Arabic-L:LING:Response to Etymology Query

[Nathan Arp]

------------------------------------------------------------------------ 
-
Arabic-L: Mon 20 Sep  2004
Moderator: Dilworth Parkinson <dilworth_parkinson at byu.edu>
[To post messages to the list, send them to arabic-l at byu.edu]
[To unsubscribe, send message from same address you subscribed from to
listserv at byu.edu with first line reading:
            unsubscribe arabic-l                                      ]

-------------------------Directory------------------------------------

1-8) Subject:Response to Etymology Query

-------------------------Messages-----------------------------------
1)
Date: 20 Sep  2004
From:paula santillian <capraia at yahoo.com>
Subject:Response to Etymology Query

hi elizabeth,

i´ve been told lately that "janjaweed" is some sort of
short form of the (unfinished) phrase "jundii `ala
jawaad haamil ..." sorry, I can´t remember the last
word, but, obviously, it refers to the weapon that
al-janjaweed use.

paula

------------------------------------------------------------------------ 
--
-------------------------Messages-----------------------------------
2)
Date: 20 Sep  2004
From:Mark Camilleri <markcam01 at ONVOL.NET>
Subject:Response to Etymology Query

I am trying to answer this question as best as I can. Janjaweed is a
probable contraction of:

Jund: Soldier

Jawad (pl. Jiyad, ajyad, ajawid): openhanded, generous, liberal; but  
also
horse, race horse, charger, steed.

------------------------------------------------------------------------ 
--
-------------------------Messages-----------------------------------
3)
Date: 20 Sep  2004
From:Mutarjm at aol.com
Subject:Response to Etymology Query

Greetings.
 
Re the query on ARABIC-L list.
 
I have been translating a (growing) volume of Arabic-language materials  
about the situations in Darfur and Nubia Provinces of Sudan, plus  
interviewing some Sudanese (Arab and non-Arab) respondents in the  
refugee families now resettled here in southern California.
 
No one has cited or claimed any Arabic origin or derivation for that  
term, other than few random suggestions or loose speculation that the  
first part (jan = Ar: jinn /  janoon = spirit), but other cohorts  
and accomplices nearby always spontaneously objected and derided the  
person who made that comment. While based on my limited sample, no one  
from Sudan how here or printed media seems quite sure or confident of  
the term's origin.
 
That term may have more of an African origin, or perhaps it evolved in  
media coverage and became a convenient "linguistic legend" due to the  
term's wide circulation and reportage.
 
HTH.
 
Regards,

Stephen H. Franke
San Pedro, California

------------------------------------------------------------------------ 
--
-------------------------Messages-----------------------------------
4)
Date: 20 Sep  2004
From:Waheed Samy <wasamy at umich.edu>
Subject:Response to Etymology Query
See the following URL for information about the etymology of the term:
http://www.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/7037DBED-00E8-4518-A74B 
-68FFD4D009B8.htm
In brief, the article makes the following points:

1-There is no agreement about the word.
2-Some see it as a name crafted out of ginn ala gawaad
3-Others say it is a name after a Sudanese tribal warrior from the 80's  
of
the past century, named Hamid Ganjuit.
4-It is a name crafted out of three terms each beginning with a "g":  
gin,
gawaad, and g3, the latter said to be "the (well-)known implement"

Here's another longer discussion about the term:
http://www.darfournews.net/Junjoeed2.htm

Cheers.

Waheed

------------------------------------------------------------------------ 
--
-------------------------Messages-----------------------------------
5)
Date: 20 Sep  2004
From:Waleed MH El-Shobaki <Waleed.El-shobaki at man.ac.uk>
Subject:Response to Etymology Query

There are the Janissary  ÇáÇäßÔÇÑíåwho are the novice solidures  or the  
most loyal ones to the "Highgate" during the Ottoman time.
But , the way I will interpret "Janjaweed" is from the Persian Jan  ÌÇä  
which means Life or Soul
and Jaweed ÌÇæíÏ  thus , JanJaweed is eternal life.

Waleed el-ShobakiAcademic Liaison Librarian for MiddleEastern  
StudiesJohn Rylands University Library of ManchesterOxford Road,  
MANCHESTER M13 9PP  UKTel: 0161 275 7387Fax: 0161 273 7488Email Address  
:- waleed.el-shobaki at man.ac.uk

------------------------------------------------------------------------ 
--
-------------------------Messages-----------------------------------
6)
Date: 20 Sep  2004
From:AWEISS, SALEM I <saweiss at ufl.edu>
Subject:Response to Etymology Query

looks like two words as u mentioned:
jund = soldiers
jawad = horse

jund al jawad = the army or soldiers of the horse(s)
the term obviously has gone through some levels of change

------------------------------------------------------------------------ 
--
-------------------------Messages-----------------------------------
7)
Date: 20 Sep  2004
From:Ayouby, Kenneth <AyoubyK at Dearborn.k12.mi.us>
Subject:Response to Etymology Query

Hi all,

Could it possibly be a "compound" word, mixing Jinn (supernatural
beings) and Jawaad (horse)? As it stands, it doesn't sound right-unless
it is little Arabic and a lot something else. Anyone knows?

Kenneth

------------------------------------------------------------------------ 
--
-------------------------Messages-----------------------------------
8)
Date: 20 Sep  2004
From:"Elrayah, Tagelsir H" <ElrayahTH at state.gov>
Subject:Response to Etymology Query

Hi Liz,
Janjaweed is a compound word coined in the western part of Sudan to  
describe
a group of militants (robbers) who use horses on their raids and  carry
rifles. The word consists of two words : Jinn ?? and Jaweed   ??????  
(the
plural of horses).  The locals describe them as (Jinn) for being  
dreadful
and skilled snipers and horseback riders. The Arabic phrase is: ?? ????  
????
(??????) ???? ??? ???  . The rifles that they use is called (Jiim Three)
whichis  widely used by the military of Sudan.

Tagelsir Elrayah
Foreign Service Institute (FSI)

------------------------------------------------------------------------ 
--
End of Arabic-L:  20 Sep  2004