“The Birds and Beasts and the Son of Adam” is one of the many stories that belong to the collection of tales known as A Thousand and one Nights. The tales are ancient, and originate from areas in what is now known as the Middle East and were mostly written in Arabic. In the 19th century, many western writers and interpreters translated the stories and put out their own versions of their collections. As a result of words naturally getting lost in translation, as well as the varying bias and motives of each individual writer, each version of A Thousand and One Nights is generally the same, but contains different elements that make each version very unique from the next .
Throughout history, controlling powers in societies have used different forms of media in order to promote their own interests. In 19th Century England, one force that had a lot of power was the Church of England. However, the Church was facing a lot of opposition at the time. New forms of thought as well as new forms of religion began to emerge, and the Church began to lose its power as well as its following. In order to maintain their stronghold on the masses, the Church would often persuade writers produce literature that implicitly or explicitly supported the Church and its beliefs. I believe that John Payne wrote this piece of literature to promote the Judeo-Christian ideal that as long as one has faith and shows praise to G-d, that there is nothing to fear, ultimately backing up the Church as a religious institution as a whole. I will analyze key points in the story, mainly the last paragraph, that support the theory that John Payne’s translation of A Thousand and one Nights was purposefully written to be used as propaganda in support of the Church of England.
The story of “The Birds and Beasts and the Son of Adam” is about various different animals that live in a remote area, and what happens when they encounter humans – referred to as “Sons of Adam.” It begins with two peacocks who leave their home to avoid predators and find salvation in a very secluded, lush area right along the sea. One day, a very frantic duck approaches them, who tells the peacocks of her journeys running from the Son of Adam. The duck had a dream one day; a figure had told her to beware the Son of Adam, so the duck left her home in fear. Along the way, the duck came across a young lion, whose father had warned him about the Son of Adam and who was also running. Recognizing their mutual fear, the duck begs the lion to seek out the Son of Adam and kill him. The two venture on together.
Whilst travelling, the duck and the lion encounter three different animals, all speaking of the terrible suffering they went through at the hands of the Son of Adam. All three animals warned that the Sons of Adam were very smart and very charming, and would use trickery in order to get what they needed out of the animals. Later on, a fourth figure appears – who ends up being a Son of Adam – who tricks the lion into getting into a small cage. The Son of Adam then burns the lion alive, and the duck runs until finally stumbling upon the peacocks.
The peacocks reassure the duck that she is safe now, and they invite the duck to live with them in peace. Shortly after, an antelope appears, which frightens the duck yet again. The peacocks explain to the duck that the antelope is harmless, and the two invite the antelope to live with them in peace as well. Eventually, a ship approaches the sea shore, and Sons of Adam disembark. The peacocks and the antelope scurry to safety, while the duck, frozen with fear, gets captured by the Sons of Adam. The peacocks and antelope reconnect, and mourn the loss of their friend the duck.
At first, the antelope expresses that the fate of the duck can be attributed to the evils of the Son of Adam, and that the three of them should stay away. One peacock rebuttals by proclaiming that the capturing of the duck was a result of the duck’s lack of adoration for G-d and all that he has created and provides. There are several lines within Payne’s version of the text that can be interpreted as tools of persuasion in favor of Judeo-Christian values.
In the last paragraph, one of the peacocks says, “’I am assured that nought caused her death but her neglect to celebrate the praises of God, and indeed I said to her, ‘Verily I fear for thee, because thou art not careful to praise God; for all things that He hath made do glorify Him, and if any neglect to do so, it leadeth to their destruction.’” In other words, the duck died because she neglected to praise G-d when she expressed her crippling fear for the Son of Adam. Sons of Adam are considered creatures of G-d. Since the duck believed that the Sons of Adam were evil and dangerous, and neglected to recognize them as one of G-d’s glorious creations, she was not properly praising G-d.
To further expand on this idea, let’s look at the fates of the lion and the duck as opposed to the fates of the peacocks and the antelope. Throughout the whole story, the duck and the lion expressed their disdain for the Sons of Adam. Before discovering that the fourth being was a Son of Adam, the lion expressed to the man that he had planned to kill a Son of Adam if ever approached by one. As a result, the lion dies. The duck is so afraid of the wills of the Sons of Adam that when she is confronted by them, she is unable to move, and is captured.
The peacocks and the antelope, on the other hand, never express disdain for the Sons of Adam, or any of other G-d’s creations. While the peacocks initially leave their home to avoid predators, they never wish ill upon these creatures, they just avoid them. The peacocks are welcoming to the duck and antelope, as is the antelope to the peacocks and the duck, and all three creatures express gratitude for their food, water and land they live on.
A peacock or antelope is not any more equipped to defend itself against a human as compared to a duck or a lion, yet the peacocks and the antelope survive. The peacocks and the antelope recognized all of G-ds creations as glorious and magnificent, which the lion and the duck failed to do. One can infer that the reader was meant to make the connection between praising G-d and his creations to salvation.
The story closes with this: “When the antelope heard the peahen’s words, he exclaimed, ‘May God make fair thy face!’ and betook himself to the celebration of the praises of the Almighty, never after slackening therefrom. And it is said that his form of adoration was as follows: ‘Glory be to the Requiter of good and evil, the Lord of glory and dominion!’” This reaffirms that the antelope will continue to praise G-d, and will do so diligently for the rest of his life in order to stay in his good graces.
The last paragraph acts as a wrap up – moral of the story kids: remember to pray and there is nothing to fear, G-d created it all. It is important to note Payne’s use of words like G-d and the lord, as opposed to recognizing the Muslim god Allah, which would be more authentic. This supports the idea that this story has been altered by Payne, not only to better relate to the audience, but to push the church’s’ political agenda on the readers.
When one interprets ancient literature, it is easy for things to get lost in translation. However, it is common for certain things to get purposefully lost in translation to allow publishers to convey certain ideas and sway readers a certain way. Payne’s versions of The Birds and Beasts is a prime example of literature being used as a tool to persuade its readers into following certain beliefs or customs.