Encyclopedia of Palestinian Folktales (Part 2)

Tamer Institute sees documenting oral history as a demanding, continuous journey of research، yet one that is unquestionably fruitful, for it builds bridges leading to our Palestinian memory. Recognizing the role documentation plays in reviving the natural bond between children, parents, and grandparents, and in strengthening their connection across different times, this book comes as a continuation of Tamer Institute’s long-standing path and history of collecting, publishing, and documenting. The subject of folk tales in general, including fairy tales, revolves around the individual, the family, society, the environment, and the universe. They are all projections of the problems a family typically faces in daily life. And since these tales are usually told by women rather than men, they are projections of women’s concerns, problems, desires, and aspirations within the society where the tale is told. The tales in this series of books all come from Palestinian society. To understand these tales, we need to become acquainted with the nature of the family in which the women who narrated them lived. Palestinian women spent their entire lives within an extended Arab Middle Eastern family. Thus, the structure of the extended Arab family, and a woman’s position within it, is what gives these fairy tales their “Arabic flavor".