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.