Al Khamsa History
Ancestral Elements Series: MIRAGE & *NEJDRAN Al Khamsa’s ‘language’ about pedigrees can seem complicated at first, but it is actually meant to be a simplification of the process of understanding the total pedigree of an Arabian horse. You need to learn two terms: Foundation Horses and Ancestral Elements. These terms are explained briefly here, but for detailed information, please see the research work, Al Khamsa Arabians III (2008). A Foundation Horse is what it sounds like: when you go back as far as you can in a pedigree, you stop with either a Bedouin tribe or with a recognized source that is believed to have stock only from the Bedouin tribes. Ancestral Elements are the Building Blocks of Al Khamsa Pedigrees An Ancestral Element refers to the country, stud farm, person or group who imported or was primarily associated with the Foundation Horses concerned. Four Foundation Horses were acquired individually and are designated by their own names. Simple parenthetical codes follow the names of Foundation horses, which help identify the Ancestral Element blocks to which they belong. Khamsat V29N1 began this series, AYERZA; V29N2: BISTANY; V29N3: BORDEN; V29N4: COBB; V30N1: BLUNT; V30N2: CRANE; V30.3: DWARKA; V30.4: DAVENPORT; V31.1: HAMIDIE; V31.2: HEARST; V31.3: HUNTINGTON; V31.4: INSHASS; V32.1: JALAWI. Terminology: a hujjah (hujaj, plural) is a signed and sealed document of evidence/testimony about a thing. In Al Khamsa terms, this means an Arabic testimony about the provenance of an Arabian horse. When such a document survives, it is the most important information about an Arabian horse.
u In progeny lists, italics are used for horses not in Al Khamsa pedigrees. Only eligible-to-be Al Khamsa horses are shown in the progeny lists.
This issue we are looking into two stallions that occupy their own self-named Ancestral Elements, as neither fit into a standard group, such as BLUNT or SA’UD. MIRAGE
NEJDRAN
• *Mirage 1919 grey stallion
• *Nejdran 1896 chestnut stallion
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