Tumadir in English

I was moved by the poem Tumadir wrote upon the death of her late mother. So I translated significant parts of the poem.

The morning filled with her scent
and the smell of milk
I was in the warmth of her bosom
wrapped in the towels of newly born babies.
Nothing remained in my memory apart from
the texture of her womb
and the scream of birth
and her ample breast-feeding.around me were vapours
ascending warmly.
fenugreek and sandalwood smoke and dettol.

i didn't bother with women who came to visit
and the children, with stuffy noses, who stared at
my closed eyes and my continuous sleep.
i hear suppressed laughter coming out their gaping teeth.

her bosom and her arms embrace me
her smell tempts me into more blissful sleep
i burp, i regurgitate, i cry without tears
i scream
she knows my language
only she, she alone whom i want.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
the medical equipment is anticipating her passing away,
i hold her hand.

oh the Angel of Death
was my mother nice to you
when you visited her this morning?
did she ask you "please sit down on that banbar with the velvet cushion"?
"i will have a coffee" did you say in reply?
did the cardamom fill the air from the coffeepot? while she was arranging for a sheep to be sacrificed in your honour?
did she bring the sherbet on a shining tray?
and those things; banans, oranges, dates, lalope?
whatever was there in the kitchen cupboards?
things, in her terminology, she calls the signs of generosity?
did she insist on you to taste a thing or two?
"eat by the Prophet Mohamed! eat by Mohamed."

what a marvel!
she brings about a peaceful and agreeable atmosphere.
and offers you tranquillity and her heart
and a bottle of perfume.
what amarvel!
did she chat to you and make you laugh?
by God, did she make you feel at ease by telling you
the story of her naughty son?
or the story of her mischievous and articulate granddaughter?
what a marvel!

she pulls her tobe forward out of chastity and politeness.
her tobe brought forward to conceal her beautiful face
and the beauty of her soul
and her evident brilliance and her fountain of intelligence.
to hide her wisdom and her frank beauty and tolerance,
she pulls forward her tobe.
her shalikh shines,
her teeth, like lightning, sparkle
her tobe
conceals
the gardens of her conversations
what a marvel!

oh the angel of death
when you visited her, was she nice to you?

the doctor said "talk to her, despit the coma. tell her things
she is familiar with."

i milked for her the memory of her feminine beauty
and her yearnings while we kept her busy in the role of mother.
i reminded her of each slice of talih wood she burnt
celebrating our arrivals and in family weddings.
i reminded her of every heart of henna she painted
on the palm of her hand in celebration of Eids and happy occasions.
i reminded her of the satin curtains
and the new redbrick house,
the festivities and the welcoming
the return of those who were away,
the white path, a good omen from Bakheeta, during teatime sessions.
i told her the stories of our academic achievements
and her tears of joy
and the education we accomplished with the help of her psyche.
i reminded her of her love for jokes,
and her ample sense of humour,
and her capacity to pinpoint the wit
in the funny remarks by family members.
Abu obayda said, "at last, my mother managed to distinguish between the chemistry book and that of physics."
"Hisham, may Allah forgive him, when he was small i asked him;(when i die, are you going to cry?).
he replied;(no. we will not cry, because our father is having a headache!)"

i reminded her of her zaghareed in rejoice,
in marriages,
and the journey back from Mecca.
i reminded her of the newly furbished house.
and the generous trays of khabeez, biscuits and petit four,
when a guest knocks on the door.
"welcme guest."
"to the guest we offer our food. and together with the guest we shall eat."
"a visit by a guest is bliss and a blessing."
"the toddler is the kjng of the world"
"trees are signs of good fortune"
"greenery is pleasant to the eye"
"rain brings life"
"whiteness is a good omen"
"perfumes and scent lull the mind and calm the soul"

i reminded her of her philosophy of optimism.
and her quest to explore the meaning of life and existence
in what is ordinary, familiar and everyday living.
i reminded her of the sweet songs she adored.
and the friendliness and love of her family and friends
in Berber and Rijl alfoola.

she smiles that sweet smile
which illuminates her beloved and peaceful face.
i carry more luggage and memories,
and set with her into the road of rejoices.
your affectionate sisters:
Zaynab, Amna, Al-matan, Suaad
and the funny gaughters of Badriya
the daughters of Amna
the friends in need,
We miss you Om Zain
"how Abdelgadir's daughters have grown up!"
beaytiful and educated girls."
"what a beautiful girl Abu obayda has!"
"Hisham's daughter, my beloved, entered the faculty of medicine"
"hey, this is Ashraf, the son of Zuhoor, what a lovely sight!"

i walk with her in the journey of joy and rejoice.
even the cocept of "male guardians" she has turned
into a peaceful and creative idea:
- he is a hard worker for the welfare of the family.
- he is a generous man.
- his bon-fire never dies.
- women are safe in his company.
- in the times of scarcity and hardship, he never lets you down.
- my brother Ahmed, may God increase his wealth, did so and so.
- Allah bless Hafeez, he forgot nothing.
- Abdelgadir, i ask Allah, may he continue to be a generous soul.
- and you, i ask Allah to grant you a long life.
- may your children keep your company.
- tomorrow we shall sacrifice a sheep and invite people. we shall prepare food. plenty of food and sweets and biscuits.

Aaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh

my heart is broken. And deep in sadness my heart has settled.
she murmurs:"did you serve food to those guests?"
is this what you dedicated your short life for?

i remind her of her abundant vocabulary:
- i wish this for my girls.
- i wish that for my boys.
- they went out to play football.
- they are doing their homework.
- they have friends visiting them.
- the girls wore their dresses, braided their hair, went to school.


the daily fun
the large house
the beautiful life
the happy and carefree laughter,
the promise in a song.
-

Have I mentioned all that? I did not know till you wrote it.

Sallam
Adil Osman??? are you Adil from the USArmy please let me know
Thanks

Dear brother Adil Osman,

I have been doing a lot of translation during the past 25 years, but I have never seen such a wonderful translation in my whole life as this one, specially it's about my mother, may God bless her soul.

Dear Adil,

In the translation language I know this one can really be called a great job, with all those Sudanese phrases and Tumadir's very selective vocabulary.

Dear Adil,

You have done something special, and you have done a very wonderful finger print to the entire family. This will be treated as a crown on top of our h e a d s.

Dear Adil,

You are a fantastic person no matter what words I selected to thank you will just be as a drop in the ocean of what I really feel against those words.

May Allah bless her soul, and give you a special place in paradise to fit all your ancient family members started from Adam all the way till doom day.

ameen

بعثت بهالمنتدى آخر اسمو درب الانتفاضة ... ناطق بلأنجليزية...ممكن؟

لقد عرفت لمن تهب هذه القطعة الادبية الغير عادية
ترجمة مدهشة
رحمة الله الحاجة علوية
ولكم الصبر آل شيخ الدين

Tumadir and Yazoal and other friends. Thank you for your kind words about the translation. As i told you, i was so moved by the poem that i translated it in one go. Actually the poem helped translate itself. Because it was written from a real and huge sense of loss. This is why i identify with it and it moved me. A friend of mine called the poem in Arabic: an epic. Malhama.
We ask God to bless your late mother's soul and the souls of all mothers who passed away and those mothers who are giving from their souls the meaning of selfless love and sacrifice.
Tumadir: the poem is your poem. and the translation is yours as well. your contribution as a family and as individuals to the pool of creativity in sudan is tremendous. so keep up the good work.
I am prepared to help you with any translation you would like to be done.
lastly, sorry for the late reply. i was so busy since i published the translation on discussion board on saturday.

God bless you too, Adil. The loss IS real. It is sensitive of you to feel my words, then it is fabulous of you to translate the piece. The translation is great but the interpration is amazing and this is where I find see you as an independent creator, too!!
Appreciated.
Do not hold back your energy, go with the flow and follow your heart.

العزيز عادل

هذا مجهود وابداع حقيقي

ودفعة قوية لهذا المنبر

رحم الله والدتك

ووالدة تماضر وهشام

وامي تلك الطيبة الحنون

حقيقى ترجمة فى غية الروعة والتمكن
سلم يراعك اخ عادل
وتسلمى اختنا تماضر صاحبت
الكلمة الرشيقة
وربنا يرحمهم برحمته الواسعة
وشكرنا لى قرجة لرفع هذا البوست
الذى لم نستنير به الا الان

رحم الله كل امهاتنا المغادرات

وشكرا ياكولا
الفضل يرجع للمترجم

الاخت تماضر ويازول
سلام
نسال الله ان ينزل شآبيب الرحمة على روحها في الجنان
الشكر لعادل الذي اوصلنا الي النص وعندي طلب صغير احسبه مفيدا
لما لا تضعون النص بالعربي ايضا حتى نقرا ظلال معاني الحروف وما اخفته السطور بين حناياها؟ مع احترامي للترجمة تماما وابداع صاحبها