Kharja facts for kids

A kharja (pronounced "KHAR-jah") is a special kind of short poem or song. It's like the final, catchy part of a longer poem called a muwashshah. These poems were popular a long time ago in a place called Al-Andalus. This was the part of Spain and Portugal that was ruled by Muslims.

Muwashshah poems were usually written in Arabic. Sometimes, they were written in a mix of Arabic and an old Spanish language called Andalusi Romance. The muwashshah had five main parts (called stanzas) and five or six repeating parts (called refrains). The kharja was always the very last refrain. Often, the kharja was written first, and then the rest of the muwashshah was built around it!

What Makes a Kharja Special?

About one-third of the kharjas we still have today are written in a formal style of Arabic. Most of the others are in a more common, everyday Arabic from Al-Andalus. But about 70 kharjas are written in an old Spanish language, or have a lot of Spanish words mixed in.

Usually, a kharja is like a quote. Someone in the poem says the kharja lines. It's also interesting that the same kharja can be found at the end of many different muwashshah poems.

A writer from Egypt named Ibn Sanā' al-Mulk (who lived from 1155 to 1211) wrote a book about muwashshahat. He said that the kharja was the most important part of the poem. Poets would often start by writing a kharja and then create the whole muwashshah around it. Because of this, it was better to use a good kharja that someone else had already written than to try and make a new, not-so-good one.

Kharjas can be about many things. They might talk about love, praising someone, or enjoying life. Some even talk about being very strict with oneself.

Romance Kharjas: Oldest Spanish Poems?

Even though there aren't as many Romance kharjas as Arabic ones, they are very important to people who study old languages. These kharjas date back to the 11th century. Many experts believe they are some of the oldest poems ever written in any Romance language. They are definitely the earliest known lyric poems in Mozarabic or other old Spanish languages.

These special poems were found again in the 20th century by two scholars: Samuel Miklos Stern and Emilio García Gómez. Their discovery helped us understand how Romance languages developed over time.

Romance kharjas usually talk about one main topic: love. About three-quarters of them are spoken by women in the poem. For Arabic kharjas, only about one-fifth are spoken by women.

Where Did Romance Kharjas Come From?

Since kharjas could be written separately from the muwashshah, some experts think that the Romance kharjas were originally popular Spanish songs. They believe that court poets then added these popular songs to their longer poems. Some people have found similarities between kharjas and other early Spanish songs in their themes, rhythm, and style.

Some Arabic writers from the Middle East, like Ahmad al-Tifashi (1184–1253), mentioned "songs in the Christian style" that were sung in Al-Andalus a long time ago. Some people think these might have been the kharjas.

However, other experts disagree. They argue that kharjas are purely part of the Arabic poetry tradition. They say that any similarities to Spanish songs are just because certain themes, like love, are common in poems all over the world.

Understanding the Language of Kharjas

Translating Romance kharjas is tricky. This is because the Arabic writing system doesn't usually show vowels (like a, e, i, o, u). Also, the people who copied these poems often didn't understand the Spanish language they were writing. This could lead to mistakes. Because of missing vowels and possible errors, there can be many different ways to translate these poems. This means that most translations are debated by some scholars.

Most Romance kharjas are not entirely in Spanish. They often have Arabic words mixed in. Some scholars argue that this mix doesn't sound like how people naturally spoke. They think these kharjas are a type of "macaronic" literature, which means they mix two languages in an unusual way.

A few scholars, like Richard Hitchcock, believe that the Romance kharjas are actually mostly in a very casual Arabic style. They think this Arabic style was heavily influenced by the local Spanish languages. These scholars suggest that others might be misreading the old texts and not paying enough attention to how Arab poets described creating muwashshahat and kharjas.

Examples of Kharjas

Romance Example

Here is an example of a Romance kharja by the Jewish poet Yehuda Halevi, along with its translation:

These lines talk about the sadness of missing a loved one. Some experts have compared these feelings to poems from Portugal and Galicia called Cantigas de Amigo, which were written later (around 1220 to 1300). However, people now think that the idea of a direct link between kharjas and cantigas d’amigo might have been too quick.

Arabic Example

Here is an example of an Arabic kharja:

How beautiful is the army with its orderly ranks

When the champions call out, ‘Oh, Wāthiq, oh, handsome one!’

This kharja comes from a muwashshah found in the book Dar al-Tirāz by Ibn Sanā' al-Mulk.

See also

In Spanish: Jarcha para niños

• Aljamiado: This is when a Romance language is written using the Arabic alphabet.
• Muwashshah: The longer poem that a kharja is part of.
• Iberian Romance languages: The group of languages that developed from Latin in Spain and Portugal.
• Mozarab: Christians who lived under Muslim rule in Al-Andalus.
• Mozarabic language: The Romance language spoken by Mozarabs.
• Spanish poetry
• Arabic poetry