676 Ibn QotaybaKs Adab al Katitf on Arabic Astronomy. [Dec. 



who paint the constellations, in the horns of Aries. The shara^an are 



two bright stars, not far asunder north and south ; not far from the 



southern is another and smaller star, which is sometimes added to the 



preceding two. The setting of the sharaMn portends luck. The Arabs 



say 



e>lx«^i M9\yj (jtkj^l *&yas?j ^bo)J! J^Ist cjtkj-SJl (sic) ^ l£l 



"When the shara^an rise (set?), day and night are equal, the 

 country becomes green, the teeth stand opposite each other (?), neigh- 

 bours make presents to each other, and the poor man may spend the 

 night wherever he likes." 



2. Bo£ayn (the small belly) the diminutive is used because there is a 

 star in the fish called belly (bafri). Three stars resembling a horse- 

 shoe, somewhat less in magnitude than the shara^an. Those who make 

 drawings of the constellations place them in the belly of Aries. 



3. Thorayya (Pleiades) ; six small stars ; ignorant people believe 

 that there are seven, they are close together and look like sparks. 

 Some say there are twelve, but it would require the eye of Muhammed 

 to see them. This constellation is called al-najm (the star) in the same 

 manner as Venus is called al-kawkab (the star) par excellence. The 

 Pleiades are also called the fat sheep's tail <J*^| &J\ ; most times the 

 moon does not go into the Pleaides but into Lhyqah &&aA/I (straits) 

 which is the name of two small stars between the Pleiades and 

 Aldabaran. This is considered as the best and most lucky nawo by 

 the Arabs, and occurs therefore frequently in their poetry. (The rhymes 

 of the Bedouins on this and some other mansions are so much disfigured 

 by errors that they could not be transcribed here). 



4. Dabaran is a bright red star, before it (east of it) is a group of many 

 stars, of which two stars are nearer to dabaran than the rest. These 

 are called the two dogs &ki> of the dabaran; and the rest its booty 

 ***** (f* l *«e its flock of sheep?) or its camels <je^S. The two Bedouin 

 proverbs : "more faithful than dabaran \^j*±)\ &f±*i iSj^v* \J>$)f? 

 and "more treacherous than the Pleiades fakjiH e/°j^f)" are owing 

 to the constancy with which the latter follow the former, who is his 

 faithless love. The dabaran is also called ^s^l ^JG and *s^I*jIj and 

 fqpMl <£*U and ^Af^l andjpl ^ and ^k{\. It is of the first 

 magnitude. 



