Arabic Shadow Theatre 1300-1900: A Handbook

Description

This handbook aims at a history of Arabic shadow theatre from the earliest sightings in the tenth century to the turn of the twentieth century. At the core is an analytical documentation of all the known textual remnants and the preserved artifacts of this rich and still living tradition. Contents Preface Figures Part 1 Research Chapter 1 Arabic Shadow Theatre in Historical Sources 1 Late ʿAbbasid Accounts (c. 1000–1250) 2 Mamluk Accounts (c. 1250–1517) 3 Ottoman Accounts (c. 1517–1900) 4 Western Visitors’ Accounts (c. 1760–1900) Chapter 2 Early Modern Scholarship 1 Orientalism and Arab Shadow Theatre: c. 1890–1945 2 Early Arab Scholarship: c. 1900–1950 Chapter 3 New Studies 1 Western Scholarship Since the 1950s 2 Arab Research Activities Since the 1950s Part 2 Resources Chapter 4 Primary Sources: Manuscripts and Artifacts 1 Manuscripts 2 Shadow Figures Chapter 5 Language, Style, and Terminology 1 Content and Language 2 Songs in the Shadow Play: Canonic and Non-Canonic Verses 3 Terminology Chapter 6 Performance 1 Scenes from Medieval Cairo 2 Shadow Theatre of the Ottoman Time 3 Scenes from the Early Modern Era Part 3 Repertoires Chapter 7 Medieval Arabic Shadow Plays: Ibn Dāniyāl and Others 1 Ibn Dāniyāl’s Three Plays 2 An Unconfirmed Mamluk Shadow Play Chapter 8 Ottoman Egyptian Shadow Plays 1 Sources 2 An Original Description of the Repertoire 3 Seven Early Ottoman Egyptian Shadow Plays Chapter 9 Late Ottoman and Early Modern Egyptian Plays 1 Four Egyptian Shadow Plays of Late Ottoman Time 2 Short Plays from Early Modern Egypt Chapter 10 Syrian and Levantine Plays 1 An Overview 2 Lebanon 3 Syria, Damascus 4 Syria, Aleppo 5 Syria, the Coastal Region 6 Other Syrian Plays Chapter 11 North African Plays 1 The Maghreb: Tunisia and Algeria 2 Libya Epilogue Notes from the Field Arabic Shadow Theatre Today Appendix 1 Arabic Shadow Plays: an Inventory Appendix 2 Shadow Theatre in Premodern Arabic Poetry 1 The Prime Metaphor: God, Reality, and Shadow Play 2 Performance as Illusions Making and Performer as Illusionist Appendix 3 The Cast 1 Egypt 2 Syria and the Levant 3 Tunisia and Algeria 4 Libya Appendix 4 The Programme of a Layla Celebration Appendix 5 Glossary (Arabic – English) Bibliography Index