Ancient Arabic culture - the god Gadd and Sa3d by Ahmad al-Jallad

[Kamal900]

< Part 5 – Saʿd, the Arabian Fortuna, of Tweet Mini-Series: The archaeology of the Book of Idols> “We came to Saʿd to unite our ranks, but “fortune” scattered us and left us with misfortune”, sang a disenchanted worshipper. Saʿd corresponds to Greek Tyche and Latin Fortuna.


In the Safaitic[old Arabic] inscriptions, the god of fortune is known as Gadd (جد). There wasn’t a single Gadd – he had several tribal manifestations, e.g. the Gadd of the tribe Ḍayf (gdḍf), the Gadd of the tribe ʿAwīḏ (gdʿwḏ), and even the Gadd of the Nabataeans (gdnbṭ).

The Gadds could be invoked for many things. Here is a prayer by an individual seeking retribution against the tribe Gāʿ: KRS 1087: hā gaddaʿawīḏ hab ṯaʾra meʾ-ʾāl gāʿ ẓālemīna fa-ẓālemīna ‘O Gadd of ʿAwīḏ, grant vengeance against the tribe of Gāʿ, who were terribly unjust’.


The Gadd of Ḍayf is even called the merciful ‘raḥīm’ and giver of death ‘yomayyet’ in inscr C 4351. RWQ 336 invokes the Gadd of Ḍayf for security while keeping watch and reunion with loved ones: hā-gadda-ḍayf sallem memmā ḫaraṣa wa-qeblāla ʾaslem.


An enigmatic god called ʾelāh ṣaʿbo is called the Gadd (Tyche/Fortuna) of the Nabataeans in a Palmyrene inscription: ʾlh ṣʿbw dy mqrʾ gd ʾnbṭ ʿl-ḥywh ‘[for] the God Ṣaʿbo who is called the Gadd of the Nabataeans, for his life…’ CIS II, 3991.

Is ibn al-Kalbī’s Saʿd another name for Gadd? A local manifestation of Tyche? It seems possible, but the name may also be an epithet. Fortune/aid <sʿd> is frequently requested in the inscriptions.

In AWS 331, the author invokes Roḍaw for saʿd “aid”, and then dedicates an image of camels to him: hā roḍaw sāʿed zamhar ben labuʾ wa-la-hu hab-bakrāt.


In Dadanitic[non-Arabic], ḏū ǵēbat is asked to please <rḍy> and help <sʿd> the worshipper and his offspring <ʾḫrt-h> after the performance of religious ritual. AH 235: they performed the ẓll-ceremony for Ḏū-ǵēbat so may he favor them and help them (sʿd-hm), and their offspring.


In light of the epigraphic evidence, a deity called Saʿd could have likely existed, even though this exact name is not attested. But is the story related by ibn al-kalbī plausible?

According to his account, a certain man brought his camels to the long rock representing Saʿd. It was covered with blood so they scattered, which led him to compose the verses in the first thread of this tweet.

The camels were smart to flee, as camel sacrifices to deities are well attested in the inscriptions. The author of KRS 818 comes to rock at a high place, <haṣ-ṣamd>, and sacrifices a camel upon it <ḏabaḥa gamala ʿalay-h>.

While animal sacrifices were made to all the gods, the author of AHS 9 sacrifices for the Gadd of Ḍayf: ḏabaḥa le-Gadd-Ḍayf.

In this light, Ibn al-Kalbī’s account is rather humorous. The foolish worshipper did not understand how to properly obtain blessings form the deity, bringing his camels to stand upon the rock. The clever camels, however, understood how things were supposed to go and fled.

Such stories may have arisen to mock pagan practice in the wake of the spread of monotheism. They represent a knowledge of pagan practice but at the same time a dismissal of its sanctity.

source --> https://twitter.com/Safaitic/status/1070034350878670856

[Kamal900]

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[StonyArabia]

Very interesting Arabian paganism and history is very rich indeed.

[Kamal900]

Very interesting Arabian paganism and history is very rich indeed.

New inscriptions are being founded every week or so, lol. Proud to be an Arab