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| Pictured: Mike Hanini Odetalla's photo of his late mother (ay), uncle, and grandfather AbdelKader Allah Yirhamu circa mid 1960's in #Palestine. |
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My maternal grandfather, Abdelkader Tayeh, may Allah have mercy on
his soul, was the only grandparent that I was fortunate enough to know
as a child (my other grandparents passed away well before I was born)...
My memories are of an elegantly dressed man, a Fellah, always in the
traditional Palestinian dress of a kunbaaz, hata, wa akhaal, standing
tall, never hunched over, dramatic weathered face, chiseled by the
Palestinian sun, wind, and life of a true man of the land! He w
alked, always upright, walking stick in hand, and his ever present pipe, safely tucked in the belt of his kunbaaz.
A widower at a relatively young age, he never remarried, raising his 8
children with love, wisdom, and patience! I used to beg him to show me
the battle wounds he suffered serving in the Ottoman Army during WWI, a
bullet hole that ripped clear through his shoulder, which amazed me as a
child. After the Balfour Declaration, he joined his fellow Palestinian
young men in signing a pledge to fight the Zionists....
If one
were to paint a picture of a typical Palestinian Fellah (farmer), my
grandfather would have served as the perfect model! He knew the land on
an intimate basis, and derived great joy being an integral part of it!
His red patterned handkerchief (yes I still remember it well some 49
years later) served as his "lunch box", as he would wrap a piece of
fresh baked taboon bread, a tomato, onion, some cracked olives, some
zataar, and head for the fields, or hills where he lived, preferring to
eat his typical lunch under the shade of an olive tree...I still have
images in my mind of him laying down, propped up on one elbow, finding
refuge from the hot summer sun under the shade of an olive tree, puffing
away on his pipe, the epitome of contentment! No radio, no noise, just
the sound of his beloved land, whispering to him through the breeze
stirred leaves above...His love for and of the land had a very profound
effect on me, still does!
The last time I saw my grandfather was
in the summer of 1969, just before we left for the USA! He passed away
in 1978, a year before I was to return to Palestine for the first time
in 1979...Allah Yirhamu wa Yirham kul imawatna!
