Khajavi Kermani: Divan Ghazlitat (1352) Shiraz

--------------------------------------------------------------- Under his statue

Khwaju Kermani was born in Kerman, Iran in 1290. His nisba is Morshedi. He died in 1352 in Shiraz Iran. His Diwan Khwaju is a collection of his poems in the form of Ghazals, qasidas, strophic poems, qeṭʾas (occasional verse), and quatrains. In it he uses the words Zanj and Zanzibar a number of times mostly not meaning the people of the island but the color black or the night etc.

Taken from: دیوان غزلیات خواجوی کرمانی by خواجوی کرمانی  noorlib.ir

دیوان غزلیات by  خواجوی کرمانی  ganjoor.net

 

Note: in some of the verses Zanj also means: rust.

 

3

Empty Zanj in heresy the Zanj weakness

The mirror conscience occupying them

14

Cupbearer of wine as the Zanj of the village lives

Remove it and I ‘ll miss the mirror of live the Zanj takes

20

Oh you; clothes the mirror of live, the Zanj brings

Until the mirror of live the Zanj takes away

53

So a Zanj kid, a mole to go with

On your lips a ruby, you are victorious tonight

136

Although continuous wrinkles in the eyebrows is a mistake

A bend in the hair is another wrinkle in Zanzibar

156

Hindu, Zulf are black and strong

Zanj are created black

161

In the rural country a thousand infidel Zanj are idolaters

 

183 The black Tartar

That is every tread of his Tartar head

Of ingots, hundred waves of Zangbaryst

But any wrinkle an ingot of Zangbaryst

223

The army of the Zanj outside its frontier

Grabbed the valleys of the country

 

252 [Anyone who falls in love]

Scorpio is making a ring

It goes to a life snake

In the evening a river in China

Passion it goes to Zanzibar

Is it drunk, magic, what's up?

It goes to Yemen and Yasar

271

When the Zanj takes it into his hand

The Zanj is sad as the mirror depresses his mind (1)

293

I’m afraid that the bastard’s heart is painful

When the Zanj sees his face in the mirror (1)

294

Like the round appearance of safflower

That the borderline of the Zanj camp has

Do not let your faces look good

The liver and burned Zanj take

You drink at the gathering

Anything I miss from the wine like the Zanj

 

296 [I miss the Hair Ring of my Sweetheart]

I see the water

I see that my skirt is fully sweaty

the picture of me when I was tired

the picture shows the blood

the slave whose idol is from the border

of the gold of Sepah (army) of Zanzibar

 

355 [By Suffering and have caught the Master’s Treasure]

while laughing he said they were Roman

running on behalf of Caesar

or following the livelihood of the Sultan of Zanzibar

359

Go saying to the ruler of the clime of the Zanj

An lieutenancy of Caesar is indicated

388

The army of the Zanj is said to be in the valley a half day away

Twisted hair and do not be afraid are slow excuses

411

The smell of flower, branches, joy in the garden is mind feeding

The wine cup of sorrow of the Zanj from the mirror has stopped

417

Although he polishes the effects of the Zanj from the mirror

The glare of my mirror is because of the Zanj

425

It is said that famine exists among the Zanj and Hindu

The Turk was not your imperial Hindu slave

446

Roaring reverberating from the crowds of Zanzibar

448

If the mirror image grows

Catch the Zanj if it crashes

452

Do not look at the garden; what a laugh it is

It is not possible for the Zanj to have a sorrowful heart

453

You can like the Zanj that is in the mirror

Until the Zanj takes away the gloomy mirror

462

It is said the Zulf and the Hindu are of the Zanj race

Hindustan is not black

481

Until the face of life stings your love

The wisdom of the Zanj from the mirror takes your heart away

 

493 [Praise be to the one who prays in the sand of the desert]

Praise be to the one who prays sand in the wasteland

Glory sanctify of the whale in the sea

Predestined creation of tomorrow

Mansour made greetings to Zangbar

503

Hindu castaway from east of Sepah (army)

The Zang army is being assembled

523

Wait carefully for wisdom

Indians Zanj are from among the Turks

542

Qumr servant of shinning object

Habash Hindi Zanj idol worship

573

A mirror of water would make the Zanj grumble

The fire like a flower on the water clipping away.

586

On palm wine like the Zanj and your full provider

It is time after the mirror to wash the Zanj

592

Zulf, Hindu you Chinese you Roman

Turkish eye, you Kataei and you Zanj mole

596

Hindu, Zanj and Zulf are slave deep in their heart

615

The Hindu court innovates

At dinner the Zanj by nature drink blood

622

The present of the old drunken Zanj

To the army of the Khan I send them

722

The Hindu, Zulf in small eastern places

A Zanj mole on the side of a hill place

734

The night a Damascus dress for the Zanj

A servant a Hyacinth of Hindu and Turks

759

Zangyt, black mole so mobile

Zulf, Hindu such extreme monkeys

764

Zangian passion is the Hindus black heart

And gazelle hunt is the Turks drunk sword

 

784 [The light on your life]

The light on your Life

  The ring of my heart in your hair

  Hundreds of waves are thrown over Zanjbar

  You precious stone of Zangyvsh and Hind

  A bead lost in Babylon

 

798 [Habash on China and China disjointed Zanzibar]

Habash on China and China disjointed Zanzibar

the Bakhtiyans have fallen into ruin

851

A flower affair is a black mole that fell

As a Zanj baby on the side


(1) This racist story is present in many versions: Shah Mardan Ibn Abi al-Khayr (11th); Hakim Sana’i (1131); Mawlana Jalal al-Din Rumi(1273); Khajavi Kermani (1352); Nur ad-Din Abd ar-Rahman Jami (1485).