Translating Nouzha Fassi Fihri's La Baroudeuse: A Case Study in ...

calculations. However, the revenue provides a living for the least fortunate among
us. We would not be able to change this state of affairs without harming them."
"We did not come looking for an inheritance, my uncle!"
"I know, my children, indeed, I know. You are worthy descendants of
honorable lineage. But it's better for you to hear this now. Heritage is sacred. One
must always abide by the rules of our holy law."
face of God."
"Truly, heritage is sacred and whosoever breaks its laws will never see the
"God forbid!"
Behind the pious façade, these men were greedy. Whenever the occasion
arose, they had been quick to divest helpless women, a sister, an aunt or a cousin
of their part of inheritance.
These uncles were all shriveled and shrunken as if they had done nothing
in their whole lives but hover over a treasure that slipped away between their
fingers. They saw in these young men and their mother a last chance to rebuild
their herds, easy victims since they lived far away. Yet, they wrapped themselves
in the inviolability of Islamic law which they pretended to know perfectly and
apply to the letter for fear of eternal punishment.
Under the gaze of women who watched them from a distance like strange
beings from a different planet, the two young men felt lost in the litany of these
uncles with turbans cleverly wrapped around bald heads shining with malice.
They had difficulty adjusting to the Fassi accent that was very different from their
own and in which sounds seemed half-swallowed in toothless mouths, and
occlusive consonants were breathy.
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