Richard Hamilton** has kindly given us permission to reproduce this story, as told by the Marrakech storyteller Ahmed Temiicha, during Richard’s work in recording a collection of tales from the remaining few storytellers here. Richard’s work is captured in his book The Last Storytellers: Tales from the heart of Morocco.
The Birth of the Sahara
“A long time ago, when the earth was very young, it was one huge garden covered in tall palm trees and perfumed jasmine, and the songs of nightingales flooded the landscape with their gentle melodies. At this time, all men were loyal, trustworthy and honest. In fact, the word ‘lie’ did not even exist.
But one day, someone told a lie. It was a very small lie and of no importance, but it was the end of man’s childhood and the age of innocence.
So God summoned all the men on the earth together and said to them, ‘Each time one of you lies, I shall throw a grain of sand onto the earth.’
The men looked at each other, shrugged their shoulders and said to themselves, ‘A grain of sand? What difference will that make? You can hardly see a grain of sand.’
And so lie after lie, little by little, the Sahara gradually came into existence, as God threw grains of sand onto the earth from the heavens above. But here and there the odd oasis can still be seen. These are the traces of the original garden, because not all men lie.”
**Richard Hamilton has worked for the BBC World Service as a broadcast journalist since 1998, including being a correspondent in Morocco, South Africa and Madagascar. He also reports for BBC TV, radio and online. While living in Morocco, he co-authored the Time Out Guide to Marrakech and has written throughout his career for magazines and newspapers such as Conde Nast Traveller and The Times. He has an MA in African Studies from SOAS.