Remembering Childhood in the Middle East: Memoirs from a Century of Change

Mansour al-Hazimi (Saudi Arabia)

Born in the holy city of Mecca in 1935, Mansour alHazimi was educated in his birthplace, in Egypt, and in London, where he received his Ph.D. in Arabic literature. He has published poetry and short stories as well as literary criticism and served most recently as Chairman of the Arabic Department at King Saud University in Riyadh. Mansour al-Hazimi saudi arabia Professor Atiq bin Ghayth al-Bilady’s book, Popular Literature in Hijaz, aroused old memories in my mind and no doubt in the minds of others who experienced their childhood in the Hijaz. In spite of the fact that this book describes an era long past, it still retains value, and we cannot help but regard that era with nostalgia. Professor al-Bilady raises many issues that were almost forgotten before he recorded them. The younger generation does not perhaps understand the value of his effort to reclaim the past, nor are they interested in the images brought to them by the local popular literature of today. Those who have grown up in the modern era reading American stories about Mickey Mouse and Superman and watching Hollywood horror movies may have difficulty understanding the legends of Al-Zir Salim and Abu Zayd al-Hilaly, the legends of our own history which Professor al-Bilady narrates. But those of us who grew up in the difficult days during World War II and the Palestinian War of 1948 are familiar with al-Bilady’s description of the old popular culture. For thosegames,traditions,andbeliefsarepartofourownminds and personalities even today. I grew up in the district of al-Dahlah, west of Mecca, in the midst of that old popular culture. Al-Dahlah owes its nametoitsplacementintheHijazlandscape.InclassicalArabic , al-Dahlah means a kind of well, which is what the place is, a hollow surrounded by mountains. It is difficult to think of something special about al-Dahlah. Like many other small districts and villages near Mecca at that time, al-Dahlah was often cited as an example of not only poverty, but ignorance. al-dahlah Mansour al-Hazimi ^ True, in those days al-Dahlah was very proud of the two residents who had finished primary school and held public jobs. It was also proud of a scholar who came originally from Morocco; he was a nice man who used to wash the dead ceremonially and was also a good cook; another was the driver for the post office, the man in charge of the mail. Because of his job, this man had to travel a lot, so he was the source of all kinds of stories and news. The people of al-Dahlah were proud of another resident, too, a woman named Um Ali, the mother of Ali, who had not changed her way of life in many years, even though she had lived for some time in Mecca. She used to go out in public, covering her face, but wearing men’s clothes. Her opinion was so important that no one in al-Dahlah made any decision without first consulting her and asking for her approval. Why this was so I do not know, but perhaps it was because she had been so long in the holy city of Mecca. Al-Dahlah was in a good position geographically, slightly west of Mecca, which meant that many pilgrims passed through the district. This was good for business, and thus benefited everyone, including all of us children. The children in those days had specific songs that they made up and sang to ask the pilgrims for alms. But at night, the district and the town were dark, very dark, and thus a frightening place for children. The darkness meant that jinns and ghosts might be present, wandering through the streets. There were many children ’s stories about the jinns. All people in al-Dahlah were accustomed to thinking about jinns and other spirits. The jinns were said to be particularly fond of women and children , though I never knew why; maybe it was because the spirits preferred the meek, who were more sensitive and open to the visitation of spirits. The children, of course, had not yet achieved their full intellectual faculties, and woman, by nature, it was usually claimed, lacks reason. The belief existed that if a woman was visited by a jinn, she might lose her mind, and her family was obligated to help...