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In the Kunuasli Khuz it has been stated that it is brought from the
region of Mali. It resembles pitch and it is a gum that comes from the rocks of mountains. The translator of this work has criticised the author of this book and has said that it is wrong to designate it as gum, as gum comes out of a tree after ripening, whereas that which does not come on its own is the expressed juice. The word, malt, denotes a mountainous ground. There are two mahs,
the mall of Basra, i.e. Dinawar, and the mah of Kufah, i.e. Nahawand. When mah of Sabdhan is also included, then all the three are known as mahat. Sometimes, 'mail of Nahawand' is also called 'mah of Dinar'. This is an eponym — from the name of the man who was arrested and with whom Hudhayfah, had a treaty. Ahwaz is close to Faris and the Jabal, and therefore, the location and preparation of momya'i at Khuz cannot be kept secret. However, we have described whatever information we have been able to secure. Hamzah writes: "There is a momya'i mine in the village of Jawran,
which is situated in the town of Quhistan in Tasuj-i-Karran. It is also found in the Karkukaran village which is also situated in the same district. Ta'suj is situated between the two."' But we have not seen anything coming out of it. It could be that the quantity of the momya'i is so small that only the people of that area benefit from it. Abu Hanifah says: "The honeybee puts something like a seal upon
honey and its offspring with wax, later depositing something evil-smelling, pungent and very black which is waxy. It is remarkably effective against injuries and wounds. But is rarely found and is called momya V in Persian." When a Ghazzi Turk entered the fold of Islam in the olden times
and commingled with the Muslims, he used to act as an interpreter between the two. Whenever any Ghazzi became a Muslim, the Ghazzis used to say, "He has become a Turkoman." The Muslims likewise used to say, "He has become a Turkoman," i.e., he has become akin to the Turks. I recall an old prisoner at Baykund bringing gifts for the Shah of
Khwarazm. Among these presents was momya'i which he used to prepare by himself. He claimed that whatever he prepared was based upon the herbs of daily usage, and it was efficacious and quick-acting. It so happened once that the supervisor of the watchmen who looked
after the falcons broke the wing of a falcon especially beloved of the Shah. Khwarazmshah was furious at this and ordered the leg of the supervisor to be maimed. I was present on the occasion. He was dragged and the executioner brushed his leg with a stick which was like the trunk of the date tree. An enemy of the supervisor exclaimed, "O executioner! should this be called maiming or only brushing?" The executioner, upon hearing this, became steadier since he could not evade the order. He |
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