Dananir (qayna of Ibn Kunasa)
Dananir دنانير | |
|---|---|
| Born | 8th or 9th century Kufa, Abbasid Caliphate (present-day Iraq) |
| Died | c. 823 (before 823 or 824) |
| Occupation | Arabic poet, singer, and storyteller |
| Language | Arabic |
| Nationality | Caliphate |
| Period | Islamic Golden Age (Abbasid era) |
Dananir (8th or 9th century – died c. 823 or earlier[1]) was a musician and poet from Kufa in the Abbasid Caliphate. A non-free qayna, she was owned by muhaddith, poet and philologist Abu Yahya Muhammad ibn Kunasa (b. 741 – d. 823 or 824).[1][2] Well-known in her time, but otherwise only known by her given name, she is descriptively referred to as Dananir jariyat Muhammad ibn Kunnasa (Arabic: دنانيرُ جاريةُ محمدِ بنِ كنّاسةَ; lit. 'Dananir, slave-girl of Muhammad ibn Kunnasa').[3][4]
Dananir was a muwallada, a child born to parents of disparate backgrounds.[1] Ibn Kunasa, described as a scholarly man,[2] raised her and trained her as a singer and poet. She is described as a poet proficient in Classical Arabic, musically educated, and a gifted storyteller.[1] She created her performances herself and recited for the literary elite.[2] Ibn Kunasa reportedly refused offers of thousands of dirhams or dinars to sell her. She died before his death in 823 or 824.[1]
Dananir is mentioned in classical Arabic literature, notably by Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani, who quotes two of her songs[2] and praises her poetry as superior to that of Buhturi.[1] She also appears in Ibn Fadlallah al-Umari's work Masālik al-abṣār, an encyclopaedia-like compendium.[1]
See also
- Dananir al-Barmakiyya, another early-Abbasid-era qayna (better known)
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Gökpinar, Yasemin (2021). Der ṭarab der Sängersklavinnen (in German). Ergon – ein Verlag in der Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft. pp. 101–103. doi:10.5771/9783956508202. ISBN 978-3-95650-820-2.
- ^ a b c d Mcdonald, Michael V. (1994). "A Minor Early Abbasid Poet: Muhammad B. Kunāsa". Journal of Arabic Literature. 25 (2): 107–108. doi:10.1163/157006494x00022. ISSN 0085-2376.
- ^ Ibn Fadlallah al-Umari (2010) [1337–1338]. Masālik al-abṣār fī mamālik al-amṣār مسالك الأبصار في ممالك الأمصار (in Arabic). Vol. 6. Beirut, Lebanon: Dar Al Kotob Al Ilmiyah – via Google Books.
- ^ Kilpatrick, Hilary (1991). "Women as Poets and Chattels. Abū al-Faraǧ al-Iṣbahānī's "Al-Imāʾ al-Šawāʾir". Quaderni di Studi Arabi. 9: 161–176. ISSN 1121-2306. JSTOR 25802688 – via JSTOR.
This is in fact the most common way of distinguishing the slave poetesses, since they lack a genealogy. Sometimes the owner is mentioned in conjunction with the name, e.g. Danānīr gāriyyat Muḥammad ibn Kūnasa...