The carver as the prophet of rain

By: Amots Dafni and Saleh Akel Khativ

In the botanical literature, it is customary to call the onion plants and the bulbs that flower without leaves, at the end of the summer, the "harbingers of the rain". It seems that the expression "the harbingers of the rain" appears for the first time, apparently, in Eliezer Shamali, who calls the onion and tuber plants that bloom in October (Tishrei) that way. Ester Rabinovitz notes "the scepters of stone emerging from the ruined and cracked earth...the harbingers of autumn".

The quarry is considered to be the definitive symbol of the end of summer and the preparation for autumn. Already in Kindergarten we used to recite "The stonecrop blooms, the autumn is a guest and the summer is running away". Ziva Ben-Forat, who researched autumn in Hebrew poetry, found that when children and teenagers were asked to quickly write down the ten things that come to their mind when they hear the word "autumn" - Hatzav won first place among children and third among those 15 and older. Her unequivocal conclusion is: "Hetzev is therefore etched in memory, as related to autumn"... Perhaps it is not an exaggeration to call the hetzev a "national symbol of autumn" in light of its star in schools in Israel in all nature lessons.

The features of the saffron blossom related to the prediction of the upcoming rainy season

Already Theophrastus, the Greek botanist (371-287 BC), proposed the idea that there is a connection between the flowering of the sedge and the next year's crops. In the literature, various features of the saffron blossom are noted that may indicate the coming rainy season.

The blooming seasons

Theophrastus states that the stone flower blooms three times. The preliminary indicates the first season of sowing, the second the middle of the season and the third the end of the season (in autumn and early winter), so depending on the occurrence of these blossoms, the crops will appear. We know of no observations or mentions in the literature of more than one pistil per onion. In light of this, the proposal of the Greek botanist that it is different parts of the same lower, middle and upper inflorescence is very visible. In each flower column you can see, during the flowering process, flowers in three states: withered flowers, blooming flowers and flower buds, but this does not mean that there are three separate "flowers". Another possibility is that in a dense group of buds (which originate from the same mother onion) several flowering columns will bloom, adjacent, which originate from different onions.

Tawfiq Kanaan, the researcher of Palestinian folklore, reports that the flowering may occur in three different seasons (called Rabatat Rabat or Bruj Bruj), but refers to only two of them. If the first season is marked by abundant flowering, this is a virtue for the winter crops. Profuse flowering in the third rabbet is a good sign of the summer crops. While Canaan's words are similar to those mentioned by Theophrastus, Ephraim and Hanna the Reubeni, researchers of the folklore of the plants of the land, testify: "...we have not heard, almost, that the Arabs will divide the flowering of the sedge into three seasons, as in the words of Theophrastus, but in isolated places in the Ephraim mountains. They will divide the flowering at all [So in the original] cut it in two and say: If the lower part blooms beautifully - it is a good sign for the winter crops, and if the upper part succeeds - it is a sign of blessing for the summer crops...." .

In the 13th century in Seville, Spain, it was believed that a great flowering of the cherub indicates a blessed year and causes
For people to be optimistic. The rate of embalming the fruits on the inflorescence column - a source from Cyprus explains that for the farmers the hazb blossom is a symbol for predicting the weather next winter (ie the amount of rain), if the blossoms are abundant and the flowering columns are strong and healthy and the production of seeds is abundant - they believe that it will be a good year for agriculture. The second author (personal information) heard, more than once, from elders in his town (Ma'ar) that a lot of embalming of fruits is a virtue for the abundance of rains.

The length of the flowering stem and its uprightness - in Malta, the old farmers say that if the flowering stems of the sedge are straight and long then it will be a good rainy year, but if the flowering stems are spiral, crooked and rather short then it will be a dry year. The informant comments "sometimes I have seen both forms at the same site".

The names of the quarry and the prediction of the rainy season

The Reubens have already commented: "Because the khatzav awakens to bloom immediately with the renewal of the year to its fullness, the khatzav was for the tillers of the land a harbinger of the year whether it was rainy or sunny... The Arabs from both sides of the Jordan - believe that the khatzav is a sign of the year". In their writings, they cite the following names that link the flowering of the cherves to the rains:

• "Kena Hartivot" (Ud Elri, Oud Al-Ri) - the word 'Ri' indicates wetness and is found in biblical Hebrew: "Af Bri Yatrih Aev Yafitz Anan Oro" (Job 37:11). This name is also known from Jordan.
• "irrigation rod" (kachiv alari, irrigation rod).
• "The sign of the year" (Dalil al-Sina), (Dalil al-Sunnah).
• "The scales of the year" (Mizan a-Sina, Mizan Sunnah); "Which according to their signals will weigh the fate of the year's crops. The Arabs use the stone as a kind of barometer to measure whether the year is a rainy year or a drought year."
• "The farmer's balances" (Mizan al-Falah, Mizan al-Falah) "The seed balances for the year."
• "The teacher of the rains" (Dalil Alamtar, the guide of the rains). "Dalil al-Amtar". The second author, in Jordan, heard the name Zanbut a-ri Zanbut the irrigation (Zanbut = flowering column. This name is common when talking about the flowering column of the hedge onion).

Epilogue

Since the days of Theophrastus, there have been comments in the literature about the possible connection between the blooming of the sedge and the upcoming rainy season. The specified features are: the flowering seasons, the amount of flowering, the rate of embalming of the fruits in the inflorescence and the length of the flowering stem and its erectness.

In total, we found eight names in Arabic for wood, from our regions, that tie it to the upcoming rainy season. From these names, it seems that most of them are related to the length of the flowering column, which expresses the intensity of the flowering, more than the tradition, which connects the flowering of the sedge and the prediction of rains, is not known today neither in Spain, nor in Morocco, nor throughout the Middle East. Apparently, the belief that the blossoming of the hezb may indicate the coming rainy season, originates in ancient Greece. From there it migrated to the East and its rare traces remain today in Israel, Jordan, Cyprus, and Malta. Among the approximately 300 names of the hatzeb (including about 40 names in Arabic) in various languages, around the Mediterranean Sea (except for the two Hebrews of the Jordan), we did not find even one name that reflects a connection between the blooming of the haetzeb and the prediction of rains.

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Meir Shalev has a great fondness for the rocks that herald the fall with their miraculous ability to regenerate and their bold flowering at the end of summer. According to his words: "[The stone] may not be the generation of flowers, but it has a beautiful gap between delicacy and strength, and the day when its flowering rises from among the dead leaves is a day that fills the heart with excitement" (Yediot Ahronoth 9/9/2005). In an interview with Kobi Maidan on the "Chutza Israel" program (2/3/2017), Meir said that, in addition to writing books, he is busy measuring the high stone in the Mazat (1.67 m) and predicting the weather based on the blossoming of the stone - a craft he learned from the Bedouin elders in the nearby village ". And in another place: "The nature of the flowering of the stones is the result of the previous winter and not of the next winter. An onion that received enough rain, grew and deepened its roots, grew large and many leaves that provided it with food by assimilating the sunlight, gained enough food and strength and can bloom an impressive flower, but this indicates the rains of the past and does not predict the future.

I heard, I bowed my head, I admitted that from a scientific point of view they [the botanists] are right, but for several years now my annual forecasts are more accurate than those of professional forecasters, and I do not argue with successes, especially if they are mine" ("Ginat Bar" p. 21).

It is possible to argue with this claim using an Arabic proverb: (بِغِلّها ع جَمِر وبِمْهِلها ع نهر بي'لها عجمر وبيمهلها انهير) That is, God brings a very good harvest in a year that is planted (Jamr = coals) or no harvest at all in a year whose rain is like Nahar. In other words, there is no connection between the amount of rain and the crops. Instead of insisting on the nature of the data, which has been in dispute since ancient Greece, Meir prefers the way of humor as a solution. This, of course, is a huge advantage over the researchers who have to deal with facts.