Iv - University of Salford Institutional Repository
Iv - University of Salford Institutional Repository Iv - University of Salford Institutional Repository
1 4 The doum tree of Wad Hamid said : 'Wad liamid, in times gone by, used to be the slave of a wicked man, fie was one of God's holy saints but kept his faith to himself, not daring to pray openly lest his wicked master should kill him. When he could no longer bear his life with this infidel he called upon God to deliver him and a voice told him to spread his prayer-mat on the water and that when it stopped by the shore he should descend. The prayer-mat put him down at the place where the down tree is now and which used to be waste land. And there be stayed alone, praying the whole day. At night fall a man came to him with dishes of food, so he ate and continued his worship till dawn.' All this happened before the village was built up. It is as though this village, with its inhabitants, its water-wheels and buildings, had become split off from the earth. Anyone who tells you be knows the history of its origin is a liar. Other places begin by being small and then grow larger, but this village of ours came . into being at one bound. Its population neither increases nor decreases, while its appearance remains unchanged. And ever since our village has existed, so has the down tree of Wad liam id ; and just as no one remembers how it originated and grew, so no one remembers how the doum tree came to grow in a patch of rocky ground by the river, standing above it like a sentinel. When I took you to visit the tree, my son, do you remember the iron railing round it? Do you remember the marble plaque standing on a stone pedestal with 'The doum tree of Wad timid' written on it? 1)0 you remember the dotmeiwe with the gilded crescents above the tomb? They are the only, new things about the village since God first planted it here, and
doum tree of Wad liana 5 I shall now recount to you how they came into being. When you leave us tomorrow—and you will certainly do so, swollen of face and in of eye—it will be fitting if you do not curse us but rather think kindly of us and of the things that I have told you this night, for you may well find that your visit to us was not wholly bad. You remember that some years ago we had Members of Parliament and political parties and a great deal of to-ing and fro-ing which we couldn't make head or tail of. The roads would sometimes cast down strangers at our very doors, just as the waves of the sea wash up strange weeds. Though . not a single one of them prolonged his stay beyond one night, they would nevertheless bring us the news of the great fuss going on in the capital. One day they told us that the government which had driven out imperialism had been substituted by an even bigger and noisier government. 'And who has changed it?' we asked them, but received no answer. As for us, ever since we refused to allow the stopping- place to be set up at the down tree no one has disturbed our tranquil existence. Two years passed without our knowing what form the government had taken, black or white. Its emissaries passed through our village without staying in it, while we thanked God that I le had saved us the trouble of putting them up. So things went on till, four years ago, a new government came into power. As though this new authority wished to make us conscious of its presence, we awoke one day to find an official with an enormous hat and small head, in the company of two soldiers, measuring up and doing calculations at the doum tree. We asked them what it was about, to which they 265
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- Page 229 and 230: CONCLUSION In conclusion, we shall
- Page 231 and 232: all levels. This is discussed in Ch
- Page 233 and 234: BIBLIOGRAPHY ADEN, J M (ed.), (1963
- Page 235 and 236: FRAWLEY, W, (ed.), (1984), Translat
- Page 237 and 238: KHULUSI, S, (1986), Fann Al-Targama
- Page 239 and 240: SHAHEEN, Abdus-Sabour, (1986), Al-A
- Page 241 and 242: '71 r CI0,‘ Co. • 1/4/. Ck. CS\
- Page 243 and 244: .n•n••. < • Ci E• sc, tct
- Page 245 and 246: • • 1.54:•71.7 , • . • .
- Page 247 and 248: 250 THE JOURNAL OF STRATEGIC STUDIE
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- Page 273 and 274: lo The doum tree of Wad Hamid and s
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- Page 281 and 282: The doum tree of Wad Hamid me with
- Page 283 and 284: 271 ST11. : TaKen trom: POET:IY by
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- Page 289 and 290: foreign and begin to destroy it. Th
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1 4<br />
The doum tree <strong>of</strong> Wad Hamid<br />
said : 'Wad liamid, in times gone by, used to be the slave <strong>of</strong> a<br />
wicked man, fie was one <strong>of</strong> God's holy saints but kept his faith<br />
to himself, not daring to pray openly lest his wicked master<br />
should kill him. When he could no longer bear his life with this<br />
infidel he called upon God to deliver him and a voice told him<br />
to spread his prayer-mat on the water and that when it stopped<br />
by the shore he should descend. The prayer-mat put him down<br />
at the place where the down tree is now and which used to be<br />
waste land. And there be stayed alone, praying the whole day.<br />
At night fall a man came to him with dishes <strong>of</strong> food, so he ate<br />
and continued his worship till dawn.'<br />
All this happened before the village was built up. It is<br />
as though this village, with its inhabitants, its water-wheels<br />
and buildings, had become split <strong>of</strong>f from the earth. Anyone who<br />
tells you be knows the history <strong>of</strong> its origin is a liar. Other<br />
places begin by being small and then grow larger, but this<br />
village <strong>of</strong> ours came . into being at one bound. Its population<br />
neither increases nor decreases, while its appearance remains<br />
unchanged. And ever since our village has existed, so has the<br />
down tree <strong>of</strong> Wad liam id ; and just as no one remembers how it<br />
originated and grew, so no one remembers how the doum tree<br />
came to grow in a patch <strong>of</strong> rocky ground by the river, standing<br />
above it like a sentinel.<br />
When I took you to visit the tree, my son, do you remember<br />
the iron railing round it? Do you remember the marble plaque<br />
standing on a stone pedestal with 'The doum tree <strong>of</strong> Wad<br />
timid' written on it? 1)0 you remember the dotmeiwe with<br />
the gilded crescents above the tomb? They are the only, new<br />
things about the village since God first planted it here, and
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