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- Xala refers to the curse of impotence that El Hadji, the protagonist, suffers through for most of the novel. His inability to perform sexually renders him unable to consummate his marriage to his third wife, N’Gone, whom he married only for his sexual attraction to her. The curse also brings him trouble with his second wife, Oumi N’Doye.
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Why did El Hadji have a Xala?
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What happened to El Hadji in xala by Ousmane Sembène?
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The plot depicts El Hadji, a rich businessman in Senegal, who is cursed with crippling erectile dysfunction upon the day of his marriage to his third wife; that could only be cured by him stripping naked before the lowly of the society and have them spit on him. [2]
El Hadji cannot believe that he has been afflicted with xala. He thinks about his other wives, Adja and Oumi, and wonders if one of them could be the author of his malady.
When the novel’s protagonist, the businessman El Hadji, becomes desperate about his impotence (the meaning of xala), he visits a famous seer to seek treatment, and another side of Dakar comes ...
Xala Summary. The story begins with a meeting of a group of Senegalese businessmen who celebrate their independence from the colonial powers. One of the men, El Hadji Abdou Kader Beye ("El Hadji"), has invited the others to his wedding party later that day.
- Ousmane Sembène
El Hadji purchased N’Gone a villa, as he had his first two wives. Both of El Hadji’s wives attended the wedding—the pious and undemanding Adja Awa Astou and the fiery and materialistic Oumi N’Doye. Both women quietly feared being superseded by the much younger and virginal third co-wife.
In Ousmane's novel, El Hadji's status as a member of the economic elite, as well as his manhood, are put into question. El Hadji's affliction, Xala (or impotence), symbolizes his lack of power in both the economic and social world.
Brief summary of chosen scene. El Hadji (the main protagonist) and his second wife Oumi, exit her house and make their way out to his white Mercedes, where Awa, his first wife is waiting. Oumi asks El Hadji who will be seated in the back of the car with him.
