The Mother of Vows

Description

The Mother of Vows is a novel about a child’s first encounter with life outside his home. It’s set in the world of books, where Sheikh Zaki teaches children, his primary teaching tool being rods of varying lengths. These rods symbolize the process of indoctrination.

The novel explores places whose names and influences on society he has often heard: the Mother of Vows, Sheikh Mujeeb, Sheikh Darwish, the river, death, and the marginalized figures of society.

A profound and oppressive fear confronts the child, Sameh, from his first contact with society. This fear renders everyone subservient to forces, myths, and illusions, making them incapable of resistance. They become like his mother, submissive to his father, or like the woman who writes incantations or prepares bitter medicines.

The Mother of Vows, one of Abdul Rahman Munif’s earliest works, seems to mark the beginning of his long journey, starting with the experiences of his childhood.

“The tree of vows, this sacred tree, even now, if women sit in their courtyards during the summer and autumn days, and a breeze blows from the west carrying the scent of dampness, each woman inhales the fragrance of the Mother of Vows, closes her eyes, and makes a wish!

And the stories that tell of wishes granted are many and intertwined, its fruits more numerous than its leaves… It heals illnesses, brings back travelers, and reveals stolen goods. The blessings of the sheikh and the tree of vows have touched everyone.