ian
Oud Admirer
Posts: 1
Registered: 2-24-2006
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Oud, aloeswood and nefer
Can anyone comment on the likelihood that the musical oud took its name from the oud tree (aloeswood/ Aquilaria agalloch)?
I see from the history of the oud that David Parfitt adapts from Grove's Dictionary, 'Literally, 'ud means 'twig', 'flexible rod' or 'aromatic stick', and by inference 'piece of
wood'.' And that 'Classical lexicographers regarded the wood of the wa's, which cannot be identified, as best for the material of the
'ud'. On the other hand, in Ali Tutan's history of the oud, he says it took its name from the aloeswood used for its sounding-board.
Could the oud tree be Groves' unidentified wa's?
It would be mysterious enough, as it only grows in India and eastwards; it is thin; and it is aromatic. I think some have even suggested the earliest
oud may have come from India.
A second question may be related to this. Aram Gulezyan ('history' page) says that the ancient Egyptian name of the oud was nefer. I have not found anyone else saying the same,
because the nefer is usually translated as good, beauty, perfection etc. However, you can see here that it looks much like a musical instrument. And there are other things to support Gulezyan's assertion, such as the tomb to Nefer 'Director
of Choir Singers', and Nefer-tum who was god of Fragrance.
Music and perfume share qualities of invisibility and emotional or spiritual effect, which has given them a special route to the Divine. So was the
oud originally an aromatic musical instrument, made from the Indian oud tree to reach the Divine?
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Longa
Oud Lover
Posts: 20
Registered: 9-10-2005
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Well I think that in the past the Arabs refered to a piece of wood as oud. Having said that I know that there is a place in India called oudh where
agarwood was found in the past.
I have never seen an oud made from agarwood yet if there is one it would probably be the most expensive oud in the world (Just imagine the smell while
you play)
As for the word Nefer, as far as I know it stands for a male fighter.
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