''Asterix and the Magic Carpet'' is the twenty-eighth volume of the

Asterix ''Asterix'' or ''The Adventures of Asterix'' (french: Astérix or , "Asterix the Gaul") is a ''bande dessinée'' comic book series about a village of indomitable Gaulish warriors who adventure around the world and fight the Roman Republic, wi ...

comic book series a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate ...

René Goscinny René Goscinny (, ; 14 August 1926 – 5 November 1977) was a French comic editor and writer, who created the ''Astérix'' comic book series with illustrator Albert Uderzo. Raised largely in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he attended French schoo ...

(stories) and

Albert Uderzo Alberto Aleandro Uderzo (; ; 25 April 1927 – 24 March 2020), better known as Albert Uderzo, was a French comic book artist and scriptwriter. He is best known as the co-creator and illustrator of the ''Astérix'' series in collaboration with Re ...

(illustrations). It was first published in 1987, and was translated into English in 1988. It is the fourth Asterix album to be published after the death of René Goscinny in 1977 and is thus both written and drawn by Albert Uderzo alone. The full original French title was ''Astérix chez Rahàzade ou Le compte des mille et une heures'' (''Asterix meets Orinjade or the 1001 Hours Countdown''), a reference to Queen

Scheherazade Scheherazade () is a major female character and the storyteller in the frame narrative of the Middle Eastern collection of tales known as the ''One Thousand and One Nights''. Name According to modern scholarship, the name ''Scheherazade'' deri ...

who tells the famous 1001 Arabian Nights collection of stories.

Plot summary

Following the rebuilding of the Gaulish village after Brutus' attack in the previous story, Chief Vitalstatistix is trying to give a speech, when he is interrupted by the bard Cacofonix, whose song causes

rain Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water f ...

. This introduces Watziznehm the

fakir Fakir ( ar, فقیر, translit=faḳīr or ''faqīr'') is an Islamic term traditionally used for Sufi Muslim ascetics who renounce their worldly possessions and dedicate their lives to the worship of God. They do not necessarily renounce al ...

, who falls from his

flying carpet A magic carpet, also called a flying carpet, is a legendary carpet and common trope in fantasy fiction. It is typically used as a form of transportation and can quickly or instantaneously carry its users to their destination. In literature One ...

. Watziznehm explains he was searching for the village because he needs to make it rain in his country, a kingdom in the

Ganges The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...

Valley, within the following 1001 hours, otherwise Princess Orinjade, daughter of Rajah Wotzit, will be sacrificed to the gods. This prophecy is part of an evil scheme by

Grand Vizier Grand vizier ( fa, وزيرِ اعظم, vazîr-i aʾzam; ota, صدر اعظم, sadr-ı aʾzam; tr, sadrazam) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. The office of Grand Vizier was first ...

Hoodunnit, to seize the throne. Vitalstatistix agrees to send the rain-making Cacofonix to India, accompanied by Asterix, Obelix, and

Dogmatix Dogmatix () is a fictional white terrier dog who is a companion to Obelix in the ''Asterix'' comics. Dogmatix is a pun on the words dog and dogmatic. In the original French, his name is ''Idéfix'', itself a pun on the French expression '' idée ...

. All five mount the flying carpet; but their journey is often interrupted either by Obelix's insistence on stopping for food, by Cacofonix's attempts to sing, and once by a lightning strike which forces them to replace the carpet. The Gauls eventually arrive in India with exactly 30 hours, 30 minutes, and 30 seconds to save Orinjade; but Cacofonix has lost his voice during the journey, and Rajah Wotzit's doctors proclaim that to regain his voice, Cacofonix must take an overnight bath in a combination of

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae an ...

milk, dung and hair. Accordingly, the Gauls and Watziznehm take Cacofonix to elephant-trainer Howdoo and set up the bath; but Hoodunnit sends his henchmen to kidnap the bard and take him to an

elephants' graveyard An elephants' graveyard (also written elephant graveyard, elephant's graveyard, or elephants' cemetery) is a place where, according to legend, older elephants instinctively direct themselves when they reach a certain age. According to this legend, ...

to be trampled by the wild elephant herd. Watziznehm, Asterix and Obelix set out to rescue the bard, but they are stopped by Owzat, Hoodunnit's fakir sidekick. While Watziznehm and Owzat curse each other, Asterix and Obelix escape to Howdoo, with whom they embark to the elephants' graveyard. After delays by

tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus '' Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on u ...

monkey Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as the simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes, which constitutes an incomple ...

s, a

rhinoceros A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...

and Hoodunnit's henchmen, they find Cacofonix alive and well, his smell having placated the elephants. Meanwhile, Watziznehm defeats Owzat and recovers the Gauls on his flying carpet. At the execution grounds, Asterix saves Orinjade, while Watziznehm intercepts Hoodunnit. Cacofonix recovers his voice after a dose of magic potion, and sings, causing rain. At the victory feast in the palace, Obelix surmises that his fellow villagers might be having their customary banquet, this time without him. This is proven true; and at the banquet, some of the Gauls begin to express a desire to retrieve the bard, in fear of a drought, and

Fulliautomatix This is a list of characters in the ''Asterix'' comics. Main characters Asterix, Obelix and Dogmatix are the first characters with short descriptions usually listed at the beginning of each of the ''Asterix'' books (after the map of Gaul). They ...

the blacksmith, Cacofonix's habitual menace, appears to be missing him.

Introducing

* Watziznehm – the fakir * Wotzit – the rajah * Orinjade – the princess * Hoodunnit – the scheming Grand Vizier * Owzat – Hoodunnit's fakir henchman * Howdoo – the elephant man

Commentary

* An

audiobook An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sc ...

of ''Asterix and the Magic Carpet'' adapted by

Anthea Bell Anthea Bell (10 May 1936 – 18 October 2018) was an English translator of literary works, including children's literature, from French, German and Danish. These include '' The Castle'' by Franz Kafka, ''Austerlitz'' by W. G. Sebald, the '' In ...

and narrated by

Willie Rushton William George Rushton (18 August 1937 – 11 December 1996) was an English cartoonist, satirist, comedian, actor and performer who co-founded the satirical magazine ''Private Eye''. Early life Rushton was born 18 August 1937 in 3 Wilbraham Plac ...

was released on

EMI Records EMI Records (formerly EMI Records Ltd.) is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British flagship label by the music company of the same name in 1972, and launched in January 1973 as the succ ...

' ''Listen for Pleasure'' label in 1988. * This is the first reference to India in an Asterix book. Although some things are depicted in historical fashion (the

Rigvedic The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' ( ', from ' "praise" and ' "knowledge") is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canonical Hindu texts (''śruti'') known as the Vedas. Only one S ...

deities, for example), many of the architectural details and styles of clothing are distinctly

Islamic Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the mai ...

, as is the concept of a

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

was not brought to India until the late 11th century CE. * As in ''

Asterix in Switzerland ''Asterix in Switzerland'' (, "Asterix in the land of the Helvetii") is the sixteenth volume of the ''Asterix'' comic book series, by René Goscinny (stories) and Albert Uderzo (illustrations). It was originally serialized in ''Pilote'' magazine ...

'' and ''

Asterix and Son ''Asterix and Son'' (, "Asterix's Son") is the twenty-seventh volume of the Asterix comic book series, created by author René Goscinny and illustrator Albert Uderzo. It was the third Asterix album to be written and illustrated by Uderzo. Plo ...

'', this volume has a rare dramatic overtone by the heroes' need to rescue an innocent from impending death. * Orinjade's name is a play on the soft drink

Orangeade The term orange drink refers to a sweet, sugary, sometimes carbonation, carbonated, orange-flavored drink. Typically such beverages contain little or no orange juice and are mainly composed of water, sugar or sweeteners, flavor, coloring, and a ...

. In the original French version the princess is called Rahàzade. The title of the comic is thus; "Astérix chez Rahàzade" ("Asterix meets Rahàzade"): a

pun A pun, also known as paronomasia, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use of homophoni ...

on the famous storyteller

who told the 1001

Arabian nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' ( ar, أَلْفُ لَيْلَةٍ وَلَيْلَةٌ, italic=yes, ) is a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as the ''Arabian ...

stories. * The gag that Cacofonix's singing induces rain was used for the first time in this album. It later appears in ''

Asterix and the Secret Weapon ''Asterix and the Secret Weapon'' is the twenty-ninth volume of the Asterix comic book series and the fifth by Albert Uderzo alone. It parodies feminism, gender equality/relationships, and military secrets. Plot summary The story begins when a ...

''. * When Cacofonix sings in Vitalstatistix's hut, it begins to rain indoors (causing an angry

Impedimenta This is a list of characters in the ''Asterix'' comics. Main characters Asterix, Obelix and Dogmatix are the first characters with short descriptions usually listed at the beginning of each of the ''Asterix'' books (after the map of Gaul). They ...

to chase them outside). However, when he first sings in his own hut, it rains all over the village. (This can possibly be explained by Cacofonix sticking his head out a rear window of his hut, although the illustrations do not state this explicitly.) * In the original French version Cacofonix (on page 18) starts singing a song "confused with another comic strip", according to the accompanying text. The song is indeed

Bianca Castafiore Bianca Castafiore (), nicknamed the "Milanese Nightingale" (), is a fictional character in ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. She is an opera singer who frequently pops up in adventure after adventure. ...

's famous

aria In music, an aria (Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompanime ...

from

Charles Gounod Charles-François Gounod (; ; 17 June 181818 October 1893), usually known as Charles Gounod, was a French composer. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been ''Faust (opera), Faust'' (1859); his ''Roméo et Juliette'' (18 ...

's ''

Faust Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroads ...

'', which she sings often in the Belgian comic strip ''

The Adventures of Tintin ''The Adventures of Tintin'' (french: Les Aventures de Tintin ) is a series of 24 bande dessinée#Formats, ''bande dessinée'' albums created by Belgians, Belgian cartoonist Georges Remi, who wrote under the pen name Hergé. The series was one ...

''. * On page 23, the princess asks her handmaiden (named " Lemuhnade" in the English translation) "if she sees anything arriving", while awaiting the Gauls' arrival. This is a reference to the

fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic (paranormal), magic, incantation, enchantments, and mythical ...

Bluebeard "Bluebeard" (french: Barbe bleue, ) is a French folktale, the most famous surviving version of which was written by Charles Perrault and first published by Barbin in Paris in 1697 in ''Histoires ou contes du temps passé''. The tale tells the st ...

where Bluebeard's wife asks the same thing of her sister, while waiting for her brothers to rescue her. * On page 29 Asterix, Obelix and Cacofonix eat

caviar Caviar (also known as caviare; from fa, خاویار, khâvyâr, egg-bearing) is a food consisting of salt-cured roe of the family Acipenseridae. Caviar is considered a delicacy and is eaten as a garnish or a spread. Traditionally, the ter ...

, "just a meal for poor people", according to the cooks. This is a reference to the fact that nowadays only rich people eat it. * When Cacofonix sings in his own hut, after Watziznehm has crash-landed in the village, the song is "

Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David for the 1969 film ''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid''. The uplifting lyrics describe somebody who overcomes his troubles and worries by realizing that "it w ...

" by

B.J. Thomas Billy Joe Thomas (August 7, 1942 – May 29, 2021) was an American singer widely known for his pop, country and Christian hits of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Popular songs by Thomas include "Hooked on a Feeling" (1968), "Raindrops Keep Fallin' ...

. *Hoodunnit makes a reference to another Goscinny character,

Iznogoud ''Iznogoud'' (pronounced "he's/is no good" with a French (language), French Accent (dialect), accent) is a French comics series featuring an eponymous character, created by the comic book creator, comics writer René Goscinny and comics artist Je ...

, as his cousin and borrows his catchphrase by declaring that he will be ''Rajah instead of the Rajah''. (page 43) * Upon recovering his voice, Cacofonix sings ''

Singin' in the Rain ''Singin' in the Rain'' is a 1952 American musical romantic comedy film directed and choreographed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, starring Kelly, Donald O'Connor, and Debbie Reynolds and featuring Jean Hagen, Millard Mitchell and Cyd Charis ...

'' by

Arthur Freed Arthur Freed (September 9, 1894 – April 12, 1973) was an American lyricist and Hollywood film producer. He won the Academy Award for Best Picture twice, in 1951 for ''An American in Paris'' and in 1958 for '' Gigi''. Both films were musicals. ...

and

Nacio Herb Brown Ignacio Herbert "Nacio Herb" Brown (February 22, 1896 – September 28, 1964) was an American songwriter, writer of popular songs, movie scores and Broadway theatre music in the 1920s through the early 1950s. Amongst his most enduring work ...

. (In the English translation, he instead performs Feste's Song from

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's ''

Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night'', or ''What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Vio ...

''.) * Orinjade is one of the few to express a liking for Cacofonix's music; the others being Justforkix in ''

Asterix and the Normans ''Asterix and the Normans'' is the ninth book in the Asterix comic book series, written by René Goscinny and drawn by Albert Uderzo. It was first published in serial form in ''Pilote'' magazine, issues 340–361, in 1966. It depicts a meeting b ...

'' and Pepe in ''

Asterix in Spain ''Asterix in Spain'' (, "Asterix in Hispania") is the fourteenth volume of the ''Asterix'' comic book series, by René Goscinny (stories) and Albert Uderzo (illustrations). It was originally serialized in ''Pilote'' magazine, issues 498–519, in ...

''. * When Owzat stops Watziznehm from passing, Obelix says "Not out": a reference to the sport of

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

, wherein bowlers appeal thus to the umpire. Cricket is extremely popular in India. * When Orinjade is taken to be executed, the public call out the countdown, and Asterix and Co. rescue the princess when the count reaches zero; a reference to the development of the number zero in ancient India. * As Watziznehm is a fakir, his avoidance of all luxury is frequently referred to. At a feast along the way from Gaul to India, Obelix eats a whole camel while Watziznehm is content with a single egg of caviar. * The name Watziznehm may be a reference to the

Salman Rushdie Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie (; born 19 June 1947) is an Indian-born British-American novelist. His work often combines magic realism with historical fiction and primarily deals with connections, disruptions, and migrations between Eastern and Wes ...

novel

Midnights Children ''Midnight's Children'' is a 1981 novel by Indian-British writer Salman Rushdie, published by Jonathan Cape with cover design by Bill Botten, about India's transition from British colonial rule to independence and partition. It is a postcol ...

in which the narrators grandmother frequently uses the verbal tick "whatsitsname" in her speech.

In other languages

*Ancient Greek: ''Αστερίκιος παρά Σακχαραζάδι'' *Catalan: ''Astèrix a l'Índia'' *Croatian: ''Asterix i leteći sag'' *Czech: ''Asterix a Rahazáda'' *Danish: ''Asterix i Østens fagre riger'' *Dutch: ''Asterix in Indus-land'' *Finnish: ''Asterix Intiassa – Tuhannen ja yhden tunnin matka'' (''Asterix in India – The Thousand-and-One-Hour Journey'') *German: ''Asterix im Morgenland'' *Greek: ''Ο Αστερίξ και η Χαλαλίμα'' *Indonesian: ''Asterix dan Putri Rahazade'' *Italian: ''Le mille e un'ora di Asterix'' *Latin ''Asterix Orientalis'' *Norwegian: ''Asterix og det flygende teppet'' *Polish: ''Asteriks u Reszehezady'' *Portuguese: ''As 1001 horas de Astérix'' *Russian: ''Астерикс и Волшебный ковер'' *Serbian: ''Asteriks kod Šećerlemade'' (''Šećerlemada'' is Orinjade's name in Serbian, itself being the word pun combining the name of Scheherazade from 1001 Nights and word ''šećerlema'', meaning sweet candy) *Spanish: ''Astérix en la India'' *Swedish: ''Asterix i Indien''

Reception

Goodreads Goodreads is an American social cataloging website and a subsidiary of Amazon that allows individuals to search its database of books, annotations, quotes, and reviews. Users can sign up and register books to generate library catalogs and read ...

, it has a score of 3.91 out of 5.

References

External links

''Astérix chez Rahazade'' annotations

Official English Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Asterix And The Magic Carpet 1987 graphic novels Magic Carpet, Asterix and the India in fiction Comics set in India Comics by Albert Uderzo Comics based on fairy tales Works based on One Thousand and One Nights Depictions of Julius Caesar in comics