Copper Kingdom of Daevabad

 

Taking place 5 years after the first installment, Nahri, a Daeva from the house of Nahid has returned to her city which was hers by birthright until it was taken over thousands of years ago by the Qahtani tribe of Jinn. Since her return to the city she has married Muntadhir, king ghassan’s oldest son. The youngest son Ali is the one who is truly in love with her and wants to partner up with her to fight for the rights of Shafit, or better known as half human/ half jinn. Ali has also been exiled and only returns when Ayanle merchants secure it for him . He returns in time for Navasatem, an old Daeva holiday. It is around this holiday that events in the story culminate.

With Ali’s return, Nahri, who from a tribe of healers, find an old abandoned hospital she wishes to fix up and start healing Daeva and Jinn. King Ghassan reluctantly supports it. In reality it is Ali who is her partner in building the hospital. Her husband has different and varied romantic interests.

At the end of the last book there was a battle in the lake of Daevabad. In this battle Afshin the slayer is supposedly slain while Ali, who supposedly had slain him was possessed by a water Marid. It has imbued him with magic.

But Daroush the Afshin is not dead but has been revived. Ifrit who do magic are involved as is Nahri mother, Mazzibeh who is also healer. Outside the city they plan a Nahid take back,of the city. The rebel Daeva make potions and train an army. All things culminate on Navastem. Who will take control of the city.? The Daeva’s or Qahtanis.

Dance Over Troubled Waters

In 1950 the theater group Inbal was founded by Sarah Levi Tanai. The author who was also a member of the theater troupe and got her start there so to speak. The book is relatively short, and I read it in one morning. The author manages to squeeze in her a short biography of Sara Levi Tanai, an auto biography of herself and a bit of a biography of her parents. The author gives glimpse into the Jewish history of Yemen and some of the Yemenite Jew’s history in Israel.

Sara Levi was born in Jerusalem to a family of 12 children. Her mother died when she was six years old and over the years so did her siblings. Since her father on his own was not able to financially support her. Sara went to Tzfat to live in a boarding school for orphans. She later went to Shefela which is a training live in facility of sorts. Sarah taught kindergarten for 18 years . It was during these years that Sara developed plays and songs for children and it is also the years she put on performances and wedding for various moshavs and kibbutzes. At age 38 she was tapped to work with a play choreographer. In 1950 she founded Inbal.

Inbal is a theater dance troupe with many songs and skits to their name. Since this dance troupe represents Israel the dance style that was crafted for this troupe includes elements of Palestinian debka, Yemenite steps and some Chasidic dancing and ballet. The dance style is more than just the some of its parts rather it is the language of motion that sets this dance style apart. While taking Yemenite elements it is still an Israeli dance style. The dances in Yemen took place in limited space so the movements are up and down, circular and vigorous. Very similar to Chasidic dancing.

Yemenite dances are unique and biblical being almost untouched since temple times. The male dance steps are very bold and assertive while the woman’s moves are slow smooth and going with the flow type of moves. The dassa is the Yemenite step incorporated into Israeli dance. It is like the foot stepping into desert sand. Moving slow and gentle. The poetry or diwan of men is about religious stuff and spiritual longing. Women sing of life cycles and emotional issues. In Yemen the man was in charge and the women were like slaves to their husbands, at least in the author’s opinion.

The author herself was born into a Yemenite family. She went to elementary school in her hometown and then went to Shefela for their high school program after the Reali program was too expensive. Her father was a person who ransomed kidnapped Jews in Yemen. 

What impressed me about the book is that it gave at least brief insight into Jewish life in Yemen. Starting with legends of their first arrival shortly after the destruction of the first temple. The author goes on to explain the communal structure of Jewish life in Yemen and she also documents the persecutions the Jews had to endure in Yemen. The Israeli operations to bring the Jews over had many hiccups and she details some of them as well. Arriving in Israel the Yemenite did not have a good time. There were issues of inequality, disease and poverty.

The Lost Jewish History of Iraqi Kurdistan

 

After World War 2 many Jews left Iraq bad headed to Israel. Before leaving the buried their treasures and family heirloom and gave their houses to Kurdish neighbors.In the town of Penjwin a young girl named Zara is living in a house that it undergoing reconstruction.Locked away is a journal, Shabbat candle sticks, some jewels and a journal. The journal is by a Jewish woman named Rahila and it documents a turbulent time for the Jewish community of Iraq.

The Jews of Iraqi Kurdistan have lived there since the Assyrian exile and they still speak Aramaic amongst themselves. When Zara finds this journal Iraqi Kurdistan is going through Civil upheaval as well. As Zara finds the journal and reads through it her life becomes more and more enmeshed with Rahila and soon they notice several parallels in their life.

Rahila journal documents the deteriorating situation of the Iraqs Jews as Palestine slowly becomes Israel. The Jews are accused of being disloyal to Iraq. Jews are harassed by the government, subjected to arrests, torture and even hanging. The Jewish community is divided.  Some opt for Zionism and move to Israel. While other will denounce Zionism and support the Palestinian cause. Rioting and property destruction get worse everyday. The community must respond.

In Iraqi Kurdistan the fights between the different Kurdish groups intensifies to where there are checkpoints everywhere and anyone seen as the opposition gets targeted. Soran who Zaras fiancée gets arrested for helping a child during a demonstration and wants leave Iraq. Rahila went through the same thing. Her fiancée Azam leaves for Palestine to fight for the Jewish army. Rahila is unique in that she is like a female rabbi. She is an expert on Jewish ritual something which most women are not. Rahilas life takes a dramatic turn when her father offers a unique proposal that will turn her life upside down.

Many Kurdish families have members that were formally Jews. Some keep the traditions while others barely do anything. They keep everything quiet because the specter of antisemitism is alive and well.

Lovecraft Country

 

Interesting that I started this Audible version during March which is Black History Month. Yes the story does have Lovecraftian themes. In fact the tales start off with Atticus Turner driving up to Illinois to see his father and uncle. Atticus is using a travel book that lets him know which businesses with do business with African Americas. This was set in the 50’s when discrimination was rampant. African American could get stopped for no reason and even shot by the police for no reason. Hotels and restaurants would not accept African American patronage. Atticus has his road troubles and difficulty finding roadside assistance due to the prejudice. The first story has him track his father down who is being held in a house owned by Braithwaite who is the leader of the Order of the Ancient Dawn. At first it seems almost resort like until they find out they are supposed to be sacrificed. What ensues is a a daring escape attempt with the assistance of Caleb Braithwaite the cult leaders son.

After the first episode the family of Atticus Turner has constant contact with Braithwaite and the Order of the Ancient Dawn. In one instance one of Aticus’s sisters somehow gets up the money for a house . The house is haunted with a statue of Hekate. The spirit that lives there is Hiram Winthrop. In another instance Hypolita opens up a cosmic doorway that takes her to the far end of the universe. On this far end are servants of Caleb Braithwaite and they have been there for some time. Another female is chosen to take a potion that makes her look like someone named Hilary. She is able to spy on other members of the Order of the Ancient Dawn and report back to Caleb Braithwaite.

Through there adventures the Turner family finds out that a female ancestor of theirs was connected to the Braithwaite. Her name was Hannah and was owned by the Braithwaite family. They seem to be forever connected and it is a connection they want to break.

Braithwaite has the Turners break into a museum to steal a magical book. Caleb is fighting a magical war within the confines of his order. He sends to the Turner family into the realms of the dead to retrieve more magical books of Hiram Winthrop. This of course will be used to the Turner family advantage as they fight for freedom against the magical tyrants.

The Arab Kingdom of Hira

 After the damn of Marib burst in Yemen several Arab tribes migrated away from that area and settled elsewhere. One of those tribes was the tribe of Lakhm. They migrated to an area in the Persian gulf near Oman ,Persia and in modern day Iraq. Arabs had been arriving to live in that area since Babylonian times and the Arabs that settled there were called the Nabat.

Among their neighbors were Arab tribes, the Persians and the Romans. The Persians always looked down on the Arab tribes and the Arab tribes looked down on the Persians. Persia wanted control of that area but were constantly harassed by raids. The Persians permitted for a truly independent Arab kingdom to dwell there as they would fend off the border attacks. It was a symbiotic relationship.

Later the Romans  would help set up the Ghassanids. They were Jacobite and Syrian Orthodox connected to Byzantine. They would wage wares against the Lakhmids. The Lakhmids were Pagan Arabs but many of their number adopted Nestorian Christianity.

The Persians had their own faith issues with Mazdeanism and Zoroastrianism competing for favor. The Persians were wary of Christianity as that was the Roman religions. Many wives and mothers were Christian in the Lakhmids court, bu not the men. That would have caused friction with Persia. The Lakhmids by an large were pagan Arabs who worshipped Allah, Al LAt, Uzzah and the other daughter. Their court was famous for opulent living, wine drinking and poetry.

The Lakhmids kingdom fell after three hundred years. Their last king was Nuuman. He was assassinated by Kisa Parviz. THe Lakhmids kingdom was a jewel of the Arab world. Later when the Abbasid conquered Persia the capital city Hira would be their base.

Great book.

The Mystery of Aleph

 A nice work of historical fiction set against the backdrop of extremely tumultuous times in London. The inquisition against the Jewish people was in full force. Many Jews fled to England. Many Sephardic Jews fled Amsterdam to Britain to escape the inquisition. The years are 1665 to 1666. Two controversies are raging through the Jewish community. The first is the expulsion of Baruch D Espinoza from the Jewish community for saying that G-d equals nature. The other conspiracy is the spread of the heresy of Shabbtai Tzvi the false messiah.

Flash to London , 2001 where a newly wed couple purchase a house and when they fix it up they find a cache of documents , Jewish documents. Written in Hebrew, Ladino and Spanish. Helen Watt and Aaron Levy from the university are sent to examine them before Sothebies comes by to purchase them. Aaron is American and Helen a stuffy Brit. Their relationship at the beginning is a clash of cultures . Everyone has their story.

The writing are from Rabbi Mendez Ha Cohen. A blind Rabbi and former teacher of Baruch Espinoza. He is also an opponent of the heretical Sabbatians movement. Living with him are Rivka and older house keeper and Ester Melendez, a refugee from Amsterdam. Ester is a free spirit who has a heart that is too free to be bound by tradition. Her reputation is marred by her mothers behavior .

The Rabbi had a scribe who left only the initial Aleph. Helen and Aaron come across this and devour the letters day and night in the effort to find who aleph is . The letters and writing give a window into what life was like for the Jewish community. The politics and intrigue along with threat of antisemitism. The narrative center around thee household of Ha Cohen. Ester has limited funds and prospects. Her parents having died in a fire accidentally caused by her brother. A wealthy Jewish family enlists Ester to chaperone for their wayward daughter Mary. Mary a bit rebellious herself takes Ester to the theater where they meet two non Jewish men. They have trysts and good times. Drinking wine and immersing themselves in philosophy.

Aaron has romantic issues with a girl named Marisa who moves to Israel after a one night stand. Aaron still has feelings for her but Marisa is intent on not reciprocal things. Helen who is ill in health has memories of an Israeli she fell in love with , Dror. The memory of how they broke it off can never leave her.

THe plague comes and changes everything. Fortunes are overturned , people die . Everything is topsy Turkey. The ending is ironic. Sad to say. If you want to know the identity of aleph you will have to read the book yourself.

The Origins of Wicca

The origins of Wicca are surrounded in mystery. Already obscured by the sands of time or swirls of mist lie the origins of Wicca. Gerald Gardner , the father of Modern Witchcraft , retired from working in the Far East and retired near New Forest. It was here that he linked up with a local group whom he called witches.His book maintained that the witch cult had been kept alive for generation being practiced in the shadow.<br /><br />Recent research by the likes of Ronald Hutton and others have found that the ancient witch cult might not be that ancient at all but rather what was witnessed was the birth of a new religion based on ancient principals. The debate is not dying out. If one were to ask author Philip Heselton is this a new religion or the remnants of a dying witch cult. His answer would be yes and yes.<br /><br />The author in this work goes back to the origins of the New Forest coven which initiated Gerald Gardner. It must be noted that Gerald met these witches at a Rosicrucian meeting and they were off my themselves. The author looks at all the members of this “Coven” he gives a biography of who they were and their spiritual interests. ‘Dafo “ or Edith Grimes Woodford was most likely the one who had the most active role in initiating Gardner to the craft. She was his main contact. They may have been lovers. She taught drama and speaking. She may have used her talents in the birth of the new religion. Dorothy Clutterbuck Fordham made her fortune by falsely marrying a married man with a mentally ill wife. After he dies she inherits two houses which she she lets out to various groups. She has written poems about nature themes that may have made their way into the craft. The Mason family was involved with photography. Their spiritual interests would include psychic ability and involvement with Co Masonry. Katherine Oldham wrote many books with fairy themes along with other magical elements. Perhaps the witches of them was Rosalind Sabine. She was involved with magic, Rosicrucianism and divination . She may have been the witch queen or high priestess.<br /><br />This group may or may not have been a coven but they were a ground that met together and perhaps not all met at the same time. Some may have believed they were witches and others not. It would seem that there were groups of people practicing ancient witchcraft traditions or there were bit and pieces lying around that could be formulated into a tradition. No less each of these spiritual seekers brought something to the table in all their backgrounds included Rosicrucianism, Theosophy, Ceremonial Magic and interest in psychic ability and diviniation. All this was brought together to form an old/new religion of tradition.