ARABIC-L: LING: Storyteller discussion

[Dilworth B. Parkinson]

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Arabic-L: Wed 13 Jan 1999
Moderator: Dilworth Parkinson <dilworth_parkinson at byu.edu>
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-------------------------Directory-------------------------------------

1) Subject: Hakawatis
2) Subject: Shahrazad
3) Subject: Qaass, Hakawati
4) Subject: Al-Raawy, Al-Haaky
5) Subject: stories

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1)
Date: 13 Jan 1999
From: GnhBos at aol.com
Subject: Hakawatis

In the old days, they used to gather around the "7akawati / Hakawati"
who told stories. "Hakawatis" kept folk tales alive, and they are known
for their style and animation.

I remember one from childhood who would whip his "Khayzarani"
(a bamboo stick that goes with the Beiruti folkloric "U'mbaz" dress)
on the table in participation, while we are all ears with jaws dropped...
Hakawatis are good at what they do, and they sure know the Arabic
language well.

George N. Hallak
http://aramedia.com

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2)
Date: 13 Jan 1999
From: Ahmed Z <mustang6 at rocketmail.com>
Subject: Shahrazad

Hi Susan,

Shahrazad is the name of the  heroine of "The
Thousand and One Nights". She is the narrator or the
story and Shahrazad is her personal name. It's a
Persian name still used for girls in parts of South
Asia. It does not mean storyteller. I am not sure of
it's meaning in Persian (not knowing Persian very
well), but I am fairly certain that it does not mean
storyteller.

There is an Arabic word for "storyteller" used in
many parts of the Arab world and that is
"Hakawaatee". It is the term used for a very popular
character that used to be common in the Arab world,
who used to spend his time relating stories in
Coffee-shops, for the entertainment of the people
sitting, drinking coffee. The word "Hakawaatee" comes
from the Arabic work "Hikaya" which means a story.

Hope this helps

Regards

Farzan.

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3)
Date: 13 Jan 1999
From: yaser at ISI.EDU
Subject: Qaass, Hakawati

Hello Susan,

I have to warn you that my reply is totally based on my memories of 1001
nights and I have no scientific evidences in proving that the following
legend is true!  

The story teller in 1001 nights is "shahrazad" and the name of the king is
"shahrayar".  The latter is a masculine name and the first is a feminine
name. As far as I remember the story goes like that there was a king (named
shahrayar) who kills his female companion after spending the night with
them. And it was shahrazad's turn and since she knew the king's intentions,
she came up with an idea of telling the king an interesting story every
night and before sunrise she stops at the most interesting part of the
story so that the king will not kill her and instead he will be anxiously
waiting for the following night to come to hear the rest of the story.

As for the arabic equivalent of the english word "storyteller",  here are
some possible words: "Qaass" , "Hakawati".

  Hope that helps,
Yaser
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Yaser M. Al-Onaizan             Home    Tel: (310) 342-9876     
Graduate Research Assistant     Office  Tel: (310) 822-1511 xt. 250
Information Sciences Institute          Fax: (310) 822-0751
University of Southern California       E-mail: yaser at isi.edu
4676 Admiralty Way, Suite 1001
Marina del Rey, CA 90292

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4)
Date: 13 Jan 1999
From: MOHAMMED M JIYAD <mmjiyad at unix.amherst.edu>
Subject: Al-Raawy, Al-Haaky

Hi,
Al-Raawy, Al-Haaky are the words that come to my mind. In some Arabic
dialects, the word that is used is Al-Hakawaaty.
Mohammed Jiyad

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5)
Date: 13 Jan 1999
From: Lamia Belguith <Belguith.Lamia at planet.tn>
Subject: stories

I think the arabic word you are looking for is : "shahrazad"
it is the name of the women who (in stories)
tell her husband "shahrayar" a story each night.


Best regards,
Lamia Belguith

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End of Arabic-L: 13 Jan 1999