There was and there was not a king and queen who were childless. One day a dervish came by who was selling mountain apples. He cried his produce saying they would help the childless to conceive. The king asked the dervish about the apples. “Will it really do as you say?” “Indeed,” said the holyContinue reading “Palestinian Folktale: Nani, Daughter of Nani.”
Tag Archives: palestinian folktales
Fairytales from the Holy Land, 2017
I found this gem while looking for printings of Hanauer’s Folk-lore of the Holy Land. There are only six tales but they are told with much passion and vivacity. They really are a delight, besides my joy at finding Palestinian fairy tales I haven’t read before. Some were similar to ones found in other collections.Continue reading “Fairytales from the Holy Land, 2017”
Contes populaires de Palestine, 2003
This little book contains stories found elsewhere, in collections such as Speak, Bird, Speak Again! and Arab Folktales, but there are a few that are new. TABLE Le roi des oiseaux [The King of the Birds] Jloûkoum [Jloukoum] La ruse d’Abou l-Housayn [The Cleverness of Abou Housayn] L’oiselle demoiselle [Little Miss Bird] Châhîn [Shahin] CelleContinue reading “Contes populaires de Palestine, 2003”
Arab Folktales from Palestine and Israel, 1998
Arab Folktales from Palestine and Israel by Raphael Patai. There is a lot to unpack with this one. I could simply say that it is of its time but that wouldn’t really suffice. There is a lot of orientalism here, even at first glance. In general, the approach seems to be that if you readContinue reading “Arab Folktales from Palestine and Israel, 1998”
Les Septs Crins Magiques et Autres Contes de Palestine, 2011
Les Sept Crins Magiques et Autres Contes de Palestine, by Praline Gay-Para and Louise Heugel is a delightful little book. The stories were told originally by Fakhri Habib Ghnayyim of Beit Jala, Taghrid Abou-Srour from Bethlehem, while others are from collections by Inea Bushnaq and Sonia Nimr. Sommaire/ SUMMARY Les deux frères [The Two Brothers]Continue reading “Les Septs Crins Magiques et Autres Contes de Palestine, 2011”
An Illustrated Treasury of Palestinian Folktales Vol. 1, 2014
These stories are a delight. There are princes, princesses, village beauties, jealous cousins, magic, genies, and more all in one tiny book! I immediately told these to the pleasure of my audience who asked if there were more, and there are! This is only the first volume of the collection. I am unsure if theContinue reading “An Illustrated Treasury of Palestinian Folktales Vol. 1, 2014”
Bible Tales in Arab Folk-Lore, 1928
My newest acquisition! Bible Tales in Arab Folk-Lore by Joseph Meyouhas, translated from Hebrew by Victor N. Levi. Once again, it is quotation time and once again, there is some disturbingly racist material in the introduction: The modern Syrian Arabs are descended in unbroken, if not in racially pure, lineage from the Philistines, Canaanites andContinue reading “Bible Tales in Arab Folk-Lore, 1928”
Folk-lore of the Holy Land Moslem, Christian and Jewish, 1907
Folk-lore of the Holy Land by J.E. Hanauer is available in full at the wonderful Sacred Text Archive where it was digitized in 2006. Both the archivists commentary and that of the author himself are very fraught and racist. It is a difficult read for this reason, and yet there is some fantastic material here.Continue reading “Folk-lore of the Holy Land Moslem, Christian and Jewish, 1907”
Pearls on a Branch, 2018
Today we’re looking at the youngest collection of tales that I’ve come across so far: Pearls on a Branch: Oral Tales by Najla Jraissaty Koury, translated by Inea Bushnaq. As with some other collections, it is unclear which stories originally had Palestinian tellers. The tales were gathered via a traveling theatre troup who toured PalestinianContinue reading “Pearls on a Branch, 2018”
Palestinian Folktales Project Update
Two years ago I began writing a collection of Palestinian folktales. I finished the rough draft of volume one: retellings of Palestinian fables and animal stories when I had to change computers. I was using Scrivener and *thought* I had responsibly backed up the file. I had not. It was gone. Undaunted, I started over.Continue reading “Palestinian Folktales Project Update”