Arab Folktales

by Inea Bushnaq (Editor & Translator)

Out of alleys of Cairo and Bedouin tents, from the Moroccan laborers and Syrian peasants, this collection of 130 tales comes from Arab worlds from North Africa to the Holy Land.

Genres: Folklore, Mythology, Folk Tales, Short Stories, Fiction, Fairy Tales, Fantasy

386 pages, Paperback

First published March 12, 1986

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

While containing a broad sampling of folktales from the Arab people, there are a few problems that consistently bothered me about this book. The author, in her commentary, claims that "the true Arab is the desert nomad," an idea which folklorist Dwight Reynolds has said is culturally inaccurate and a romantic fallacy. The tales also feel embellished, edited, tidied-up, and the occasional verses have obviously been tampered with in order to rhyme in their English translations. Bushnaq herself admits to combining different versions of folktales to make an ideal form, something usually frowned upon in folklore studies. She calls the Arabian Nights folk literature, which is also false (see Reynolds' Arab Folklore: A Handbook), and also uses strange, outdated romanizations for some Arabic terms: Beni Hilal rather than Bani Hilal, djinn instead of jinn, Nasreddin Khodja instead of Nasruddin Koja, and Djuha rather than Juha. All this being said, Inea Bushnaq's collection was edifying, entertaining, and worth the read. I'd suggest reading Muhawi and Kanaana's Speak, Bird, Speak Again -- a wonderful and informative collection -- before this one, however, so that the reader better understands certain errors that are present in this text.

[Mary Catelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some tales about simpletons or clever scoundrels, some animal tales, some Bedouin tales, some fairy tales. . . .

I was, of course, chiefly in the fairy tales. Not only do they pick up more local colors, you pretty much have to be familiar with many European tales to recognize parallels. (Greek and Italian ones in particular. I wonder why. 0:) Of the Top Twenty(ish), the only one in recognizable form is "The Little Red Fish and the Lost Clog", and that's one of the farther stretches of "Cinderella" . ("The Princess in a Suit of Leather" is OTOH the other variant of the persecuted heroine, "All Kinds of Fur.")

But in a setting filled with Ghouls and Djinn, we have a bird with a golden feather instead of a golden bird, a bride having her place usurped by the a slave escorting her, a youngest daughter rejected by her father -- not for saying her love was like salt but that his wealth came from God -- and not going to three balls to win a prince, but marrying a mule driver on the grounds his poverty and her homelessness show that "the pot has found its lid" and bearing a marvelous daughter who spoke jasmines and lilies and when washed, dripped gold and is the main heroine, a prince cursed to love only the Full-Moon-Of-Night, and many more tales, some without parallel in Europe, most heavily local tales.

[Alanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a nice combination of tales from several cultures. I also appreciate that some are long, and others are only a couple paragraphs, so depending on your mood there’s always something to catch a reader’s eye. I’ve sort of perused this book for months now, and for the most part I’ve enjoyed the format and clear morals within the stories. I noticed in the Syrian tales there was a pattern of women outwitting men, and men generally living in fear of their wives, which amused me to no end. My ex (who happened to be Syrian) demonstrated that this is, in fact, true.

[Gabe · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I liked the most were the introductions before every part. they really helped me understand the tales and who used to tell them

[Joseph Carrabis · Rating 2 out of 5]

I continue my studies of folklore and myth with Arab Folktales. I wrote in my review of The Complete Grimm's Fairy Tales that the similarities of many stories - plot, character, theme, ... - struck me as odd until I realized many of Middle Eastern and European folktales migrated from India in the pre-dawn of story telling time.
I did glean the unique flavorings the Arab world imparts to simple stories. Most folktales regardless of culture are little morality plays to teach children cultural rights and wrongs.
Arab Folktales is no different except the cultural mores are largely of a desert people, not a woodland or water people, and several stories reflect that environment.
Good reading for background material, perhaps the amateur folklorist or ethologist, and not really a worthy read as a read (my opinion, that).

[Nic Rueth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Other folktale collections like this have had more contextualization. Still, this is a very solid collection with stories of varied depth (and you often get information as to where these folktales come from, though not a detailed description). I would love to reread and do a bit more research on the histories of some of these tales.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is fabulous, with well written tales and well researched background and collected by someone from the culture in question.

[Sally Rhett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some great stories, others short, not satisfying

[Angela Benedetti · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best collections of folk tales I've ever read, not only for the stories (which are excellent, very readable and entertaining) but also for the introductory notes. The introductions, to the book as a whole and to each section, give information on specific stories, story types, different iconic characters, and also cultural notes that help the reader who is neither Moslem nor Arabic understand the customs and world view of the people in the stories.

Great book, both for the pleasure of the stories and the education on Arab culture.

[Elizabeth Brooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of folktales is hard to rate, but I loved the way the editor tried to explain the relevant cultural quirks before each section. The tales were well-chosen, I thought, to help underscore the driving values that spawned them.

[Yacin · Rating 4 out of 5]

subtract 1 star if you aren't interested in arab culture or were born into it. the djuha stories are the best hands down, i just wish there were more. the tales give an interesting perspective into arab culture both bad (pervasive patriarchy) and good (taking in guests).

[Lexi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A think book, it takes a while to get through. Many of the stories are captivating adn they give one the ability to intuit pieces of the Arab mentality. A lovely read.