Moorish Literature: Comprising Romantic Ballads, Tales of the Berbers, Stories of the Kabyles, Folk-Lore, and National Traditions
General
Moorish Literature: Comprising Romantic Ballads, Tales of the Berbers, Stories of the Kabyles, Folk-Lore, and National Traditions
Spanish literature -- Translations into English
The Taleb Sidi Brahim, son of Amhammed of Massat, in the province of Sous,
tells the following story about himself: When he was still a child at his
father's house he went to the mosque to read with a taleb. He studied with
him for twelve and a half years. His father gave him bread and kouskous,
and he ate eight deniers' worth a day. I will make known the country of
Massat. It contains seventeen towns. In the middle of these is a market.
The Jews have a refuge in the village of the chief named
Mobarek-ben-Mahomet. He lives with a sheik called
Brahim-Mahomet-Abon-Djemaa. These two chiefs levy a tax on the Jews. They
receive from them four ounces per family at the beginning of each month. If
the festival of the Mussulmans coincides with the Sabbath of the Jews, the
latter pay to each of the chiefs one ounce for a Jew or a Jewess, boy or
girl, little or big. The following are the details of the population of
Massat. It includes 1,700 men. As to the women, little boys or girls, only
the Lord knows their number. There are 1,250 houses. The horses amount to
180. They ride them and make them work like oxen and mules. They also fight
on horseback. The country has trees, vines, figs, cacti, dates, oranges,
lemons, apples, apricots, melons, and olives. There is a river which flows
from there to the sea. The commerce is considerable. There are Jews and
Mussulmans. The number of books in the mosque is unknown, unless it be by
God. The teachers are numerous as well as the pilgrims, the descendants of
Mahomet, and the saints. May God aid us with his blessing!
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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