The Salt Covenants

by Sylvia Bambola

  I leave here different than when I first came. I am no longer a girl, but a woman, a woman greatly loved by the man I greatly love, and that is no small thing in a world full of hatred and cruelty. And I am a woman with child. I have not told Antonio. Nor will I tell him until we reach Cadiz, for he will worry so all during the voyage home. But these are not the only changes. In this dangerous and uncertain place, I have come to terms with who I am: a Jewess who has found her Messiah and Savior. And though I will forever walk between these two worlds I am at peace.

  Now I return to Castile with a husband who helped save King Fernando. Perhaps that in itself will not be enough to ensure us a happy and serene life; or enough to keep us safe from the malice of the Inquisition. But even if it does not, I am content, for I have learned from Antonio that though we live in a cruel world, we need not be cruel.

  With a sigh, I pull the stone of Zebulun from my pocket and place it on the table. It will go with the letter that I am finally ready to compose. After all, a woman must have some security. I finger the stone for a moment and smile. Then slowly, I pick up the quill, dip it into the ink pot, and begin the last letter I will ever write on these shores.

  Dear Sister,

  I call you that, Maria, for that is what you have been to me. No sister could have been kinder. What would I have done without you in this strange, harsh land? What would I have done the first day on board the Tortoise when you . . . .

  THE END

  Glossary

  Bells

  Jewish Months and Feasts

  Glossary

  arquebuse: a type of gun fired by a matchlock and trigger, and supported on a forked-shaped rest while firing

  Ashkenazi: Jews from Central and Eastern Europe

  auto-de-fe: public execution of heretics

  Avignon cloth: cloth from France

  Aylsham cloth: English cloth, highly prized and found in the royal palaces of England

  batatas: sweet potatoes

  beata: a pious woman who lived withdrawn from the world, either alone or in a small community attached to a Franciscan or Dominican order

  berakhots: Jewish benedictions

  binnaclelamp: a lamp attached to the ship’s compass box

  brigandine: a flexible coat of armor comprised of metal rings or scales

  buren: flat stone griddle for cooking cassava bread

  caballero: gentleman, knight

  cacique: a Taino chief

  camlet: Oriental cloth made of silk and camel hair

  carvel: a small, fast moving sailing ship used by the Spaniards and Portuguese

  catheads: wood or iron beam to which the anchor is hoisted and fastened

  cedula: royal decree

  chasuble: a sleeveless outer vestment worn by a priest at Mass

  Cipango: Japan

  codpiece: a bag or flap placed in the front of a man’s tight stocking-like pants during the 15th and 16th centuries

  confites: sweets made of almonds, pine nuts, hazelnuts or other fruits and seeds and covered with sugar

  consulta: conference toward end of trial held by the Inquisition

  conucos: Taino mounds

  converso: convert from Judaism to Christianity; usually implies a forced conversion

  courtier: aristocrat, noble

  cowl: the hood of a monk’s cloak

  crypto Jew: a convert from Judaism to Christianity but one who continued to secretly practice his/her Jewish faith

  cubit: 18-22 inches; the length from a man’s middle finger to his elbow

  cuirasse: dagged leather breastplate

  sleeves: irregularly shaped

  deadeyes: a round, flat block of wood used to fasten a ship’s shrouds or ropes

  doublet: a man’s close fitting jacket

  ducats: gold or silver coins valued from 83 cents to $2.32

  empanadas: Española/ pastry filled with various types of food

  Hispañola: present day Haiti and the Dominican Republic

  farthingale: a hoop frame made of whalebone or other material and worn under a woman’s shirt to fill it out

  fenugreek: a clove-like plant whose bitter seeds are used to season food

  forecastle: forenoon the upper deck of a ship

  watch: from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

  fortnight: 2 weeks, 14 days

  galingale: an aromatic root of the ginger family

  gold florin: a gold coin probably worth about $200 in current US dollars

  grains of paradise: peppery seeds from West Africa

  graylag : a wild gray goose

  guayas: dirges of sorrow and affliction

  gudgeon: a shaft or metal pin at the end of an axle on which a wheel turns

  gunwale: the upper edge of the side of a ship

  halakah: Jewish oral or traditional law

  hawseholes: holes in a ship’s bow through which a cable or large rope is passed

  hidalgos: minor nobles

  jerkins: a short, close-fitting jacket, usually sleeveless

  Kaddish: prayer, usually of mourning

  La Isabela: Columbus’s settlement in Haiti

  Lanzas: fierce fighting men who formed part of cavalry during the reconquest of Spain from the Moors, and who later formed part of the King’s national police force, often called the Santa Hermandades or Holy Brotherhood

  las buas: scabs or sores resulting from venereal disease

  league: the distance of two crossbow shots

  mail: body armor made of small metal rings or scales

  Maimonides: famous Spanish rabbi, philosopher and theologian who lived from 1135 to 1204, still revered and studied even today

  marrano: term often used for Jews who converted to Christianity, and means pig or swine

  menorah: a 7-branch or 9-branch candelabrum used in Jewish celebrations

  mikvah: ritual bath

  nao: large 3 or 4 masted ship—stable and big enough to carry provisions for long sea voyages

  Neilah: the concluding service of Yom Kippur

  niddah: a state of defilement when a wife cannot have relations with her husband due to her menstrual cycle or childbirth

  nuncio: person who issued announcements to the general populace on behalf of the Inquisition. The Inquisition’s spokesman.

  ollero: pottery maker of cooking and table goods

  pantofles: w ooden platforms worn under shoes to keep them from getting ruined in the dirty streets

  Pater Noster: the Lord’s prayer, the Our Father

  pogroms: persecution of Jews, usually of a violent nature

  posada: an inn

  quarterdeck: the after-part of the upper deck of a ship, usually reserved for officers

  Quinsay: the city of the great Khan

  Rashi: famous medieval French rabbi whose works are still studied by Jews

  ratlines: any of the thin pieces of rope that serve as a ladder for climbing the rigging

  reales: the standard silver coin of Spain during time of novel

  redan: a fortification of walls or parapets

  Responsas: scholarly responses to issues and questions facing Jews of that day

  rood screen: an ornamental screen separating the nave and church choir

  Sephardic: Jews from the Iberian Peninsula

  Shema: a prayer, “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.”

  sinar: an apron-like cloth used to hold rags and worn during a woman’s menstrual flow.

  slickstone: something heavy and easy to slide over cloth and clothing to remove wrinkles

  spars: any pole, as a mast yard, boom, or gaff supporting a ship’ssails

  stomacher: an ornamental triangular piece of cloth on a woman’s garment that covers the chest and abdomen

  surcoat: a loose, short cloak often worn over armor

  surplice: a loose, white, wide-sleeved cloak worn over a priest’s cassock

  tally sail: to attach two corresponding sails together

  Talmud: Jewish civil a
nd religious laws consisting of the Mishnah (text) and Gemara (commentary)

  Tanakh: canon of the Hebrew Bible

  tefillin: small leather boxes containing Torah scriptures that Jewish men wear while praying in the morning

  tejas: curved clay roof tiles

  Torah: the Pentateuch or first five books of the Old Testament

  trencher: stale slice of bread used as a plate

  trepan: to open the skull with a boring tool

  tuyere: the pipe or nozzle through which air is forced into a blast furnace or forge

  venera: an image of the Virgin, usually on a silver medal

  waist hatch: the main hatchway leading to the bowels of a ship and though which cargo can be lowered

  zemis: idols, both large and small, of Taino gods

  Bells:

  Martine—midnight

  Lauds—3 a.m.

  Prime—6 a.m.

  Tierce—9 a.m.

  Sext—midday

  None—3 p.m.

  Vespers—6 p.m.

  Compline—9 p.m.

  Jewish Months:

  Nissan—March/April/ The first month in Jewish calendar. Passover

  is in this month.

  Lyar—April/May

  Sivan—May/June. Shavout is in this month

  Tammuz—June/July

  Ave—July/August. Tisha B’Av is in this month

  Elul—August/September

  Tishrei —September/ October. Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur,

  Sukkot are in this month

  Mar Cheshvan—October/November

  Kislev—November/December. Hanukah is in this month.

  Tevet—December-January

  Shevat—January/February

  Adar—February/March. Purim is in this month.

  When Christopher Columbus returned to Spain in chains, Queen Isabela was outraged. He never faced trial, and on May 9, 1502, embarked on his fourth and final voyage to the Indies. Though this voyage was of little value, the realization he had discovered an entirely new continent rather than a quick route to the Indies was finally dawning. He died May 20, 1506 at age fifty-five. Queen Isabela herself died three weeks after his return from his third voyage.

  In 1509 the title of Viceroy was finally returned to the Columbus family and, Christopher’s son was appointed Viceroy of the Indies. He served until 1524.

  In just fifteen years, from 1493 to 1508, the Taino population in Española/Hispañiola (modern day Haiti and Dominican Republic) went from over one million to just sixty thousand. To compensate for the dwindling workforce, the Spaniards, in 1502, brought five caravels of African slaves to Santo Domingo, thus beginning the importation of black slaves that lasted for years. By 1524, Tainos ceased to exist as a people group.

  After La Isabela—located in what is now Haiti—was abandoned, Santo Domingo became the capital of Española/Hispañiola and is currently the national district capital of the Dominican Republic.

  The Inquisition raged on in Castile and Aragon, and spread to Portugal. To escape, many conversos fled to the New World. By 1509, King Ferdinand was charging conversos 20,000 ducats to emigrate for a two-year period where many of them returned to their former faith. Word quickly spread that the New World was a safe haven for conversos. They came and settled in outposts scattered across Jamaica, Barbados, Cuba, Mexico, Brazil, Peru, and the American Southwest. But by 1515 the Inquisition was arresting conversos in Santo Domingo, and by 1524 it made its way to Mexico where it was not abolished until 1834.

  By the beginning of the 16th century, the Spaniards’ cruelty in both the Inquisition and their colonization policies caused them to be called La Leyenda Negra, the Black Legend.

  What a debt we Christians owe the Jews! From them come the Old Testament and the springboard to the New. But more importantly, from them comes our Jewish Savior, Yahshua, Jesus.

  Even a superficial study of history reveals the suffering and persecution of the Jews after the Diaspora, the scattering. Nation after nation treated them with contempt, forced them to live in isolation or forced them to convert under penalty of death. And if that were not enough, they often confiscated their property and wealth, all making possible the atrocities seen during the World War II Holocaust. Sad to say, this was done more often than not by “Christians.” Yet throughout the ages, the Jews survived, and in many cases prospered. Is there any doubt that God’s hand is on them? Or that they are truly God’s chosen?

  Now, anti-Semitism is rearing its head yet again as anti-Jewish sentiment begins to sweep across Europe. Like in days of old, Jews are named the cause of all problems. Even in their own land of Israel, Jews are vilified as the stumbling block to peace. Nothing can be further from the truth. And Arab nations vow to “wipe them off the map,” while Christian denominational churches propose “boycotts” of Israeli products. Even the United States government, once a strong ally of Israel, has made unreasonable demands of giving up “more land” and refuses to stand firmly with our best friend in the Middle East.

  I believe the time is fast coming when Christians will be faced with a choice: to either stand with Israel and God’s chosen, or to do what so many Christians did during Hitler’s Holocaust—turn a blind eye and deaf ear.

  We need to remember that Jesus was a JEW and that His apostles were all JEWS, and that there would be no Christianity without them.

  May we learn the lessons of the past and stand strong for our wonderful Lord and Savior, and His people.

  Blessings to all,

  Sylvia Bambola

  Website: http://www.sylviabambola.com

  Email: sylviabambola45@gmail.com

  When researching for this novel I came across many contradicting facts. One small example relates to the number of Indians Christopher Columbus brought back with him from his first voyage. One source puts this figure at six, another seven, and still another claims ten. Therefore, I have tried to take my information from the most valid or scholarly sources, using, for example, information from Columbus’s own logs and letters, and the information from Kathleen Deagan and Jose Maria Cruxent who spent ten years excavating the site at La Isabela. Many other respected resources were used as well (see below). Even so, while the historical figures and events are accurate, the main characters are fictitious, and I have employed poetic license when needed, some of which I detail below:

  1)Although Fray Alonso is a fictitious character, he is a reasonable composite of the 15th century clergy, in general, and those involved in the Inquisition, in particular.

  2)Most historians claim no women came on Christopher Columbus’s second voyage. However, Consuelo Varela, the Spanish historian, believes at least one woman did. Her name, Maria Fernandez. The remains of a female European substantiates the fact that a Spanish woman did live in La Isabela. It is also possible that women were among those who came with Antonio de Torres in the winter of 1494 since Ferdinand Columbus, referring to the spring of 1495, wrote that the Christians “numbered only six hundred and thirty, most of them sick, with many children and women among them,” indicating the presence of Christian women. Since few Tainos converted it is safe to assume these Christian women were European.

  3)The name of Isabel’s ship, the Tortoise, is fictitious as well as the characters of Doctor Spinoza, Doctor Martinez and Arias Diaz

  4)Fray Buil is a historical figure and depicted accurately except for his sermon on the Feast of the Epiphany dedicating La Isabela and his interaction with Isabel. The sermon is purely a fabrication but reflects his position on the matters mentioned. His many disputes with Christopher Columbus caused him to threaten to withhold the sacraments from him, and Buil finally left La Isabela in disgust to become one of Columbus’s most outspoken critics at court.

  5)Though there was a hospital in La Isabela I was unable to find a description of it, and so my depiction is pure invention

  6)Though the sequence of events is accurate, I have, beginning with the first hurricane, compressed the timeline for the sake of the story.
While the story suggests the passing of perhaps a year from the time of the hurricane to the time when Christopher Columbus was sent back to Spain in chains, in reality more than four and a half years passed, depending on whose dates you use, as different scholars claim different dates for the hurricanes.

  7)I have not used the standard measurements of that day (arrobas, quintales, and cahices) but converted it to present day measurements to avoid confusion.

  8)Christopher Columbus went by several names throughout the years, Cristobal Colon being the one most used and the one by which he was most likely known in Spain. However, since he is best known in modern times as Christopher Columbus, I have used that name in my novel. Also, I have used the more familiar spelling of Seville rather than the correct one of Sevilla, but chose to use the correct spelling of Espanola, Queen Isabel and King Fernando rather than the more familiar versions of Hispaniola, Queen Isabela and King Ferdinand.

  Below are some of my research sources but by no means all, nor does it include some of the excellent sources I found on the internet.

  Christopher Columbus, The Four Voyages; translated by J. M. Cohen

  Columbus’s Outpost among the Tainos, Kathleen Deagan and Jose Maria Cruxent

  Christopher Columbus and the Conquest of Paradise; Kirkpatrick Sale

  The Ships of Christopher Columbus; Xavier Pastor

  Life in a Medieval City; Joseph and Frances Gies

  Fast and Feast, Food in Medieval Society; Bridget Ann Henisch

  A Drizzle of Honey, The Lives and Recipes of Spain’s Secret Jews; David M. Gitlitz & Linda Kay Davidson

  The Tainos, Rise and Decline of the People Who greeted Columbus; Irving Rouse

  A Brief History of the Caribbean; Jan Rogozinski

  The Origins of the Inquisition in Fifteenth Century Spain; B. Netanyahu

  The Spanish Inquisition; Joseph Perez

  Sephardi Jewry; Esther Benbassa & Aron Rodrigue

  Heretics or Daughters of Israel, The Crypto-Jewish Women of Castile; Renee Levine Melammed

  Hidden Heritage, The Legacy of the Crypto-Jews; Janet Liebman Jacobs