Rahija Saad Bassett
The story below was told by Rahija Saad Bassett (1891- 1983) to her son Abe when she was 83 years old. It is printed here from Memories of Rahija, published and copyrighted by Abe Bassett in 1992. The incident of The camel took place in Kfeir when Rahija was a girl of eight years. Rahija is pictured at age 22.
The note regarding the chant was written by Dr. Professor Emeritus Ernest McCarus.
Rahija’s Story of The Camel
A long, long time ago, when I was in my home in the old country in Lebanon (beautiful Lebanon, I wish I could see it), three men came from Palestine, and they had three camels with them.
They came down to our house. My father was always very generous, and he always invited people to the house. My father invited the three men to the house to feed them.
The front door of our house faced Jabal El Shaykh to the east, which was so pretty with snow on it all the time. On this side of our house we had a little land, and we told them to put the camels there.
In the morning, I usually take a broom with a short handle and sweep the yard. The camel was watching, and I decided I want to tease the camel. I don't know where I got this idea. Maybe I heard it, so, I stood (close to the camel), and I said,
Wizz, aynnik, fil-qaaduus, fi-l-minnshaar,
Wizz, aynnik, fil-qaaduus, fi-l-minnshaar.*
The camel’s eyes get bigger and bigger, and redder and redder, and they start moving a little bit. And their eyes got so big. How do they know I was teasing them? And when the camel starts moving, I moved.
Our yard goes down, one step here, and another step, and another. I ran down. They started chasing. I lay by one step.
When the camel ran down, he couldn't stop because he has long steps. I was lucky, because if one foot came on me I would be mashed. But they kept running until they went to the bottom and found level land.
And that's the story of my camel.
______________________
*Young children in Kfeir probably used wizz aynak . . . to make other children jealous or envious. A possible meaning is “may your eyes bulge out” but a more literal meaning is “may your eye be burned." This is probably an old traditional saying that has lost its lexical meaning, but its cultural meaning is clear. Qaaduus may mean “haystack" but its dictionary meaning is "bucket.” Thus, this chant may mean “Bum your eye with a bucket (and) with a saw.”
- Ernest McCarus
The story below was told by Rahija Saad Bassett (1891- 1983) to her son Abe when she was 83 years old. It is printed here from Memories of Rahija, published and copyrighted by Abe Bassett in 1992. The incident of The camel took place in Kfeir when Rahija was a girl of eight years. Rahija is pictured at age 22.
The note regarding the chant was written by Dr. Professor Emeritus Ernest McCarus.
Rahija’s Story of The Camel
A long, long time ago, when I was in my home in the old country in Lebanon (beautiful Lebanon, I wish I could see it), three men came from Palestine, and they had three camels with them.
They came down to our house. My father was always very generous, and he always invited people to the house. My father invited the three men to the house to feed them.
The front door of our house faced Jabal El Shaykh to the east, which was so pretty with snow on it all the time. On this side of our house we had a little land, and we told them to put the camels there.
In the morning, I usually take a broom with a short handle and sweep the yard. The camel was watching, and I decided I want to tease the camel. I don't know where I got this idea. Maybe I heard it, so, I stood (close to the camel), and I said,
Wizz, aynnik, fil-qaaduus, fi-l-minnshaar,
Wizz, aynnik, fil-qaaduus, fi-l-minnshaar.*
The camel’s eyes get bigger and bigger, and redder and redder, and they start moving a little bit. And their eyes got so big. How do they know I was teasing them? And when the camel starts moving, I moved.
Our yard goes down, one step here, and another step, and another. I ran down. They started chasing. I lay by one step.
When the camel ran down, he couldn't stop because he has long steps. I was lucky, because if one foot came on me I would be mashed. But they kept running until they went to the bottom and found level land.
And that's the story of my camel.
______________________
*Young children in Kfeir probably used wizz aynak . . . to make other children jealous or envious. A possible meaning is “may your eyes bulge out” but a more literal meaning is “may your eye be burned." This is probably an old traditional saying that has lost its lexical meaning, but its cultural meaning is clear. Qaaduus may mean “haystack" but its dictionary meaning is "bucket.” Thus, this chant may mean “Bum your eye with a bucket (and) with a saw.”
- Ernest McCarus
______________________
A writing in Rahija's diary on the occasion the death of her husband, Abraham Joseph Bassett, March 28, 1949
My dear husband Ibrihim. He became sick at 12 o'clock Sunday morning in great distress, and after an hour he was seized by paralysis and was unable to speak at all. We and the doctor were at his side the whole time, while he was in bed in our room at home. After three o'clock he was no longer aware of anything, and he expired at four-thirty in the afternoon. Sunday and Monday, he stayed in the house, and a lot of flowers came, and telephone calls, and letters, and there were a lot of people-Americans and Syrians. His services were dignified, and the day of the burial was sunny. They buried him before a rainy day—the next day it rained. God rest your soul my darling Ibrahim, you who loved so much--your wife Rahija, and your children, and your family, and God, and the world.
Note: Abraham Joseph, Sr., age 63, passed away at home on Monday, April 28, 1949. His obituary can be read on the obituary page on this web site.
A writing in Rahija's diary on the occasion the death of her husband, Abraham Joseph Bassett, March 28, 1949
My dear husband Ibrihim. He became sick at 12 o'clock Sunday morning in great distress, and after an hour he was seized by paralysis and was unable to speak at all. We and the doctor were at his side the whole time, while he was in bed in our room at home. After three o'clock he was no longer aware of anything, and he expired at four-thirty in the afternoon. Sunday and Monday, he stayed in the house, and a lot of flowers came, and telephone calls, and letters, and there were a lot of people-Americans and Syrians. His services were dignified, and the day of the burial was sunny. They buried him before a rainy day—the next day it rained. God rest your soul my darling Ibrahim, you who loved so much--your wife Rahija, and your children, and your family, and God, and the world.
Note: Abraham Joseph, Sr., age 63, passed away at home on Monday, April 28, 1949. His obituary can be read on the obituary page on this web site.
Kfeirian Reunion 1965
Pictured is Rahija Saad Bassett doing her traditional dancing with a glass of water on her head. This is the Kfeirian Reunion of 1965. Rahija was 74 years old at the time. She continued to do this dance until she was into her 80s.
Pictured is Rahija Saad Bassett doing her traditional dancing with a glass of water on her head. This is the Kfeirian Reunion of 1965. Rahija was 74 years old at the time. She continued to do this dance until she was into her 80s.
