176 CHARACTER, MANNERS, AND CUSTOMS 



were held, where rival poets and orators disputed the 

 palm, and took their rank in public opinion accord- 

 ingly. Each tribe had its annual convention, where 

 its honour was defended, and its deeds celebrated. 

 There were also Panegyrical Meetings, where the 

 actions of their heroes or the munificence of their 

 chiefs were sung, and their respective merits pub- 

 licly rewarded. In this manner the distmctions of 

 their genealogies were preserved ; and the renown 

 of their ancestors, as well as the rights of then- fam- 

 iUes, were transmitted from one generation to an- 

 other. The most celebrated of these literary convo- 

 cations was that which took place every year at the 

 fair of Ocadh, near Taif. Here thirty days were 

 employed, not merely in the exchange of merchan- 

 dise, but in the nobler display of rival talents. In loud 

 and impassioned strains the contendnig poets ad- 

 dressed the multitude by turns, extolhng the superior 

 glory of their own tribe, recounting the names of 

 their eminent warriors, and challenging their oppo- 

 nents to produce their equals. From the fierce 

 spirit of the Bedouins, and the well-known influence 

 of songs over the martial virtues of a barbarous peo- 

 ple, it may readily be imagined that these intellec- 

 tual battles generally ended in bloodshed. 



It was to allay the jealousies and feuds produced 

 by this ancient custom that Mohammed, by a precept 

 in the Koran, expressly abolished it. To conquer 

 in this literary arena was the highest ambition of 

 the bard The victorious compositions were in- 

 scribed in characters of gold upon Eg>T)tian paper, 

 and hung up for pubhc inspection in the temple at 

 Mecca. Of these successful performances seven 

 have been preser\^ed, considered as the finest that 

 were ever written ; for the translation of which we 

 are indebted to that distinguished orientalist Sir 

 William Jones. Thev are known by the name of 

 Modhahebat or the Golden, and INIoallakat or the 

 Suspended. Their authors were Amriolkais, Tarafa, 



