The Wonder Tree: A Reflection on Society

   "The Wonder Tree"

            On the desert of Arabia, there was a tribe ruled by Ali Ben. One evening his daughter Zuleika ran to him and told him that there was a stranger going to their tribe. The newcomer told them that the great Sheik ben Nedi was coming the next day. Everyone was excited for their visitor is a great leader from another tribe, so they prepared gifts for the coming Sheik. While everyone is busy preparing, only Zuleika sat alone and idle. She has nothing to offer for the Sheik because her baby camel just died. She went near the great stone and sat there to weep. Suddenly a misty white figure took a shape of a beautiful fairy. The fairy asked Zuleika why she was crying and Zuleika told her the reason. The fairy told her that she has more to offer the Sheik and come back tomorrow where her tears fell upon and she will find something to give the Sheik. The next morning Zuleika came back and found a tree standing, so she told her father. That afternoon the great Sheik came and agreed that Zuleika's gift was the best of all. Arabia bless the day for they know that the tree will furnish them with food, fiber and shade.                   

Introduction

                   The Wonder Tree is an Arabian folktale. When I read the story told by our English teacher, I was amazed of how the story was going. The problem started when Zuleika, daughter of the chief Ali Ben Ahmed, was crying because she can’t find a gift for the arrival of Sheik Ben Nedi to her desert village. Then the solution takes place when a white figure emerges from the well beside her and her gift will be in the morning, and so it does and a tree grew out of the well. As I read the story repeatedly, I notice that it has some kind of connection to Arabian tradition due to the words used in the story.

                    In this blog, I’ll be talking about how some terms and events in the story is related to the Arabian tradition. Photos are provided to show evidence to know if it is real or not.

Sheikh Juma Al Maktoum(left) and Sheikh Saeed bin Maktoum
 Al Maktoum (right) of the Maktoum family

Body

                    The story has mention a sheik in which according to www.Wikipedia.org is an honorific title in the Arabic language which gives the reason why the villagers are very excited for his arrival. It is commonly designates the ruler of a tribe, who inherited the title from his father. "Sheikh" is given to a royal male at birth, whereas the related title "Sheikha" is given to a royal female at birth. They were known from the 15^th century to the present. They can either good or bad but in the story, Ali Ben Ahmed was shown as a minor character but he’s a good leader and father to Zuleika.

                   

Bedouin with a young goat in central Qatar.

M. Ericson/Ostman Agency

                     The part where everyone In the village is preparing gifts for the arrival is a tradition. According to www.commisceo-global.com, it has now for some reason but it says the every time a visitor has come to your home, you greet them with gifts as a sign of appreciation for coming here. As for villages in the desert according to britannica.com, they’ve have inhabited he Arabian Desert since early Pleistocene times (i.e., about 2.6 million years ago).  Artifacts have been found widely, including at Neolithic sites in Qatar and Dubai, but they are most abundant in the southwestern Rubʿ al-Khali. Archaeological research sponsored by the Saudi government has uncovered many Paleolithicsites. Remains of cultures from the past 3,000 years occur in many parts of the peninsula. The Bedouin adapted to nomadic desert life by breeding camels, Arabian horses, and sheep; but they have also grown date palms and other crops, usually hiring others to perform agricultural labour. Traditionally, finding grazing and water were the main concerns of the Bedouin, in addition to raiding to seize horses and camels. Nomads also interacted with the settled population through religious rituals (e.g., the hajj [pilgrimage] to Mecca), long-distance commerce, and the exchange of poetry and other cultural activities. Hereditary tribal Bedouin groups claimed certain lands as their dirah (tribal territory), where their flocks could graze and water. As international boundaries were drawn in the desert, governments increasingly limited tribal mobility. Saudi authorities encouraged the Bedouin to settle in oases, and after 1925 the Saudi ruler ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz (generally known as Ibn Saʿūd) prevented intertribal raiding. Tribal loyalties have declined in political importance but have remained significant in such areas as marriage. Modernization has brought much change, particularly for those Bedouin who have settled. Many have moved to urban areas, and the number of purely nomadic people is now only a small proportion of the desert's total population; other former nomads have settled in or near desert villages, thereby keeping open the option of part-time nomadism. Western cultural influence accelerated with the discovery of petroleum in 1936 and led to the introduction of such modern conveniences as airplanes, telephones and televisions. Trucks have been of particular importance for the Bedouin, who use them for many purposes, including transporting sheep to market, moving fodder and water to sites where animals raised for meat are herded, moving small numbers of animals from one grazing area to another, and traveling between cities and villages. Increased mobility has meant that, while fewer Bedouin children attend schools than the children of settled peoples, the nomads have begun to gain greater access to education and other public services. Women remain mostly in the home, but Bedouin men often travel great distances to find work; most families derive some income from relatives who serve in the military.

A scene where the White shining fairy
appeared from the well if front of Zuleika

  
As to the white figure inside the well, it’s information may be buried into the pile of myths files or its just made up. 

                    Then in the end, the story leaves us with the line by Sheik Ben Ned, “The most precious gift of all is the gift of the child’s tears, for it springs from the desire from the heart.” Yes, it is true because when the parents see the tears of the child, they know either what’s wrong with his/her life or the gift that the child has given you. 

Conclusion

                    After that, I concluded that the story is about the most wonderful thing a child can do anything that can surprise us in which in the story, the tears of Zuleika. But all of our lives have one thing we have to do, we have to make sacrifices so that there can be a miracle at the end.

References

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheikh
• https://www.britannica.com/place/Arabian-Desert/People
• http://www.commisceo-global.com/country-guides/saudi-arabia-guide