(Tayeb Salih)
Most of Salih�s novels and short stories deal with his village experiences of his shared, communal and popular Islamic culture. He deals with themes of reality, superstitions and the cross cultural differences between the West and the exotic orient. He denounces fiercely at the Eurocentric and ethnocentric ideals.
The Doum Tree of Wad Hamid is one example of that. He stresses in it some major themes concerning the faith that a tribe put on the holly Doum tree; for that aim, he chose a multitude of symbols to illustrate these themes.
The Doum Tree of wad Hamid is the totem of a village cast in Sudan, whereby, they prop and seek a shelter. They believe that by honouring the tree, they would opportune from its bounty. Therefore, the Doum Tree has become the Abode of peace and solidarity of the villagers. One of the major themes that could be spotted is �Patriotism�; that is, the villagers� unity and determination to protect their totem from the British dominant. We could feel the zenith of solidarity in the way all the men of the village rose up as one man and barred the district commissioner�s way, in order to fail the removal of the holly tree. Another important theme present and stressed in the story is �the colonization� and the hegemony of the British culture. The British came with an upheaval in the villagers� way of living; the introduction of the steam in the village, for instance, was only meant to secure a direct and assured line of the steam, to exploit better the area. But this change was hostilely rejected by the natives. The theme of loyalty is also present, which is seen in the villagers� loyalty and their strong commitment to their identity, values and beliefs. One last theme that would mark the reader is �Ignorance�. The people of the village have no experience of hospitals in small matters such as the bites of scorpions, fever, sprains, and fractures; they would refer to the Doum Tree�s bounty when the matters are serious.
This story stresses the way of living of a merry society before colonization. Their strong believes that the Doum tree would allot them a warm shelter reminds me of people of my country, who would refer to these patrons saints or protective saints to relieve their suffering on earth and to help them through their predicaments. These people highly venerate these Patrons Saints and believe in their bounty. Of course, this is a part of our heritage, and popular culture. Another aspect present in our popular culture, which is also similar to the superstitions present in the story, is The Evil Eye. The power the evil eye is a strong force in the minds of many Moroccans. A symbolic means to protect one self from it is to show the open palm of the hand, fingers pointing upwards.
The Doum tree of Wad Hamid is a true evidence that people should accept other beliefs. The story fosters the spirit of understanding rather than nihilism and bigotry. It also fosters the fight for unity rather than division.