29.
The Ghouleh of Trans-Jordan

Once there was a poor man. One day he said to his family, "Let's cross over to Trans-Jordan. Maybe we can find a better life there than we have here."^[1] They had (May Allah preserve your worth!)^[2] a beast of burden.

Crossing eastward, they came upon some deserted ruins.^[3] When they found an empty house in the ruins, they wanted to move into it. A

[9] According to Islamic law, the divorce becomes legally binding after the third time a man says "I divorce you," since he is not permitted to remarry the same woman more than three times.

[10] Cf. the ending of Tale 9. The behavior of the co-wives in both these tales confirms the observation of Joseph Jacobs that "the envious step-mother of folktales was originally an envious co-wife" (Indian Fairy Tales : 248).

[1] Traditionally, nomadic and seminomadic tribes crossed the River Jordan back and forth to graze their herds, often making use of ruins and caves for their camps.

[2] 'Ajallak allah —literally, "May Allah exalt you!" See Tale 15, n. 8.

[3] From the description in the tale, the "deserted ruins" (xirbe ) apparently occupy an area the size of a whole village.

woman came upon them. "Welcome!" she said to the man. "Welcome to my nephew!^[4] Since my brother died, you haven't dropped in on me, nor have you visited me."

"By Allah," he answered, "my father never mentioned you to me. And in any case, we came here only by chance."

"Welcome!" she replied. "Welcome! Go ahead and stay in this house."

Now, the house was well stocked with food, and they settled in. The man had only his wife and a daughter. They would cook meals, and in the evening the daughter took the woman her dinner. She lived in the southern part of the ruined town, and they lived in the north, with some distance between them.

One evening the girl went to bring the woman her dinner. She came up to the door, and 1o! the woman had thrown to the ground a young man with braids like those of a girl gone astray, and she was devouring him.^[5] Stepping back, the girl moved some distance away and called out, "Hey, Aunty! Aunty!" The ghouleh shook herself, taking the shape of a woman again, and came to the terrified girl.

"The name of Allah protect you, niece!" exclaimed the ghouleh.^[6]

"A black shape crossed my path," the girl explained, "and I became frightened."

Taking the dinner from the girl, the ghouleh said, "Don't worry! I'll wait here until you get inside the house." But she followed her to the door of the house to find out what the girl was going to say to her mother.

"How's your aunt?" asked the mother.

Now the girl was a clever one, and she answered, "When I got there, I found her sitting quietly with her head in her lap, like this."

After the ghouleh had gone back to her house to finish what she was eating, the girl said to her mother, "Mother, it turns out our aunt is a ghouleh."

"How do you know she's a ghouleh?" asked the mother.

[4] On the ghouleh's calling the man "nephew," see Tale 6, n. 11.

[5] The description here derives from earlier standards of male beauty. Men used to grow and braid their hair, with long braids considered a standard of handsomeness and not (as it would be today) a sign of effeminacy.

[6] Ismalla `aleki —literally, "May the name of Allah be upon you!" The name of Allah protects from all evil, which is thought to be lurking everywhere. In situations where there may be danger, when a child falls or cries out in fear, or when a baby wakes up from sleep, the name of Allah is invoked. Cf. Tale 17, n. 6; Tale 22, n. 8; see Hanauer, Folklore : 141-157.

"I saw her eating a lad with locks like those of a seductive girl," said the girl.

Her husband was sleeping. "Get up, get up!" she said. "It turns out your aunt is a ghouleh."

"What! My aunt a ghouleh! You're a ghouleh?

"All right," the wife replied. "Sleep, sleep! We were only joking with you."

When he had gone back to sleep, they went and filled a sack with flour. They brought a tin can full of olive oil and (May it be far from the listeners!) the beast of burden. Loading the provisions on it, they called upon the Everlasting to watch over their journey.^[7]

Meanwhile, the man slept till morning, and when he woke he found neither wife nor daughter. "So," he thought, "it seems what they said is true." He mounted to the top of the flour bin and lowered himself in.^[8]

After sunrise the ghouleh showed up, but when she went into the house, there was no one there. Turning herself back into a ghouleh, she started dancing and singing:

"My oil and my flour, O what a loss!
Gone are the masters of the house!"

When he heard her singing and prancing about, the man was so scared

he farted, scattering flour dust into the air. She saw him.

"Ah!" she cried out. "You're still here!"

"Yes, Aunty!" he answered.

"Well, come down here," she said. "Where shall I start eating you?"

"Eat my little hand," he answered, "that did not listen to my little daughter."

After eating his hand, she asked again, "Where shall I eat you now?"

"Eat my beard," he answered, "that did not listen to my wife."^[9]

And so on, until she had devoured him all.

[7] Qalin ya dayim —literally, "They said, 'O Everlasting One!'" Note that the teller does not actually say the women started out on their journey. The custom of calling upon Allah at the start of any journey is so deeply ingrained in the Palestinian people that merely saying "Ya alla" (O Allah!) is equivalent to saying "Let's go!"

[8] Large bins (xawabi ; sing., xabye ) in which provisions such as lentils, wheat, and dried figs were stored from one year to the next were part of the structure of older Palestinian houses.

[9] Kulini min ilhayti, illi ma smi`t min imrayti —literally, "Eat me from my little beard, because I did not listen to my wife."

Now we go back to the girl and her mother. When they had reached home, the mother said to her daughter, "She's bound to follow us and turn herself (God save your honors!)^[10] into a bitch. She'll scratch against the door. I'll boil a pot full of olive oil, and you open for her. When she comes in, I'll pour the oil over her head."

In a while the ghouleh came and scratched at the door, and the girl opened for her. No sooner had she gone in the door than the woman poured the oil onto her head. She exploded, and behold! she was dead. There was no moisture in her eye.^[11]

In the morning the woman filled the town with her shouts, and people rushed to her rescue.

"What's the matter?" they asked.

"Listen," she said. "There's a ruin, and it's full of provisions. It was protected by a ghouleh, and here! I've killed the ghouleh. Any one who has strength can go load up on wheat, flour, and oil. As for me, I'll be satisfied with the food in the house where we stayed."