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RIYADH: Saudis have lengthy loved the joys of a vacation like Halloween in their very own means, whether or not by way of watching horror movies or exchanging scary tales. This yr, we glance into some favourite native legends and tales about issues that go bump within the evening.
Oral storytelling has at all times been an essential a part of our society’s cultural material, even earlier than the invention of the novel and print. For millennia, hair-raising tales have been utilized as a way of imparting ethical classes, serving to individuals make sense of the world, or just discouraging undesirable conduct in kids.
Each nation has horror tales and folklore from its previous handed down from one era to the following. Saudis don’t await particular events to share terrifying tales; all it takes is the suitable temper and viewers to remodel any get-together right into a storytelling occasion.
Saleh AlGhannam)
Nawaf Al-Huwaimel, a preferred Saudi storyteller and TV presenter, explains: “Horror tales have been round for a very long time, as have comedic style tales and love tales. Saudis love the sideburns of horror, the sideburns of the jinn tales in gatherings and outings, the sensation of anticipation and worry that an individual takes pleasure in.
“With the beginning of tales and novels, the horror style grew to become a giant a part of storytelling and had an awesome demand from narrators.”
The story of Humar Al-Qaylah, or the Noon Donkey, is one which has given goosebumps to many in Saudi Arabia and the broader Gulf area.
HIGHLIGHTS
• The story of Humar Al-Qaylah has given goosebumps to many in Saudi Arabia and the broader Gulf area.
• The story of Umm Al-Saaf and Al-Leil is about an outdated witch who lives in palm bushes ready to abduct youngsters.
• Scary tales are generally instructed to frighten and discourage youngsters’s dangerous conduct.
• Tales of ghouls, or ogres, have existed for hundreds of years, relationship again to the pre-Islamic period.
The favored narration describes Humar Al-Qaylah as being a grotesque mixture of human and animal, along with her head and legs mentioned to be that of a donkey.
The gist of the story is that the beast Al-Qaylah comes out into the open throughout noon, harming these it encounters alongside the way in which.
Like many others, the story of Humar Al-Qaylah was instructed to frighten and stop youngsters from going out at midday as mother and father and household elders feared the protection of their youngsters from the warmth throughout the day.
Munerah Alotaibi, a 53-year-old retired trainer from Riyadh, recalled how the story affected her when she was younger: “I imagined Humar Al-Qaylah as this half human, half donkey, a mixture that undoubtedly prevented me and my siblings from going exterior … it’s humorous now that I give it some thought. Individuals then had been very imaginative to provide you with such tales.”
Mohammed Almohsen, a 66-year-old businessman from the Qassim area, mentioned: “My teenage son watches TV collection with dragons and beasts, fascinated by the creativity of the writers who provide you with such tales.”
He added: “But this stage of creativeness and creativity will not be new to me as I’m from a era that heard a number of tales with beasts, with a stage of creativeness that exceeds what we see in the present day in fictional TV collection.”
Saudis love tales of jinn regardless of it being scary, and this storytelling is a giant a part of social gatherings. Nawaf
Al-Huwaimel, Saudi narrator and TV presenter
Tales of ghouls, or ogres, have existed for hundreds of years, relationship again to the pre-Islamic period. A ghoul in these tales is alleged to be a demon-like being or a monstrous humanoid that dwells in cemeteries, a village cave, orchard, or different uninhabited locations.
It can be a shapeshifting demon that may assume the guise of an animal, luring individuals into deserted locations to slay and drink their blood, then take the type of the individual they not too long ago ate.
It makes an look in a number of legendary Arabian tales together with “One Thousand and One Nights,” “Sinbad the Sailor” and the “Story Of The Envious Vizier.”
Tales change over time and generally they’re tailored to the tradition and area. For instance, whereas the ghoul was initially thought of to be a monstrous creature, the favored animated movie “Shrek” depicted an ogre as a cranky however kindhearted good friend on the hunt to save lots of a princess with the assistance of a talkative donkey.
“The ghoul that I do know and grew up listening to about, and the ghoul my son is aware of are two various things,” mentioned Lamees Alamri, a 35-year-old accountant based mostly in Riyadh.
“I bear in mind being scared and attempting onerous to think about what a ghoul seemed like when individuals converse of it, and my son remembers it as one in all his greatest childhood reminiscences.”
Creativeness is a typical and huge factor of horror folktales, together with different parts comparable to isolation, superstition, rural settings, and creepy character names.
In response to Al-Huwaimel, “The narrators’ supply of the tales and the way they set the surroundings and the circumstances of the story to be just like the surroundings and circumstances of the listeners intensify the extent of worry among the many listeners.”
Tales actually could be extra scary once they really feel relatable or acquainted. He defined: “Though the tales are fictional, the narrators carry them nearer to you, making the temporal and spatial circumstances of the story very near you.”
Rural settings or deserted buildings are an essential factor in Saudi horror and concrete legends, with probably the most common ones being the story of Umm Al-Saaf and Al-Leil, which is a well-known story amongst Saudis within the Jap Province.
The story is about an outdated witch with fluffy hair who talks lots at evening. The witch within the story is adopted by cockroaches and is known as the mom of cockroaches. She is alleged to dwell on palm bushes and their branches. When a wind blows sturdy sufficient to shake the branches, Saudis joke that Umm Al-Saaf and Al-Leif is on the prime of the palm tree on the brink of abduct the youngsters roaming round within the space.
The story, like the story of Humar Al-Qaylah, was instructed to frighten youngsters and stop them from leaving the home, significantly when the climate is windy and wet.
“The encircling has an impression on the composition of tales instructed by our ancestors. Within the case of Umm Al-Saaf and Al-Leif, the well-known witch from the story resides on the prime of a palm tree,” mentioned Hilah Al-Subaie, a retired historical past trainer, based mostly in Dhahran.
“Palms are quite common within the Jap province. Al-Ahsa as an example is known for its giant date palm bushes.”
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