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Concept
Harap Alb
Summary
"Harap Alb" or "Harap-Alb" (haˈrap ˈalb) is the protagonist as well as the title of a Romanian-language fairy tale by Ion Creangă, known in full as Povestea lui Harap Alb ("The Story of Harap Alb"). He is the youngest of three princes.
"Harap Alb" received much posthumous attention from literary critics, and inspired works in other genres. These include Ion Popescu-Gopo's film De-aş fi Harap Alb, a Postmodernist novel by Stelian Ţurlea and a comic book by Sandu Florea, alongside one of Gabriel Liiceanu's theses in the field of political philosophy.
Harap Alb in Romanian signifies "White African" or "White Arab". The word harap is an antiquated form of arap derived from "Arab" means "black person" or a "Moor". It may also refer to a handsome man, usually with dark features.
The arap or harap are a stereotypical race in the folklore of the Balkans, from Turkey in the south to modern Romania in the north, often, but not always, portrayed in a negative light. Cognate terms exist in Albanian (arap in the Tosk, harap in Gheg) and Bulgarian-language (арап, arap or арапин, arapin).
The name may also be an allusion to the protagonist's slave-like condition of "degradation and submission", as alp may be readily associated with the African slave trade or the enslavement of minorities in the Slavery in Romania. The tale thus becomes the hero's quest for the recovery of "human status". The name which means "White Black" has also been regarded as an oxymoronic example of absurdist tradition in the local folklore by comparatist Vasile Măruţă.
The narrative begins with a stock formula: a king's three sons are sent on a quest, and the hero, the youngest son, is set to succeed.
An unnamed king has a brother, the Green Emperor (Împăratul Verde) who is nearing death, and as has no male heirs, he has written to king to send any of his three princes, and whichever one completes the journey shall inherit the whole empire. The kingdom and the Empire are on the "margins" of the earth, separated by desolate lands.
Official source
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