A prince embarks on a mystical journey marked by divine interventions and trials orchestrated by his father, the King. He extinguishes a fire, gains a wife, and creates a city with her prayers. His father, driven by jealousy, challenges him with impossible tasks, ultimately leading to the discovery of a treasure and a mysterious figure summoned through an ancestral book, resulting in the city’s doom.
Source
Moorish Literature
romantic ballads, tales of the Berbers,
stories of the Kabyles, folk-lore,
and national traditions
The Colonial Press,
London, New York, 1901
► Themes of the story
Divine Intervention: The prince’s journey is marked by divine assistance, such as when his plea to God brings rain to extinguish the fire blocking his path.
Quest: The prince embarks on a journey to fulfill his father’s demands, seeking his mother’s spirit and a mysterious figure, embodying the quest motif.
Family Dynamics: The complex relationship between the prince and his father, driven by jealousy and the setting of arduous tasks, highlights intricate familial interactions.
► From the same Region or People
Learn more about the Berber peoples
Translated by J. Rivière
and Chauncey C. Starkweather
He had a son whom he brought up well. The child grew and said one day to the King, “I am going out for a walk.”
“It is well,” answered the King. At a certain place he found an olive-tree on fire.
“O God,” he cried, “help me to put out this fire!”
Suddenly God sent the rain, the fire was extinguished, and the young man was able to pass. He came to the city and said to the governor: “Give me a chance to speak in my turn.”
“It is well,” said he; “speak.”
► Continue reading…
“I ask the hand of your daughter,” replied the young man.
“I give her to you,” answered the governor, “for if you had not put out that fire the city would have been devoured by the flames.”
He departed with his wife. After a long march the wife made to God this prayer:
“O God, place this city here.”
The city appeared at the very spot. Toward evening the Marabout of the city of which the father of the young bridegroom was King went to the mosque to say his prayers.
“O marvel!” he cried, “what do I see down there?”
The King called his wife and sent her to see what was this new city. The woman departed, and, addressing the wife of the young prince, asked alms of him. He gave her alms. The messenger returned and said to the King:
“It is your son who commands in that city.”
The King, pricked by jealousy, said to the woman: “Go, tell him to come and find me. I must speak with him.”
The woman went away and returned with the King’s son. His father said to him:
“If you are the son of the King, go and see your mother in the other world.”
He regained his palace in tears.
“What is the matter with you,” asked his wife, “you whom destiny has given me?”
He answered her: “My father told me, ‘Go and see your mother in the other world.'”
“Return to your father,” she replied, “and ask him for the book of the grandmother of your grandmother.”
He returned to his father, who gave him the book. He brought it to his wife, who said to him, “Lay it on the grave of your mother.” He placed it there and the grave opened. He descended and found a man who was licking the earth. He saw another who was eating mildew. And he saw a third who was eating meat.
“Why do you eat meat?” he asked him.
“Because I did good on earth,” responded the shade. “Where shall I find my mother?” asked the prince.
The shade said, “She is down there.”
He went to his mother, who asked him why he came to seek her.
He replied, “My father sent me.”
“Return,” said the mother, “and say to your father to lift up the beam which is on the hearth.” The prince went to his father. “My mother bids you take up the beam which is above the hearth.” The King raised it and found a treasure.
“If you are the son of the King,” he added, “bring me someone a foot high whose beard measures two feet.” The prince began to weep.
“Why do you weep,” asked his wife, “you whom destiny has given me?”
The prince answered her, “My father said to me, ‘Bring me someone a foot high whose beard measures two feet.”
“Return to your father,” she replied, “and ask him for the book of the grandfather of your grandfather.”
His father gave him the book and the prince brought it to his wife.
“Take it to him again and let him put it in the assembly place, and call a public meeting.” A man a foot high appeared, took up the book, went around the city, and ate up all the inhabitants.
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Dreamtime Whispers 