Xala

Xala pages 1-50

When I first started reading Xala I thought El Hadji was a very weak man. Yay Bineta wounds his pride so he ends up getting sucked into a third marriage, to N'Gone, to prove that he is "the master in his own house." He doesn't really care for his family at all other than to show that he is the leader of them. He throws money around by giving some to either wife or children when they ask for it and by spending a lot on the third wedding. He even buys N'Gone a car for her wedding, for being a virgin (or so he thinks).

On his wedding night El Hadji, is unable to perform so he thinks someone put a curse on him, which is called xala. He calls upon the President of the "Business Group" to help him who then takes him to a marabout. Of course this doesn't work so he sees many healers, who take advantage of him because he is dressed in eastern business clothes and drives a nice car. El Hadji fails to see this and spends a lot of money trying to find a cure. His relationships such as they were with his other wives starts to dwindle, Adja knows of the xala but does not comment on it and Oumi N'Doye thinks El Hadji is beginning to neglect her in favor of his third wife. Adja is embarrassed by what people are saying and she is too ashamed to even leave the house. His oldest daughter Rama, who does not agree with polygamy, which I would have to agree with her even if it is the way some religions practice, is worried for her mother but like all of the children, I think, has no real relationship with her father.

In the few weeks since the wedding El Hadji is consumed by trying to break the xala, he is starting to neglect his business, but he keeps on spending as if he has all the money in the world. His bitterness over this is starting to age him immensely. Babacar, N' Gone's father, takes El Hadji to see a seet-katt (a seer), but I don't think he finds out anything new about the xala or who caused this curse on him, except that it was someone close to him and that it was carried out during the night. Which I thought from the beginning it was someone close to him who wants to see him fall apart, not only financially but physically and emotionally as well, since any blow to his manhood is a big blow to him at his pride, and since I think El Hadji is such a weak man, to wound his pride is not something that can go overlooked. Of course, I think now the Xala is going to consume El Hadji's life until he finds a cure or ends up letting the obsession of it completely destroy him.