Slave-Girl Lost and Regained: Transformations of a Story

Slave-Girl Lost and Regained: Transformations of a Story G. J. H. van Gelder Marvels & Tales, Volume 18, Number 2, 2004, pp. 201-217 (Article) Published by Wayne State University Press DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/mat.2004.0040 For additional information about this article https://muse.jhu.edu/article/172280 [ Access provided at 25 Oct 2020 00:04 GMT from Lulea University ] G E E RT J A N VA N GELDER Slave-Girl Lost and Regained: Transformations of a Story A story found in many forms in Arabic has the following basic structure: (1) A man owns a slave-girl. Usually, the man is young and wealthy, and the girl both beautiful and accomplished, especially in singing and playing. It is understood that the girl is the man’s concubine (as is normal according to traditional Islamic law). (2) The man and the slave-girl love each other. This is not always stated explicitly, but must then be inferred from the rest of the story. (3) The man becomes destitute. Often this is the man’s fault, by spending all his money on his girl. In one version (see nos. 14–15 below in the appendix), it is not his fault but caused by the discontinuation of a regular stipend. (4) The man sells the girl. The initiative may be taken by either. There is a touch of paradox here, for one would expect true lovers to prefer suffering extreme poverty to being separated. Some versions explain it as an act of unselfishness on the part of the man or the girl. (5) The new owner becomes aware of their attachment. (6) He generously returns the slave-girl to her lover. He does not ask his money back and often gives some extras. The sequence (1)–(6) can be further reduced to the following very elementary plot summary: Union/Possession (1+2) Separation/Loss (3+4) Reunion/Repossession (5+6) Marvels & Tales: Journal of Fairy-Tale Studies, Vol. 18, No. 2 (2004), pp. 201–217. Copyright © 2004 by Wayne State University Press, Detroit, MI 48201. 201 GEERT JAN VAN GELDER This is a basic structure of the “Relief After Distress” genre; it is not surprising that al-Tanûkhî (d. 994), author of a collection of stories on this theme, offers many versions. The linking of (re)union with (re)possession and of separation with loss is of course a result of the traditional Muslim system of concubinage. It does not necessarily imply that from a narrative point of view the girl is inferior to the man. On the contrary, morally, intellectually and artistically she is usually the superior partner. Some versions are expanded by complications coming between (4) and (5) or (5) and (6). Exceptionally (see no. 17), a reduced structure is found: a man sells a slave-girl and only afterwards falls in love with her. This may be represented as (1-4-5-6-2). All versions are essentially realistic, without demons, magic or other supernatural elements. The realism is often enhanced by means of details from everyday life, by real place names and names of real-life protagonists, or by providing a chain of authorities for the story. Several clusters of closely related versions can be discerned. The Thousand and One Nights contains two stories of this type (as well as some stories with closely related motifs). Far more versions, some of them virtually identical to those of the Nights, are found in works belonging to “polite” or “elite” literary culture, from the ninth century onward. It is likely that the type was around already in the time of al-Madâ’inî (d. ca. 850; see no. 8). The oldest source used here is al-Muhabbar by Muhammad Ibn Habîb (d. 860; see no. 2). From a narrative point of view the stories are often rather uninteresting since they lack a human opponent, Fate being the principal adversary. To make up for this, some elaborations enhance the role of Fate, either by introducing the usual unlikely coincidences or by introducing real adversaries, such as is found in the story of al-Hikâyât al-‘ajîba (no. 19). An inventory of plot summaries of the versions I have found, with some comments and references, is attached as a lengthy appendix. The authors’ sources, often given in the form of a chain of authorities, are omitted here. It is impossible to establish a precise chronological order, and the order in the following presentation is to some extent arbitrary. Mention of historical persons in the story is of course no guarantee for its veracity, and the story may have been invented much later. However, if such persons are relatively obscure, rather than famous, there is a good chance that the story is not much later than the time frame of the person mentioned. I shall not attempt to construct a stemma or draw up a genealogy of the many versions. In some cases, the parentage is all too obvious from passages being reproduced verbatim, but in other cases the relationship proves more tenuous. Since all the narrative elements—lovers, penury, separation, beneficence, reunion—are common in everyday life, it is by no means impossible for 202 TRANSFORMATIONS OF A STORY very similar stories to be invented independently or even to occur more than once in reality. Nevertheless, it is clear that there are several clusters of versions, each with their own characteristic elements such as names, verses, and specific motifs. Broadly speaking, the story grows in length and in implausibility through the centuries. In the background there is usually a moral point, the emphasis shifting from text to text. Either the virtue of generosity is being shown, or the folly of excessive love, which can lead to destitution and, worse still, separation. In al-Tanûkhî’s Faraj, moreover, the general message is that one should never despair: even to those who do not really deserve it, a happy ending is often granted. This makes the tale ideal for popular storytelling. Especially in some of the shorter versions, the poetry quoted may have been the main focus of interest, a point made by Joseph Sadan: it is “[t]he main element in this kind of plot, even more important, for certain readers, than all the other actions of the protagonists” (18). Here is the poetry as found in no. 1, where it forms the major part (46 out of 79 words) of the story; with some variations, it is also found in many other versions (nos. 2, 3, 5–10): (The girl:) Enjoy the money you have laid your hands on! In my hands nothing remains but grieving. For I am in pain, sad because I am parted from you, confiding my grief to my long-pondering heart. (The man:) If Fate had not taken you away from me nothing but death would have parted us. So forgive me! Farewell! We shall not visit each other nor be united—except if Ibn Ma‘mar wills. In this poetic exchange, the girl’s bitterness is obvious, as is her sincerity. It is true that, slightly disingenuously, she publicizes what she describes as her private intimations, but this is normal in lyrical poetry. The man’s reply is not quite convincing, in making destitution (“Fate”) override death. The final clause, however, effects the reversal of their fortunes and ensures the benefactor’s lasting fame by immortalising him in a rhyme-word. Sadan deals with transformations of stories from elite adab (“polite literature”) to popular hikâyât (“stories”) and briefly but with rich information discusses (17–19) the present theme (which he calls “the Bartered Slave Girl”). He connects it, on the one hand, with the theme of the erudite slave-girl, most famously represented by Tawaddud in the Thousand and One Nights, and on the other hand with the more general theme of the generous man who returns a sold property. The story of Tawaddud, another accomplished slave-girl offered 203 GEERT JAN VAN GELDER for sale by her indigent master and regained in the end, has already received much attention (see Wesselski; Gerresch; Parker). Greek antecedents have been surmised not only for Tawaddud, but indeed in general for the tale of loving couples being separated and united after some tribulations (Daiber 59); but surely for such a universal theme there need not have been a Greek model. The stories may be divided, on the basis of their narrative similarity rather than their genealogy, into two groups, one in which the main theme is the generosity of some unselfish buyer and one in which the love and the adventures of the original owner and his concubine are central. In the stories of the first group the generous man is often named, which implies that the altruism is not absolute: in exchange for the girl and the money the benefactor receives undying fame on earth, as well as, no doubt, God’s favor—surely not a bad bargain. Most frequently he is a leader of the clan of Taym ibn Murra (a subdivision of Quraysh, the Prophet Mohammed’s tribe) and a prominent figure in the late seventh century, ‘Umar ibn ‘Ubayd Allâh ibn Ma‘mar (nos. 1, 2, 8, and probably no. 7, which mentions “Ibn Ma‘mar”). ‘Umar’s father ‘Ubayd Allâh is also mentioned (nos. 5, 6, and appearing as ‘Abd Allâh ibn Ma‘mar in no. 10), and is in fact often listed among people noted for their generosity, so some confusion is understandable. In two stories, obviously related (nos. 3 and 4), the generous man is said to be their contemporary ‘Abd Allâh ibn Ja‘far, nephew of the caliph ‘Alî, who is similarly listed as a great benefactor. In one of these stories his deed is explicitly said to surpass Ibn Ma‘mar’s, and the wording (in a verse in which Ibn Ja‘far’s deed is said to fly up to heaven and Ibn Ma‘mar’s act down to hell) suggests that the story is a tendentious variation or invention of ‘Alid provenance, indicating rivalry with another clan within Quraysh. A non-Arab famous for his generosity, Abbasid Caliph Hârûn al-Rashîd’s Barmakid vizier Ja‘far ibn Yahyâ, is the protagonist of one story (no. 10). Although buttressed with an impressive chain of authorities, the story, which only appears in a late source, seems to have no basis in reality, especially in the light of Ja‘far’s fictional career, well known from the Thousand and One Nights. One wonders if there was some confusion in the oral or written transmission between the names of (Ibn) Ma‘mar and Ja‘far, the latter, more renowned name replacing the relatively obscure one; once the vizier is named, the others (caliph and musician) would follow naturally. Finally, in this group, there is one story in which no name is given but only a vague designation: a member of the clan of Hâshim (no. 12). The same Hâshimite (if he is the same) reappears in closely related versions that I have put in the second group (nos. 12–13). ‘Abd Allâh ibn Ja‘far belonged to the clan of Hâshim, and one could imagine that his story (nos. 3 and 4) served as the basis for the elaboration. Obviously, his name could no longer be used, because he lived long before Baghdad was founded, but the designation “Hâshimî,” in this favorable light, 204 TRANSFORMATIONS OF A STORY is conveniently suitable to enhance the reputations of the Alids and the Abbasids alike. In the second group, the benefactor is rarely mentioned by name. In a relatively early story (no. 11), he is a member of the Khurâsânî family or “dynasty” of the Tâhirids who were famous as generals and governors in the ninth century. One benefactor is named, a certain Abû Bakr ibn Abû Hâmid, the treasurer (nos. 14–16). This cluster seems to fall near the borderline between the two groups, but even though the lovers are not named, their feelings seem to be more important to the narrator than the treasurer’s noble deed. The lovers are sometimes named, as they are in the first group (see nos. 2–4), but often they remain anonymous. This is common in short anecdotes, of course, but somewhat unusual in longer stories (such as nos. 12–13) and is possible only in narratives involving few persons so that no pronominal confusion can arise. In the oldest story of this group, no. 11, in which the benefactor is “one of the Tâhirids,” the lovers are historical persons: the poet Mahmûd al-Warrâq (d. ca. 845) and Sakan the singing-girl. Among the lovers in this group who are either historical or potentially so are the famous al-Hasan ibn Sahl (no. 17), and more obscure persons such as ‘Abd al-Wâhid ibn Fulân (no. 16) and Muhammad ibn ‘Ubayd Allâh al-Zâhid (no. 18). Obviously, the lovers named in the popular collections are fictional: Talha and Tuhfa in al-Hikâyât al-‘ajîba and ‘Alî Shâr and Zumurrud in the Thousand and One Nights. If in the second group the lovers and their feelings are central, one could further differentiate between the lovers themselves. The man is socially far superior to the girl. In ordinary Islamic discourse and in many stories in Arabic literature, social superiority implies moral superiority, as is apparent from the very language (and Arabic is obviously not alone in this), in which words for genealogical excellence and nobility are largely identical with those for moral excellence, and where a key word for virtue, murû’a, is derived from the word for “man” (as is the Latin term virtus). The slave-girl is a woman; worse, she has no pedigree that counts; worse still, she is a slave. As chattel, she should not be an actor in the narrative at all. Indeed, in many stories belonging to the first group she functions as a piece of property, valuable perhaps but not essentially differing from a nonanimate possession. In many versions she is a singing-girl, for well-trained skilful singing-girls were extremely valuable, like an expensive instrument. However, there is more to it than mere pecuniary value. Music is perhaps the most powerful force to evoke emotions and ecstasy, as is attested in many stories in Arabic, and music and love are closely linked (note that the man is himself a singer in nos. 12–13, and a poet in no. 11). A singing-girl is therefore a focus of emotion, love and sexual attraction, since it is understood in the stories that they are also beautiful and charming. Even in a story belonging to the first group, about generous people (the generous ‘Ubayd Allâh ibn Ma‘mar 205 GEERT JAN VAN GELDER in this case), the girl is far more than a chattel. In al-Marzubânî’s version (no. 6), she is called al-Kâmila, “the Perfect One,” and more than merely a pretty musician, she is skilled in singing, playing the lute, recitation of the Qur’an, and in the arts of poetry, writing, cookery, and making perfume, thus anticipating the even more accomplished but rather less real Tawaddud. It is she, al-Kâmila, who suggests resolving the financial mess for which her owner is responsible by suggesting she herself be sold. Though unwise, since it breaks the laws of romance, the suggestion should be interpreted as an unselfish gesture and a not unreasonable attempt to solve their problems; in other versions the girl would rather die than be separated from her owner, or she only consents after strongly resisting the suggestion. In any case, the girl is obviously superior to her nameless owner, intellectually, artistically, morally, and in terms of narrative structure. It is this paradox that is elaborated in numerous later versions and forms the main attraction of the story. Appendix: Plot Summaries and Notes (1) al-Isfahânî, Aghânî 15: 389. Also in al-Hamdûnî, Tadhkira 2: 347–48; and al-Ibshîhî, Mustatraf 1: 166, in chapters on generosity in both sources. A man, in love with his slave-girl, is forced to sell her. She is bought by ‘Umar ibn ‘Ubayd Allâh ibn Ma‘mar. She and her lover each recite two lines of poetry expressing their grief. ‘Umar restores the girl to him and leaves him the money. This is the shortest version of all. ‘Umar ibn ‘Ubayd Allâh, who died, sixty years old, in 701 in Dumayr (Syria), was the son of ‘Ubayd Allâh ibn Ma‘mar (see below). He was governor of Basra; he is also said to have been a singer and lute player (Ibn Qutayba 576). He is listed among the generous men of early Islam (see no. 2). There seems to be a confusion between ‘Umar and his father, who is mentioned in other versions and who was noted for his generosity. (2) Ibn Habîb, Muhabbar 151–52, in a chapter on generous people in Islamic times. Abû Huzâba al-Taymî has a slave-girl named Basbâsa, with whom he is in love. He is forced to sell her. ‘Umar ibn ‘Ubayd Allâh ibn Ma‘mar al-Taymî buys her for a large sum. When the girl is led away, her lover clings to her dress and utters four lines of verse. Ibn Ma‘mar gives her back and does not want the money back. For Abû Huzâba al-Walîd ibn Hunayfa al-Tamîmî (thus), see al-Isfahânî, Aghânî 22: 260; al-Kalbî 2: 586; al-Safadî 27: 456–59. 206 TRANSFORMATIONS OF A STORY (3) al-Tanûkhî, Faraj 4: 343–44. ‘Abd Allâh ibn Ja‘far ibn Abî Tâlib buys a Meccan slave-girl. Hearing that a boy of her family is in love with her, and she with him, he unites the lovers. Soon after that, he buys from the clan of Talha for ‘Abd al-Salâm ibn Abî Sulaymân a girl called Rawâh, with whom he is in love. Gratefully, ‘Abd al-Salâm makes an epigram in which he declares Ibn Ja‘far’s gift to be superior to that of Ibn Ma‘mar, just as heaven is superior to hell. This is a deviation from the basic structure, since the boy does not own the girl. But the story is related to the following one. ‘Abd Allâh ibn Ja‘far (d. 699) is mentioned, with ‘Ubayd Allâh ibn Ma‘mar al-Taymî, among the eleven generous men of their time, the former in the Hijaz, the latter in Basra (Ibn ‘Abd Rabbih 1: 293–94); but elsewhere it is not ‘Ubayd Allâh but his son ‘Umar who is thus listed: Ibn Habîb 151–52; al-Safadî 17: 108; Ibn Shâkir 2: 170–71. (4) Ibn ‘Abd Rabbih, ‘Iqd 1: 297 = (pseudo-)Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, Akhbâr 24–25; German translation by Bellmann 65–66. With some more details and dialogue also in Ibn ‘Asâkir, Tahdhîb 7: 338–39. ‘Abd al-Rahmân ibn Abî ‘Ammâr, a scholar from the Hijaz, sees a girl at a slave dealer’s place and falls in love. ‘Abd Allâh ibn Ja‘far hears about it. On pilgrimage in Mecca, he buys the girl for 40,000 (dirhams, rather than Bellmann’s fantastic “40,000 dinars”). Ibn Abî ‘Ammâr visits him. Ibn Ja‘far asks him if he is still in love, and when the answer is Yes, the girl is brought in, to Ibn Abî ‘Ammâr’s surprise. Ibn Ja‘far says he has bought the girl for him; he has not touched her. He also gives him 100,000 dirhams. The story is obviously related to the preceding one about Ibn Ja‘far (no. 3), although the other names are different. (5) Ibn ‘Abd Rabbih, ‘Iqd 1: 300–01 (in a chapter on generous people). A man from Basra has trained a slave-girl. When he is struck by poverty, the girl suggests that he sells her to ‘Ubayd Allâh ibn Ma‘mar al-Qurashî al-Taymî. She is sold for ten purses (i.e., 100,000 dirhams). The man recites three verses by way of farewell. ‘Ubayd Allâh restores the girl to him, letting him keep the money. ‘Ubayd Allâh ibn Ma‘mar was killed, forty years old, near Istakhr during the caliphate of ‘Uthmân. He was “very generous and valiant” (Ibn Qutayba 289) and counted, with ‘Abd Allâh ibn Ja‘far, among eleven famously generous men 207 GEERT JAN VAN GELDER of their time (Ibn ‘Abd Rabbih 1: 293). But see above, no. 1, where his son ‘Umar is mentioned instead. (6) al-Marzubânî, Nûr al-qabas 197–98. ‘Ubayd Allâh ibn Ma‘mar al-Taymî buys for 20,000 dinars a slave-girl called “the Perfect One” (al-Kâmila), as she is skilled in singing, playing music, reciting the Qur’an, poetry, writing, cookery, and making perfume. She used to belong to a young man who had trained her for himself. He loved her passionately and spent so much on her that he became impoverished. The girl suggested that he should get rich by selling her. After the sale, both are distraught; they recite some verses. ‘Ubayd Allâh takes pity on them, gives the girl back and does not want the money back. It is not clear why ‘Ubayd Allâh is given a section in al-Marzubânî’s work on grammarians and philologists. Here, the man’s poverty is directly linked to his love for the girl, which makes the story more self-contained and thus more “literary.” It is one of several versions in which the girl takes the initiative in suggesting the sale. (7) al-Tanûkhî, Mustajâd 114–15. A wealthy young man who possesses a skilful singing-girl becomes poor. They talk together; the man suggests selling her to a benevolent new owner. The girl protests: she would rather die with him than be sold to another. But her owner offers her for sale; a friend suggests approaching Ibn Ma‘mar, amîr in Iraq. The latter asks her price. She is offered for 100,000 dirhams, though 100,000 dinars had been spent on her (an unlikely large sum). In the end she is sold for 100,000 dirhams, ten suits (?) of clothes, ten horses, and ten slaves. When the girl is led away, she and her previous owner recite verses. Ibn Ma‘mar gives back the girl without asking restitution of the price. It is not said explicitly that the two love each other. No cause of the poverty is given. The man is the one to suggest the sale. (8) al-Tanûkhî, Faraj 4: 328–30. The same, with slight changes in the wording, in al-Tanûkhî, Nishwâr 5: 168–9; Ibn al-Jawzî, Dhamm 467; al-Sarrâj, Masâri‘ 2: 184–85; Ibn Hijja, Thamarât 260–61. The story is said to be similar to one in a lost work by al-Madâ’inî (d. ca. 850). 208 TRANSFORMATIONS OF A STORY A wealthy man from Basra buys and trains a slave-girl. He falls in love with her and spends so much on her that he becomes poor. Two versions are offered: in one, the man suggests selling her, if she agrees; the girl would rather die with him than be sold to another. In the other version, the initiative comes from the girl. A friend recommends ‘Umar ibn ‘Ubayd Allâh al-Taymî, governor of Basra. (The following as in no. 7). (9) Alf layla wa-layla: see Littmann 3: 432–33 = Burton 4: 35–36 = Lane 2: 518–19 (not in Subayh ed of Alf layla): Story of ‘Abd Allâh (thus) ibn Ma‘mar and the Man of Basra with his Slave-girl; see Elisséeff no. 53; Chauvin 5: 106, no. 36. A man from Basra buys a slave-girl and has her trained and educated. He loves her passionately and spends all his wealth on her. The girl tells him: Sell me! He consents and offers her to the governor of Basra, ‘Abd Allâh ibn Ma‘mar al-Taymî, who buys her for 500 dinars. The girl and the man recite the customary lines of verse. The governor gives her back, saying that “the separation of lovers brings grief to both.” They live happily ever after until death parts them. (10) Ibn al-Jawzî, Dhamm 466–67. Caliph Hârûn al-Rashîd goes on pilgrimage with his vizier Ja‘far ibn Yayhâ and the narrator, the musician Ibrâhîm al-Mawsilî. In Medina, Ja‘far asks Ibrâhîm to buy him a singing-girl. Ibrâhîm finds one belonging to an apparently rich man, who offers her for 40,000 dinars. This is agreed, on condition that the buyer is allowed to see her first. Ja‘far, in disguise, sees the girl, hears her perform, and is pleased with her. The girl asks her owner what is happening. He explains that poverty forces him to sell her. The girl says that if she were him, she would not sell him for all the world. The man is touched, gives her her freedom, and marries her, giving his house as dowry. The sale is off, and Ibrâhîm is about to have the money taken away; but Ja‘far leaves the happy couple the money. Obviously related to the other versions, although here the girl is never actually lost. See especially the following version of Ibn al-Mu‘tazz (no. 11). (11) Ibn al-Mu‘tazz, Tabaqât 366. The poet Mahmûd al-Warrâq possesses a beautiful and accomplished singing-girl called Sakan, who is also a poet. Struck by poverty, he 209 GEERT JAN VAN GELDER suggests selling her if she agrees. The girl agrees. After lively bidding, one of the Tâhirids offers to buy her for 100,000 dirhams. A tearful parting between Sakan and Mahmûd is about to take place. The girl asks, Would you really prefer the money to me? He asks, Would you really live in poverty? Yes, says the girl. Mahmûd then grants her her freedom and gives his house as a bridal gift. The Tâhirid hears this and gives the money to Mahmûd anyhow. Mahmûd al-Warrâq (d. ca. 845) was a poet from Baghdad; he also worked as a slave trader. For Sakan, see al-Isbahânî, Imâ’ 79–80; al-Suyûtî 29; al-Safadî 16: 394–99. The story resembles that of Ibn al-Jawzî (no. 10). (12) al-Tanûkhî, Faraj 4: 316–27; German translation by Hottinger (alTanûkhî, Ende gut 345–58). With minor deviations in al-Ghuzûlî, Matâli‘ 1: 187–93, presented as the first in a series of seven “nightly tales,” thus anticipating its inclusion in the Thousand and One Nights (below, no. 13). The same story in al-Tanûkhî, Nishwâr 5: 274–83; and al-Sarrâj, Masâri‘ 2: 229–33, apart from some slight variations, but omitting one very long passage. This omission, obviously an oversight by some copyist, makes the story wholly unintelligible. The editor of Nishwâr has completed the story using Faraj. With more changes in wording, but without the lacuna of al-Sarrâj, also in alAntâkî, Tazyîn 1: 343–46. A man in Baghdad loves and is loved by a slave-girl, whom he buys and on whom he spends much, squandering the wealth inherited from his father. The girl suggests that he should sell her so that both can live in luxury. A rich man of Hâshim from Basra buys her for 1,500 dinars. Immediately afterwards the former owner repents. [He continues the story in the first person]. His money is stolen; desperate, he throws himself into the river Tigris, but is rescued by bystanders. He decides to seek employment in Wasit and arranges passage on a boat, dressed as a sailor. The boat happens to belong to the Hâshimite who bought his slave-girl; she is aboard the ship, too. He faints when he hears her sing, but later signals his presence to her by secretly changing the tuning of her lute, which she recognizes. She tells her master, who is touched. He has not yet had sexual intercourse with the girl; he promises to free her and marry her to her former owner once they are in Basra, on condition that he is allowed to hear her sing whenever he wishes. Everyone is pleased. However, accidentally left behind on shore, the man loses contact with his beloved. He is employed in Basra as the accountant of a gro210 TRANSFORMATIONS OF A STORY cer, whose daughter he marries. His situation is greatly improved, yet he is always sad. After another two years, at an outing on the occasion of Palm Sunday to watch the Christians celebrate in Ubulla, near Basra, he spots the Hâshimite’s boat again. They are glad to see him; they thought he had drowned. The girl has been inconsolably sad and has led a life of abstinence. The lovers are now reunited and married, handsomely supported by the Hâshimite. The grocer’s daughter is divorced and her dowry is returned. It is hinted that the marriage has never been consummated (Bray 12–15, especially 13). This version has been included in the Thousand and One Nights (see no. 13). Gerhardt (134) mentions the rarity of references to suicide. Hamori (67) calls the episode of the grocer (and the hero’s marriage and subsequence divorce of his daughter) “a curious example of Tanûkhî’s (or some predecessor’s) adaptation of folkloric material. . . . This [the divorce] is very likely a realistic touch. It is also a point though where the price is paid for turning romance into anecdote, where the magical fluidity of society in the romance is relinquished.” One wonders if the character of the Hâshimite is a remnant of the Hâshimite ‘Abd Allâh Ibn Ja‘far who figures in older versions. (13) Alf layla wa-layla: Littmann 5: 764–75; Burton 8: 104–12; Lane 3: 524–30; Alf layla (Subayh) 4: 129–34. The story is set “in times of old.” It closely follows no. 12, also in wording, although there are many small differences. Numerous details are identical. Several specific place names have been replaced by expressions such as “a village,” presumably because they would be unfamiliar to an Egyptian or Syrian audience. The Christian feast is replaced by a general outing without reference to religion. See Chauvin 5: 152–35; Gerhardt 133–34; Hamori 65–67; Sadan 18–19. (14) al-Tanûkhî, Faraj 4: 345–49. A young man from Khurâsân, who studies with the narrator under Abû Ishâq al-Marwazî buys a slave-girl with whom he falls in love and who stays with him for some years. One year, the annual stipend sent by his father does not arrive, because of the latter’s illness. The young man cannot settle his debts until he has sold his slave-girl for 1,000 dirhams. In the night after the sale, the man knocks on the narrator’s door. He says he wants to buy his girl back, putting himself in debt again and hoping his father’s money will arrive after all. In the morning the two find out that she is now living in the house of Abû 211 GEERT JAN VAN GELDER Bakr ibn Abî Hâmid, the treasurer. A letter is written by their teacher, which they take to the treasurer. They tell him the story. He is not aware of the girl’s presence in his house; she has been bought by a woman of his household. The girl is brought and is asked if she wants to be returned. She answers tactfully: No-one could be preferred to her new master, but she owes her education to her old master. The treasurer is pleased and gives her back, refusing the money and adding some valuable presents that had been promised to the girl. He also promises to give a monthly stipend of flour and two dinars, so that the man is able to pay his debtors and continue his studies. This was in fact paid as long as Abû Bakr ibn Abî Hâmid lived. See the next two closely related versions, nos. 15 and 16. (15) al-Tanûkhî, Nishwâr 7: 270–72 = Ibn al-Jawzî, Muntazam (Hyderabad) 6: 251–52; (Beirut) 13: 319–20. Abû Hâmid al-Marwarrûdhî notices that one of his pupils has been absent for several days. He is told that the pupil had bought a slavegirl, but that his stipend has been cut off. He had to settle debts and was forced to sell the girl. Immediately afterwards he repented and longed for her, to the point of being unable to study. The girl had been bought by Ibn Abî Hâmid, the treasurer. The teacher approaches him hoping to make him revoke the sale. The treasurer is not yet aware of the matter, since it was his wife who bought the girl. The girl is brought in. The treasurer can see from the boy’s change of colour that his story is true. She is returned to him, and the price, 3,000 dirhams, is not accepted. Clothes and jewels are also given. The treasurer asks the girl: Which one of us do you love best, me or your former master? The girl answers: You have been good to me and made me rich. But as for my master, if I owned him just as he owned me, I would not have sold him for enormous riches. Everyone is pleased with this reply. In Ibn al-Jawzî’s Muntazam, the story is found in the biographical note on Ibn Abî Hâmid (Abû Bakr Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Mûsâ, d. 933). Here he seems to be confused with Abû Hâmid al-Marwarrûdhî Ahmad ibn ‘Âmir (d. 973), a teacher of Abû Hayyân al-Tawhîdî and others. (16) al-Tanûkhî, Faraj 4: 349–51; German translation by Weisweiler 272–74. A moneychanger called ‘Abd al-Wâhid ibn Fulân sells his beloved slave-girl to Abû Bakr ibn Abî Hâmid, the treasurer, for 300 dinars. 212 TRANSFORMATIONS OF A STORY In the evening he is distraught and cannot sleep. In the morning he is unable to work. Taking the money with him, he goes to Ibn Abû Hâmid. He states his case and asks if the sale could be rescinded. The treasurer asks, If you loved her that much, why did you sell her? He explains that his capital of 1,000 dinars was quickly spent on buying the girl and satisfying her demands, while he neglected his job. She would make his life miserable if he resisted her wishes, so he sold her. But now he regrets his decision. The treasurer says that he has not had sexual intercourse with her yet. He gives her back; he does not want the dinars and gives another 1,000 dirhams into the bargain. He tells her to buy what she wants and not press her owner for more. He pledges to give her 1,000 dirhams a year. The money is indeed given as promised until the treasurer dies. (17) al-Tanûkhî, Faraj 4: 352–53. Al-Hasan ibn Sahl (d. 850–51) buys a slave-girl from a merchant in Fustât for 1,000 dinars. The merchant, having cashed his cheque, returns home and finds everything clean, nicely arranged, with scents and wine ready. He is told that the girl he has just sold did this. The merchant goes to al-Hasan’s house, where he sees the girl, more beautiful than ever, driving him mad with love. He implores al-Hasan to make the sale undone. Al-Hasan explains that this is impossible, since no girl who entered his house has ever left it, but he finally relents and asks the girl what she thinks. She chooses her former master and is returned to him. He is allowed to keep the 1,000 dinars as a present. In this exceptional version, the man falls in love only after the sale of the girl. (18) (pseudo-)Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, Akhbâr 24; German translation by Bellmann 64–65; and Weisweiler 279. The story is told in the first person by the protagonist. Muammad ibn ‘Ubayd Allâh al-Zâhid says: Once I sold a slave-girl. But I missed her very much. Together with a friend I went to her new owner, asking for the sale to be undone. He refused. I returned despondently. At night I could not sleep. The next morning someone knocked at the door; it was the same man, who was returning the girl and did not want his money back. He had dreamed that someone said to him: Return the girl and you will enter Paradise. 213 GEERT JAN VAN GELDER Bellmann (433) argues that the protagonist’s name is incorrect and that probably Abû ‘Umar Muhammad [ibn ‘Abd al-Wâhid] al-Zâhid (d. 957) is meant, a pupil of the grammarian Tha‘lab who was known as Ghulâm Tha‘lab. This identification looks rather arbitrary. (19) al-Hikâyât al-‘ajîba 25–44; German translation by Hans Wehr in Marzolph 40–66, cf. 638–39; see also Wehr’s introduction to the Arabic edition (vi–vii). Talha grows up in luxury. His father, the qadi of Cairo, buys him a slave-girl called Tuhfa. They fall in love. The father decides they ought to get married. (The girl should be freed for a proper marriage, but later on it turns out she is still a slave. Perhaps it is the concubinage that is celebrated as a “wedding.”) Tuhfa is taught singing. The father dies and the son squanders all his wealth. The girl suggests that he should sell her. Talha reluctantly sells her to a slave dealer, with the right of rescinding within three days. Next day the agent of a rich young man from Damascus, searching for a slave-girl for his patron, is struck by her beauty, skills, and knowledge (including the Qur’an, astronomy, arithmetic, chess, backgammon, singing and playing). The slave merchant has forgotten about the condition and sells her. (A lacuna in the text omits the departure and arrival in Damascus.) When the girl meets her new master, Muhammad ibn Sâlih, she tells her story. The man pities her and promises to give her up. After some time he departs for Egypt. (The girl stays behind, rather illogically.) Meanwhile Talha, mad with love, has been committed to an asylum. Recognized and rescued by an old friend of his father’s, he goes to Damascus in order to find Tuhfa. But his ship founders and he arrives penniless in Tyre. On the road to Damascus he offers bread and salt to a rider out hunting and tells his story. The hunter turns out to be the Caliph ‘Abd al-Malik, who promises to help him. Ibn Sâlih, now in Egypt, is falsely accused by enemies, and the caliph gives order for his house to be plundered and for all the women to be brought out. Tuhfa flees to an adjacent house belonging to a weaver and puts herself under his protection. The caliph, not finding Tuhfa, repents of his rash command. He offers Talha ten virgin slave-girls in compensation, but the offer is turned down. Talha accepts a post in the land taxation department. Tuhfa has found a considerable sum of money that was left in the house of her master and asks the weaver to take her to Egypt with the money. In Cairo she sees that Talha’s old house is shut up and empty. 214 TRANSFORMATIONS OF A STORY She rents a house from a tailor and lives by herself. By a fanciful course of events both Ibn Sâlih, now a beggar, and Talha meet Tuhfa at the same moment. After a recognition scene they tell one another their various stories. Ibn Sâlih, still Tuhfa’s owner, gives her back. Talha will write to the caliph on Ibn Sâlih’s behalf and shares his wealth with him. The caliph indemnifies Ibn Sâlih, who returns to Damascus. The false witnesses are punished. Talha and Tuhfa live happily ever after. Daiber (28, 59–60) has connected this story with another story, of which he discusses several versions in detail, of a mystic slave-girl also called Tuhfa, found in an asylum by the famous mystic al-Saqatî (d. 867). Freed by him, she dies soon afterwards, returning to her master. The similarities are striking but superficial. (20) Alf layla wa-layla: Subayh edition 2: 217–35; Littmann 3: 207–58; Burton 3: 306–44; Lane 2: 387–425. This is the wordy story of ‘Alî Shâr, a rich merchant’s son, who squanders his inherited fortune. He sees a slave-girl offered for sale and stays to see the outcome of the auction. The girl, Zumurrud, is asked for her view. Rejecting some rich but unattractive bidders, she sets her mind on having ‘Alî Shâr as her owner. He is too poor to buy her, but the girl secretly gives him 1,000 dinars of her own money, 900 of which he spends on the sale. They live happily together for a year, living from her handiwork. She is abducted by some wicked Christians, but after many adventures is finally reunited with her owner. 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