History Myth / ArabMythology

The Arab people comprise one of the largest ethnic groups on earth and are the largest ethnic group in Western UsefulNotes/{{Asia}}[=/=]UsefulNotes/UsefulNotes/TheMiddleEast as well as North Africa. For more on the cultural background of the Arab peoples see UsefulNotes/ArabWorld.

The Arab people comprise one of the largest ethnic groups on earth and are the largest ethnic group in Western Asia as well as North Africa. For more on the cultural background of the Arab peoples see UsefulNotes/ArabWorld.

This page concerns itself largely with the myths and legends of the pre-Abrahamic Arabs, and with lesser-known aspects of post-Abrahamic Arab mythology. Emphasis on the term "Abrahamic" rather than the more commonly used "Islamic" as it is important to remember roughly 10% of contemporary Arabs are Christian and other faiths. Arabia between the rise of Islam and the rise of Christianity was a rather eclectic region theologically.

Eastern Arabia or as it was known historically "Al-Bahrain" was under significant Zoroastrian influence due to the proximity of the Persian Sassanid empire, with a number of petty Arab kingdoms falling under client state status. Southern Arabia was once home to a large population of Jewish Arabs, most notable of which was the Himyarite kingdom. Northern Arabia was dominated by Christians. Western Arabia or the "Hejaz" region was heavily mixed due to the volume of commerce from across the Near East, however it was and is home to the famous Kaaba which was the holiest shrine in the ancient Arab world. The central deserts of Arabia or Najd which was primarily dominated by the Bedouin held most strongly to traditional Arab religion.

Less well-known legends might include works such as "Taghribat Bani Hilal" concerning the dramatized migration of the Banu Hilal from their homeland in central Arabia to what is now Algeria, or the tragic romance of "Layla and Majnun", or the adventures of the great sage Al-Khidr.

The Arab people comprise one of the largest ethnic groups on earth and are the largest ethnic group in West Asia as well as North Africa. For more on the cultural background of the Arab peoples see UsefulNotes/ArabWorld.

The Arab people comprise one of the largest ethnic groups on earth and are the largest ethnic group in Western Asia as well as North Africa. For more on the cultural background of the Arab peoples see UsefulNotes/ArabWorld.

* ButNotTooBlack: Averted. Antarah was only half-black, but he was pitch-black like a crow. His inability to hide his status was part of the reason he had to perform great deeds to be accepted.

* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: Antarah quickly rose from lowly camel-boy to valiant warrior owning to his boldness, poetry, and skill in battle.

The Arab people comprise one of the largest ethnic groups on earth and are the largest ethnic group in the Middle East as well as North Africa. For more on the cultural background of the Arab peoples see UsefulNotes/ArabWorld.

** Ghouls are a type of savage Jinn who feed on blood and flesh. The lurk graveyards and eat corpses. Some say they are the children of Iblis himself, hatched from an egg laid by his wife. Ghouls are perfectly at home in the loneliest corners of the deserts where they lie in wait for travelers. Ghouls may transform into beautiful ladies to lure in hapless men. One of the few ways to avoid a Ghoul's predation is to drink milk from its breast. In Arab culture to drink milk from a woman makes her one's "Milk Mother" and any other people who drink from her are their "Milk Siblings". As such, they cannot be harmed. A human can kill a Ghoul with a well-aimed kick, but kicking the dead Ghoul again will revive it. One notable feauture of Ghouls is their inability to hide their donkey legs when shapeshifted.

* FuryFueledFoolishness: A wealthy young man of good breeding proposed to Abla but couldn't keep his mouth shut about how successful and important his father was. Antarah flew into a jealous rage and tried to kill him, but the young man escaped. The envious chief who hated Antarah took this matter to sultan Zoheir, telling him that an attempted murderer must be punished. So Zoheir had Antarah banished back to the fields where he began his life as a slave.