Myth-Folklore Unit: Ancient Egyptian Myths and Stories

Overview. Although Egypt is located in Africa, it becomes such an influential center of Arabic culture later on that I decided to include Ancient Egypt here in the Middle Eastern module. This selection of stories from Mackenzie's Egyptian Myth and Legend includes both mythology and folklore. You will read the story of the world's creation, along with the adventures of the gods and goddesses such as Ra, the sun-god; Hathor, the cow-goddess; and Thoth, the god of magic and the inventor of writing. The unit also includes the famous cycle of tales about the divine family of Osiris, Isis and Horus that explains how Osiris himself died and then became the ruler of the realm of the dead. The folktales, meanwhile, focus on stories of magic and the supernatural, including the story of the deadly rivalry between the two brothers, Anpu and Bata, and how they were finally reconciled.

Language. This book consists of retellings of Egyptian legends, not direct translations of the ancient Egyptian texts, so the language used should not cause any difficulties.

Story Length. This unit contains mostly single-page stories with a few longer stories.

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on two pages total: Ancient Egyptian Myths. Click "Older Posts" at the bottom of that page to see the second page.

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READING A:

1. Creation
2. The Secret Name of Ra
3. Ra and Hathor
4. The Sun's Journey
5. Osiris
6. The Death of Osiris
7. The Journey of Isis
8. King of the Dead
9. The Wax Crocodile
10. The Green Jewel

READING B:

1. The Two Brothers: Part One
2. The Two Brothers: Part Two
3. The Two Brothers: Part Three
4. The Two Brothers: Part Four
5. The Book of Thoth: Part One
6. The Book of Thoth: Part Two
7. The Book of Thoth: Part Three
8. The Tale of King Rhampsinitus

(Barque of the Sun-God, Ra)

Myth-Folklore Unit: Folklore of the Holy Land: Moslem, Christian and Jewish

Overview. This remarkable collection of stories — Folklore of the Holy Land: Moslem, Christian and Jewish — is centered on the city that is called Al-Quds in Arabic, Jerusalem in English. Most of the folktales are from the Muslim tradition, but there are also parallels included from Jewish and Christian sources; if you read the Adam and Eve, Noah or Jewish Fairy Tales last week, you will see a lot of overlap between the Jewish and Islamic legends. There are stories here about Adam, Eve, and Adam's first wife, Karineh (the Lilith of Jewish legend); you will read about Ibrahim (Abraham), also known as Khalil-Allah, the "friend of God," and there are also legends of Musa (Moses), Ayub (Job), and King Daud (David) along with his son Suleyman (Solomon). In addition, the selection includes a series of stories about El-Khidr, the mysterious "Green Man" of Islamic legend.

Connecting Units. If you read any of the extra-Biblical legends and stories in the first module (Adam and Eve, Noah, Infancy Gospels, Jewish Fairy Tales), you might really enjoy this unit!

Language. This book consists of retellings of the different religious legends, not direct translations of the ancient religious texts, so the language used should not cause any difficulties.

Story Length. This unit contains mostly single-page stories, including a long series of stories about Ibrahim (Abraham).

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on two pages total: Folklore of the Holy Land. Click "Older Posts" at the bottom of that page to see the second page.

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READING A:

1. Moslem Cosmogony
2. Moslem Cosmogony (cont.)
3. Our Father Adam
4. Noah
5. Job and His Family
6. Lokman
7. Abraham, the Friend of God
8. Abraham and Nimrod
9. Abraham: Mecca and Hebron
10. Abraham's Hospitality
11. Abraham's Resting Place

READING B:

1. Lot and the Tree of the Cross
2. The Deaths of Moses and Aaron
3. David
4. Solomon
5. El Khudr the Evergreen
6. Legends of El Khudr
7. Elijah and Saint George
8. El Khudr and Moses

(Islamic art: Adam and Eve)

Myth-Folklore Unit: Turkish Fairy Tales

Overview. This selection of stories from Ignacz Kunos's Forty-Four Turkish Fairy Tales features all kinds of peris (fairies), along with tales of magicians and wonder-working dervishes. There are lucky fools, brave princes, along with wise women and wicked women too. Every story in the book is lavishly illustrated by Willy Pogany, and many of the beautiful illustrations are woven directly into the text, which means I was not able to include them in the blog posts. As a result, you might prefer to read the facsimile book online in order to enjoy the beautiful layout and all the illustrations for each story, and I've included a link to the online book page for each story in case you want to do that!

Language. The book is written in contemporary English, so the language used should not pose any problems.

Story Length. This unit contains mostly single-page stories, along with a few two-page stories.

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on two pages total: Turkish Fairy Tales. Click "Older Posts" at the bottom of that page to see the second page.

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READING A:

1. Fear
2. Fear (cont.)
3. The Wizard-Dervish
4. The Wizard-Dervish (cont.)
5. The Fish-Peri
6. The Fish-Peri (cont.)
7. The Crow-Peri
8. The Crow-Peri (cont.)

READING B:

1. Patience-Stone and Patience-Knife
2. Patience-Stone and Patience-Knife (cont.)
3. The Imp of the Well
4. The Imp of the Well (cont.)
5. The Soothsayer
6. The Wizard and his Pupil
7. The Liver
8. Madjun
9. Kunterbunt

Myth-Folklore Unit: Georgian Folktales

Overview. Living in the Caucasus mountains of Central Asia, the people of Georgia stand at the meeting place of eastern Europe and western Asia, allied by religion with Orthodox Christianity and the cultural traditions of Byzantium on the one hand (most Georgians belong to the Georgian Orthodox Church), but also very much influenced by Persian and Turkish culture. In this selection of stories from Marjory Wardrop's Georgian Folk Tales, you will find tricksters bold enough to outwit even the devil himself, along with stories of inescapable fate and happy good fortune. There are tales of magic, dervishes, and demis (demons), plus some animal stories, and even a tale of Nasreddin, the "wise fool" whose exploits are famous throughout the Middle East and Central Asia.

Language. This book consists of retellings of Georgian folktales in contemporary English, so the language should not pose any difficulties.

Story Length. This unit contains only single-page stories, along with one page of proverbs.

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on two pages total: Georgian Folktales. Click "Older Posts" at the bottom of that page to see the second page.

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READING A:

1. Master and Pupil
2. Fate
3. The Serpent and the Peasant
4. The Two Brothers
5. The King and the Apple
6. The Three Precepts
7. The Cunning Old Man and the Demi
8. The Shepherd Judge
9. The Priest's Youngest Son
10. Mingrelian Proverbs

READING B:

1. The Strong Man and the Dwarf
2. The Grasshopper and the Ant
3. The King and the Sage
4. Teeth and No-Teeth
5. The Fool's Good Fortune
6. Two Losses
7. The Story of Dervish
8. The Father's Prophecy
9. The King's Counsellor
10. The Hermit Philosopher

Myth-Folklore Unit: Arabian Nights

Overview. You have probably heard of the storyteller Scheherazade and the "Arabian Nights," known in Arabic as Alf-Layla-wa-Layla, "The 1001 Nights" (Thousand-Nights-plus-Night). In this selection from The Arabian Nights' Entertainments, you will learn why telling these stories is a matter of life-and-death for the lovely Scheherazade, and you will also get to see the "nested" storytelling technique in action, when a character in a story tells a story of their own, and a character in that story in turns tells a story of their own, thus creating stories within stories within stories. You may even be familiar with some of the stories that Scheherazade tells; the tale of "Aladdin and the Lamp," for example, is one of the stories you will find in this unit.

Language. This book consists of a modern retelling of the Nights, rather than a direct translation of the medieval text, so the language should not pose any problems.

Story Length. This unit contains a series of nested single-page stories (stories within stories), along with one very long story, Aladdin.

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on two pages total: Arabian Nights. Click "Older Posts" at the bottom of that page to see the second page.

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Free audiobook available!

READING A:

1. Scheherazade
2. The Story of the Merchant and the Genius
3. The Story of the First Old Man and of the Hind
4. The Story of the Second Old Man, and of the Two Black Dogs
5. The Story of the Fisherman
6. The Story of the Greek King and the Physician Douban
7. The Story of the Parrot; The Story of the Ogress
8. The Story of the Physician's Revenge
9. The Story of the Sultan and the Fish
10. The Story of the Young King of the Black Isles

READING B:

1. Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp 1
2. Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp 2
3. Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp 3
4. Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp 4
5. Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp 5
6. Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp 6

Myth-Folklore Unit: The Voyages of Sindbad

Overview. The legend of Sindbad the Sailor is just one of the many delights contained in the book known as The Arabian Nights or the 1001 Nights. This reading unit, drawn from Lang's Arabian Nights' Entertainments, includes all seven voyages of Sindbad the Sailor as told in first-person by Sindbad himself. The first-person storytelling style makes these tales very similar to the stories of Odysseus, whose first-person account of his adventures at sea are found in Homer's Odyssey. It's clear, in fact, that the creator of the Sindbad legend was aware of Odysseus, as you will see Sindbad escaping from a one-eyed cannibal using the same trick that Odysseus used! That's just one of Sindbad's voyages, of course, and he has some unforgettable adventures of his own on the six other voyages.

Connecting Units. If you did the Odyssey unit in the Classical module, you might really enjoy looking at the voyages of Sindbad. The ancient Greek stories of Odysseus had a big influence on the Sindbad stories!

Language. This book consists of a modern retelling of the Nights, rather than a direct translation of the medieval text, so the language should not pose any problems.

Story Length. This unit contains mostly two-page stories, along with a few three-page stories.

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on two pages total: The Voyages of Sindbad. Click "Older Posts" at the bottom of that page to see the second page.

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Free audiobook available!

READING A:

1. First Voyage [The Island]
2. First Voyage (cont.)
3. Second Voyage [Valley of Diamonds]
4. Second Voyage (cont.)
5. Third Voyage [The Giant]
6. Third Voyage (cont.)
7. Third Voyage (end)
8. Fourth Voyage [The Wife]
9. Fourth Voyage (cont.)
10. Fourth Voyage (end)

READING B:

1. Fifth Voyage [The Old Man]
2. Fifth Voyage (cont.)
3. Sixth Voyage [The Raft]
4. Sixth Voyage (cont.)
5. Sixth Voyage (end)
6. Seventh and Last Voyage [The Elephants]
7. Seventh and Last Voyage (cont.)

(illustration by H. J. Ford)

Myth-Folklore Unit: Tutinameh, or Tales of a Parrot

Overview. This famous collection of stories is known as the Tutinama in Persian, or the Tales of a Parrot (tuti means "parrot" in Persian). The book is an adaptation of an earlier book written in Sanskrit, and it has a frametale that might remind you of 1001 Nights. The storyteller this time, though, is a parrot, a parrot whose master is away on business and whose mistress is getting ready to go meet her lover, committing adultery in her husband's absence. Each night, though, the parrot tells her a story that delays her; she is so curious to hear the story that every night she stays at home listening to the parrot and thus does not have time for the tryst with her lover. This unit contains twenty of the parrot's stories, along with an account of the surprising events that take place when the master of the house finally comes home!

Language. This is an early 19th-century English version of the Tutinameh, so the language is a little old-fashioned but should not pose any real problems.

Story Length. This unit contains only single-page stories.

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on two pages total: Tales of a Parrot. Click "Older Posts" at the bottom of that page to see the second page.

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READING A:

1. Miemun and Khojisteh
2. Khojisteh and the Parrot
3. The Parrot of Ferukh Beg
4. The Goldsmith, the Carpenter, the Taylor, and the Hermit
5. The King of Kinoje and his Daughter
6. The Fowler, the Parrot, and her Young Ones
7. The Merchant and His Wife
8. The Old Lion and the Cat
9. The Commander of the Frogs, and the Snake
10. Four Rich Persons who Became Poor
11. Besheer and a Woman Named Chunder

READING B:

1. Of a King and His Sons
2. The Merchant whose Daughter Was Lost
3. Of a Brahmin Falling in Love
4. The Son of the King of Babylon
5. The Merchant's Daughter
6. The Nobleman who Concealed a Snake in His Sleeve
7. The Soldier and the Goldsmith
8. Of the Merchant and the Barber
9. The Frog, the Bee, and the Bird
10. The Elk and the Ass
11. A King Falls in Love, and the End of Khojisteh

(Mughal Tutinama)

Myth-Folklore Unit: Persian Tales

Overview. The stories in this unit come from Persian Tales, a marvelous collection of fairy tales and legends translated from the Kermani and Bakhtiari dialects of the Persian language by David Lorimer and his wife Emily Lorimer when they were living in Iran during the early years of the 20th century. There are some wonderful animal stories here, along with stories of surreal and magical adventures, including two werewolf legends — two she-werewolf legends to be precise. There are stories about dervishes (holy men) who possess supernatural powers, along with tales of magical peris (Persian "fairies"), and also sinister demons called divs. The mysterious al-Khizr, the "Green Man" of Islamic folk tradition, also makes an appearance in one story!

Language. This is a modern English version of the fairy tales, so the language should not pose any difficulties. I've glossed the Persian words that appear in the text. Watch out especially for the word ash which is a thick Persian soup; it is not the English word "ash," as in ashes from a fire!

Story Length. This unit contains only single-page stories.

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on two pages total: Persian Tales. Click "Older Posts" at the bottom of that page to see the second page.

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READING A:

1. The Wolf and the Goat
2. The City of Nothing-in-the-World
3. Susku and Mushu
4. The Boy Who Became a Bulbul
5. The Wolf-Aunt
6. Nim Tanak, or Half-Boy
7. Muhammad Tirandaz, The Archer
8. The Praying Baker
9. The Sad Tale of the Mouse's Tail

READING B:

1. Fayiz and the Peri Wife
2. The Hemp-Smoker's Dream
3. The Story of the Wolf-Bride
4. The Man Who Went to Wake His Luck
5. Tortoise Bowl-On-The-Back and the Fox
6. The Shepherd Who Found a Treasure
7. The Merchant and the Saffron
8. Shah Abbas and the Poor Mother
9. The Apparition of the Prophet Khizr
10. The Story of the Baker and the Grateful Fish