by Asen Djinah
After the slave had left, Abdul-Basir and Basim sat down to plan the journey into town. The tribe leader had worked out that selling the leather bags and slippers they had made, as well as the greased waterskin containers, would not raise enough money.
‘We will have to sell two camels to get enough funds for the necessary supplies,’ he told Basim.
‘I will select two bulls and give them plenty of water to drink so they look plump,’ Basim replied.
Male camels were not as useful and productive as the females and they usually fetched a good price for their meat. The two brothers discussed the lowest prices they would accept for the various items and worked out the minimum amount they would earn. Only then did they make a list of basic supplies to purchase. Should they receive a higher price than the minimum they had set, only then would they be able to afford some luxury items such as rice and spices.
Later that evening, Nayila was completely taken by surprise when her father informed her that she would be accompanying him to town the next day.
‘It’s time you started learning about teeth and how to care for them, just as I did from my father. We will stay for a few days, so pack a change of clothes,’ he told the surprised girl.
Nayila could not believe her ears. Like most women and children of the tribe, she had never visited a town. Most of them had heard stories about town people and their lifestyle, but had never experienced it with their own eyes. Many would never do so, spending their entire life in the desert. Before retiring for the night, Nayila went to pay a final visit to Kulthum’s tent to see the baby.
‘Oh Nabila, you won’t believe it. Tomorrow I am going into town with Abbi. I hope you don’t mind me leaving you for a few days,’ she told the baby as though she could understand every word.
Back in her tent, Nayila was too excited to sleep and opened her mother’s wooden box where the festive clothes were kept. As a ten-year old she would only have to wear a head scarf and not a niqab, but would still be dressed in full length clothes. She tried imagining what the town looked like as she finally lay down on her sheepskin, her mind filled with all sorts of images until she eventually drifted off to sleep. She was not to know that one day Kuffrat would become her hometown and that she would be living there with her future husband. Nor was she aware that the chance meeting between her father and Rafiq the carpet maker would alter the course of her life many years later.
Chapter 12
Never in her life had Nayila seen so many people crammed together in such a small area, with barely any space to move. Like all nomads who walked into a town for the first time, the young girl felt claustrophobic and found it difficult to breathe. The noise level was overwhelming for anyone used to the silence of the desert. Everyone seemed to be shouting to be heard. Feeling scared that she might get separated from the others, Nayila held on tightly to her father’s hand. After recovering from her initial shock, Nayila did not know where to look as everything was new to her. She was amazed at the numerous types of fresh produce on sale, the colourful fruits and vegetables, most of which she had never seen before let alone tasted. On the opposite side of the entrance, there were multi-coloured textiles hanging on stretched cords, some so thin and light that she could see right through them. As she stared at the well-dressed people, Nayila was glad that she had chosen to wear her festive clothes otherwise she would have stood out in the crowd in her drab clothes. The aroma of spices and grilled meat hit her nostrils and she felt her mouth water.
‘These people must be rich,’ she thought.
The little girl had naively thought that their life in the desert was adequate, but looking around her she suddenly realised how impoverished it really was. The abundance and variety of produce and food on display seemed like an affront to their small rations. She wanted to spend more time in the market, to touch and feel the colourful yarns and materials, but her father pulled her away.
‘We have to look for Khadim,’ he shouted to Nayila above the din.
But it was Khadim instead who spotted them first and he waved at Abdul-Basir to attract his attention. While Basim and the others went into the market with the two camels and goods to sell, Abdul-Basir and Nayila followed Khadim through the narrow and shaded alleyways, with the slave carrying the medical box.
‘The house is not very far. It will take us about twenty minutes to get there,’ he reassured Abdul-Basir, as it was already very hot.
When they finally reached their destination, Nayila was struck with awe. Rafiq’s house was huge and gleaming white in the midday sun. They walked into an outer courtyard with fig and lemon trees offering plenty of shade and a water fountain gurgling in the centre. Khadim led them into an inner enclosed foyer with colourful furnishings and lavish benches fitted with maroon, velvety cushions. A servant immediately appeared with wet towels for them to freshen up, as though he has been expecting them all along. He then offered them a cool drink of lemon and honey. Nayila looked at the luxury around her and could not believe her eyes.
‘This man, Rafiq bin Qassim, must be the richest man in the entire world,’ she thought.
After a while, a short rotund man with flushed rosy cheeks appeared from inside the house, dressed in smart, colourful silk clothes. His face was swollen on the left side which made him look even chubbier. Instead of the traditional keffiyeh and agal, he wore a yellow turban and with his light pink thawb, he looked imposing in the colourful finery.
‘Salam Alaikum, Sayyidi Abdul-Basir, thank you for coming so promptly,’ he spoke with his lips barely moving and wincing with pain at each word.
‘Alaikum Salam, Sayyidi Rafiq. Please don’t talk any more, let me have a look at your mouth,’ Abdul-Basir ordered to prevent further discomfort to the patient.
Rafiq sat on one of the benches and leant the back of his head against the wall.
‘Master Rafiq has seen a number of healers and tried all sorts of herbs without any relief,’ Khadim explained while he made his master comfortable.
Abdul-Basir rested the back of his hand against the patient’s swollen cheek to feel the temperature. It was hot to the touch.
‘There is definitely an infection,’ he thought.
When Rafiq opened his mouth, Abdul-Basir immediately saw the red and swollen gum on the lower left jaw. Drawing from his experience, he immediately knew it was an abscess which needed to be drained before any treatment.
‘But how to stop the infection, which might soon enter the bloodstream?’ he wondered.
Within seconds, Abdul-Basir concluded that it would be futile to drain the abscess and attempt to treat the infection without removing the tooth. But that in itself presented another problem; the tooth had a large blackened cavity and was at risk of breaking, leaving the root inside the gum.
‘It won’t be easy,’ he thought gloomily.
‘Sayyidi Rafiq,’ he said addressing the patient, ‘I have to take the tooth out. Unfortunately, it has a large cavity and is therefore quite brittle. There is a high possibility that it might break, leaving the infected root inside the gum. I will need to be very careful and the whole procedure will be slow and painful. Would you like me to proceed?’
‘Sayyidi Abdul-Basir, I have already been in terrible pain for the past month. Do what you must. I can’t bear it anymore,’ Rafiq pleaded, his eyes filling with tears of pain.
‘Khadim, I will need hot water, salt, clean linen to mop up the blood, an oil lamp and an empty pot. I also need the patient to sit on a proper chair,’ Abdul-Basir instructed the slave.
All this time Nayila listened quietly and attentively to her father, for she was eager to learn. She took the initiative and opened her father’s medicine chest, laying out the various contents on the side table. Nodding approvingly, Abdul-Basir picked up a long needle using a pair of pliers and held it in the flame of the oil lamp.
‘The needle has to be in the middle of the flame so that it does not catch the soot from the top. Then I will cool it in cold water,’ he explained t
o Nayila.
‘Sayyidi Rafiq, I will now make a puncture in your gum to relieve the pressure and get the pus out. But first rinse your mouth a few times with the salt water please,’ he told the patient.
After Rafiq had done so, Abdul-Basir used his finger to rub some clove oil on both sides of the gums. With the help of a splint, he put a few drops inside the tooth cavity.
‘Clove oil is good for numbing pain as well as treating an infection,’ Abdul-Basir told both Rafiq and Nayila.
With a nod from Abdul-Basir, Khadim removed his master’s turban and standing behind the chair, he held the patient’s head in an arm lock. Abdul-Basir quickly pushed the needle deep into the gum at the base of the tooth and as quickly pulled it out. Rafiq groaned in pain and sweat broke out instantly on his forehead. Yellow pus oozed out of the puncture and using his fingers, the medicine man gently massaged the gum to squeeze more of the discharge out. Rafiq’s eyes rolled back as though he was about to faint. Nayila quickly grabbed a fan from the side table and cooled the patient’s face. Once again, Abdul-Basir made the patient rinse his mouth with the salt water before applying more of the clove oil onto the gums in preparation for the next stage.
‘The throbbing has subsided, but the pain is still there. It is slightly more bearable now, though,’ Rafiq mumbled.
‘Yes, but it will still be very painful to take the tooth out. Rest for a few minutes and when you are ready I will start. I will have to dislodge it from the gum first, before attempting the extraction. It’s to reduce the risk of the tooth breaking,’ he explained to both Rafiq and Nayila.
When Abdul-Basir handed the thin, blunt knife to Nayila, he was pleased to see her holding it in the middle of the flame.
‘She is a quick learner,’ he thought proudly.
Abdul-Basir began to work his knife gently to loosen the gum around the tooth. He paused every time the patient groaned with pain, allowing him some respite before carrying on. It was a very slow process and each time he probed a little deeper. With the help of his knife, he introduced more of the clove oil into the gap between the tooth and the gum, praying for Rafiq’s sake that it would dull the pain sufficiently. He added some camphor oil, which would cause the loosened gum to recede and expose more of the root. He worked slowly, knowing that the more he loosened the tooth, the less the risk of it breaking.
‘You are doing very well, Rafiq. Think of the pain you had over the past month. It will soon be over. Just bear with it now,’ Abdul-Basir motivated his patient.
At last, satisfied with the progress made, he took out his pliers and gently, without applying excessive force, tried to pull at the tooth. He made sure to push the pliers deep into the gum so that it held the tooth as close to the root as possible. As he tried to rock the tooth, Rafiq could not stand the pain and tried to push Abdul-Basir’s hand away.
‘Take a break, Rafiq and tell me when you are ready,’ he said.
Khadim mopped his master’s forehead while Nayila fanned his sweaty face. Feeling slightly better, Rafiq nodded that he was ready. Abdul-Basir worked his pliers once again, increasing the force slightly. Each time Rafiq screamed with pain, Abdul-Basir would pause to give him time to rest and recover. After a while he felt the tooth moving slightly. He changed the angle of the pliers so as to move the tooth from side to side. Feeling that it was loosening further, he increased the pressure. Rafiq cried out with pain once more and Abdul-Basir obligingly paused again. He applied more of the clove and camphor oil and waited while Nayila fanned Rafiq’s face until the patient felt better.
Nayila forced herself to watch the whole procedure, although it made her feel nauseous.
‘I will never have enough force to take out a tooth, let alone see a man suffer so much with all the probing in his mouth,’ she thought.
Even her father seemed to be struggling with the tooth and Nayila could see he was sweating as well. When Rafiq gave the go-ahead, Abdul-Basir knew that he would have to use more force to get the tooth out. With the pliers deep into the gum, he twisted the tooth from left to right and back in a rotational motion. When he felt the tooth moving, he increased the rotational motion.
‘Please God, don’t let the tooth break. Otherwise I will have to cut the gum and it will be too much for Rafiq,’ he prayed.
Holding his breath, he then made the final sideways outer movement and the tooth came out, along with a loud groan from Rafiq. As blood spurted out, Rafiq fainted. Quickly, Abdul-Basir turned the patient’s head to one side to allow the blood to run out rather than going into his throat. After much fanning from Nayila, Rafiq slowly came around. Abdul-Basir made him rinse his mouth with the salt water once more and spit into the pot.
‘The hard part is over, you can now relax,’ he encouraged the patient.
‘It is good that the bad blood is coming out. Although the tooth is out, the infection is still there in the gum. However, with an open wound, I can treat it more easily, but it will take some time to clear,’ he further explained to Rafiq.
Abdul-Basir took a piece of root ginger from his box and after cutting it in small pieces, he ground it with his small pestle and mortar. He removed the pulpy residue after squeezing it to extract every drop of liquid, to which he added a few drops of clove oil, small pieces of myrrh resin and alum crystal.
‘The alum will cause the blood to coagulate and encourage clotting, while the other ingredients will treat the infection as well as providing some pain relief,’ he explained to his daughter.
He mixed the ingredients together until a thick creamy mixture was obtained. Using a piece of cotton, he made a small plug which he dipped into the thick mixture. He then placed the soaked plug into the gum cavity and asked Rafiq to bite on it.
‘Keep biting on the plug and don’t try to spit. Swallow the blood if you have to, but don’t spit as it will start the bleeding again. I will add a few drops of the mixture to the plug every few hours for the next few days. The infection should be treated by then. Remember not to remove the plug under any circumstances or the bleeding will start again,’ he instructed Rafiq.
‘I will ask Khadim to prepare a room for me and my daughter,’ he added.
Rafiq could not reply but he touched his heart, his lips and his forehead with his right hand. As he bowed his head, he blinked his gratitude to Abdul-Basir. With the help of Khadim, Abdul-Basir helped Rafiq to his room and made him comfortable. When he later checked the patient’s gum, he was happy to see that the bleeding had stopped.
After a couple of hours, Abdul-Basir added a few drops of the mixture onto the plug. To treat any internal infection that might have spread in the bloodstream, he then prepared another concoction. He crushed dried turmeric, ginger, garlic, and habba seeds together into a fine powder which he asked Khadim to boil in milk. When it was reduced and strained through a clean cloth, Abdul-Basir asked Khadim to make the patient drink the potion at regular intervals. Rafiq’s fever remained high after the extraction and Abdul-Basir explained to his wife that whilst the source of infection had been removed, his blood was contaminated.
‘Many healers recommend bleeding the patient to remove the bad blood, but I am personally against this treatment as it will further weaken the patient,’ he explained.
‘My method is to treat the infection in the blood with herbs,’ he clarified.
‘May God bless you and your family,’ Rafiq’s wife thanked him.
After seeing that Rafiq had dozed off from exhaustion, Abdul-Basir turned to the patient’s wife.
‘Nayila and I will go to the market to meet our companions and inform them that we will be staying here for the next few days. We will be back in a couple of hours,’ Abdul-Basir told her.
By the third day, the swelling on Rafiq’s face had subsided considerably and the pain almost gone. However, the fever persisted and since the trauma of the extraction had weakened him, the patient remained in a state of torpor. Khadim remained by his master’s side the entire time, refusing to go to his room to rest. He appl
ied cold compresses to his master’s forehead, just as Abdul-Basir had shown him. He would only doze off whenever his master was sleeping. On the fourth day, after seeing that the gum cavity was healing and the fever subsiding, Abdul-Basir was confident that the battle had finally been won; Rafiq was out of danger.
‘It’s good news. Rafiq’s infection is almost gone. We will soon leave,’ he informed his host’s wife.
It was clear that Rafiq was feeling better, since he started to ask for solid food with his appetite returning. Everyone knew how much Rafiq liked his food and to see him ask for his choice dishes was a sign that he was his old self again. Within days, he was once again back to his usual cheerful mood and the gloomy atmosphere in the house was lifted. Even Khadim was smiling for the first time in days. The infection had been treated and Abdul-Basir informed Rafiq that they would be leaving in the morning.
During the past few days, Nayila had felt like a princess. Rafiq’s wife had ordered the servants to treat the guests like royalty. Nayila had been introduced to Rafiq’s two daughters who were a few years older. They instantly took a liking to the simple bedouin girl and showed her around the house and the numerous beautiful clothes they had. They wanted to give her some of their dresses that they had outgrown, but although tempted Nayila vehemently refused. She knew that her father would not be happy if she did.
‘We have our pride. And our pride is also the pride of the tribe,’ Nayila could imagine him saying.
Oblivious to the sombre atmosphere in the house, the three girls played games, laughing and giggling innocently. The nomad girl had never been so happy for a long time. The meals were nothing like she had experienced before. There were all types of grilled meats and vegetables. The two sisters enjoyed watching her eat and they made her taste everything that was laid out on the table until she felt like bursting. Once the two sisters put a piece of chicken cooked in a creamy sauce on her plate.