ABSTRACT
Al-Andalus provides us with significant evidence of the Arabian instruments in vogue there in the thirteenth century. However, since the first decades of the twentieth century, some technical terms used in related sources have confronted the specialists with enigmatic lexicographic problems, as well as other major difficulties concerning the exact nature and use of the instruments involved. Being convinced that despite the researchers’ effort to find interesting interpretations, some problems still remain insoluble, it seems therefore appropriate to make an attempt to seek other possible interpretations of the enigmatic terms used to name some of the instruments. Enumerating the features that make it famous, the author mentions al-khayal, al-kurra, both described by many authors including the great historian Ibn Khaldun as being a typical Andalusian entertainment.
