Re: Abdul Alhazred: Let's retroconlang the Mad Arab!

Hi Andreas, et al,

Another possible etymology for "Abdul Alhazred"!

Last night, I was wondering ... The Had.ramaut, like The Yemen, The Sinai, The
Rub-ul-Qali (The Empty Quarter) ... isn't that a geographic region? Might that
be Had.ara Maut - meaning, eg, the Fear of Death? or is it quadri- or
quinqui-literal borrowing? ...

I googled 'hadramaut' and found the answers at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hadramawt which includes the following info:

---------

"Hadhramaut, Hadhramout or Hadramawt (Arabic: حضرموت [Ḥaḍramawt]) is a historical
region of the south Arabian Peninsula along the Gulf of Aden in the Arabian
Sea, extending eastwards from Yemen (proper) to the Dhofar region of Oman. The
name of the region is currently retained in the smaller Hadhramaut Governorate
of the Republic of Yemen. The people of Hadhramaut are called Hadhramis [sic;
more probably al-had.ramiyya] ...

... The Hadhramis live in densely-built towns centered on traditional watering
stations along the wadis. Hadhramis harvest crops of wheat, millet, tend date
palm and coconut groves, and grow some coffee. On the plateau Bedouins tend
sheep and goats. Society is still highly tribal, with the old Seyyid
aristocracy descended from Muhammad, traditionally educated and strict in their
Islamic observance, highly respected in religious and secular affairs.
Hadhramaut emigration on a large scale since the early 19th century has
established large Hadhrami minorities in South and South East Asia, namely
Hyderabad, Java, Sumatra, Malacca and Singapore.

Though Bible dictionaries derive 'Hadhramaut' from Hazarmaveth, a son of Joktan in
the Book of Genesis 10:26-28, the name 'Hadhramaut' actually derives from Greek
hydreumata or enclosed (and often fortified) 'watering stations' at wadis. A
hydreuma is a manned and fortified watering hole or way station along a caravan
route. Juris Zarins, rediscoverer of the city of Ubar, described that site in a
'Nova' interview:

'The site that we uncovered at Shisur was a kind of fortress/administration center
set up to protect the water supply from raiding Bedouin tribes. Surrounding the
site, as far as six miles away, were smaller villages, which served as
small-scale encampments for the caravans. An interesting parallel to this are
the fortified water holes in the Eastern Desert of Egypt from Roman times.
There, they were called hydreumata.' "

---------

So, here is a collection of muhjrin (emigrés) that Lovecraft's protagonists may
have come agcross in the Yemen, or in Hyderabad. In India, wealthy descendants
may have acquired an English education (if this was necessary to the plot - I
forget, not having read Lovecraft for several decades).

I also forgot to point out earlier that, while etymologically incorrect, many
Muslims do indeed go by the incomplete cognomen "Abdul". Relatives of mine have
two sons, both Abdul X, of whom the first is generally called either Abdul or
Abi. Thus it is conceivable that a person be known by a personal name as well
as several attributes. Frequently these attributes include a place of origin,
eg al-farsi, the Persian, or ar-rumi, the Roman. So why not al-had.rami or
al-had.rim? From which it is but a short step to imagine sound changes arriving
at a person named "Abdul Alhazred".

Regards,
Yahya



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