Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 11.djvu/390

* KAABA. 358 KAARTA. Persian traveler Nasiri Kliusra, in 1035, the inliiior was onue highly ornamented with gold, silver, and costly marbles. There remain today the heauliful pavement of massive marble, the Arabic inscriptions which run along the walls, and the lamps of massive gold suspended from the ceiling. Though changes have been made from time to time, the building is substantially what it was at the time of the Pro])het. The Hat roof dates from his time. When -Mecca was besieged by the Ommiads, fire almost destroyed the building, and it was restored to its original form by llajjaj. In 1611 the walls threatened to fall in. and a girdle of gilded copper was put around them. In ItiiiO one of the many Hoods which from time to time devastate the valley in which the Kaaba stands greatly injured the building, and the whole was rebuilt, but with the original stones. The first caliplis covered the building with costly Eg^-ptian hangings, then with red. yellow, green, or white silk. At the beginning of the ninth century the Caliph was accustomed to send three new coverings a year. Up to 1.510 the Sultan of Kgj'pt sent such a covering when he ascended the throne. Since the Osmanli rule the cover is made of thick black brocade, and is sent every year from Cairo at the same time as the mahmal, or covered litter, the emblem of royalty.' The cover has a golden legend, made up of extracts from the Koran, cndjroidercd around its whole surface .33 feet from the bottom. A special foundation pro- vides the money for this purpose, and the cere- mony of sending it out is connected with much pomp. The Kaaba stands within a space called the Jlosque, or the Haram (Holy Place). This was originally quite small, the houses of the city reaching" riglit up to it. This space was enlarged by successive caliphs; Al-Mahdi (777- 781) built colonnades all around the mosque and covered tlicm with teakwood. In course of time seven minarets were added for the muezzins, and the space immediately around the Kaaba was surrounded by posts through which plaited cords were run and on which lamps were hung. The mosque was rebuilt by Sultan Scliin II. (1500-74), and small cupolas were placed over the stoas in the colonnades. This mosque, which is very much more imposing tlian the simple arrangement at Mohammed's time is uneqiuil in the length of its sides and the angles of its corners. The floor sinks from east, north, and south to the middle ; seven causeways run out from the inner circle of the Kaaba to the colon- nades. Part of the space and the flooring of the colonnades are of marble. There is a build- ing containing the sacred well, Zcmzem, the only well in Mecca. Northwest of this and opposite the entrance of the Kaaba is the Mnkiim Ibra- him, a holy stone of heathen times, originally kept in the Kaaba. then in a stone receptacle under the Kaaba. and now in a box imder the cupola of the building. It is used by the Imam (leader in prayer) of the Shafiites. Other makfims were introduced during the twelfth cen- tury. The minibar (pulpit) was introduced under the Ommiad caliidis; the present one was the gift of Sultan Solyman IT. (1540). Many legends in regard to the origin and history of the Kaaba and the Black Stone arc iurrcnt among the Moslems. Mohammed him- self (Koran, sura xsii. 119) connected the build- ing of the first structure with the patriarch Abraham. Other legends refer this building to Adam, who is said to have fashioned it after its prototype in heaven. The Black Stone is said to have originally been white, but to have turned black, either through the sins of men or the millions of kisses which have been im- printed ui)on it. Consult: Snouckllurgronje, .hkl;a (The Hague, 1888-8<1) ; W iistcnfcld, Uie VhrunikcH dcr ktadt Mcklai (Leijizlg, 1801); Burckhardt, Travels in Arabia (London, 182'J) ; Burton, Personal Narrative of a I'ilyriinaye to El-lledinah and Mecca (London, 1855) ; Salih Soubhi, I'blerinage a la Mecque et a Mtdine (Cairo, 1894); W'ellhausen, Skizscn und Vorar- beitrii, iii. (2d ed.. Berlin, 1897). KAAB IBN ZUHAIR, kiib ib'n zoo'hiir (Ar. Ka'b). An Arabian poet of the seventh cen- tury, a contemporary of Mohannned. His father, Zuliair ibn Abi Sulma liabia al-.Muzani, was al^.0 a poet and author of one of flic seven jioems of the Muallakat, 'he great collection of pre- Islamic Arabic poetry. All the other members of Kaab's family (the JIuzainah) liecame con- verts to Islam, and when his brother Bujair adopted the new faith. Kaab indited a bitter and sarcastic poem which came to the notice of the Prophet, and Kaab was outlawed. By means of a clever stratagem, however, he gained access to Mohammed and recited a famous eulogy, called, from the first two words. Banal Sii'ud (SuTul — a woman's name — fled). Mohammed was pleased and gave the poet his own mantle. Kaab is reported to have died soon after. The two poems referred to are translated by Brockel- mann in his (popular) flcsrhirhlc drr urabischen Litteratur, pp. 52. 53 (I^ipzig. 1901); the sec- ond also bv Gabrieli. Alliudntiin (Florence. 1901). The' best editions of the Hihial StCild are those of I. Guidi (Leipzig. 1871-74) and Xiildeke, in his Delecfns 'cterum CarmintiM Arabicornm (Berlin, 1890). KAALUND, kii'lfTon, Hans Viliielm (1818- 85). - Danish poet, born at Copenhagen. He studied sculpture and painting, but the enthusi- asm with which his verses were received on the return of Thorwaldsen (1838) decided him to take up literature as a profession. His poems, Kong Haldan den Stcerke (1840). and Valkjirirn G'dndul (1842), were successful but not profit- able, and the same was true of his other works until the publication of Et Foraar (1858), a collection of his best old anil new poems. In 1875 his drama Fiilria appeared, and in 1877 another collection of poetry. En Eftervaar. A posthumous volume of verse was printeil in 1885. Besides these, he wrote Fnhirr og Wandede Digte (1844). and Fnlitrr for biim (1845). a book for young children, illustrated by Lundye. KAA3IA, kil'raa. The true South African hartbeest (q.v. ). KAARTA, kar'ta. A territory of Western Africa, in French Sf-nf-gal (q.v.). situated be- tween the parallel of 16° N. and the Senegal River, and crossed by the meridian of 10° W. Its area is 23.100 square miles. The coiintry is mostly level. In the eastern part the eliinate is favorable, and there are fertile districts where the natives raise cereals. The population is estimated at 300.000. consisting of Soninkis and Bambaras. The former, the original rulers of