Anahita's Woven Riddle by Meghan Nuttall Sayres
Anahita is a busy, busy, busy. She helps the dye-master find plants for vibrant dyes, and helps her mother weave the Persian carpets that Iran is famous for. Because she has no brothers, she helps her father tend the sheep. Her tribe moves the flocks from place to place throughout the spring, finding the best grass to graze on. She also works hard for the success of a clothing drive she originated at the local mosque, so poorer people don’t have to buy cloth or weave every single garment for every family member. Somehow, she also finds time to ask a few controversial questions, and everyone in the tribe knows that Anahita is a strong minded young woman.
What can a strong minded girl do when her father says she is old enough to think of marriage? In her tribe, these things are arranged between two fathers. Anahita thinks of all the eligible young men in her tribe, and doesn't really feel a spark for any of them. Her mother suggests that her father’s apprentice actually wanted to work for him in particular so that he’s have time to spend with Anahita, who often helped her father. Ridiculous - Anahita has known the fellow forever, and thinks of him as a brother. Besides, she’s a very smart and willful young woman, and wants to marry a man who understands that - and takes pride in it.
How can she take control over something she has no control over? How can a modest young woman find a man to suit her personality?
Anahita suggests to her father that she will integrate a riddle into the carpet she will weave for her wedding. Whoever can solve the riddle, him she will marry. Her father thinks and thinks. The local imam thinks about it too, and decides that there is a tradition for wedding riddles. On the other hand, the local khan is not amused. He had planned to marry pretty Anahita himself. After all, his third wife recently died, and he needs a new one.
Other men introduced to the reader - though Anahita only meets them in passing - are a young teacher who brings his songbirds to class to spark his students’ curiosity. He can’t afford a large apartment, because he spends all his money on books. He’s a city boy through and through. The teacher sees a poster about a wedding riddle woven into a carpet, and wonders if he can afford to travel to the tribe’s village. He’d love a smart wife.
We also meet a man who divides his time between his tribe and the shah’s palace. He’s good at negotiating, and values his time with his tribe over time at the palace. At a carpet store, he meets a young woman wearing a city style hijab. They discuss the new synthetic dyes - do they color a Persian carpet as well as dyes made of Persian plants? Despite the fact that she’s wearing a shapeless black over robe and a veil over her face, he thinks she’s really pretty - and smart. Anahita’s mother calls her away from the store before they can exchange names or - how immodest! - addresses. He doesn't even know if she is a city girl or a tribe girl in the city during migration. A poster floats past on a breeze and sticks to his arm. He peels it off and ignores it - something about a wedding riddle.
The local khan decides to ingratiate himself with the tribe by starting a school - guess who the teacher is? Anahita continues to stir controversy in her tribe, and within her family. The apprentice’s family refuses to speak to her father on his behalf, as is traditional, because they don’t want trouble with the local khan. On the other hand, they can’t prevent him from whittling presents for the boss’s daughter, or entering the riddle contest.
Anahita must work hard to resolve all the controversy she stirred up, and think hard to invent a riddle to weave into her carpet.
Who will solve the riddle? Will Anahita be as satisfied with the results as she expected when she first proposed the contest?
In this excellent book, Ms. Sayres takes the reader to a time and place we are not familiar with, and fills in rich details. The society is clearly not a monolith, where all people are identical within their culture. Ancient and modern ideas clash, and then mingle. Anaminta, her family, and her tribe pick and choose elements of each to create a new whole.
What can a strong minded girl do when her father says she is old enough to think of marriage? In her tribe, these things are arranged between two fathers. Anahita thinks of all the eligible young men in her tribe, and doesn't really feel a spark for any of them. Her mother suggests that her father’s apprentice actually wanted to work for him in particular so that he’s have time to spend with Anahita, who often helped her father. Ridiculous - Anahita has known the fellow forever, and thinks of him as a brother. Besides, she’s a very smart and willful young woman, and wants to marry a man who understands that - and takes pride in it.
How can she take control over something she has no control over? How can a modest young woman find a man to suit her personality?
Anahita suggests to her father that she will integrate a riddle into the carpet she will weave for her wedding. Whoever can solve the riddle, him she will marry. Her father thinks and thinks. The local imam thinks about it too, and decides that there is a tradition for wedding riddles. On the other hand, the local khan is not amused. He had planned to marry pretty Anahita himself. After all, his third wife recently died, and he needs a new one.
Other men introduced to the reader - though Anahita only meets them in passing - are a young teacher who brings his songbirds to class to spark his students’ curiosity. He can’t afford a large apartment, because he spends all his money on books. He’s a city boy through and through. The teacher sees a poster about a wedding riddle woven into a carpet, and wonders if he can afford to travel to the tribe’s village. He’d love a smart wife.
We also meet a man who divides his time between his tribe and the shah’s palace. He’s good at negotiating, and values his time with his tribe over time at the palace. At a carpet store, he meets a young woman wearing a city style hijab. They discuss the new synthetic dyes - do they color a Persian carpet as well as dyes made of Persian plants? Despite the fact that she’s wearing a shapeless black over robe and a veil over her face, he thinks she’s really pretty - and smart. Anahita’s mother calls her away from the store before they can exchange names or - how immodest! - addresses. He doesn't even know if she is a city girl or a tribe girl in the city during migration. A poster floats past on a breeze and sticks to his arm. He peels it off and ignores it - something about a wedding riddle.
The local khan decides to ingratiate himself with the tribe by starting a school - guess who the teacher is? Anahita continues to stir controversy in her tribe, and within her family. The apprentice’s family refuses to speak to her father on his behalf, as is traditional, because they don’t want trouble with the local khan. On the other hand, they can’t prevent him from whittling presents for the boss’s daughter, or entering the riddle contest.
Anahita must work hard to resolve all the controversy she stirred up, and think hard to invent a riddle to weave into her carpet.
Who will solve the riddle? Will Anahita be as satisfied with the results as she expected when she first proposed the contest?
In this excellent book, Ms. Sayres takes the reader to a time and place we are not familiar with, and fills in rich details. The society is clearly not a monolith, where all people are identical within their culture. Ancient and modern ideas clash, and then mingle. Anaminta, her family, and her tribe pick and choose elements of each to create a new whole.