Xala

El Hadji returned to N’Gone’s house late that night. Yay Bineta answered the door. She offered him something to eat and asked if he had seen a marabout about the xala. El Hadji confirmed that he had. He then entered the wedding chamber where everything remained as it was on that fateful night. The bed was still made, and the tailor’s dummy remained dressed. N’Gone was lying on the bed, just as she had the previous night, in her nightgown. He felt no desire for her this time. He was bewildered and wounded by his condition. 

The xala had, over several weeks, become a topic of general conversation. El Hadji had consulted numerous facc-katt healers who had given him various ointments, liquids to drink, and charms. He was also pressed to slit the throat of a red rooster. All of the healers knew from El Hadji’s car and European-style of dress that they could charge him high fees. They all also gave him detailed explanations about his condition. Some of them, predictably, blamed El Hadji’s other wives. Convinced most by the latter theory, El Hadji began to believe that