Names of Accents and Diacritical Punctuation Signs in Poems by North African Jewish Poets

Abstract

In several Sephardi printed editions of the Pentateuch one can find a list of thirty-four names of accents and diacritical punctuation signs. This list is called the Zarca List, named after its opening accent. I have come across four poems based on this list:פלאד קיוויחי, written by the Tunisian poet Fradji Shawat (sixteenth century);וי כי חזקה האמה, written by the Moroccan poet Shmu'el Elbaz (nineteenth century);קודר הילכחי , probably written by the Moroccan poet Amram Bar-Yehuda Elbaz (nineteenth century); and אהה עלי כי נקף, written by the Moroccan poet Rafael Aaron Monsoñego (nineteenth century). In all four poems both literal and figurative meanings may be ascribed to the names of the signs. The first three poems follow the Zarca List almost accurately; «form» is an important element in these poems, and it seems as if their purpose is to help memorize the Zarca List. As for אהה עלי כי נקף the poetic freedom concerning the order of the sign names (and to a certain extent their contextual interpretation) creates a more balanced poem in terms of relationship between «form» and «content».