Database: Singing and Poetry
Sometime around 850, an epic showdown took place on the estate of one of the empire's elite. The two most prominent qayna ("singing girls") of the time, Arib al-Ma'muniyya (797-890) and Shariyah (815-870), were invited to a musical contest held to determine which one was the best. Both women had been born into slavery, to aristocratic fathers and mothers who were themselves qayna. Through their skills, they had obtained wealth, influence and even their freedom. By the 840s they had become teachers, training other enslaved women who then performed their popular compositions all around Baghdad. Their duel was therefore a much-anticipated event even beyond courtly society.
Members of each school faced off with songs and poems created by their teacher. Each perfectly followed the intricate stylistic rules of the time and covered themes ranging from religious homily to ribald flyting. In the end, Arib and Shariyah confronted each other in a discussion full of witty repartees. In the decisive moment, the former managed to prove that her younger rival had ripped off some of her melodies from other popular qayna. For Shariyah, and her elite patrons, this was a shattering moment. Arib went on to receive gifts of land, gold, and silk for her victory.
This story, and dozens of others like it, was collected in the tenth-century Kitab al-Aghani (Book of Songs) of Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani. One of the most important medieval Arabic texts, this work shows the importance of poetry and music in the Abbasid empire. In a society deeply influenced by the oral culture of ancient Arabia and Persia, producing beautiful poems was indeed one of the best ways to attract the attention of a potential patron and to acquire wealth and fame.