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Nasr further writes that it is this kind which is usually possessed by
people. Its veins are variegated in colour and slender like hair. They are
black, red and white, and at times present the pictures of animals and
plants. (Jewellers have also been reported to have made similar statements. Al-Kindi might have based his description upon the statements
made by jewellers, and he had made an observation to this effect as
well). These pictures come into being through the intermingling of
different colours. Although the basic material of all these colours is the
same, the central portion of each colour is different, as if they have been
woven together layer upon layer. Again, the Baqrani kind, unlike the
Farisi and Habashi varieties, is compact and long. Therefore, different
forms and shapes manifest themselves in it, and accidental abrasions and
breakages give rise to strange and unexpected forms.
The Lapidary states:
There is a mine of this stone in China. People do not go near it because of its evil omens. Only those seized with anxiety and melancholia take it out of the mine and transport it to other countries. It
is the belief of the Chinese people that, if put on, it spells grief and
sorrow. If suspended from the neck of the children, it acts as a
constant sialagogue. if water is drunk from cups made from it, sleeplessness results. The kings of Yemen also abstained from it, as it
spelled an evil omen.
As far as the evil omen is concerned, it is the lexicographers who are
responsible for it. As regards the other characteristics, they relate to the
properties of jaza' and can be proved true or false only after experimentation.
Stories About Jaza'
The statement that the mine of jaza' is in China is unconfirmed and
occurs in an apocryphal work. 95 So far as seeking evil omens from a
thing are concerned, there is no ground for surprise here. If what has
been stated about the kings of the Yemen is true, Marqash would not
have included jaza' among the articles of jewellery and self-decoration.
He says:
These women adorned themselves with ruby, beads, tinctures, the
Zifarian jaza' and twin pearls.
'Abd Allah bin Qays al-Ruqayyat says:
O thou mother of the wearer of shells necklaces, glass beads and
jaza', greetings to thee!
Another poet says:
Night is walking on the pebbles of the Zifarian jaza1.
Both Marqash and the other poet evoked the image of the Yemenite jaza'
and both have alluded to Zifar which is a town in the Yemen and where
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