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The Last Storytellers: Tales from the Heart of Morocco
Marrakech is the heart and lifeblood of Morocco’s ancient storytelling tradition. For nearly a thousand years, storytellers have gathered in Jemaa el Fna, the legendary square of the city, to recount ancient folktales and fables to rapt audiences. But this unique chain of oral tradition that has passed seamlessly from generation to generation is teetering on the brink of extinction. The competing distractions of television, movies, and the Internet have drawn the crowds away from the storytellers and few have the desire to learn the stories and continue their legacy. Richard Hamilton has witnessed first-hand the death throes of this rich and captivating tradition and, in the labyrinth of the Marrakech medina, has tracked down the last few remaining storytellers, recording stories that are replete with the mysteries and beauty of the Maghreb.
264 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
February 26, 2017
I searched out books about Morocco because I was going to visit Morocco in May 2016. As a result I read a number of very good books that otherwise I might never have found. This collection of oral folk tales from the public storytellers in Marrakech is unique among those books, and I really loved it.
The collector and writer of these tales has been a BBC journalist for almost 20 years. In his wonderful introduction to this book, he explains how the traditional storytellers were a fixture in Marrakech's famous public square, the Jemaa el Fna, for hundreds of years — and now their art form is disappearing as they die out and no one replaces them. The Jemaa el Fna remains the beating heart of Marrakech even today (the book was first published in 2011; the stories were collected 2006–09), but the storytellers are almost extinct.
Most of the stories are quite short, only a few pages. They total more than 30. One of the best things about the collection is that Hamilton took pains to include only stories specific to Marrakech and to exclude those that are just versions of One Thousand and One Nights (A K A Arabian Nights). I began reading these stories after I returned from my trip, and they so fabulously conjure the smells and flavors and shadows and colors of Marrakech, to read them was to dream myself back there in the Medina of Marrakech, in the High Atlas, in the desert.
The collector and writer of these tales has been a BBC journalist for almost 20 years. In his wonderful introduction to this book, he explains how the traditional storytellers were a fixture in Marrakech's famous public square, the Jemaa el Fna, for hundreds of years — and now their art form is disappearing as they die out and no one replaces them. The Jemaa el Fna remains the beating heart of Marrakech even today (the book was first published in 2011; the stories were collected 2006–09), but the storytellers are almost extinct.
Most of the stories are quite short, only a few pages. They total more than 30. One of the best things about the collection is that Hamilton took pains to include only stories specific to Marrakech and to exclude those that are just versions of One Thousand and One Nights (A K A Arabian Nights). I began reading these stories after I returned from my trip, and they so fabulously conjure the smells and flavors and shadows and colors of Marrakech, to read them was to dream myself back there in the Medina of Marrakech, in the High Atlas, in the desert.
September 9, 2019
My husband Robin treated me with a trip to Marrakesh. We went straight to the holy grail of storytellers the Jemaa el-Fnaa in the Medina Quarter. We found monkeys in dresses, coiled up snakes but no storytellers. We asked and asked and were assured they would come but they never did. We tried for three days. Finally I walked into a bookshop and Richard L. Hamilton's The Last Storytellers fell into my hands. I read the stories while breathing in the sensory delights of the marketplace and the storytellers finally arrived - in a glamorous rush - with all their magical, hypnogogic, life changing images and timeless wisdom.
Thank you to Richard Hamilton. I loved the story the Red Lantern so much that my quest changed - I needed a small red lantern that would fit into my hand luggage. Needless to say, the lantern, the story and Richard's whole book made Marrakesh all I hoped it would be.
If you like traditional stories, this book is a treasure. It is beautifully written with a fabulous collection of stories.
Thank you to Richard Hamilton. I loved the story the Red Lantern so much that my quest changed - I needed a small red lantern that would fit into my hand luggage. Needless to say, the lantern, the story and Richard's whole book made Marrakesh all I hoped it would be.
If you like traditional stories, this book is a treasure. It is beautifully written with a fabulous collection of stories.
March 24, 2013
This book is clever, fun and very interesting. It teaches some valuable lessons which help you to see things differently. It's a great read and will keep you immersed for days. You will permanently have your head buried in this book and its many tales. Definitely read it!!!!! Zoe, age 10.
February 8, 2019
Richard Hamilton collected thirty-seven folktales between 2006 and 2009 on the Jemaa el Fna, the famous market of Marrakesh, where the five tellers of these tales were among the last who still make (or used to make) a living from telling stories to a live audience. The translations are not verbatim, and Hamilton admits to occasionally embellishing the language of the stories (which shows when a turn of phrase sounds modern), but they are close to the originals. This is not a folklore publication by a long shot, so it lacks notes, but it is a very enjoyable read, and has a long and detailed Introduction to the circumstances of collection, Moroccan storytelling tradition, and the tellers themselves. I have found quite a few memorable, beautiful, and fascinating stories in it.
Blog post about the tales in detail:
http://multicoloreddiary.blogspot.com...
Blog post about the tales in detail:
http://multicoloreddiary.blogspot.com...
February 1, 2018
'The Last Storytellers' is a book that puts into print stories from the Moroccan tradition of oral storytelling, which goes back almost a thousand years and is now in danger of becoming extinct. Assisted by his guide, Ahmed Tija, Richard Hamilton, the BBC's Moroccan correspondent, sought out in Marrakech five authentic storytellers. Typically they were men who followed what they saw as their fate, despite the disapproval of orthodox Islam and the opposition of their families who regarded storytelling as little better than begging.
The last storytellers may be aged, poor and frail, but their stories are rich in detail and full of vitality. One learned most of the Old Testament and all of One Thousand and One Nights. Another studied classical Arab texts at night and recited them next day in Darija, the dialect his listeners could understand. The youngest, who was born into an extremely poor family and had to leave school so that he could help his father at work, was exceptionally well read and could introduce material from Cervantes or Jorge Luis Borges into his tales. The oldest, going deaf and already blind, remembered that, during the time of the French Protectorate, storytellers, speaking in the Berber language, used stories to pass messages to one another in code.
Since the men who told them were no strangers to poverty and oppression, it is not surprising that these thirty-seven stories show sympathy with the underdog, and a subversive glee where he succeeds where others have failed. Sons of black slaves inherit a kingdom and marry a Sultan's daughter; respected magistrates turn out to be crooks; barbers are promoted to the rank of Vizier; and a Sultan sacks all his sycophantic viziers because none of them tell the truth.
This is a very entertaining collection, and a book I intend to keep. To write this review I read the stories more quickly than I would have liked, but I hope to return and read them at a more leisurely pace. All good stories have depths which do not reveal themselves immediately, and these are no exception. Richard Hamilton has done us all a service in recording what he describes as 'a priceless treasure, as precious as mankind's greatest artefact, or the planet's most endangered species, and of immeasurable importance to humanity.'
The last storytellers may be aged, poor and frail, but their stories are rich in detail and full of vitality. One learned most of the Old Testament and all of One Thousand and One Nights. Another studied classical Arab texts at night and recited them next day in Darija, the dialect his listeners could understand. The youngest, who was born into an extremely poor family and had to leave school so that he could help his father at work, was exceptionally well read and could introduce material from Cervantes or Jorge Luis Borges into his tales. The oldest, going deaf and already blind, remembered that, during the time of the French Protectorate, storytellers, speaking in the Berber language, used stories to pass messages to one another in code.
Since the men who told them were no strangers to poverty and oppression, it is not surprising that these thirty-seven stories show sympathy with the underdog, and a subversive glee where he succeeds where others have failed. Sons of black slaves inherit a kingdom and marry a Sultan's daughter; respected magistrates turn out to be crooks; barbers are promoted to the rank of Vizier; and a Sultan sacks all his sycophantic viziers because none of them tell the truth.
This is a very entertaining collection, and a book I intend to keep. To write this review I read the stories more quickly than I would have liked, but I hope to return and read them at a more leisurely pace. All good stories have depths which do not reveal themselves immediately, and these are no exception. Richard Hamilton has done us all a service in recording what he describes as 'a priceless treasure, as precious as mankind's greatest artefact, or the planet's most endangered species, and of immeasurable importance to humanity.'
June 15, 2014
http://www.mytwostotinki.com/?p=331
What a wonderful book!
Richard Hamilton, a BBC journalist with a weak spot for Morocco has collected some of the stories that are told until today by the traditional storytellers in Marrakech. The storyteller, once a fixture of each Arabic tea house, is unfortunately a craft that is disappearing quickly thanks to the ever-present TV or other electronic gimmicks in each coffee shop or tea house nowadays. And that is a real cultural loss. At least some more of the stories of this maybe last generation of master storytellers is preserved in this book.
Hamilton visited Morocco many times, and with the assistance of a local guide he was able to track down some of the most extraordinary masters of oral storytelling. Once he made a personal contact with them and convinced them to tell him some of their stories in order to preserve them for posterity, it was not difficult anymore. A stream of wonderfully crafted stories was recorded on tape and translated from the local dialect into English.
37 stories told by Moulay Mohamed El Jabri, Abderrahim El Makkouri, Ahmed Temiicha, Mohamed Bariz, and Mustapha Khal Layoun form the main part of The Last Storytellers, Hamilton added an insightful Introduction that gives not only detailed information regarding the making of this precious book but that gives also a short account on the role of oral storytelling in the traditional Arabic societies. Barnaby Rogerson, who wrote an excellent biography of the Prophet provides an instructive foreword.
So, if you loved the 1001 Nights and you want to know about The Red Lantern and how it changed the life of two very different brothers, or about The Girl from Fez, you will not be disappointed. I am quite sure you will enjoy this book very much and maybe you will say in the end It is good - just like the Prime Minister in the story The King and His Prime Minister. And there will be a much deeper meaning in this sentence as you may think right now.
I read The Last Storytellers in a traditional tea house in Amman which was just the perfect place for it. But no matter where you read it, The Last Storytellers is a truly enchanting and captivating book.
What a wonderful book!
Richard Hamilton, a BBC journalist with a weak spot for Morocco has collected some of the stories that are told until today by the traditional storytellers in Marrakech. The storyteller, once a fixture of each Arabic tea house, is unfortunately a craft that is disappearing quickly thanks to the ever-present TV or other electronic gimmicks in each coffee shop or tea house nowadays. And that is a real cultural loss. At least some more of the stories of this maybe last generation of master storytellers is preserved in this book.
Hamilton visited Morocco many times, and with the assistance of a local guide he was able to track down some of the most extraordinary masters of oral storytelling. Once he made a personal contact with them and convinced them to tell him some of their stories in order to preserve them for posterity, it was not difficult anymore. A stream of wonderfully crafted stories was recorded on tape and translated from the local dialect into English.
37 stories told by Moulay Mohamed El Jabri, Abderrahim El Makkouri, Ahmed Temiicha, Mohamed Bariz, and Mustapha Khal Layoun form the main part of The Last Storytellers, Hamilton added an insightful Introduction that gives not only detailed information regarding the making of this precious book but that gives also a short account on the role of oral storytelling in the traditional Arabic societies. Barnaby Rogerson, who wrote an excellent biography of the Prophet provides an instructive foreword.
So, if you loved the 1001 Nights and you want to know about The Red Lantern and how it changed the life of two very different brothers, or about The Girl from Fez, you will not be disappointed. I am quite sure you will enjoy this book very much and maybe you will say in the end It is good - just like the Prime Minister in the story The King and His Prime Minister. And there will be a much deeper meaning in this sentence as you may think right now.
I read The Last Storytellers in a traditional tea house in Amman which was just the perfect place for it. But no matter where you read it, The Last Storytellers is a truly enchanting and captivating book.
October 10, 2015
This is like a coloring book for grown ups - one's own imagination makes the difference between a boring sketch and a wonderful story. Alternatively, one could really do with a story teller...
Like 1001 Nights and very much unlike the Western fairy tales, the stories go unpredictable ways and have a twisted sense of who deserves the princess and the kingdom. In "The Sultan's Daughter and the Leper", the guy who is lazy, drunk, ugly and not particularly clever wins just because he is massively lucky. Likewise, in "The Sultan and the Thief", the guy who kills a long list of innocents including his brother gets the job because he outsmarts his opponents.
You will enjoy this book if you like to be surprised and to work out your imagination.
Like 1001 Nights and very much unlike the Western fairy tales, the stories go unpredictable ways and have a twisted sense of who deserves the princess and the kingdom. In "The Sultan's Daughter and the Leper", the guy who is lazy, drunk, ugly and not particularly clever wins just because he is massively lucky. Likewise, in "The Sultan and the Thief", the guy who kills a long list of innocents including his brother gets the job because he outsmarts his opponents.
You will enjoy this book if you like to be surprised and to work out your imagination.
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July 8, 2017This is by so far one of the best books that tackled the art of storytelling in Marrakech. Through a collection of stories from the Moroccan folklore, Hamilton takes the readers to experience a new world; a world that lays in the imagination of oral storytellers in the red city of Marrakech. It is an interesting book for both Moroccan readers who want to learn more about oral storytelling as a Moroccan cultural aspect through stories which might be lost or forgotten, and Western readers who might have never been to Morocco but are interested to learn about it's arts especially the art of storytelling as a cultural aspect of the country and as an experience and a life practice for the oral storytellers.
July 15, 2017
This collection of short tales unlocks the mysteries of some of the old fables of Morocco that are part of the tapestry of Marrakech cultural traditions. In particular, the simplicity of the message and moral of some of the stories sticks with the reader long after the last page has been turned - one year after first reading these stories I still recall the tale which describes the birth of the Sahara desert, growing and swelling in size with each lie told by Man! "The Last Storytellers" captures the dying art of the oral tradition of storytellers who used to perform in villages and towns across Morocco - it preserves some of these tales for future generations and for a wider audience. It is ideal for dipping into as you travel in Morocco on holiday or for reading to your children.
July 24, 2017
I loved this book so much it prompted me to travel to Morocco (which is saying something, as I'm usually more Megaluf than mega culture). Richard Hamilton is a BBC correspondent who's been travelling round this part of the world for years, and clearly loves it. Keen to document an oral tradition now under threat, he's put together a 'playlist' of wonderful tales from local storytellers: This colourful collection of fables, morals and misadventures - all honed for listeners over countless generations - reads like a handy-sized 'Arabian Nights'. (I passed it on to my young children, who loved it). The result is a soothing and spellbinding story of a beautiful and magical country. (Morocco's amazing, believe me - I've been there!)
July 9, 2017
I really enjoyed this book. A series of short stories as told by the storytellers in Morocco.
Stories and storytelling is an important tradition in Morocco, these are tales that have been told for many years in the town squares, villages and cities across the land.
They stories are varied and interesting, they entertain and provide the reader or the listening with moral challenges and lessons - like all good stories do.
This book is well written, throughly researched and worth every moment of your time.
Read, enjoy, learn and travel to the exotic storytelling circles in Morocco.
Stories and storytelling is an important tradition in Morocco, these are tales that have been told for many years in the town squares, villages and cities across the land.
They stories are varied and interesting, they entertain and provide the reader or the listening with moral challenges and lessons - like all good stories do.
This book is well written, throughly researched and worth every moment of your time.
Read, enjoy, learn and travel to the exotic storytelling circles in Morocco.
July 16, 2017
I loved this book! The style is dynamic, sober, efficient. It is full of gems. The stories were collected by the author from Moroccan story tellers who had learned them through oral tradition and had told them in the street of Marrakech and at the Jemaa el Fna, an open space for performers at the center of the market...
You get the familiar perfume of traditional story telling, however you keep being surprised...
You get the familiar perfume of traditional story telling, however you keep being surprised...
January 2, 2014
The marketplace of Jemaa el Fna, in Marrakech, once swarmed with storytellers right from the city’s foundation in 1070 yet today those storytellers captivating market audiences with tales of love, trickery and death are disappearing. Intrepid BBC journalist Richard, with the aid of tour guide Ahmed Tija, set out to record some of these vivid tales. It beautifully highlights the enchanting nature of storytelling. A precious collection not lost.
Hily
Hily
January 1, 2014
The marketplace of Jemaa el Fna, in Marrakech, once swarmed with storytellers right from the city’s foundation in 1070 yet today those storytellers captivating market audiences with tales of love, trickery and death are disappearing. Intrepid BBC journalist Richard, with the aid of tour guide Ahmed Tija, set out to record some of these vivid tales. It beautifully highlights the enchanting nature of storytelling. A precious collection not lost.
September 4, 2017
After listening to translations of the Marrakesh stories told by young apprentice storytellers from the medina, I was very happy to be able to read even more stories from other parts of Morocco. There is a reason and purpose for each story. They paint a cultural and historical picture that even today, influence the dynamics of relationships between people, local and foreigner, and help the reader to better understand why Morocco and Moroccans are who they are.
July 20, 2014
I was disappointed with this book. I liked the introduction, with the history of storytelling, and his journey to finding the storytellers, but the stories were very similar, and some of them lacked any moral. It just seemed to lack the passion that I'm sure the storytellers put into them when they tell them in Fna.
April 15, 2017
I have never before read a book that is formatted in this style, other then the grims tales, but much to my surprise, I really enjoyed it. We sometime forget that literature and storytelling flourished far beyond our time as well as our culture. It has truly inspired me in many ways but also allowed be to treasure the value of storytelling and the pleasure that comes with it
July 9, 2017
If you have been to, or thinking of going to Morocco this is a great book to give you the insight of the many traditions and mystique surrounding the age old country. As a tourist having this understanding helps you 'ease' into the culture. A 'pick up put down' book that is full of enjoyable passages that you can go back to time and time again.
July 11, 2017
One of the books I love dearly and turn to regularly when i want to be transported to the site, sounds and scents of Marrakesh and Morocco. The tales of Jemaa el-Fnaa and of how Richard and his translator found the storytellers make the stories all the more vivid. It has a permanent place on my bedside table.
November 21, 2017
I always try and read books associated with a new place when I'm traveling. This was ideal - every story is a few pages long. I read it on the way to Morocco and while I was in the country. If you love folklore, short stories, or are heading to Morocco, I'd give this book my strongest recommendation.
September 18, 2017
Beautiful stories' beautifully retold about one of my favourite places on this planet. The images dance in my eyes and I can smell, see and hear the country I love. The red lantern is my favourite but they are all wonderful.
April 20, 2013
3.5/5*
July 25, 2017
An excellent read.
September 4, 2017
I liked this book so much that I bought a few of them to give away to friends (I did not want to part with my copy).
September 4, 2017
A wonderful collection of stories that shines light onto parts of Marrakech and the Marrakshi way of thinking and being that most of us never even get to glimpse.
October 23, 2017
Really captures the magic and atmosphere of Morocco. I dip into it time and again - definitely recommended.
December 3, 2022
I did not expect this, but this is my favorite collection of fairy tales I've ever read.
Move over Grimm, Anderson, and even Celtic tales-- these Moroccan stories enchanted me and thoroughly captured my heart.
It's hard to say why I love these stories so much. They're magical, whimsical, and amusing. I love the moral lessons built into the bedrock of this culture. And I absolutely adored that these stories took place in a country that now holds such a special place in my heart.
I read this collection while on my honeymoon in Morocco, and it was amazing to read stories from local storytellers who referenced places and people and customs that I got to see firsthand on our travels.
I've never fallen more in love with a collection more than this one. Five stars.
Move over Grimm, Anderson, and even Celtic tales-- these Moroccan stories enchanted me and thoroughly captured my heart.
It's hard to say why I love these stories so much. They're magical, whimsical, and amusing. I love the moral lessons built into the bedrock of this culture. And I absolutely adored that these stories took place in a country that now holds such a special place in my heart.
I read this collection while on my honeymoon in Morocco, and it was amazing to read stories from local storytellers who referenced places and people and customs that I got to see firsthand on our travels.
I've never fallen more in love with a collection more than this one. Five stars.
January 2, 2019
I had a growing feeling of unease as I read this book. It wasn’t simply that many of the stories were misogynistic or violent; this is not unusual in old folktales from many countries. It was more that I began to have suspicions about the degree of editorial interference and influence in the final products that I was reading, knowing as I did that they had gone through a lengthy process of “refinement” before getting into the immaculate little collection.
The British author-editor of this collection goes into some detail in his long and rather autobiographical introduction, describing the process by which he cultivated, interviewed, and then recorded a number of local Moroccan professionals Storytellers, whose stories he then had translated, and then assembled for this book once he had returned home. In his own words:
“I then polished the stories up when I was in London, improving the English where necessary as well as the general narrative flow. On occasion, I would take the liberty of adding a touch more colour or flesh on the bones, but while I allowed myself this element of poetic license, I always tried to stay true to the original plots.”
Wondering just how much “poetic license” he had taken - after all, this is not poetry, but prose narrative, something very different - I did a quick google and found his website, where he helpfully includes a video of himself reading aloud a story from this very book, as well as a video of the original Storyteller performing the (sort of) same story. The differences, to me, were enormous, and very telling (pun intended). I could see for myself that crucial changes had been made to both plot and moral, to say nothing of the lack of performance technique displayed by the British editor, when compared with his Moroccan source.
Of course, it isn’t fair to compare an editor with a professional Storyteller, but I do take issue with the degree to which Hamilton changed the narrative - both in terms of details and moral or takeaway - while still claiming a kind of authenticity for this tale - and presumably the others in his collection. For that’s what they have become: his collection of stories. If he subjected each of the stories to this same degree of “polishing”, than he has robbed them of their authenticity, and rendered them into his own version of literature. They are no longer Moroccan folktales in the way that they once were, but his personal idealized versions of what he would like them to be. They are thus of dubious value for folklorists and Storytellers.
The British author-editor of this collection goes into some detail in his long and rather autobiographical introduction, describing the process by which he cultivated, interviewed, and then recorded a number of local Moroccan professionals Storytellers, whose stories he then had translated, and then assembled for this book once he had returned home. In his own words:
“I then polished the stories up when I was in London, improving the English where necessary as well as the general narrative flow. On occasion, I would take the liberty of adding a touch more colour or flesh on the bones, but while I allowed myself this element of poetic license, I always tried to stay true to the original plots.”
Wondering just how much “poetic license” he had taken - after all, this is not poetry, but prose narrative, something very different - I did a quick google and found his website, where he helpfully includes a video of himself reading aloud a story from this very book, as well as a video of the original Storyteller performing the (sort of) same story. The differences, to me, were enormous, and very telling (pun intended). I could see for myself that crucial changes had been made to both plot and moral, to say nothing of the lack of performance technique displayed by the British editor, when compared with his Moroccan source.
Of course, it isn’t fair to compare an editor with a professional Storyteller, but I do take issue with the degree to which Hamilton changed the narrative - both in terms of details and moral or takeaway - while still claiming a kind of authenticity for this tale - and presumably the others in his collection. For that’s what they have become: his collection of stories. If he subjected each of the stories to this same degree of “polishing”, than he has robbed them of their authenticity, and rendered them into his own version of literature. They are no longer Moroccan folktales in the way that they once were, but his personal idealized versions of what he would like them to be. They are thus of dubious value for folklorists and Storytellers.
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December 18, 2024One of the books I read during a recent visit to Morocco. Richard Hamilton has been a journalist and travel writer with BBC for a couple of decades. His preface about the history of storytelling in Morocco and his efforts to hear tales directly from those that follow the tradition of storytelling is laudable.
There’s also a fun vegan cafe called “World Storytellers” in the old city that had interesting books and content about the oral tradition of storytelling.
Can’t say I enjoyed the folk tales themselves as much - the wilful mistreatment of women and black people in the stories are jarring in the modern context. But many of the references from the folk tales were interesting to see in real life. Like Marrakech's old city market, the Jamaa el Fna that has been a place for community and citizens to gather each night for over a thousand years now! Or the high Atlas Mountains that we drove through and Mt Toubkal that I got to climb. Fun companion book for travel.
There’s also a fun vegan cafe called “World Storytellers” in the old city that had interesting books and content about the oral tradition of storytelling.
Can’t say I enjoyed the folk tales themselves as much - the wilful mistreatment of women and black people in the stories are jarring in the modern context. But many of the references from the folk tales were interesting to see in real life. Like Marrakech's old city market, the Jamaa el Fna that has been a place for community and citizens to gather each night for over a thousand years now! Or the high Atlas Mountains that we drove through and Mt Toubkal that I got to climb. Fun companion book for travel.
December 11, 2018
It was so magical to read this book of Moroccan folk tales while staying in Marrakech. The introduction with the author's story of finding the storytellers and the tradition of storytelling was fascinating. The stories themselves are very traditional with a lot of the same themes of betrayal, testing fidelity, riches, and adventure.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews