Sangartattce Part 1 Complete Hausa Novel

The Agony of Balkisu
"Oh my God, Baba, I'm going to die! Oh Mama, rub my stomach!" Two women encircled her on a mat, along with two young girls who were in the middle of the yard, which was entirely cemented. They all looked lost and worried; seeing them, you could see distress plainly on their faces. By the edge of the mat, near where her feet lay, was an old man dressed in a large gown and a small cap wrapped with a turban, typical of Islamic scholars. He held a silver cup close to his mouth, reciting silent prayers within it. She screamed louder, lifting her gown to expose her stomach, which looked as though she hadn't eaten in days. The left side of her stomach was slightly swollen; if you saw it, you'd swear a huge boil had emerged and swollen up, full of fluid, about to burst.
She screamed again, grasping the hands of the women beside her, crying, "Oh God, our Mama, I'm in trouble! The pain, Mama, oh! The pain is killing me!" She released their hands, yelling, "Baba, Baba, Baba, I'm calling you! Oh my God, it's not me!" She let out a different kind of scream, clutching their hands tightly, panting. The spot on her stomach was pulsating vigorously, as if a living creature was within it. Her screams filled the house. Out of sheer frustration, one of the women, who was her mother, clicked her tongue. This prompted the other woman to wipe the sweat from her forehead. She cupped Balkisu's face in her hands and said, "Haba, Balkisu, the heir of gold! Be strong! Baba is here, praying over the water for you. You are a patient person, a heroine. Look, Layla and Raiyana will say you are weak; they are watching you."
She shook her head and burst into a new round of intense weeping and screaming, gasping, "Please call Baaba for me, I swear! Baaba, come! Baaba, please come and help me!" She began kicking her legs, her eyes bloodshot, and cried, "Baba, Baba, Muji! Oh my God, Mujittapa, please come help me! Shato, please come, I'm in trouble! Oh Mama, look, is my stomach bursting?" She let out a shriek, causing her mother, who was beside her, to hit her mouth hard and say, "Can't you call the name of God, you good-for-nothing!"
Just then, Baba removed the cup from his mouth, looked at the Senior Wife, and said, "Lift her up for me, Zainaba." She gently lifted her, and Balkisu panted heavily, biting her lip, saying, "Wait, wait, uhmm." The woman stopped, looking at her with pity. The young woman put her hand on the woman's shoulder, closing her eyes tightly, panting, and said, "I'm ready." Even Mama had to help them gently lift her to a sitting position. She let out a scream as if she was about to die, "Enough, enough, it's done!" They leaned her against the wall. Baba held the cup to her mouth, and she drank the water deeply, pulling her wrapper further up. Baba took the rest of the water, said a prayer, and was about to rub it on the swelling. She quickly grabbed his hand, screaming and crying, "Baba, I swear the pain is killing me! If you love God, don't touch me! For the sake of the Prophet of God!" Mama, who was nearby, slapped her hand away, giving her a hostile look. This made Baba shake his head and rub the water on the spot anyway, while she let out a fierce scream that deafened their ears. Baba stood up, looked at her mother, and handed her the cup, saying, "Give her the rest in one hour, Amina. I'm going back to the outer porch to see the students."
She took the cup dispiritedly and said, "Okay, Malam." He turned and headed toward the outer porch, opened the door, and stepped over the small raised threshold that separated the house from the outer porch.
The Teacher and His Students
The outer porch was full of students (almajirai) reciting the Qur'an with their slates. Older students stood over them, holding canes and supervising. The walls of the porch were covered with the students' bags and the mats they slept on, as the porch was quite large. The students, upon seeing him, intensified their recitation. He left the porch toward the main gate. Here, too, were many more students on the cemented ground of the gate, reciting the Qur'an with their slates. A large shade structure had been built to cover the gate, as some students slept there even during the rainy season. The students' plastic containers were stacked up, ready for the potatoes, as they would stop at 2 PM for prayers, and then everyone would go begging (bara).
On the other side of the gate was a small enclosure built with red earth, which served as the bathrooms (bayi). This is where the students would wash and do everything else. There was also a well and a bucket at the gate where they drew water. Baba sat on a mat specially set aside for him, which had a soft cushion. He sat down, said Bismillah (in the name of God), and began to count his prayer beads (chasbaha), watching and listening to every student reciting. A senior student, one of those who supervised the others, came and sat near Malam, tucking his feet in. He bowed his head and said, "May God help Malam, may God forgive Malam, may God protect Malam." Baba slowly put down the prayer beads, looked at the young man, and said, "Did they cover their lessons well, Isyaka?" "Yes, they did, Malam. Only Muhammadu didn't cover his well, but I made him repeat it." Malam smiled, leaned against the wall, and said, "Mashaa Allah, good. Go fetch my Qur'an, I left it on the porch, so you can recite yours for me to hear." The young man glanced at him, then bowed his head and said, "Malam, how is Balkisu's condition?" Malam sighed and said, "She's feeling better. I've prayed for her, and she will be well soon." Isyaka stood up, filled with concern, and left the area to go to the porch for the item Malam sent him for.
Preparation and Departure for School
She began to doze off (gyangyadi) while sitting there. This made everyone breathe a sigh of relief. The Senior Wife, whom they called Umma, stood up, looked at Balkisu's mother, and said, "It's twelve. Let me start cooking, Amina." She looked at the children, who were all watching Balkisu dozing, and said, "It's time to get up and help Umma with the chores, isn't it?" Raiyana, who was Balkisu's junior at 15, took off her hijab and handed it to Layla, the youngest at 8, saying, "Take this to my room." Layla took it, went into their room, dropped it off, came back, and they headed to the kitchen. Umma set Raiyana to grinding the pepper (jajjage), while she told Layla to blow on the fire (hura wuta) until it started. She then left the kitchen for the yard to sift the corn flour for tuwo (tankaden tuwo).
Layla, who was fanning the fire, turned around and looked at Raiyana, who was grinding. She put down the fan, came closer to Raiyana, and stood as if she was about to cry, saying, "Anty Raiyana, why won't Baba take Anty Baby to the hospital? Look, even today in school, we had primary science. They said if something comes out of your body and gets big enough to move, you need an operation, I swear. Baba keeps doing readings for her, and she drinks and uses boiled leaves. Why won't he say to go to the hospital?" Raiyana stopped grinding and stared at her the entire time she was speaking. Umma entered the kitchen, looked at them, and said, "What are you gossiping about? Didn't I set you to work?" Layla opened her mouth to speak, but Raiyana shook her head at her, so she kept quiet and went back to the fireplace to continue fanning. Umma took what she came for and left the kitchen.
This made Raiyana squat beside Layla at the fireplace and say, "Don't ever say that again. Baba doesn't believe in hospital medicine, and if he hears you, you know the rest. Don't talk about it again, okay?" Layla nodded slowly, and each of them returned to the chores they were assigned.
Around 12:30 PM, she woke up with a start. She shot up. Mama, who was sitting beside her mixing furah (fermented millet gruel) for Malam, looked at her and said, "How's the stomach?" She walked toward their room, lifted the curtain, looked at the clock, and then looked at Mama, saying, "Mama, I'm almost late for school, and you didn't wake me up!" She pouted, went to the well, and picked up a bucket to draw water. Mama pursed her lips and continued mixing the furah.
She quickly went and showered, coming out wrapped in a wrapper around her chest. She rushed into the room, which was their well-organized bedroom. It had a medium-sized bed and a floor covered with plastic matting. She squatted and pulled a trunk (ganamasgo) from under the bed. She opened it and took out her neatly ironed school uniform. She first put on the long purple trousers, then the white, knee-length shirt, frowning slightly because her stomach was now only hurting a little, not like before. She went to the mirror, applied white powder, and put on eyeliner. She dabbed Vaseline onto her pink and black lips; the middle of her lips was very pink, and the edges were black, as if she had applied lipstick—they were plump and very beautiful and sexy, looking like flesh when you looked at them. She returned to the bed and put on her white hijab that reached past her knees. She pushed the trunk back under the bed, took her small bag containing her books, and went to sit on the step by the door, trying to put on her socks and school shoes.
Umma, who had just come out of the kitchen, said, "Baby, when did you get well enough to go to that useless Western school?" She smiled slightly, showing her dimples, and said, "Umma, it really stopped, I swear. And you see, I'm the class monitor, and I have the chalk, so I must go." Umma pinched her mouth and said, "Big monitor!" Balkisu laughed, even falling into Mama's lap on the mat, saying, "It's 'monitor,' and you said 'manito,' Umma!" She continued laughing as if she hadn't been screaming earlier. Mama gave her a light knock on the head and said, "Get off my lap before I spill this furah on your school uniform!" She slowly stood up as if she was about to cry and sat beside her.
Umma opened the knot in her wrapper, took out fifty naira, and handed it to her, saying, "Here, take a ride. It's a long distance from Mallawa field to Dogon Bauchi, and you're not well." She took it excitedly, saying, "Thank you, my Umma. May God keep you for me!" She moved back next to Mama and looked at the furah. As if she was about to cry, she said, "Mama, please give me some. You see, the lunch isn't ready, and I don't want to go to school hungry." Mama gave her a glare and said, "You greedy thing!" She laughed and said, "Yes, I am, Mama, just give me a little." She quickly went into the room and brought a small plastic cup. Her mother poured a small amount for her, which she quickly drank, even using her finger to scrape the cup clean and lick it thoroughly. She put the cup down, wiped her mouth, and said, "Thank you, Mama, I'm going." She quickly grabbed her bag, peeked into the kitchen to see Raiyana and the others dishing out the tuwo, and said, "I'm off!" They all prayed for her together. Mama asked, "What about your Salat (prayers)?" "I'll pray at school, Mama." She opened the door, stepped over the raised threshold, and left.