Calligraphies of the Desert by Massoudy Hassan; Massoudy Hassan; Massoudy Isabelle

Author:Massoudy, Hassan; Massoudy, Hassan; Massoudy, Isabelle
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Saqi
Published: 2020-07-14T16:00:00+00:00

A good while back, a caravan left Tawat heading for Timbuktu. Its guide was a blind man. Each day, he was given a handful of soil to sniff. At this he would tell them: ‘Continue! We are going in the right direction.’

After a fortnight on the road, some of the men said: ‘Let’s check if this guide is getting us lost or if he is taking us the right way through this barren desert!’ They gathered a little soil and took it with them.

The following day, they continued their journey and travelled onwards. In the afternoon, they gave him the soil from the day before. He smelled its fragrance and as soon as he had sniffed it, he said to them: ‘We are lost. If this is indeed the earth we stand on, we shall die of thirst!’ They were awed by their guide’s skill. They took a fresh handful of soil from the place where they stood and gave it to him. And then the guide said: ‘Thank goodness! This is the soil I was expecting.’

Tuareg story recalled by Charles De Foucauld (1858–1916)

Man, know when to fall silent and listen to the song of this place. Who may say that light and shadow do not speak?

Tuareg Proverb

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