Storytelling
Through storytelling, the narrative of a civilization or group of people can be conveyed and encapsulated in history. The stories that get passed down through oral and written tradition possess the power to change cultural perceptions of groups of people. Often throughout history, storytelling focuses on the lives of those in power, documenting the accomplishments of the elite. However, stories of the general populous, detailing their daily lifestyles, can be just as important in understanding a civilization.
Storytelling demonstrates leisure in its intrinsic entertainment value. The tradition of storytelling has been kept alive because people want to listen to the stories. It is important culturally, but also important in forming a community, with people coming together to hear stories be told.
The Galland manuscript, the oldest and most complete record of The Thousand and One Nights, comes from a long tradition of oral storytelling from Syria. Its translation into the French language by Galland, however, marked an important point in the development of an orientalized view of Islamic art and culture.
The Book of Curiosities takes a different approach to storytelling, where instead of a narrative, the maps within tell the story of the mapmaker’s world. Lost for centuries, the discovery of the book in 2003 brought a new perspective to Islamic cartography and how rulers told the story of the Fatimid empire to their subjects.
Another of the many forms of historical storytelling is through theatrical performances. Islamic shadow plays serve as an example of this, as they combine visual, oral, and written elements in order to share a narrative with their audiences, often consisting of common people gathered in public spaces. Shadow puppets serve as representations of this form of storytelling which centered itself around urban public life and leisure in Mamluk Cairo.