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Is Princess Jasmine Indian or Middle Eastern?

posted 6 years ago by TMC-4 (20268)
5 replies | jump to latest

Some people might be confused on whether Jasmine is Indian or Middle Eastern, and it's understandable! Disney incorporated both Indian and Middle eastern culture to their classic-hit movie "Aladdin"

Aladdin setting is absolutely meant to be in the Middle East, I mean the movie opens up to "Arabian Nights"

But the Agrabah Palace in Aladdin is certainty meant to resemble the Taj Mahal that is located in Agra, India. Notice the similarity of the city names?

Princess Jasmine's Pet Tiger is named Rajah, which is a Indian Hindu word meaning "king"

Tigers are not even located in the desert, they are usually found in......
India....

But, Jasmine's father is refereed to as a Sultan, which is a word for a Muslim Sovereign.

https://www.lipstickalley.com/threads/is-princess-jasmine-indian-or-middle-eastern.2028686/

[–] melissah1982 (883) 4 years ago

I think you said it in your 2nd sentence. Disney combined the two cultures. I think there is a lot of Indian influence in the palace with the elephant thrown and even Jasmine's gown/hair style comes off very Indian to me. I actually kind of like the mix as the palace has this very opulent worldly feel about it but the more middle eastern/earthy colors and tones fit for the village and Aladdin's world.

[–] ibarackedyomama (43) 3 years ago

i agree completely.

[–] Stratego (30761) 4 years ago

It's clearly set in the Middle East with a tiny bit of influence of muslim culture from India (Rajah is also a muslim name, by the way).

I don't get the point about the tiger. He's an exotic pet imported from abroad, he doesn't have to be a native to Agrabah.

[–] Popcorngal (4875) 6 months ago

Ironically, the original Aladin was Chinese.

[–] ewd76 (1322) 6 months ago

There's a difference?