Libby Colman

Trixie Libby Colman

"Trixie" is a tale told by Caliban to redeem the reputation of his mother, Sycorax, Witch of Algiers. The story embeds the fantasy characters from Shakespeare's play "The Tempest" into historical events of the 16th Century and explores emotional truths about how suppression and helplessness not only generate fear and rage but also inspire a quest for deeper mastery over circumstances. In 1505, Algiers was a decaying seaport ruled by ancient families known as the Baldi when the Spanish Moors began to arrive after the end of their eight centuries' rule in Spain. Many of the refugees became pirates and preyed on European ships, seizing the cargo and taking crews and passengers to the infamous Bagnios of the Barbary Coast, where the captives were held for ransom or sold into slavery. Other newcomers to Algiers, like Musa Ibrahim, turned to legitimate trade. Musa married an Amazigh (Berber) girl named Tazrut. When his first child, Sycorax, was born, Musa thought Allah was punishing him by giving him a girl, even though Sycorax became a lively, intelligent toddler. The household slaves nicknamed her "Trixie" because she was happily curious about everything and sensitive to the moods of both humans and beasts. Unfortunately, she was defiant when her father was angry. She also became upset when she heard about Spanish fleets destroying cities along the Barbary Coast. When she was five, Trixie 'knew' an Armada from Spain was on its way before anyone else. As she grew older, she had recurrent nightmares about the red-bearded Turkish pirate whom her mother's slave, Emilia, called "that devil Barbarossa," but others referred to as the heroic sea captain, Arouj Reis. She woke up screaming from visions of battles and beheadings and was even more distressed when she learned that the events in her dreams occurred in real life. Her father believed she was possessed by a djinni and went to fetch a holy man to perform an exorcism. While he was away, Trixie was smuggled out of the city to her mother's mountain village, where her Grandmother Mayam and Aunt Titrit trained her in the ways of the Goddess. She never learned to like her visions or dreams, but she accepted the suffering she endured when she saw more than she wanted. Like it or not, she was destined to become a great Kahina, a warrior-priestess who was destined to influence the struggle between the Holy Roman Empire in the west and the Ottoman Empire in the east.