CHAPTER 8- The Sundry Names Given to the Sexual Parts of Man

KNOW, O Vizir (to whom God be good!), that man's member bears different names, as:

El dekeur, the virile member
El fortass, the bald one
El kamera, the penis
Abou aïne, he with one eye
El aïr, the member for generation
El atsar, the pusher
El hamama, the pigeon
El dommar, the odd-headed
El teunnana, the tinkler
Abou rokba, the one with a neck
El heurmak, the indomitable
Abou quetaïa, the hairy one
El ahlil, the liberator
El besiss, the impudent one
El zeub, the verge
El mostahi, the shame-faced one
El hammache, the exciter
El nâsse, the sleeper
El bekkaï, the weeping one
El zodamme, the crowbar
El hezzaz, the rummager
El khiade, the tailor
El lezzaz, the unionist
Mochefi el relil, the extinguisher of passion
Abou lâaba, the expectorant
El fattache, the searcher
El khorrate, the turnabout
El hakkak, the rubber
El deukkak, the striker
El mourekhi, the flabby one
El âouame, the swimmer
El motelâ, the ransacker
El dekhal, the housebreaker
El mokcheuf the discoverer
El âouar, the one-eyed

As regards the names of kamera and dekeur, their meaning is plain. Dekeur is a word which signifies the male of all creatures, and is also used in the sense of `mention' and `memory'. When a man has met with an accident to his member, when it has been amputated, or has become weak, and he can, in consequence, no longer fulfil his conjugal duties, they say of him: `the member of such an one is dead'; which means: the remembrance of him will be lost, and his generation is cut off by the root. When he dies they will say, `His member has been cut off,' meaning, `His memory is departed from the world.'

The dekeur plays also an important part in dreams. The man who dreams that his member has been cut off is certain not to live long after that dream, for, as said above, it presages the loss of his memory and the extinction of his race.

I shall treat this subject more particularly in the explication of dreams. The teeth (senane) represent years (senine); if therefore a man sees in a dream a fine set of teeth, this is for him the sign of along life.

If he sees his nail (defeur) reversed or upside down, this is an indication that the victory (defeur) which he has gained over his enemies will change sides; and from a victor, he will become the vanquished; inversely, if he sees the nail of his enemy turned the wrong way, he can conclude that the victory which had been with his enemy will soon return to him.

The sight of a lily (sonsana) is the prognostication of a misfortune which will last a year (son, misfortune; sena, year).

The appearance of ostriches (nâmate) in dreams is of bad augury, because their name being formed of nâb and mate, signifies `news of death,' namely, peril.

To dream of a shield (henafa) means the coming on of all sorts of misfortune, for this word, by a change of letters, gives koul afa, `all bad luck.'

The sight of a fresh rose (ouarde) announces the arrival (ouroud) of a pleasure to make the heart tremble with joy; whilst a faded rose indicates deceitful news. It is the same with baldness of the temples, and similar things.

The jessamine (yasmine) is formed of yas, signifying deception, or the happening of a thing contrary to your wish, and mine, which means untruth. The man, then, who sees a jessamine in his dream is to conclude that the deception, yas, in the name yasmine, is an untruth, and will thus be assured of the success of his enterprise. However, the prognostications furnished by the jessamine have not the same character of certainty as those given by the rose. It differs, in fact, greatly from this latter flower, inasmuch as the slightest breath of wind will upset it.

The sight of a saucepan (beurma) announces the conclusion (anuberame) of affairs in which one is engaged. Abou Djahel (God's curse be upon him!) has added that such conclusion would take place during the night.

A jar (khabia) is the sign of turpitude (khebets) in every kind of affair, unless it is one that has fallen into a pit or a river and got broken, so as to let escape all the calamities contained in it.

The sawing of wood (nechara) means good news (bechara).

The inkstand (douaïa) indicates the remedy (doua), namely, the cure of a malady, unless it be burnt, broken or lost, when it means the contrary.

The turban (âmama) if seen to fall over the face and cover the eyes is a presage of blindness (âina), from which God preserve us!

The finding again in good condition a gem that has been lost or forgotten is a sign of success.

If one dreams that he gets out of a window (taga) he may know that he will come with advantage out of all transactions he may have, whether important or not. But if the window seen in the dream is narrow so that he had some trouble to get out of it, this will be to him a sign that in order to be successful he will have to make efforts in proportion to the difficulty experienced by him in getting out.

The bitter orange signifies that from the place where it was seen calumnies will be issuing.

Trees (achedjar) means discussions (mechadjera).

The carrot (asefnaria) prognosticates misfortune (asef) and sorrow.

The turnip (cufte) means for the man that has seen it a matter that is past and gone (ameur fate), so that there is no going back to it. The matter is weighty if it appeared large, of no importance if seen small; in short, important in proportion to the size of the turnip that has been seen.

A musket seen without its being fired means a complot contrived in secret, and of no importance. But if it is seen going off it is a sign that the moment has arrived for the realisation of the complot.

The sight of fire is of bad augury.

If the pitcher (brik) of a man who has turned to God breaks, this is a sign that his repentance is in vain, but if the glass out of which he drinks wine breaks, this means that he returns to God.

If you have dreamed of feasts and sumptuous banquets, be sure that quite contrary things will come to pass.

If you have seen somebody bidding adieu to people on their going away you may be certain that it will be the latter who will shortly wish him a good journey; for the poet says:

If you have seen your friend saying goodbye, rejoice;
Let your soul be content as to him who is far away,
For you may look forward to his speedy return,
And the heart of him who said adieu will come back to you.

The coriander (keusbeur) signifies that the vulva (keuss) is in proper condition.

On this subject there is a story that the Sultan Haroun er Rachid, having with him several persons of mark with whom he was familiar, rose and left them to go to one of his wives, whom he wanted to enjoy. He found her suffering from her courses, and returned to his companions to sit down with them, resigned to his disappointment.

Now it so happened that a moment afterwards the woman found herself free from her discharge. When she had assured herself of this, she made forthwith her ablutions, and sent to the Sultan, by one of her negresses, a plate of coriander.

--

Haroun er Rachid was seated amongst his friends when the negress brought the plate to him. He took it and examined it, but did not understand the meaning of its being sent to him by his wife. At last he handed it to one of his poets, who, having looked at it attentively, recited to him the following verses:

`She has sent you coriander
White as sugar;
I have placed it in my palm,
And concentrated all my thoughts upon it,
In order to find out its meaning;
And I have seized it.
O my master, what she wants to say,
Is, "My vulva is restored to health."'

Er Rachid was surprised at the wit shown by the woman, and at the poet's penetration. Thus that which was to remain a mystery remained hidden, and that which was to be known was divulged.

A drawn sword is a sign of war, and the victory will remain with him who holds its hilt.

A bridle means servitude and oppression.

A long beard points to good fortune and prosperity; but it is said that it is a sign of death if it reaches down to the ground.

Others pretend that the intelligence of each man is in an inverse proportion to the length of his beard; that is to say, a big beard denotes a small mind. A story goes in this respect, that a man who had a long beard saw one day a book with the following sentence inscribed on its back: `He whose chin is garnished with a large beard is as foolish as his beard is long.' Afraid of being taken for a fool by his acquaintances, he thought of getting rid of what there was too much of, and to this end, it being night-time, he grasped a handful of his beard close to the chin, and set the remainder on fire by the light of the lamp. The flame ran rapidly up the beard and reached his hand, which he had to withdraw precipitately on account of the heat. Thus his beard was burnt off entirely. Then he wrote on the back of the book, under the above- mentioned sentence, `These words are entirely true. I, who am now writing this, have proved their truth.' Being himself convinced that the weakness of the intellect is proportioned to the length of the beard.

On the same subject it is related that Haroun er Rachid, being in a kiosk, saw a man with a long beard. He ordered the man to be brought before him, and when he was there he asked him, `What is your name?'

`Abou Arouba,' replied the man.

`What is your profession?'

`I am a master in controversy.'

Haroun then gave him the following case to solve. A man buys a he-goat, who, in voiding his excrements, hits the buyer's eye with part of it and injures the same. `Who has to pay for damages?' `The seller,' promptly says Abou Arouba. `And why?' asked the Caliph. `Because he has sold the animal without warning the buyer that it has a catapult in its anus,' answered the man. At these words the Caliph began to laugh immoderately, and recited the following verses:

When the beard of the young man
Has grown down to his navel,
The shortness of his intellect is, in my eyes,
Proportioned to the length his beard has grown.

It is averred by many authors that amongst proper names there are such as bring luck, and others that bring ill luck, according to the meaning they bear.

The names Ahmed, Mohammed, Hamdonna and Hamdoun indicate in encounters and in dreams the lucky issue arrived at in a transaction. Ali and Alia, indicate the height and elevation of rank. Naserouna, Naseur, Mansour and Naseur Allah signify triumph over enemies. Salem, Salema, Selim and Selimane indicate success in all affairs; also security for him who is in danger. Fetah Allah and Fetah indicate victory, like all the other names which in their meaning speak of lucky things. The names Râd and Râda signify thunder, tumult, and comprise everything in connection with this meaning. Abou el Feurdj and Ferendj indicate joy; Ranem and Renime success, Khalf Allah and Khaleuf compensation for a loss, and benediction. The sense of Abder Rassi, Hafid and Mahfond is favourable. The names in which are the words latif (benevolent), mourits (helpful), hanine (compassionate) and aziz (beloved), carry with them, in conformity with the sense of these words, the ideas of benevolence, lateuf (charity), iratsa (compassion), hanana, and aiz (favour). As an example of words of an unfavourable omen I will cite el ouar and el ouara, which imply the idea of difficulties.

As supporting the truth of the preceding observations I will refer to this saying of the Prophet (the salutation and benevolence of God to him!), `Compare the names appearing in your dreams with their signification, so that you may draw therefrom your conclusions.'

I must confess that this was not the place for treating of this subject, but one word leads on to more. I now return to the object of this chapter, viz: the different names of the sexual parts of man.

The name of el aïr is derived from el kir (the smith's bellows). In fact if you turn in the latter word the k, kef, so that it faces the opposite way, you will find the word to read el aïr. The member is so called on account of its alternate swelling and subsiding again. If swollen up it stands erect, and if not it sinks down flaccid.

It is called el hamama (the pigeon), because after having been swelled out it resembles at the moment when it returns to repose a pigeon sitting on her eggs.

El teunnana (the tinkler) - So called because every time it enters or comes out of the vulva in coition it makes a noise.

El heurmak (the indomitable) - It has received this name because when in a state of erection it begins to move its head, searching for the entrance to the vulva till it has found it, and it then walks in quite insolently, without asking leave.

El ahlil (the liberator) - Thus called because in penetrating into the vulva of a woman thrice repudiated it gives her the liberty to return to her first husband.

El zeub (the verge) - From the word deub, which means creeping. This name was given to the member because when it gets between a woman's thighs and feels a plump vulva it begins to creep upon the thighs and the Mount of Venus, then approaches the entrance of the vulva, and keeps creeping in until it is in possession and is comfortably lodged, and having it all its own way penetrates into the middle of the vulva, there to ejaculate.

El hammache (the exciter) - It has received this name because it irritates the vulva by its frequent entries and exits.

El nâasse (the sleeper) - From its deceitful appearance. When it gets into erection, it lengthens out and stiffens itself to such an extent that one might think it would never get soft again. But when it has left the vulva, after having satisfied its passion, it goes to sleep.

There are members that fan asleep while inside the vulva, but the majority of them come out still firm but at that moment they get drowsy, and little by little they go to sleep.

El zoddame (the crowbar) - It is called so because when it meets the vulva and the same will not let it pass in directly, it forces the entrance with its head, breaking and tearing everything, like a wild beast in the rutting season.

El khiade (the tailor) - It takes this name from the circumstance that it does not enter the vulva until it has manoeuvred about the entrance, like a needle in the hand of a tailor, creeping and rubbing against it until it is sufficiently roused, after which it enters.

Mochefi el relil (the extinguisher of passion) - This name is given to a member which is large, strong, and slow to ejaculate; such a member satisfies most completely the amorous wishes of a woman; for, after having wrought her up to the highest pitch, it allays her excitement better than any other. And, in the same way, it calms the ardour of the man. When it wants to get into the vulva, and arriving at the portal finds it closed, it laments, begs and promises: `Oh! my love! let me come in, I will not stay long.' And when it has been admitted, it breaks its word, and makes a long stay, and does not take its leave till it has satisfied its ardour by the ejaculation of the sperm, coming and going, tilting high and low, and rummaging right and left. The vulva protests, `How about your word, you deceiver?' she says; `you said you would only stop in for a moment.' And the member answers, `Oh, certainly! I shall not retire till I have encountered your womb; but after having found it, I will engage to withdraw at once.' At these words, the vulva takes pity on him, and advances her matrix, which clasps and kisses its head, as if saluting it. `The member then retires with its passion cooled down.

El khorrate (the turnabout) - This name was given to it because on arriving at the vulva it pretends to come on important business, knocks at the door, turns about everywhere, without shame or bashfulness, investigating every corner to the right and left, forward and backward, and then all at once darts right to the bottom of the vagina for the ejaculation.

El deukkak (the striker) - Thus called because on arriving at the entrance of the vulva it gives a slight knock. If the vulva opens the door, it enters; if there is no response, it begins to knock again, and does not cease until it is admitted. The parasite who wants to get into the house of a rich man to be present at a feast does the same: he knocks at the door; and if it is opened, he walks in; but if there is no response to his knock, he repeats it again and again until the door is opened. And similarly the deukkak with the door of the vulva.

By `knocking at the door' is meant the friction of the member against the entrance of the vulva until the latter becomes moist. The appearance of this moisture is the phenomenon alluded to by the expression `opening the door.

El âouame (the swimmer) - Because when it enters the vulva it does not remain in one favourite place, but, on the contrary, turns to the right, to the left, goes forward, draws back, and then moves like a swimmer in the middle amongst its own sperm and the fluid furnished by the vulva, as if in fear of drowning and trying to save itself.

El dekhal (the housebreaker) - Merits that name because on coming to the door of the vulva this one asks, `What do you want?' `I want to come in!' `Impossible! I cannot take you in on account of your size.' Then the member insists that the other one should only receive its head, promising not to come in entirely; it then approaches, rubs its head twice or thrice between the vulva's lips, till they get humid and thus lubricated, then introduces first its head, and after, with one push, plunges in up to the testicles.

El âouar (the one-eyed) - Because it has but one eye, which eye is not like other eyes, and does not see clearly.

El fordyce (the bald one) - Because there is no hair on its head, which makes it look bald.

Abou aïne (he with one eye) - It has received this name because it has one eye which presents the peculiarity of being without pupil and eyelashes.

El âtsar (the stumbler) - It is called so because if it wants to penetrate into the vulva but does not see the door, it beats about above and below, bind thus continues to stumble as over stones in the road, until the lips of the vulva get humid, when it manages to get inside. The vulva then says, What has happened to you that made you stumble about so?' The member answers, `O my love, it was a stone lying in the road.'

El dommar (the odd-headed) - Because its head is different from all ether heads.
Abou rokba (the one with a neck) - That is the being with a short neck, a well-developed throat, thick at the end, and a bald head, and who, moreover, has coarse and bristly hair from the navel to the pubis.

Abou quetaïa (the hairy one; who has a forest of hail) - This name is given to it when the hair is abundant about it.

El besiss (the impudent one) - It has received this name because from the moment that it gets stiff and long it does not care for anybody, lifts impudently the clothing of its master by raising its head fiercely, and makes him ashamed while itself feels no shame. It acts in the same unabashed way with women, turning up their clothes and laying bare their thighs. Its master may blush at this conduct, but as to itself its stiffness and determination to plunge into a vulva only increase.

El mostahi (the shame-faced one) - This sort of member which is met with sometimes, is capable of feeling ashamed and timid when facing a vulva which it does not know, and it is only after a little time that it gets bolder and stiffens. Sometimes it is even so much troubled that it remains incompetent for the coitus, which happens in particular when a stranger is present, in which case it becomes quite incapable of moving.

El bekkaï (the weeper) - So called on account of the many tears it sheds: as soon as it gets m erection, it weeps; when it sees a pretty face, it weeps; handling a woman, it weeps. It goes even so far as to weep tears sacred to memory.

El hezzaz (the rummager) - It is named thus because as soon as it penetrates into the vulva it begins to rummage about vigorously, until it has appeased its passion.

El lezzaz (the unionist) - Received that name because as soon as it is in the vulva it pushes and works till fur meets fur, and even makes efforts to force the testicles into it.

Abou lâaba (the expectorant) - Has received this name because when coming near a vulva, or when it sees one, or even when merely thinking of it, or when its master touches a woman or plays with her or kisses her, its saliva begins to move and it has tears in its eye; this saliva is particularly abundant when it has been for some time out of work, and it will even wet then his master's dress. This member is very common, and there are but few people who are not furnished with it.

The liquid it sheds is cited by lawyers under the name of medi. Its production is the result of toyings and of lascivious thoughts. With some people it is so abundant as to fill the vulva, so that they erroneously believe that it comes from the woman.

El fattache (the searcher) - From its habit, when in the vulva, of turning in every direction as if in search of something; and that something is the matrix. It will know no rest until it has found it.

El hakkak (the rubber) - It has got this name because it will not enter the vagina until it has rubbed its head against the entrance and the lower part of the belly. It is frequently mistaken for the next one.

El mourekhi (the flabby one) - This one can never get in because it is too soft, and it is therefore content to rub its head against the entrance to the vulva until it ejaculates. It gives no pleasure to woman, but only inflames her passion without being able to satisfy it, and makes cross and irritable.

El motelâ (the ransacker) - So named because it penetrates into the unusual places, makes itself well acquainted with the state of vulvas, and can distinguish their qualities and faults.

El mokcheuf (the discoverer) - Has been thus denominated because in getting up and raising its head, it raises the vestments which hide it, and uncovers its master's nudities, and because it is also not afraid to lay bare the vulvas which it does not yet know, and to lift up the clothes which cover them without shame. It is not accessible to any sense of bashfulness, cares for nothing and respects nothing. Nothing which concerns the coitus is strange to it; it has a profound knowledge of vulvas state of humidity, freshness, dryness, rightness or warmth of vulvas which it explores assiduously. There are, in fact, certain vulvas o exquisite exterior, plump and fine outside, whose insides leave much to wish for, and they give no pleasure, owing to their being not warm, but very humid, and having other similar faults. It is for this reason that the mokcheuf tries to find out about things concerning the coitus, and received this name.

These are the principal names that have been given to the virile member according to its qualities. Those who think that the number of these names is not exhaustive can look for more; but I think I have given a nomenclature long enough to satisfy my readers.