1848.] Ibn QotaybaKs Adah al KatW on Arabic Astronomy. 667 



al-dzabiA (the butchering luck), sa'd bola' (the devouring luck), sa'd 

 al-so'iid (the luck of lucks), sa'd al-akhbiyah faragh al-dalw al-moqad- 

 dam (the foremost trough of the bucket), faragh al-dalw al-mowakh- 

 khar (the hindmost trough of the bucket). 



Spring was called cayf by the ancient Arabs, and Raby by the latter 

 Arabs who had settled in cities. It begins when the sun enters into 

 the sign of the Aries. Its mansions are : shara^an (the two signs or 

 marks), botazn (the small belly), thorayya (multitude, i. e. Pleiades), 

 dabran or dabaran (Hyades), haq'ah (the race-course), han'ah (the 

 curvature), and dzira (the forearm). 



Summer was formerly called qaytz by the Bedouins, and is now called 

 cayf by the towns-people. Its lunar mansions are : nathrah (the back 

 of the nose, the stars are on the nose of the lion), £arf (the eye, viz. of 

 the sign of the lion), jabhah (the forehead), zobrah (the lion's mane 

 between his shoulders), carfah (returning), 'awwa (the barker or dog), 

 sinsak. 



Nawo (heliacal setting), means that one of those stars sets (heliacally) 

 in the west, whilst another rises (heliacally) in the east. The term 

 nawo, which means rising, is used in this instance (for setting), because 

 the setting of one of the mansions of the moon is always accompanied 

 by the rising of another ; some say that nawo means both rising and 

 setting. One of the mansions of the moon sets (heliacally) and ano- 

 ther one rises every thirteen days. The twenty-eight mansions make 

 therefore their revolution once a year. If at the setting of a mansion 

 of the moon a change of the weather took place, the Arabs used to 

 ascribe it to the setting mansion, and they thought that it continued to 

 influence the weather until the next mansion would set (the setting 

 mansion, it must be recollected, proceeds towards coming in conjunc- 

 tion with the sun). If a mansion of the moon set and brought no 

 rain it was called " empty." 



Sirar or Sirar (occultation), is a term for the last night of the (lunar) 

 month, for the moon becomes invisible, sometimes one and sometimes 

 two nights. Bara (salvation), is equally the name of the last day of 

 the month, for the moon escapes from the sun ; moMq (destruction), is 

 the name for the last three days of the (natural) month, for the moon 

 perishes during them. NaAyrah (having the throat cut), is also a 

 name for the last day of the month, for the coming month cuts the 



