Xala

Madame Diouf wrote out checks for water, electricity, petrol, rents, and wages. El Hadji signed them all. He then went to Adja Awa Astou’s. Adja was indifferent to his visit. He asked where Rama was. It suddenly annoyed him that she wasn’t around until evening. He scolded Adja for giving their daughter too much freedom.

He had a siesta then went to the bank. Modu drove him there. The deputy manager “received El Hadji affably” (79). El Hadji sat in a comfortable armchair near a coffee table. The manager, who had attended business school in France and trained at various African banks, had provided “a packet of cigarettes and a gold-plated lighter” (79). This bank’s head office was in Paris. The bank’s goal was to develop an African middle-class that would be active in commerce. The manager addressed El Hadji as “elder brother,” which was a sign of respect in Wolof. El Hadji, in turn, called the younger man “cousin.” El Hadji asked about the young man’s family and took interest as though they, too, were related. The manager tried his best to speak in Wolof, but he often defaulted to French.

Finally, they got down to business. El Hadji asked for 500,000 francs. He claimed that he wanted to expand his business and needed the money to “make a survey of the market in the African quarter” (80). The capital was necessary, he said, to survey the retail traders in Dakar. The manager directly addressed El Hadji’s debts, particularly his excessive overdrafts and the money that he owed the National Grain Board. El Hadji was speechless. The deputy manager wanted to help El Hadji, but he insisted that there were limits. Still, he agreed to consult with his bosses to see what he could do. He asked El Hadji to call late the next morning.

El Hadji wasn’t yet ready to give up. He didn’t care about the bounced checks, knowing that no one ever got prosecuted for this. To make sure, he called “a friend who was a magistrate” (81). The friend confirmed that El Hadji had not yet been drawn to the court’s attention.

El Hadji’s Mercedes arrived at the Chamber. As soon as he entered, conversation halted. He shook hands with the men who stood around the green table in the conference room. These men had all been at his wedding.

Once the meeting began, everyone had something to say about El Hadji. They accused him of everything from embezzlement to dishonest dealings. One member, Kebe, demanded El Hadji’s expulsion from the group. Another, Diagne, agreed. El Hadji felt implored to speak. But he found it difficult to defend himself. In the end, he said what he had always thought about men of his position: They were just “petty traders” and “clodhoppers” who redistributed the goods that their former colonizers provided for them to sell (82). Laye was insulted, particularly by what he perceived as El Hadji’s posture of superiority.

El Hadji was pleased with himself, suddenly remembering “his militant days” (83). The president reminded the men that they needn’t be offended. After all, they were now in charge. He told El Hadji stop his empty talk about foreign powers. El Hadji asked if he could finish. When he was permitted, he sought confirmation about his previous words from another member, Laye, who dismissed him. Undeterred, El Hadji reminded them of who owned all the businesses in their country. He compared them to “crabs in a basket” (83). Their former colonizer promised them their leftovers only if they would behave themselves.

El Hadji’s speech was interrupted by Diop, another member. Diop insisted that they vote quickly on El Hadji’s expulsion. The interruption caused El Hadji to lose his train of thought. He saw Sheikh Ba, an important man, writing something. He figured that, if Sheikh Ba was on his side, he might not lose his position. El Hadji concluded by saying that they had all signed bad checks and sold quotas. The president ended his speech, saying that he and the other men had had enough of El Hadji’s insults.

Sheikh Ba had the final words. He said that El Hadji’s expulsion was their choice, but their future with the National Grain Board would be tricky. The bounced checks were not their problem. Ultimately, they all voted El Hadji out of the group.

El Hadji left the meeting and ordered Modu to drive to Adja Awa Astou’s. There, Adja and Rama were in the sitting room. El Hadji noticed that his daughter was writing in Wolof. She said that she and some other students had started a newspaper in the language and that they taught Wolof to anyone who wanted to learn. El Hadji asked her if Wolof would become the national language. Rama told him that 85 percent of the Senegalese people spoke the language. It was just a matter of teaching them to write it. He asked about French, which she described as “an historical accident” (85).

El Hadji went over to Adja and asked for something to drink. Adja returned with a bottle of mineral water. She reported that Yay Bineta had visited the house, looking for him. El Hadji said that he would go to N’Gone’s tomorrow. Rama collected her books and bade them goodnight, annoyed with her father’s commitment to this new wife. El Hadji repeated his promise to visit N’Gone to annoy his daughter. Adja Awa Astou said nothing and went to bed without him.

El Hadji woke up earlier than usual and saw his children off as they went to school. He asked Mariem about Oumi N’Doye. Mariem said that her mother was well. One of his second wife’s other children asked about their promised car. He said that he was still thinking over it, but that he would provide the vehicle soon. Mariem was unconvinced.

Modu dropped El Hadji off at his office. As soon as he arrived, he called the bank. The secretary told him to call the next week and to make an appointment. El Hadji was outraged and argued with her for 15 minutes before he realized that the deputy manager had no intention of meeting with him.

Madame Diouf entered to announce that a toubab from “Automobile Credit” had arrived. He sat down across from El Hadji and took out a file. He read that El Hadji hadn’t made any payments on his cars for three months. El Hadji apologized for his tardiness and took out his checkbook. The debtor stopped him, saying that he was aware of El Hadji’s financial situation. El Hadji heard the beggar’s wail. The man gave El Hadji three days to settle his debts.

El Hadji sat in quiet anger. For years he “had schemed and struggled to get where he was, to be somebody” (88). Now, it was all falling apart. Madame Diouf then entered, saying that the check he had written her for her wages had bounced. She needed to pay her rent. El Hadji asked her for two days. Modu then entered, saying Sereen Mada had sent him. He was accompanied by a man whom El Hadji didn’t recognize. El Hadji didn’t know who Sereen Mada was either. Modu reminded him that Sereen Mada was the marabout who had cured him. Now, El Hadji remembered. He also said that he needed to see the healer right away. He figured that Sereen Mada would be able to address his financial crisis.

El Hadji invited Modu to sit. He said that, together, they would go to Sereen Mada’s village. He told the strange man that, in Dakar, El Hadji would host him and that he could stay at Oumi N’Doye’s villa. Then, he decided against that and said that Adja’s village would be better. She was, after all, a more pious woman. He invited the man, whom he took to be a messenger, to tell him what Sereen Mada wanted. The stranger handed El Hadji the bad check, imploring him to remember what Sereen Mada had told him: what he had taken away, the marabout could restore. He then left.

After the man was gone, Modu asked El Hadji if he had not recognized the man as Sereen Mada himself. The marabout had asked that Modu not announce his identity. El Hadji rushed outside after the healer who was long gone. Sereen Mada had gotten into a taxi. Once inside, he took out his ebony-beaded rosary and began to pray. He was bringing back El Hadji’s xala.