Sycamore
tree of Sidi Mansour; the shrine next to our old house… this tree used
to have a branch turning around the dome with leaves not falling in the autumn
or winter unlike the rest of the tree… this branch also does not produce but “al-Berreem”
which is the very small fruit of sycamore that cannot be cut for the
purpose of sweetening it, and whoever climbs this
branch, falls down broken, and if a woman dared to throw the water she used to
wash after having sex next to the shrine, or a man dared to tie up his cattle
close to it, then the woman will be cursed with infertility as well as her
husband, and the cattle will die!
Then
we come to the sycamore tree of Sidi Ali Al-Zobeiri whose shrine
overlooks the bridge of al-Qaddabah water canal coming from Menoufieya
governorate. It is called al-Bagoriya there. This man is said to be a
grandson of al-Zubair ibn al-‘awaam. When the road from Tanta to Dessouq
passing through several villages including ours; Ganag, was under
construction to widen it, they wanted to cut the sycamore tree down for it was
standing on their way to accomplish the task.
The
peasant workers refused to obey this order, and asked the engineer to do it
himself. When he started to cut it using the electrical saw, a bleeding went
out of the sycamore tree bark. The engineer was appalled. And so, the road took
a huge turn at this point and the sycamore tree survived. That tree was a
source of serenity in the empty muddy rainy bleak winter nights full of ghosts.
If it happened and a passenger was late and took refuge at Sidi Ali, that sycamore tree was his sanctuary
from rain and feeling down.
Now
we go to the sycamore tree of “Abu al-‘abd” who, along with “Abu
al-Fath”, no one knows if they were devout men, or mayors and sheikhs, or if
he was the first to be buried there, as both are two known figures whom the
main two graveyards of the village were named after. The graveyard of “Abu
al-‘abd” looks over the main road coming from the bridge of al-Qaddabah
water canal, while the second graveyard of “Abu al-Fath” overlooks a
secondary road. Of the main sights of this side road are the shrine and mosque
of Sidi Ibrahim Busaila; a contemporary devout man descending of the well-known
Busaila family which has many known figures in more than one field
descending from it…
The
fruits of Abu al-‘abd sycamore tree were not cut, rather they were left
to increase in size and turn into “Bat”, if you opened the fruit then, a
swarm of black midges residing inside the fruit comes out, and so the fruits
are left scattered on the road and above the graves… it is also said that the
cattle which feed on anything do not eat them, for they are filled with blood
and the dead remains!
As
to the sycamore tree in my maternal uncles’ field in al-Ganadi area, it
used to throw its shadow over “al-Kabbas” or the big double water wheel
driven by two cattle; not only one. The fruits were cut using a knife or a
piece of tin for a viscous brownish liquid to come out of the cut. Such cut heals
leaving a black color for fructose to turn into Glucose that is even sweeter
than honey. These fruits are then collected 2 or 3 days later to be put in a
basket with the willow and bamboo leaves above them!
Personally,
I have many stories worthy telling, including some tragic ones. If I went on
narrating over the “sycamore trees” that I lived with in my childhood, boyhood,
and early youth, I would have filled the whole newspaper paper.
After
the sycamore tree, we come to mulberry trees then the willow tree; which is the
main point of this article, as it happened that I travelled to Canada, the States,
Mexico and almost all Europe. There were some nice people who were kind enough
to tell me that this is “Oak”… this is Pine … this is Cedar… Walnut… Hazelnut… Cypress…
Beech… Chestnut… Pistachio… Cherry… etc… until I suddenly shouted happily in
awe that there is a tree which I know very well from my village… I loved it and
many time have I climbed it and sat in its shadow watching how the pliant long
branches touch the water surface in the water canals of “al-Qaddabah”, al-Sayyala,
al-‘adayya and the small water canal that brings water from al-Gammal
family water wheel to our land!
I
immediately asked what its name was. I was told: it is called the weeping
willow. I said we call it the hairy willow, as when one actually looks at it,
he can imagine a woman having very long hair going down around her until it
almost hide its body… or even imagine a woman with messy hair weeping!
I
found it in the far northern Canada; a dark greenish massive tree. I also saw
it in the States and Mexico. Also in my trip which I came back from recently, I
went down in the early morning to have a walk on the Yindinhof River of Zurich
in Switzerland. I crossed over one of the bridges heading towards the old city
With
my awe and enjoyment increasing due to the 10x10 cm-reddish-black-basalt-squares-tiled alleys, with some of meter and meter and a
half wide having ceilings above, I spotted it at a distance… a willow tree
depicting a woman’s hair or one weeping with her hair falling over the river
surface, close to an old house written over its door the year 1672. Behind this
willow, a block of houses whose all their foundation and lower break courses
lie in the water. As to the balconies, they are more of Mashrabiya
supported over wooden beams leaning over other slanted beams and fixed in the
outer wall…
At
the first bench I sat before this scene; the willow, houses, basalt, alleys and
smell of history which I can recognize as if I’m a history dog trained to
detect authenticity even if it dates back to 4 centuries.
The
willows of my childhood, boyhood and early youth were the ones lining by “al-Bahr
al-Khannaq” or al-Qatani coming from Bassioun passing by Shabratna
and looks over it al-Ganadi area which has the land my mother inherited
along with her 12 siblings. My maternal mother used to tell the secret; that
this is not a blessed land, for it was bought by usury; meaning with a loan my
grandfather got from Credit Lyonnais Egypte Banque at the end of the 19th
century or the beginning of the 20th one… it also happened that there
is nothing left of the more than 30 feddans of land; not even a single karat-share
owned by the descendants!
I
hope we can continue our talk about the trees in my life later…
Translated
by: Dalia Elnaggar
This article was published in Almasry alyoum newspaper
on October 30, 2019.
To see the original Arabic article, go to:
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