We need not take into consideration in this connection either the Arabic Lion or the complete Horse, since most probably both owe their origin to false interpretations of later grammarians.
It is quite different with a second class of Arabic star-names which signify inanimate objects. These have to do with real forms throughout, which, however, for the most part consist of only a few stars after the manner of the Greek Arrow and Triangle. To these belong El-chibâ, the tent of the Arab nomads resting on three or four supports. One of these was represented by three stars of the Charioteer (Lambda, Mu, and Sigma), and another by the four chief stars of the Crow.
El-athâfi, the three stones which the nomadic Arab placed under his pot or kettle in the form of an equilateral triangle to form the hearth. Every triad of stars standing in a similar figure might be called an Athâfi; for instance, Delta, Epsilon, and Rho in the Ram, and the three on the head of Orion, which were actually likened to one of these. In just so many words, however, the only stars that occur under this name are Alpha, Epsilon, and Zeta in the Lyre, and Sigma, Tau, and Upsilon in the Dragon.
El-kidr, the Pot, a ring of stars in the vicinity of the last Athâfi, which was formed from a number of small stars of Cepheus and the Swan.
El-midschdah, the wooden twirling-stick (spit). A kitchen utensil of similar triangular form was represented by the Hyades. The name in course of time came to be restricted to the chief star of this group.
El-fekka, the sounding plate with the broken rim, or Kas’a el-masâkhîm, the Beggar’s-dish. This name was given to the stars of the Northern Crown, which stand in a circle open toward the northeast.
El-mîzân, the Scale-beam, an appropriate name for three stars in a straight line. The ancient Arabs used it for Theta, Eta, and Delta in the Eagle; the modern ones use it to distinguish the three stars on the Belt and the three on the Sword of Orion, the former of which, on account of their equal distance from each other, are called the true scale-beam, and the latter the false one, on account of the unequal intervals.
El-dsirâ, the Ell, a term which may fitly be applied to every pair of conspicuous stars standing a certain distance from one another. It was used for the two pairs of stars on the head of the Twins and in the Little Dog.
El-ma’lef, the Manger—the name of the stars of the Cup which stand in a circular form. The more familiar Manger in the Crab belongs to the Greek Heavens.
El-kubba, the Traveling-tent, drawn by camels of the Arab’s female apartment. This name was given by some to the stars of the Southern Crown, while others, as has already been remarked, regard it as an Ostrich Nest.