Ali Baba
Ali Baba (Arabic: علي بابا ʿAlī Bābā ) is a character from the folk tale Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves (علي بابا والأربعون لصا). This story is included in many versions of the One Thousand and One Nights, to which it was added by Antoine Galland in the 18th century. It is one of the most familiar of the "Arabian Nights" tales, and has been widely retold and performed in many media, especially for children, where the more violent aspects of the story are often suppressed.
In the story, Ali Baba is a poor woodcutter who discovers the secret of a thieves' den, entered with the phrase "Open Sesame". The thieves learn this, and try to kill Ali Baba. But Ali Baba's faithful slave-girl foils their plots; Ali Baba gives his son to her in marriage and keeps the secret of the treasure.
Textual history
The tale was added to the story collection One Thousand and One Nights by one of its European translators, Antoine Galland, who called his volumes Les Mille et Une Nuits (1704–1717). Galland was an 18th-century French Orientalist who may have heard it in oral form from a Middle Eastern story-teller from Aleppo, in modern day Syria. In any case, the first known text of the story is Galland's French version. Richard F. Burton included it in the supplemental volumes, rather than the main collection of stories, of his translation (published as The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night) and thought its origins to be Greek Cypriot.[1]
The American Orientalist Duncan Black MacDonald discovered an Arabic-language manuscript of the legend at the Bodleian Library;[2] however, this was later found to be a counterfeit.[3]
Story
Ali Baba and his elder brother Cassim are the sons of a merchant. After the death of their father, the greedy Cassim marries a wealthy woman and becomes well-to-do, building on their father's business. Ali Baba marries a poor woman and settles into the trade of a woodcutter.
One day, Ali Baba is at work collecting and cutting firewood in the forest, and he happens to overhear a group of forty thieves visiting their treasure store. The treasure is in a cave, the mouth of which is sealed by magic. It opens on the words "open sesame" and seals itself on the words "close sesame". When the thieves are gone, Ali Baba enters the cave himself, and discreetly takes a single bag of gold coins home.
Ali Baba and his wife borrow his sister-in-law's scales to weigh their new wealth. Unbeknownst to them, Cassim's wife puts a blob of wax in the scales to find out what Ali Baba is using them for as she is curious to know what kind of grain her impoverished brother-in-law needs to measure. To her shock, she finds a gold coin sticking to the scales and tells her husband. Under pressure from his brother, Ali Baba is forced to reveal the secret of the cave. Cassim goes to the cave, taking a donkey with him to take as much treasure as possible. He enters the cave with the magic words. But in his greed and excitement over the treasure, he forgets the words to get out again. The thieves find him there and kill him. When his brother does not come back, Ali Baba goes to the cave to look for him and finds the body quartered and with each piece displayed just inside the entrance of the cave as a warning to anyone else who might try to enter.
Ali Baba brings the body home where he entrusts Morgiana, a clever slave-girl from Cassim's household, with the task of making others believe that Cassim has died a natural death.[4] First, Morgiana purchases medicines from an apothecary, telling him that Cassim is gravely ill. Then, she finds an old tailor known as Baba Mustafa whom she pays, blindfolds, and leads to Cassim's house. There, overnight, the tailor stitches the pieces of Cassim's body back together so that no one will be suspicious. Ali Baba and his family are able to give Cassim a proper burial without anyone asking awkward questions.
The thieves, finding the body gone, realize that yet another person must know their secret, and set out to track him down. One of the thieves goes down to the town and comes across Baba Mustafa, who mentions that he has just sewn a dead man's body back together. Realizing that the dead man must have been the thieves' victim, the thief asks Baba Mustafa to lead the way to the house where the deed was performed. The tailor is blindfolded again and in this state he is able to retrace his steps and find the house. The thief marks the door with a symbol for the other thieves to come back that night and kill everyone in the house. However, the thief has been seen by Morgiana and she, loyal to her master, foils his plan by marking all the houses in the neighborhood with a similar marking. When the forty thieves return that night, they cannot identify the correct house and their leader kills the unsuccessful thief in a furious rage. The next day, another thief revisits Baba Mustafa and tries again. Only this time, a chunk is chipped out of the stone step at Ali Baba's front door. Again, Morgiana foils the plan by making similar chips in all the other doorsteps, and the second thief is killed for his failure as well. At last, the leader of the thieves goes and looks for himself. This time, he memorizes every detail he can of the exterior of Ali Baba's house.
The leader of the thieves pretends to be an oil merchant in need of Ali Baba's hospitality, bringing with him mules loaded with thirty-eight oil jars, one filled with oil, the other thirty-seven hiding the other remaining thieves. Once Ali Baba is asleep, the thieves plan to kill him. Again, Morgiana discovers and foils the plan, killing the thirty-seven thieves in their oil jars by pouring boiling oil on them. When their leader comes to rouse his men, he discovers that they are all dead, and escapes. The next morning Morgiana tells Ali Baba about the thieves in the jars. They bury them and Ali Baba shows his gratitude by giving Morgiana her freedom.
To exact revenge after some time, the leader of the thieves establishes himself as a merchant, befriends Ali Baba's son (who is now in charge of the late Cassim's business), and is invited to dinner at Ali Baba's house. However, the thief is recognized by Morgiana who performs a dance with a dagger for the diners and plunges it into his heart when he is off his guard. Ali Baba is at first angry with Morgiana. But when he finds out the thief wanted to kill him, he is extremely grateful and rewards Morgiana by marrying her to his son. Ali Baba is then left as the only one knowing the secret of the treasure in the cave and how to access it.
Classification
The story has been classified in the Aarne–Thompson classification system as AT 676.[5]
Adaptations
Theatre
- The story has been used as a popular pantomime plot for many years. An example of the "pantomime Ali Baba" was the pantomime/musical Chu Chin Chow (1916).
- 40 Thieves, pantomime at the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, 1886
- Ali-Baba is an opéra comique of 1887 with music by Charles Lecocq.
- "Badi-Bandar Rupkatha" is a 2014 Bangladeshi theatrical dance adaption of Ali Baba and Forty thieves organised by Srishti cultural centre and Nrityanchal. Many leading Bangladeshi dancers performed in the adaption such as Shamim Ara Nipa, Shibli Sadiq etc.[6]
Television
- The story of Ali Baba is featured in "Gender Bender" version in Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child that features the voices of Jurnee Smollett as Ali Baba, Tommy Davidson as Cassim, Marla Gibbs as the Grandmother, Will Ferrell as Mamet the Moocher, George Wallace as Baba Mustafa, and Bruno Kirby as the Great One.
- In The Simpsons episode "Moe Goes from Rags to Riches", Lisa is Scheherazade, and Nelson Muntz is King Shahryar as Lisa tells him the story.
Film
- The story was made into an Egyptian movie in 1942 as Ali Baba We El Arbeen Haramy (Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves), with Ali AlKassar playing the lead as Ali Baba, and the comedian actor Ismail Yasin as his assistant.
- A film adaption Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves was made in 1944. The film was remade in 1965 as The Sword of Ali Baba. Frank Puglia portrayed the character named Kassim in both versions.
- A French film Ali Baba et les quarante voleurs starring Fernandel and Samia Gamal (1954).
- A Malaysian comedy film, Ali Baba Bujang Lapok (1960) which quite faithfully adhered to the tale's plot details, but introduced a number of anachronisms for humour, for example the usage of a truck by Kassim Baba to steal the robbers' loot.
- In the 1970s, the Ali Baba story was adapted in a Bengali film called Morgiana Abdulla.
- A Soviet-Indian joint film of 1979 Ali Baba aur 40 Chor, starring Dharmendra, Hema Malini, Rolan Bykov and Zeenat Aman, was largely based on this adventure tale.
- There are two Tamil films under the title Alibabavum 40 Thirudargalum ("Alibaba and Forty Thieves"). The first film starring N. S. Krishnan as Ali Baba released in 1941, the second film starring M. G. Ramachandran, released in 1956.
- Alibaba 40 dongalu a 1970 Telugu film was also based on the same adventure tale. It starred N T Rama Rao and Jayalalitha in lead roles.
- In the television mini-series Arabian Nights, the story is told faithfully with two major changes. The first is that when Morgiana discovers the thieves in the oil jars, she alerts Ali Baba and together with a friend, they release the jars on a street with a steep incline and allow them roll down to break open. Furthermore, the city guard is alerted and arrest the disoriented thieves as they emerge from their containers. Later when Morgiana defeats the thief leader, Ali Baba, who is young and has no children, marries the heroine himself.
- In 1981, an audio musical play was produced in the Soviet Union. The play proved to be extremely popular (Over three million records were produced) and a movie was made, adding video to the existing soundtrack.
- The story of Ali Baba was featured in Inkheart. A member of the 40 Thieves named Farid (played by Rafi Gavron) is brought out of the story by Mortimer "Mo" Folchart and ends up becoming his ally.
- A French telefilm starring Gérard Jugnot and Catherine Zeta-Jones (2007).
- Ali Baba ve Kırk Haramiler 'Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves' is a Turkish movie made in 1971, with Sadri Alışık as Ali Baba.
- A Bollywood film Alibaba Aur 40 Chor starring Dharmendra, Hema Malini, and Zeenat Aman was an Indo-Russian coproduction. Released in 1980, the original story line was slightly altered.
Animated films
- A Merrie Melodies Bugs Bunny/Daffy Duck cartoon, Ali Baba Bunny, has a similar premise to the concept of the treasure-filled magical cave.
- A Popeye cartoon, Popeye the Sailor Meets Ali Baba's Forty Thieves, features Popeye meeting and defeating the titular group.
- In the Disney film Aladdin there are several references to the story. Also, in Aladdin and the King of Thieves the forty thieves play an integral part in the story. However the story is very different from the original Ali Baba story, particularly Cassim's new role as Aladdin's father and the King of Thieves.
- The story was adapted in the 1971 anime Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves (アリババと４０匹の盗賊 Aribaba to Yonjuppiki no Tozoku), storyboarded by Hayao Miyazaki.
- In the anime Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic, Ali Baba appears as one of the main characters and one of Aladdin's friends. At some point of the show he is shown as the leader of a gang of thieves called Fog Troupe. As well as Morgiana being his loyal friend who he freed from slavery and Cassim being his friend from the slums who is constantly jealous of him and tries to bring him ill fate when he can.
Books
- A mythopoeic novel by Tom Holt, Open Sesame, is based on characters from the story of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves.
- Although not a direct adaptation, the characters of Ali Baba, Cassim, and Morgiana as well as part of the concept of the Forty Thieves are featured in the ongoing Japanese comic series called Magi. An adaptation of this manga to anime was made in 2012.
Video games
- A 1981 computer video game by Quality Software[7]
- Ali Baba and 40 Thieves, a 1982 arcade video game by Sega
- Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, a computer game for the Apple II published in 1982
- A version of Ali Baba appears in Sonic and the Secret Rings, where he is portrayed by the character Tails.
- Elements of Ali Baba were featured in the second Dinosaur King series from episode 18 through 21. One of the most common elements of the story was that it featured the 39 Thieves (there were 40, but one of its members was out sick) and also featured the "Open Sesame" phrase.
- Ali Baba's Wee Booties can be found in the video game Team Fortress 2 for the Demoman
Other
- Alibaba Group of China used the name because of its universal appeal.[8]
- At the United States Air Force Academy, Cadet Squadron 40 was originally nicknamed "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves" before eventually changing its name to the "P-40 Warhawks".
- The Beastie Boys reference Ali Baba in their 1986 song "Rhymin' and Stealin'".
The "super group" Dark Lotus released in 2001 the album Tales from the Lotus Pod, with the second track being titled Abi Baba
Iraq war
The name "Ali Baba" was often used as derogatory slang by American and Iraqi soldiers and their allies in the War in Iraq to describe individuals suspected of a variety of offenses related to theft and looting.[9] British soldiers routinely used the term to refer to Iraqi civilians.[10] In the subsequent occupation it is used as a general term for the insurgents, similar to Charlie for the Viet Cong in the Vietnam War.[11] Due to interaction of the two peoples, the term "Ali Baba" was adopted by the Iraqis to describe foreign troops suspected of looting.[12]
Gallery
-
A depiction of the Forty Thieves.
-
The Forty Thieves attack Cassim.
-
A member of the Forty Thieves tries to discover the location of the house of Ali Baba.
-
A member of the Forty Thieves marks the door of Ali Baba
-
Morgiana pays Baba Mustafa the Cobbler.
-
Morgiana pours boiling hot oil into the jars containing the infamous Forty Thieves.
-
Ali Baba presents treasures from the magical cave of Sesame to Morgiana.
Notes
- ↑ Burton, R. F. Supplemental Nights to the Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night with Notes Anthropological and Explanatory, Vol. III, fasc. 2, p. 369(n.) PDF.
- ↑ Duncan Black MacDonald, ‘“Ali Baba and the forty thieves” in Arabic from a Bodleian MS’, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society (April 1910): 327–386.
- ↑ "Galland's Successors", chapter 2 of Muhsin Mahdi, The Thousand and One Nights: From the Earliest Known Sources, Part 3, "Introduction and Indexes", 1994.
- ↑ "Ali Baba or the 40 Thieves". Tapestrykinetics.com. Retrieved 2013-08-15.
- ↑ "Aarne thompson". Verhalenbank.nl. Retrieved 2013-08-15.
- ↑ http://www.cinema.com.bd/art-culture/leading-dancers-to-present-ali-baba-chollish-chor/
- ↑ Barton, Matt (2007-02-23). "Part 2: The Golden Age (1985-1993)". The History of Computer Role-Playing Games. Gamasutra. Archived from the original on 30 March 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-26.
- ↑ "Alibaba’s IPO Filing: Everything You Need to Know - Digits - WSJ". blogs.wsj.com. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
- ↑ Vasagar, Jeevan. Court martial hears of drowned Iraqi's final moments. Retrieved on 2007-04-18.
- ↑ Richard Norton-Taylor Guardian 21 September 2009
- ↑ Fumento, Michael. Back to Falluja: The Iraqi Army versus the Keystone Kops insurgency. Retrieved on 2007-04-18.
- ↑ Levin, Jerry. Will The Real Ali Baba Please Stand Up Retrieved on 2007-04-18.
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ali Baba. |
- "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves" (e-text, in English)
- Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves and Arabian Nights and The Sword of Ali Baba at the Internet Movie Database
| ||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||