The memory of Iraqi storytellers preserves echoes of the folk art of the Sumerians, Chaldeans, Syrians, and Persians. Adding color and exoticism to the stories that were already circulating in these places were trade caravans transporting Jewish captives, black slaves and slaves from all parts of the Ancient World. A dangerous cannibal witch, mischievous genies, a cheerful river demon, a black cockroach who has decided to get married, and many other unusual, mysterious, and sometimes terrible characters amaze the imagination, make you laugh and excite. They show how extremely complex the patterns of life and beliefs of the people living in what is now Iraq are.