A Portrait of Diversity Illustrated by Time
I had recently been inspired to utilise much of my time to read a wider range of books pertaining to metaphysical properties. Initially, this was to pass time on the train and sometimes even make up for my loss of sleep. The Happiness Hypothesis was the first step in this journey, a step taken only a few weeks about. As I read, I realised how much an author’s idea originates from a viewpoint which can be based from experiences and childhood. As I continued to find out about different authors I came across Fyodor Dostoevsky and Anton Chekhov who interested me as writers who went above and beyond. Their unconventional plot lines and thoughts made me think and it was more so about the journey rather than the plot. Almost as if the fiction was all too real, an extraordinary account into how we think and act.
Moral and ethical questions which allowed for chain reactions within the mind and a deeper understanding into the psychological aspects of human nature. What was human nature and why do humans do what they do? I ultimately fell in love with these concepts. And although 1,001 Arabian Nights was a book I read before my journey initiated, it is something I understand to be the foundations of my future thoughts.
Therefore, I would like this discussion to revolve around the ways in which literature circulates around the world and influences our understanding of different cultures. In order to achieve this goal I will attempt to use Tales From 1,001 Nights as a foundation, upon which I will develop constructs including two different examples of work influenced by the 1,001 Nights and an overall emphasis on concepts I would like to further develop.
My initial judgement of 1,001 Arabian Nights was a bit biased, to be frank. I wasn’t too excited to see much of the Arabian culture portrayed in this manner. Heavy eroticism had abstained my thoughts from actually looking at the stories from an unbiased point of view. I simply did not want to accept it and couldn’t believe that it was a product of the Middle East, although, I had heard of the book many times and was aware of the sort of the fantasy. It hadn’t come across my mind that the book was actually a product of multiple authors written over a range of years. This is the first point I would like to tackle, after which, delve into the perspectives brought on by the authors.
The history of 1,001 Nights (or as I like to call it, Nights) seems a bit tainted in terms of the relative authenticity. With the works being accumulated from around the world including: West Asia, South Asia, Central Asia and North Africa. Multiple authors and translators from the 10th century have contributed to this work, from the 9th century to 2008. When we view the timeline, we notice how many copies and versions have been gathered, translated and printed. Cross publication, and translations back to Arabic are seen as well. It seems difficult to imagine why a text would need to be translated back to its supposed original language and even more interestingly why the newer versions weren’t largely accepted in the Arab culture.
What had occurred between the first publication and the final one and why were there so many publications? What caused some cultures to love the text and some cultures to hate it? These are part of the many questions that will continue to arise as we move forward.
First, we can discuss how multiple authors affect texts and the public’s opinion of them. When the Nights would have been published in each generation with respect to the authors time, it would depend on the public as to whether they would accept the text or reject it. Their reaction would depend on the continuation of those concepts and ideas. Additionally, the environment and on-going dramas or actions would affect the individuals of the public. The fact that the text was coined with its inclusion of the Arab culture tells us a few things about the acceptance of it. Much of the eroticism within the text would have been hard for the public to acknowledge as something part of their culture. Although, many a time fantasies and desires tend to pollute one’s rational mind, the thought of public disgust and taboo would have prevented the majority of the public to accept the text as part of their culture. Something of another culture, religion or society would be easier to judge and provide opinions on. It could be an excuse for one’s own desire, where one might secretly desire reading erotic fantasies but for the sake of their respect and integrity in the eye of the public they would deny accepting it. We can tell a lot about human nature from desires and emotions and this may be portrayed in the history of the Nights. A new genre to explore where such taboos where supposedly more accepted and it was okay to write about them. Of course, it would be in the best interests for the writing industry to capitalise on this. Coining such texts as a part of another culture would change the way aspects from another culture could be developed into something which was commercially acceptable. In this way authors and translators may have taken that concept advantageously, concocting stories and terming it as part of the Arab culture. This may explain the many translations in Europe. In 1704, Antoine Galland’s French translation would be the first European version of the Nights. “Later volumes were introduced using Galland’s name though the stories were written by unknown persons at the behest of the publisher wanting to capitalize on the popularity of the collection”. In the 19th, a plethora of different publications gained popularity and therefore the need for more volumes and different stories created the opportunities. Authors could now come in and write stories to make the 1,001 stories of the Nights. In 1814, the British East India Company published the first earliest existing Arabic version. This publication had two volumes with 100 tales in each. So now we see the correlation between the Arabic part of the Nights.
When speaking about the stories themselves, they are certainly mythical and it may seem absurd to think of them outside the realm of fantasy, however, this can be viewed in a different light. Inspiration behind the stories can be just as important as the stories, I say this because if another author was to be inspired and correlate then the stories may bring an extension or even change a certain feel of the stories. This illustrates that to concentrate more on the stories as narratives out of history tell us why 1001 Nights is so unique. I found the depiction of Harun Al-Rashid as interesting and quite peculiar. He is a well-known ruler in Islam and is quite a significant figure, not as much positive as negative. A cynical tone is used to describe him in both 1001 Nights and within Islam, which makes many wonder why his light is polluted.
He seems to be a tyrant who only seems to care about self-interest, and this makes us wonder about the actual history and delve deeper into the aspects of character development within novels. How does the character progress? Does he/she continue its tyrannical ways or learn to rule better? These questions are important to relate to when one is trying to portray a character which is also significant to the role. If we bring this point into the bigger picture, we see that it doesn’t really have much relevancy, per say. The commercialisation of the tales took priority over the quality of the tales. It was effort which much of the mainstream public didn’t much care fore or consider. It wouldn’t have mattered to the public how accurate the history of the Middle East was, as long as it continues its genre and style. Which brings me to my next point.
Initially, when I started delving deeper into the ‘Arabian dimension’ I had attempted to tackle the problem of religion and it’s correlation to the Nights over the years. How had people interpreted Islam and to what extent did they use religion to portray a more alluring story. With this intent I attempted to single out notions which might’ve helped me see through different perspectives.
“This slip from story to ethnography has been very damaging to Muslims in both western discourse and policy.” This statement added to my understanding of how the stories perhaps created an illusion which exaggerated non-existent characteristics. Which had intially got me thinking was the ‘Arabian’ style a front to include stories of eroticism and fantasy which otherwise would have been deemed taboo or unrespectable at that time. And in this light stereotypes or portrayal of behavior which weren’t accurately represented.
Additionally, it seems that there are a numerous ways to interpret what was going on in the writers’ mind before they wrote the stories. “These tales, however, present a disturbing aspect to the modern reader. Women in The Arabian Nights are often conniving and voraciously adulterous,” once again this may well explain how the culture of the writers’ time may have continues to affect their writing. It can also show how an appeal to the male audience may have been preferred. A chain of events which continued to perhaps pollute the minds and infect them with a misrepresentation of their own biases. This way we could begin to assume how not only should we take the stories with a bit of curiosity but also approach it with a bit of skepticism.
How had the authors perceived Islam when they wrote their tales? Did it even matter to them what Islam stood for as a religion or did they ignore this for advertising purposes or to appeal the audience? As a result of this how did the society react to the Arab culture? Questions like this make us think about how any period in history would create and spread their views. The Nights tell us how much of an impact the behind-the-scenes have been on the wider audience. Why many muslims continue to deny the book of having Arab authenticity. Reading and spreading something which is not morally allowed in a religion appeals to the audience but brings a false sense of representation to the public. Why should one culture judge another because of a fictional text they have come across which wasn’t even authentic in terms of the religion.
Now I’ll move on and attempt to go in depth with a tale from the Nights and speak about the correlations between the prior topics and the tale if there is to be made any. The Fisherman and the ‘Ifrit is a tale I would like to go dive into.
The story is fairly simple in terms of its moral capacity, but in terms of the portrayal of culture and religion. We see that there are references to Solomon and David (both prophets in Islam and known in the Bible as well), certain phrases and titles of God which are supposedly more familiar in Islam such as
“There is no might and no power except with God, the Exalted, the Omnipotent”, Invoking the Name of God, “There is no god but the God of Solomon, His prophet. Prophet of God” along with the relative phrase of ‘peace be upon him’ in terms of the concept. Interestingly, it almost seems like there has been a bland of different cultures to produce such a tale. There seems authenticity of inclusion of a religion, with a remarkable attention to detail.
“I rebelled against Solomon, the son of David, on both of whom be peace. Solomon sent his vizier, Asaf, to fetch me to him under duress, and I was forced to go with him in a state of humiliation to stand before Solomon”
Pay attention to the name Asaf, a title which I had recognised instantly as I had read about him in the Quran prior to the Nights. Asaf or Asif bin Barkhiya was a grand vizier of Prophet Solomon and is also referred to a few ayats from the Quran…
One mighty jinn responded, “I can bring it to you before you rise from this council of yours. And I am quite strong and trustworthy for this ˹task˺.” [Quran 27:39]. But the one who had knowledge of the Scripture said,1 “I can bring it to you in the blink of an eye.” So when Solomon saw it placed before him, he exclaimed, “This is by the grace of my Lord to test me whether I am grateful or ungrateful. And whoever is grateful, it is only for their own good. But whoever is ungrateful, surely my Lord is Self-Sufficient, Most Generous.” [Quran 27:40].
The alarming similarities in the concepts made me wonder, to what extent had the authors gone for relevancy. It seemed that each story had extensions of some parts of Islam, for the more seemingly fantasy parts. This now shows a development in the case of cultural diversity and learning across a period of time. Many may not have known Asif as a figure in Islam especially without many verses in the Quran about him. Details such as names like these would go to prove immeasurable interest in Islam. Increasing engagement within Islam reimagines what we had previously thought of. Rather than commercialising entirely on Islam for money, some authors may have dedicated to perhaps influence the people’s behavior, attitude and beliefs. It certainly changed mine. In terms of morality we see aspects of ego, the greater good, evil, hatred and metaphysical properties. The fisherman had continued to throw down his net, saying a prayer each time but failing to pick up something of use apart from the last one. Faith and submission in tales may have also been commissioned to ensure that the growing public does not deviate from a state of goodness. If the stories were to incite violence to a high degree, the interest of the people would slowly deviate from the original mindset. Therefore, necessary punishments and the protagonist being wronged due to evil and then returning to their natural state of purity would be conventional.
The addition of many concepts with the Nights may have been difficult to adapt to. Rather, gradual adaptation of the books to suit to what the public demanded would ensure that the appropriate relevancy of the culture would be portrayed.
As we read the Nights we come to an understanding how the frame story relate to the interior stories (or the stories told by Shahrazad).
However, it is vital we move on to ensure we cover the points necessary to show the posterity involving the Nights. Two different works will be attempted to examined. The Iraqi Nights, a poem by Dunya Mikhail and The Adventures of Prince Achmed a film by Lotte Reiniger. In their perspectives, both pieces of work have a lot to say about their time and portrayal of the concepts.
“With irony and subversive simplicity, Mikhail addresses themes of war, exile, and loss, using forms such as reportage, fable, and lyric”, Dunya Michael is an Iraqi American poet born in Baghdad. Translated to English by Kareem James Abu-Zeid, The Iraqi Nights is a poem with metaphors and imagery integrated in a format which is able to express her meaning whilst allowing her to keep her life. It would be difficult to write about the whole poem so I have singled out the first and sixth paragraph to examine.
1.
In the first year of war
they played “bride and groom”
and counted everything on their fingers:
their faces reflected in the river;
the waves that swept away their faces
before disappearing;
and the names of newborns.
Then the war grew up
and invented a new game for them:
the winner is the one
who returns from the journey
alone,
full of stories of the dead
as the passing wings flutter
over the broken trees;
and now the winner must tow the hills of dust
so lightly that no one feels it;
and now the winner wears a necklace
with half a metal heart for a pendant,
and the task to follow
is to forget the other half.
The war grew old
and left the old letters,
the calendars and newspapers,
to turn yellow
with the news,
with the numbers,
and with the names
of the players.
As we read the poem and begin to understand the words, we instantly see the concepts of war, time and death in her choice of words. Almost as if she was attempting to satisfy a lifelong pain with the moderate relativity of the depth of her words. Indeed, they say a lot but in terms of the Nights, we can also see a few similarities. Overlapping concepts and ideas which may have inspired aspects of the poem. First, there is “In the first year of war they played ‘bride and groom’,” a revelation of what must refer to the frame story of the Nights. King Shahriyar plays bride and groom over the course of a night with the females of his kingdom. Next, “the winner is the one who returns from the journey alone”, and perhaps a bit of a stretch, this may go as far as suggesting the fact that the one who would ‘win’ the game would be the one to stay alive.
6.
The earth circled the sun
once more
and not a cloud
nor wind
nor country
passed through my eyes.
My shadow,
imprisoned in Aladdin’s lamp,
mirrors the following:
a picture of the world with you inside,
light passing through a needle’s eye,
scrawlings akin to cuneiform,
hidden paths to the sun,
dried clay,
tranquil Ottoman pottery,
and a huge pomegranate, its seeds
scattered all over Uruk.
This paragraph attempts a more direct approach to the concepts. Names and a higher level of imagery illustrated.
This may indicate an approach towards end or conclusion of the poem as it would be the second-last stanza. “My shadow, imprisoned in Aladdin’s lamp, mirrors the following: a picture of the world with you inside…”, this time Aladdin’s lamp is referred to as something mythical. Something which entraps the soul or part of the body rather than a third party, or genie. We notice that Mikhail’s tendency to include a second party continues to express a part of her emotions. Trapped by a nightmare she keeps waking up into. As if the shadow is nothing but her desires, which she has referred to an external factor she doesn’t wish to portray. But hide behind a front she has put on, a mask to hide her fears and/or insecurities. Of course, there will always be a psychological perspective to take but this piece I believe is more responsible in terms of its cultural place. She brings emotion into a battle, continuously fighting its subconscious.
Next, we move on to The Adventures of Prince Achmed, which as I had previously figured attempted to show me more aspects than I had originally foreshadowed. The film had portrayed characters with seemingly racial prejudices, however upon further inspection and examination this wasn’t the case. Released in 1926, Germany, it would have been easy to assume such ideas. To explain this, I will try engaging in Marina Warner’s book Stranger Magic. Specifically, Chapter 19 — The Shadows of Lotte Reiniger.
“After the war, Reineger’s iconography, with its occassionally racialise, cartoonish aspects, betrayed the prejudices of her time: the caricatures Chinese, the African features of her witches and goblins, the apparently exaggerated Semitic profile of the enchanter himself became uncomfortable stereotypes in the post-war period”
Her portrayal of ‘the African Magician’ were accidental stereotypes, ‘emerged to define an enemy within and were used to entrench anti-Semitism. Interestingly, this has come down so far from the plot it seems as if we have completely forgotten about the culture within the stories to be portrayed. The Islamic aspect. Of course, it would have been necessary to portray the Muslim characteristics for a story which seems to be originating from that corner. However, apart from the general aesthetic we cannot spot any exemplary characteristics. On the other hand, perhaps, this film was an emphasis on the portrayal of new mechanisms in the film industry. New ways to offer entertainment and this would have been an optimal time to show a ‘magical’ and ‘different’ storyline (involving a culture which hadn’t had much light thrown on) as a door to more possibilities. Perhaps the storyline was an addition to a never seen technology before, giving the whole film a new look and feel.
The influence of the Nights is obviously seen. From the clothing, to the eroticism, magic, fantasy, hierarchy and even its moral capacity. It’s hard to imagine anything else. One would even go as far to assume that the film wasn’t even made in Germany. The influence of the Nights has allowed for a transformation in the ability of different cultures to see another culture and its representation. Till now we have examined and discussed the different ways in which people understood and appreciated cultural values and perspectives in light of the Nights. We have also seen how people have used the Nights to engage the public in a positive or negative way. How perhaps the relevancy of the Islamic culture has taken precedence over the commercial side and in some cases the Islamic culture has been undermined. What we also notice is the lengths some have gone too to preserve and translate publications for the people. Almost as if it represents ways in which other cultural texts have been seen and differed in the relative audience.
I have come to the realisation that people need a constant psychological need to look at perceive the different cultures. Their works, characters, belief and behaviors most accurately represent how one culture views the other. Their collective judgement. This may even explain why much of the Arab culture refuses to accept the Nights as something to be entirely authentic to Arabs. Their present and past knowledge denies something such as this to be accepted whether personally or publicly. One’s personal diversification makes up and represents the public interest in cultural diversity. And we continue to see how this reflects in all of us. Our interest in something different to our lives and in no way could have been thought of by our environment and culture supercedes the morality of it.
The Nights have been in Europe, Asia, Middle East and the general Western side. They have shaped internally and externally our pre-existing and present thoughts of the cultures around us. A natural interest which brings us closer without us consciously realising it. I would love to add to this piece sometime later as I examine the Russian literature I plan on reading. Because the Nights is only an example of the plethora of texts and works which best reflected the minds of that time and culture to now be examined by the present time and culture. Only decreasing the relative distance between the past, present and future.
Bibliography
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(2020) Digital.library.adelaide.edu.au. Available at: https://digital.library.adelaide.edu.au/dspace/bitstream/2440/18792/2/02whole.pdf (Accessed: 30 November 2020).
The Iraqi Nights by Dunya Mikhail | Poetry Foundation (2020). Available at: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/88939/the-iraqi-nights (Accessed: 30 November 2020).
The Adventures of Prince Achmed (2015). Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Adventures_of_Prince_Achmed (Accessed: 30 November 2020).
(2020) Coursehero.com. Available at: https://www.coursehero.com/lit/The-Arabian-Nights/the-fisherman-and-the-demon-summary/ (Accessed: 30 November 2020).
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