São Paulo – When he was invited to work on the first Portuguese translation of the "One Thousand and One Nights", in 2002, Mamede Mustafa Jarouche knew that the book would consume much of his time and efforts. But he did not imagine how much. He had no clue that he would accompany the fall of a dictator. He was in Egypt when the revolution ousted Hosni Mubarak after 30 years. Back to Brazil, the professor of the Oriental Languages Department at the College of Philosophy, Literature and Human Sciences at the University of São Paulo (USP) returns to the project he started over 2,200 nights ago.
Currently, Mamede is working on the translation of the fourth volume of the book. That is not the end, though. This is the last volume originating from research on manuscripts. "But the translation of what is called the ‘vulgate stories’, that is, the narratives that have become sedimented in the printed copies of the book, is yet to come," said the professor.
Both volumes (of the Syrian branch) were released in 2005. The third, in the Egyptian branch, was published in 2007. The fourth, according to the schedule, should already have been published. "I admit that it is late. I had to turn my efforts in other directions, which stopped me from completing the translation of the fourth volume, which is in progress," he said.
Mamede had to take his foot off the accelerator during translation. "I became reticent because I knew it would be long and would consume my strength. In the beginning, the project consumed my time in an obsessive manner, but I have now been obliged to divide it among my other activities and fields of interest, to protect my physical and mental health," he said.
Between one volume and the next of the "One Thousand and One Nights", Mamede published other translations, like "Stories to read calmly" and continued studying. That was what he was doing in Egypt when a revolution changed the country’s direction. "Following the revolution was unforgettable, something that will never be deleted from my retinas. It is silly to try to describe it here, mostly as I am still emotionally involved with the happenings," he pointed out.
Back to the book, the Egyptian branch offers its challenges. It is divided into two: the ancient and the recent. In it, the nights do not follow a chronological order. "It was in the Egyptian branch that the content of the work truly started corresponding to its title, that is, to the work whose title was ‘one thousand and one nights’, and effectively got one thousand and one nights," he explained.
To date it is not yet known exactly when the "One Thousand and One Nights" was written. Some manuscripts had already been circulated among Arab states in the ninth century. The work only got the characteristics and current title between the second half of the 13th century and the first half of the 14th.
On discovering that his companion cheated on him, king Sahriyar decided that each night he would marry a woman and kill her on the next day. To escape death, one of his wives, Sahrazad, would tell the king a story each night. That way, she preserved her life, as the king always waited to hear the next one.
With the Egyptian and Syrian branches ready, he will have been the first translator of one of the most important books from Arabic to Portuguese. But he is not proud. "I am very happy for having worked with it and contributed, somehow, to bring Brazil closer to the Arab culture and stimulate Brazilians to understand it. That is very gratifying," he said.
*Translated by Mark Ament
