Trafika Europe 6 - Arabesque

ibrahim al-koni

(on which tribes prided themselves, celebrating them in poems) for matted, morose, behemoth camels with bodies like an elephant—beasts fit only for transporting heavy loads. But communities also knew that anyone who was loved by the Spirit World and who harbored its secret inside him would inevitably succeed in a pursuit—even if he lost in some other one he had perfected for the public good when people did not acknowledge his skill. 4 A captivating widow, whose beloved husband died on a businesstriptotheforestlands, was said to have inspired the sorcerer to construct that abominable scarecrow. She had gone into mourning,

secluded herself, and rejected suitors and prospective husbands. She lived alone in the oasis, occupying her time with crooning plaintive ballads and supervising the herd of livestock she had inherited from her deceased lord. This herd was devastated by a calamity that led her to the metalsmiths’ market, where she fell under the influence of the sorcerer. It was said that she claimed at first she thought some epidemic had infected her livestock. Wise herdsmen, however, informed her that the calamitywas caused not by somemysterious epidemic but by the ravages of the vermin that creep across the face of the wasteland. She consulted a clairvoyant, who confirmed that the Spirit World was not responsible for this bloodshed. He spoke cryptically about

26