Preserving Tales in the UAE

Found this article which made me smile: Tales preserved for the future by Matt Kwong

“There could be many, many different versions,” said Dr Khalid Salem al Dhaheri, the director of the National Library at the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (Adach). “Baba Darya is a spirit that is said to enchant the oceans of the Gulf. Of course the different takes on this tale depends on the imagination of who recites it.”

Dr al Dhaheri, now 29, last heard this and other Emirati fables at the age of 12 when they were recounted under the stars by his great-uncle in Al Ain.

“He would be one of the three or four remaining elders of our clan and we would go to him and we would sit very simply,” he said. “This was before the massive urbanisation, when you could sit outside the house together in the open. These storytelling sessions were one of the few methods of entertainment.”

As with many people near his age, he concedes, certain details of stories have now faded from his mind.

“My memory for some of these things is not so good.”

But a part of a nation’s heritage as vital as its folklore need not become a casualty of modern life, according to a group of Zayed University students. To give new life to the old stories, four communications students have catalogued and published a collection of traditional UAE fairy tales aimed at future generations.

And, see, the Grimms are not the only known editors of the tales:

The students are well aware that Khrareef is not the first anthology of UAE folklore published in English and Arabic. For last year’s Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, Adach printed 1,000 hardcover copies of A Key to Another World, a collection of Emirati stories translated by the Polish journalist Iwona Drozd.

But Ms bin Shaker believes Khrareef is the first collection of fables to target young children.

“A lot of the stories are a little bit dark, so we tweaked them a bit in our versions,” she said.

The article is considerably longer. And all I have to say is "Bravo for working to preserve the tales!"

Oh, and while you are clicking through to read the entire article, also read Palace of myths and legends by Rym Ghazal for a little more knowledge and learning today...