CHAPTER XXVIIMISCELLANEOUS NOTES

I have described to you the chief peculiarities of the “Yellow-Eyed” and the “Black-Eyed” birds of prey. I will now teach you a few matters that will make the masters of the Art of Falconry approve of this poor slave of the Shāh—May our souls be his sacrifice!

Term of Natural Life.—Know that the term of natural life of the birds of prey is considerable. In captivity they attain to twenty-five or thirty years at least—provided they remain in the possession of one man, a skilful falconer, and are not constantly changing hands. I myself kept a passage saker for twenty moults, and although it was not as good as it had been, still it continued to take quarry.

To distinguish the Age of a Hawk.—After a hawk has passed its fourth or fifth year, none can tell its age—except God and its owner. However, there are certain signs that mark a hawk of ten or fifteen years. First; it isshort-winged.[304]Second; its feet and soles become full of wrinkles. Third; the two outside feathers of the tail, one on each side, called by the Arabsrudāfạ,[305]are shorter than the remainder, and the older the hawk the shorter theserudāfạ.[305]

Impossibility of Snaring Long-winged Hawks by Aid of a Lamp.—Never try to snare “black-eyed” hawks by aid of a lamp, for as soon as they see the light they will fly off. The “yellow-eyed,” however, with the exception of owls and birds that hunt by night, can be snared by means of a lamp, as will be described later.

Qualifications of a Falconer.—The first requisite in a falconer is patience. The second; that he be a sportsman and have a genuine love for his hawks, and fly them himself. Let him notsay:—“I will take a lot ofchukor; my master will reward me;” or, “Such and such quarry is unlawful for food (ḥarām); I won’t fly at it. What is the use of taking ravens and eagles? I’ll hawkchukorandseesee, and take them to my master; he’ll have them roasted, and will eat them in front of the fire and will reward me.” This ass is an ignoramus, and cares naught for hawks. Does he not know that if a short-winged hawk is flown on level ground, and wedded to large quarry such as ravens and duck and ruddy shieldrake and such-like, that it will in the hills with the advantage of gravity fly at the poorchukorall the better?[306]His object should not be money and rewards. He must be fond of hawks and hawking; he must know his business; he must be at heart a sportsman. The third; that he be good-tempered, pleasant-spoken, and of a cheerful and cheery countenance, so that the Good God may grant him his daily bread in abundance, and the quarry may come to him of its own accord. Let him be clean of hand, clean in person, and observant of the ordained prayers, so that God, who knows all, may not send him and his hawk home in the evening empty-handed. When mounting, the falconer should repeat the “FourQul” and the “Holy Verse,” which is the “Verse of the Throne,”[307]and then exhale the breath on the person, so that the Munificent God may shelter from evil, him and his companions, guard his hawk from the persecutions of eagles, and send him home at night with a full bag and a happy heart. These are the requisites for a sportsman.

If He who made the game be not forgot,The best of sport will ever be thy lot;How can He be, in granting sport, unkindIf thou hold fast this fact within thy mind?

If He who made the game be not forgot,

The best of sport will ever be thy lot;

How can He be, in granting sport, unkind

If thou hold fast this fact within thy mind?

Fourth; if you lose your hawk and despair of its recovery, thenwith earnest sincerity repeat three times theNād-i ʿAlī,[308]each time exhaling the breath towards the direction you imagine the hawk to be, and saying, “O God! by virtue of these words I adjure Thee to restore to me my lost hawk.” There is no doubt but that you will recover her instantly. This is my belief and my practice, and I have now in my possession two or three passage sakers seventeen or eighteen years of age. My son, these are my counsels: give ear to them, and bear them in your mind, and you will experience no ill.

FOOTNOTES:[304]These remarks are presumably meant to apply only to hawks in captivity.[305]Rudāfạis the plural ofradīf. In the text, here and elsewhere, the word is given asradāni, but as this is no correct Arabic “form,” it is probably a copyist’s error forrudāfạ.Videalso note206, page 52.[306]The author frequently uses the phrasemāya dāshtanto indicate the advantage a hawk has when flying downwards from a height, as from the fist of a mounted man, etc.Chukorin the hills, and, I think, pheasants too, go down-hill when a hawk is after them. At any rate they are beaten for and flown at down-hill, the falconer taking his stand up-hill.[307]For these four chapters and the “Verse of the Throne,”videpage 108, note454. The texts are first repeated and the breath is then exhaled on the breast, shoulders, and hands.

[304]These remarks are presumably meant to apply only to hawks in captivity.

[305]Rudāfạis the plural ofradīf. In the text, here and elsewhere, the word is given asradāni, but as this is no correct Arabic “form,” it is probably a copyist’s error forrudāfạ.Videalso note206, page 52.

[306]The author frequently uses the phrasemāya dāshtanto indicate the advantage a hawk has when flying downwards from a height, as from the fist of a mounted man, etc.Chukorin the hills, and, I think, pheasants too, go down-hill when a hawk is after them. At any rate they are beaten for and flown at down-hill, the falconer taking his stand up-hill.

[307]For these four chapters and the “Verse of the Throne,”videpage 108, note454. The texts are first repeated and the breath is then exhaled on the breast, shoulders, and hands.

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