Saba: Under the Hyena’s Foot

The Giants’ Compound

Eventually, they see more and more people on the road, until finally, flocks of people walk and stand everywhere. Saba didn’t realize there were so many people in all the wide, flat world. The women stand like butterflies in their gleaming gossamer dresses with bright embroidery. Others wear cloaks glinting with gold. Soldiers stand along the road and shout greetings to other soldiers. Their shields are covered with soft elegant cloth, and trimmed in gold or silver.

As the mules move along, a band of music makers run, keeping up with the animals. A few people sing while another man cries out comments that make people laugh or cheer. A fourth man holding an instrument runs alongside Saba’s mule. Saba wants to shrink away from his gaze. What is he looking for?

As they approach the boundary marker that is wrapped around Gondar, Saba sees a wall of one stone on top of another. Saba stares at the brown stones in the wall and the mountain of rocks that she can see rubbing the sky. She has never felt so small. The man riding in front of Saba explains that there are twelve gates: The Gate of the General, the Gate of the Musicians, the Gate of The Spinners… Then, Saba hears a slap, and the mule with Mesfin on it pushes ahead. A moment later, they’re riding through what the soldier tells her is the Gate of the Judges.

Nothing could have prepared Saba for the wonder that is Gondar. They move forward slowly, and Saba’s eyes try to drink in everything. The stone mountains had doors in them. They must really be huge houses. Apparently, giants live in this place. At least ten houses sit inside the compound surrounded by the thick wall. They have doorways and windows, but they’re not like any house Saba has ever seen. Even the trees are like tiny children, bowing before the great houses.

Saba hears the deep growl of a beast from somewhere behind her, and the soldier says, “Ayezosh. It’s just the lions.” Saba’s voice chokes on the thought of lions. She thought she would never have to look upon a lion, but now she is inside a compound with them. The soldier reassures her that they’re in their house. They are quite tame. How could an emperor not have lions?

Before Saba has time to realize what the soldier is saying, they are now directly in front of one of the stone houses. The house has three doorways, so tall a person doesn’t have to stoop to enter. A man in a white shamma has come up beside her mule, and is telling her to come in. An old woman approaches, and tells Saba it’s not fitting for a lady to dismount in front of everyone. The man has cupped his hands and is holding them for Saba to step into them. The woman says they are entering a castle built for an empress.

Why are they there? Ababba had never said anything of castles or giants. Saba looks around for Mesfin, but the old woman calls orders, and some younger women pull Saba inside the door. The woman cries that all of Saba’s old ugly clothes must be removed and new ones put on. Empress Menen would not want to see her this way.

Saba’s skin is washed and oiled. The smells of the oils make her head feel like it’s floating away. She feels the aches of the mule ride melting, and she begins to relax as the woman takes over. She watches herself being dressed in a white soft dress with bright colors at the borders. A matching shamma is draped around her shoulders. They put the gold of royalty in her ears and a pin in her hair. But she doesn’t let the woman take her cross or berebaso, even after she’s offered another pair of shoes. The old woman places a strand of beads around Saba’s neck. They are amber.

Saba asks again where her brother is, but no one answers. The old woman says that Saba must know nothing of the customs of the emperor’s court. They are there because the emperor wishes so. Soon, she will meet him. When she enters the room, she must sink to the floor by bending her right knee and press her forehead to the floor at the entrance of the room. Saba can barely concentrate. The woman continues giving Saba instructions, but Saba doesn’t ask what she wanted to because she didn’t dare question this woman with authority in her voice. Why was she being taken to meet the emperor?

When Saba asks again where her brother is, the woman finally answers that he will be with her. Then, she asks Saba to demonstrate how to approach the throne. Saba practices how to approach the king over and over until the woman is satisfied. The woman explains that Saba will feed and sleep here in the house. And in maybe two or three days, she go to meet the King of Kings.

The woman tells one of the servants to throw Saba’s old clothes away. Saba clutches them to her and skitters away from the women across the floor of the room. She walks carefully around a thick cloth covered with swirls and designs, and finds the bed. She places the clothes and the bag the soldier gave her under the bed. The woman is still standing and watching her.

Saba goes over to the shoes that were originally offered to her, and picks them up. She holds them out to a girl. As she gives them to the girl, Saba says, “For the sake of your father.” To Saba’s surprise, the girl looks shocked, drops the shoes, and flees the room with a cry. The old woman explains that the girl has no father. She thought Saba was insulting her. The soldiers were talking about Saba’s father.

Saba is shocked. Why would they talk about her own father? The woman explains that Saba’s father was kin to some of the soldiers. His father was a great warrior and respected by all of them. Saba is astonished. Her father’s father had worn the headdress of a lion skin? Her own grandfather was an Oromoo? They spoke in a strange tongue? Saba stands in silence, thinking that perhaps the next earth would open and swallow her in one slurping gulp.