A Motif Index of Alf Laylah Wa Laylah - Essay Example

1. A Critical Review of the Research Paper: A Motif Index of Alf Laylah Wa Laylah: Its Relevance to the Study of Culture, Society, the Individual, and Character Transmutation Hasan El-Shamy, Indiana University In examining this research paper, there can be no doubt that the knowledge, scholarship, motives and integrity of the writer are of the highest quality. However, the contents, presentation and overall coherence of the work may present difficulties for many readers. The convoluted sentences, numerous footnotes, digressions and repetitions within the text do not make for ease of understanding. He states in the Introductory Statement what the essay is based on, these being three tried and tested principles in the context of treating folklore as behavior and labeled "Folkloric Behavior" but appears not to fully adhere to the thesis. It is accepted that his concentration on Alf Laylah in particular to expand his thesis and Arab Islamic culture in general is the main point of the exercise. These three issues may be interpreted as follows: 1. The narratives of Alf Laylah (The Arabian Nights) are literary representations of traditional folktales. They were also probably in told orally at the time the book was being written. Scribes and clerics wrote them, using insha which can be termed style (rhetorical, bombastic, colored by the male viewpoint of the clerics and their religious nature in the Arab Moslem world at the time. This point is reiterated and expanded upon several times during the paper. 2. Folklore is learned by those who know it and share it, it encompasses all aspects of the learning process of motivation, stimuli, response, retention, recall etc. So it needs to be looked at in terms of learning rather than explained via psychological interpretations. 2. 3. Every social group and individual has lore, differences in how it is presented depending on its degree of traditionality and formularization, in other words, how it fits into the lives of the persons or society which own it, and the way in which they present it. El-Shamy is concerned that the folk traditions of Arab Islamic cultures have either been ignored or misinterpreted thus far in research, interpretation and indexing and so his intention is to put this right, by the creation of a new Motif Index. He cites his goal as follows: The goal of the proposed work is to identify the literary and sociocultural themes described in Alf Laylah and to correlate these themes to their counterparts in international indexes of folk literature and related fields. (El-Shamy, p239, 2005) Typology and Classification: The crux of these can be explained simply. The scholars seeking to examine cultures and methods of identification of various aspects of folklore tradition set up ways to classify their findings. Two of these were tale-type and motif. The history of how these were devised and implemented for use then follows, with a reference to the Finnish folk epic Kalevala and its indexing. We learn that Antti Aarne, with a Historical-Georgraphical method, used the tale-type as a research tool, (circa 1910) and that Stith Thompson adapted this and expanded it in 1928 and 1961. The way it works is then explained at length, with much numbering and listing, and also with much digression into who else has had a try but missed out in understanding the importance and meanings of Alf Laylah. This is a continuous theme throughout the paper which serves to obscure rather than clarify the main points. Finally we understand what a tale type is and how it has been referenced and indexed to date. The term tale-type stands for a recurrent full folk story usually found crossculturally. (El-Shamy, p214 2005) The Motif is another device for classification and Thompson takes the tale-types, gives them a motif letter from A to Z and also gives them an Arabic number. The motif can be applied to what folk groups are saying about their own environment across a broader spectrum - social, cultural 3. and psychological. Again El-Shamy provides examples for how this works, at some length. The reader would be better served by one or two passages from Alf Laylah, with their indexing attached rather than long lists, interspersed with digression and reference to footnotes. The system of tale types and motifs are a cross-referencing system which allows researchers to trace recurrent themes and attempt to make links as well as discover which traditions they arise from. It is interesting to note that reference is made to the similarities of motifs which Thompson ascribed to Ireland and Italy, and El-Shamy rightly points out that a motif index (such as he intends to create) would help to discover from which traditional model the motif arose. The following sections on Islam and the Narrative, Written and Oral Traditions, Alf Laylah Texts and Oral Traditional Tales again castigate earlier indexes for the absence of Arab Islamic works. Insight is provided regarding the Islamic religious views of writing tales and telling them if they were not the true word of God, a tenet also held by Judaism and Christianity. Stories should be religious, about one God and historical in content. Many sources are quoted here to back this up. Narrators were expelled from mosques and brilliant stories were suppressed. We learn also that Alf Laylah was rarely told, it was written down and read alone or to listeners. The differences between Alf Laylah texts and oral stories are stated as 1. insha - style of writing (outlined at the beginning), 2. blatant eroticism and 3. narrative plots and details. The first two are linked to the clerics worldview, religious dogma, language and grammar, of which there follows much detail. By employing these styles and rules, the folktale is upgraded from the vernacular, sexual activity is almost equated with prayer and pilgrimage and the result is, it loses its clarity and accuracy. In discussing Plots and Narratives, with regard to earlier indexing and research tools, El-Shamy reiterates: ...were developed with almost total absence of Arab and Islamic data as well as the literatures of ancient Middle Eastern civilizations. (El-Shamy p250 2005) This constant criticism and examples of where the others went wrong prevents the reader from 4. understanding the point and does nothing to present the thesis clearly. The aspects of Arab Islamic culture which have not been properly acknowledged are shown, together with details of what can be construed as "the wrong way to do it." An area for improvement is that of religion and religious themes. Citing Chapter V in Motif-Index, references to conversion only give Islam a general mention under V330, while conversion to Judaism has its own reference V336, and Christianity is V331. His references would address this deficiency as follows: Mohammed as prophet (founder) V215.0 {section sign} conversion to Islam V333 {section sign}. (El-Shamy, p. 51) He would also add new index motifs for Abraham and Moses, all referenced to Alf Laylah. The method of presentation here misses an opportunity to link traditional Islamic cultural issues such as religion, sexual and social male-female relationships, kinship, the legalities of marriage and divorce, and so forth, more closely with the modern Islamic world. This is after all, what El-Shamy is seeking to achieve with his motif indexing. There are so many examples and convoluted explanations that it is difficult to extract the salient points. If these issues were more clearly separated and given clear illustrative examples from Alf Laylah with a modern interpretation alongside, the paper would meet its goal more effectively. On the topic of economics, he manages to make that link with more clarity. Explaining that merchants, trading, buying and selling are an intrinsic part of the culture and the traditional folk tales both in Alf Laylah and other Arab lore, the reader can see how Islamic culture perceives the wealthy merchant to be good. The Sinbad narrative cycle he refers to allows us to understand how the development of maritime trade and great wealth portray the ethos of capitalism within its motifs and tales. The religious Islamic principle of sharing through voluntary philanthropy, rather than the ideals of socialism is interesting and transferable to the modern world, and at the same time, offers some explanation as to why socialism has not succeeded in Arab and Moslem countries. 5. Creation, birth, human creativity, the character of women, are alleged to have been misrepresented and incorrectly indexed - again. On p 261, he speaks of theories with racial overtones, but goes on to talk at length about gender. Nor is he happy to apply universally accepted concepts or theories such as Freuds Oedipal theory to Arab Islamic society. Is El-Shamy saying that Western theories or findings are deliberately alien to and aggressive towards Islamic culture, writings and beliefs? Cited as incorrect, with regard to the Shahrzad tale, Susanne Enderwitz and Fedwa Malti-Douglas have totally misread and misunderstood Eastern culture and how women are within in. The Burton translation of this tale, used to illustrate his points, is a useful and enlightening tool, which, as has already been stated, had it been used throughout, would have served the purpose of clarifying the whole paper much better than lists and cross-references etc. The story of Mohammeds daughter Fatimah is a good example too, of informing the reader, not just about the way it was in the tales, but by inference, how in Moslem society, men have the power, women take the blame. The Concluding Statement is the most easily understood part of this paper, with quite sensibly expressed ideas and conclusions. It encapsulates the ideas that folk cultures, literature and traditions play a large part in enlightening the modern researcher in many fields. The final words appear to contain what could be construed as good advice, or a possible warning: As current drastic political events amply demonstrate, understanding folk traditions of the Arab World is of critical importance to scholars, policy-makers and laymen. (El-Shamy, p268 2005) My own conclusions are that this is not a stand-alone research essay. The reader needs to be familiar with the works of El-Shamy, the folk tales themselves, the work of others, specifically Aarne and Thompson and generally, many of the experts quoted throughout the text and the footnotes. It does not take any other folk groups into account; where appropriate, these would have added relevance to the work and supported the thesis. For example, on p. 243, he mentions that 6. Thompsons motifs show similarities between Italy and Ireland. By providing an example of another cultures tales, he might then be able to link these and add to his references. In particular, "Oisin in the Land of Youth (Delaney, 1989 pp 85-96) demonstrates the motifs A, Mythological, D. Magic, K, Deceptions, W, Traits of Character and possibly F, Marvels, all from Thompsons Motif-Index. This would also support points two and three in his introductory statement. There are too many lists, too much detail in some areas, and not enough in others. (Namely, what is wrong with other index systems and tools and not enough illustrative examples to clarify his own). But it must be accepted, it is about a new index system, his own. El-Shamy is thorough in his citing of other writers and their works, even if to overturn their methods and theories in favor of his own. The paper is not unbiased, though it goes some way towards giving the reader an understanding of Moslem culture, religion, tradition, politics, roles in society and psychology, and how these in folklore, impact on the modern world. Works Cited Delaney, Frank. Legends of the Celts Hodder and Stoughton, 1989. London, Sydney, Auckland and Toronto. El-Shamy, Hasan A Motif Index of Alf Laylah wa Laylah: Its Relevance To The Study of Culture Society, The Individual, and Character Transmutation Indiana University 2005. Journal of Arabic Literature, XXXVI,3. Copyright Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden 2005 Read More