The Perfumed Garden
Encyclopedia
The Perfumed Garden of Sensual Delight ( al-rawd al-'âtir fî nuzhat al-khâtir) by Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Nafzawi is a fifteenth-century Arabic
sex manual
and work of erotic literature
.
The book presents opinions on what qualities men and women should have to be attractive, gives advice on sexual technique, warnings about sexual health, and recipes to remedy sexual maladies. It gives lists of names for the penis
and vagina
, has a section on the interpretation of dreams, and briefly describes sex among animals. Interspersed with these there are a number of stories which are intended to give context and amusement.
region in the south of present-day Tunisia
. Circa 1420 he compiled at the request of the Hafsid ruler of Tunis
, Abû Fâris `Abd al-`Azîz al-Mutawakkil, the present work. The reputation acquired by this work in the Arab world was similar to that of the Arabian Nights.
was published in 1976.
. The Arabic manuscript that Burton translated from was one printed by Isadore Liseux in 1886. This manuscript's last chapter, twenty one, was incomplete, apparently because it concerned homosexuality and pederasty. When Burton died towards the end of 1890, he was working on a new translation of the original manuscript, including the excised chapter. This translation, due to be called "The Scented Garden" was never published as Burton's wife Isabel burned the manuscript soon after his death.
Burton mentions that he considers that The Perfumed Garden can be compared with the works of Aretin
and Rabelais, and the French book Conjugal Love by Nicolas Venette. But what he believes makes The Perfumed Garden unique as a book of its kind is "the seriousness with which the most lascivious and obscene matters are presented."
Burton points out that not all of the ideas in The Perfumed Garden are original: "For instance, all the record of Moçama and of Chedja is taken from the work of Mohammed ben Djerir el Taberi
; the description of the different positions for coition, as well as the movements applicable to them, are borrowed from Indian works; finally, the book Birds and Flowers by Azeddine el Mocadecci (Izz al-Din al-Mosadeqi) seems to have been consulted with respect to the interpretation of dreams."
Exaggeration on the part of Burton is vividly illustrated in Chapter 6, titled "Sexual Technique" in Colville's translation and "Concerning Everything That Is Favourable to the Act of Coition" in Burton's. Burton's translation is perhaps 25 pages long, lists 39 sex positions as well as 6 types of sexual movement, and gives creative names to many of these. Colville's translation is 2½ pages long, and lists eleven unnamed sex positions.
wrote Le jardin parfumé: Poem for Piano Solo.
Omnium Gatherum, a Finnish melodic death metal band, also wrote a song called "The Perfumed Garden", released on their "Spirits and August Light" album in 2003.
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
sex manual
Sex manual
Sex manuals are books which explain how to perform sexual intercourse and other sexual practices. They often also feature advice on birth control, and sometimes safe sex, as well as advice on sexual relationships.-Early sex manuals:...
and work of erotic literature
Erotic literature
Erotic literature comprises fictional and factual stories and accounts of human sexual relationships which have the power to or are intended to arouse the reader sexually. Such erotica takes the form of novels, short stories, poetry, true-life memoirs, and sex manuals...
.
The book presents opinions on what qualities men and women should have to be attractive, gives advice on sexual technique, warnings about sexual health, and recipes to remedy sexual maladies. It gives lists of names for the penis
Penis
The penis is a biological feature of male animals including both vertebrates and invertebrates...
and vagina
Vagina
The vagina is a fibromuscular tubular tract leading from the uterus to the exterior of the body in female placental mammals and marsupials, or to the cloaca in female birds, monotremes, and some reptiles. Female insects and other invertebrates also have a vagina, which is the terminal part of the...
, has a section on the interpretation of dreams, and briefly describes sex among animals. Interspersed with these there are a number of stories which are intended to give context and amusement.
History
According to the introduction of Colville's English translation, Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Nafzawi probably wrote The Perfumed Garden sometime between 1410 and 1434. Sheikh Nefzawi, full name Abu Abdullah Muhammad ben Umar Nafzawi, was born in the NefzaouaNefzaoua
Nefzaoua is a region of south-west Tunisia, bounded by Chott el Jerid to the west, the Grand Erg Oriental to the south and the Dahar plateau to the east....
region in the south of present-day Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
. Circa 1420 he compiled at the request of the Hafsid ruler of Tunis
Tunis
Tunis is the capital of both the Tunisian Republic and the Tunis Governorate. It is Tunisia's largest city, with a population of 728,453 as of 2004; the greater metropolitan area holds some 2,412,500 inhabitants....
, Abû Fâris `Abd al-`Azîz al-Mutawakkil, the present work. The reputation acquired by this work in the Arab world was similar to that of the Arabian Nights.
1976: Khawam French translation
A new French translation by René R. KhawamRené R. Khawam
René Rizqallah Khawam was a French translator foremost known for his translations of the Qur'an, One Thousand and One Nights, and The Perfumed Garden....
was published in 1976.
1886: Burton English translation
The book first became widely known in the English speaking world through a translation from the French in 1886 by Sir Richard Francis BurtonRichard Francis Burton
Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton KCMG FRGS was a British geographer, explorer, translator, writer, soldier, orientalist, cartographer, ethnologist, spy, linguist, poet, fencer and diplomat. He was known for his travels and explorations within Asia, Africa and the Americas as well as his...
. The Arabic manuscript that Burton translated from was one printed by Isadore Liseux in 1886. This manuscript's last chapter, twenty one, was incomplete, apparently because it concerned homosexuality and pederasty. When Burton died towards the end of 1890, he was working on a new translation of the original manuscript, including the excised chapter. This translation, due to be called "The Scented Garden" was never published as Burton's wife Isabel burned the manuscript soon after his death.
Burton mentions that he considers that The Perfumed Garden can be compared with the works of Aretin
Pietro Aretino
Pietro Aretino was an Italian author, playwright, poet and satirist who wielded immense influence on contemporary art and politics and invented modern literate pornography.- Life :...
and Rabelais, and the French book Conjugal Love by Nicolas Venette. But what he believes makes The Perfumed Garden unique as a book of its kind is "the seriousness with which the most lascivious and obscene matters are presented."
Burton points out that not all of the ideas in The Perfumed Garden are original: "For instance, all the record of Moçama and of Chedja is taken from the work of Mohammed ben Djerir el Taberi
Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari
Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari was a prominent and influential Sunni scholar and exegete of the Qur'an from Persia...
; the description of the different positions for coition, as well as the movements applicable to them, are borrowed from Indian works; finally, the book Birds and Flowers by Azeddine el Mocadecci (Izz al-Din al-Mosadeqi) seems to have been consulted with respect to the interpretation of dreams."
1999: Colville English translation
In 1999, Jim Colville published the first English The Perfumed Garden translated directly from the Arabic original. Of the Burton translation, he says, "details were expanded, episodes introduced and whole sections incorporated from other, non-Arabic, sources. The text is dressed up in a florid prose alien to the style of the original and many of the notes are sheer speculation. The result is a consistently exaggerated and bizarre misrepresentation of the original".Exaggeration on the part of Burton is vividly illustrated in Chapter 6, titled "Sexual Technique" in Colville's translation and "Concerning Everything That Is Favourable to the Act of Coition" in Burton's. Burton's translation is perhaps 25 pages long, lists 39 sex positions as well as 6 types of sexual movement, and gives creative names to many of these. Colville's translation is 2½ pages long, and lists eleven unnamed sex positions.
2011: A new 2011 translation of a chapter from a Samarkand manuscript
Kohl’in Al-Deen The Flabby from The Perfumed Garden of Sensual DelightsInspiration for musical works
In 1923 the English composer Kaikhosru Shapurji SorabjiKaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji
Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji was an English composer, music critic, pianist, and writer.-Biography:...
wrote Le jardin parfumé: Poem for Piano Solo.
Omnium Gatherum, a Finnish melodic death metal band, also wrote a song called "The Perfumed Garden", released on their "Spirits and August Light" album in 2003.