Iran Between John Henry and Ali Baba

Is it better to be the hero who dies for a machine, or the clever survivor who lives to tell the story?

There are two folkloric figures – John Henry of America and Ali Baba of Persia – from whom Iran can derive inspiration in the context of the United States-Israel war on the West Asian nation.

But why should Iran look for inspiration from folkloric heroes? Because despite its cultural and civilisational richness and its tradition of dastangoi (folktale-telling), it is pitted against the 21st century’s mightiest war machine: the United States-Israel alliance.

If contextualised in a folk narrative, Iran can fit into the character of John Henry, despite his Americanness, as well as into that of its own Ali Baba, the Persian folklore hero, who is also quite popular in the larger Arab world as well as the Indian subcontinent. And the United States-Israel alliance represents overwhelming technological superiority, laced with Iron Domes, supersonic fighter planes, intercontinental ballistic missiles, stealth bombers, and nuclear weapons.

Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu, in a way, represent the “steam drill” against which John Henry raced. To his credit, the noble and industrious John Henry battled courageously and valorously, and eventually defeated the machine.

Yet John Henry was a human soul who lost his life from the sheer exertion of battling a machine – devoid of emotion and empathy—ending up as a tragic hero. On the other hand, Ali Baba, a poor woodcutter, outwitted forty armed bandits and lived happily to tell his story to the generations that followed.

 Legend of John Henry

As the story goes, John Henry was a “steel-driving man” of immense strength and spirit, celebrated as a hero of the American railroad era. According to the legend, he worked for the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway, using a heavy sledgehammer to drive steel drills into rock and make holes for explosives.

When the company brought in a steam-powered drill to replace the workers, John Henry refused to be outdone by a machine. He challenged the device to a race, pitting human muscle and determination against the cold efficiency of industrial technology.

The contest was a gruelling display of endurance. John Henry swung two hammers with such speed and force that he managed to out-drill the steam engine, proving the power of the human spirit.

However, the victory came at a tragic cost. The physical strain was too great for his heart to bear, and he collapsed and died with his hammer still in his hand. His story remains a powerful symbol of the struggle between labourers and the relentless march of mechanisation.

 Ali Baba and the forty thieves

Ali Baba was a poor woodcutter who accidentally discovered the secret of a band of forty thieves. While working in the forest, he watched as the thieves stood before a massive rock and commanded, “Open Sesame!”

The rock moved, revealing a hidden cave filled with mountains of gold, jewels, and silk. After the thieves left, Ali Baba used the magic words to enter, took a small portion of the treasure to help his family, and returned home, hoping to keep the secret safe.

However, the thieves soon realised that their treasure was being taken and tracked Ali Baba down. Through the quick thinking and bravery of his clever servant, Morgiana, the thieves’ various plots to kill Ali Baba were foiled one by one.

In the final confrontation, Morgiana defeated the leader of the gang during a dance, saving Ali Baba’s life. To show his gratitude, Ali Baba welcomed her into his family, and they lived in prosperity, using the secret of the cave wisely for generations.

While John Henry epitomises the spirit of the working class in perennial struggle against exploitation at the hands of capitalists and their machines – replacing human hands and snatching away livelihoods – Ali Baba represents wisdom and the “smart code” that he used against the feared thieves.

Though Ali Baba’s story has its roots in the deserts, woods, and hills of ancient Persia, it is quite popular in the Indian subcontinent too, with young and old alike, and children in particular, enjoying it. Ali Baba used the secret code “Open Sesame”, which split the stone open and led him inside the cave full of riches.

Yours truly, a connoisseur of folktales, too had listened to “Ali Baba and 40 Thieves” at a young age in the village chaupal in the Gangetic plains of the Purvanchal region of India.

Needless to say, the folklorists and ballad singers of the Gangetic belt would love their fellow denizens from the land of Ali Baba to discover the “secret code” to dodge the mighty war machines of the United States-Israel alliance.

Panchatantra tale of the tiger and the jackal

There is yet another story from the Panchatantra – that timeless book of fables – for the embattled Iranian leadership and people to look to.

A hungry tiger was once caught in a heavy iron cage. When a kind Brahmin passed by, the tiger pleaded piteously for his life, promising not to eat the man if he were set free. The Brahmin, moved by the tiger’s apparent sincerity, opened the cage. Immediately, the tiger sprang out and declared his intention to eat his saviour.

The Brahmin argued that this was unjust, so they agreed to ask three judges for their opinion: a Pipal tree, an old water buffalo, and a road. All three, weary from human mistreatment, agreed that the world was ungrateful and that the tiger should proceed with his meal.

Just as the tiger was about to strike, a clever jackal arrived and asked what the commotion was about. After listening to the story, the jackal pretended to be too confused to understand how such a large tiger could ever fit into such a small cage. Growing impatient and wanting to prove his point, the tiger jumped back into the cage to demonstrate. The jackal instantly snapped the lock shut, trapping the tiger once more. Turning to the Brahmin, the jackal advised him never to trust a predator’s promise, and the two walked away safely, leaving the tiger behind.

Here, the Iranians seem to be taking a clue from the jackal’s advice: not to trust Donald Trump’s promise, for the U.S. President – once relieved of the heat of attack – might strike at Iran again, forgetting his word. He is already using expletives and is full of arrogance.

Nalin Verma is a journalist, author and folklorist.

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