The Haj - Leon Uris [62]
Tabah was large enough to have its own market day every fortnight. Peddlers descended on the square by donkey cart, carrying their wares in great clay pots.
The jars and pots were works of art. Many had shapes resembling women, full-breasted or pregnant or straight and skinny.
There were mirrors, combs, and amulets to ward off jinn, the evil spirits. There were medicines and potions guaranteed to cure all ills and to make men virile. There were stacks of secondhand clothing, used shoes and harnesses, and tempting bolts of cloth.
Other peddlers repaired pots and ground knives and scissors and field tools. There were gunsmiths to repair our cache of arms. Every village had secret arms that they kept in the mosque or their ‘prophet’s tomb.’ We knew that no Arab would steal from these holy places and we knew the British would not go into a holy place to search for them.
Once a year the Armenians came with their picture machines. Each home, no matter how poor, had a few photographs. It was usually a picture of the head of the house taken in full, flowing regalia, perhaps on his wedding day. No photographs of women were allowed. One of my father’s greatest prides was his collection of many pictures that showed him in fighting or riding attire or shaking hands with some important official. There was one photograph with all of his sons.
There was another peddler who came only once a year. He had stacks of used magazines from many foreign countries. Most of them had pictures of naked women in them. My father kept his hidden in the big wardrobe closet in his bedroom, but all of us boys risked a look.
One path from the square led down to the highway and bus stop. Uncle Farouk kept a stand there that one of his sons ran. He paid the bus drivers to always stop at Tabah so he could sell the travelers a soft drink or fruits and vegetables. The children sold pieces of potsherds that the Shemesh museum didn’t buy and they sold prayer or worry beads to the Moslems and crucifixes to the Christians. They told the travelers that the arrowheads were from the battle during which Joshua asked for the sun to stand still.
Other children, who had nothing to sell or nothing better to do, ran down to the bus stop to beg. They surrounded the travelers and pulled on their clothing for attention until the people had to beat them off like flies. We had the usual number of blind, deformed, and mutilated villagers who used their horrible appearance to extort money. Haj Ibrahim did not allow any of his sons or daughters to beg, but it was impossible to stop the others.
Inside the homes of most of the villagers the combined living and dining room had goatskin rugs on the floor and a long bench of mud brick to seat the family and visitors.
The kitchen held an open hearth for cooking. In the more affluent homes one could find a Primus kerosene stove, which the Jews manufactured in Palestine. A stone mortar and pestle was the main utensil. The rest of the kitchenware consisted of a few platters and tin tools and pots. The one fine thing everyone owned was the coffee finjan and cups.
Clay jars holding salt, coffee, beans, and other staples lined the wall. Other large jars or empty kerosene tins sat near the door and were used to carry water from the well. Attached to the kitchen were clay bins to hold grains, nuts, dried fruits, and other food that would not spoil.
Because of our wealth, our kitchen also had a caldron for preparing grape syrup and rendering the sheep fat that was