Justice Reed Religion 250 - Introduction to Islam TA Matthew Cressler November 21st, 2013 The Wedding of Zein Transcending

g Community Boundaries

In the village on the upper Nile where The Wedding of Zein is set, Salih sets a complex picture of a particular Islamic community in the context of a simple but profound event, Zeins wedding. Being a complex place, the village contains several boundaries that divide its inhabitants into what appear to be separate, but coexistent circles. Social boundaries extract disabled and odd individuals, placing them on the fringes of the village, both physically and socially. Class boundaries separate groups of men into groups with differing functions and general acceptance. Finally, boundaries imposed by the norms of private life keep girls of age from being noticed in the public sphere. Through his genuine and often eccentric nature, Zein transcends all of these boundaries, ultimately bringing his entire community together through his wedding into a single circle ululating without boundary.

In a place where those people deemed unusual are disregarded, Zein amazes his village as he loves and laughs with the village outcasts, crossing social boundaries. One of the first fringe groups he interacts with is the Koz. The Koz did not intermarry with the local inhabitants, considering themselves to be pure Arabs. The village people, however, regarded them as uncouth bedouin. (p 41) There seems to be a cold disregard and distrust between the groups, and yet Zein becomes slain among the people of the Koz. (p 41). By becoming infatuated with Haleema, he causes the wealthy men of the

village to come to the Koz and ask for her hand in marriage (p 42), transcending those cultural boundaries. Next Salih shows Zein reaching out to two disabled members of his community, Deaf Ashmana, and Mousa the Lame. Ashmana is so afraid of other people that she becomes panic-stricken in their presence, but not only does she enjoy Zeins company, he makes her laugh. (p 45) Mousa has great mobility issues and is homeless without work, but Zein builds him a small house and consistently provides him with food (p 46). Out of his laughter and loving nature Zein not only regards but also invests in the same people his community disregards. This amazes his community, who begin to see him as a saint-like figure or a kind of reminder from God (p 46). These ideas are further strengthened by Zeins interactions with Haneen. Haneen, a pious man wholly dedicated to his religious devotions (p 44), is generally regarded as a secretive mystic by the village. He seldom talks to villagers, and disappears every six months. However, Haneen is on friendly terms with Zein, only eating in his house (p 45). Through his tender relationship with Haneen, Zein once again demonstrates that he can interact deeply across social boundaries.

Not only does he cross boundaries as he nears the edges of his village, he transcends the boundaries conjured by the class and political boundaries established within the core village community. Salih points out three major camps of these classoriented, political factions in the village, using the context of their relationship with the Imam. He begins with the more conservative group, the sensible-minded grown-up men headed by Hajj Ibrahim (p 90), describing them as regular participants in the religious rituals presented by the Imam. In stark contrast to the first group is the liberal group of

younger men caught up in the leisures of life, particularly the sensual ones. These younger men would gather at the Oasis, an establishment regarded by the Imam and others as evil, and in return were antagonistic of the Imam (p 91). Third, Salih describes the gang, a comparatively moderate group of influential men of middling age who are well off and control the major events of the village. These men regard the Imam as a necessary evil, and do not put much stock in his doings (p 92). These three groups of men are separated by very distinct political and class differences into ends of a spectrum, even to the extent of hating one another at times. However, Zein intersects these various groups in specific ways that de-emphasize their political and class differences. Zein, as a man infatuated with many girls, works for many from both groups of older men in efforts to earn their daughters in marriage, ultimately even marrying the daughter of Hajj Ibrahim, the leader of the conservative group. He also shares a hatred of the Imam with the young men (p 93), and appears to share a sense of celebratory abandon, which is evidenced by his frequent and significant presence at wedding parties. Finally, he often joins in with the gang, who often look after him as well (p 93). Zein once again sports an incredible ability to find common ground with the villagers across the entire range of the political and class spectrum.

Furthermore, Zein reaches deeply into families in the village, catalyzing the discovery of young girls of age as potential wives by the public eye as he flirts and laughs with the women and families of the village. In the village the standard for marriage is for the suitor to ask the father for the daughters hand in marriage. This practice by nature tends to exert a privatizing force, as the circle of visibility of the daughter and the suitor

often intersected little (p 42). However, as Zein acts out his love he proclaims the beauty of his infatuations loudly and clearly, proclaiming himself to be slain in the courtyard of (p 39) the target of his affections. His audacity in love causes a spotlight of the villages attentions to be cast upon that target, inevitably leading to the marriage of the girl to another suitor. The young girls mothers, who [wake] up to his importance as a trumpet by which attention was drawn to their daughters, quickly embrace this publicity. (p 42) Stricken by infatuation and unencumbered by social boundaries, Zein unintentionally crosses additional boundaries separating the private and public spheres.

Not only does Zein cross these various boundaries but he further draws other people across their own boundaries, into joyous celebration with one another through his wedding. Just as the wedding brings Zein and Nima together, it also brings the entire village together. Zeins wedding is a place where contradictions came together...like a whole collection of weddings (p 113). Zeins wedding is attended by all of the groups Salih creates in the village. The girls of the Oasis are there, singing and dancing under the very eyes of the Imam (p 113). The Koz are there leaping about and shouting as they, too, dance (p 115). Ashmana dances, and Mousa claps, while Hajj Ibrahim and his companions sit nearby (p 114). Other people came from up and down the river, on boat, horse and donkey. Furthermore, the gang waits upon all these people, regardless of their social and political standing (p 111). The wedding itself even represents the culmination of Nimas transition from the private to the public sphere. In and through all of this, there is only a singular continuity. Zein dances at the heart of the circle, with that circle comprising the entire community without boundary.