batch.motif.islamicate-folklore-arabian-nights-lang-gutenberg-l4276-l4375
---
record_id: batch.motif.islamicate-folklore-arabian-nights-lang-gutenberg-l4276-l4375
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamicate-folklore/project-gutenberg/arabian-nights-lang.md
passage_locator:
label: The Arabian Nights Entertainments; lines 4276-4375
start: '4276'
end: '4375'
translation: The Arabian Nights Entertainments
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: Sindbad escapes the Old Man of the Sea by causing him to drink strong wine,
reaches mariners, learns of the monster's reputation, travels to a stone-built
town, gathers coconuts by provoking monkeys to throw them, trades for goods and
pearls, returns to Bagdad wealthy, gives alms and a gift to Hindbad, then begins
the account of his sixth voyage, which leads by storm and current to a fatal mountain
where the ship is wrecked.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The old monster drinks the contents of a gourd after seeing the narrator carry
him more lightly than usual.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: After drinking strong wine, the old monster's grip loosens and the narrator
throws him to the ground, where he does not move again.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: Mariners identify the being as the Old Man of the Sea and say he has strangled
others upon whose shoulders he perched.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The mariners say the island is known for the Old Man of the Sea's evil deeds
and that sailors avoid straying far from companions there.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: A friendly merchant gives Sindbad lodging, a sack, provisions, and directions
to follow a party of similarly equipped men.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: The merchant warns Sindbad that straying from the group would endanger his
life.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: The coconut palms are described as very tall, slender, smooth, and difficult
to climb.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:8
text: Monkeys in the crowns of the palms throw coconuts at the humans after the
humans throw stones at them.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: The thrown coconuts fill the men's sacks with fruit they could not otherwise
have obtained.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:10
text: Sindbad sells his share, continues the occupation until he earns money, then
sails with coconuts and trades them for pepper and aloes wood.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:11
text: Sindbad goes pearl-fishing with merchants, gains many large pearls, returns
to Bagdad, sells his treasures, and gives a tenth part to the poor.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:12
text: Sindbad gives Hindbad one hundred sequins after ending the story, and begins
the account of his sixth voyage after the next day's feast.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:13
text: Sindbad says that despite earlier shipwrecks and dangers, his fate was to
rove, and he prepares a sixth voyage after a year of repose.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:14
text: Stormy weather drives the ship off course until captain and pilot do not know
their location or destination.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:15
text: A current carries the ship rapidly toward a mountain rising sheer from the
sea, where the vessel is broken on rocks.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:16
text: The captain tells the survivors to begin digging graves because no shipwrecked
mariner has returned from that place.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Sindbad
description: First-person narrator who escapes the Old Man of the Sea, joins merchants,
returns to Bagdad with wealth, and begins recounting a sixth voyage.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:5
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Old Man of the Sea
description: An old monster with a tight leg-grip who perches on victims' shoulders
and is said to strangle those he captures.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: mariners at the island
description: Sailors who have anchored for fruit and water, hear Sindbad's story,
identify the Old Man of the Sea, and take Sindbad aboard.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: friendly merchant
description: A merchant who befriends Sindbad, shows him lodging, gives him a sack
and provisions, advises him, and buys his share of coconuts.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:6
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: coconut-gathering companions
description: A party equipped with sacks who collect stones and provoke monkeys
to throw coconuts.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: monkeys in the cocoa-palms
description: Big and little monkeys that move among the palm crowns and throw nuts
at the humans after being pelted with stones.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: sixth-voyage captain
description: Captain of the ship from a distant Indian port who recognizes the dangerous
current and later tells the survivors that no mariner has returned from the fatal
place.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Hindbad
description: Recipient of one hundred sequins after Sindbad ends the preceding story.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: guests
description: Audience at Sindbad's feast who withdraw after the story and return
before the sixth voyage is narrated.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
roles:
- id: role:1
label: narrating survivor
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Sindbad narrates his escape, travels, trading success, return to Bagdad,
and renewed voyaging.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:6
- ev:8
- id: role:2
label: monstrous shoulder-riding captor
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The being grips Sindbad with its legs and is identified by mariners as a
strangler who perches on shoulders.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:3
label: rescuers and informants
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The mariners hear Sindbad's story, explain the danger of the island, and
take him aboard their ship.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: role:4
label: merchant-helper
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The merchant provides lodging, supplies, instructions, and later buys Sindbad's
coconut share.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:6
- id: role:5
label: human harvesters
assigned_to:
- fig:1
- fig:5
basis: Sindbad and the party fill sacks with coconuts by provoking the monkeys.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:6
label: animal responders
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The monkeys retaliate against thrown stones by casting nuts at the humans.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:7
label: captain and doom-announcer
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: The captain recognizes the destructive current and later declares that no
shipwrecked mariner has returned from the spot.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: role:8
label: restless voyager
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Sindbad says fate made him rove and that he undertook a sixth voyage despite
warnings from friends and relations.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: role:9
label: gift recipient
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: Sindbad orders one hundred sequins to be given to Hindbad.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:10
label: feast audience
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: The guests withdraw after one story and are present for the next day's feast
before the sixth voyage begins.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: gourd of strong wine
literal_form: gourd containing strong wine
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: island of the Old Man of the Sea
literal_form: island known as the scene of the Old Man of the Sea's evil deeds
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:3
label: coconut palms
literal_form: very tall, smooth, slender cocoa-palms bearing coconuts
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:5
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:4
label: thrown stones and thrown coconuts
literal_form: stones cast by humans and coconuts cast back by monkeys
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:5
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:5
label: trading goods and pearls
literal_form: coconuts, pepper, aloes wood, and large pearls
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:6
label: tenth part given to the poor
literal_form: one-tenth portion of money given as alms
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_exchange
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:7
label: fatal sea-current
literal_form: current sweeping the ship toward destruction
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: sym:8
label: mountain rising from the sea
literal_form: mountain rising sheer out of the sea with rocks at its base
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs:
- mountain
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: sym:9
label: graves at the fatal shore
literal_form: graves the survivors are told to begin digging
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Escape from the Old Man of the Sea
summary: The old monster drinks strong wine from a gourd, his leg-grip loosens,
and Sindbad throws him down and escapes toward the shore.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Rescue and explanation by mariners
summary: Mariners find Sindbad, identify his captor as the Old Man of the Sea, describe
the island's danger, and take him aboard their ship.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Arrival at the stone-built trading town
summary: Sindbad reaches a prosperous stone-built town, receives lodging and supplies
from a friendly merchant, and is directed to join sack-bearing companions.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: scene:4
label: Coconut harvest by monkey retaliation
summary: The men throw stones at monkeys in tall palms, and the monkeys respond
by throwing coconuts, filling the men's sacks.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:5
label: Trade, pearls, return, and alms
summary: Sindbad earns money with coconuts, trades for pepper and aloes wood, gains
pearls, returns to Bagdad, sells his treasures, and gives a tenth to the poor.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: scene:6
label: Transition to the sixth voyage
summary: After the story, Sindbad gives Hindbad one hundred sequins, the guests
depart, and he begins the sixth voyage narrative at the next feast.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:8
- fig:9
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: scene:7
label: Renewed departure despite warnings
summary: Sindbad states that his fate was to rove and that he prepared a sixth voyage
despite friends and relations urging him to remain at home.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: scene:8
label: Storm, fatal current, and shipwreck at the mountain
summary: A storm drives the ship off course, a current carries it toward a mountain
rising from the sea, the ship breaks on the rocks, and the captain declares the
place inescapable.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:7
- sym:8
- sym:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Escape from a monstrous captor through intoxication
taxonomy_refs:
- trickster_boundary
basis: Sindbad uses strong wine in a gourd; after the Old Man drinks it, the captor's
grip loosens and Sindbad escapes.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage presents a practical stratagem rather than explicitly naming
a trickster figure or ritual boundary-crossing.
- id: motif:2
label: Dangerous island inhabited by a strangling monster
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Mariners identify the Old Man of the Sea as a being who perches on shoulders
and strangles victims, and they describe the island as known for his evil deeds.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: No broader taxonomy reference is directly supplied for this specific monster
type.
- id: motif:3
label: Animal retaliation used as a harvesting method
taxonomy_refs:
- trickster_boundary
basis: Humans pelt monkeys with stones so that the monkeys retaliate by throwing
down coconuts, allowing the sacks to be filled.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: The scene is a clever harvesting episode; the taxonomy reference is broad
and should be reviewed.
- id: motif:4
label: Perilous travel followed by profitable return and almsgiving
taxonomy_refs:
- return
- sacred_exchange
basis: Sindbad returns to Bagdad with trade goods and pearls, sells them for large
sums, and gives a tenth part to the poor.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: The almsgiving is explicit, but the passage does not frame it as a sacred
covenant or formal ritual exchange.
- id: motif:5
label: Restless departure after repose
taxonomy_refs:
- departure
basis: After a year of rest, Sindbad prepares a sixth voyage despite prior shipwrecks
and the entreaties of friends and relations.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
confidence: high
cautions: This is a narrative departure motif within the voyage cycle, not a standalone
mythic departure scene.
- id: motif:6
label: Ship driven by storm and current to a fatal mountain
taxonomy_refs:
- departure
- mountain
- water
basis: Storms drive the ship off course; a current sweeps it toward a mountain rising
from the sea where the vessel is wrecked.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
confidence: medium
cautions: The mountain and current are literal hazards in the passage; any cosmological
reading would require external evidence not present here.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 4276-4285
quote_or_summary: The old monster drinks from the gourd, becomes affected by strong
wine, loosens his leg-grip, and Sindbad throws him to the ground before running
to the shore.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamicate-folklore/project-gutenberg/arabian-nights-lang.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: 4286-4294
quote_or_summary: Mariners say Sindbad fell into the hands of the Old Man of the
Sea, who has strangled others, and that the island is known for his evil deeds.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamicate-folklore/project-gutenberg/arabian-nights-lang.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: 4294-4304
quote_or_summary: The mariners take Sindbad aboard, sail to a prosperous stone-built
town, and a friendly merchant gives him lodging and a sack.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamicate-folklore/project-gutenberg/arabian-nights-lang.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: 4305-4312
quote_or_summary: The merchant tells Sindbad to go with sack-bearing companions,
do as they do, and avoid losing sight of them because straying would endanger
his life.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamicate-folklore/project-gutenberg/arabian-nights-lang.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: 4312-4330
quote_or_summary: The group seeks coconuts from tall smooth palms; monkeys in the
crowns are provoked with stones and retaliate by throwing nuts, filling the sacks.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamicate-folklore/project-gutenberg/arabian-nights-lang.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: 4331-4346
quote_or_summary: Sindbad sells coconuts, continues earning, sails to trade coconuts
for pepper and aloes wood, gains pearls, returns to Bagdad, sells his treasures,
and gives a tenth to the poor.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamicate-folklore/project-gutenberg/arabian-nights-lang.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: 4347-4352
quote_or_summary: Sindbad ends the story, orders one hundred sequins for Hindbad,
the guests withdraw, and after the next day's feast he begins the sixth voyage.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamicate-folklore/project-gutenberg/arabian-nights-lang.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: 4353-4363
quote_or_summary: Sindbad reflects that he again tempted fortune after five shipwrecks,
says it was his fate to rove, and embarks from a distant Indian port despite pleas
to stay home.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamicate-folklore/project-gutenberg/arabian-nights-lang.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: 4363-4372
quote_or_summary: Stormy weather drives the ship off course; the captain realizes
they are in a dangerous spot, a current sweeps them toward a mountain, and the
ship is dashed on rocks after the people scramble ashore with valuables.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamicate-folklore/project-gutenberg/arabian-nights-lang.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:10
type: summary
locator: 4372-4375
quote_or_summary: The captain tells the survivors to begin digging graves because
no shipwrecked mariner has ever returned from the fatal spot, and the group laments.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamicate-folklore/project-gutenberg/arabian-nights-lang.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: Literal extraction is based directly on the supplied passage. Motif labels
are provisional and use only broad available taxonomy references where they are
plausibly supported.
reviewer_status:
status: needs_review
reviewer: ''
reviewed_at: ''
notes: Machine-generated draft from OpenAI Batch; not human-reviewed.
extracted_by: openai_batch:gpt-5.5
extracted_at: '2026-04-29'
notes: |-
No comparison claims were added because the passage itself does not explicitly compare these events to another tradition or motif family beyond its own narrative sequence.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:islamicate-folklore-arabian-nights-lang-gutenberg__l4276-l4375
passage_sha256=b721e29c0779772ac3eca68a08db852e3926f89b474b1cfe451f028d92e7e027