One Thousand and One Nights It is one of the most famous classics of oriental literature in the world, in which we find characters such as Princess Shahrazad, Aladdin and Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves. The expression “open Sesame” has its origins in this famous fairy tale. In the course of the story, the young Ali Baba discovers a treasure hidden inside a cave, the entrance to which can only be opened by pronouncing the magic formula “open sesame”, which he hears when the leader of the thieves uses it to access the treasure. Having clarified the literary origin of the expression, its meaning must be identified, since “open the sesame” does not seem to mean anything. In fact, here things get more complicated.
The phrase “open sesame”, which in legend also corresponds to the opposite “close sesame”, first appeared in a French translation of One Thousand and One Nights curated by Antoine Galland between 1704 and 1717. Today, the expression has become synonymous with a magic key or a secret solution that reveals a treasure or solves a puzzle.
There are several theories regarding the origin of the phrase: the magic formula could be linked to the ancient belief in powers magical properties of sesame plants, which was in fact considered sacred and endowed with special properties in many cultures, including the Babylonian one: the term “sesame” could refer for example to the oil of the same name, used by the Babylonians in ancient magical rites. It is not clear, however, whether “sesame” refers to the plant or to the seed of the Sesame seeds. In this regard, to obtain sesame seeds (somewhat similar to tiny coins) it is necessary to crush/open the pods of the plant that produces them, so the expression could simply recall this gesture.
According to other scholars, “sesame” would refer to she isa Hebrew term derived from the Kabbalah, the art of Jewish doctrine which aims to divine the future by means of numbers, letters, signs, which represents the shem-sheam, that is the “name of heaven“.
To get to the famous phrase “open sesame” we finally recall the Ali Baba’s fairy taleThe story tells of a humble woodcutter who lives in Persia and that one day, while he is working in the forest, he hears some noises and goes to hide behind a bush, from where he sees forty thieves arriving on horseback, loaded with sacks. The thieves stop in front of a cave and the leader, facing the rock that blocks the entrance, pronounces the magic words: “Open Sesame!“. To Ali Baba’s great surprise, who had followed the men, saw the rock open, allowing the robbers to enter the cave with their loot. After a while they came out and the leader uttered another magic formula: “Close, sesame!”, causing the entrance to close again.
When the thieves leave, Ali Baba approaches the cave and, with a mixture of fear and curiosity, pronounces the same magic words. The rock opens and Ali Baba enters the cave, where they await him. treasures glittering: gold, jewels and precious objects of all sorts, of which he decides to take only a small part, keeping the rest for future needs. Before leaving, he pronounces the magic formula again to close the cave.
The woodcutter does not hesitate to tell his brother about the incredible discovery Cassima greedy and ambitious man, who insists on knowing the secret and, once he learns it, rushes to the cave with the intention of taking all the treasure. He manages to enter using the magic formula, but blinded by greed he forgets the words to get out. This means that when the thieves return they find him trapped in the cave, and kill him for having discovered their hiding place.
Having realized that someone besides Cassim knows their secret, they decide to find and kill Ali Baba, who, however, with cunning and the help of his servant Morgianamanages to foil the thieves’ plans. It is Morgiana, who with great courage and intelligence, eliminates one by one the thieves who had hidden in large jars to surprise Ali Baba in his house.
