African Folktales at Internet Archive: Tales and Legends of Morocco

Following up on The Sultan's Fool from yesterday (tales from Libya), here is another collection of North African stories: Tales and Legends of Morocco by Elisa Chimenti, first published in French in the 1930s, and later translated by Arnon Benamy; the English translation was published in 1965. It's just a click away thanks to Internet Archive digital lending:

Elisa Chimenti lived in Tangier and collected the stories there, and the introduction to the book gives the history, both actual and fantastical, of that city. She identifies pre-Islamic legends that blend Semitic, Indian, and Greco-Roman traditions, and then islamic legends, along with Sephardic Jewish legends, Christian legends, and also legends from sub-Saharan Africa.

Just as a sample, here is the final story in the book, The Crow:

In the beginning of time, the crow was as white as the dove but his heart was as black as night. It was he who witnessed the death of Abel at the hands of his brother Cain. The crow called to Cain and advised him how to hide his crime.

"Bury him in the earth," he said, "and shield him from the eyes of Allah."

As if anything could be hidden from the Lord.

Allah's indignation was so great that He punished the bird; He compelled him to perch on a limb underneath which burned a fire of green wood. The smoke darkened the plumage of the bird, and he became as black as coal, as black as his crime.

Since that time, his presence is always a presage of evil and his cry freezes the hearts of men. For where he passes, friends part, and even lovers forget each other.

For more about Cain and Abel in the Islamic tradition, see Wikipedia.

There is an even wider variety of stories in this book than in the book of Libyan folktales from yesterday; highly recommended!

 Tales and Legends of Morocco

by Elisa Chimenti