The Tree and Its Symbolic Significance in the Folk Epic of King Sayf Ibn Dhī Yazan (Published)
Trees bear a range of meanings in people’s beliefs, and this is reflected in literature, particularly folk literature. Some groups of people have worshipped trees during certain periods, and tree worship was part of totemic religion.This paper examines the symbolic meanings of the tree in the Epic of Sayf Ibn Dhī Yazan, one of the classics of folk literature. Three areas of meaning are considered: the mythological, the psychological, and the Islamic. This semantic richness may owe to the fact that the Epic covers a broad range of times and places, while its events combine the realistic with the fantastical.
Keywords: Arabic culture., Sayf Ibn Dhī Yazan, Totemism, folk epic, symbolic significance, tree