garden - page 1 of 8

Written and Illustrated

Soumy Ana

(Sha'ban 1421 - November 2000)

"What have I got to do with the material world? The example of the

material world and I is that of a traveler. Traveling in the afternoon, he

stopped to rest under the shade of a tree for some moments. Then he rose

and left it." -- A Haadith

One day, Djaliil informed me that there was "a garden in the

sands." I looked at him intently, alert for any sign of teasing, but the

lad looked rather serious. I replied:

"If you tell the truth, my friend, I will agree to visit it."

"O that will be easy, brother. My family lives there."

"So you are a Bedouin?" I asked.

"Yes, by Allah, one of the oldest nomad tribes in Arabia. My

complete name is Djaliil Abu Thaamy, a descendant of the men who

have seen the Prophet (Peace be upon him)."

A few days later, we departed with a caravan.

Some men had prepared a wooden litter draped in gaily-colored

pieces of cloth. The structure was called "Hawdaj." I felt

immediately curious about it. Why? Because it was imposing, and it

looked like the flapping wings of a living creature or one could also

think about the sail of a living boat. It twisted in the grains, slinging

away handfuls of sand the wind cast at it. It was very well

protective against the desert spirits and the scorch, much better than

we were.

Djaliil and I had carefully wrapped long, rectangular cloths around our

heads, but still the sand entered our mouths and reddened our eyes.

The turban I had learned to wear was rolled around the forefront and

the neck.

A loose end hid the lower part of the face from the nose then

dropped on the right shoulder. I had adopted long before that the

local costume consisting of a floating tunic with a dagger belt, and a

heavy cloak. The garment kept my body cool during the day as it let

the air and the sand wash over my skin. It was warm during the

night as the dark material had absorbed the sun's rays during the

warm hours. Standing erect in the sand devils, we looked like sails

trying to make an impact in an ocean of dunes. The camel's footprints