Earlier this month I took a second trip to Djerba to look for additional information on private family libraries on the island. While the Barouni library (see previous post) is the best known and likely the largest on the island, there are still several other family libraries there. I visited the "Association pour la sauvegarde de l'île de Djerba" to look at a catalog of a document exhibition they held in April of 1987. The catalog is in rough shape and my camera battery died before I was able to photograph it (of course). I did not have time to transcribe it so that will have to wait until the next visit. However, I thought I would share the table of contents to give some idea of the number of them on the island:
-List of books in the Jāmiʿ al-Turk (pp.1-3)
-List of the names of manuscript books owned by Yūsuf al-Bārūnī (Ḥashān, Djerba) (pp.4-14)
-List of book owned by ʿUmar b. al-Ḥāj Saʿīd b. Malāʿib (pp.15-17)
-The Baʿṭūrī family Library (p.19-21)
-The al-Ṣāṭūrī family Library (p.22)
As is clear from the photo of the cover shown here, the catalog copy held in the Association's library is incomplete. From the perspective of Ibāḍī manuscripts, the Baʿṭūrī library probably holds the most valuable collection. In addition to the libraries listed here, there are also manuscripts held in the Ibāḍī mosque in al-Māy and the private family library of Sheikh Sālim b. Yaʿqūb. When I have a chance to return to the Association, I hope to photograph this catalog in its entirety and offer it here for download.
This catalog was a reminder of the tremendous wealth of manuscript material held by families throughout North Africa. Understandably, many families are reluctant to relinquish their collections to national libraries or other academic institutions. As a result, however, private individuals are often unable to properly care for these documents for financial reasons.
-List of books in the Jāmiʿ al-Turk (pp.1-3)
-List of the names of manuscript books owned by Yūsuf al-Bārūnī (Ḥashān, Djerba) (pp.4-14)
-List of book owned by ʿUmar b. al-Ḥāj Saʿīd b. Malāʿib (pp.15-17)
-The Baʿṭūrī family Library (p.19-21)
-The al-Ṣāṭūrī family Library (p.22)
As is clear from the photo of the cover shown here, the catalog copy held in the Association's library is incomplete. From the perspective of Ibāḍī manuscripts, the Baʿṭūrī library probably holds the most valuable collection. In addition to the libraries listed here, there are also manuscripts held in the Ibāḍī mosque in al-Māy and the private family library of Sheikh Sālim b. Yaʿqūb. When I have a chance to return to the Association, I hope to photograph this catalog in its entirety and offer it here for download.
This catalog was a reminder of the tremendous wealth of manuscript material held by families throughout North Africa. Understandably, many families are reluctant to relinquish their collections to national libraries or other academic institutions. As a result, however, private individuals are often unable to properly care for these documents for financial reasons.
رجعت إلى جزيرة جربة أول الشهر لكي أبحث عن معلومات متعلّقة بالمكتبات الخاصة هناك. زرت جمعية صيانة الجزيرة في حومة السوق لكي أرى قائمة المخطوطات الموجودة في بعض المكتبات العائلية التي دوّنت بمناسبة معرض وثائق الجزيرة في أفريل ١٩٨٧. طبعا، تعطلت مصوّري قبل أن أصوّر القائمة ولكنّني أردت أن أضع الفهرس هنا للآخرين. من الواضح من الصورة أن نسخة القائمة الموجودة في مكتبة الجمعية غير كاملة. من ناحية المخطوطات الإباضية ، أتصوّر أن مكتبة عائلة البعطوري لها أثمن مجموعة من المخطوطات. بالإضافة إلى المكتبات المذكورة هنا، توجد مخطوطات في جامع الماي فضلا عن المخطوطات في المكتبة المعروفة لدى عائلة الشيخ المرحوم سالم بن يعقوب. لما تكون لدي الفرصة، أتمنّى أن أرجع للجمعية وأصوّر القائمة بكاملها وأضعها هنا للتنزيل الإلكتروني.
ذكّرتني القائمة هذه بالثروة العلمية الموجودة في المكتبات العائلية في المغرب. في أغلبية الأحيان ولأسباب معقولة جدا، لا تريد العائلات أن تسلّم مخطوطاتها الخاصة للمكتاب الوطنية أو جمعيات أكاديمية أخرى. ولكن نتيجة لذلك، مرارا ما تعاني المخطوطات من عدم الظروف المناسبة للحفاظ عليها.
