic multi volume epic East Africa and/or East African people are many times mentioned. The translated story here is only an example. It contains many of the often-repeated ideas about East Africa.

-They are cannibals.

-They live in gigantic forts and cities.

-Their rulers are un-measurably wealthy.

-The women are ugly monsters.

-The warriors are giants.

But there are two unexpected aspects found:

- Shibo gets access to their society and can freely stay in the palais of the ruler by pretending to be the son of a very well-known black singer; ‘very well known in Zanzibar’. (This is a reference to the Black Raven: the African poets in the early centuries of Islam.)

- Shibo is in reality the son of Umar ibn Umayyah an important character and an ayyar (trickster) in the Hamzanama. Hamza: the paternal uncle of the Prophet. But at least in this story he is not trying to spread Islam; on the contrary it is the pagan Ruler who tries to convert the Muslims to become idol worshipers. And he offers his daughter as bride to Seyyed Junaid if he does so.