Paradise

“Washenzi, who have no faith in God and who worship spirits and demons which live in trees and rocks. They like nothing better than to kidnap little children and make use of them as they wish.”

It is ironic that Yusuf’s father denigrates the Washenzi (Bantu) people in this way, because he is about to sell his own son as a rehani to pay off his debts. His insular and close-minded opinions of people with different religious practices is common throughout the book, with various characters calling the native peoples slurs. 

“As for Uncle Aziz, for a start he ain’t your uncle.”

This line, which Yusuf repeats to himself throughout the book, is how Khalil introduces Yusuf to the hard reality of his being a rehani. Khalil advises him to call Aziz “seyyid” instead and to learn Arabic. Years later, Yusuf only calls him “uncle” again when he approaches him about leaving Marimbo’s town.

“Although he did not say so, when they talked in that way Yusuf desired nothing more than to be banished for a long time in the silent grove.” 

Yusuf craves peace and beauty instead of chaos, noise, and upheaval. It is curious that “banished” is the word he uses to describe what is otherwise a fantasy to spend time in the garden. In fact, later in the story when he spends long hours there, he is eventually banished from the garden when it is bolted behind him.

“The mnyapara struck fear in all of them. His scowling, snarling looks, and the pitiless light in his eyes promised nothing but pain to any who crossed him.”

Mohammed Abdalla is a lewd, leering presence in the story. He makes advances toward Yusuf and keeps the crew in check with violent use of his cane. However, after some injuries, his strength falters and some of the crew mock him, signaling his decline.

“It was not that he pined for them, and in any case he did so less and less with each accumulating moment, rather that his separation from them was the most memorable event of his existence.”

Yusuf finds that he is less sad about not seeing his parents than he is horrified by their abandonment of him. Initially, he is fearful and angry with himself that he has forgotten details of his parents, but as time goes on, he wrestles most with his resentment for selling him off.

“It shamed him to see Khalil slavering over Uncle Aziz’s hand at the last moment, looking as though he would swallow it whole if he were given the opportunity. He always did that, but Yusuf hated it more this morning.”

Yusuf’s description makes Khalil appear servile, almost like a dog awaiting a master’s attention. His servility sickens Yusuf because it is directed toward the person who keeps them in captivity and who controls them.

“You’re the lucky one, but this is the life God has chosen for us. We live here like beasts at His command. To you He has given a garden of paradise while to us He has given scrub and thickets full of snakes and wild animals.” 

Maimuna says this to Yusuf, either unaware of his status as a rehani or not caring because she has taken offense at his mention of the dry land where they live and the lush garden in which he worked. They use the area that could be a garden for garbage, so it is partially their lack of caring for the land that they do not have a “garden of paradise.”

“There was an air of secrecy and magic in the place, but its spirit was benign and reconciled.”

This is Yusuf’s impression of the beautiful, lush area with the waterfall. Yusuf comes to find tranquility and joy being in gardens and such natural spaces, and the beauty of the place prompts a discussion among the men of what and where Paradise is.

“One day they’ll make them spit on all that we know and will make them recite their laws and their story of the world as if it were the holy word. When they come to write about us, what will they say? That we made slaves.”

Hussein discusses his fear of the increasing European incursions into the area. His concerns reflect one of the issues that prompted the author to write the novel in the first place: The stories of the conquered and colonized get written by the dominant force to suit their narrative of why they took over lands that were not theirs.

“The Koran is our religion, and has in it all the wisdom we need to live a good and moral life. […] But that doesn’t mean we should use it to shame others.” 

Hamid gets defensive when Hussein uses the Koran to advise and reproach him. However, Hamid has no trouble using religion as a weapon to denigrate others, and in fact, has no qualms about calling the non-Muslim people around him slurs.

“If you cannot read His word or follow His law, you are no better than these worshippers of rocks and trees. Little better than a beast.”

Hamid discovers one of Yusuf’s secret shames, which is that he cannot read. Instead of being compassionate, Hamid insults Yusuf, stating that he is barely human, and certainly not a good one, if he cannot read the Koran.

“You people are obsessed with fiends and omens. And you call yourselves men of honour, and give yourselves such airs. Go on, give us a song to chase the bad magic away.”

Mohammed Abdalla frequently mocks other people’s beliefs and fears, thinking they’re little more than superstition. Here, he rages at his own crew for fearing the storm and calling on God. This moment also divides him from Simba Mwene, who states that he believes in God but is not afraid of the storm.

“Did they all know of the dogs and beasts and shapeless voids which came to prise his self from him in the night?”

Yusuf frequently has troubling dreams and cries out in the night. He is surprised to learn that Abdalla and the merchant know of this. His dreams often feature dogs that either talk or walk on two legs, and cowardice and shame are common elements.

“Everyone wants Yusuf,’ the merchant said with a smile.”

Uncle Aziz says this when Mfipo states that Yusuf should be the one to call upon Chatu. This comes after the boatman says that Yusuf should accompany Aziz into the shrine of Pembe because the spirit likes youth. Also, by this time, the merchant knows that his wife has become obsessed with Yusuf, whom she spied through the mirrors in the garden. 

“As he cleared the cliff’s edge, he saw before him thunderous waters and beyond that a high wall with a gate of flame. The light was the colour of plague, and the birdsong was a prophecy of pestilence. A shadowy figure appeared beside him and said gently, You have come through very well.”

This is Yusuf’s dream in the encampment at Chatu’s village. Previously, Hussein talked about how the Garden of Paradise was closed to people by “thunderous waters and a gate of flame.” However, the imagery in Yusuf’s dream is more hellish than heavenly. In Islam, the seven levels of Hell are also marked with gates of flame.

“There was no need for guns now that the government had brought order to the land. The guns were only to bring war and capture people.”

This pronouncement is from the European officer via his translator, an order for Chatu to return Uncle Aziz’s goods and for Aziz to depart but leave their three guns behind. The irony is that the German army would soon be arming locals, like the askaris, to fight wars for them. The “order” in the land is from the European perspective, not that of the people who live there.

“His shoulders rounded and drooped, and he sat for hours without speaking. Watching him in the gloom of an evening, Yusuf suddenly saw him as a small soft animal which had lost its shell and was now stranded in the open, afraid to move.”

This is Yusuf’s perspective on Uncle Aziz after they leave Chatu. It is clearly a defeat for the merchant, and his usual cool, larger-than-life presence has gone. Though he’ll recover a bit, his arc is on the downswing.

“Events had ordered his days and he had held his head above the rubble and kept his eyes on the nearer horizon, choosing ignorance rather than futile knowledge of what lay ahead. There was nothing he could think of to do which would unshackle him from the bondage to the life he lived.”

Keeping busy has kept Yusuf from pondering his fate and future. However, the delay in Marimbo’s town gives him too much time to focus on his relative captivity and lack of freedom. 

“Sometimes Yusuf heard Amina singing and his body stirred with a passion that he neither summoned nor resisted. And sometimes a shadow fell across the slightly open door, and he though he understood the joy of secret love.”

For a brief moment, Yusuf finds paradise in the garden, at least partially. He enjoys his work there, as it gives him purpose and his love for Amina has awakened him to its potential.

“They can lock you up, put you in chains, abuse all your small longings, but freedom is not something they can take away. […] This is the work I have been given to do, what can that one in there offer me that is freer than that?”

The old gardener Mzee Hamdani says this after Yusuf asks him why he hasn’t left since the Mistress gave him his freedom. The garden is his life, and freedom for him exists in one’s mind and spirit. Yusuf thinks Hamdani’s opinion is that of a person resigned to his poor existence.

“He would say to her: If this is Hell, then leave. And let me come with you. They’ve raised us to be timid and obedient, to honour them even as they misuse us.”

Amina calls where she is “Hell on earth.” Yusuf has dreams of their going elsewhere, and he knows that he will have to convince her because she has been a rehani since age seven, so disobedience and boldness may not come to her naturally.

“[…] it was the way they had forced him to live, forced all of them to live, which was shameful. Their intrigues and hatreds and vengeful acquisitiveness had forced even simple virtues into tokens of exchange and barter.” 

Yusuf is angry after the Mistress grabs at him. Though he largely visits her to see Amina, he feels sorry for Zulekha and tries to make her feel better. However, she misconstrues his attention and now he’s potentially in danger. He now sees his own kindness towards her as something she objectifies.

“The seyyid could travel deep into strange lands in a cloud of perfume, armed only with bags of trinkets and a sure knowledge of his superiority. The white man in the forest feared nothing as he sat under his flag, ringed by armed soldiers. But Yusuf had neither a flag nor righteous knowledge with which to claim superior honour, and he thought he understood that the small world he knew was the only one available to him.”

Yusuf thinks of fleeing after the Mistress grabs him in passion. However, he has no place to go and no means to go. Unlike the merchant or the colonizers, he has nothing to point to for belonging to any place.