Jerusalem and the Valley of Jehoshaphat from the Hill of Evil Counsel (detail), by Thomas B. Seddon [1854]

Folk-lore of the Holy Land Moslem, Christian and Jewish by J. E. Hanauer [1907]

This entertaining collection of folklore from what is now Israel/Palestine was written at the start of the 20th century. It contains an even mix of Moslem, Christian and Jewish lore; often a given tale will draw from multiple traditions, and sometimes it is hard to distinguish a point of view. Of special interest are the stories of the Jinn, magical beings that correspond to the European fairies, the accounts of folk-magic, and folklore from all three religions about biblical topics.

The book covers the entire gamut of folkloric themes: animal tales, tales about fools, calendar lore, and so on. There is an intriguing chapter about the lore of coffee, its history, and the etiquette of preparing and drinking it. Add yet another item on the list of Islamic contributions to world culture: the coffeehouse.

Although Moslems comprised the largest proportion of the population of Palestine, and it was governed by a succession of Moslem states, including Egypt and the Ottoman Empire, there were also significant numbers of Christians and Jews. These three populations managed to co-exist in everyday life for centuries. This book vividly illustrates how ordinary people managed to use humor and other coping mechanisms to make this arrangement work.

Note: the version of this book which is currently in print by Dover is a reprint of a 1935 edition. It differs slightly from this electronic text, which (for copyright reasons) was prepared from an original 1907 edition. The 1935 edition has an additional preface, an index, and different pagination.

I. Saints, Sinners, and Miracles

Legends and Anecdotes

Ideas and Superstitions