The Early Middle East

Material objects were of value.

Female slave singers were concealed behind an expensive drapery of some sort. The value of music prevailed in the Arabic culture despite "religious and social barriers of the time." The Middle Eastern Arabian culture followed in the foot steps of Persian culture.

Slavery was kept in-tact by Islam as an "ancient Semitic institution."

Possessing a slave with astounding singing abilities was quite valuable. Wealthy men would buy and train female and male slaves to sing and then sell them for a hefty price.

Men would not emancipate their female slaves without marrying her to a man able to provide.

“The Arabian Nights: A Mirror of Islamic Culture in the Middle Ages”

This article, written by F. Rofail Farag, can be found in JSTOR.

 

Watch This! The Thousand and One Nights

http://learner.org/courses/worldlit/the-thousand-and-one-nights/watch/

This video gives a great overview of One Thousand and One Nights!


"This is a game of telephone that went on for 600 years, over thousands of storytellers."

"They're living tales"

"[These texts are] from all over the place."

"Some of the most famous stories today, were never there originally...now they appear in Arabic texts translated back from French...each version of One Thousand and One Nights is written by someone for some particular kind of audience."
 

One Thousand and One Nights: Abdullah the Fisherman and Abdullah the Merman Brief Plot

      "The main character, Abdullah the Fisherman, gains the ability to breathe underwater and discovers an underwater society that is portrayed as an inverted reflection of society on land. The underwater society follows a form of primitive communism where concepts like money and clothing do not exist."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mermaid#One_Thousand_and_One_Nights

http://www.wollamshram.ca/1001/Vol_9/tale163.htm

The Little Mermaid: Story Behind the Story

       This video is bonus material from the platinum edition DVD of Disney's The Little Mermaid. It shows how the Disney version evolved from Andersen's version.

Disney was wrong.....WHAT?

The Little Mermaid Brief Plot

       The little mermaid, wishing to have an eternal soul, makes a deal with the sea witch. In exchange for her voice, she is given legs. If the little mermaid does not succeed in getting the prince’s love, she will dissolve into the sea. In the end, however, she does gain an immortal soul because of her great effort in attaining one. She has become a daughter of the air. Through good deeds, the little mermaid will eventually be able to rise into the kingdom of God.