Chapter 29 'Mali Empire': Summary, Themes, and Analysis

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Summary

In 1290, Thiyya's thousand-strong caravan is two days into a two-month journey north from Timbuktu, carrying gold and ivory to trade for salt, cloth, metal, incense, pearls, garnets, and writing paper. The trip has already been plagued by a sandstorm, a nest of scorpions, and a dispute over a passage tax at the oasis where they planned to resupply. While the khabir negotiates, the caravan makes do with a small well. Lalla's grandfather, Yufayyur, suspects the caravan is haunted by desert demons.

Thiyya notices Lalla is missing from her usual duties with the camels. Aderfi, an elder who treats Thiyya like a granddaughter, tells her Lalla was last seen in her tent with her father, Ridha. Thiyya abandons her work and finds Lalla sitting cross-legged on a woven mat, surrounded by maps and ledgers, her cheeks wet with tears.

Lalla is grieving her brother Maqrin, who died of guinea worm, but her sorrow runs deeper than mourning. She confesses she fears she will never live up to her brother in her father's eyes because she lacks a penis. Thiyya tries to cheer her with crude jokes, and Lalla finally laughs.

Thiyya asks Lalla how she navigates so uncannily. Lalla reveals her secret: she follows camel dung, which always points toward the next water source. She has never told her father, letting him believe she is magic, because it is the only value she holds in his eyes.

To lift her spirits, Thiyya suggests a game of senterej, offering to blindfold Lalla to give herself a fighting chance. During the game, Thiyya teases Lalla about Badis, her brother's best friend, who has been showing interest in her. Lalla laughs and, pulling down her blindfold, accidentally calls Thiyya **