- Etymology:
- Middle English letanie, from Anglo-French & Late Latin; Anglo-French, from Late Latin litania, from Late Greek litaneia, from Greek, entreaty, from litanos supplicant
- Date:
- 13th century
1: a prayer consisting of a series of invocations and supplications by the leader with alternate responses by the congregation
2 a: a resonant or repetitive chant a litany of cheering phrases — Herman Wouk> b: a usually lengthy recitation or enumeration a familiar litany of complaints c: a sizable series or set a litany of problems
Friends and family have often asked about the call to prayer, the adhan (or athan, whichever dialect you want!) The call to prayer happens 5 times a day; first at sunrise (which I don't hear anymore alhamdulilah! It bothered me the first few months, but then I guess I just got used to it. That and we put a huge noise-making fan outside the baby's room to provide white noise!) Then again about noon, again at about 3ish, sunset and then an hour after sunset. That's when I hear the muezzins calling out. And then, sometimes, (for the heck of it?) these really creative guys in our neighborhood just start wailing & yowling into the evening. Maybe they're just practicing. Now, I don't mean any disrespect, but it's really quite unintelligible, even for Arabic speakers. The beginning part is unmistakable, (refer to the hotlink for adhan) but the rest? Well, I've asked ReRe, our housekeeper, what they are saying and she says,
"Oh, they're saying this & this & this." (because they say the same prayers every day.)
"No, can you understand these exact words right now?"
"Oh no, ma'am. Some of them are quite awful."
But to hear a really great muezzin; it is truly an art. They train and practice and when it's done the right way, it's like music. I have a clip of the call to prayer at sunset below. This is something truly unique to hear. Even though the cacophony can sound a bit overwhelming and mixed up, when sunset comes, you can hear the waves of voices beginning to spill over the city. First far away and then building to it's peak right outside your kitchen window. Which is where I recorded this video clip. I caught it at the peak of saturation. I'm not extremely pleased with the sound quality, it's a lot louder in person, but, hey you take what you get! Boy, this turned into quite a wordy Wednesday.
2 a: a resonant or repetitive chant a litany of cheering phrases — Herman Wouk> b: a usually lengthy recitation or enumeration a familiar litany of complaints c: a sizable series or set a litany of problems
Friends and family have often asked about the call to prayer, the adhan (or athan, whichever dialect you want!) The call to prayer happens 5 times a day; first at sunrise (which I don't hear anymore alhamdulilah! It bothered me the first few months, but then I guess I just got used to it. That and we put a huge noise-making fan outside the baby's room to provide white noise!) Then again about noon, again at about 3ish, sunset and then an hour after sunset. That's when I hear the muezzins calling out. And then, sometimes, (for the heck of it?) these really creative guys in our neighborhood just start wailing & yowling into the evening. Maybe they're just practicing. Now, I don't mean any disrespect, but it's really quite unintelligible, even for Arabic speakers. The beginning part is unmistakable, (refer to the hotlink for adhan) but the rest? Well, I've asked ReRe, our housekeeper, what they are saying and she says,
"Oh, they're saying this & this & this." (because they say the same prayers every day.)
"No, can you understand these exact words right now?"
"Oh no, ma'am. Some of them are quite awful."
But to hear a really great muezzin; it is truly an art. They train and practice and when it's done the right way, it's like music. I have a clip of the call to prayer at sunset below. This is something truly unique to hear. Even though the cacophony can sound a bit overwhelming and mixed up, when sunset comes, you can hear the waves of voices beginning to spill over the city. First far away and then building to it's peak right outside your kitchen window. Which is where I recorded this video clip. I caught it at the peak of saturation. I'm not extremely pleased with the sound quality, it's a lot louder in person, but, hey you take what you get! Boy, this turned into quite a wordy Wednesday.
5 comments:
Just as i went to post this comment, our muezzins started up. LOL
We have muezzin both at the back of our flat and in teh front. We call them the dueling imams. Actually we have a lot of irreverant names for them i won't share here but detail their skill fairly accurately.
I came to say hi, 'Hi!'...
the sound is familiar... :)
One morning at 5 standing outside, listening...almost magical...
I do not the recorded calls, or the really bad PA systems that garble things.... blech! I like hearing the call to prayer when it is clear and clean, and will probably end up actually missing the noise when we leave.
Why is it that they choose the creepiest voices possible in the Maadi area?? Okay, maybe it was just me. I did hear some great ones though and you're right, when it's done right, it's amazing!
Living across the street from a Church steeple with three bells has some similarities. 0600 is about 5 minutes of clanging. 1200 is lots of clanging. 1500 is lots of clanging. 1800 is lots of clanging. Sundays have many clanging events. And, we don't notice the 0600 one much anymore either. Clanging equals almost 5 minutes of bells being rung. BION, we are quite fond of the bells and they are a part of our day now rather than an annoyance ...
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