Central Asia; Under the spell of Sherazade

For beauty is the cause of harmony, of sympathy, of community.
Beauty unites all things and is the source of all things.
It is the great creating cause which bestirs the world and holds all things in existence by the longing inside them to have beauty.
And there it is ahead of all as … the Beloved … toward which all things move, since it is the longing for beauty which actually brings them into being.

PSEUDO- DIONYSIUS, The Divine Names

All legends contain wisdom and provide insights into human behaviour, beliefs and values from the past. They are always enjoyed by the enquiring mind, both young and old and, “A story teaches better than a mullah’s sermon ever can!” (1)

I once wrote a manuscript entitled, One Thousand and One Nights which was bound in rich Moroccan leather and inlaid with silken pictures and written in golden lettering. Odd numbers are auspicious and fortunately, my highly imaginative literary achievement actually saved my life. Some have even called me the greatest story teller of them all and my fame has spread like a priceless carpet to the four corners of the world. Rimsky- Korsakov even composed in my honour.

As I sit here, drinking kumis which is a traditional drink of the peoples of Central Asia, made from fermenting mare’s milk in a horse-hide container, called a saba , (2) I would like to wish you all, health, wealth and much happiness. My skin is the colour of almond paste, my eyes are the shape of almonds and my waist is as narrow as an almond tree. (3) My face is as lovely as the tamarind flower and my hair shines like the night sea under a moon. (4) My scents that perfume my clothes are from the casbah, I really love rose oil as it reminds me that love is a beautiful flower, unfortunately accompanied by a thorn. I am wearing a silken crimson and gold robe which is embroidered with moonstone, zircon, coral, jade and rubies.

I am the daughter of a grand wizard, a loving, compassionate and very gentle father. I love to read and I possess over a thousand books. I have studied history, poetry and astronomy and I understand the importance of eroticism to cure damaged souls. I have a thirst for knowledge, discovery and challenges and above all, I believe in myself and the powers of beauty and love.

King Schariar, the King of Samarkand in Central Asia, discovered that his wife had deceived him. In an act of ruthless revenge, he killed not only her, but a whole succession of future wives and incredibly, a total number of three thousand. He was utterly convinced that a woman could not be trusted when out of his sight and so he resolved to execute each wife the day after each marriage. Incidentally, his brother, the King of Bukhara was also deceived by his many wives and concubines; so the two made a brotherly pact that no woman can be trusted.

Much to my father’s dismay, I volunteered to marry King Schariar. I know I have that divine spark, that creative potential which is in every genius. I wanted to use my full potential to save women and to teach about the power of love. My father, who had hidden me from the King was naturally both dismayed and distraught by my proclamation.

When I arrived at the King’s bedchamber, I brought him a flower, as a symbol of both peace and sexuality. I set my magic to work immediately, I wanted to enchant him and so I asked if I could tell my sister, Dunyazade a final story. The King agreed, but I only told him half of my amazing, magical, mysterious tale … the King listened attentively in awe and anticipation, he was spellbound and unable to sleep.

Of course I continued, I wanted to transmogrify the King so that he would no longer take his revenge on innocent women. I wanted to show the King that a woman cannot be conquered; only love conquers all and I used my fascinating tales to this end, weaving love and wisdom into heart of each.

Slowly King Schariar rediscovered the pleasures of living, loving and wisdom. This was a long process, in fact a thousand one nights passed and I bore three sons in three years to this soulful man.

God is beautiful and loves all beauty” is a statement attributed to the Prophet Mohammed and it is used as much today as in the past. The verb zaygana used in the Koran, means to make beautiful, to embellish, or to ornament, and therefore refers to aesthetic beauty. Not only was nature created to please, but humans are entitled to ornament themselves to be agreeable. God created beauty for humanity to perceive and enjoy in order to acquire a taste for the eternal bliss of the hereafter. (5)

Life in paradise also involves luxury and ornamentation:

…they shall be decked with bracelets of gold, and arrayed in garments of fine green silk with rich brocade. (18:30) (6).

Webster’s dictionary calls the quality of beauty ‘that which gives the highest degree of pleasure to the senses or the mind…’ What is naturally pleasurable to the senses – and thus, lovely – sets off a neurochemical response that we experience as feelings of calm and well-being. As Dr Andrew Weil remarks in Spontaneous Healing, ‘Beauty in any form has a salutary effect on spirit.’ (7)

I would now like to continue with my magic and spells and introduce you to the history of beauty and cosmetics in my very own heartland, Central Asia, I know that you too will be spellbound.

With love to you all,

Sheherazade

REFERENCES

1. Mc Caughrean, Geraldine One Thousand and One Arabian Nights. Oxford University Press, 1999.
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumis
3. Mc Caughrean, Geraldine One Thousand and One Arabian Nights, Oxford University Press, 1999.
4. Ibid. The first European edition was a free translation by Abbé Antoine Galland into French (1704-17)
5. Beauty In Arabic Culture, Bahrens- Abouself, D. p.5
6. The Holy Koran.
7. Weil, Andrew. Spontaneous Healing, New York: Alfred Knopf 1995

For more information see Nicky's website : fengshui-monaco.org