Majnun Laila

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Persian miniature: Qais, the one possessed by Laila, in the wilderness

Majnun Lailā ( Arabic مـجنون ليلى 'The one possessed by Laila') is the name given to the main male character Qais (also Kais , Arabic قيس, DMG Qais ) in a classic oriental love story of Arabic origin. Qais perishes from his unhappy love for Laila . The earliest known form dates from the second half of the 7th century. According to the Kitab al-Aghani ( Arabic كتاب الاغاني, DMG kitāb al-aġānī  'the book of songs') by Abu'l-Faraj al-Isfahani , the author of which is a young omayyad with the pseudonym “Majnun” (also used as a term for a “possessed”) ( Arabic مجنون, DMG Maǧnūn , literally “possessed by a ghost”, passive form of Arabic جِنّ Djinn ,DMG ǧinn ), which may be the almost legendary Arab singer-poet Qais bin al-Mulawwah or Qais bin Muʿad. The story of the loversLeila and Majnunhas beenadapted in various formsin theArabic,Persian,Azerbaijani,Kurdish,TurkishandUrdulanguage literature.

Action of the early versions

In the earliest traditions there are two opposing traditions: in one, Laila and Qais, the only son of a Bedouin prince, have known each other since they were children and have looked after their flocks together; in the other, they happen to meet at a women's festival, where Qais, as a contribution to the festival, slaughters a camel and falls in love with Laila, who is the only one who turns to him. Later he asked for her hand. Laila's parents are against her love and marriage. They try with all possible means to separate the two from each other and marry Laila to a certain Ward bin Mohammed al- ʿUqaili. Qais can't take it. The handsome and gifted Qais is possessed by Laila ("Majnun Laila"), loses his mind and now lives in the desert without any contact with the outside world. His father takes him on a pilgrimage to Mecca , but his confusion grows. In lucid moments he writes verses (like "Leyla, Leyla! May my verses fall at your feet!") About his lost and unfulfilled love. Until his death he met Laila only once.

Versions

The Persian versions are famousداستان لیلی و مجنون, DMG Dāstān-e Leylī-o Maǧnūn , 'Tale of Leila and Majnun' by Nezāmi (around 1180) and Dschami (15th century). In the 16th century, Fuzūlī wrote an adaptation in Aseri , Dāstān-ı Leylā ve Mecnūn .

theatre

In 2008 the material was premiered in the youth dance theater piece Leila and Madschnun by the Kabawil eV group (director: Renat Safiullin, production management: Petra Kron, choreography: Othello Johns) in Düsseldorf. 20 young people played and danced, as well as two professional actors. Christian Matzerath wrote the text in collaboration with Angela Kamara and the Kabawil eV team.

music

In 1908 the opera Leyli va Majnun by the Azerbaijani composer Üzeyir Hacıbəyov was performed in Baku .

The blues guitarist Eric Clapton took up themes from this love story in his song Layla . Layla was one of the most played rock songs of the 1970s . On the record Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs by Derek and the Dominos , parts of Nezami's lyrics were quoted in the lyrics of I am yours . Nezami is listed there as the text author.

The German composer Detlev Glanert created Leyla and Medjnun, his first opera, commissioned by the City of Munich; the libretto was written by Aras Ören and Peter Schneider . The play was premiered in a production of the Munich Biennale in collaboration with the Second German Television on May 28, 1988 in the Carl Orff Hall of the Munich Gasteig . Roger Epple was the musical director, Klaus Kirschner was in charge of the production, while Rosalie created the stage and costumes .

At the Ruhrtriennale 2010, the material was premiered in the Jahrhunderthalle in Bochum as a “Theatrical story” with the text by Albert Ostermaier and the music by Samir Odeh-Tamimi .

Modern fiction

The love story told in Michael Kleeberg's novel The Idiot of the 21st Century is based on the epic by Nezami .

Film adaptations

The story saw numerous film adaptations , especially in the Indian film industries .

Turkish film by Duygu Sağıroğlu with Kadir İnanır as Mecnun and Fatma Girik as Leyla.

Similar stories

Similar narratives in Persian literature are:

  1. Bijan and Manije , 1312 verses in Shāhnāme by Ferdousī
  2. Sorch But and Khonak But from Onsuri
  3. Wamek and Asra from Onsuri
  4. Warqa and Gulschah , Ayyuqi (around 1030-1050)
  5. Wîs and Râmin , (between 1050 and 1055), from Gorgani
  6. Chosrau and Shirin or Shirin and Farhad from Daqiqi , Nezami
  7. Yossuf and Zulaika ( Josef and Suleika), Ferdousī , Jami
  8. Sia Mo and Jalali , by the poet Sia Moh Herawi

literature

  • Nezāmi : Leila and Majnun . Unionsverlag, Zurich 2001, ISBN 3-293-20212-8 .
  • Eren Düdükçü: Maǧnūn. The figure of the holy madman in the Islamic Middle Ages . Kleio Humanities, Bremen 2007, ISBN 978-3-9811211-5-5 .
  • Fuat Sezgin : History of Arabic Literature. Vol. 2 (Poetry), Leiden 975, pp. 389-393 with further literature.
  • Peter Lamborn Wilson , Karl Schlamminger: Weaver of Tales. Persian Picture Rugs / Persian tapestries. Linked myths. Callwey, Munich 1980, ISBN 3-7667-0532-6 , pp. 46–77 ( Die Liebesdichtung ), here: pp. 49–51 and 68 f.

Web links

Commons : Layla and Majnun  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Ch. Pellat in: Encyclopaedia of Islam. New Edition, sv MADJNŪN LAYLĀ, 1. In Arabic literature
  2. ↑ Fuat Sezgin: History of Arabic Literature II, p. 389
  3. ↑ Cf. Nizami: Leila and Majnun. Translated from Persian for the first time and provided with an afterword by Rudolf Gelpke. Manesse, Zurich 1963, p. 317 f. (Epilogue)
  4. ↑ https://www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de/michael-kleeberg-der-idiot-des-21-jahrhunderts-dem-anonymen.1270.de.html?dram:article_id=425175
  5. ↑ http://www.thehindu.com/features/cinema/article419176.ece