“I say we are a mystery people, but only to others. We are not a mystery to ourselves; at least not amongst the Hazara I know. Many believe that we are the descendants of Genghis Khan’s warriors who swept down from Mongolia eight hundred years ago and overran China, northern India and the whole of Central Asia.”
The Honey Thief is a series of often linked stories set against a backdrop of the unforgiving landscape of the Hazara people of Afghanistan. The author himself is Hazara (living now in Australia) – an ancient and proud people from the vast and mountainous region of the Hazarajat that is bordered by Iran, Pakistan, China, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. These people are Hazara first, Afghan second, their history goes hand in hand with the ancient traditions of that troubled and complex land, that has so long been associated with war. There is a long tradition of oral storytelling in Afghanistan – novels as we in the west know them apparently almost unknown –and with the help of Robert Hillman, Najaf Mazari uses the lyrical tradition of Afghan storytellers to relate these beautiful stories.
“In the city where I now live, all the stories are in books. They are studied in universities. I am not sure that these stories pierce the flesh of those who hear them and make a life for them in the listener’s heart. In Afghanistan, we have very few universities and very few professors. The history of the Hazara is told in the fields, in our tents, in our houses. Many of the stories I heard growing up, even those from centuries ago, came to life again before my eyes.”
In these stories elderly men are venerated, asked for their advice, remembered long after they are dead. People are at one with the natural world of their harsh environment – they understand why creatures act as they do – and respect that world. Their traditions are sacrosanct – their world the only one they are aware of. We meet shepherds and beekeepers, king killers and a master poisoner, an Englishman in search of a snow leopard, Russian boy soldiers and musicians.
“Ahmad Hussein knew exactly where to place his hives and a great deal more. People said ‘The bees work for Ahmad Hussein as if he were king.’ And this was true. Ahmad Hussein was not an ordinary person. Bees obeyed him. Animals obeyed him. Sheep and goats obeyed him. He was honoured by the Hazara, but even strangers who were not Hazara respected Ahmad Hussein. When they saw his eyes, they knew that he was close to God in some way, and if they had thought of doing him harm they would change their minds.”
Marari infuses these stories with a wisdom and peacefulness that is hard to convey in a mere review. Food is important in these stories, honey, figs, orchards of fruit feature strongly – and then for the cooks among you there are some mouth-watering recipes at the end of the book. This book is a wonderful mix of folk lore, history and cookery – the stories rich in imagery, lyrically told, peopled with some wonderful characters.
I have to thank Claire at Word byWord for highlighting this lovely book – her review made me download it instantly – so very glad that I did.
How wonderful to read again those passages again from this amazing book.
I love your review, it makes me want to reread those stories, this really is a book that provides a unique insight into another culture, so very different from that which we know and a completely different set of images than what the media portrays. I am so happy that you persevered and found the gems within.
Thank you. Yes so am I.
Sounds lovely Ali – a feast in words and food!
Yes 🙂 and some memorable images too.
What an interesting sounding book, although sounds a bit non-Liz to me, killers and poisoners, etc. Beautiful cover, too.
Oh no you would be fine with it I’m sure.
I’m going to have to read this mainly because of the way in which it illuminates the concept of story in Afghanistan. Some years ago now my book group read Philip Hensher’s ‘The Mulberry Empire’ which uses the difference between the way in which we in the West tell stories and the Afghan tradition to explore why the British were kicked out of the country two centuries ago. I got very interested in what Hensher’s book was saying about their narrative tradition and this sounds like the perfect way of taking that interest further.
Oh yes I think it would be. Hope you enjoy it if you do read it.
This sounds so interesting, I know nothing about Hazara culture, so I’m looking forward to trying it.
I’m so glad you like the sound of it.
This sounds like a beautiful way to discover another culture. I love when recipes are included!
Well I’m not a keen cook, ans these recipes use meat which I don’t eat but I can imagine others really enjoying them. They all sound lovely even to a non meat eater.
I will look out for this. I’ve come across references to the Hazara people in novels – I think in the Khaled Hosseini books that I love (or maybe it was in the Bookseller of Kabul?) – anyway this makes me think that as I enjoyed the novels set there I might really enjoy finding out a bit more about it’s culture and it’s people
It is very evocative of the culture I think.