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Nuzhat al-nufus wa tuhfat al-'arus. An Unknown Arabic Manual of Erotology from the 14th Century
Abstract
Nuzhat al-nufus wa tuhfat al-'arus. An Unknown Arabic Manual of Erotology from the 14th Century The author of the paper aims to present an unknown Arabic book on erotology ('ilm al-bah), from the end of the 13th or beginning of the 14th century, entitled Nuzhat al-nufus wa tuhfat al-'arus, very probably of North African provenance, whose unique manuscript, belonging to the library of Oriental Institute in Sarajevo, was destroyed in a blaze following the shelling of the city in spring 1992. Having the opportunity to work on one of the few xerographic copies of the manuscript, and to compare the tractate with the similar works from the period, the author of the paper claims that the manuscript was misidentified as much wider renowned, and considerably shorter work of 'Abd All?h b. Mulammad al-T-janm (d. after 1311) Tuhfat al-'ar)s wa nuzhat al-nufss. The manuscript, copied by a certain 'Ale of znik in 1002/1593, consists of 371 folios, with 21 lines of text on each folio, written in well legible nesh. The work itself has the usual inner structure of the similar works: after the talmrd and the introductory part in which the author reveals the title of the book (The Promenade of the Soul and the Masterpiece of the Bride) and the reasons for composing it, follow 12 chapters in which the art of love is taught starting from the general accounts of the main attributes of men and women, what they like or dislike on the opposite sex, continues with the more practical topics, like aphrodisiacs or figurae veneris, and concludes with anegdotes and excerpts from the classical Arabic poetry referring to sexuality. The author of the paper will also use this opportunity to announce the forthcoming publication of the work, saving it for the future researches.
Discipline
Anthropology
Geographic Area
All Middle East
Sub Area
13th-18th Centuries