Wedding Song (32 page)

aftabeh:
water jug

agha:
sir, Mr., also a common name for father

ameh:
paternal aunt

aragh:
an alcoholic drink

aroosak:
a little bride, a doll

baba:
father

bakht:
luck, fortune

bamieh:
confectionary

bandandaz:
a woman who removes body hair

baseh:
enough

bebakhshid:
please forgive me

befarmaid:
a polite way of proffering

beoft:
fall

besalamati:
to your health

biaboon:
desert

bolbol:
nightingale

boro:
go

bozorg:
great, big

brakha:
prayer (Hebrew)

brit-milah:
the circumcision ritual (Hebrew)

chador:
a full body covering

choobak:
a shrub whose bark was used as soap

daee:
maternal uncle

dard:
pain

dard-e-del:
talking of the ache in one’s heart

dayan:
judge, spiritual leader (Hebrew)

del:
heart

doft:
daughter (Judi)

farangee:
foreigner

galoo:
throat

gele-zard:
yellow clay, soaked and used as hair conditioner

gha’edeh:
a woman’s period

ghaltak:
a cylindrical stone for packing earthen roofs

ghalyan:
waterpipe, hookah

ghalyoon:
waterpipe in the dialect of Shiraz

gherti:
a show off

ghorbat:
being away from home

goh:
excrement

gom:
lost

gomsho
or
gom sho:
get lost

halwa:
sweets

hamam:
bath, public baths

hamami:
a bath keeper

hejab:
veil, modesty

hejleh:
wedding canopy

holoo:
peach

jaan:
dear

javeed:
long live

jendeh:
whore

jihad:
holy war

jude-koshi:
killing the Jews, pogrom

Judi:
Judeo-Persian, a language spoken only among Jews of Shiraz

kaleh:
head

khaleh:
maternal aunt

Khan:
a leader; Mr.

khanom:
lady, Mrs.

khanom-bozorg:
a great lady, a title we used for my grandmother

khastegar:
a suitor

khastegaree:
marriage proposal

khatam:
inlaid wood and ivory

khebeen, khesheen:
are you well? (Judi)

khoda:
God

khodaye bozorg:
the Great God

khoshgel:
beautiful

khupa:
wedding canopy (Hebrew)

kiddush:
prayer over wine (Hebrew)

kilim:
a pileless, woven tapestry rug

kippa:
prayer cup (Hebrew)

kiseh:
a square glove used as a washcloth

kol isha:
the voice of a woman (Hebrew)

konar:
pulverized leaves used to wash hair

koofteh:
large meatballs made with rice, herbs, and chopped beef

mahaleh:
a place, also a ghetto

maman:
mother

mamno'ol khorooj:
forbidden to leave

manghal:
brazier

mashalah:
what wonders God has fashioned, or may you be preserved from the evil eye

matalak:
dirty phrases

mava:
mother (Judi)

mazal tov:
congratulations, good luck (Hebrew)

meeshee:
become

mikvah:
a ritual bath (Hebrew)

mola:
a religious leader, Jewish or Moslem

moshaverat:
gathering of elders to make a decision

naan:
bread

najeeb:
chaste

najes:
dirty, often refers to more than physical uncleanness

naneh:
mother (Judi or old Persian)

pa-do-ak:
“running legs,” boys who run errands

rafigh-baz:
the game of having friends

sabzee:
greens, herbs

salam:
hello

setar:
a musical instrument

shadee:
happiness

shagh:
stiff

shalomalekhem (shalom alekhem):
may peace be with you (Hebrew)

shamee:
potato and chopped meat pancakes

sharbat:
a fruit drink

shavua tov:
a good week (Hebrew)

shekhitah:
ritual slaughtering (Hebrew)

shema:
refers to the Jewish people’s proclamation of their belief in a single God (Hebrew)

shiva:
the seven-day mourning period (Hebrew)

shokhet:
a kosher butcher (Hebrew)

shytel:
wig (Yiddish)

siah:
black

sigheh:
temporary marriage

simkha:
a happy event (Hebrew)

sofreh:
a cloth that is often spread on the floor underneath the food

taarof:
the custom of exchanging polite words and niceties

taher:
pure

tamei:
impure (Hebrew)

tanoor:
clay oven

Tehilim:
Psalms of comfort

toman:
Iranian currency

tonbak:
Iranian drum

tsedakah:
charity (Hebrew)

vasoonak:
a collection of wedding poetry often sung by Jewish women of Shiraz

verag:
one who talks too much

veragi:
talking too much

zaben-deraz:
one with a long tongue, one who talks back

zaifeh:
the weak one (female)

zarbol-masal:
Persian proverbs

ziarat:
pilgrimage