Sudan Archive

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She became agitated, like a slaughtered animal, and a scent of perfume emanated from her, which made me faint. I felt a weakness come over me, the kind that overcomes a man when he is weak. I understood that most of it was due to her fear of her son, the Sultan, because he would kill anyone he found with his mother. This had happened several times. They came upon her without permission, but she had managed to hide people from him and inform her of his arrival. If she had someone with her, she would pretend and hide him. He said, "I also feared for myself, because I had heard that she was afflicted with the 'white flux,' which, among the wise, is called the 'white channels.' I feared that I might be afflicted with it, especially since I had noticed some signs of it in her." He said, "The fear of these two afflictions made me a little weak. I was initially hesitant to eat. But when she saw my weakness, she assumed I was hungry. She called a slave girl named Yidhra' al-Qadir and said to her, 'Bring food for him.' The slave girl brought two dishes. One contained fried eggs in ghee, and the other contained flatbread with honey. She said to me, 'Eat.' I said, 'I am not hungry,' and apologized. She then took off my clothes and left me with the food. I was surprised. That night, I was in need. While I was almost asleep, I heard violent movements and commotion. The servants came running and said, 'The Sultan has arrived.' She said, 'Take him and get him out through the second door.' The slave girls took me and hurried me along until they brought me out of the enclosure. And from her kindness..."

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