A folktale lives on the lips of its bearers but merely exists in a state of
suspended animation when reduced to the written form.l
The present essay deals with the prose folk narrative in oral traditions. It
attempts to detect and establish objective criteria according to which
typological identification of Tales in the Arab World can be undertaken. A
number of works precede this statement and serve as references in
relationship to the present quest: these include: Folktales of Egypt (1980);
DOTTI or Types of the Folktale in the Arab World: A Demographically
Oriented Tale-Type Index (2004); A Motif Index of The Thousand and One
Nights (2006) ; Popular Stories of Ancient Egypt, by Sir Gaston C. Maspero.
Edited and with an Introduction by Hasan El-Shamy (2002 and 2004) ; Folk
Traditions of the Arab World: a Guide
