Sīrat Banī Hilāl (the Epic of the Banī Hilāl) is rooted in the 10th-century invasion of North Africa by the Banī Hilāl Bedouin tribe after they left their homeland of the Najd in the Arabian Peninsula. Told in a combination of poetry and prose similar to the style of other epic tales such as that of ‘Antar, Sayf ibn Dhī Yazin, and Dhāt al-Himmah, Sīrat Banī Hilāl is nevertheless unique in that it is the only one of the folk epics traditionally to be performed in sung verse to the accompaniment of musical instruments (rather than spoken or read aloud). It is also distinctive for being a tale that recounts the elaborate interactions among a constellation of main figures rather than being primarily about the exploits of a single hero. Among these central characters, however, one in particular deserves notice for his psychological complexity—Abū Zayd al-Hilālī, the black hero of the Banī Hilāl tribe. Abū Zayd, it is argued here, combines many of the features of the ‘classic hero’ as delineated by Otto Rank, Lord Raglan, and Joseph Campbell, as well as characteristics of the Trickster figures studied by Carl Jung, Paul Radin, M.C. Lyons, and others. He is at times the chivalrous hero, a model of manly virtues, but also capable of cunning and deceptive behavior that borders on the dishonorable, and in a few infamous scenes he kills innocent people and tells outright lies to cover his tracks, leaving modern audiences baffled and conflicted. At the same time, however, for reasons spelled out in this essay, Abū Zayd is the character with whom modern Egyptian audiences most clearly identify: a black hero denigrated for his skin color, capable of great deeds of heroism, chivalry, and religious devotion, as well as acts of an intensely transgressive nature.

中文翻译：

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Abū Zayd al-Hilālī：骗子、好色之徒、战士、谢赫

Sīrat Banī Hilāl（Banī Hilāl 的史诗）源于 10 世纪 Banī Hilāl 贝都因部落离开他们在阿拉伯半岛的纳吉德家园后对北非的入侵。Sīrat Banī Hilāl 以诗歌和散文相结合的方式讲述，类似于其他史诗故事的风格，例如“Antar”、“Sayf ibn Dhī Yazin”和“Dhāt al-Himmah”，但它是独一无二的，因为它是唯一的民间故事史诗传统上以诗歌形式在乐器的伴奏下表演（而不是口述或大声朗读）。它也是一个独特的故事，它讲述了一系列主要人物之间的精心互动，而不是主要讲述单个英雄的功绩。然而，在这些中心人物中，尤其值得关注的是他的心理复杂性——Banī Hilāl 部落的黑人英雄 Abū Zayd al-Hilālī。此处争论的 Abū Zayd 结合了 Otto Rank、Lord Raglan 和 Joseph Campbell 所描绘的“经典英雄”的许多特征，以及 Carl Jung、Paul Radin 和 MC Lyons 所研究的骗子人物的特征， 和别的。他有时是侠义的英雄，是男子汉美德的典范，但也有近乎不光彩的狡猾和欺骗行为，在一些臭名昭著的场景中，他杀了无辜的人，撒谎掩盖了他的踪迹，让现代观众望而却步。 ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?困惑和矛盾。然而，与此同时，出于本文中阐述的原因，Abū Zayd 是现代埃及观众最清楚地认同的角色：