Sinbad the Sailor

by Phil Masters

  And so I waited until the goods were safely offloaded, and the merchants were discussing business. Only then did I turn once more to the captain. ‘Sir,’ I said, ‘what did you know of the man whose goods you have charged me to sell?’

  ‘Little,’ said the captain. ‘He travelled with this ship on its very first voyage, when we set sail from Basrah. But I never came to know him myself before he was lost on an uninhabited island. I should have dealt with his goods long since.’

  ‘No matter,’ I said, ‘for you know him now. I am that Sinbad the Sailor whom you left by accident on that island!’ And then I told him what had befallen me from that time on.

  The captain was startled by this, and the other merchants gathered around, some believing, some holding me to be a joker or a fraud. But then, as I told of my adventure among the Diamond Mountains, one of them, to whom I had not spoken before, gave a cry.

  ‘Can this be true?’ he asked, pushing forward through the crowd. As he drew close, I looked at him, and saw that his face was familiar. ‘Yes,’ he said, ‘I know this man.’ He turned to the others. ‘You remember,’ he said, ‘I have told you of the time when I visited that valley, and threw a sheep-carcass in. And you remember, do you not, that I told you how, when the scavenger bird brought the carcass back up, there was a man clinging to it?’

  Arguably the most popular movie version of the legend, The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1973) starred John Phillip Law as another swashbuckling Sinbad, seen here with Caroline Munro as the obligatory lightly-clad slave-girl. (© INTERFOTO / Alamy)

  ‘Yes,’ said the others, ‘and we still do not believe you.’

  ‘Believe me now,’ said the merchant. ‘For this is the very same man, Sinbad the Sailor. He also told me of his previous adventures. I owe him much, for he gave me great diamonds from the valley, before we travelled to Basrah together. We parted company there, for he was returning to Baghdad. But now he is before me once again.’

  At this, everyone was cast into confusion and wonder. At length, the captain spoke to me, asking about the mark I had placed on my bales of goods. I described it, and also reminded him of events that had taken place on his ship when first it sailed. At that, all agreed that I was telling the truth.

  And so my goods were returned to me, and I sold them on Salahita for a good profit. We sailed on from there to the land of Sindh, where I saw many wonders, then westwards to Basrah, where I parted company with the ship and the travellers, and travelled back up-river to Baghdad.

  Once home, I settled down again, distributing alms to the poor, helping widows and orphans, and living well, eating and drinking in comfort with my friends. But that was not my last voyage ... I will tell you more tomorrow, if you return.

  And with that, Sinbad the Sailor turned once more to feasting. As the day ended, he once again sent his new friend home with another gift of a hundred dinars, and Sinbad the Porter resolved to hear the fourth tale.

  The Fourth Voyage: Cannibals and Caves of Terror

  The next morning, Sinbad the Porter rose, said the morning prayers, and hurried to the house of Sinbad the Sailor, where he was made welcome as before.

  At length, when all his guests were present, Sinbad the Sailor spoke again. You have heard me tell, he began, that I had returned home from my third voyage to a life of comfort. But even as I ate and drank, my impetuous, dangerous spirit was stirring, reminding me of the wonders I had seen and the profits I had made, and making me forget past hardships.

  And so, one day, I purchased a load of valuable goods, packed them in bales, and journeyed down to Basrah, where I gathered a party of merchants about me. We found a ship and set sail, and for a while we did well, trading profitably from port to port.

  But then the wind turned stiffly against us in mid-ocean. The captain ordered sea-anchors to be dropped, but the storm turned ever more savage, throwing the vessel about on the waters. First the sails were ripped to shreds, and then the gale whipped up a vast wave which came crashing down upon us, smashing the ship to fragments.

  I was thrown into the water with everyone else, and for what seemed like hours we struggled to keep afloat. At length, though, one of the ship’s largest timbers came floating past. Some of us grasped hold of it, then clambered astride. No longer needing to swim for our lives, but driven by the wind, we came after a day or two to an island, where the sea cast us up on the shore.

  We staggered to our feet and set out to explore. We found plants, some of them edible, so we were no longer in immediate danger of starvation, although we were still cold and desperate. Then, as we looked further from the shore, we saw before us a strange tower.

  We approached cautiously, until suddenly a crowd of naked men erupted from the doorway, laid hands on us without a word, and drew us inside. There, we found a more imposing figure seated on a throne, evidently the king. He gestured for us to sit, and then made a sign to his naked subjects. Some of them went off, and returned with bowls of unfamiliar food.

  All of my companions fell eagerly upon this meal, for we still were famished. But something about it turned my stomach, and I restrained myself. Thanks be to Allah for my self-restraint! For when they ate the food, my companions quickly became stupefied and dazed, and began to eat voraciously. Then the naked men brought cups of oil, some of which they gave my companions to drink and some of which they used to anoint their heads. This had an even greater effect, for my companions’ eyes rolled back in their heads and they ate ever more madly.

  I became fearful for the others, and so I paid close attention to the men of that land. I soon realized to my horror that they were devil-worshippers, and that their king was actually a demonic ghul. Over the next few days, I learned something even worse. These naked men were cannibals, and they evidently treated all strangers who came to their land the same way, using the food and oil to reduce them to beasts. The victims’ bellies would swell up, they would lose all power of thought, and then they would be given over to the care of a herdsman, who would take them out into the pastures around that building, where they would crawl around eating on all fours. Then, when they were fat, they would be slaughtered. The ghul-king ate his man-flesh roasted, while his subjects liked theirs raw.

  Sinbad meets people from many exotic cultures on his travels. Here, he is shown discussing geography with Indian scholars. (© North Wind Picture Archives / Alamy)

  Fortunately, because I avoided this trap, eating only what little wholesome food I could scavenge, I not only retained my wits, but remained thin and bony. Because of this, the cannibals lost interest in me, for I would have made a poor meal. So it was that one day, I was able to slip away from the group and avoid the attention of any of the naked men.

  As I made my way cross country, I saw a figure sitting on a rock, keeping watch. It was the herdsman. He saw me, but did not raise the alarm. Instead, he took pity on me, like a farmer taking pity on a worthless animal. He waved to me, and then indicated one of the paths leading away from that place, somehow conveying that it would lead to safety. Glad of the hope of escape, I followed his directions, soon breaking into a terrified run. At the end of the day, I collapsed exhausted, scavenging what edible herbs I could find. I could not sleep for fear of pursuing cannibals, but rose in the middle of the night and continued on my way.

  And so I continued for seven days and seven nights, trudging ever onwards across the plains in the midst of the island and scavenging just enough food to avoid starvation. On the eighth day, though, I saw something ahead of me. For a moment I paused, fearing that I would find yet another danger, but I soon saw that this was a group of civilized-looking men, gathering peppercorns. I approached carefully, and when they saw me, they surrounded me, asking who I was and how I came there.

  In reply, I told them that I was a shipwrecked traveller who had just come here from across the island. ‘But how did you escape the cannibals?’ they asked. ‘That part of the land is full of those savages.’ And so I told them the rest of my story, and they congr
atulated me on my escape.

  They gave me food and drink, and let me rest while they finished their work. Then we all embarked on a ship which had brought them to this island, and sailed to their home island not far away. There, they presented me to their king, who listened to my story with interest, and gave me food and drink. I looked around their city, and found it wealthy, prosperous, and orderly, while their king treated me as a guest.

  One thing that I soon noticed, though, was that many of the people rode very fine horses, but none used saddles. And so of course I asked the king why this was.

  ‘What is this saddle?’ he asked in reply. ‘I have never heard of such a thing.’

  ‘It is something that makes riding much more comfortable, and allows better control of the horse,’ I said. ‘If you like, I can show you.’

  The king was interested, and gave orders that I should be given what I needed for the purpose. And so I found a skilled carpenter, who made a frame to my orders. I used my own skills to pad this with wool and cover it with leather, which I polished until it shone. I attached a girth, and then found a blacksmith to make a bit and stirrups. Then I had a horse brought from the king’s stables, and saddled and harnessed it.

  I brought the horse before the king. He mounted the saddle, and was pleased at the comfort and control that it and the harness gave him. He smiled on me and gave me a generous reward.

  During his fourth voyage, Sinbad is lowered into the Caves of the Dead – in slightly more comfort in this illustration than the story suggests.

  When the king’s vizier saw how useful the saddle was, he asked me to make him another like it. Soon, all the great men of the court wanted saddles, and I went into business with the carpenter and the blacksmith to supply them. Thus I made a fortune, and continued to be honoured in the court.

  One day, as I sat conversing with the king, he turned to me and said, ‘Good Sinbad, you must know that I have come to love you like a brother. I cannot bear the thought that you might one day leave my city. Hence, I have a favour to ask you, which I must ask you not to refuse.’

  ‘I can refuse none of your commandments, great king,’ I replied. ‘What is your request?’

  ‘There is among the court a certain lady,’ he said. ‘She is beautiful and intelligent, from a good and wealthy family, and she was brought up here, so she is cultured and refined. I would ask you to marry her. If you do this, I will provide the two of you with a goodly house close by the palace.’

  I was struck dumb with embarrassment at this honour, so the king looked on me with concern, and asked why I did not speak. ‘Great king,’ I stammered when I was able, ‘I can refuse none of your commands.’

  And so the lady was brought before us, and the king sent for a judge to marry us. He was as good as his word, providing not only a house but also servants and slaves. My new wife too was just as he described, and I soon came to love her dearly, and she me. I did still hope one day to return to Baghdad, but I decided that if that became possible somehow, I would happily take her with me.

  However, none of us can know what destiny has in store. There came a day when I heard that the wife of one of my neighbours had died, and I hurried to his house to pay my respects. When I arrived, I found him weeping, and so I tried to console him. ‘Your loss is sad,’ I said to him, ‘but do not despair. Your own life goes on. Better times will come.’

  But my neighbour scowled at me. ‘How so?’ he said. ‘How can better times come when I have but a day to live?’

  ‘That is foolishness,’ I said. ‘Whatever your sadness, you are still healthy. You have years of life before you.’

  ‘No,’ he said, ‘you do not know the custom of this land. When a husband dies, or a wife, the one who is married to them is buried along with them. None may survive to enjoy life after their husband or wife has died!’

  ‘By Allah!’ I said, ‘That is an awful custom!’

  But as we spoke, a group of citizens of the town arrived. They consoled my neighbour on the loss of his wife and on his own fate. They had brought a coffin, and they laid out his wife’s body, properly dressed and with jewellery to make her look as fair as possible in death. Then they carried the coffin out of town, and we all made our way up the lower slopes of a great mountain that overlooked the sea.

  We came to a great boulder, which members of the party rolled aside, revealing a deep cave. First, they lowered the coffin in, and then my neighbour, weeping but accepting his fate, stepped forward. They handed him seven loaves and a pitcher of water, and then tied a rope around his waist, and lowered him too into the cave. I could just see him when he reached the bottom of the pit, and he untied the rope from his waist. Then the other mourners pulled the rope up, rolled the boulder back to close the pit-mouth once more, and made their way sadly back to the city.

  I was horrified, and when I was back home, I made my way to the king and asked how it was that his people should bury the living along with the dead.

  ‘That is our custom, handed down from our ancestors,’ he said simply. ‘No husband and wife should be separated by death.’

  ‘O king,’ I said, ‘if the wife of a foreigner like myself should die in your land, would he too be buried along with her?’

  ‘Indeed,’ said the king.

  At this, I was struck to the heart with fear, lest my wife should die and I should be consigned to that miserable death. I told myself not to worry, for we might both live yet for many years, and I might well die before her, for no man knows the hour of his doom. And so I returned to my amusements, and tried to distract myself.

  Sinbad Among the Dead. During his fourth voyage, Sinbad finds himself trapped alive in a great communal tomb.

  And yet, my fate was to be all that I feared. It was not very long after learning of these traditions that my beloved wife fell ill, and although I paid for the best doctors and medicines, she soon succumbed to the sickness and died. And then the townsfolk and the king came to me, offering me and her family their sympathy. They brought a coffin, and she was laid out in her finest clothes and richest jewellery. And then they lifted the coffin and laid hands on me, and we travelled out to the mountain overlooking the sea, where the rock was rolled aside, and my wife’s coffin was lowered into the pit.

  Then they turned to me. I cried out, protesting that I was a foreigner and not bound by their customs, but they did not listen, but held me still and tied me up, also binding a bag holding seven loaves and a pitcher of water to me. Then they lowered me into the place of coffins and bodies.

  I worked free of their bindings, and they called to me to untie the rope that was around my waist, but I refused, defying them. So they hurled the rest of the rope down on top of me, rolled the boulder back over the pit-mouth, and left me there to die.

  I looked around me. I could see little in the scant light that came through the gaps around the boulder, but I could see mounds of corpses and smell the stench of decay. I wept in the darkness, thinking that this was worse than the other deaths I had faced. But once again, I found myself determined to live, although I could not see any escape. I found a space to sleep that was free of bodies and bones, and carefully refrained from drinking any of my water until I was parched, or eating any of my bread until I was starving.

  Then, just as my supplies were beginning to run out, there came a day when I heard movement overhead. I hid in a corner of the cave, and watched as the boulder was moved aside, and a coffin was lowered in, followed by a weeping woman with her bag of food.

  It came to me that this was one of the people of the city, who had condemned me to this horrible death, and that she was herself resigned to her doom and already as one dead, by these accursed customs. And so, I waited until the boulder had been replaced and my eyes were once more adapted to the darkness, and then I crept up behind her, clutching a human shin-bone that I picked up from the cave floor.

  The woman did not hear me, and I struck her on the head with the bone, and she fell unconscious. I struck twice again
, and she ceased to breathe. I noticed that she was wearing much fine jewellery and gold necklaces, by way of grave-goods, but that concerned me less than her food and drink, which I took to sustain me for several more days.

  Within that period, another burial party came to the pit, and I slew the living man who was lowered into the tomb, and took his food and water too. And so I continued for some time, killing to live.

  And then, one night, as I slept in my corner of the cave, I was awoken by the sound of movement. I leapt to my feet and picked up my shin-bone club, but then I heard something scurrying away into a side-cave. Carefully following, I saw a dim light ahead of me. Scarcely daring to hope, I approached, and saw that there was a narrow tunnel. Hearing the scurrying still ahead of me, I realized what had happened. Scavenging animals had caught the smell of decay, and had burrowed their way in. Suddenly, I had hope of escape! I fell on my knees and gave thanks.

  And then I pushed myself into the tunnel, expanding it with my hands and shoulders as the light grew brighter ahead of me. Soon, I emerged into morning daylight and air free of the reek of death. Looking around, I saw that I was on a deserted beach. Once I was fully out of the tunnel, I explored a short way, and realized that this small beach was cut off entirely from the rest of the island by the bulk of the mountain, and could never be visited by men.

  Once I had recovered my breath, I made my way back through the tunnel and gathered up my current supplies of bread and water. Then another thought came to me, and I also collected up the most valuable grave-goods around the cave. I also found the best clothes that had been worn by those I had slain, to replace my own garments, which had been reduced to rags, and fashioned other clothes and funeral shrouds into bags in which to carry things.