Sangartattce Book One Complete Hausa Novel

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate.

“Oh Allah, my father, I’m dying! Oh Mama, my stomach is tearing apart!”

Two women surrounded her on a mat, along with two young girls, in the cemented courtyard of the house. Everything was silent and tense; their faces clearly showed panic and distress.

Beside the mat, close to her feet, stood a slightly elderly man dressed in a large flowing gown, wearing a small cap and a turban like that of Islamic scholars. He held a silver cup and kept bringing it to her mouth, softly reciting prayers over it.

She screamed again, lifting her dress upward and exposing her stomach, which looked as though it had not received proper food. The left side of her abdomen was slightly swollen; anyone who saw it would swear it was a huge boil filled with fluid, about to burst.

She screamed again, clutching the hands of the women around her, crying, “Oh Allah, Mama, I’m finished! This is punishment, Mama—oh! It’s tormenting me!”

She pushed their hands away and screamed, “Baba! Baba! Baba! I’m calling you! Oh Allah, I can’t take this anymore!”

Her screams were piercing as she gripped their hands tightly, gasping for breath. The pain in her stomach was visibly throbbing, as if a living thing was moving inside her. Her cries filled the entire house.

Out of sheer frustration, one of the women—her mother—clicked her tongue. The other woman wiped the sweat from her forehead, held her face with both hands, and said, “Please, Balkisu, daughter of gold, endure it for us. Isn’t your father praying for you? You’re strong, you’re brave. Look, Layla and Raiyana are already exhausted, yet they’re still watching you.”

She shook her head violently, breaking into intense crying and screaming, sobbing uncontrollably: “Call Baaba for me, please! I swear Baaba has come. Baaba, come and help me!”

She began kicking her legs, her eyes turning bloodshot. “Baba! Baba! Muji! Oh Allah, Muji—please come and help me! Shato, please, I’m finished! Mama, look at me—could it be that my stomach is about to burst?”

She let out a terrifying scream. Her mother, who was beside her, slapped her mouth hard and said, “So you don’t even know how to call on Allah’s name anymore—only nonsense!”

At that moment, Baba removed the cup from his mouth, looked at his wife, and said, “Lift her up, Zainaba.”

They lifted her gently. She let out a deep groan, biting her lips and saying, “Wait… wait… uhhmm…”

Zainaba paused, staring at her with deep sympathy. One of the young women placed her hand on Balkisu’s shoulder, tightly shutting her eyes while groaning, “I’m ready.”

Even Mama had to assist them as they slowly helped her sit up. She screamed as if she was about to die: “Enough! Enough! It’s happening!”

They leaned her against the wall. Baba brought the cup to her mouth again; she drank the water deeply, gulping it down, while lifting her dress further up her body.

Baba scooped the remaining water, recited prayers over it, and was about to rub it on the swollen area when she quickly grabbed his hand, crying and screaming, “Baba, I swear it’s tormenting me! For Allah’s sake, don’t touch me! Please, O descendant of the Messenger of Allah!”

Her mother struck her hand away harshly, throwing her a fierce look. Baba shook his head, then rubbed the water over the area as she screamed violently, her cries filling their ears.

Baba stood up, looked at her mother, handed her the cup and said, “After one hour, give her more, Amina. Let me return to the veranda where the students are.”

Weakly, she accepted the cup and replied, “Alright, Malam.”

He turned and headed toward the veranda. He opened the door, lifted the curtain separating it from the veranda, and stepped outside.

The veranda was filled with Qur’anic students (almajirai), reciting aloud. Some older ones stood over them holding whips, supervising. The walls were lined with the students’ bags and the wooden boards they slept on, as the veranda was very large.

When the students saw him, they increased the volume of their recitation.

He walked out of the veranda toward the main gate, where more students sat on the cemented entrance, reading aloud as well. A large canopy had been built to cover the gate of the house.