Sunday, January 18, 2015

One Thousand and One Arabian Nights

The Shahyar and Scheherazade.

The One Thousand and One Nights, also called the Arabian Nights, is a collection of folk stories from all over the Middle East, India, and northern Africa. The “thousand and one nights” refer to the stories that Scheherazade would tell her husband, the Shahyar, king of Persia, every night. The king was shocked to discover that his brother's wife had been unfaithful and soon discovers that his own wife had also been unfaithful. The Shahyar has his wife executed. He bitterly makes up his mind that all women are evil and unfaithful. He then married a succession of virgins, which he would execute following morning so that they will not get an opportunity to be unfaithful. The Sharyar's vizier, whose job is it to supply the king with virgins, was running out of girls. Thus his own daughter, named Scheherazade, volunteered to marry the king. In order to avoid execution, Scheherazade would tell the Shahyar one story for every night for one thousand and one nights. She would often end her story unfinished, leaving the king in suspense. He would postpone her execution so in order to hear the conclusion. But every night, Scheherazade would begin with another story (or sometimes a story within a story) and again would not end it; thus, for every story she tells is another day that her life is spared. She goes on with this scheme for a thousand and one nights, until the king had a change of heart. (Read a narrative version of this story from ShortStories.com.)

Three of the most popular stories are stories are given below: Aladdin'sWonderful Lamp, Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, and The Seven Voyages of Sinbad the Sailor.


ALADDIN'S WONDERFUL LAMP

Poster of the 1992 Disney animated film, Alladin.

The story of Aladdin and the lamp and the genie is well-known, but it was not part of the original One Thousand and One Nights. The story was added by Antoine Galland, a Frenchman who translated the Arabian Nights in the eighteenth century. According to his diary (dated March 25, 1709), Galland heard this story from Youhenna Diab, a Maronite scholar from Aleppo, Syria.

Aladdin” is a story of a poor boy who was tricked by an evil magician into retrieving a magic lamp from a cave. Aladdin finds the lamp in the cave, but the magician traps him inside. Aladdin was freed by the genie in the lamp. Using the genie's powers, Aladdin marries the sultan's daughter and becomes rich. The magician tricks the princess into giving him the lamp but was killed by Aladdin and the princess; so they lived happily ever after.

Once there lived a poor widow and her son, Aladdin. One day, Aladdin’s uncle, Mustafa, came to visit them. He said, “Sister, why don’t you let Aladdin come and work for me?” They agreed and Mustafa took Aladdin along with him. They walked in the desert and came to a cave. The cave was full of riches and treasures but Mustafa was afraid to go inside. He wanted Aladdin to go in and get him the treasures instead. “Go inside,” commanded Mustafa, “and find me the jewels. You will also find a lamp. Bring it to me.”

Aladdin went inside and found more riches than he could ever imagine. He found a beautiful ring and wore it on his finger. He also collected as many gems as he could, but before he could come out of the cave, Mustafa said, “Quick! Just hand me all, the jewels and the lamp!” Aladdin refused. Angry at the refusal, his cruel uncle blocked the entrance of the cave and left.

Aladdin sat in the dark and cried. Then he saw the old lamp and decided to light it. While cleaning it, he rubbed the lamp and out came a genie! “Master, I shall grant you three wishes,” he said. Aladdin said, “Take me home!” In seconds, Aladdin was with his mother, counting the gems he had brought from the cave. Aladdin also brought the ring along with him and when he rubbed it, out came another genie! “Master, I shall grant you three wishes!” said the genie. “Make us rich and happy!” said Aladdin. And Aladdin and his mother lived happily.

One day, Aladdin saw the sultan’s daughter and fell in love with her. He went to the palace with gems and asked for her hand in marriage. The king agreed to this. After marriage, Aladdin showered the princess with all the riches and gave her a huge palace to live in. When the sultan died, Aladdin ruled the kingdom. He was just and kindhearted and everybody was happy under his rule.

Meanwhile, Mustafa came to know how Aladdin found the magic lamp and became rich. He wanted to take the lamp back. So, one day, when Aladdin was away, Mustafa came to the palace dressed as a trader. He cried out, “Get new lamps for old ones! New lamps for old!” Hearing this, the princess took out the magic lamp and gave it to him. She did not know that the old lamp was indeed magical. She bought a shiny new lamp instead. Mustafa gladly took the lamp and went away. He then commanded the genie, “Send Aladdin’s entire palace into the deserts in Africa!” And saying this, Mustafa, along with the princess in the palace, were sent to Africa. Aladdin, on coming back, found his wife and house missing. He searched for the palace for three long days. Finally, he rubbed his magic ring and asked the genie, “Please take me to my princess!” The genie agreed. When he met his wife, Aladdin and the princess decided to trick Mustafa.

One night, the princess said to Mustafa, “I don’t think Aladdin will ever find me here! I might as well live as your slave for I am certain he is dead now!” Mustafa was very happy and ordered for a feast. During the feast, the princess got Mustafa drunk and he fell into a deep sleep.

In the meantime, the princess took the magic lamp to Aladdin. Together, they asked the genie of the lamp to take the entire palace back to Aladdin’s kingdom. The genie then killed Mustafa and Aladdin and the princess lived happily ever after.


ALI BABA AND THE FORTY THIEVES


Poster of the 1944 Universal adventure film Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves.

Ali Baba” is another story that is not part of the original One Thousand and One Nights but wa s only added by its French translator, Antoine Galland. It tells the story of Ali Baba, who discovers a thieves' hideout full of treasure. The story made the phrase “Open Sesame!” famous.

Ali Baba, a poor woodcutter was in the forest when he saw forty thieves stop in front of a cave.

The leader said “Open Sesame!” and before Ali Baba’s amazed eyes the sealed mouth of the cave magically opened and the men disappeared inside. To come out and close the entrance, the leader said “Close Sesame” and the cave sealed itself once more. Trembling with excitement Ali Baba waited till the thieves had left and then entered the cave after saying the magic words. To his delight he found lots of treasure.

Ali Baba told his brother Kasim about the wondrous cave. Kasim set off to get some treasure for himself too. Sadly, he forgot the words to leave the cave and the thieves killed him. Ali Baba discovered his brother’s body in the cave. With the help of a slave girl called Morgiana, he was able to take Kasim’s body back home and bury it.

Realising that someone else knew about their cave the thieves tracked Ali Baba down. The leader, disguised as an oil seller stayed with Ali Baba. He had brought along mules loaded with forty oil jars containing the other thieves. Clever Morgiana knew who the oil seller really was and poured boiling oil into the jars killing the other thieves. While dancing in front of the leader of the thieves Morgiana stabbed him. Ali Baba was saved and lived happily ever after.


THE SEVEN VOYAGES OF SINBAD THE SAILOR


Poster of the 1947 Technicolor fantasy film Sinbad the Sailor, which tells of the "eighth" voyage of Sinbad.

The story of Sinbad is part of the original One Thousand and One Nights, with each voyage told every night. It tells the story of the adventures of Sinbad, which sometimes resembles the adventures of Odysseus in The Odyssey. Sinbad's encounter with the giant monster in the third voyage was like that of Odysseus with Polyphemus. The adventure where the ship's crew was made to eat a drug-like herb so that they can be fattened is like the episode with the Lotus-Eaters (who gave Odysseus' men a drug so that they will forget about going home) and with Circe (a witch who turned Odysseus's crew into pigs).

Long time ago, during the reign of Caliph Harun al-Rashid of Baghdad, a poor porter named Hinbad, tired from a day of carrying other people's goods from the market, sat down to rest in front of the gate of a rich man's house. He began to complain to God on the injustices of this word: why there are people who can afford to life of ease while he must work hard and remain poor. He was heard by the owner of the house, named Sinbad. Sinbad invited the the poor porter inside and told him that he became rich “by fortune and fate” in the course of seven voyages. He then proceeds to tell Hinbad his adventures.

The first voyage. Sinbad squandered all of his father's inheritance to him, so he went out on a ship in order to regain his fortune. In his first journey he and his men landed on an island with trees which have been there “ever since the world began”. The island turned out to be a gigantic whale, which was awakened by a fire lit by Sinbad's sailors. As the whale dived into the depths, Sinbad's ship and men sailed without him. Sinbad was saved by a piece of wood sent by God and was washed ashore into another island. There he met one of the king's groomsmen and then rescued one of the king's mares from being drowned by an supernatural aquatic horse. The groomsman brought Sinbad to the king, who makes him into a trusted courier. One day, the ship Sinbad sailed in arrived at the island. Sinbad took all of his goods, which was still in the ship's hold, and gave them to the king. In return the king gave Sinbad many precious gifts, which he sold for a great profit. He then returns to Baghdad to life a life of ease. (Then Sindbad gives the porter a hundred gold coins and tells him to come back tomorrow for the continuation of his story.)

The second voyage. Sinbad became bored with his life of ease in Baghdad and decides to go again on an adventure at sea. Again, he was accidentally left behind by his shipmates; this time on an island inhabited by giant birds called rocs. He strapped himself on a roc, which flew him to a valley of giant snakes which can swallow elephants—these giant snakes are the roc's natural prey. The valley floor was filled with diamonds. To get the diamonds, merchants would throw huge chunks of meat into the valley. The rocs would then carry the meat with diamonds stuck on them to their nests. Then the merchants would retrieve the diamonds by driving away the rocs from their nests. So Sinbad strapped himself on a chunk of meat and was carried by a roc to its nest. He was then rescued by merchants returned to Baghdad with a fortune of diamonds.

The third voyage. Again restless for adventure, Sinbad and his men sailed to Basra (in Iraq). They were captured by a giant monster (who was similar to Polyphemus in The Odyssey). The giant proceeded to eat the crew, starting with their fat captain. Sinbad heated two heated two iron kebabs (which the giant had been using to roast the men) and used them to blind the monster. He and his men sailed away on a raft they made the day before. However, the monster's mate was able to kill Sinbad's men with rocks. Sinbad encounters further adventures, including an encounter with a giant python, and eventually returns to Baghdad.

The fourth voyage. Sinbad was against thirsty for adventure. As usual, he and his men were shipwrecked on an island. The naked savages of the island forced his men to eat an herb which robs people of reason in order to fatten them for cooking. Sinbad refused to eat the herb and escapes. He is rescued by some pepper gatherers and was taken back to their own island. Their king befriended Sinbad and gave him his own daughter as a wife. Sinbad's wife soon falls ill and dies. Then he finds out that the island has a peculiar custom: when a spouse dies, the surviving spouse is buried with them, together with fine clothes and costly jewelry. Sinbad was then buried in a cave with his dead wife, along with a jug of water and seven loaves of bread. It turns out that the cave was a communal tomb: every time a spouse dies, both the husband and wife are buried there. Every time a husband and wife were buried, Sinbad would kill the surviving spouse and take their rations. One day, a wild animal showed Sinbad a way out of the tomb and then he was rescued by a passing ship. He returned to Baghdad with riches he accumulated in the cave.

The fifth voyage. Once more Sinbad was bored with his life of ease and returned to sea. While passing by a desert island, the crew spotted a giant egg. The men went to shore to examine the egg, which they end up breaking and eating the chick inside. Sinbad recognized that it was a roc egg and urged the crew to escape. The parent rocs arrived and destroyed their ship by dropping boulders on it. Sinbad was shipwrecked and enslaved by the Old Man of the Sea. The Old Man would ride on his shoulders and wrap himself to his neck using his legs. To get out of this misery, Sinbad tricked the Old Man to drink some wine that he made. When the Old Man fell asleep, Sinbad killed him and escapes. On the way home, he passed by the City of Apes. The people of the city would escape on rafts to the sea in order to avoid the man-eating apes that ravage their city every night. Because of the apes, Sinbad was able to steal the treasure of the city and return to Baghdad.

The sixth voyage. Hungry for adventure, Sinbad set sail again but was shipwrecked again, this time on an island with steep cliffs. Sinbad's men eventually die off with starvation until he was left all alone. He then discovers an underground river in a cavern beneath the cliffs. He fell asleep and when he awoke he found that the river has taken him to city of King Serenib (in Ceylon, Sri Lanka), a land rich with treasure. He amazes the king with stories of Caliph Haroun al-Rashid of Baghdad. In return, King Serenib asks Sinbad to return to Baghdad and give the caliph presents on his behalf, including a cup carved from a single ruby and a bed made from the skin of a giant snake, upon which whoever sits would never get sick.

The seventh and final voyage. Sinbad sets out to sea for the last time, but as usual he gets shipwrecked. He constructs a raft and sails to a nearby city. The chief merchant gives his daughter to Sinbad as his wife and declares him his heir. The people of the city turn into birds once a month. Sinbad had one of the bird-people carry him until they see the angels praising God. Suddenly fire rains from the sky and nearly killed all of the bird-people. The bird-people blamed Sinbad for their misfortune and left him on a mountaintop. There he met two young men who claim to be servants of God and they gave him a golden staff. When he returned to the city, Sinbad discovered from his wife that the people of the city are actually demons (although she and her father were not). Upon her advice, Sinbad sells their possessions and returns to Baghdad with his wife. Sinbad resolves to live quietly and enjoy his riches, and to no longer go on adventures.


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