The Last Storytellers

After witnessing first-hand the death throes of this rich and captivating tradition, Richard Hamilton has tracked down the last few remaining storytellers of Morocco, recording stories that are replete with the mysteries and beauty of the Maghreb.

Marrakech is the heart and lifeblood of Morocco's ancient storytelling tradition. For nearly a thousand years, storytellers have gathered in the Jemaa el Fna, the legendary square of the city, to recount ancient folktales and fables to rapt audiences.

But this unique chain of oral tradition that has passed seamlessly from generation to generation is teetering on the brink of extinction. The competing distractions of television, movies and the internet have drawn the crowds away from the storytellers and few have the desire to learn the stories and continue their legacy.

Moroccan tales have a huge educational, religious and moral impact on their audience, offering timeless values and guidance to all who listen. With their passing we risk losing something of Morocco's national psyche and also part of the world's tangible heritage.

Those who have listened to the storytellers at Marrakech first-hand have witnessed something that is no longer part of this world, a treasure as precious as the planet's most endangered species and of immeasurable importance to humanity.

Foreword: Circles in the Jemaa el Fna xiii
Author's Note
Acknowledgements

Introduction

The Red Lantern
The King and His Prime Minister
The Gazelle with the Golden Horns
The Imam and the Wager
The Girl Who Fell in Love with the Hermit
The Birth of the Sahara
The Trials of Noureddine
The Sultan and His Vizier's Wife
The Queen and the King, the Son of Amelkani
Nour and the Sultan
The Laundryman and the Fountain
The Man Who Went Against His Father's Wishes
The Vizier and the Chicken
The Fakir and the Frog
The Two Hunchbacks
El-Ghaliya Bent Mansour
The Land and the Treasure
The Statue and the Robber
The Tailor, the Princess and the Eagle
The Sultan and the Thief
The Eyes of Ben'Adi
The Shoemaker and the Bird
The Vizier and the Barber
Seven Coins and a Donkey
The Sultan's Daughter and the Leper
The Nobleman and His Three Sons
The Vengeance of Allah
The Woman and the Black Cat
Aicha Rmada
The Traveller and the Pasha's Daughter
The Girl from Fes
One Hundred and One Beheadings
The Three Figs
Suleiman, the Stork and the City of Gold
The Woman and the Devil
The Bird from the Land of Gabour
The Pomegranate and the Talking Drum
The Date Gatherers
The Rich Woman and the Sacks of Corn

Postscript