Book Review: Bandarshah Novel by Tayeb Salih

Sudan Events

This novel appeared in two parts in the original Arabic, the first in 1971 and the second in 1976.
Bandarshah is now retired from a government post in education and has returned to his old village.
He had retired, he says, because he was fed up and had, in fact, retired early.
He is catching up with his old friends.
Things are not as good as they were, his friends explain, but the old men reminisce and tell tales about the past.
Sa’eed the Owl, for example, is now Sa’eed Asha ‘l-Baytat (it means he who gives supper to hungry girls, i.e. is chivalrous and generous). He had been the assistant of the headmaster, doing all the odd jobs for him.
Every time he was paid, he had the amount logged and gave the money to the headmaster to keep.
This went on for ten years. Once the headmaster retired, Sa’eed struck.
He demanded all his money back, knowing full well the headmaster did not have the money.
In return Sa’eed demanded the headmaster’s daughter as his wife.
At first he was refused but, in the end, the headmaster had no choice but to accept.
Salih gives us other such as whimsical stories, such as Taher Wad Raawasi’s battle with the bitch of a fish, who always outsmarts him.
Some show the changing situation in the area, such as the ousting of Makhtar Wad Hasab ar-Rasoul as the chair of the local cooperative by the younger generation, not because of any specific wrongdoing but just because the younger generation want to take over.
But the main story is, of course, about Bandarshah hah (it means ruler of the city). Bandarshah was a legendary king, who may have been a Christian king of Nubia or an Abyssinian king.
No-one seems to know. Isa Wad Dau al-Beit is, one day, dressed up in finery and is immediately nicknamed Bandarshah.
The significance of this only becomes clear later.
We know that Bandarshah and his grandson, Meryoud, are very successful.
Meheimeed recounts a story when he was fifteen that Meryoud, the same age as he, came to visit his grandfather and showed supreme self-confidence when buying a calf from the grandfather.
However, some of the main characters recount dreams that they have had of Bandarshah, which seem to mix the real and the legendary Bandarshah.