17th -CENTURY POET NI‘METÎ'S MUAMMA GHAZAL AND ITS EXPLANATORY DECRYPTION

Abstract

Ta‘miye, which is the process of encrypting person names and epithets in verse and prosetexts with orthographic and figurative methods, expanded its scope over time and createdthe muamma poems considered an independent poetic genre whose the first examplesappeared in Arabic literature. Poem examples that are evaluated as works within themuamma genre brought to our literature by the translation of Persian treatises of MirHussein Nishaburi and Molla Jami can be identified with their specific formal featuresstarting from the 16th century to the 19th century; however, there were some workscontaining concealed names by ta‘miye methods. Muamma poems are generally found indiwans in which the poems of a certain poet are collected and in poetry collections whichare selections of various poets’ works. There are also poetry collections that contain onlymuammas and guides on the ta‘miye methods. In addition to the muamma poems, manytreatises have been written on the methods of encryption and decryption in poetry.Although muammas are mostly written in poetic forms, such as verse and stanza, thereare muammas in prose form and also written in poetic forms with formal integrity, suchas ghazal and qasida. A muamma ghazal by Ni‘metî, who lived in the early 17th centuryand compiled a comprehensive collection consisting of muamma poems and manytreatises on the ta‘miye methods, is among these examples. Written in the classical ghazalform and consisting of seven couplets, a name is encrypted in each couplet of this poem.In this study, the transcription of Ni‘metî’s ghazal, its intralingual translation into prose,and the encryption of its muammas are discussed.