The Red Lantern

‘The Last Storytellers’ is a book that puts into print stories from the Moroccan tradition of oral storytelling, which goes back almost a thousand years and is now in danger of extinction. Accompanied by his guide, Ahmed, Richard Hamilton sought out in Marrakech five authentic storytellers, who are no longer young but have no-one waiting to don their djellabas. Typically, they are men who followed what they saw as their fate, in spite of the disapproval of orthodox Islam and opposition from families who regarded storytelling as little better than begging.

These storytellers may be aged, poor and frail, but their stories are rich in detail and full of vitality. The first story in the collection was told by Moulay Mohamed who, with a heart condition, is now too weak to tell stories in public. It tells of a poor, lowly sweet seller who leaves Marrakech, crosses the Atlas Mountains and travels through the desert in the hope of finding success. He stumbles across a great city in a lush valley, whose incredibly wealthy Pasha offers him hospitality. When it is time to leave, the sweet seller hesitantly offers his host the only thing he has in his possession, a lantern made of tin and red glass. Although the Pasha’s treasury is full of gold and jewels, he has never seen a red lantern before, is delighted with the gift and gives the sweet seller twelve loads of gold and jewels in return. Back in Marrakech, where he now lives in a magnificent mansion, the former sweet seller receives a visit from the wealthy brother who showed him no compassion during his unsuccessful years. This man learns the source of his brother’s fortune and sets out on a similar journey ... but I won’t give the ending away.

To me this story is a reminder that outward observances do not bring the desired results if there is something amiss in the heart. Imitation is a jinn we share with at least some of our primate relatives. It’s the jinn that makes us want what everybody else has and do what everybody else does; but our mirror neurons also allow us to exercise empathy and a purer spirit — compassion.

This Sunday morning, when ‘The News of the World’ carries its farewell montage of famous front pages, I was looking at a different photo montage, one constructed by Omran Sahar. It is made up of five photos, four from the drought stricken Horn of Africa. They show underfed children whose eyes plead for food. The fifth photo shows, against a golden background a prosperous-looking Arab man dressed in western clothes.