Story: From One Sindbad to Another

Basra. Web Source: Wikipedia.

You have undoubtedly heard of my illustrious predecessor, Sindbad the Sailor. I too had heard of his fabulous adventures among mystical, magical places, and most of all of his limitless wealth. If I could just have had one of his invaluable diamonds I would have been a happier person.

Unfortunately for me, I was born the son of a baker in 19th century Iraq, and had no diamonds nor any other source of wealth. On an ordinary day, I worked in my father's shop during the day and walked along the beach in the evening. The sea is far and away the best part of living in Basra. 

One day, one of my customers stopped me as I was putting his loaves in a bag. "I believe I have seen you before, in the port. Are you a sailor?" 

"No sir. I do visit the port occasionally." 

"What is your name?" 

"Sindbad, sir." 

"Sindbad? What a coincidence, so is mine." 

It was from him that I learned that Sindbad the Sailor is more than a single man. He passed on his wealth and blessing to the Sindbad to whom he told his stories in Alf Layla wa Layla, and from then on there has a been a Sindbad who sails around, finding adventures and wealth. Treasure by way of the sea was an offer I could not refuse, but there was more. 

"Just as Sindbad was sent by Harun Al-Rashid, Allah yarahamhu, to Serendib, there is need of Sindbad the Sailor's aid in Serendib today." 

You may know Serendib as Ceylon, the name the British gave it, or Sri Lanka, the name it has as an independent nation in your time. As we in Iraq were well aware, the British were very interested in that time in spreading their imperial reach, particularly through the powerful East India Company. My mission was to join King Sri Vikrama Rajasinha of Kandy, the Serendib kingdom of the time. I set off on a ship that my predecessor Sindbad recommended to me. 

If you are familiar with the stories of Sindbad, you will not be surprised that I was shipwrecked on my way to Kandy. Even though I now knew that Sindbad was a historical figure, I still doubted that all of his tales were true. As I mentioned, I was more interested in treasure than in mythical figures. But in my search for treasure, I fell down a cliff into a valley filled with giant snakes. As you might imagine, I immediately began running for my life. As I ran, a great shadow fell upon us. The snakes began hissing in terror, and to my shock I could understand them. They were as terrified of the shadow - the roc - as I was of them. The roc swooped low, and dropped something large down on the valley. It was an elephant. The snakes slithered away into caves, but I stayed, my eyes wide with amazement at this huge creature, who began nuzzling me with his trunk. 

Snake; Roc; Elephant. Web Sources: Notey; Wikipedia; World Wildlife Fund.

The elephant too could talk. I was equally surprised by its grasp of geopolitics as by its gentleness. The roc in its flight had seen the actions of the British, and the elephants had seen the rise in hunters seeking ivory. They had come to rally the snakes, but the snakes were too frightened of the roc to parlay. The elephant had come as a mediator, and enlisted me as an aide. I told him of my mission to help save Kandy, which stirred all of their sympathies. 

With the help of the elephants, roc and kin, and giant snakes, the Kandyan army succeeded in besting the might of the British empire, at least for a time. They did not succeed in keeping their independence, but I am sure one of my successors will be around when they regain it. 

And as for me? In gratitude for my help in mediating between them and their enemy the roc, the snakes gave me a handful of magnificent diamonds that kept me and my family in comfort. I returned to the bakery, and found it a relaxing respite after my adventures. With the money from the diamonds, I was able to help those of my neighbors and customers who were in need, until the time when I would take up the mantle of Sindbad once again.

Author's Note: In the original story, Sindbad tells his tales to another man, also named Sindbad. I thought it made sense that this Sindbad would also go one to have adventures, and would pass the title down. I put it in a different historical context to connect in Serendib, and had the elephant as an intermediary between the roc and the snakes since the elephants were originally on a different island.

Bibliography: Andrew Lang's The Arabian Nights' Entertainments, link. 

Reading Notes: Folklore of the Holy Land, Part B

Al-Khidr. Web Source: Wikipedia.

One theme from the first half of the reading that came up again in the second is the search for eternal life. This is a pretty common theme around the world, including in the Epic of Gilgamesh, but I was somewhat surprised to find it in when the characters expect to life forever in Paradise. Adam wished for fruit from the tree of life but did not get it. Abraham and Moses were both, at least according to some accounts, promised the possibility of choosing their own time of death, but had to be tricked into choosing it as neither of them wanted to die. I am curious as to what the relationship is between these folktales and the Quran. 

I was very surprised by the part of the story of David where he learned from his people that he ought to earn his own living - and actually took up a trade. I find it rather ironic that he became an armormaker, as when he fought Goliath he refused King Saul's armor. But I'm even more impressed that he actually took up a trade because his people thought it was right. While in general I do think it makes sense for the ruler to be compensated financially so they can focus on ruling and not have conflicts of interests, I appreciate the humility and desire for fairness that his actions show. 

El Khudr (or Al-Khidr) is interesting as he combines so many different figures, including Phinehas (a priest of Israel), Elijah the prophet, John the Baptist, Vishnu, and St. George. I am not entirely sure how he can be all of those people - I suppose each is a manifestation of the underlying, immortal person of Al-Khidr. It would be amusing if he had a friend who was also immortal and got very confused as to who he was whenever their paths crossed. 

Bibliography: J. E. Hanauer's Folklore of the Holy Land, link. 

Reading Notes: Folklore of the Holy Land, Part A

Jinns. Web Source: Wikipedia.

My main thoughts when reading these stories were on the similarities and differences with the stories I know about people such as Adam and Eve, Noah, and Abraham. There were, of course, a lot of parallels that I was expecting, so what caught my eye were the differences. However, this course is not about religion, so I will not go into details.

I was intrigued by the Tablet of Destiny, which reminded me of the tablet with the same name in Mesopotamian mythology, which I am doing my storybook on and actually led me to more information about it. According to Wikipedia, the Islamic one is actually called the Preserved Tablet, اللوح المحفوظ, and, like in the story, contains all that will and has happened.

The second piece of the creation story that was interesting from a story perspective was that God created the mind before he created humans. I wonder what that mind was thinking before it was part of humans.

I was highly amused by the comment about European doctors who think they know everything but do not let women chat with new mothers to protect them from jinn. Whether or not you believe in jinn, it does seem important for new mothers to have companionship and help. Here I think they tend to be somewhat isolated. It would be interesting to have a spin-off story about a new mother who is under the care of a Western doctor and her friends have to wage a secret war against the jinn.

Speaking of women, the part of Noah's story with the three types of women also stood out to me. In this story, Noah promises his daughter to three different men. When the first two, who have been gone longer than promised, return, he turns a donkey and a female dog into women to become their brides. Because of this, women are either wonderful and helpful, or share the characteristics of a donkey or a dog, according to this story anyway. Ouch.

Bibliography: J. E. Hanauer's Folklore of the Holy Land, link.